Top Stories

Thursday Kickoff: Terry suspended, Rooney returns in Cup win, and more

JohnTerryBlue (ISIPhotos.com)

 

John Terry has been suspended for four matches and fined  Â£220,000 after the English FA found him guilty of misconduct relating to racial slurs Terry was accused of hurling at Queens Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand last season.

Terry, who retired from the England national team last week in protest of the FA's handling of the case, can appeal the decision.

The decision comes just a week after Terry and Ferdinand crossed paths again during Chelsea's scoreless draw vs. Queens Park Rangers.

Terry was found not guilty in a criminal trial in July relating to the same incident.

Here are some other stories to get your Thursday going: 

ROONEY RETURNS IN UNITED CUP WIN

Wayne Rooney made his return from the nasty leg wound that kept him out for a month on Wednesday, just in time to help a young Manchester United squad post a Capital One Cup victory against Newcastle.

Anderson and Tom Cleverley scored the goals in Man United's 2-1 victory against Newcastle, but it was the return of Rooney, and the return to the starting lineup of Darren Fletcher, that garnered most of the attention at Old Trafford.

Rooney looked sharp during his 76 minutes of action, displaying some pin-point long passes as he spent a good amount of time patrolling the space behind the forwards.

Fletcher made his first start for Manchester United in 10 months, and served as captain for the contest.

CAPITAL ONE CUP FIXTURES SET

Chelsea will take on Manchester United in the round of 16 of the Capital One Cup, providing the best of the eight match-ups revealed on Wednesday.

Liverpool manager Brendan Rogers will face off against former club Swansea in another intriguing match-up.

Here is a rundown of the Round of 16 match-ups:

Sunderland v Middlesbrough

Swindon v Aston Villa

Wigan v Bradford

Leeds v Southampton

Norwich v Tottenham

Liverpool v Swansea

Chelsea v Manchester United

Reading v Arsenal

———————

CAVANI HAT-TRICK LEADS NAPOLI PAST LAZIO

Uruguayan striker Edinson Cavani scored a hat-trick to help lead Napoli to a 3-0 victory over Lazio. The victory moved Napoli into a tie for first place in Serie A with reigning champions Juventus.

Lazio appeared to take a third-minute lead in the match when Miroslav Klose scored an apparent goal, but the score was waved off after Klose admitted to scoring the goal with his hand.

Here are the rest of Wednesday's results from a busy day in Serie A:

Pescara 1, Palermo 0

AC Milan 2, Cagliari 0

AS Roma 1, Sampdoria 1

Catania 2, Atalanta 1

Chievo Verona 0, Inter Milan 2

Genoa 1, Parma 1

Torino 0, Udinese 0

———————–

WILSHIRE SET FOR RETURN

Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshire is on the verge of returning to action after a 14-month injury layoff.

Wilshire is set to play for Arsenal's U-21s against West Brom on Monday in the first step toward his eventual return to first-team action. The England international had been sidelined with ankle and knee problems that required multiple surgeries.

SANTOS BANNED FROM DRIVING

Arsenal defender Andres Santos has been banned from driving for a year after admitting to speeding at a right as high as 145 MPH.

Santos led police on a high-speed chase back on Aug. 17th, driving his Maserati double the speed limit. When he was pulled over, Santos denied knowing that he was being pursued.

———-

What do you think of these developments? Surprised to see Terry found guilty, or do you think it was a fair judgment? Impressed with Rooney's return? Where do you rank Cavani among the top strikers in the world?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Interesting that I point out a difference and let it go at that, without demanding redress of any kind, and you feel comfortable calling me intollerant (beyond just conceiving of the notion).

    You obviously feel comfortable with your broad brush to make assumptions about me disliking the British having laws based around their set of values, which couldn’t be farther from the truth. I am for national soverinty which, as we have seen in the UN this week, many people are not.

    But you have shown to everyone that you prefer a world where a person does not speak up for their beliefs. Silence = death, you know.

    Also interesting that you consider “hate speech” laws to be based upon “tollerance” while there are equally convincing arguments that show they are based upon “intollerance”. I am not taking a position here but you clearly are.

    Reply
  2. Interesting that Hate Speech laws are based on an idea of tolerance, and you seem to have trouble tolerating (or conceiving of) the idea of other peoples having a different set of values that form the basis of their laws.

    Reply
  3. I mean the Ferdinand “thing”.

    IMO, both these guys are morons. They both said, in the ears of polite, “society”, horrible, baneful things. Who cares that they are common epithets lobbed on a heated field of play.

    Terry was just too ill-tempered, or ill-mannered, or just unlucky that one of the string of insults he alledgedly hurled touched the third rail.

    So the Puritanical Progressives brand him with the Scarlet ‘R’. Forget the number of people of all races he has played with and against over the years, with never a similar charge leveled.

    The FA was “completly within its rights” to take their share of the blame in the Hillsborough tragedy.

    Back on JT and AF:

    “George Carter-Stephenson QC, for Terry, said the words were uttered because Terry was repeating “by way of sarcastic exclamation” an accusation he perceived Ferdinand had made on the pitch to him that he had called the QPR player ‘a black c*nt’.

    “Ferdinand denied saying that on the pitch to Terry. His account was: ‘He called me a c*nt, and I called him a c*nt back. And he gave me a gesture as if to say my breath smelled. I said to him: ‘How can you call me a c*nt? You shagged your team-mate’s missus, you’re a c*nt.'”

    See, even if Terry did say these things, technically, he didn’t say Ferdinand was black, he only said his c*nt was black.

    Charming.

    Reply
  4. Guys, guys (@ Gnarls also) I am with you here not against. It’s just the word proper – it’s such a subjective word that can fit/meet various levels of measurement. All I am saying is what is proper for us may not be proper for others.

    I don’t susbscribe to ciminalizing speech, BUT I also understand where England is coming from with their standards on this particular issue.

    I don’t subscribe to what Russia did either BUT…nah, I don’t understand it either. That one was some raw, unfettered and blatant dictatorship business right there.

    Guys, I am all for standing up against these types of things but I am not for coming off as the world police or self anointed standard bearer as I know that we live in a glass house of our own. It’s an imperfect world. I fully appreciate that we have the liberty and freedom to talk about and object to these types of things but also appreciate the fact that others will live and govern themselves as they see fit – which is their right.

    Don’t take this as my endorsement of bad behavior around the world or even here at home – it’s just me saying that I get where England is coming from and understand their position on criminalizing some forms of speech.

    It’s not to say England does not have free speech. To me it looks like they place some (or more) onus on the speaker than we do here. States side our approach is “you need to get thicker skin there buddy” and that’s not the way they see it when it comes to hate speech – differnt form of free speech is all.

    Reply
  5. so John Terry gets 4 games, and Luis Suarez gets 8??? weird considering it was the same offense. oh wait…thats right, Luis Suarez isnt English. i forgot.

    Reply
  6. Right, we criminalize some things/actions that some other states do not (marijuana comes to mind). Does that make JT’s criminal case any less absurd to Tony or me? Nope.

    Reply
  7. Proper by standards of free speech, which do not get the respect they deserve in the UK. Some countries may declare it “legal” to put people in jail for name calling, but that doesn’t make it proper, reasonable or moral.

    So let me give you naother example: because it was legal to do so, was it “proper” for Russia to through a rock band in prison because they insulted the quasi-dicator? Was that okay with you? Or are you willing to take a stand and say that was wrong? I think Terry is a classless jerk. I just don’t think he should go to jail for it.

    And to address Burlington Chelsea above… it is proper that this be a civil matter (with a different burden of proof than a criminal matter) and a work place issue. If Ferdinand felt his reputation was damaged or he suffered stress or other damages because of the event, he should sue. If the governering body of his employers assoication found he broke the rules or damaged its reputation, it should act exactly as they have done.

    Reply
  8. What about Fletcher? His absence was much more tragic and many thought he’d never play again. If he can get back to the level he was at, he can solve United’s midfield problem. He’s what they are missing…

    Reply
  9. No one in England gives a crap what you think about their legal system. They would tell you to spend time worrying about your own crappy legal system.

    Reply
  10. “Proper” by whose standards?

    I am no lawyer, but I am quite sure there are things here we criminalize that other nations find “improper” as well. Not the we give a rat’s, but then in this case they don’t either.

    Reply
  11. I prefered it when it was called the “Carling Cup” It has some meaning. Winner gets a free trip to qualifying for the EUROPA League. That was great for clubs like Stoke and Birmingham and would be AMAZING for a League 2 club if that ever occured.

    I do believe that the winners of the FA Cup should get a CL spot as it’s a major trophy

    Reply
  12. Depends which “thing” you’re referring to. The FA was completely within its rights to fine and suspend JT. Disciplinary action is the jurisdiction and duty of the association.

    Now, the criminal trial on the other hand; that was a farce, in my opinion. It boggles the mind how speech – vial as it may be – can warrant criminal action in the UK and elsewhere, when no one is threatened. But that’s just the way it is there. They really don’t have freedom of speech in the same way we understand in the US.

    Reply
  13. The FA is such a joke. Just last week they were “Shocked” that Terry retired from the National Team because of this issue stating that they were confused as they were two seperate issues. Is that why they strippe dhim of his captaincy? because it was two seperate issues? Douchbags. How he can be found guilty here and not in a criminal trial baffles me. This isnt a civil case where amends need to be made monetarily or otherwise. It is crock criminal court is what it is. This shouldnt really effect Chelsea horibly as they will still have their Captain, Leader, Legend on the sideline and in the locker room, ect. TBH Terry just cannot handle the speed that Arsenal, Tottenham, and United are going to bring. These are three fictures he will mis. A Cahill Luiz partnership migh tbe petter here anyways. KTBFFH.

    Reply
  14. The FA is joke. Last week they said that they were suprised Terry withdrew from the squad due to the FA because it was entirely seperate event. Is that why the FA stripped him of his captaincy? because it was a seperate even? What douche bags. This FA hearing isnt a civil trial where amends are made monetarily or otherwise so how he could be found guilty of these charges basically in a mock criminal court is just baffeling. TBH this may help Chelsea in the end with Terry becoming to slow to deal with tems like arsenal, Tottenham, and United pace. The team will still have him in the lockerroom as a leader and a legend of this team so no doubts ther eisnt going to be a crisis because of this.

    Reply

Leave a Reply to jmadsen Cancel reply