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| 30 JUNE 2002 Brazil Fans Killed In Suriname 35 year old Jefferson da Silva Brito, a Brazilian gold miner, was shot dead in Suriname during a party held to celebrate Brazil's World Cup victory over Germany. Two other Brazilian gold miners were wounded in the shooting at a mining camp. 28 JUNE 2002 FIFA All Bullshit World Cup Squad FIFA have released their World Cup All Star squad and typically several players have been picked for political reasons. Dr Jozef Venglos, the former Aston Villa and Celtic coach, who was a disaster at both clubs, was part of the selection committee and to keep everyone happy FIFA picked 16 players : Goalkeepers Kahn (Germany) Rustu (Turkey) Well at least FIFA got something right. Defenders Roberto Carlos (Brazil) Campbell (England) H M Bo (Korea) Hierro (Spain) Alpay (Turkey) Hierro was easily the most solid of these players defensively. The omission of Rio Ferdinand is simply ridiculous. Roberto Carlos has shown nothing defensively. Midfielders Ballack (Germany) Reyna (USA) Rivaldo (Brazil) Ronaldinho (Brazil) Y S Chul (Korea) I didn't know Rivaldo was a midfielder. Donovan was by far the USA's most impressive midfielder. Forwards Ronaldo (Brazil) Diouf (Senegal) Sas (Turkey) Klose (Germany) Diouf - a forward who doesn't score goals and so far Klose has only scored during the group stages. KirchMedia Get Bundesliga Rights KirchMedia have paid €290 million for the broadcasting rights to the Bundesliga seasons 2002-2003 and 2003-2004. Premiership Still Richest League In The World A report on the 2001-2002 season by accounting Deloitte and Touche has found : Top flight clubs (division one or Premiership) generated a total income of €6.6 billion The top five leagues (England, Italy, Spain, Germany and France) generated 78% of the total revenue with English clubs accounting for 24% (€1.65 billion) Premiership clubs operating profits rose by 51% to €134 million The Bundesliga was the only other top European league to make a profit Broadcasting fees between the top clubs in the big five leagues made up 46% of their total income The head of Deloitte and Touche Sport, Gerry Boon, said : "The English Premiership are the undoubted financial champions of Europe - generating the highest income and making the highest operating profits." 27 JUNE 2002 David O'Leary Sacked Leeds have sacked coach David O'Leary. Chairman Peter Ridsdale claimed the clubs failure to win a Champions League place was the reason behind the decision : "We agreed with David at the start of this season that the Champions League was the only measure of success and we failed to achieve that. I understand the shock but most Leeds supporters have told me that what they want to see is silverware and after a £100million investment we have failed to achieve that." "After four years, given some of the pressure off the field perhaps it was time to freshen up and make a change. It was fair to everyone to make a fresh start." Ireland coach Mick McCarthy and Celtic's Martin O'Neill were early favourites to succeed O'Leary but they are unlikely to leave their current post. South Korea coach Guus Hiddink seems an obvious choice. O'Leary is thought to have lost the confidence of his players after criticising several of them in his book and in the press. Leeds supporters have been critical of the football played by Leeds over the past season. "I went in this morning thinking I've got my holiday during which to organize things for next season and the chairman told me 'you've got the sack." David O'Leary 24 JUNE 2002 Rio Ferdinand Transfer To Man United Imminent? "I have spoken to Leeds chairman Peter Ridsdale. At that stage he was not for sale and there has been no other contact since then. Tentative enquiries have been made about players because we are obviously looking at our squad for next season." - Man United chief executive Peter Kenyon "I've heard all the speculation about me leaving and as far as I'm concerned it's up to Leeds. If they want to keep me I will be staying, if they decide to sell me that's different. I'm planning to go on my holidays and just intend to relax." Rio Ferdinand "And the bottom line is that if Rio tells me he thinks that Manchester United are a bigger club and that he wants to go on to another level, then what can you do? Keep an unhappy player, and an unhappy £30 million rated player at that?" - Leeds coach David O'Leary Four Dead As Turkey Celebrate Overzealous celebrations of Turkey's quarter-final victory over Senegal has lead to four people dying in traffic accidents in the cities of Mersin and Izmit. Eight others were injured and there were 50 minor traffic accidents. 12 people were injured after being hit by stray bullets but none of the injuries were serious. Spanish Duo Retire Real Madrid and Spain captain Fernando Hierro (34) and Barcelona midfield Luis Enrique (32) have announced their retirement from international football. 23 JUNE 2002 Spanish Official Resigns In Protest Spanish soccer federation chief Angel Maria Villar has resigned from FIFA's referee committee in protest over the appalling officiating during Korea's quarter-final victory over Spain. Spain had two goal disallowed. 22 JUNE 2002 FIFA President Critical Of Officials "The whole system of selecting and designating referees needs to be looked at. We must return to a trio of officials of the same nationality because lack of communication has been the cause of several mistakes." FIFA president Sepp Blatter English Supporter Arrested Peter Damien Clack (40) was arrested in Shizuoka after throwing a plastic bag with a Brazil football shirt onto the tracks of the bullet train travelling from Kakegawa to Tokyo. Clark could face up to one year in prison or a fine of €420. 20 JUNE 2002 RAI Consider Legal Action Against FIFA Italian state broadcaster RAI are threatened to sue FIFA following Italy's controversial second round exit against South Korea : "The legal affairs department of RAI has been tasked with studying the possibility of a legal action against FIFA for reimbursement for damages sustained by the company following the elimination of the Italian team from the current World Cup, as a consequence of the unanimous recognition of obvious refereeing errors." RAI paid €80 million for the World Cup rights with viewing figures for Italy matches estimated at 20 million. Sponsors have invested more than 140 million but viewing figures are expected to half following Italy's exit. French Passport Scandal Verdict The agent of two former strikers of French first division side St Etienne, Brazilian Edinho Nazaret Filho, has been given an 18 month jail sentence, fined €50,000 and banned from France for five years. Gerard Soler, an official at St Etienne, was given a two year suspended sentence, fined €50,000 and banned for one year. Brazilian players Alex Dias de Almeida and Aloisio Jose da Silva and Ukranian Maxym Levytsky received four-month suspended sentences and were fined €50,000, €60,000 and €20,000 respectively. Boy Commits Suicide Over Davala Haircut A 13-year-old Turkish boy committed suicide on Thursday after he had a row with his father for copying the Mohican hairstyle of Turkish midfielder Umit Davala. The boy's father made him go to a barber and get the remainder of his hair shaved off. The boy then hung himself with a belt from a window. 19 JUNE 2002 Panini Remove Sticker From Shelves Legendary Football sticker makers Panini have removed the World Cup edition of their stickers from shelves in protest of the officiating during Italy's World Cup matches. Commercial director Umberto Leone said : "It's a sign of protest for the refereeing that Italy have had to put up with. We took this decision after Tuesday's match, which just served to show that referees have been biased against Italy, as has been evident in the previous matches." The stickers are still available to collectors by mail order. Eto'o Banned Mallorca striker Samuel Eto'o has been given a four match ban by the Spanish Football Federation's disciplinary committee for head butting Miguel Angel Angulo during a league match between Valencia and Mallorca in April. 18 JUNE 2002 Vieira - Lemerre To Blame "Roger (Lemerre) was just not up to it, it was too much for him. He made errors, that's for sure and he has had to take his part of the responsibility in this situation like all the players and members of staff. We really messed up our World Cup. You can call it bad luck, poor concentration, bad preparation. We just messed up." - Patrick Vieira 17 JUNE 2002 Garcia Aspe Retires Mexico midfielder Alberto Garcia Aspe (35) has announced his retirement from international football. German Legend Fritz Walter Dies Fritz Walter, captain of West Germany's 1954 World Cup winning side, died aged 81. Walter scored 33 goals in 61 games for West Germany and won two championships with Kaisersluatern in 1951 and 1953. He died peacefully in his sleep. 16 JUNE 2002 World Cup Bet Murder Two cousins have been charged with the murder of 19 year old man after arguing over a World Cup bet in Lexington County, USA. Eduardo Velasquez was stabbed in the chest by 28 year old Jamie Cruz Palma and 24 year old Jerado Palma. England Fans Rampage After Victory 120 police were called in to stop 100 England 'fans' rioting after England's victory over Denmark in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent. Superintendent Ian Ackerley said : "It is extremely disappointing that yet again, this minority of people cannot celebrate England's victory without resorting to violence, aggression and confronting police officers." No Military Service For Korean Players As a reward for reaching the second round of the World Cup South Korea's Defense Ministry have said 10 players will be expect from 26 months of military service. The other members of the squad have already served their time. Military service is mandatory for South Korean men. |