Men in Black

In the football world, being young means being at one’s best or otherwise being promising. In the refereeing world, this means lack of experience and often mistakes. Although it’s not the norm the men, who used to be in ‘black’, do at times influence the results of the games. When they do it, it’s done in such an obscene way, that in normal circumstance (and at other workplaces) they would be fired.

What I don’t agree with, is that the football associations do not correct such blatant mistakes. I am referring to the incident in the match between Reading and Watford.

Linesman Nigel Bannister flagged for a goal instead of a corner when the ball crossed the goal-line well wide of the post during a goalmouth scramble from a corner at Vicarage Road. Referee Stuart Attwell, who became the Premier League's youngest official last month at the age of 25, awarded a goal despite not a single Reading player appealing or celebrating the 'strike', which at the time was accredited as an own goal.

The rules of the game give no discretion in these matters - the referee's decision regarding whether a goal is scored or not is final and binding. I find this unfair and I believe that there should be an amendment to the rule where justice can be done.

On a positive note this incident brought with it also a high level of sportsmanship from Reading. On Monday, Steve Coppell, Reading Manager, admitted he was willing to replay the match after reviewing the evidence. He said that he would agree to any decision taken by the authorities if they decided a replay was the correct thing to do. He went on saying “I have sympathy with Watford and I really don't know what to say to make it right.”

I guess the rules of the game have to reflect an element of common sense, while the referees have to realise when they err and correct their errors, rather then persist in their mistakes.

World League of Nations

First the Russians, then the Americans, the Arabs and the Asians and now… the Africans too. Everyone wants to buy English Premier League teams. While the banks are crumbling, investors are seeking to invest their money elsewhere, and it seems that the English Premiership remains the most lucrative market, where it comes to sport. The latest is that a consortium of wealthy Nigerians is planning to take over Newcastle United. Current owner Mike Ashley is trying to find a buyer for the ailing Premier League club, after proving unsuccessful with his initial efforts to secure a sale. Ashley announced he wants to sell his interest in Newcastle just 16 months after staging a £134.4million takeover.

This news comes after the recent sale of Manchester City to a Dubai investing company, following the end of the reign of the scandal-stricken Thai owner. I believe that by the end of the next decade, there will not be much British ownership. Having said that, I still think that the injection of capital by these foreign investors have contributed significantly to the over-all improvement of the British game.

Elsewhere

Oki, Milan have finally won a game. Let’s see how long this good moment lasts. But as I was discussing with my friends while watching the various games over the weekend and over the past week, Inter are doing big things. Mourinho’s way (at least for now) seems to pay dividends. I think that the biggest change was the transformation of Ibrahimovic from the player who had the team at his service, to a player who’s playing is at the service of the team. Case in point is the action which led to Adriano’s winning strike in the Champions League encounter against Panathinaikos.

And on the local side, Valletta didn’t manage to go beyond a draw against Tarxien Rainbows. I can imagine the satisfaction for the Rainbows, in obtaining such a good result against the reigning champions. Floriana lost to Msida, while Hibernians and Birkirkara registered victories to help them maintain the first two spots of the table. Tarxien joined Hamrun at the bottom, with the middle of the table hosting all the rest in just 3 points. Looks like it is going to be fun this year…