Mourinho, Ronaldo, join Barca Conspiracy Bandwagon

So, Jose Mourinho's caused a bit of controversy (surprise!). After his Real side lost to Barca in the Champions' League semi-final, the Portuguese manager vented his frustration in the post-match interview. But, he did bring up a good point, saying "Congratulations to Barcelona. But I just do not understand why Barcelona always receive the help of the referee ... I am not too sad, I have a great family. But I don't understand why Barcelona have this power. It happened two years ago to Chelsea (2009 semis), almost to my Inter last year, and also to Arsenal this year." I fully agree. I'm not saying that the refs are biased towards the Catalans, but c'mon, 3 teams that could have potentially knocked "The Best Team in the World" out, and they all get a man sent off in the second leg? 

Added to that, every single time this has happened, one of the opposing players or managers have complained. They definitely had the right to do so, but that's not what UEFA thinks. Didier Drogba was fined for venting his frustration at the referee after their controversial loss to Barca. They got a man sent off and two clear penalties denied! He didn't have the right to do so? And after Arsenal's loss, Samir Nasri and Arsene Wenger both got one match bans for complaining to the referee. Plain stupid. How come whenever every single Barca player swarms the ref after a tackle, none of them get yellows? How come 2 Barcelona players didn't get sent off for grabbing the necks of Nasri and Van Persie right in front of the official? Bah. Maybe I'm just complaining. I am actually, but if Mourinho and Cristiano Ronaldo agree, it can't be that ridiculous, can it?

Oh, and they should stop diving. Especially Dani Alves. He got stretchered off, and then got off and was perfectly fine. What a p*ssy.

Potty Mouth: Rooney Banned for 2 Matches

While celebrating his third goal against West Ham this Sunday, Wayne Rooney foolishly dropped an "f" bomb towards the camera. Thanks to those antics, he has been banned for two matches by the FA. He'll miss this weekend's match with Fulham and the FA Cup Semi-final against Manchester City. He has until April 5th to launch an appeal against the decision.

Racism Towards Brazilian Starlet Neymar

During Brazil's recent friendly against Scotland at the Emirates Stadium, there was reportedly racism towards the young Brazilian star Neymar. The 20 year old, who scored both goals for the Samba, reportedly had a banana thrown at him when about to take a penalty. This claim was backed up by Lucas Leiva, who picked up and cleared the object, obviously in shame.

This was a bit strange, because a neutral German fan at the stadium actually threw it. Despite not being responsible for it, the spokesman for the Scottish football fans, Tam Ferry, has apologized on behalf of the Tartan Army (Scottish Fans). She also thanked the German fan for admitting to his behavior, knowing that the reputation of the Tartan Army wasn't tarnished.

These types of actions have to stop. In such a huge and diverse footballing country, this behavior should be stamped out. While it doesn't really happen that much in the Premier League, it happens in many Eastern European countries and even more developed nations like Spain. I hope that these things will stop, especially in Poland and Ukraine, the two host nations of the 2012 European Championship. If these acts of sheer stupidity don't stop before that time, those two countries could lose their privileges to host major sporting events.

As a Polish-American, I'd hate for this to happen to the members of my home nation. I know that there are people who are tolerant and accept others, but the hooligans are ruining it for them. The rioting in Lithuania and destroying of the stands doesn't really help, does it?

FIFA making huge decisions on goal-line technology....and snoods.

Earlier today, the President of FIFA, Sepp Blatter, met with the IFAB (International Football Association Board) to discuss issues such as goal-line technology and snoods. Just what is a snood? It's basically a headband that players wear around their necks.

 

Starting July 1st, players won't be allowed to wear their snoods in cold conditions. My guess for this verdict is the....danger. They have a legitimate case. If a player is running, and someone catches his snood, they could be easily pulled down to the ground, suffering an injury. Granted, it hasn't happened yet, but it just might with the roughness of the Premier League. In other fashion news, FIFA will allow players to wear UnderArmour-like pants under their shorts, as long as they match the color of said shorts. 

Also at the meeting, FIFA and the IFAB discuessed goal line technology. They've decided that the technology isn't ready yet, and that testing will continue for another year. The good news is that it WILL be used in Euro 2012 in Poland/Ukraine. It's good news for many players, as controversial calls about the ball crossing the goal line have been made in recent times. A well known and remembered example is Frank Lampard's disallowed goal during last year's World Cup against Germany.

So, how much progress has this meeting allowed? None. Literally. Still no goal-line cameras or sensors, and FIFA have made more progress as Fashion Police. Lets all hope that Sepp Blatter's reign as the leader of world football will be ended soon.

Sir Alex, Quit Your Yappin'

After Manchester United's 2-1 loss to Chelsea, Sir Alex Ferguson, manager of Man Utd, criticized the referee, believing that Chelsea's David Luiz, should've been sent off; "You want a fair referee, or a strong referee anyway - and we didn't get that." From a neutral perspective, David Luiz, who was already booked with a yellow, should have gotten a second yellow and been sent off. Here is the foul in question:

Wayne Rooney had already passed the ball, and wanted to continue to run, but tripped over David Luiz, who wasn't quick enough to get out of the way. Despite the arguing of the Manchester players, the referee took no action against Luiz. Alex Ferguson would be completely correct in this situation normally, but in Manchester's previous match against Wigan, Rooney did this:

Following the match, Fergie reacted to the incident; "There is nothing in it." There's nothing in it? Rooney running by a player, far from the ball, and elbowing him in the face is "nothing". The ref seemed to agree, letting Wayne off with just a warning. Before you complain about refs Ferguson, remember, you're lucky that Rooney was lucky to even be playing at Stamford Bridge. Ferguson simply got a taste of his own medicine, and now, because he complained, is facing a 2 match touchline ban, meaning he's going to be sitting in the stands.