|
|
|
|
John Keane
|
Soccer Nicks 1. Fifa to investigate Windsor Park incidentFifa look set to investigate the incident at Windsor Park on Saturday which overshadowed Northern Ireland’s fantastic 3-2 victory over Poland. The incident occurred when a fan throw a coin at assistant referee Stefan Wittberg during the first-half resulting in the official being treated for a head wound. The spectator was subsequently removed from the stadium and Fifa now will determine if Northern Ireland should be punished for the incident. The IFA were quick to condemn the action, a spokesperson stating that “What happened was totally unacceptable. The individual was identified and evicted from the stadium at half-time. Appropriate action will now be taken. But this was an isolated incident. The Northern Ireland fans were fantastic at Windsor and gave the team great vocal backing." 2. 19 feared dead in Ivory Coast stadium disaster 19 dead and hundreds injured after a wall collapsed in the Felix Houphouet-Boigny stadium in Abidjan, Ivory Coast on Sunday. The tragedy took place during the Ivory Coast’s 5-0 win over Malawi in a World Cup qualifying match. The stadium, holding about 50,000 spectators at the time, was overrun with panicking fans which led to a stampede injuring many more. Fifa have requested a report from” the country’s FA and Fifa president Sepp Blatter offered his condolences to the country, “On behalf of FIFA and the worldwide family of football, I wish to express extreme sorrow and extend our condolences to the Ivorian football community and, most importantly, to family, friends and loved ones following the tragic deaths in Abidjan yesterday 3. Boruc dropped after Windsor Park nightmare Celtic shot-stopper Arthur Boruc has been dropped from Polish manager Leo Beenhakker for the mid-week clash against minnows San Marino. Beenhakker blamed Boruc for two of Northern Ireland’s goals, the first goal when he misjudged a cross to allow Warren Feeney to score and the third when Boruc attempted to kick a pass-back from Michal Zewlakow first time. Boruc could only watch in horror as the ball bobbled over his foot into the net sealing the win for the Northerners. Beenhakker stated “Artur was very affected of course about what happened on Saturday... and we both decided that the best decision was that he should leave the camp and go back to Glasgow.” 4. Maradona steamrolls to first competitive win as heir shines Argentina won their first home and competitive match under legend Diego Maradona, beating Venezuala 4-0 at the Monumental stadium. Maradona started the match with a three-pronged attacked made up of the “shorties” of Lionel Messi, Carlos Tevez and Sergio Aguero, an average height of 5”7’. Messi though was the star, showcasing marvelous dribbling skills which his new coach would have been proud of. Messi scored the opening goal before setting up Tevez with Maxi Rodriguez and Aguero completing the rout. Messi saved the best for injury time however with two magnificent runs from midfield, the latter cumulating in a shot which shaved the outside of the post. Elsewhere in South America there was wins for Uruguay, Colombia and Chile while Brazil had a disappointing draw away to Ecuador. 5. Rooney set to eclipse Beckham, claims Terry John Terry has tipped Wayne Rooney to claim as many caps as David Beckham if continues as he is going. Rooney has been in great form under Capello scoring 4 goals in the qualifying games and grabbing two against Slovakia on Saturday. Beckham came on at the weekend to claim a record 109th cap. Rooney, at the age of just 23, will claim his 50th cap against the Ukraine on Wednesday and Terry was full of praise for the Man United front-man “His potential is frightening…He's very young, very talented and one of the best in the world that's for sure”. In other England news Capello has hinted that Michael Owen’s England career may be over but hasn’t ruled out selecting the Newcastle if his form picks up. Owen was left out of the England squad despite in juries to Emile Heskey and Carlton Cole.
|