footballcircus: Video Killed the Referee

This week in Football Circus: Video technology controversy in Argentina; Keith Curle goes on a rant; Ghanaian side accused of watching porn; and a Suarez-esque shoulder bite in Mexico. We also report on Mario Balotelli's sore knee which has apparently given him a temperature and in our Italian Football Story of the Week, look at an ex-Liverpool defender accused of robbing honey from Harrod's. So roll up because the Circus is back in town...

Football Circus Clown Quote of the Week

"Something's got to give today. They'll either take a point each or someone's going to win this one".

- Harry Redknapp, who we assume does not make much money from gambling.

Madness in Argentina as Video Technology Changes Ref's Mind

Argentine referee German Delfino (yes, German the Argentine) is in a right mess this week as he faces a ban for...making the right decision! (Eventually at least). Whilst officiating the Velez Sarsfield and Arsenal de Sarandi clash, Delfino sent off Arsenal man Daniel Valencia, who was adjudged to have handled the ball inside the box. A penalty was of course also awarded.

However, an instant replay in the stadium showed that Valencia had in fact, not handled the ball at all. Upon realising his error, Delfino changed his mind and recalled Valencia to the field of play, rescinding the red card.

Unfortunately for Delfino, the use of video technology to assist in such decisions, is not permitted and the referee now faces a ban from the game. Immediately after the heated encounter, which saw the appearance of riot police, Delfino told Futbol Para Todos:

"I saw one thing and changed the decision because of a collaborator, we are a team but I’m unhappy.

"The procedure was horrible, that mustn’t happen to me again. It’s messy and I take full responsibility.

"Doubts cause confusion…I hope I did the right thing".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AeOJOg0-xQs

Carlisle Manager Curle Rants about Bits Below Short & Curlies

Carlisle manager and former Man City defender Keith Curle went on quite the rant this week after his side lost 3-1 to Accrington Stanley. In a rather un-P.C. interview given to BBC Radio Cumbria, Curle questioned whether his (to the best of our knowledge), male squad, actually possessed male genitalia.

Said a furious Curle:

"We’ve got to play people with the male genitalia to go out and play, but I don’t think I can do that as I’d only start with five or six players because I don’t think there are players there that have got the male genitalia.

"Those players need to know that basically they’re soft. The strength of character in that changing room is alarming weak.

"You’ve got to be accountable for yourself and have pride, there are players who can’t say they care because they put in a performance that shows they don’t.

"They are players who don’t deserve to be professionals. They are weak.

"I’ve had to tell players individually what I thought of their performances, and yes it did get personal.

"There’s no spirit in that changing room – they’ve got no male genitalia. They are weak, and we need a reaction.

"They need a poke, and I’ve given them a poking. The goals we’ve conceded are not even at Sunday League level.

"I might get 50 supporters to come down, have an open forum and they can have half an hour with the players.

"They can tell them exactly what they think of them, and they’ll have to take it.
"Supporters can see when people aren’t giving everything for the shirt".

What a load of balls.

Ghanaian Side's Manager Blames Poor Performance on Porn!

Ghanaian side Asante Kotoko lost out to Algerian side MC El Eulma in the CAF Champions League last week. The team have been heavily criticised in their home country four their poor display and manager Kofi Manu thinks he knows exactly why his men have been underperforming...watching porn!
In an interview with Sikka FM, Manu moaned:

"These players do not sleep. I tell you all the time, they don’t sleep. The fact that they are in bed does not mean they sleep. They spend their nights making calls, browsing the web and watching porno!

"If you like, get a medical expert to assess them and you can get confirmation".

Well, at least he's honest!

Tijuana Midfielder Pays Homage to Suarez...And Bites Opponent's Shoulder

The Mexican FA have imposed a two match ban on Tijuana midfielder Juan Arango after he took a leaf out of Luis Suarez's book and a lump out of an opponent's shoulder! Arango bit the shoulder of Monterrey defender Jesus Zavala as Tijuana ran out 4-3 victors. The referee missed the incident however and astoundingly, Arango swapped jerseys afterwards, as Arango apologised for his action.

Luis Suarez may be slightly aggrieved to learn Arango was only handed a two match ban. Suarez had to serve a nine match ban after his bite on Giorgio Cheillini at last year's World Cup, a ten match ban for his bite on Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic in 2013 and a seven match ban for his bite on PSV Eindhoven midfielder Otman Bakkal in 2010.

Zavala later posted a picture of his bite-marked shoulder to Instagram.

What's Mad Mario Upto this Week?

He's not winning any friends. Balo further enraged Liverpool fans last weekend after apparently withdrawing himself from their squad ahead of their encounter with fellow Champions League place contenders, Arsenal. What made the situation worse was the the fact that, according to Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers, doctors had cleared the striker to play.

After the Italian had refused to travel with the team having complained of a sore knee, Rodgers stated:

"He trained on Friday afternoon with the team and he took a slight knock to his knee and he deemed himself not able to travel.

"I’m not a medic. He felt it was too sore to travel. The medical staff have looked at it. It was just something that he himself didn’t feel comfortable enough to travel".

Liverpool suffered a 4-1 defeat and though it could be argued that Balotelli would not have influenced the game given his form this season, his failure to even travel with the team will not go down well.

On Wednesday, Liverpool ran out 1-0 winners in a tight F.A. Cup clash with Blackburn. Super Mario again failed to appear but took to Instagram afterwards to congratulate goal scorer Philippe Coutinho. However he also seemed to suggest that he was out because of a temperature, which doesn't quite fit with Rodgers' "knock to his knee" story. Should be interesting to see how this one plays out...

Italian Football Story of the Week

- Dossena Arrested for Shoplifting in Harrods

Italian full back Andrea Dossena has been arrested after being accused of shoplfting in famous London department store, Harrods. The Leyton Orient defender, who has played for Udinese, Liverpool, Napoli and Sunderland, was arrested on Tuesday with a 31 year old woman by London Metropolitan Police.
A Met Police spokesman stated:

"Police arrested a 33-year-old male and a 31-year-old woman on April 7 on suspicion of shoplifting at Harrods.

"They were taken to a west London police station.

"Both the man and woman have been bailed to a date in late April, pending further enquiries".

Dossena's club Leyton Orient said of the incident:

"The Club are aware of the incident reported earlier today involving Andrea Dossena.

"However, the Club is not in a position to make any further comment on this matter whilst it is being dealt with by the authorities".

Today, an angry Dossena released a statement through his agent Federico Pastorello:

"In regard to the news released today on some websites, I would like to make very clear that the story reported is unfounded.

"I was in Harrods with my wife and my son for some shopping and I forgot to pay for a honey jar and some sliced meats we had previously ordered. While exiting the shop unaware of my oversight, I was stopped by security guards who then called the police as a standard routine procedure.

"As I wasn’t carrying with me any identity documents at the time, I was asked to go to the nearest police station in order to be identified, after which I left and went back home. Hence, I have now instructed my lawyers to protect my image with all necessary legal actions against those who reported this inaccurate and tendentious news".

Quite a sticky situation indeed!

Artist's Impression of the Week

- 'Argie Bargie’; Argentine referee rescinds red card and penalty after seeing video replay.

Football Recommendation of the Week

- Soccer Saturday; Jeff Stelling and co. have been on our screens since 1998 and while perhaps not quite being the institution that Match of the Day is, Soccer Saturday has certainly become a staple part of the average Premier League fan's televisual diet.

http://www1.skysports.com/watch/tv-shows/soccer-saturday

Non-Football Recommendation of the Week

- Tie Me Up (Discopunks); Not a whole lot is known of Dublin band Discopunks, but we can confirm that their first single 'Tie Me Up' is pretty damn good...

http://discopunks.ie/