It certainly smells fishy. 1-0 Italy was the only possible result that could've guaranteed passage for both the Italians and the Germans. It has all the hallmarks of the '82 farce between W Germany and Austria.
They could have avoided the problem if they had thought through the qualifying rules about the best second placed team. Italy had a worse goal difference but went through as group leaders because they had won the head to head with Germany, leaving Germany to qualify as best runner-up because of a better goal difference than Slovakia. If the rules deemed the second place team to have the same goal difference as the first in this situation that would have prevented any possible collusion.
Recent Peterborough signing Ricky Miller has been banned for 6 matches for biting an opponent. FFS he bit someone. He should be prosecuted and banned for a season. When is someone going to properly punish players who commit offences like this?
By which you mean his supporters will be selling 10s of "Justice for ..." T-shirts rather than the 1000s the Mousers did ??
The Champions League is already underway!! Before the first ball has been bowled in a Test match this summer. Linfield playing La Florita. Linfield have some pedigree though. Q-F of the European Cup in 1967.
La Fiorita are from San Marino and play at a 500 capacity stadium. Tonight sees them debut Damiano Tommasi, formerly a Serie A winner with Roma, capped 25 times for Italy.
He's 43 and he's retired twice. No idea what he's doing there. Probably just fancies playing a bit. In the Champions League!
That makes more sense then, should be retired and playing in Seniors comps at that age though. He's no Stanley Matthews.
It looks like the Victorian freakshow is alive and well.... http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/boxing/40434050
This is the first time that I've ever thought that I'd rather see two boxers' sons fight and had something to back it up. Embarrassing.
A really awful article inThe Sun. Loathsome on many fronts, ill informed, biased, misleading and almost certainly politically motivated given that it follows immediately upon the charging of a number of those central to the deaths at Hillsborough. https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/foot...k-so-remember-they-were-not-that-good-at-all/ I hope that Neil Ashton receives what is due to him for writing this pile of horse **** for his paymaster. Sharmeful!
So, The Lions win a test, something that I thought that was beyond them, not because we don't have the talent but because everything is going for the opposition. The sending off was a critical incident in deciding the outcome. New Zealand live on the edge of what is legal and get more than their fair share of close calls. Today wasn't their day and it's long overdue and possibly came on the back of Gatland's press conferences. Again a fabulous effort from everyone in a Lion's shirt. Can we win the the decider? Oh, if only we could...........Come on boys!!
Sensational game and great excuse to be in the pub at 8am...next Saturday is a massive game now. But to win in NZ's back yard as a touring side, is some achievement. Like you say, the ABs play right on the edge of legality and it was bound to bite them eventually. Strong performance from them with 14 men for so long though.
