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You might have seen the rather outrageous dive by Arsenal's Eduardo which gave the Londoners the lead from the penalty spot against Celtic in the Champions League yesterday.

After following the Twitter comments of Houston Dynamo supporters on Wednesday night and reading the various reactions of bloggers on Thursday, I was finally able to actually see the match that has stirred up so much controversy.
Houston's CONCACAF Champions League group stage match in Panama against Arabe Unido was at best a bad anomaly and at worst a shambolic example of what a complete joke CONCACAF is.

Here's a tip: if you ever become president of UEFA and everyone is up in arms about one of the most blatant dives in recent memory that just happened to occur in your top competition, don't say that you would have done the same thing. That's just a no. For reasons that I really shouldn't have to explain.

Everyone please take their seat. No talking! Please take out your scantron sheets and your #2 pencils. The Final Exam will commence momentarily. If you cheat, you will be red carded and given an F. If you completed the required reading and attended class, you should do fine. If you were stoned, you should still get an A.

Big Story

He might not be the best mainstream American sportswriter, but he's pretty much the bellwether of mid-America's attitude to sports, as much as we can have one in these fragmented Twittering and blogging times: Bill Simmons, aka ESPN's Sports Guy, went down to Mexico City for the U.

It had always looked a desperate, last-ditch attempt to avoid introducing video technology, but on Thursday night the true folly of Michel Platini's idea to introduce an extra assistant referee behind each goal in Europa League matches was truly exposed.

Kelly committed the foul.
Hangeland got the red card
Platini's wonderful system of having extra referees behind each goal post blew a major fuse in Roma's 1 -1 draw with Fulham a couple of days back.Stephen Kelly's foul on Riise occurred 10 yards from where the additional assistant referee, Johan Verbist, was stationed to one side of the Putney End goal.

For the second straight season, the Columbus Crew's Chad Marshall was selected as the league's best defender. Marshall was named as the MLS 2009 Defender of the Year Thursday, joining Carlos Bocanegra and Robin Fraser as the award's only two-time winners.

2009 has been a tremendous success for Marshall, named in July as an All-Star, and earning five caps with the U.

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Image via Wikipedia

Manchester United have started their Premier League campaign with a 1-0 victory over Birmingham at Old Trafford. United put early pressure on Birmingham and it was no surprised when United took the lead in the 34th minute through Wayne Rooney.

After what sounds like an absolutely epic appeal by Arsenal worthy of a Hague courtroom, UEFA has overturned Eduardo's two-match ban for diving. How you feel about the decision likely has a lot to do with your thoughts on whether such punishments are truly effective deterrents to such nefarious acts.

Match Officials announced for Tuesday's match against Hartlepool Utd

Mr. Chris Sarginson, will be the man in charge at Edgeley park on Tuesday Night.

Sarginson was a Select Group Assistant Referee in 2005 and in the same year was appointed AR in FA Challenge Vase Final, the Football League Play-Off Final and a UEFA Cup Tie.

Match Officials announced for tomorrow's match against Southend Utd

Mr. Steve Bratt, will be the man in charge at Edgeley park tomorrow.

Now aged 30 he started refereeing at 14 years of age and eight years later was promoted to level 3. After only one season stepped up to level 2 where he remained for seven seasons until promoted to the National list of referees in 2006.

Major League Soccer is now some distance beyond meaningless matches in 2009 - apart from one, which I'm sure you'll identify - and the playoff spots are starting to become occupied. One or two teams have slipped badly in recent weeks and they need to pick up their form quickly to avoid their season becoming a disaster.

For the second season in a row, the Columbus Crew's Chad Marshall was named the best defender in Major League Soccer. Marshall joins Carlos Bocanegra as the only other player to win consecutive MLS Defender of the Year awards. Also on Thursday, MLS announced Alex Prus as the Referee of the Year and Greg Barkey as Assistant Referee of the Year.

The UEFA 2010 World Cup Qualifying Playoffs wrapped up on Wednesday, November 18, 2009 with the second legs. Greece faced Ukraine in one of the matches with the score 0-0 on aggregate after the first leg. Here's a recap of the match along with video highlights.

Greece beats Ukraine 1-0 Video Highlights

Greece scored a first half goal and was able to hold Ukraine scoreless as they earned their spot in South Africa next summer.

There was one spot left in the African region (CAF) for next summer's 2010 World Cup Finals heading into Wednesday, November 18, 2009. Algeria played Egypt with the winner to punch a ticket to South Africa. Here's a recap of the match along with video highlights.

Algeria defeats Egypt 1-0 Video Highlights

Algeria clinched a spot in South Africa next summer with a 1-0 win over Egypt.

The final 2010 World Cup spot was determined on Wednesday as Costa Rica and Uruguay played in the second leg of the CONCACAF/CONMEBOL Playoff. Uruguay had a 1-0 lead after the first leg with the second leg taking place on Wednesday, November 18, 2009. Here's a recap of that match along with video highlights.

Image by Ricardo Machado design e ilustração via Flickr Portugal Carlos Queiroz was delighted to see his boys maintain the early second half goal where he addressed that his team plays well away than at home. Without the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo in their ranks it was always tense and a 50-50 chances in [.

Ireland's loss may be football's gain. Fifa may fast-track the approval of an additional assistant referee on each goal line in time for next summer's World Cup in South Africa. This system is currently being tested in the Europa League. As we well know, on-the-spot human judgment is not perfect, but an additional referee positioned by the goal would have been in a prime position to spot Thierry Henry's handball and could have helped unapologetic referee Martin Hansson make the right call.

Today was the start of the Europa League, and the full debut of UEFA's experiment with goal-line referees, one of whom is pictured above looking rather lonely during tonight's CSKA Sofia vs Fulham Group E game (which ended 1-1, since you asked). The big idea is that the two new goal-line assistants (one at each end) [.

Back in June, as Major League Soccer was finding its stride on the other side of the Atlantic, Michel Platini and UEFA confirmed that this year's Europa League would be the testing ground for a new officiating structure.

By adding an 'additional assistant referee' behind each goal line, Platini hopes to do away with the cheating which occurs in the penalty area, from a playful tug on the shirt at a corner to the game's crime of the moment, diving.

A dejeted looking Souza and Marcos as Náutico thrash the leaders 3-0

Despite a shock 3-0 loss at strugglers Náutico, Palmeiras remain five points clear at the top of the Brasileiro with nine games to go. As usual when the Palestra Itália outfit slip up, none of their main rivals were able to take advantage as no one in the top five managed to win.

Jogaram em Praga, no General Arena, para um público de 14.010 pessoas, as seleções da Rep. Tcheca (15º no ranking da FIFA) e Polônia (56º no ranking da FIFA).
Antes desse jogo, as 2 seleções haviam jogado:
23 jogos, 13 vitórias da Rep. Tcheca, 4 empates, 6 vitórias da Polônia, 49 gols da Rep.

Jogaram pelas eliminatórias da Copa do Mundo, em Larnaca, no estádio Antonis Papadopoulos, para um público de 3.700 pessoas, as seleções do Chipre (65ª no ranking da FIFA) e Bulgária (23º no ranking da FIFA).
Antes desse jogo, as 2 seleções jogaram:
Eliminatórias Copa do Mundo:
2010Sofia 01/04/2009 BUL2:0 (1:0)CYP First stage1998Sofia 02/04/1997 BUL4:1 (3:0)CYP First stage1998Limassol 14/12/1996 CYP1:3 (1:2)BUL First stage1974Sofia 18/11/1973 BUL2:0 (1:0)CYP First stage1974Lyssi 19/11/1972 CYP0:4 (0:3)BUL First stage
Amistosos:
2007Nicosia 07/02/2007 CYP0:3 (0:1)BUL Final stage1979Larnaca 16/01/1979 CYP0:1BUL
1977Limassol 30/01/1977 CYP1:2BUL
1974Morphou 06/02/1974 CYP1:4BUL
1973Nicosia 28/01/1973 CYP0:3BUL
O quarteto de arbitragem foi o seguinte:

• Referee: Paul ALLAERTS (BEL)
• Assistant Referee 1: Dirk GILON (BEL)
• Assistant Referee 2: Michael KEYEN (BEL)
• Fourth official: Johan VERBIST (BEL)

Aos 11 minutos do primeiro tempo, 10 Konstantinos CHARALAMPIDIS abriu o placar para o Chipre.

Jogaram na cidade de Inssbruck, no estádio Tivoli Stadium, para um público de 14.200 pessoas, as seleções da Áustria (58º no ranking da FIFA) e Lituânia (59º no ranking da FIFA).
Antes desse jogo, as 2 seleções jogaram 2 vezes:
Amistoso
1992Vienna 14/04/1992 AUT4:0 (3:0)LTU
Eliminatórias Copa do Mundo
2010Marijampole 10/09/2008 LTU2:0 (0:0)AUT First stage
O quarteto de arbitragem foi assim definido:

• Referee: Serge GUMIENNY (BEL)
• Assistant Referee 1: Mark SIMONS (BEL)
• Assistant Referee 2: Danny HUENS (BEL)
• Fourth official: Luc WOUTERS (BEL)

Aos 16 minutos do primeiro tempo, 17 Marc JANKO abriu o placar para a seleção da Áustria.

Jogaram em Dublin, no estádio Croke Park, para um público de 70.640 pessoas, as seleções do Eire (34º no ranking da FIFA) e Itália (4º do ranking da FIFA).
Antes desse jogo, as 2 seleções jogaram:
Copas do Mundo
1994
New York/New Jersey
18/06/1994
ITA
0:1 (0:1)
IRL
Group matches
1990
Rome
30/06/1990
ITA
1:0 (1:0)
IRL
Quarter-finals
Eliminatórias Copa do Mundo
2010
Bari
01/04/2009
ITA
1:1 (1:0)
IRL
First stage
Eliminatórias Eurocopa
1972
Dublin
10/05/1971
IRL
1:2 (1:1)
ITA
Preliminary round
1972
Florence
08/12/1970
ITA
3:0 (2:0)
IRL
Preliminary round
Amistosos
2005
Dublin
17/08/2005
IRL
1:2 (1:2)
ITA
1992
Foxboro
04/06/1992
IRL
0:2 (0:1)
ITA
1985
Dublin
05/02/1985
IRL
1:2 (0:2)
ITA
1926
Turin
21/03/1926
ITA
3:0 (3:0)
IRL
O quarteto de arbitragem foi assim definido:

• Referee: Terje HAUGE (NOR)
• Assistant Referee 1: Steinar HOLVIK (NOR)
• Assistant Referee 2: Frank ANDAS (NOR)
• Fourth official: Espen BERNTSEN (NOR),

Aos 8 minutos do primeiro tempo, 6 Glenn WHELAN abriu o placar para a seleção da Irlanda.

Jogaram em Bratislava, na Tehelne Pole, as seleções da Eslováquia (33º no ranking da FIFA) e a seleção da Eslovênia (49º no ranking da FIFA).
Antes desse jogo, as 2 seleções jogaram:
Amistosos:
2004Trnava 17/11/2004 SVK0:0SVN
1998Limassol 06/02/1998 SVN1:1 (0:0)SVK
1993Prievidza 16/11/1993 SVK2:0 (0:0)SVN
Eliminatórias Copa do Mundo
2010Maribor 10/09/2008 SVN2:1 (1:0)SVK First stage
O quarteto de arbitragem desse jogo, foi definido assim:

• Referee: Wolfgang STARK (GER)
• Assistant Referee 1: Jan-Hendrik SALVER (GER)
• Assistant Referee 2: Mike PICKEL (GER)
• Fourth official: Babak RAFATI (GER)

Aos 27 minutos do primeiro tempo, 10 Miroslav STOCH (27') recebeu o primeiro cartão amarelo da Eslováquia.

Pity the lonely referee at the side

With Arsenal only playing on Sunday night, I will not start to preview the game just yet. Today's topic may not impact Arsenal at least for the current season but depending on how it turns out, may have a large bearing for Arsenal. The Europa League was introduced this season to replace the old UEFA Cup.

For the second straight season, the Columbus Crew's Chad Marshall was selected as the league's best defender. Marshall was named as the MLS 2009 Defender of the Year Thursday, joining Carlos Bocanegra and Robin Fraser as the award's only two-time winners.

2009 has been a tremendous success for Marshall, named in July as an All-Star, and earning five caps with the U.

O segundo jogo da repescagem, Oceania/Ásia, foi realizada em Auckland, na Nova Zelândia, entre a seleção da Nova Zelândia (83º no ranking da FIFA) e a seleção do Bahrain (61º no ranking da FIFA).
Antes desse jogo, as 2 seleções jogaram:
03-10-1979 - Bahrain 0x2 Nova Zelândia (Amistoso)
08-10-1979 - Bahrain 1x2 Nova Zelândia (Amistoso)
10-10-2009 - Bahrain 0x0 Nova Zelândia (Eliminatórias Copa do Mundo)
O quarteto de arbitragem para esse jogo, foi assim definido:

• Referee: Jorge LARRIONDA (URU)
• Assistant Referee 1: Pablo FANDINO (URU)
• Assistant Referee 2: Mauricio ESPINOSA (URU)
• Fourth official: Roberto SILVERA (URU)

O único gol do jogo, foi anotado aos 45 minutos do primeiro tempo, com o camisa 14, Rory FALLON.

Jogaram em San Jose, no Ricardo Saprissa Stadium, pela repescagem americana para a copa, as seleções do Costa Rica (43º no ranking da FIFA) e a seleção do Uruguai (25º no ranking da FIFA).
Antes desse jogo, as 2 seleções jogaram:
04-02-1990 – Uruguai 2x0 Costa Rica (Amistoso)
14-05-1991 – Costa Rica 0x1 Uruguai (Amistoso)
02-08-1992 – Uruguai 2x1 Costa Rica (Amistoso)
18-08-1999 – Uruguai 5x4 Costa Rica (Amistoso)
16-07-2001 – Uruguai 1x1 Costa Rica (Copa América)
22-07-2001 – Costa Rica 1x2 Uruguai (Copa América)
O quarteto de arbitragem desse jogo, foi assim definido:
Referee: Alberto UNDIANO (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Fermin MARTINEZ (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Juan Carlos YUSTE JIMENEZ (ESP)
Fourth official: Carlos CLOS GOMEZ (ESP)
Aos 21 minutos do primeiro tempo, Diego LUGANO, fez o único gol do Uruguai no jogo.

Jogaram em Dublin, no Croke Park, pela repescagem européia, as seleções da Irlanda (34º no ranking da FIFA) e a seleção da França (9º no ranking da FIFA).
Antes desse jogo, as 2 seleções jogaram:
21-02-1928 – França 4x0 Irlanda (Amistoso)
23-05-1937 – França 0x2 Irlanda (Amistoso)
16-11-1952 – Irlanda 1x1 França (Amistoso)
04-10-1953 – Irlanda 3x5 França (Eliminatórias Copa do Mundo)
25-11-1953 – França 1x0 Irlanda (Eliminatórias Copa do Mundo)
15-11-1972 – Irlanda 2x1 França (Eliminatórias Copa do Mundo)
19-05-1973 – França 1x1 Irlanda (Eliminatórias Copa do Mundo)
17-11-1976 – França 2x0 Irlanda (Eliminatórias Copa do Mundo)
30-03-1977 – Irlanda 1x0 França (Eliminatórias Copa do Mundo)
28-10-1980 – França 2x0 Irlanda (Eliminatórias Copa do Mundo)
14-10-1981 – Irlanda 3x2 França (Eliminatórias Copa do Mundo)
07-02-1989 – Irlanda 0x0 França (Amistoso)
09-10-2004 – França 0x0 Irlanda ((Eliminatórias Copa do Mundo)
07-09-2005 – Irlanda 0x1 França (Eliminatórias Copa do Mundo)
O quarteto de arbitragem desse jogo, foi assim definido:
Referee: Felix BRYCH (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Thorsten SCHIFFNER (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Mark BORSCH (GER)
Fourth official: Michael WEINER (GER)
Aos 27 minutos do segundo tempo, Nicolas ANELKA, fez o único gol do jogo.

Jogaram em Lisboa, no Estádio da Luz, pela repescagem européia, as seleções de Portugal (10º no ranking da FIFA) e a seleção da Bósnia-Herzegovina (42º no ranking da FIFA).
Antes desse jogo, as 2 seleções nunca haviam jogado.
O quarteto de arbitragem desse jogo, foi assim definido:
Referee: Martin ATKINSON (ENG)
Assistant Referee 1: Peter KIRKUP (ENG)
Assistant Referee 2: Philip SHARP (ENG)
Fourth official: Andre MARRINER (ENG)
O único gol do jogo, foi anotado aos 31 minutos do primeiro tempo, por Bruno Alves.

The UEFA 2010 World Cup Qualifying Playoffs had their second legs on Wednesday, November 18, 2009. One of the match-ups was Portugal v Bosnia-Herzegovina, where Portugal led 1-0 after the first leg. Who was able to win and advance to South Africa next summer? Here's a recap of the match along with video highlights.

The guilty look on Drogba's face sort of says it all....
Its difficult to not just 'go off on one' when you write immediate after a match. My writings are not 'match reports' as some other blogtastic peoples claim to write. They are a reaction to whats just happened on a green pitch.

A league in Bethesda, Maryland, has tried fining parents who misbehave at youth soccer games, but that didn't work. They just paid it and kept yelling. So now they banished them from the sideline forcing them to watch from 100 yards away. Many used binoculars to see the action.