Everyone is having their s(pr)ay about the already notorious Thierry Henry incident. That his act was abominably unethical is undisputed; the more significant fallout from his brazen piece of gamesmanship is likely to be yet more discussion about the issue of video assistance for referees.
To clear the ground first: the calls for a replay of the match are essentially unfounded. Click to continue reading...

Something to read while you watch the madness at the Maracana... Israel halts construction of Palestinian stadium (BBC.co.uk) This FIFA conspiracy goes deeper than we though (Studs Up) Five football injustices (Shortlist) What happens when you fart in a referee's face? (Sports Rubbish) A lot of Top 10s for 2010 (Pies) Goal-line referees for World Cup 2010? Click to continue reading...

The appetite for commentary on the farce in Paris still seems strong, and I thought Arsene Wenger had a very wise take on the entire situation today.� Wenger is, obviously, a French supporter and very close with Henry.� In fairness to the Irish fans, the world football community, and for the sake of Henry, he called for the game to be replayed.

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Big Story
UEFA yesterday revealed more information about investigations into over 200 individuals alleged to have fixed matches in nine different countries with a press conference. This revealed that the vast majority under suspicion are domestic matches, with the German authorities having requested information from UEFA's Betting Fraud Detection System in a number of cases, making 17 arrests yesterday.

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Welcome to another edition of Groan in Brief, the weekly look at the world of football in bullet point form. Today, we tackle the Worst Handball Ever in History And Time Itself ™, and the curiosity of Egypt's continued absence from the grandest stage of international football.

'That' handball

Whenever the media decide to jump on a story, what transpires is the most unsightly of feeding frenzies, each reporter seeking to trump the last.

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After that cesspool of a result in Paris on Wednesday, it is nice to turn our attention to a league where the sportsmen are pure, the referees are beyond reproach and the game is always played with a spirit of manly honor – the MLS.� Or something like that.

Sunday's game will feature the best team in the west this season against the best team in the west right now.

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Thierry Henry's left forearm makes first contact with the ball but then as the ball bounces off ever so slightly his hand comes up and he steers the ball onto his foot. The first touch was inadvertent but his second touch had clear intent. What is so amazing about this is that the linesman on the opposite side should have seen happened because as far as one can see his vision remains unobstructed with Henry furthest out clear of the Irish defenders and Shay Given.

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Seems like a whole lot of past and present Arsenal connections have played or are playing a very influential part in the France vs Ireland match and its aftermath.

The latest is Liam Brady calling FIFA for a replay which he says would be only fair given that it was a clear handball by Thierry Henry that set up William Gallas equalizer.

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What are the laws of football for?� � You get sent off for dangerous play because it's dangerous.� You get sent off for fouling too much because you shouldn't foul too much.� � But what are the implications of these dastardly acts?� Usually nothing.� Just the general cleaning up of the game and allowing it to be the free-flowing attacking game we all love.

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Thierry Henry helped France into the World Cup with a handball that won't soon be forgotten in Ireland (or anywhere for that matter).

Here's Henry's Diego Maradona impression:

We'll take part of the blame for jinxing Henry by running the above photo with the Wednesday Commentary post, but in the end, the French star cheated and won't live it down any time soon.

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Thierry Henry helped France into the World Cup with a handball that won't soon be forgotten in Ireland (or anywhere for that matter).

Here's Henry's Diego Maradona impression:

We'll take part of the blame for jinxing Henry by running the above photo with the Wednesday Commentary post, but in the end, the French star cheated and won't live it down any time soon.

Click to continue reading...

French striker Thierry Henry committed a blatant handball against Ireland today in the World Cup Qualifier which led to a goal by William Gallas and sent France to the 2010 World Cup, leaving Ireland's dreams dashed and Irish football supporters feeling understandably bitter.

The blatant handball by Henry was disgraceful and a horrible way to send Ireland out of the World Cup qualifying.

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If you haven't heard by now, Sir Alex Ferguson has received a 2 match ban (and a 20,000 pound fine) for comments made about Alan Wiley, the official for our 2-2 draw with Sunderland. Sir Alex may have implied that Wiley was "fat", simply by stating that he was not "fit" to officiate the match.

Now we all know that officiating is a very hard job.

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The Head Man at Manchester United, Gary Neville, had what I would call a "well-intentioned" idea about officiating in the Premier League that has a snowball's-chance-in-hell of happening.� Neville wants the Premier League to come up with a "pool" of good officials to officiate the most important and biggest Premier League matches.

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Man United captain Gary Neville has said that only the most experienced and ‘elite' referee's should take charge of the biggest games. I think it is fair to say that there have been some high profile decision's that have gone against United but should ‘elite' referee's really take charge of high profile games? Click to continue reading...

The Telegraph ran this story about a new set of Premier League rules being passed, giving the press and media rights holders wider access to the managers and players.

The gist of the story was:

1. players can be interviewed immediately after a match [ie, players of winning teams only.

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According to England manager Fabio Capello, thug-in-a-shirt Wayne Rooney could have the same impact for England that Pele, Johann Cruyff, Michel Platini and Diego Maradona had for their respective countries. In my view, Rooney doesn't even deserve to be mentioned in the same sentence as those players. Click to continue reading...

Yesterday Man United manager Sir Alex Ferguson was handed a four-match touchline ban (two of which are suspended) and a £20,000 fine after remarks he made about referee Alan Wiley.


It is being reported today that there is still a chance that Wiley could sue Sir Alex for defamation. Click to continue reading...

England and Argentina have one of the most intense rivalries in world football, surely the only classical cross-continental footballing rivalry. Being two of the most passionate footballing nations in the world, and much more closely associated than many know (indeed, the English brought football to Argentina in the 19th century! Click to continue reading...

Jonny Evans has reiterated the comments of other United players and fans in claiming that big decisions have gone against us so far this season.

"We are usually quite good with referees," Evans said. "I think there are a lot of teams that do a lot of play-acting, but I don't think that's the case with Manchester United.

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Yesterday Man United manager Sir Alex Ferguson was given a touchline ban and a fine after comments he made about referee Alan Wiley. United drew 2-2 with Sunderland at Old Trafford earlier on in the season, after the game, Sir Alex said that Wiley was ‘unfit'.
Sir Alex was given a four game ban, two of which are suspended until the end of the 2010/2011 season. Click to continue reading...

The international break means there will be little club news to report. But it seems some sort of groundwork is already being set in motion, with the transfer window a month and a half away.

Here's Schalke defender Marcelo Bordon, in an interview to German newspaper, Bild on goal keeper, Manuel Neuer:

"I know it would be terrible for the supporters of the club, but you have to keep the situation of the club in mind.

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A smart Alex.

Sir Alex Ferguson was given a four match touchline ban and a fine for 20,000 pounds following his attack on Alan Wiley's fitness. But the referees union is still baying for evermore blood. Here is Alan Leighton of Prospect, the referees union.

"From our point of view it is disappointing.

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Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has received a two-match touchline ban for his comments about referee Alan Wiley's fitness.

The Football Association handed the 67-year-old a four-game ban, with two of those suspended until the end of the 2010/11 season.� Ferguson has also been fined £20,000 and warned about his future conduct.

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Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has received a two-match touchline ban for his comments about referee Alan Wiley's fitness.

The Football Association handed the 67-year-old a four-game ban, with two of those suspended until the end of the 2010/11 season.� Ferguson has also been fined £20,000 and warned about his future conduct.

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Sir Alex Ferguson has been handed a four match touchline ban as well as a £20,000 for questioning the fitness of referee Alan Wiley.

After spending an unusually long time to book Anton Ferdinand in the second half, Ferguson claimed this was because Wiley needed a chance to get his breath back.

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Man United midfielder Darren Fletcher hasn't had the best of weeks when it comes to decisions of referee's, he has put that down to what Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said about him.
Fletcher has only just returned from injury for United, last Wednesday he has his feet taken out from under him against CSKA Moscow in the Champions League. Click to continue reading...

These have probably been a very uncomfortable couple of days for David N'Gog. The dramatics with which he won the penalty against Birmingham might be lauded as cunning elsewhere but, as many have been eager to point out to him, they aren't as celebrated in England.
The flip side, of course, is that the penalty got a point for Liverpool. 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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All the stuff being covered outside the unfriendly confines of the award winning Dirty Tackle...

'80s Totti needs to be real. [ONTD]

Florentino Perez is already making excuses for this season. [FourFourTwo]

Iker Casillas is a matchmaker. [Kickette]

Newcastle fans are trying to buy their club to avoid further embarrassment.

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The clubs at the top of the table keep crawling along. The clubs at the bottom keep sinking. Referees had a forgettable weekend and in between a player and a coach dropped bombshells.

Philipp Lahm. Bayern's disappointing draw at home against Schalke. Robben's moment of madness for which he should have seen a red card.

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I tread lightly as I am intending to bring up one of everyone's favourite subjects, namely diving, referees and what we do about it.I only saw the replays of David Ngog's acrobatics against Liverpool and he has been roundly criticised for his disgraceful and theatrical dive that earned the Scousers an ill-deserved point. Click to continue reading...

The Football Is Fixed blog is three years old tomorrow.
We intend for this next year to be our final one for the blog.
We originally established a strategy allowing for an exit route after either four or five years (either 11/11/10 or 11/11/11 for the numerologicals among you).
Following recent events, we are plumping for 4. Click to continue reading...

Denmark's Footballer of The Year

I have always believed that everyone has their advantages and flaws in certain areas that is different from one another. Some can paint, some can sing, some can dance, while others are just plain stupid. Case in point, Darren Fletcher. After the Chelsea game, he was quoted to say that

I think we are starting to see Mr Wenger's comments starting to influence referees which is a shame really.

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I think these are our most covered topics. We've discussed it here, here, and here, and provided material for Patrick Barclay. If you read those articles (which I don't suspect for a second you will) you'll see our position is abundantly clear. There were two incidents this weekend that fulled the debate one in the United/Chelsea game, and one in the Liverpool/Birmingham game.

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