West Ham striker Demba Ba has denied being responsible for starting a brawl at the relegated club’s end-of-season gala awards on Monday night.It was suggested trouble began when Ba refused to sign an autograph for a fan at the function at Grosvenor House Hotel in London.
Police were called after tables were overturned, a vase smashed and chairs thrown, with security allegedly pursuing a group of fans as they fled the premises.
But the Senegal forward denied claims he had snubbed a supporter.
“I did sign the autograph,” Ba wrote on Twitter. “I never refuse to sign autograph to the fans.”
“He came to me saying he is tired to watch us play and was looking for confrontation.”
Co-owner David Sullivan later claimed that a drunken supporter had racially abused a player at the function.
“The whole incident has been blown out of all proportion,” Sullivan said. “It was one individual who had too much to drink, sadly a problem in British society.”
“A player was racially abused by the same drunken supporter, which is not acceptable. Sadly one drunken supporter let the club down.”
The incident came on the back of a 3-2 Premier League defeat to Wigan, which condemned West Ham to the Championship.
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The result led to the immediate sacking of manager Avram Grant ahead of the club hosting Sunderland in their final game of the season on Sunday.
The relegation brings to an end a dramatic few seasons in the top flight for the Hammers since their promotion for the 2005-06 campaign.
That season the club impressed with a mid-table finish under Alan Pardew and almost won the FA Cup final, eventually falling in a penalty shootout to Liverpool after a dramatic 3-3 draw.
Wigan boss Roberto Martinez hailed his maturing side after they overcame ten-man Sunderland 2-0 at the DW Stadium.
Goals from Jordi Gomez and Hugo Rodallega earned the improving Latics a second league victory of the season.
Wolves lost captain Karl Henry to a red card after a rash 11th-minute challenge on Gomez and Martinez was happy with the patience his players showed.
Earlier in the season they failed to overcome ten-man Sunderland in a 1-1 home draw.
"I was extremely proud of the players, how they found the solutions, how they learned from the last experience against Sunderland and we created many chances," said Martinez.
"The pleasing aspect was we limited Wolves to nothing. The maturity and responsibility of the players in a no-win situation was very, very good.
"It needed a bit of magic to open the scoring but you could see after the first goal it was going to be a lot easier."
Meanwhile, Martinez pulled no punches when he described Henry's X-rated tackle on Gomez as the worst he had seen during his time in management.
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"It wasn't just the first contact. Karl catches Jordi with his knee, he comes with real force and you fear the worst," he explained.
"I felt it was a broken leg. He was a very fortunate man."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Runaway League 1 leaders Charlton Athletic travel to Dean Court on Saturday, looking to maintain their unbeaten run in 2012, the only side within the football league with this status intact. Following crushing wins over Stevenage and Chesterfield in the past 3 days respectively, they currently lie 13 points ahead of 2nd placed Sheffield United and 15 points clear of 3rd placed Sheffield Wednesday.
Few would have predicted that with 21 new summer recruits Charlton would have found this league so easy, and with 13 games still to go some may now say that 100 points is up for grabs. Brighton fell just short last season after they lost their final two games to finish the season on a very respectable 95 points. With the Addicks 16 points clear of what Brighton were on at this very stage last season, you feel it would be inevitable to achieve the feat. However during the week it was thought Chris Powell had told his players to still keep their feet firmly on the ground. I’m sure he will not want to be reminded of the nightmare he had the backend of last season, winning just two of their final 19 games. One thing is for sure his Charlton lads will have to be at their best this weekend, when they come against a decent Bournemouth side, still not out of the playoff mix. It also means a return to their former clubs for both left-back Rhoys Wiggins and midfielder Danny Holland’s.
Coinciding with this fine run of form for the Addicks is the recent revisit to goal scoring form for Bradley Wright-Phillips. Before Saturday’s game against Stevenage he had not scored in 14 games since netting the only goal in a 1-0 win over Brentford back in November. However he followed that effort against Stevenage with his first ever senior hatrick against Chesterfield to take his tally to 18 goals for the season. Despite his lack of goals Charlton have still not fallen apart and this surely demonstrates how strong the squad Powell has put together is. It appears that his rough patch is now over and Charlton fans can hope he can add to his 18 goals over the final few months of the season as the countdown to promotion gets closer and closer.
Saturdays opponents are 10th placed Bournemouth who are just five points off a playoff spot, although they have played two games more than 6th placed Stevenage. Among their ranks include former Addick Harry Arter who despite showing promise never made it at the Valley. It appears that he has found his feet at Bournemouth and the central midfielder is Bournemouth’s 3rd top goal scorer with 6 goals. The Cherries also recruited Matt Tubbs from Crawley Town. Tubbs, who has a massive 141 career goals from 262 appearances, will be a real threat but surprisingly after scoring on his debut he has not found the net since. Let’s hope this continues on Saturday as we look to extend our lead at the top. 100 points doesn’t feel too far off now.
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With the bad boy theme running on Football FanCast this week I thought it would be apt to supply you with a video list of some shocking incidents seen over the last few years on the football pitch. From player bust-ups, to dodgy tackles and even the bizarre actions involving referees and fans, there were many to choose from. Players are expected to be professional on the pitch, respecting the referee, respecting the opposition and being able to control their anger but football is a passionate game, which the following top 10 shows.
10: Mascots Fighting – This is one of the most bizarre incidents and although it does not feature football players, when do you see opposing mascots having a real punch up on the pitch? Well it happened between Wolves’ mascot Wolfie and Bristol Rovers’ three little piggies. Unfortunately this is the most light hearted of the entries in the list.
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9: Ruud Van Nistlerooy receives Arsenal attack – After winning a last minute penalty against Arsenal, Ruud Van Nistlerooy steps up to smash home a winner from the spot for Manchester United but it hits the crossbar and comes back out into play. The match is shortly over and Martin Keown along with his team mates decide to let the Dutchman know what they think of him.
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8: Di Canio pushes Ref – Although this incident is bad it is rather humorous at the same time, Sheffield Wednesday’s Paulo Di Canio was sent off in a game against Arsenal at Hillsborough and the passionate Italian shoves referee Paul Alcock. But the way the ref falls to the ground makes it look more comical than a serious matter.
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7: Gattuso loses it – Recent incident involving the AC Milan captain gradually losing the plot in the Champions League game against Tottenham Hotspur. He takes exception to Spurs coach Joe Jordan on the touchline first grabbing him by the throat and later trying to head butt him. Although his actions were disgraceful, I’m sure many of us would’ve liked to have seen Joe Jordan retaliate and stop the Italian in his tracks.
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6: Team-Mates Fight – There’s been a few of these incidents over the years but this one is probably one of the best (or worst) depending on how you look at it. Newcastle United’s Lee Bowyer and Kieron Dyer exchanged some heated words on the pitch which quickly turned to blows. It reminds me of a similar incident in the 1990s between Blackburn Rovers pair David Batty and Graeme Le Saux. There’s also been quite a few from the training ground, Sweden’s Mellberg vs Ljungberg and West Ham’s John Hartson vs Eyal Berkovic are two examples.
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5: Another Muscat tackle – One thing I have never understood in football is how Kevin Muscat made a career in the sport from assaulting players? This was just one of the latest from playing in his homeland of Australia getting sent off for a horrendous over the ball tackle. He had just come back from suspension after landing a kidney punch on a player during a game. In England, he made some horrible tackles, most notably on Mattie Holmes which ended his career short.
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4: Zidane – You know what, during the 2006 World Cup final, Zinedine Zidane bows out to the football world with a shocking headbutt on Italy’s Materazzi. Cursing between players happens in every game but Zidane took exception to whatever Materazzi said to him and knocked him completely off his feet to the millions of live viewers watching.
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3: Roy Keane’s retribution – This incident made me lose any respect I had for Roy Keane as a player. He even admitted in his autobiography that he deliberately set out to injure Haaland and should’ve received a lengthy ban. Keane saw it as revenge for an incident a few years earlier, Keane had tried to deliberately kick Haaland in front of him but ended up injuring his own leg. Haaland accused Keane of faking it, which is why Keane set out for revenge. Haaland never played a full game of football after this incident and Roy Keane was left to continue playing football for many years to come.
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2: Thatcher elbow – The defender has had previous for his over aggressive challenges on the pitch but this incident on Tottenham’s Pedro Mendes topped it all. Thatcher’s over enthusiastic tackle led with his elbow caused Mendes to be knocked out and hospitalised. The alarming thing is, Thatcher acts like it was a fair challenge. Maybe Wayne Rooney should watch this to see how dangerous flying elbows could be?
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1: Kung-Fu Cantona – An incident that shocked the football world. When Eric Cantona was sent off for Manchester United against Crystal Palace a Palace fan gave him abuse that sent the Frenchman over the edge and resulted in the flying kung-fu kick attack on the fan. He was banned for several months and it somewhat overshadowed the talented footballer’s career.
The debate about the implementation of technology in football reached a zenith during the World Cup and its qualifying environs, with notable exhibits for the prosecution of traditional officiating including; Thierry Henry’s handball and Frank Lampard’s ‘goal’. Yet FIFA had already taken several retrograde steps away from the use of technology a year prior to the World Cup, with its decision to use extra officials during the 2009/10 Europa League. The acknowledgment, after these now notorious World Cup moments, that something had to be done, was met with the action that there would be ‘discussions’ about technology at the next FIFA conference, and that the extra officials would now be used in the Champions League, for the 2010/11 campaign, surely an enormous acknowledgment of the successful debut of such officials.
But hold on a second, because this does not correlate. First, the saturating of the pitch with officials is unquestionably a move against technology, and second, define ‘successful’. I’ll start with the first point. It is true that both the use of technology and the implementation of extra officials are working toward the same goal; the desire to eliminate incorrect decisions. However, this is where the similarities cease. The whole reason for the call for technology is to eradicate, or at least minimise, human error, but through placing more officials on the pitch you are attempting to do this through more human error. Yes, the more ‘official’ eyes on the game, the higher the probability the correct decision will be made, but this can, as may well be deduced by the Spurs vs. Twente match, lead to a case of ‘too many cooks’. The extra officials merely seem to be giving lip-service to those who are campaigning for technology. When propositioned about the use of technology in football, those at FIFA earnestly point toward the extra officials, as if this is a step in the technological direction. It is not. It is a reinforcement of the notion that traditional officials are the best way to officiate the modern game.
Now I am not in the school of thought that modern referees are incompetent idiots and need more training. The reason there are more noticeable mistakes made by officials in the modern game is that they are precisely that, more noticeable. As an audience we are able to scrutinise every decision the referee makes through any number of angles and at speeds far slower than the referees are themselves, so, if we can scrutinise and criticise through technology, why can’t the referees use the same devices to maximise their performance? Humans make mistakes, and always have, and the most conspicuous change in the game of football is the way the viewer interacts with the game, therefore, referees haven’t changed, the audience has. This places the officials in the unfair and untenable position of having far less of a chance to get a decision right than a member of the audience thousands of miles away, and this cannot be the case.
Placing more officials on the pitch merely means there is a larger surface area of officialdom to apportion blame to. Take Spurs vs. Twente; the third penalty was awarded by the extra official behind the goal who had just about the worst view of the incident in the entire ground, yet awarded the penalty. The referee, unwilling to disagree with his colleague, agrees with him, turning what would have been a minor debate about the nuances of ‘ball-to-hand’ into a huge debate about ‘changing the match’. But a bigger question must be, ‘why was the official there in the first place?!’ These extra officials received a muted response, to be kind, during their inaugural 2009/10 Europa League campaign and were inconspicuous in their absence for much of the tournament, which, given the old adage of referees being better when you don’t realise they’re there, is a good thing, except, these officials are in a position where they are meant to be seen, dealing with the most contentious elements of a football game; goals, penalties and, on occasion, red cards.
So, if you’re looking for technology to improve the game you love so much… don’t hold your breath!
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Newcastle midfielder Yohan Cabaye has been charged with violent conduct by the FA, and faces a spell on the sidelines if an appeal is not successful.
The France international has been accused of kicking out at Brighton’s Egyptian defender Adam El-Abd in the Tyneside club’s 1-0 elimination from the FA Cup on Saturday, and hasn’t been given much time to appeal the governing body’s decision.
“Newcastle United midfielder Yohan Cabaye has been charged with violent conduct following an incident in the FA Cup fourth round tie against Brighton Hove Albion,” an official FA statement reads.
“Cabaye was involved in an incident involving Brighton’s Adam El-Abd during the FA Cup tie at the Amex Stadium on Saturday 28 January.
“Cabaye has until 6pm on Tuesday, January 31 2012 to respond to the charge,” it concluded.
If the FA’s decision is upheld Cabaye can expect to most likely miss three games through suspension.
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Guangzhou regained the lead in the Chinese Super League with a 1-0 win away to Shenzhen Ruby on Sunday, while Beijing Guoan kept pace in second.Forward Jiang Ning struck the winner in the 68th minute for Guangzhou at the Shenzen City Stadium.
They now top the table by one point from Beijing, who beat Chengdu Blades 3-0 away from home.
Wang Xiaolong, Xu Liang and Honduran Walter Martinez were all on target with second-half goals in the win for Beijing.
Hangzhou Lucheng are down to third, level on points with second-placed Beijing, after they could only draw 0-0 away to Henan Jianye.
Liaoning Hongyun climbed to fourth with a 3-0 victory at home to Dalian Shide.
Yang Xu and Brazilian Valdo both netted in the space of four minutes just before half-time, with Yang striking again to complete the scoring on 85 minutes.
Qingdao Jonoon moved up to moved up to seventh with their third win of the season, a 4-1 triumph against visiting Nanchang Bayi.
Uruguayan winger Jonathan Ramis levelled for Nanchang after Li Peng put the hosts in front just nine minutes into the match, before Yao Jiangshan made it 2-1 shortly before half-time.
A second-half brace from Song Wenjie made sure of the points for Qingdao.
Birmingham City midfielder Barry Ferguson has hinted that he has not ruled out the possibility of returning to international action in the future.
The 32-year-old former Scotland captain was banned by the Scottish Football Association for taking part in a late-night drinking session and making gestures to the media while sitting at Hampden as a substitute against Iceland.
However, since leaving Rangers for St Andrew's, Ferguson has revived his career and admits it is difficult not being part of the Scotland squad as they continue their Euro 2012 qualifying campaign.
"You can never say never in football. I don't have a fear of going out and being booed," he said."It was the way it ended. I thought it was childish, to be told you will not represent your country again by fax.
"I held my hands up. I was stupid. People can have a go and say I was having a go at the fans. That was nonsense. I made a stupid decision in the game, doing what I did in front of the media. I let my family and the nation down.
"I'd have accepted the decision if someone had picked up the phone and said, 'You're finished with Scotland because of your antics at the game'.
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"But to captain Scotland is the pinnacle of your career, is it not?
"My break from internationals gives me more time to spend time with the family. But to be asked back, it does play on your mind. It's not an easy decision to make."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Here is a selection of players whose services, in my view, Newcastle United should have retained for longer than they did. There are a range of different players who wore the famous black and white stripes at one stage in their career. I personally have witnessed the talent on show from all of these great players and have compiled a list to present a case for each player. Newcastle United have always been the nearly men in their time in the Premiership – they have missed out in two FA Cup finals, one semi final, and they have finished second place in the Premier League on more than one occasion. The 1995-96 season will always be looked back upon with deep regret as the year the Magpies blew a 12 point lead at Christmas. The past could have turned out very differently if Newcastle had kept hold of some of the names I have in store. There are players who don’t make the list who were sold towards the end of their careers, and while they were great servants I believe it was the right time to let them go, Philippe Albert is one such example.
Click on Gazza below to see the Top TEN
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Compiled by Tom MacGregor
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Heineken® launches first global ‘dual screen’ Champions League football game
Heineken® today announced the launch of StarPlayer, the live football game that lets fans watch UEFA Champions League matches on television whilst playing it in real-time on a computer, iPhone or iPod touch.
StarPlayer is a groundbreaking ‘dual screen’ digital initiative from Heineken which transforms TV watching into a social interactive experience for football fans. The game, which was created and devised by digital agency AKQA, taps into competitive banter of the fans by creating a live TV game experience that can be played from home.
StarPlayer, a unique overlay to live football matches, represents the first global example of a social media gaming platform. Fans watch the football on TV while playing StarPlayer in realtime, anticipating events unfolding on the pitch live and making decisions on what will play out over the next few seconds. The use of ‘dual screen’ technology that involves time-dependent decisions on passages of open-play makes StarPlayer a world-first innovation.
To score points, fans anticipate what will happen at key moments such as corners, free kicks, and penalties, for example whether the shot will be saved or whether there will be a goal in the next 30 seconds. With every correct forecast, fans gain points. Through the ‘Interactive Champions League’, they can also compete and share with their friends via Facebook and with other players around the world.
This is the sixth consecutive year that Heineken, the world’s most international beer brand, has sponsored the prestigious UEFA Champions League.
Floris Cobelens, Global Head of Digital at Heineken, commented: “StarPlayer will really change the way in which football fans interact with the UEFA Champions League, creating a more social experience around watching and enjoying the matches. For Heineken to be able to bring the excitement and competition of these premium matches to the actual fingertips of the fans through the cutting edge ‘dual screen’ technology of Star Player really showcases our
commitment to providing extraordinary innovative and engaging experiences for fans.”
Heineken are one of the first global brands to launch an iAd to promote the UK launch of StarPlayer on iPhone and iPod touch. iAd is Apple’s revolutionary new mobile advertising network, reaching millions of iPhone and iPod touch users in their favourite apps. The iAad delivers a cut down “demo” version of the StarPlayer game and allows consumers to get an engaging, playful gameplay experience, before going on to download the app and playing for real.
A little taster for what you can expect:
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[youtube 2ENM0YAhoGY]
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