Real accepts Ronaldo´s ´unfair´ sending off

January 26, 2010

Real Madrid blasted the “unfair” red card handed out to Cristiano Ronaldo at the weekend, but said it will accept the referee’s decision.

“Seeing the move, he clearly did not want to hurt the opponent,” Emilio Butragueno, the club’s vice president and former player was quoted as saying Tuesday in sports newspaper Marca.

“I was a striker and when you are challenged you want to free yourself.”

The world’s most expensive player spoiled a stellar two-goal display on Sunday by getting red-carded after a stray elbow caught defender Patrick Mtiliga, who tugged the Portuguese winger’s shirt during the 2-0 win over Malaga.

The Primera Liga’s disciplinary committee is expected to announce later Tuesday whether he will be suspended for one or two matches.

Real’s sporting director, Jorge Valdano, described the decision as “unfair and “very hard” as Ronaldo was merely “trying to continue” the move.

“We regret very much the injury to the Malaga player, we accept any decision, but we defend the conviction that we are right,” he told Spanish radio COPE Tuesday.

It was a second dismissal of the season for Ronaldo who was sent off in a 4-2 win over Almeria on December 5 for kicking out at an opponent.

The former Manchester United star said Monday he also felt his red card was unjust.

“I’ve spoken to Mtiliga and he said he doesn’t believe I should apologise because he doesn’t think I hurt him intentionally,” he was quoted as saying on the club’s website.

“I never try to trick referees. I never intended to injure the player. I believe they should be fair with what really happened.”

MADRID (AFP)

Tags: almeria, conviction, disciplinary committee, elbow, Emilio Butragueno, Jorge Valdano, MADRID, Malaga, Manchester, manchester united, opponent, Patrick Mtiliga, portuguese, primera liga, real madrid, referee, referees, ronaldo, spanish radio, sports, striker, vice president, winger

China league officials under questioning: report

January 21, 2010

The head of China’s scandal-rocked football association and two other top officials have been taken in for questioning amid a police probe into corruption in the sport, state media said Thursday.

Nan Yong, named to head the beleaguered Chinese Football Association a year ago, was taken in for “interrogation” by police in the northeastern city of Liaoning, Xinhua news agency said, quoting the Ministry of Public of Security.

Also taken in were CFA vice heads Yang Yimin and Zhang Jianqiang, it said.

The Soccer Daily reported the men were taken away on Friday.

The Xinhua report quoted the ministry saying the men were being questioned as part of efforts to stamp out match-fixing and other corruption in the sport but made no mention of whether the three were suspected of wrongdoing.

Officials at the CFA and the sports ministry refused comment on the whereabouts of the three officials when contacted by AFP Thursday.

Following widespread allegations of organised gambling, crooked referees and match-fixing earlier this decade, the CFA announced in late 2006 that it had set up a joint task force with police to root out corruption in the sport.

The arrests of at least 21 football and club officials have been announced since November, with police interrogating more than 100 suspects, according to press reports.

Besides the three CFA officials taken away by police, two other top association officials have also been told not to leave Beijing, the Soccer Daily said.

Corruption, on-field fights and other misbehaviour by players have plagued Chinese football for years, leading to dwindling attendance and frustration among fans and sponsors.

Dismal play by the national team, which failed to advance out of the early stages of qualifying for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, has also led to widespread criticism of how the sport is managed in China.

BEIJING (AFP)

Tags: Beijing, China, china beijing, corruption, football association, interrogation, joint task force, league officials, liaoning, misbehaviour, nan, Nan Yong, northeastern city, police probe, referees, sports ministry, wrongdoing, xinhua news agency, Yang Yimin

Hughes in hot water over Bellamy red card comments

December 15, 2009

The Football Association on Tuesday added to the headaches faced by Mark Hughes by asking the Manchester City boss to explain his reaction to Craig Bellamy’s sending-off at the weekend.

Bellamy was dismissed after receiving a second yellow card in the second half of a 3-3 draw against struggling Bolton.

The first was awarded for dissent, the second for what referee Mark Clattenburg saw as a dive — mistakenly, television replays suggested.

Hughes later claimed that Clattenburg had made inappropriate remarks at half-time.

“I don’t appreciate when the referees coming out for the second half start making comment about who they do or do not like in my team,” Hughes said after the match.

“They might be having a laugh and a joke. I have to be careful here as we are talking about integrity.”

Hughes, who has until December 22 to respond to the FA’s request, said he stood by what he said.

“I said what I said on Saturday is still on record and I stand by it,” he said. “The FA have asked for my version of events so I can’t really discuss the matter any further.”

Bellamy will miss Wednesday’s trip to Tottenham as a result of the ban triggered automatically by the red card while Shaun Wright-Phillips is ruled out by an ankle injury.

Nigel de Jong has however recovered from swine flu and the Dutch midfielder is expected to feature at White Hart Lane as City confront one of their rivals for a top four finish and a place in next season’s Champions League.

City go into the match unbeaten in 13 games in all competitions but having drawn eight of their last nine league matches — a run which has revived speculation that Hughes’s position could be vulnerable at the end of the season.

Tottenham’s own credentials as top four contenders took a knock when they went down to a 1-0 home defeat by Wolves on Sunday in a match marred by an altercation between a Spurs supporter and defender Benoit Assou-Ekotto.

Assou-Ekotto confronted the supporter next to the tunnel as he left the pitch and had to be pulled away by Spurs assistant boss Joe Jordan.

Manager Harry Redknapp confirmed Tuesday that Assou-Ekotto will meet the fan and that he would not be fining the Cameroon international.

“There won’t be any punishment,” said Redknapp. “Joe was there and he said it was nothing. This guy came over, he was foreign. He said something to Benoit and Benoit reacted to it.

“Whatever he said, that was it and there was no violence or anything. Joe pulled him away and his girlfriend pulled the other guy away, whoever he was.”

Midfielder Jermaine Jenas is doubtful for Spurs following a bout of food poisoning.

Redknapp confirmed that Luka Modric, who has not started a game since breaking his fibula in August, will be on the bench while Roman Pavlyuchenko and David Bentley are also in contention despite being left out of Saturday’s squad.

LONDON (AFP)

Tags: altercation, ankle injury, benoit, Benoit Assou-, cameroon, CITY, city boss, contenders, craig bellamy, David Bentley, dissent, football association, Hart Lane, having a laugh, inappropriate remarks, Joe, joe jordan, london, Manager Harry Redknapp, manchester city, mark clattenburg, Mark Hughes, nigel de jong, referees, Shaun Wright-Phillips, swine flu, white hart lane, yellow card

FA seek explanation from Hughes

December 15, 2009

The Football Association has asked Manchester City manager Mark Hughes to explain his comments following Craig Bellamy’s dismissal during the club’s high scoring 3-3 league draw against Bolton Wanderers at the Reebok Stadium on Saturday.

Bellamy collected two yellow cards in the second half, the first for dissent and the second for a supposed dive, although replays suggested the City striker was fouled.

Hughes later claimed that referee Mark Clattenburg had joked that he did not like the Welshman at half-time.

“I don’t appreciate when the referees coming out for the second half start making comment about who they do or do not like in my team,” Hughes said.

“They might be having a laugh and a joke. I have to be careful here as we are talking about integrity.”

Tags: bolton wanderers, craig bellamy, dissent, football association, having a laugh, integrity, manchester city, mark clattenburg, Mark Hughes, reebok stadium, referee, referees, second half, striker, welshman, yellow cards

Ex-Juve director Giraudo sentenced to three-year jail term

December 15, 2009

Former director Antonio Giraudo of Turin based giants Juventus, has been sentenced to three years in prison for his role in Italy’s 2006 football match-fixing scandal.

Giraudo, already banned from football by a 2006 sports tribunal, has been found guilty of sporting fraud and conspiracy in the criminal trial linked to the affair, which was christened the name ‘Calciopoli’.

Juventus were demoted to the second division in 2006 as a result of the scandal, which involved clubs procuring favourable referees for matches, but are now back as one of the strongest teams in the top flight Serie A.

Referees Tiziano Pieri and Paolo Dondarini have been sentenced to 28 months and two years in prison respectively while Tullio Lanese, the former head of the referees’ union, has received a two-year jail term.

Seven referees and assistants, who like the other four had opted for a fast track trial, have been acquitted.

The guilty four are unlikely to serve their sentences because of the appeals process and a broad pardon for non-violent offences committed before 2006.

Former Juventus general manager Luciano Moggi was among those to request a normal trial which is currently taking place.

Prosecutors in Naples, who had asked for Giraudo to be given a five-year jail term, instigated a criminal case in the wake of the punishments handed down by the sports tribunal.

Tags: A. Referees, antonio giraudo, appeals process, criminal case, criminal trial, football match, Italy, juve, juventus, lanese, luciano moggi, match fixing scandal, naples, Paolo Dondarini, pieri, prosecutors, punishments, referees, top flight, tullio, Tullio Lanese, turin, violent offences

Dallas accepts Scottish refs need to improve

December 12, 2009

Scottish Football Association head of referee development Hugh Dallas has conceded that there are problems with refereeing in Scotland.

Dallas has become involved in a war of words with Motherwell manager Jim Gannon, who has criticized several decisions made by officials this season.

Dallas says he was “insulted” by Gannon’s comments but he adopted a more conciliatory tone, telling BBC Scotland, “I’m the first to admit that refereeing is going through a period at the moment,

which we wish it wasn’t. But, trust me, we are working hard behind the scenes to try and improve things.”

He added, “I appreciate that the managers are frustrated and get upset.

“I don’t know what kind of pressure they’re under because I’ve never been a manager, but we try to handle things internally.

“We analyse games on a Monday and a Tuesday with the referees, we take in the referee observer’s comments and we have a seminar this weekend because, apart from improving the standards of referees, we also have to improve the standard and the coaching of our observers who are passing on the advice.

“So, we’re working away quietly in the background.”

Tags: bbc, conciliatory tone, decisions, games, jim gannon, motherwell, observers, referee development, refereeing, referees, scotland, scottish football association, war of words

Live World Cup draw blog on Friday – please join in

December 4, 2009

Just a heads up we will be running a live World Cup draw blog on this site from around 1630 GMT on Friday so feel free to join in the fun.

Which seeded teams will be the unlucky ones to get France or Portugal? Will hosts South Africa get a fortunate draw?

No doubt we’ll touch on referees, handballs, security worries, African hopes for a first title etc etc.

I’m not as beautiful as South African actress Charlize Theron, who is hosting the draw in Cape Town, but hey you can’t have everything…

Source

Tags: actress charlize theron, cape town, charlize theron, France, GMT, no doubt, portugal, referees, security worries, South Africa, Theron, unlucky ones, World Cup

UPDATE: Ireland plead for World Cup slot as the 33rd team

December 1, 2009

Sepp Blatter revealed this morning that Ireland have appealed to FIFA to be allowed to compete as a 33rd team in next year’s World Cup.

“I will bring it to the attention of the Executive Committee,” Blatter told (stunned) journos. “I cannot confirm what will happen, but I will report it.”

I cannot confirm what will happen either, but I have a pretty good idea. In any case, aren’t the referees the 33rd team? Or if not, what about our idea here at Reuters Soccer Blog to put together a squad of players whose teams failed to make it.

We’d give Shay Given and Robbie Keane places…

Here’s Mike Collett’s view having heard Blatter speak in Johannesburg:

FIFA president Sepp Blatter greeted a delegation of very disgruntled Irishmen on Friday. FA of Ireland officials went to Zurich to have a little chat about the upcoming World Cup finals they will not be taking part in.

As the whole of the soccer world knows, Thierry Henry’s infamous handball in the build-up to France’s goal meant the French drew 1-1 with Ireland on the night and sealed a 2-1 aggregate playoff victory earlier this month. France in. Ireland out. Fair Play kicked into touch.

The Irish delegation came up with the intriguing notion of being admitted to the finals in South Africa as the 33rd team — and even more intriguingly, Blatter will put the idea forward to the FIFA Executive Committee when they meet in Cape Town on Wednesday.

The Irish, and everyone else, know full well that their audacious suggestion has no real hope of being accepted. For a start extra matches would have to be organised, one group would consist of five teams not four — but more importantly it would set a precedent that would leave the world of soccer in some considerable confusion.

But the Irish delegation also discussed some other issues with FIFA — including additional officials to help the referee, use of video technology for matches at the highest level and stronger punishments for cheats among them.

Not much good came out of Henry’s handball for the Irish — but something good might have come out of it for the game at large.

If FIFA does sanction extra officials for the World Cup to help the referee make the right call, if players think twice about their behaviour in the penalty area, the game can only benefit.

A UEFA experiment with additional officials has been conducted in the Europa League this season — if Henry’s handball and the efforts of the Irish delegation can persuade FIFA to now introduce the idea on a permanent basis, then the type of defeat Ireland suffered may become far rarer in the future.

That would be one small step for soccer, even though, unfortunately for the Irish, there will surely still only be 32 teams in South Arica next year.

PHOTO: FIFA president Sepp Blatter arrives at a news conference in Mexico City November 9, 2009. REUTERS/Daniel Aguilar

Source

Tags: cape town, Daniel Aguilar, fair play, fifa executive committee, fifa president sepp blatter, intriguing notion, Ireland, irish delegation, irishmen, johannesburg, mexico city, Mike Collett, punishments, referees, reuters, Robbie Keane, Sepp Blatter, shay, soccer world, South Arica, thierry henry, video technology, world cup finals, world of soccer

German paper reveals match-fixing details

November 22, 2009

A German paper said Sunday it had obtained details of some of the 200 matches under investigation in the match-fixing scandal that has rocked European football.

According to the Sueddeutsche Zeitung’s website, the matches involved were generally lower profile matches and the gambling crooks bribed players to lose by a certain amount.

The paper listed a sample of matches from Switzerland, Belgium, Croatia and Turkey.

For example, investigators are reportedly probing a match in the Swiss second division that took place between Yverdon Sport and FC Thun on April 26, 2009.

Players from the away team were reportedly bribed 15,000 euros (22,000 dollars) to make sure they lost by a four-goal margin. The match ended 5-1.

In another match in the Belgian second division, players from UR Namur allegedly received backhanders to lose by two goals. Namur duly lost 2-0.

The beautiful game is still reeling from the allegations on Thursday that a gang of around 200 people have been rigging games in Germany, Belgium, Croatia, Slovenia, Turkey, Hungary, Bosnia-Hercegovina and Austria and Switzerland.

“Without doubt this is the biggest scam there has ever been in European football,” UEFA’s match-fixing specialist Peter Limacher said at a news conference on Friday in Germany, where the probe was organised.

By bribing players, coaches, referees and officials to influence matches, the gang is thought to have earned as much as 10 million euros in huge bets with bookmakers in Europe and Asia, primarily in China.

Around 300 police carried out around 50 raids on Thursday in Germany, Britain, Switzerland and Austria, arresting 15 people in Germany and two in Switzerland. More than a million euros in cash and property were seized.

BERLIN (AFP)

Tags: 10 million, allegations, beautiful game, bookmakers in europe, bosnia hercegovina, croatia, crooks, fc thun, football uefa, german paper, investigators, match fixing scandal, namur, news conference, referees, rigging, slovenia, sueddeutsche zeitung

DFB boss vows to punish betting fraudsters

November 21, 2009

Theo Zwanziger, president of the German Football Federation (DFB), on Saturday vowed to punish anyone in Germany involved with the betting scandal which has rocked European football.

European football is reeling after German prosecutors on Friday revealed 200 games are under suspicion of having been rigged in nine countries.

A 200-strong band operating across Europe is suspected of fixing matches in Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Croatia, Slovenia, Turkey, Hungary, Bosnia-Hercegovina and Austria, prosecutors here revealed on Friday.

By bribing players, coaches, referees and officials to influence matches, the gang is thought to have earned as much as 10 million euros (15 million dollars) in huge bets with bookmakers in Europe and Asia, primarily in China.

German on-line magazine Der Spiegel claimed on Saturday a referee from one of the country’s southern regional leagues was bribed in a game here last May and Zwanziger says any DFB members involved will be heavily punished.

“We will punish these people – they do not belong amongst us,” Zwanziger said.

“Where there is money, there is also corruption.

“It is important to get the message across that it is not what has happened, but how we handle it now.”

Around 300 police carried out around 50 raids last Thursday in Germany, Britain, Switzerland and Austria, arresting 15 people in Germany and two in Switzerland. More than a million euros in cash and property were seized.

Two of those arrested last Thursday included two Croatian brothers living in Berlin, Ante and Milan Sapina, who were at the centre of a match-fixing scandal that rocked Germany in 2004.

Investigators are also looking at 32 matches in Germany, including four in the second division, three in the third, 23 games in regional leagues and two under-19 clashes.

Elsewhere, 29 matches in Turkey from the first division downwards, 14 in Croatia’s first division, 13 in Hungary’s first division, eight in Bosnia-Hercegovina’s top flight and 11 in Austria’s first and second leagues.

In Slovenia, seven games in the first division have raised suspicions, as have 22 league games in the Swiss second division and six friendlies, plus 17 in Belgium’s second division, prosecutors said.

They warned that the list could get longer.

The German scandal saw referee Robert Hoyzer jailed in 2005 after admitting receiving almost 70,000 euros (104,000 dollars) and a plasma television from the Croatian brothers to throw games.

The worst European match-fixing scandal to date was the Calciopoli affair in 2006 involving five Serie A clubs, referees and high-ranked Italian football federation (FIGC) officials.

It resulted in heavy punishments for top-flight clubs including Juventus, AC Milan and Fiorentina, with Juventus stripped of the 2004-05 and 2005-06 league titles and were also demoted.

BERLIN (AFP)