Harry Redknapp, the Tottenham Hotspur manager, has said in court that he believes he is being victimised because of his cockney accent (an accent peculiar to those from London). The cockney accent in British culture has long been associated with deviant behaviour, much like in New York an Italian might be stereotyped as being part of the mafia simply on the basis of the person being Italian.

After Mario Balotelli's controversial late night curry, an OTP source has provided a copy of the Manchester City striker's receipts. No wonder Roberto Mancini was angry: it's a bit heavy on the stomach. Breaking into a women's jail-frezi Why always me-sala? Madras-cal Achar-red mansion Tikka pot-shot at a youth teamer Mafia pathia

The Homeless World Cup and Alzheimer Scotland. Two charities doing fantastic work. You know the donation drill.
Penultimate post time.
A suggestion from @theftblproject just minutes ago planted the seed for this post.
His Tweet read:
"In your very first post you wrote "Maybe Mr Romanov knows where this is going" - Five years on, does he?

Youth unemployment This hilarious video from Chelsea TV shows investigative journalist Daniel Sturridge confirming the suspicions that we all had about the old boys' mafia at Stamford Bridge. Sturridge reveals how the likes of Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka always go first during a knockout shooting session.

Mario Balotelli's turbulent Manchester City career has taken another unsteady turn with the striker ordered by Italian police to explain his links to the country's Mafia.

By Chris Wright

Another day, another 'it couldn't happen to anyone else' tale of Balo-madness.

According to the Beeb, Italian police have requested an interview with Mario Balotelli over a visit he paid to a known 'Mafia hotspot' in Naples almost a year ago.

Mario Balotelli has done it again. He has manage to make a bigger fool of himself by disrespecting Los Angeles Galaxy fans in a friendly with his current club, Manchester City. It's a miracle he is still playing for this side or that Robert Mancini hasn't encouraged mafia Italian fans to deal with him, if you know what we're saying.

The following are reader comments from our new series, "Your Take," that were posted here on the Brotherly Game on Sunday. Enjoy.

bluetooner:

#3 JDG
He is obviously in witness protection from the Columbian mafia, and can't be seen on TV.

danielfarrell:

My best guess is that he's there still here as a favor for a connection in Columbia, or because of his implications to our recruiting in Columbia.

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Often, when bold remarks from an organization become public, they answer more questions than they raise. When a statement comes across as the one released by Scottish Premier League club Heart of Midlothian over the weekend, including references to blackmail, the mafia, and paedophiles, one must query not only just what exactly that statement is speaking to but also the wisdom of presenting such an announcement as an official club statement.

Uh huh. The Kickette Scientific ManCandy Research Institute confirms abs on the radar. Images via unamadridista & Getty Images.

'Member the scandal involving Mesut Özil and his nummy little tumkin that our hardened hacks uncovered recently? Aside from the weight gain mafia/fasting debate we unintentionally kicked off, we learned that you were rather taken with Mesut's pouch.

Off The Ball never rests in its mission to scratch around the underbelly of professional football to find the most bizarre, humorous and inexplicable stories.

This week, Barcelona begin the Clasico mind games by giving Real Madrid the manita, Diego Maradona's 1986 Golden Ball is 'melted down' by the mafia, Nemanja Vidic almost cries, Luis 'The Owl Kicker' Moreno boots a human and an awful statue of David Beckham is unveiled in Iran.

After 23 years of repressive dictatorial rule, Tunisia took an enormous step in freeing itself from it's chains of oppression yesterday with the departure of western backed tyrant Ben Ali and the Trabelsi state sanctioned mafia (some high profile members of which are rumored to still be in the country and attempting to flee).