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31 December 2006
Ronaldo Named Portuguese Sportsman of the Year
Without a hint of irony respect Portuguese sports
daily A Bola have named diver
extraordinaire Cristiano Ronaldo as
Portugal's sportsman of the year for his
"important contribution to the
expansion of Portuguese football across the
World".
29
December 2006
Buffon And Juve Trio Cleared of Illegal
Gambling
Former Juventus players Antonio Chimenti, Enzo
Maresca, Mark Iuliano and current
goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon have been
cleared of illegal gambling despite betting on their own teams
matches.
The FIGC (Italian FA) opened investigations after
receiving evidence from magistrates in Parma. The players were suspected
of betting on five Juventus matches between 2004-2005. Buffon admitted to
betting on matches but claimed he stopped after the FIGC made gambling by
players on offence in 2005.
22 December 2006
Juve
Lose €243 Million Contract
Disgraced Italian giants Juventus
have had their shirt sponsorship with oil
company Tamoil terminated
following their relegation to Serie B for their role in the Calciopoli
scandal. Under the terms of the five year contract Juventus were set to
earn €106.50 between 2005 and 2010 with the remaining €136.50 if the
contract was extended for a further five years. Juventus had only
collected €36.51 million
before their enforced relegation. Juventus
have also had their contracts with Sky
Italia and Nike reduced by
30%.
21 December 2006
Borriello Tests Positive For
Banned Substance
Milan striker Marco Borriello has tested
positive for banned substance corticosteroids,
which are normally used
to treat asthma and can be either ingested or injected.
The sample was
taken following Milan's defeat against Roma at the San Siro on
November
the 11th. A statement released by the club read as follows :
"AC
Milan take note of the provisional suspension of player Marco Borriello
and
is sure that will this situation will be cleared up soon in the
best possible way."
18 December 2006
Cannavaro Named
FIFA World Player of the Year
Italy's World Cup winning captain
Fabio Cannavaro was named FIFA World Player of
the Year despite his
abysmal form for Real Madrid since leaving Juventus in
the
summer. On receiving the award, having already won the Ballon
D'or, Cannavaro
said :
"For me it's a great honour for me to be
here, because it has been an incredible
season and one of great
satisfaction. The competition is scary, so strong. It's
not usual for a
defender to sit between Ronaldinho and Zidane. Of course it must
be a
great compliment for the coaches I've had this year. It also
underscores
the way I am playing and look at the matches we are playing
in the teams I've
had, and at Real. I can't ask for anything else, with
the World Cup and Golden
Ball award. You can't do any better than
that."
The top ten, based on the votes of national team coaches and
captains was as
follows :
1. Fabio Cannavaro (Italy, Juventus
& Real Madrid). 498 points
2. Zinedine Zidane (France & Real
Madrid). 454 points
3. Ronaldinho (Brazil & Barcelona). 380
points
4. Thierry Henry (France & Arsenal). 317 points
5. Samuel
Eto'o (Cameroon & Barcelona). 300 points
6. Dider Drogba (Ivory
Coast & Chelsea). 150 points
7. Kaka' (Brazil & Milan). 139
points
8. Gianluigi Buffon (Italy & Juventus). 118 points
9.
Andrea Pirlo (Italy & Milan). 86 points
10. Cristiano Ronaldo
(Portugal & Manchester United). 69 points
12 December
2006
Reggina Get 4 Points Back
Reggina have had their 15
point deficit for their role in the Calciopoli scandal
(which no source
has actually detailed) reduced on appeal to 11 points.
Abramovich Not On Friendly Terms
With Mourinho
In the on going public row between Jose
Mourinho and the Chelsea board, owner
Roman Abramovich has denied any
role in team affairs but admits to not having
'friendly relations' with
Mourinho :
"We do not have friendly relations but they are warm
enough. Generally speaking,
I treat him with great respect and not only
because of his football
achievements. I'm not involved in team
selection. I cannot say I'm completely
not involved in buying players,
but my role would be significantly lower than
that of the manager's.
You cannot compare them. To give an example, this would
be an
impossible situation when a manager does not want a player to be
bought
and I try to impose ideas. It would not work."
8
December 2006
Doping Expert Calls For Blood Tests
The
former head of France's national anti-doping agency, Professor Michel
Audran
has said he is not surprised by rumours linking Eufemiano
Fuentes, a Spanish
sports doctor
accused of doping, with Spain's
biggest clubs (Barcelona and Real Madrid) :
"I wasn't at all
surprised. I don't know of any top level sport which has
escaped
doping. Football, where the number of matches has multiplied,
can't
avoid it either. Blood transfusions in football are not a new
thing. We've heard
about that happening already."
Fuentes is
accused of supplying IGF-1 and growth hormones. Audran added
:
"IGF-1 and growth hormones can be used by any athlete, for
competition, to re-
boost the muscles with glycogen and also used after
competition to help muscles
recuperate. It helps muscles recuperate
faster."
Audran was also critical of FIFA president Sepp Bladder
who famously resisted
calls to comply with WADA (World Anti Doping
Agency) guidelines for a number of
years before adopting them in 2004
:
"The WADA figures all relate to tests on urine samples, and it
would be better
if there were blood tests as well. Blatter believes
that in team sports doping
does not exist. So if you go on the
principle that it doesn't exist, you don't
look for it and so you don't
find it.
There's no supervision of footballers when it comes to their
blood analysis, so
we can't know what they're doing. It's not because
we don't find anything after
a urine test that doping doesn't
exist."
7 December 2006
MasterCard Win Injunction
Against FIFA
MasterCard has successfully sued FIFA for a breech
of contract after FIFA had
secretly opened talks with rivals Visa over
World Cup sponsorship, despite the
fact that MasterCard had first
refusal rights to sponsor the 2010 and 2014
tournaments. US district
judge Loretta Preska said :
"MasterCard's loss of the next FIFA
World Cup sponsorship would be, in now-
famous words, 'Priceless'
(MasterCard's slogan).". She added that FIFA had "lied
repeatedly to
MasterCard" and "lied to Visa" when assuring Visa that MasterCard
had
no first-refusal rights. The ruling said MasterCard would suffer
"irreparable harm arising from the loss of sponsorship rights to the
greatest sports spectacle in the World after a sponsorship of 16 years"
and in another exert the "actual and imminent harm for which a monetary
award cannot be adequate compensation."
Preska was also critical of
FIFA's witnesses, Tom Houseman who in her words
"holds himself out as
legal counsel but is not authorized to practice law in
any
jurisdiction", marketing director Jerome Valcke and two other
members of FIFA's
marketing department Robert Lampman and Stefan
Schuster. In the report Preska
wrote :
"FIFA witnesses at trial
boldly characterized their breaches as 'white lies',
'commercial lies',
'bluffs' and ironically 'the game'. Their internal e-mails
discuss the
'different excuses to give to MasterCard as to why the deal wasn't
done
with them,' 'how we (as FIFA) can still be seen as having at least
some
business ethics' and how to 'make the whole f*ck up look better
for FIFA.'. They
ultimately confessed, however, that it was 'clear
somebody has it in for MC
(MasterCard).'"
FIFA who are of course
no strangers to corruption, typically tried to defend the
indefensible
:
"FIFA is dismayed by the decision of the US Federal Court in New
York which
upheld MasterCard's complaint regarding the granting of the
financial services
category sponsorship package. FIFA will appeal this
decision and fully expects
to prevail. FIFA remains convinced that at
all times it acted in good faith and
it will therefore continue to
vigorously pursue its case."
G14 Warn FIFA
Arsenal vice-chairman and
G14 chairman David Dein has warned FIFA over plans to
limit the number
of foreign players in teams :
"This is totally illegal and it will
be challenged. If FIFA want to light a fire then so be it but it will be a
very hot one. I hope this idea doesn't go any further."
Lehmann
Criticises Cole over Autobiography
Arsenal goalkeeper Jens
Lehmann has criticised former team-mate Ashley Cole for
releasing an
autobiography at the age of 25 :
"Of course Ashley should expect
criticism from supporters on Sunday. He should
get criticism. That is
football. It makes the game exciting. If he didn't it would have
meant
that he wasn't an important player but he was. He was a vital member
of
our squad and we enjoyed some major successes with him. So obviously
he should
expect some negative emotions when he plays against Arsenal.
I do not understand why young players write books. I do not know why a
player at 25 wants to tell me all about their big experiences. When I
consider the age I am now, I would have a lot to tell people but it seems
to be an English habit to come out with books that nobody needs. I don't
know if Cole should have waited before writing his book but the English
mentality seems to be different to elsewhere. I will probably write one
when I retire but I am a bit older than these players. As I said, what is
the point of writing a book at 25?'"
Cole's book has laughably only
sold 4,000 copies.
Barcelona and Real Madrid Deny Links to Drug
Doctor
Barcelona and Real Madrid have denied suggestions that
they have worked with
Spanish doctor Eufemiano Fuentes who is under
investigation in an inquiry into
doping in cycling.
A statement
on Real Madrid's website read as follows :
"Real Madrid want to
deny in a forthright way any link, direct or indirect, of the club's
medical services with Dr Eufemiano Fuentes.'
A spokesman added
"Real Madrid have no links with Eufemiano Fuentes and never
have done.
None of our players can go to another doctor without the permission
of
the club and no one has asked permission to be treated by him."
A
statement on Barcelona's website read as follows :
"FC Barcelona
categorically deny the information published today Thursday by
the
French paper Le Monde in relation to a supposed and non-existent
use of the
services of the Dr Eufemiano Fuentes with the club and a
supposed and non-existing specific link with the club's preparation plans
last season. Furthermore, Barcelona reserves legal means it considers
convenient in the defence of the club's interests."
On being
questioned in relation to these links Fuentes said :
"I cannot
reply. I have been threatened with death. I have been told if I
say
certain things myself or my family could have severe problems. I
have been
threatened three times and I am not going to be threatened a
fourth time"
UEFA Hand Feyenoord Record
Fine
Feyenoord have been fined €125,000 following crowd trouble
during last month's
UEFA Cup group stage tie away to Nancy. Feyenoord
supporters threw missiles on
the pitch and police had to use tear gas
to stop them from invading the pitch as
the game was held up for half
an hour.
4 December 2006
FIFA
President Wants Summer Football
FIFA's idiot president Sepp
Bladder has repeated his call for a universal
football calendar
:
"I've already proposed that clubs play in summer so that the
season follows the
calendar. You play in the summer during the two
warmest months of the year and
take a winter break. The season would go
from February to November. It would
allow for a longer recuperation
period and for qualification matches (for international tournaments such
as the World Cup and European Championship) to be played in the
winter."
Bladder laughably claimed that "The big European clubs
back this idea.".
Henry To Take Leave of
Absence
Arsene Wenger has dismissed reports of a bust up with
star striker Thierry Henry
after the player reportedly stormed out of
training :
"I sat down with Thierry on Monday to discuss his
fitness and there is no problem between us. There is no problem between
us, we have always had a strong
relationship and that remains the
case."
In a post match interview following Arsenal's 3-0 win over
Tottenham, Wenger
admitted he did not know when Henry would return to
first team action. The
striker said he was taking a break for physical
and emotional reasons :
"Going out there not 100% fit is not the
way to help the team. We all decided I was going to take a bit of a rest
and come back when I am fully fit. That is why
I left the training
ground upset. Unless you are psychic you cannot know what
happened. I
just came here to support the team. People were saying I was already
in
France sulking or whatever but I just came here to support the team and
(help
us) bounce back from our recent result. What I need to do now is
get fit and injury free and then I will be out there and helping the team
the best way I can."
He added :
"I came back from the World
Cup a bit tired. I played a lot of games and emotionally losing two finals
like that (the Champions League and World Cup finals) is not easy.
My
sciatic nerve is playing a bit with me, I've had that for two or three
months. I have to rest. If that includes today and that includes Chelsea.
I hope it is going to stop there. It might go further but I have
been saying since the beginning of the season that I'm nowhere (near)
fully fit and I came back into the team trying to help.
No one forced
me not to play, it was just a discussion we had. I was upset about
it
because I do not like to not play but you have to be honest and listen to
your body. No-one knows what we said to each other and still people are
speculating."
1 December
2006
Perez Banned For Racism
Ajax's striker Kenneth
Perez has been given a five match ban after calling linesman
Nicky
Siebert a "black cancer" during a league match against Twente on the
19th
of November 19. Perez later gave a written apology :
"I am
profoundly ashamed of this hurtful insult directed at Mr Siebert to whom I
present my sincerest apologies. The stupidity of my comment is totally
different
to the way I behave in my life every day and the way that I
bring up my children."
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