Wednesday’s Mexico-Panama Gold Cup semifinal was an ugly affair, with Mexico winning 2-1 after being the beneficiary of bogus red card and penalty calls. The refereeing was so poor that even Mexican newspapers admitted the game was a sham. This morning, CONCACAF president Alfredo Hawit released the following statement: We met with both the Referee Department leadership and referee Mark Geiger. Mr. Geiger, one of the best regarded referees in the region with vast international experience and a proven track record, accepted that officiating errors had been made during Wednesday’s match and that these impacted the outcome of the game. We at CONCACAF regret these circumstances but accept that such human errors are part of the game. The first thing to notice is the hilariously passive and blame shifting “errors had been made” construction, as if the errors hadn’t been made by referee American Mark Geiger, but by somebody else. It bears a striking resemblance to Washington, D.C.’s favorite non-apology apology: “mistakes were made.” The other thing this statement attempts to do is half-heartedly defend Geiger, before throwing him under the bus. Yes, he got two crucial calls wrong, but poor refereeing is endemic across CONCACAF. After all, Mark Geiger wasn’t the referee who called the other bullshit penalty that won Mexico a game this tournament, that was Guatemalan referee Walter López. And these are hardly the first instances of poor refereeing in important CONCACAF matches; it’s practically assumed at this point. Meanwhile, both the Costa Rican and Panamanian football federations have launched official protests, which CONCACAF promises they will look into. I wouldn’t hold your breath expecting CONCACAF to actually do anything, of course. Yesterday Panamanian Football Federation president Pedro Chaluja went farther than just alleging referee error, and raised the specter of match-fixing. Via Grant Wahl: “We perceive that this match was manipulated, and not by the Mexican federation, but there are interested third parties,” said Panama FA president Pedro Chaluja. “The bad refereeing decisions were deliberate and with the intention of protecting the third parties. These events can only be decrypted if FIFA and CONCACAF join together to carry out a thorough investigation into the development that referee Mark Geiger was so unfavorable and ended up robbing the victory and the dreams of all Panamanians.” The thing is, the idea that there would be match-fixing during the Gold Cup isn’t that crazy. In all likelihood matches were fixed at the 2011 Gold Cup, and at the 2013 edition members of the Belizean team were offered a bribe to tank against the United States. Add in the fact that former top CONCACAF execs like Chuck Blazer (plead guilty to racketeering and other charges) and Jeffrey Webb (currently facing corruption charges) took money (allegedly, in Webb’s case) for specific votes and steering contracts to certain companies, is it really so hard to believe that in one of these matches Mexico benefitted from more than just bad refereeing? E-mail or gchat the author: [email protected] | PGP key + fingerprint
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Members of his family and his fiancee, Sasha Atwood, were at the property at the time when they heard a disturbance and raised the alarm.
It has been reported the thieves made off with £1million worth of jewellery and watches and police are now investigating.
A spokeswoman for Cheshire Constabulary said: “At around 9.50pm on Wednesday 27 December police were called to reports of a burglary. The caller reported that a number of items had been stolen.”
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Former Manchester United winger and Wales manager Ryan Giggs is “relieved” at being cleared of domestic violence allegations made by his ex-girlfriend after charges were dropped.
Kate Greville told police and lawyers she did not want to go through the ordeal of a second trial after jurors failed to reach verdicts in the high-profile first trial last year, Manchester Crown Court heard.
Giggs, 49, was not in court on Tuesday as lawyers said there was no longer any realistic prospect of conviction and it was not in the public interest for Giggs to go on trial for a second time over allegations made by Greville and her sister Emma.
Peter Wright KC, prosecuting, offered no evidence against Giggs at the 20-minute hearing as the allegations were formally dropped.
Hansi Flick has ended weeks of speculation over his Bayern Munich future by confirming he wishes to leave the club at the end of this season.
After taking over from Niko Kovac in November 2019, the 56-year-old led the Bavarians to a Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal and Champions League treble in his first campaign in charge.
He added a UEFA Super Cup, DFL-Supercup and the Club World Cup this term, with another top-flight title also looking likely after Bayern opened up a seven-point lead on Saturday.
However, it has recently been reported that Flick was considering his future and, speaking after a 3-2 win over Wolfsburg, the German coach revealed he will depart at the end of the season.
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Female football supporters from Wales’ South Asian communities will watch the national team play for the first time on Friday through a new initiative designed to create a more diverse fan base.
The sold-out signs are set to go up for Wales’ Euro 2024 qualifier with Armenia at the Cardiff City Stadium with Rob Page’s side hoping to take another step towards next summer’s finals in Germany.
Among the 33,000-plus capacity crowd will be women benefiting from a partnership between Her Game Too Cymru, Amar Cymru – the group launched in 2020 to give the South Asian community a voice in the national team – and the Football Association of Wales.
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With Europe s elite once again taking center stage this weekend, we look set for another stacked schedule from across the continent. On that note, for those of you looking to stick on a Saturday acca, we have found a handful of helpful tips that are worth keeping an eye out for.
Saturday February 11th
BST 14:00 Empoli vs Spezia
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The striker has agreed to stay in Turin, where he spent 2020-21 on loan from Atletico Madrid.
Morata scored 20 goals in all competitions last season, his best tally for a single campaign in his career, while also providing 11 assists.
Juve said in a statement on Tuesday: It goes without saying, Morata is in the right place, at the right time. And, of course, for another year!
Morata spent two years at Juve from 2014 to 2016 before returning to Real Madrid for the 2016-17 season.
After a difficult spell at Chelsea, he moved to Atletico initially on loan in 2019 before signing a permanent deal a year later.
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Knowing that they must pounce on a golden chance this weekend, Scotland will welcome Moldova to Hampden on Saturday night.
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