Everybody is talking about it, so I thought I'd join in. It has been dubbed the Hand of god II. As if the plot of this sequel is similar to the first one.

Before we can go into further debate, I'm not denying that it wasn't a handball. It will be very difficult to suggest otherwise. The actual handball happened in two parts, the first seemed accidental but the second most definitely wasn't.

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So, the "story" that David N'gog took a dive against Birmingham to win a crucial penalty is funny to me because it isn't really a story at all. Of course, it is in Birmingham where everyone is ga-ga over the "cheating" of Mr. N'Gog and those disgusting footballers from Liverpool. I wonder if the fans in Birmingham are as honest as they want Liverpool and N'Gog to be.

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People living in poverty near Soccer City stadium outside Johannesburg battle police during anti-World Cup protests. Local residents demand houses rather than world-class stadiums.
Recommended reading: Ashwin Desai's The Poors and this article.

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I feel the game against the Mancs is timely. What better way to show to the fans our resilience if not by winning this much-anticipated game. This is the sort of games when form is thrown out of the window.

What I would like to see today is a game in which all our players give their all and play themselves to the ground.

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Fans of TPL side Chonburi are none too impressed after being told they would have to play their final home game of the season against Thai Port in Bangkok at the Supachalasai Stadium.
This sanction was imposed after some Chonburi fans were alleged to have assaulted some members of the media at a recent home game. Click to continue reading...

This may be the Bialo Czerowni's most important game of the year. Sadly, not because we still have a chance to qualify for the next year's World Cup, but because of the "Empty Stands" initiative, a fans' boycott of the national team game. The protest is not aimed at the players, but at the Polish FA who are held responsible for all that's bad in Polish football.

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In this interview (originally published on A Liverpool Thing) with their new chairman Chris Stirrup, Paul Grech asks a few questions about AFC Liverpool's progress after a couple of seasons, including the $64,000 question of whether the club has become to close to the club that it was supposed to formed as a reaction to.

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Episode 42:
"The Answer to the Question of Life, The Universe and Everything Else"
Host: Scott
Panel: Sarah, Brian, Jason D.
Listen on the CSRN Media Player
DOWNLOAD Episode 42
32-Bit (Small File)
96-Bit (Large File)
Available on iTunes, just search Winning Ugly
"Forty-two," said Deep Thought, with infinite majesty and calm. Click to continue reading...

Arsene Wenger is my hero of the day. Yep, I said it. I, a Manchester United fan, hearts Arsene Wenger. Who knew he had a sense of humour? The Arsenal manager was sent off by referee Mike Dean after he kicked a water bottle in protest over Robin van Persie's disallowed goal in injury-time in the 2-1 [. Click to continue reading...

Inside the stadium, outside the stadium - it matters not to fans of Eastern European football. Where there's a crime to be done, a protest to be made, they'll be there. While Red Star Belgrade fans were busy making trouble for the Czech police before their fixture, Dinamo Bucharest fans got busy making trouble for [. Click to continue reading...

We're less than 72 hours away from the U.S.-Mexico match at The Azteca and this is what EA decides to upload on Youtube?! A new clip from the as-yet unreleased FIFA10 with a verde-clad Blanco dropping his signature move and then scoring on our Timmy?! Ouch.
Either they've made a choice as to who they're siding with on Wednesday or they possess a significant lack of knowledge/sensitivity when it comes to soccer culture; how do you think the English market would react to a similar promo that featured Michael Ballack finishing off England just before they met in a crucial Euro qualifier? Click to continue reading...

That is, protests against the AFA, not protests on the part of the AFA. At six on Tuesday evening, two coaches dropped off sixty or seventy people outside the AFA headquarters who proceeded to mount a protest against current AFA President Julio Grondona. Earlier in the day, José Sand was sold by Lanús to Al Ain [. Click to continue reading...

Showdown Sunday alright and Richard's Bok SAF can look back on a job well done, collecting a crucial three points in a feisty affair at Tampines Stadium.
And yet it could have been so different had Aliff been able to convert Noh Alam Shah's cross while the score was still scoreless. But Tampines were made to pay for that miss and also a night when their delivery into the box was too poor too often. Click to continue reading...

UPDATE: Donation has been made to Dynamo Charities!
Well I wasn't able to get to $500 but we did get $200! Not too bad.
Fundable.com has taken their 10% usage fee (part of the deal) but because I'm such a nice guy, I'm kicking in the difference to get the final donation back to $200. Click to continue reading...

Hard economic times can also foster innovation, and it's no surprise that a supporter-owned and run club, FC United of Manchester, this summer became the first club I've heard of to allow supporters to set their own season ticket prices.

In May, the Unibond League club formed in protest at the Glazers' takeover of Manchester United, explained their decision:

The Board is excited to announce a radical new campaign in which you can decide how much you pay for your own season ticket this summer.

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Il Corriere dello Sport understands Liverpool have flown to Italy for talks with Roma about the prospect of signing Alberto Aquilani.
Yesterday Roma fans staged a protest expressing their anger at the club's lack of activity in the transfer market this summer.
As takeover talks come to a standstill and with no new investment in sight, Roma will have to sell if they are to buy ahead of next season. Click to continue reading...

The news coming out of Fiorentina today is that Arsenal have until Friday to finalise a deal if they wish to sign Felipe Melo from them. Juventus talks have collapsed after Marco Marchionni's refused to sign for Fiorentina on the deal they offered him. To add to this Fiorentina's supporters staged a  protest that one of their best players was being sold to a bitter rival, consequently with this in mind Fiorentina want to sell to Arsenal and have set a Friday deadline date.

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There was trouble yesterday at Milanello, the AC Milan training base.
The first day back from the summer holidays got off to the worst start as hundreds of angry Ultras turned up outside the club's training ground during today's lunch-hour.
Not happy about the way top players like Kaka are being sold and no reinvestment is being made in the team, bottles, various objects and flares were hurled towards the club buildings as journalists from Sky Sport Italia ran for cover. Click to continue reading...

It's been about a week since Kaka was officially unveiled as a member of Real Madrid and about a month since it became clear he wasn't going back to Milan plenty of time for the AC Milan tifosi to experience their anger, let it pass, and move on with their lives, right?

Not so much.

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Angry Scousers attacked three RBS branches in the early hours of this morning in protest against the bank's decision to refinance the £300m+ loan taken out by the club's owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett. The doors of Liverpool's...

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World Cup qualifying: Iran needed to beat South Korea to qualify for SA 2010. The political dimension of the game, however, made it, shall we say, a political football...
Eight Iranian players wore green wristbands and the captain, Ali Karimi, wore a green armband, showing support for the embattled Mir Hossein Mousavi. Click to continue reading...

June 16 in is national holiday in South Africa. Youth Day commemorates June 16, 1976, when students in Soweto rioted in protest against the introduction of Afrikaans as the language of instruction of half their school curriculum, sparking eight months of violent uprisings across the country. Youth Day is a national holiday in honor of all the young people who lost their lives in the struggle against Apartheid and Bantu Education. Click to continue reading...

I just got my profile set up at www.footbo.com - social networking for football fans by football fans. Something between my cable modem and my computer is going really slow this evening so I haven't been able to get around the site as much as I would like yet, but I look forward to exploring it soon.

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Seeing Red, MLS fans, journalists and supporters band together for better officiating.
This season for whatever reason has seen a high number of questionable calls. Many supporters have observed that it seems to be getting worse. Several players and managers have been fined for talking about it. Click to continue reading...

1. They are a world leading provider of risk management services, insurance and reinsurance brokerage, human capital and management consulting, and specialty insurance underwriting.

2. They were founded in Chicago in 1919.

3. Their revenue for last year was $7.471 billion.

4.

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Something to read while you enjoy this pyrotechnic protest in Poland... Chivas USA vs Chicago LiveBlog, 7:30pm US PDT (MLS Offside) Champions League Final viewing figures (TV by the Numbers) Or the not very Champions League if you prefer (SoccerLens) When Fluminense fans attack (SportsRubbish) Terry Venables crystal ball is broken (The Spoiler) Jon Champion to "CommonTweet" the FA Cup Final [. Click to continue reading...

A couple of months ago, Southampton Leisure Holdings, the holding company which owns Southampton Football Club went into administration. There was a brief and ineffectual protest from Southampton FC based upon the argument that this particular holding company wasn't the same as the football club, and that they shouldn't, therefore, face any sanctions from the Football League.

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Why are people such assholes?Paolo Maldini's San Siro exit turns sour after Roma defeat AC Milan: Paolo Maldini's final appearance in front of the San Siro crowd turned sour not just because his side were beaten 3-2 by AS Roma but also because of a protest by a section of fans.While the majority of the crowd applauded him enthusiastically, at the south end some fans unfurled a giant Milan Click to continue reading...

The Costa Rican football federation has ordered that the Verano final between Liberia Mía and Herediano be postponed until further notice. Saprissa have filed a protest claiming that Liberia played the second leg of their semifinal with three players who should have been suspended due to yellow card accumulation -- Minor Díaz, Pedro Salazar, and Michael Umaña. Click to continue reading...

From the UEFA Web site:

With regard to the UEFA Champions League semi-final second leg between Chelsea and FC Barcelona in London on Wednesday, UEFA has received both the referee's and delegate's report. UEFA is currently examining those reports, as well as gathering additional evidence.

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"Manchester United have the right to file a protest within 24 hours of the match, however a protest against a caution or sending off is only admissible if the referee's error was to mistake the identity of the player."

"Bad News As Expected" was originally published at The Republik of Mancunia. Click to continue reading...

Southend United Chief Executive Geoffrey King has apologised for accusing Blues fans of fighting between themselves during Saturday's game with Leicester City at Roots Hall.
In a statement on SUFC's official website, Mr King blames police for giving him false information regarding an incident in the West Stand. Click to continue reading...

Riley is a good referee. He's an honest referee. He's not a Manchester United fan - he was, but like all true United fans he's moved on to supporting FC United of Manchester in protest at the American scum taking over his beloved club.

If anything, he's more fond of Everton than he is of Manchester United.

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Because they stupidly dismissed Barca's appeal for the revoking of Messi's yellow card and Pep's sending off.
What gives? Leo was booked for no existing reason, and Pep's protest was perfectly in place. Well, okay, perhaps he did get a bit too carried away, but that's hot.
Apparently though, the UEFA don't think so. Click to continue reading...

Yah, he is back. He is surely back. He is surely back to his best. After a series of not so great performance, Lionel Messi produced what he knows best, exciting football to maul a very talented Bayern Munich side. Two first half goals from Messi, and one each from Eto and Henry all in the first half was enough for Barca to see off the German challenge. Click to continue reading...