Good morning folks. I’m coming to you from sunny Florida and while this is technically a vacation, SBI never really goes on vacation so you can rest assured the posts will keep coming.
Let’s start the day off with some news and notes from the soccer world:
Chase for Berbatov in full swing
There have been plenty of big-money transfers already this summer but the most highly-sought-after forward on the market just might be Dimitar Berbatov, who looks set to leave Tottenham. The list of suitors includes Manchester United, Real Madrid and Barcelona.
His move is a key domino in what could be a chain reaction of transfers. If Berbatov leaves then Tottenham will be less likely to sell Robbie Keane, who appears poised to join Liverpool. Berbatov could also wind up being a consolation prize for the team that Cristiano Ronaldo doesn’t end up with between Man U and Real Madrid. Then there is Barcelona, which still needs to sell Ronaldinho and Samuel Eto’o to generate the transfer funds for a serious bid for either Berbatov or Emmanuel Adebayor.
Aussie keeper ban upheld
Australian goalkeeper Danny Vukovic will miss the Olympics after having his ban for striking (more like high-fiving) a referee in the Australian League final last winter. The final decision by the Court for Arbitration of Sport upheld FIFA’s decision to step in and enforce Vukovic’s 15-month suspension after the Australian federation had agreed to let Vukovic play in the Olympics.
For those of you who don’t remember the incidence in question, or never saw it, here it is:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wBl2gsSKTk&hl=en&fs=1]
Talk about harmless. The sad thing is that, as far as I know, the referee from that Australian League final was never reprimanded for completely blowing a late call that cost the Central Coast Mariners the title in that game (it was that call that led to that fracas that culminated with ‘The Hand Slap’.
Surgery for Cristiano Ronaldo
With the Man U-Real Madrid tug-of-war for his services still going on, Ronaldo has undergone right ankle surgery in the Netherlands and he may not be back in time for the start of the EPL (or La Liga) season.
Ramon Calderon continues to spend more time talking about Ronaldo than actual players on his current team, telling media on Sunday that he thinks Ronaldo will stay at Man U, but pointing out that there is still time for a deal to be made. All I know is that I wish I could be in the same room the next time Alex Ferguson and Calderon cross paths because it could be fun to watch.
There are plenty of other stories to discuss today so feel free to share your thoughts on these and any other soccer stories from this morning (or the weekend) in the comments section below.
papa bear- but what other actions occured in the A-League?? Rico/Ruiz occured in the MLS and was handled by the MLS… again, the A-League seems to want to squash any ideas of assulting the refs as soon as possible…. make an example now, and then they’ll probably not have to deal with this all that often….
yes it was a HAAAAAAAAAARSH sentence, but if you want no contact on the ref, its best to make an example of it…
The length of the suspension is absurd, period.
gotta agree with Ives on ‘hi five gate’
He should have been suspended a few games but a year long ban is just Draconian.
Is that is the standard than it is a sham that John Terry is allowed to continue playing after trying to wrestle the card away from the ref last year.
Also, look at suspensions for other actions. There are player on player muggings that would literally be grounds for a jail sentence if you did it out at a bar (Rico on Ruiz kick) that are less than 10 games.
andy b- lol, logic and open forums do not go hand and hand… in fact, the ones who typically show logic are drowned out by the ignorant posters who post just to see their own typing 😀
even better tho, theres going to be a trianle of trades…. Fire trade Barrett to TFC for BMB… TFC trades Barrett to RBNJ for all of Jozy’s allocation money…
brett–
this discussion is clearly too civil and rational for the internet. Way to go, Ives, elevating the level of discussion and crap. Who do you think you are? Now we’re agreeing with each other’s positions… for good measure, brett, I think I should finish this post by saying I think you’re an idiot and your points are ludicrous, and anyone who takes such positions clearly knows nothing about soccer. Also, I heard John O’Brien is going to sign with the Red Bulls after they publicly flog Reyna at midfield.
There, now this dialogue is suitable for the internet.
andy b- see i like the 8-9 month suspension, excluding intl’ play…. b/c in all honesty it was a league game, thus should only effect the league play….
it becomes a slippery slop… similar to the intentional elbows discussion we’ve had recently…. the many players that intentionally throw elbows but get a different fine and suspension rate… while one guy who elbows a player gets a 3 game suspension the other got a 6 game suspsension… and it baffled us why it was any different..
i guess even a 5-6 months suspension would have sufficed… lose out on 6 months of season play would be harsh enough….. but i dont argue with the A-League with putting their foot down on this subject…
Serie A should do the same with the match fixing scandals…. if these guys are convicted they should be dealt with harshly… Ban?? suspension for long droughts?? huge fines?? whatever, the hammer needs to come down and the league needs to make an example soon
brett–
I’m sympathetic with your point of view, in principal, but I think the practical reality is that we’re now talking about how stupidly over-reactive the A League is and how it wasn’t THAT big of a deal to touch the ref, when as you point out, we should be talking about how it IS a big deal to touch the ref. If the punishment had been 8 or 9 months of A-League play, excluding internationals, we’d probably be having that discussion instead (if any at all.)
But again, I get your point in principal. What a mess.
andy b- while its unfortunate that he has to be the recipiant of such a harsh punishment, i stand by the point that the A-League is sending a message saying not to touch the ref…
was it a strike- yes
was it worth 15 months- no
in other words, the A-League has pointed out, if you touch the ref, its your a$$… sometimes you have to accept who’s at fault and live up to it…
Clearwater Beach Matt, not too far from you actually.
And no, I’ve got no Tiffany May exclusive on the way, but if I see her on the beach I’ll be sure to ask her some questions.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kch1sfTpn40
Hey, look at the brightside – at least it wasn’t like this guy:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kch1sfTpn40&hl=en&fs=1%5D
Yes, but where in Florida are you vacationing?
Thought I saw some guy at the beach yesterday with sweat dripping on his lap-top. He was typing away in between sips of what appeared to be a Rum Runner. He was surrounded by scantly-clad women and it seemed as if he was interviewing the hottie (Tiffany May?) who invaded the pitch at RaymondJames during the olympic qualifier.
So what’s up Ives. Is there an exclusive on the way?
By the way I was talking about Arshavin. ol
Zenit have ended negotiations with Barcelona as they have rejected their second offer. Does this mean he’s now heading to England?
Even as a ref it’s hard to disagree with Ives on this one. 15 months is too long a suspension for all but the most insanely egregious conduct; it’s a potential career-killer. When the punishment is so grossly disproportionate to the offense, it actually has the opposite of the desired effect. Now people are talking about how unfortunate the keeper is, rather than what a moron he is. But I’ll say it, too: the poor bastard. That situation was clearly way, way past out-of-hand at the outset, and the ref has to shoulder part of the blame for that. His behavior, while bad, was simply not THAT bad.
Who said any different Sayerville?
Can’t touch the refs. Period.
Keane isn’t going anywhere. It should also be noted that the way Berbatov’s contract is set up, I believe Spurs have a two year option they could utilize once it runs out. Tottenham have no reason to sell Berbatov this off-season as he essentially has a number of years left on his contract. The fact that it’s Juande Ramos’ first year in charge and he seems to finally be addressing some of Tottenham’s shortcomings (left mid, d-mid, offensive mid, keeper) seems to indicate Berbatov will spend at least one more year at Spurs.
Nathan- its easy for us as viewers and fans to say “that ref made a TERRIBLE call” having the ability to view the call and/or game multiple times….but when you are down on the field and things are happening, you’ve only got an instant to make a decision…. i dont know what the call was in this case so im not addressing it….
and ill be one of the first to harp on refs, but i can at least respect the situation they are in…. they will always piss someone off regardless of how they call it… its always either” i cant believe he didnt make the call” or “i cant believe he made the call” from the other…
Unrelated, but how about Juan Pablo Sorin in the MLS? Hamburg’s trying to buy him out. He’s got lots of mileage and wear and tear on that body, but he could add a lot to an MLS team.
perhaps that A-League wishes to avoid any speculation when it comes to this offense?? like Betinho said, ” touch a ref= 15 months”….. they are clearly pointing out that touching a ref is not acceptable for any reasons and will be punished accordingly…
how long was di canio banned for shoving that EPL ref way back when? That was infinitely more egregious than the incident down under, and I don’t think he got no 15 months…
I think that if the refs want respect, they need to earn it. Enough of these bullsh*t calls. It’s been a world-wide phenomena lately, from Peter Vink to Kevin Stott. I don’t know what the solution is, but too often refs are way too arrogant. I realize that it’s essentially 1 v 22 for them and there should be no physical contact with them by players, but if a ref blew a call like that for my team, I’d be in his face too telling him what a joke he was.
“I actually like the fact that FIFA fought to keep the Australians from reversing their decision once they realized it would hurt their Olympic chances”
the folks at FIFA think they are above any other governing body in the world. I nominate FIFA as the next James Bond nemisis. It would be more believeable than the one with the Infinity pitch man playing a media mogul trying to take over the world.
I agree with Ives…this was in league play, 15 months is excessive. If it were in fact a karate kick (that would be something!) maybe 15 months would fit the crime. I’m guessing the rule must be written in stone…touch a ref =15 months.
“Folks can disagree with me on that but I’ve seen other more established refs handle themselves much better in situations where players are making contact with them.”
Well, it’s my opinion that it’s a mistake, even for an established referee, to allow ANY contact.
I understand the precedent you have to set about touching refs, but it is still sad this guy was banned for much longer than a certain Martin Taylor.
Listen folks, I’m not saying Vukovic shouldn’t have gotten some sort of suspension. I just think the length of the suspension was excessive and I also think the suspension should have involved only league matches and not international play. Also, I think the ref could have ignored the incident but chose to run after him to give him a card. Folks can disagree with me on that but I’ve seen other more established refs handle themselves much better in situations where players are making contact with them (not face-biting contact mind you, but smaller stuff).
I’m glad that the ban was upheld. Agree with other posters that physical contact with the ref is unacceptable. I think refs should throw out the guys who surround them and shout at them, although half the Argentine league games that I see would end up 7 v 7.
Robbie isn’t going anywhere, Liverpool haven’t even made a bid and won’t. It’s been high drama in Spurs-world lately but the Robbie to Liverpool story just doesn’t have legs, IMHO.
Berbatov might go somewhere but not for less than 30 Million Pounds.
Dave – Fannation.com has also reported the link between Adu and Monaco, but this is the first time ive heard of MB being lumped into it….
I actually like the fact that FIFA fought to keep the Australians from reversing their decision once they realized it would hurt their Olympic chances.
It doesn’t get any better than a mocking high-five. “good call ref, high five!” I wonder if he did the Borat voice during the “incident”
i agree with adam, that allowing a “high five” today is like allowing people to throw streamers…. yes its harmless and doesnt do any damage, but it can easily escilate… which it (streamers) already has….
have you heard anything about Adu, Bradley, or Gooch to further what is written here:
http://www.soccertimes.com/americans/2008/jul06
Contact on any level with a ref is a bad look.
Yes it was a harmless act but ya gotta expect a punishment like that coming when it involves a ref…
“Talk about harmless.”
Totally disagree Ives. Referees, good or bad, do not deserve any kind of physical intimidation from the players. Allowing this opens the door for chest bumps, punches, karate kicks, etc.
The verbal dissent players show in today’s game is bad enough. We don’t need to let the physical abuse play a role in a referee’s decision at all.