As the Thierry Henry story rumbles on into its fourth day, a story is starting to break which might begin to put it into perspective. It is a story that is breaking from Germany and involves the arrest of seventeen people in connection with what would be the biggest, most systematic match-fixing ring that European football has ever seen.

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Manchester United and France left-back Patrice Evra has told the press of his inability to drink his favorite drink, Sprite, after seeing nothing but green in it. France take on the Republic of Ireland this weekend in a crucial World Cup qualifyer, and Evra has quickly learned to despise all things green.

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In a press conference yesterday Martin Palermo talked about the Maradona scandal and Messi's form with the national team.

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Indeed, Gary Neville is a red...and he hates Scousers Cheeky bugger! Expect a plethora of beachballs to be taken to Anfield next weekend. a2a_linkname=document.title;a2a_linkurl="http://wdkf.co.uk/2009/10/18/just-lol-gary-neville-in-beachballgate-scandal/"; Posted in As Such, LOLs Tagged: Beachballs, Gary Neville, Liverpool, Manchester United Click to continue reading...

Here's the setup Going into the last day of the Maranhão State League second division season in Brazil yesterday, two clubs sat atop the league with the same number of points: Viana and Moto Club. On this decisive day, Viana hosted Chapadinha, a club they had a scoreless draw with the last time they played, and Moto Club took on Santa Quiteria.

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momento24.com

Daniel Vila requested Maradona's resignation

The chairman of Channel America and of club Independiente Rivadavia of Mendoza, Daniel Vila, asked today in a letter sent to AFA that the coach of Argentinian football, Diego Armando Maradona, resigned.

"Qualifying was very important for Argentina.

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Karl Dhont, head of UEFA's anti-corruption agency, is claiming that football's "biggest scandal ever" is going to be revealed in November and that it will rock the world of football. IMScouting is reporting that UEFA has unearthed 40 games that had "irregularities," throwing both domestic and Champions League games into disrepute.

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Beyond the nation's borders, Italian football has certainly faded into the background in recent years. A devastating match-fixing scandal in 2006 bitterly overshadowed the country's World Cup triumph that year while the domestic league has clearly become a one-horse race ever since. Reigning champions Inter Milan have shown no signs of a slip up in the Serie A for the last three seasons and that trend continued with their strong start to the current season as well.

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Here's some unwanted news: Jay DeMerit blinded himself with a contact lens. Yep. That's right. A contact lens.

From Soccernet:

The 29-year-old U.S. defender accidentally cut his eye a couple of weeks ago as he took the lens out at the team hotel, and it has since become infected.

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UEFA has confirmed that it plans to investigate 40 cases of suspected match-fixing in the Champions League and UEFA Cup. Most of the cases were from Eastern Europe and involved games in the early qualifying rounds of the tournaments, according to Peter Limacher, UEFA's head of disciplinary services.

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Even the presence of newly-crowned US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro - a noted member of the Los Xeneizes family didn't bring Boca Juniors the luck they needed yesterday.

Cristian Chavez scored the decisive 90th-minute winner for Godoy Cruz as they defeated Boca Juniors 3-2 at the Bombonera stadium.

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Just look at that smile.
He's beeming over the performance of his English national team. No, that's not it. This is a new-look happiness.
Ahhhhh, it must be because he was cleared in a tax evasion scandal.
That's it... Click to continue reading...

Southampton police have contacted the FA regarding the Matt Le Tissier betting scandal.
The former Southampton captain and England international admitted gambling on a Premier League game in which he was playing.
Le Tissier admitted in his autobiography, Taking Le Tiss, that he gambled on the time of the first throw in the Saints' 2-0 win at Wimbledon in April 1995. Click to continue reading...

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SCOTLANDS WORLD CUP HEARACHE

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The Tartan Army was left to drown its sorrows last night as Scotland's World Cup dreams were crushed again. Click to continue reading...

By CARL ELDRIDGE Roll up, roll up, read all about it. This morning's papers offer a decent smattering of Arsenal stories ranging from the club's appeal on the Eduardo divegate scandal to Arsene Wenger being hit with an FA warning. The Sun kicks off by telling us that the Gunners have confirmed they will appeal against Eduardo's ban for diving.

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After all I've done for you?

Of course after last night's Night of the Living Fat Man in RFK (featuing the amazing disappearing career of Josh Wicks) people are strewing palm fronds in the path of his badly overloaded donkey and proclaiming Sigi the King of the Coaches, a title which Bruce Arena, among others, may have something to say about before it's all said any done.

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It's funny how karma works. Chelsea took an inhumanely stern line with Adrian Mutu, and now FIFA has taken a stern line with them.

The Blues have been found guilty of "inducing" French midfielder Gael Kakuta to break his contract with Lens in 2007. FIFA has forbid them to participate in the next two transfer windows, barring them from signing a player until 2011.

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Some of you may remember the scandal of result fixture in the 2005 Campeonato Brasileiro. At the time, referees Edílson Pereira de Carvalho and Paulo José Danelon were caught being bribed by "investors" to fix results that would benefit their bets in international websites. When caught, Carvalho was even jailed and confessed his participation.

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As Chelsea strolled out of Sunderland on Tuesday night, most of Sunderland's players headed home with their heads down and their tails between their legs. One man, though, is enjoying a phenomenal start to life at a new club. That man is none other than Darren Bent.

In the first half Darren Bent gave the Black Cats a 1-0 lead over Chelsea.

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Oh yes, we're back in China - and it ain't for the football. Another day, another scandal. The latest nugget comes to us from Chongqing and their Dutch coach, Arie Haan, who is quite lucky to have a job this morning, frankly. It's not an altogether rare occurrence when a coach disagrees with a penalty [. Click to continue reading...

This week's furor over Manchester United "stealing" Le Havre's Paul Pogba shows, to me, the deeply conflicted ethical issues at play regarding underage players in today's soccer world.
The player here, Paul Pogba, is a very highly rated 16 year old who plays for Le Havre. According to Le Havre, Man U have offered his family money/employment for him to end a contract he has signed with the French club. Click to continue reading...

Another Twitter scandal hit the world of football yesterday. This time, it's Darren Bent feeling the heat after expressing his frustration with a transfer out of Tottenham via his account @db10thetruth. Click to continue reading...

It looks like the Borough Boys will have to wait for an MLS team in Queens.
According to Michael Lewis at the NY Daily News:

New York City soccer fans will have to wait longer than expected for an MLS expansion team in the city.
MLS commissioner Don Garber said on Thursday night that plans for a team has been placed on hold.

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Peter Crouch has proposed to his girlfriend, Abigail Clancy. During their recent holiday in Sardinia, he popped the question - and of course, she said yes.

Peter and Abbey have been dating for 3 years.

The early part of their relationship was a little hectic, with the two breaking up after Abbey's cocaine scandal and some sort of drama with another bloke.

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Peter Crouch has proposed to his girlfriend, Abigail Clancy. During their recent holiday in Sardinia, he popped the question - and of course, she said yes.

Peter and Abbey have been dating for 3 years.

The early part of their relationship was a little hectic, with the two breaking up after Abbey's cocaine scandal and some sort of drama with another bloke.

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Andre "Andreia" Albertini, one of the three transvestite prostitutes who were invited back to Fat Ronaldo's hotel room last year before he realized they were all men and kicked them out without paying, died from AIDS last Thursday.

According to Albertini's mother, he contracted HIV back in 2006, obviously meaning he was carrying the virus when Ronaldo had his close encounter with him.

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As if managers weren't stressed enough, they now have phone tapping to deal with! Sir Alex Ferguson and Alan Shearer are among the alleged victims of the News of the World phone tapping scandal. The Manchester United boss and the in-limbo possible future/former Newcastle manager are both said to have left messages on the hacked phone [. Click to continue reading...

With this article, I realize that I risk angering some staunch Inter Milan supporters. But since I have waited three long years to express my views on this issue, I feel obliged to let them out. The truth is, I simply can't fathom why no one can stop Inter Milan in the Italian Serie A.

Perhaps it is the lackluster attitude of their guilty rivals ever since the notorious match-fixing scandals of 2006.

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Now most of the Aussie media is focusing on a lack of Harry but real fans of the game knows tonight, and every game from here to South Africa, is crucial for ANY Aussie who gets to play for the National team.
Every game, every minute on the park is crucial for Stefan Stefanutto, Rhys Williams, Jade North, Scott McDonald and Nicky Carle to name a few. Click to continue reading...

We would hope that the inventor of these exercise machines has received some sort of knighthood. Because, well, they're excellent.

Btw, Brazil is playing Egypt right this very minute - are you watching any of the Confederations Cup action? We caught the NZ v Spain 0-5 game, and are looking forward to the USA v Italy game later today.

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We would hope that the inventor of these exercise machines has received some sort of knighthood. Because, well, they're excellent.

Btw, Brazil is playing Egypt right this very minute - are you watching any of the Confederations Cup action? We caught the NZ v Spain 0-5 game, and are looking forward to the USA v Italy game later today.

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Even the strayed Argentinean sailor will probably be compared to Maradona in Naples. In this part of Italy Diego is the measure for everything, bigger than life and yet sometimes despised like the trash, piling up by the gate of the magnificent bay.

Such comparison didn't pass Lavezzi by either, but unlike some of his previous colleagues, he managed to mark one part of Napoli history just like Maradona did.

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Take a look at this fan.
Only in soccer right.
How about some links:

• Pele v. Maradona again? [Futbolita]
  
• A look at Sounder FC hatred. [SSE]
  
• Stuart Holden and NBA guard Kyle Lowry are BFF's. [MLSR]
  
• Least valuable EPL XI (flawed, but pretty good).

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The last weekend of the 2008/09 season finished with the domestic Cup titles up for grabs in Scotland and England. In the FA Cup Final, it was Everton facing Chelsea, while Rangers faced Falkirk in the Scottish Cup. Here's a full recap of both matches.

Chelsea v Everton - FA Cup Final - May 30, 2009 - A dream start for Everton as they scored in the first minute and had the lead.

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Richard Caborn maybe embarrassed that a BNP member was allowed to attend the opening of the World Cup bid. A jarring note, potentially undermining a major selling point: England's inclusiveness.

However it is the expenses scandal rocking England that is proving a major embarrassment for the Labour party.

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