Right, well football's back and we can finally put the Interlull behind us. Obviously there was plenty about Thierry, Ireland and France and what have you at Arsene's press conference yesterday but I think enough has been said on here about it.

The only thing I will comment on is his call for technology to be used to help referees.

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Por Rocheteau
Tanto hablar, tanto hablar, y resulta que la respuesta estaba en uefa.com. Por casualidad, tropecé con la crónica del partido según lo cuenta la casa suiza del fútbol. He aquí el relato.
Irlanda va venciendo 1-0. La pieza periodística es tirando a clásica, sin ritmo. Click to continue reading...

I was reluctant at first to write about this, and everyone from my non-soccer life was soliciting opinions on Henry's handball against Ireland, but I do have one or two things to say.
I first want to echo Brian Phillips remark yesterday: "Don't call it a "controversial goal." It was a visibly illegitimate goal. Click to continue reading...

Keith Hackett stating the obvious.

"I have said to managers in the past that this is an area of great difficulty for referees and it can come down to the viewing angle of the referee."

I think it is time to give him the goods on the human eye. The game has gotten a lot quicker and the art of deception even more perfect.

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Birmingham was hard done by Peter Walton's decision to award a PK after the French striker went down in the box from a tackle by Lee Carsley. Problem was Carsley never touched him. Steven Gerrard subbing for the injured Riera converted the penalty and Liverpool scraped a draw.

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En Retrofootball queremos hacer un artículo diferente. Esta semana reflexionamos sobre las competiciones europeas que consideramos tenían más emoción hace unos años.

Con la Ley Bosman y la necesidad de generar ingresos, la UEFA ha ido cambiando el panorama de las Competiciones Europeas los últimos 10 años.

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Yup, you guessed it... Michel Platini, better known as the Antichrist, is once again in the media criticizing Arsenal and Arsene Wenger. It is truly amazing how Platini has turned into a one-man crusade against Arsenal and his fellow countryman. We here at Arsenal Station have not long forgotten his psychologically-disturbed rant last season during which he exhibited the full extent of his obsession and disgust with Arsene Wenger.

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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.

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It never fails. Every interlull brings the inevitable 'Cesc-to-Spain' stories. Cesc to Barcelona, Cesc to Madrid, Cesc to Malaga, etc... Now, apparently, following their loss to Sevilla, Madrid once again are making noise. Arsenal have reportedly received bids of up to £60m for Fabregas over the last two seasons and each time the player and the club rejected them.

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The biggest threat to football's credibility in modern times Following Michele Platini's goal against Fulham last month, OTP can now lift the lid on another Brazilian player pretending to be a French superstar. Meet Makelele - or Leandro dos Santos de Jesus to his parents - of Brazilian outfit Coritiba. Click to continue reading...

Listen!
I wrote this a few days ago and forgot to post it - apologies...Fulham match report to follow.
Considering how some other websites *cough* Myles Palmer *cough* insist on finding the negatives even in victory, I think it's best to look at the last three games as a success. Click to continue reading...

Hello and welcome to episode 21 of the world famous Soccerlens Podcast. Join ex-footballer Adrian Clarke and esteemed sports journalist Iain Spragg as they chew over all things football.

This week Clarkey and Spraggy produce a lively verbal kickabout that includes European football debate, a case for the FA's defence, a peek inside the mind of Sol Campbell, a frank assessment of Platini's latest brainchild, previews of the biggest games across Europe, answers to YOUR questions and a special bonus feature on what it's really like inside Sepp Blatter's FIFA HQ.

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All the stuff being covered outside the unfriendly confines of the award winning Dirty Tackle...

The Telegraph's top 15 football websites. And we're #1. Though there were a few glaring omissions, I consider this a victory for all of us. As a collective force we can't be stopped.

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Manchester City chairman Khaldoon al Mubarak has started a war of words with UEFA president Michel Platini, criticizing the Frenchman for his apparent love for the "status quo."

al Mubarak's comments were sparked by UEFA's plan to set financial fair-play rules, meaning that clubs will only be able to spend on transfers as much as they make through television revenue, ticket sales, and commercial endeavours.

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Platini's masterplan to eliminate referee associated problems has been inaugurated.The Europa League kicked with two extra match officials, one behind each goal.
They are termed "additional assistant referees" - the short form of which is AARs - which is kind of difficult to say without giving offence.

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Una vez agotada la jornada de champions, voy a tratar de sintetizar mis percepciones sobre los equipos españoles y su participación en la jornada de ayer. Lamento haber colgado este post a unas horas tan intempestivas, pero la jornada futbolística y los medios de comunicación me han tenido ocupado, por ese problema de mi incapacidad de ser ubicuo. Click to continue reading...

All the stuff being covered outside the unfriendly confines of the award winning Dirty Tackle...

Real Valladolid invited a performing bear to training. [Off The Post]

Premier League players are now buying bullet proof cars because their lives are just like a Michael Mann film.

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UEFA's Executive Committee meets next week to consider recommendations that could change the face of European club football. "Financial fair play", as UEFA calls it, is the key item on the agenda, as the recommendations of the Professional Football Strategy Council (PFSC) made last month are up for approval (the PFSC was created in 2007, and consists of UEFA's vice-presidents and representatives of clubs, leagues and the players).

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There's no football.Time to take stock and indulge the missis, make of that whatever you like but it usually involves Morrison's these days. I was going to follow the cricket or the tennis but it seems we are being thrashed by the Australians in the first and there is not one English player in the top 100 in the second so perhaps I won't bother. Click to continue reading...

Futbol muhabbetlerinin en saçma ve en çok sorulan sorusu Arjantin-Brezilya maçı nedeniyle tekrardan akıllara düştü. Maradona mı Pele mi? Bana çok saçma ve içinde haksızlık barındıran bir soru öbeği olarak gelmiştir her zaman! Bana göre bu soru Pele mi Cruyff mu ya da Maradona mı Cruyff mu şeklinde olmalıydı. Click to continue reading...

Afternoon all,

have any of you ever watched Groundhog Day? You see, for me today kind of feels like yesterday, and the day before that, and maybe even the day before that. Is is the lack of football? Not sure. Is is the ongoing Eduardo divey thingy? Possibly. Is it the ongoing kerfuffle about the Wenger chant?

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Eduardo is NOT a diver...OK? So TGIF is raring to go and despite being rather predictable, boring and antiArsenal the aftermath of the Eduardo ban refuses to go away... There was the bewildering lack of transfer activity and of course there was some decent football played this week, by our Reserves.

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Something to read while you watch Konrad Frys score straight from kick off... Say ¡hola! to our first Spanish language Offside blog (Atlético Nacional Offside) Don't mess with Paolo Montero (Dirty Tackle) Platini plans to get tough on debt (GOAL) The American company marketing Russia's World Cup bid (Match Fit USA) Francesco's season off to a goalden start (Totti Offside) FIFA's [. Click to continue reading...

The Spoiler has more information on the Derren Brown advert RoM reported on yesterday.

The Daily Mail includes Michael Owen in their top 10 summer transfers.

Liverpool Kop look at football's cheats.

Dirty Tackle shows what a cock Platini is.

No.1 Fan has ripped off our 'UNITED, Kids, Wife - in that order' banner for their "must have" product.

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At yesterday's Champions League group draw, UEFA president Michel Platini honored recently retired Paolo Maldini with a special lifetime achievement award a fine gesture for a legendary player. Unfortunately, no one at UEFA could be bothered to spell check it.

The message on the award, written in Italian, reads: "In recognition of your excelent career and of your extraordinary contribution to football.

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Remember when the Champions League wasn't called the Champions League, but it was actually for champions and not a bunch of runners-up from Europe's biggest leagues? Well, we'll surely never return to the halycon days of the European Cup, but Ian Plenderleith at When Saturday Comes has a very good piece on the change to the qualification structure this season by Platini & co.

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Links to click while you watch Leo Messi and his terrible haircut dismantle Seattle... Bundesliga kicked off today, so read Jan's season preview (Bundesliga Offside) And read this coach specific preview (When Saturday Comes) Solving English fixture problems with software (Science Daily) Arsenal vs Celtic, part of Platini's plan (Reuters Soccer Blog) Illustrated Premier League map (Pitch Invasion) Toronto goes crazy [. Click to continue reading...

Once upon a time, Italian football was the centre of the universe. As recently as the turn of the decade, Serie A was the preferred destination for pretty much all of the world's top talents. From Maradona to Zico, Platini to Zidane, greats from all over the world flocked.

Nowadays things have changed slightly, and Italian football- despite the 2006 World Cup success- has fallen a bit behind its English & Spanish counterparts in terms of glamour and European prestige.

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(Juventus-Vicenza 1-1)
Altri risultati di calcio non particolarmente incoraggianti per la Juventus che chiude il ritiro di Pinzolo pareggiando 1-1 contro il Vicenza al Briamasco di Trento.
E' pur vero che ancora si trattano di gare amichevoli, e soprattutto di sgambate nelle quali ricominciare a correre, oliare i meccanismi e trovare l'amalgama in vista delle gare che contano. Click to continue reading...

World Soccer News
for week of 7/19
Ozren Podnar reports...

Manchester United cancel a friendly game due to Jakarta bombings
The English champions Manchester United cancelled a friendly in Indonesia to be played on Monday due to two bombing attacks last Friday in Jakarta. Click to continue reading...

Mentre i nazionali faticano a Pinzolo, il resto del gruppo scende in campo per la seconda amichevole stagionale. E' stato il "Platini day", con la Juventus che alle 12 ha raggiunto l'aeroporto di Nancy, poi l'arrivo nella città di Joeuf (città natale dell'ex calciatore bianconero e ora presidente dell'Uefa, Michel Platini). Click to continue reading...

La furia Real sul mercato internazionale e le cifre folli, decisamente insensate in alcuni casi (come i 93 milioni spesi per Cristiano Ronaldo), sborsate da Florentino Perez, un personaggio che ha sempre avuto manie di grandezza, hanno provocato la reazione di Michel Platini, attuale presidente dell'Uefa. Click to continue reading...

Times they are a changing in the Premier League

Six weeks ago the English press were running around like little school girls gushing over the brilliance of our national league. Three teams representing the Premiership had reached the last four of the European Cup two years on the bounce.

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World Soccer News
for week of 6/14
Ozren Podnar reports...
Jermaine Jones switches from Germany to the US team
The German-American midfielder Jermaine Jones has become one of the first soccer players to take advantage of the new FIFA's rule on changing national teams. Click to continue reading...

Real Madrid are going on a massive spending spree, first Kaka, now Ronaldo and there will be one more "galactico" before Perez starts to look at squad players. Â Real have borrowed money from the banks (I do not hear any cries of foul play from Platini over the debt at Real Madrid), but his is not a bottomless pit and sooner or later they will have to listen to offers for their players.

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