Should FIFA throw the book at Maradona for outburst?
November 13, 2009
Argentina coach Diego Maradona will appear in person before a disciplinary hearing at FIFA headquarters on Sunday to explain his foul-mouthed outbursts (plural) following the win over Uruguay in Montevideo last month.
The result, at the very end of an 18-match campaign, finally clinched Argentina’s place at the 2010 World Cup after they had looked in serious danger of missing out for the first time since 1970. Maradona “celebrated” with an expletive-laden tirade at the hapless touchline reporter who went to interview him.
If he had left it at that, he could perhaps have passed it off as a heat of the moment incident. Instead, he spewed out more obscenities — which he says were aimed at the media — at the post-match press conference, broadcast live on a number of networks in several countries.
FIFA quickly caught on and opened disciplinary proceedings for his unruly behaviour. These could result in a stadium ban which, if applied only to competitive games, would effectively rule him out of part or possibly all of Argentina’s World Cup campaign.
Maradona would basically be restricted to organising training sessions (which so far under his leadership have resembled playground kickabouts) and giving motivational speeches at the team hotel to his players.
Maradona said he was angry at non-stop criticism of his coaching and team selections, reports that he has fallen out with his coaching staff and suggestions that he is not up to the job.
The criticism came after he used more than 70 players and lost World Cup qualifiers to Bolivia, Paraguay, Brazil and Ecuador.
The Clarin newspaper also pointed out that when he was on the sidelines, Maradona was perfectly happy to publicly slag off his predecessors Marcelo Bielsa, Jose Pekerman and Alfio Basile.
Some media say they are tired of Maradona giving exclusive interviews to a few hand-picked chums and ignoring the rest, with the added insult that, when he does give a press conference, it is invariably cancelled or delayed.
What should FIFA do? And, if he is banned, should Argentina look for someone else who could actually coach the team from the dugout?
PHOTO: Argentina coach Diego Maradona celebrates after his team won its 2010 World Cup qualifying match against Uruguay in Montevideo October 14, 2009. REUTERS/Andres Stapff
Tags: added insult, Andres Stapff, Argentina, bolivia, chums, diego maradona, disciplinary hearing, disciplinary proceedings, Ecuador, expletive, heat of the moment, Jose, jose pekerman, Montevideo, motivational speeches, obscenities, paraguay, predecessors, serious danger, team hotel, team selections, tirade, uruguay, world cup campaign, world cup qualifiersRelated posts
Twitter might not be harmless fun for players
August 6, 2009
The days when the details of transfer negotiations were closely guarded secrets could be coming to an end with the advent of the ‘Twitter transfer’.
On Wednesday, U.S. national team striker Jozy Altidore all but announced a move to English Premier League Hull City on the micro-blogging site, keeping his fans updated while Hull remained silent.
Altidore, who is owned by Spanish club Villarreal, alerted followers to a potential move on Tuesday when he informed them he would be up early on Wednesday morning for a flight to England.
After details about his flight and weather on arrival he held back from announcing the deal but gave the game away by posting info of his first game.
“First match is against Chelsea subject to a work permit *wink* *wink* lol thanks for the support and love keep it coming,” he wrote.
While Altidore’s upbeat updates are unlikely to upset anyone, England striker Darren Bent apologised to Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy last month about comments on Twitter relating to his move to Sunderland.
Bent aimed an expletive at Levy and said, “Do I wanna go Hull City? NO. Do I wanna go Stoke? NO. Do I wanna go Sunderland? YES.”
The forward’s wish was finally granted on Wednesday when he completed a move from Spurs to Sunderland for an initial fee of 10 million pounds ($16.98 million).
There was not a tweet out of Bent, though: his account was closed down after the dispute with Spurs.
Twitter appears harmless fun for many, many sportspeople — golfers, tennis players, cyclists, NBA and NFL players — who send snippets of their daily routine out to their followers. The problem, as the Bent case shows, comes when things aren’t going well for the individual.
There is a potential minefield involved with sportspeople broadcasting their thoughts at will — contract negotiations, dressing room disputes, personal problems are all topics that team and PR people would probably hope do not get broadcast to the world.
Those sportspeople using Twitter — and there are thousands of them — seem to regard it is a cool and easy way to keep in touch with their fans. So how can the control-freaks control other than to ban Twitter use? And that’s not going to happen, is it?
PHOTO: Jozy Altidore of the U.S. celebrates after scoring a goal during their Confederations Cup semi-final soccer match against Spain at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein June 24, 2009. REUTERS/Jerry Lampen
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Donovan blasts Galaxy teammate Beckham
July 4, 2009
LOS ANGELES (AFP) – Landon Donovan has issued the Los Angeles Galaxy an ultimatum — compel English superstar David Beckham to clean up his act or risk alienating Donovan, the club’s all-time top active scorer.
“Let’s say he does stay here for three more years,” Donovan said in passages from a upcoming book on Sports Illustrated’s website. “I’m not going to spend the next three years of my life doing it this way. This is (expletive) miserable. I don’t want to have soccer be this way.”
US national team captain Donovan blasted Beckham in the book, “The Beckham Experiment”, questioning the former England captain’s work ethic, leadership and teammate skills on the Major League Soccer squad.
“Maybe he’s not a leader. Maybe he’s not a captain,” author Grant Wahl quotes Donovan as saying in the book, scheduled to be released later this month.
“But at a minimum you should bust your ass every day. That hasn’t happened.”
Donovan feels he and Beckham can still mend their fractured relationship but not unless the team takes a tough stance against Beckham.
“I’ve got to confront it somehow,” Donovan said. “If that is the way he is going to be, fine, then hold him accountable. Bench him. Just say ‘We are not going to play you, we don’t think you are committed.”
Donovan, who led the Americans to a surprise runner-up finish on the weekend at the 2009 Confederation Cup, is one of the most decorated players in Galaxy history.
He leads all active Galaxy players in career goals (58), assists (44), shots (226) and game-winning goals (14). He holds club records for multi-goal games (14) and penalty-kick goals (17).
Donovan believes that Beckham, as the highest-paid player in the league, has a responsibility to his team and especially to his Galaxy teammates to set an example through hard work.
“If someone is paying you more than anybody in the league, more than double anybody in the league, the least we expect is that you show up to every game, whether you are suspended or not.
“Show up, train hard, show up and play hard.
“As time has gone on, that has not proven to be the case in many ways, on or of the field.”
Beckham is currently on loan from Los Angeles to AC Milan. The 34-year-old Beckham was originally supposed to return for the entire 2009 season but got his stay in Europe extended to halfway through the MLS season.
Beckham is scheduled to return to the Galaxy for a game in New York against the Red Bulls on July 16, two days after the release of the book.
“I can’t think of another guy where I would say he wasn’t a good teammate,” Donovan said. “He didn’t give everything through all of this. He didn’t still care. But with (Beckham) I would say no, he wasn’t committed.”
Donovan said Beckham’s attitude changed after the team got rid of former coach Ruud Gullit.
“He (Beckham) just flipped a switch and said, ‘Uh-huh, I am not doing it anymore.’
“It coincides with Ruud being let go.”
Donovan said Beckham was sincere about helping the sport grow in North America when he arrived but became discouraged easily.
“He cared. He wanted to do well. He wanted the team and the league to do well,” Donovan was quoted as saying in the book.
“My sense is David is clearly frustrated that he is unhappy and honestly, that he thinks it is a joke. I don’t see dedication or commitment to this team and that is troubling.”
Beckham has left only a modest footprint on the North American soccer landscape in two ineffective seasons so far with the Galaxy.
The Galaxy have failed to make the playoffs since his arrival in 2007.
Even when he has suited up for Los Angeles, Beckham has had little impact. He played just five games of an injury-filled first season and had five goals and 10 assists last season.
American fan interest in Beckham has faded since his splashy introduction in 2007 when more than 66,000 showed up for his first game at Giants Stadium in San Francisco.
Television ratings in 2008 were 22 percent higher for Beckham games than they were for games he didn’t play. But that figure was down from 67 percent during his first year in the league.
Some criticized Beckham and his handlers for misleading the American sports fan. When he arrived, the Galaxy and Beckham’s handlers hyped up a 250 million dollar “agreement”.
But it was a pie-in-sky figure, which Beckham’s handlers slipped past many of Los Angeles’ tail-wagging media which many didn’t check to see if it was true before rushing it into print.
Beckham was also stripped this season of his captaincy as the armband has been handed back to Donovan.
“It is difficult to know how to approach him with things, to be critical of him,” Donovan said. “because he doesn’t take it well.”
Tags: assists, captain Donovan, career goals, confederation cup, David, David Beckham, England, england captain, Europe, expletive, giants stadium, goal games, Grant Wahl, landon donovan, Los Angeles, los angeles galaxy, Major League Soccer, Milan, MLS, New York, North America, North American, passages, penalty kick, San Francisco, soccer squad, sports illustrated, team captain, teammate, teammates, U.S., work ethic, years of my lifeRelated posts
Donovan issues ultimatum to Galaxy over Beckham
July 3, 2009
LOS ANGELES (AFP) – Landon Donovan has issued the Los Angeles Galaxy an ultimatum – have English superstar David Beckham clean up his act or risk the departure of Donovan, the club’s all-time top active scorer.
“Let’s say he does stay here for three more years. I’m not going to spend the next three years of my life doing it this way. This is (expletive) miserable,” Donovan said in passages from a forthcoming book put on Sports Illustrated’s website.
US national team captain Donovan blasted Beckham in the book, entitled “The Beckham Experiment”, questioning the former England captain’s work ethic, leadership and ability to be a good teammate on the Major League Soccer squad.
“Maybe he’s not a leader. Maybe he’s not a captain,” author Grant Wahl quotes Donovan as saying in the book, scheduled to be released later this month.
“But at a minimum you should bust your ass every day. That hasn’t happened.”
Donovan, who led the Americans to a runner-up finish on the weekend at the 2009 Confederation Cup, is one of the most decorated players in Galaxy history.
He leads all active Galaxy players in career goals (58), assists (44), shots (226) and game-winning goals (14). He holds club records for multi-goal games (14) and penalty-kick goals (17).
Donovan believes that Beckham, as the highest-paid player in the US league, has a responsibility to his team and especially to his Galaxy teammates to set an example through hard work.
“If someone is paying you more than anybody in the league, more than double anybody in the league, the least we expect is that you show up to every game, whether you are suspended or not.
“Show up, train hard, show up and play hard.
“As time has gone on, that has not proven to be the case in many ways, on or of the field.”
Beckham is currently on loan from Los Angeles to AC Milan. The 34-year-old Beckham was originally supposed to return for the entire 2009 season but got his stay in Europe extended to halfway through the MLS season.
Beckham is scheduled to return to the Galaxy on July 16, two days after the release of the book.
“I can’t think of another guy where I would say he wasn’t a good teammate,” Donovan said. “He didn’t give everything through all of this. He didn’t still care. But with (Beckham) I would say no, he wasn’t committed.”
Donovan said Beckham’s attitude changed after the team got rid of former coach Ruud Gullit.
Gullit left the team a little over a month after Beckham played his first game in Los Angeles.
“He (Beckham) just flipped a switch and said, ‘Uh-huh, I am not doing it anymore.’
“It coincides with Ruud being let go.”
Donovan said Beckham was sincere when he arrived in North America but became discouraged easily.
“He cared. He wanted to do well. He wanted the team and the league to do well,” Donovan was quoted as saying.
“My sense is David is clearly frustrated that he is unhappy and honestly, that he thinks it is a joke. I don’t see dedication or commitment to this team and that is troubling.”
Tags: captain Donovan, career goals, confederation cup, David, David Beckham, england captain, Europe, expletive, forthcoming book, goal games, Grant Wahl, landon donovan, Los Angeles, los angeles galaxy, Major League Soccer, Milan, MLS, mls season, North America, penalty kick, soccer squad, sports illustrated, team captain, teammate, ultimatum, work ethic, years of my lifeRelated posts
Terry blasts Drogba and Bosingwa bans
June 20, 2009
LONDON (AFP) – Chelsea captain John Terry on Friday criticised the punishments meted out to his team-mates Didier Drogba and Jose Bosingwa for their reactions to the club’s Champions League loss to Barcelona.
Ivorian striker Drogba was on Wednesday given a four-game European ban by UEFA, with two games suspended, while Portuguese full-back Bosingwa will have to miss three matches, with a further match suspended.
The pair were punished for their reactions to a 1-1 draw at home to Barcelona in the semi-finals of the Champions League, when Andres Iniesta’s injury-time equaliser for the Catalans sent the London club out of the competition on the away goals rule.
Norwegian referee Tom Henning Ovrebo rejected a string of penalty appeals from Chelsea during the game and at the final whistle Drogba, who had been substituted, stormed onto the pitch to abuse the official, branding what had happened a “f…(expletive) disgrace” in front of watching TV cameras.
“What happened with Didier and the comments made after the game took the hype away from the referee a little bit,” Terry told British radio station talkSPORT.
“It was a very bad performance from him (Ovrebo), we all realised that. There were three or four clear penalty decisions that we should have had that night and that’s something as a fan and as a player you will never forget.
“It was disappointing. I would like the people in charge to take these things into perspective and realise that after the game Didier came out and apologised for his actions.
“I think he realises that kids were watching and he deserves a ban. But to that extent? I really don’t think so. Maybe a two-match ban.”
Bosingwa referred to the referee as a “thief” in a post-match interview before then retracting his comments and Terry felt that he, too, was harshly treated.
“Jose Bosingwa’s ban, I don’t know where that’s come from,” the England skipper said.
“Obviously every player was feeling what Bosingwa felt and thankfully nobody else said what he said. But he said what every fan and every player was thinking.
“Hopefully Chelsea can appeal and we can get that (the ban) down a little bit because we want those two players for the campaign next year.”
Tags: Andres Iniesta, Barcelona, british radio, catalans, CHELSEA, Drogba, England, england skipper, English Premier League, equaliser, expletive, injury time, ivorian, john terry, jose bosingwa, london, london club, punishments, radio station talksport, team mates, Terry, tom henning, Tom Henning Ovrebo, tv cameras, uefaRelated posts
German keeper Wiese fined for megaphone fan insult
May 16, 2009
FRANKFURT (AFP) – Werder Bremen’s international goalkeeper Tim Wiese was fined 10,000 euros on Friday after he climbed onto perimeter fencing, grabbed a megaphone and hurled abuse at Hamburg fans.
Wiese’s extraordinary outburst came after his team’s 2-0 Bundesliga win on Sunday, a victory which had come hot on the heels of Bremen’s UEFA Cup semi-final triumph over their northern rivals.
The keeper perched himself on the fencing and screamed: “S..(expletive) on Hamburg”.
Wiese apologised for his behaviour after being fined by the German football federation (DFB).
“I got carried away by the emotions of the moment,” he said.
Bremen and Hamburg have met four times in the last three weeks with Wiese’s team coming out on top in the league, German Cup and UEFA Cup.
Tags: apologised, Bremen, Bundesliga, DFB, emotions, expletive, FRANKFURT, german cup, german football federation, Goalkeeper, Hamburg, hot on the heels, insult, megaphone, outburst, perimeter fencing, rivals, Tim Wiese, triumph, uefa, UEFA Cup, victory, werder bremenRelated posts
Touchline bust-up leaves Kinnear, Brown in hot water
January 20, 2009
LONDON (AFP) – Joe Kinnear and Phil Brown, the managers of Newcastle and Hull respectively, have been charged with improper conduct over a touchline clash during last week’s FA Cup third-round replay.
The two managers were sent to the stand after an angry confrontation midway through the first half of the match, which Hull won 1-0.
Kinnear claimed afterwards that he had simply told Brown to "cool it" after his counterpart had been enraged by a tackle on forward Daniel Cousin.
It is the fourth time Kinnear has been in trouble with the FA’s disciplinary chiefs since he took over at Newcastle in September.
He was given a warning as to his future conduct over an expletive-rich outburst at journalists in early October.
The following month he got into trouble again for describing match official Martin Atkinson as a "Mickey Mouse referee" and in December he was sent to the the stand for a diatribe at referee Mike Riley at the end of a game away to Stoke.
Both those incidents led to improper conduct charges which Kinnear will answer at a disciplinary hearing due to take place in the next few weeks.
Both managers have until February 3 to respond to the charges.
Written by: AFP
Tags: AFP, angry confrontation, chiefs, clash, counterpart, Daniel, daniel cousin, diatribe, disciplinary hearing, English Premier League, expletive, FA Cup, hot water, HULL, improper conduct, joe kinnear, london, martin atkinson, mickey mouse, Mike Riley, NEWCASTLE, outburst, phil brown, referee, replayRelated posts
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