In case you missed it on Wednesday night, Arsene Wenger showed his players that he too can break out some dance moves when celebrating a goal [Youtube]
Sir Alex Ferguson has accused Rafael Benitez of “arrogance” and “contempt”
[F365]
Jose Mourinho taunts Alessandro Del Piero ahead of tomorrow’s Derby d’Italia
[Goal]
West Ham are about to be taken over by a consortium of international banks
[The Guardian]
The FA have assured David Moyes that Mike Riley is not a Man Utd fan
[The Sun]
Cesc Fabregas’ spitting games, Mike Riley’s green day and William Gallas’ massively offside winner anger defeated Hull
During last night’s FA Cup quarter-final between Arsenal and Hull, referee Mike Riley decided it would be appropriate for both goalkeepers to wear green - the same colour as the officials. This contravenes the laws of the game, but Mike Riley will undoubtedly use the St Patrick’s Day defence to escape punishment.
This colour confusion, however, was the least of the controversial incidents last night at the Emirates. Perma-tanned Hull manager Phil Brown was incensed by William Gallas’ 84th minute winner, which was clearly offside. “We lost the game unfairly. But I didn’t use the word cheat, you did,” said Brown to a reporter, clearly using the word “cheat”.
PB was also angered by the actions of Cesc Fabregas, who allegedly spat at the feet of Hull assistant manager Brian Horton after the game. It’s unclear what the Spaniard was doing on the pitch in his civvies in the first place, but he has thus far vehemently denied parting with any saliva.
United Gaffer’s nonsense comments come back to haunt him
March 2008: Alex Ferguson is the first to support the FA’s Respect Campaign following Ashley Cole’s controversial booking at White Hart Lane:
“Haranguing referees is ridiculous. Since the Andy D’Urso incident some years ago, we have not done anything like that. Respect for referees is absolutely correct.”
April 2008: Manchester Utd players ‘harangue’ referee Alan Wiley for awarding Chelsea a perfectly legitimate penalty, and eight of Fergie’s men face FA Disciplinary charges for abusing fourth official Mike Riley in the tunnel.
An alternative interpretation of his attempt to de-leg an opponent
Could it possibly be that when Spurs’ Alan Hutton had the brass neck to present his well-turned ankle to Ashley Cole in last night’s game at White Hart Lane, Mr Cole saw an opportunity to take advantage of the current vogue for “horror tackles” and thus earn himself an excellent excuse for not having to face his former employers on Sunday? Although this weekend’s game is to be played in the calmer surroundings of Stamford Bridge, the fixture threatens to stir up all sorts of bad memories for Arsenal and Cole alike. Who wouldn’t want to avoid such a socially embarrassing encounter?
As horror tackles go, it was executed with something approaching text book precision, with tough Alan Hutton going down like he’d been