Who could forget that as Norman 'bites yer legs' Hunter ended up biting off more than he could chew there, Franny Lee wins on points with final flurry. There were threats as they were led down the tunnel and Lee tried to break out of the dressing room but was restrained by Roy McFarland. It all started after Hunter accused Lee of a dive. Derby won 3-2...
Southampton defender Nathan Wood has apologised for verbally abusing supporters as he left the field at St Mary’s on Saturday. “I’m regretful that I let my emotions get the better of me, and I take full accountability for them,” he said. “I will learn from this and will do my best to improve our performances on the pitch.”
Thanks Taff, that's really the sort of thing we didn't need to know about before Wednesday and our transformation into Charity Park Rangers.....
Nor sure where to put this so here will do….. Always confused me why Juventus, the best supported team in Italy, built a new stadium in 2010 with a 42k capacity, much smaller than the old place. Turns out, according to a really good book I’m reading, that the club ‘gave’ an entire end of the stadium to the various ultra groups, selling them tickets at below face value, and the tickets are then touted at hugely inflated prices because demand is always there, making the Ultras (or their leaders) and organised crime a tidy profit. One ultra leader laundered his money by appearing to win €200k on the lotto at his local bar over two years. This season both Milan and Inter are averaging over 70,000 for home games. They are cooperating to build a new stadium (projected to be ready by 2030). Capacity - 62,000. I love Italy but it’s as corrupt as ****.
Skip to main contentSkip to navigationSkip to navigation Support us Sign in Int The Guardian - Back to homeThe Guardian News Opinion Sport Culture Lifestyle Show more Search input google-search Search Support us Print subscriptions Search jobs Holidays Digital Archive Guardian Licensing Live events About Us The Guardian app Video Podcasts Pictures Newsletters Today's paper Inside the Guardian Guardian Weekly Crosswords Wordiply Corrections Tips Football Live scores Tables Fixtures Results Competitions Clubs please log in to view this image View image in fullscreen Football We love football because of moments like Van de Ven’s goal, not the Fifa peace prize Max Rushden please log in to view this image Gianni Infantino has a new idea, and like most of his ideas it’s not one many are going to like, except maybe Donald Trump Joe Cole: ‘Anything which generates the money you get in football means the parasites come’ Read more If you’re one of the first people to read this, well you could just about get a ticket, otherwise it’s too late – missed the chance to see the guy who set up WeWork tell us the wifi password, or see Rafa Nadal tell me how to grow my self-improvement podcast. The $10,000 early bird Diamond package “for those who lead change and want to be at the center of everything” was already sold out anyway. It’s tiring enough being the centre of my own existence, let alone everything. What in the Micky van de Ven does this have to do with sport anyway? Well, this was where the president of Fifa, Gianni Infantino, announced his new big idea this week: the “Fifa Peace Prize – Football Unites the World”. Gianni is on stage alongside one of the hosts; we are treated to a stirring montage of the last World Cup. “Qatar 2022: the most questioned World Cup in history,” begins the voiceover. “A tournament surrounded by doubt. Debate. And the weight of the world’s eyes, but when the whistle blew something changed. The noise turned into emotion, the controversy into connection. Under pressure, Gianni Infantino stood at the centre leading with resolve – proving that leadership isn’t about avoiding the storm, it’s about standing tall within it and as the world watched. The same World Cup became the most emotional, the most unifying, the most human of them all.” The room breaks out into healthy applause. That is certainly one review of Qatar 2022. Others might want to add a little more nuance. please log in to view this image View image in fullscreen Gianni Infantino says he will reveal the first winner of his Fifa Peace Prize at the World Cup draw in Washington DC on 5 December. Photograph: Alexander Tamargo/Getty Images for America Business Forum Anyway on to the Fifa “I Can’t Believe It’s Not The Nobel Peace Prize” peace prize. “Our motto in Fifa is that football or soccer unites and that it brings people together from the entire planet,” Infantino said. “When we see what is happening in our world today, which is a very divided world, we need to find more occasions to bring people together, because when these people come together, they speak to each other, they understand each other. We believe that peace in the world is something which is so important. “We have to support it because it’s about unity and we have to support anyone who is doing something special. So we thought we have to bring to life the Fifa peace prize. The first edition will be happening this year with the awarding on the 5th of December in Washington DC on the occasion of the draw for the World Cup, because we will have a global audience with 1 billion people watching the draw. This is the right platform to award somebody who has done so much or is doing so much for peace, because we need that. Football helps a little bit, but then we need leaders who push it into the goal.” Well now, does anyone know anyone who might in the market for a global peace prize? Anyone? Bueller? Anyone? Can I shock you? I like peace. Infantino went on to praise Donald Trump: “As far as I understand, president Trump was elected, in the USA, quite clearly elected, and when you are in such a great democracy as the United States you should first of all respect the results of the election,” says the man who – checks notes – has stood unopposed in Fifa elections twice, about the man – checks other notes – whose supporters mounted an insurrection against the results of an election. Where do you even start? The auditorium applauds again. skip past newsletter promotiontheguardian.com to send you this newsletter. You can complete full registration at any time. For more information about how we use your data see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. after newsletter promotion “I think we should all support what he’s doing because I think he’s doing pretty good.” … Pretty pretty good – roll the Curb credits. It would be a great time to ask Gianni whether it’s normal that he didn’t face any candidate in the past two Fifa presidential elections. And while we’re on peace, has he given back his order of friendship medal from Vladimir Putin? And while we’re on Qatar, why has Fifa ignored its own recommendations and ruled out paying compensation to migrant workers who were harmed in Qatar? There are other questions. But it’s more extraordinary how any of this is happening. For good or bad, why is the guy who runs football preaching about fair elections and doling out peace prizes? Sometimes it is difficult to reconcile this game of perfect simplicity with its place in the world. In the past week it has delivered some moments of total beauty. Van de Ven powering past the whole of FC Copenhagen, Dan Burn turning his forehead into the outside of Roberto Carlos’s left foot, Hakan Calhanoglu lacing it to Piotr Zielinski, have prompted all manner of involuntary noises from this sofa. Without their brilliance, does football have this money, this influence? They shouldn’t be connected. How do we get from Neil Harris praising the lads for beating Brighton Under-21s in the Vertu Trophy to the Fifa president taking part in the Gaza peace talks in Egypt? What a weird ecosystem. Something as inconsequential as football probably shouldn’t have this level of importance – unless of course it brings about world peace. When that happens consider my movements sparked, my dreams magnetised and sign me up for all the business forums you can. Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Explore more on these topics Football Gianni Infantino Fifa Football politics comment Share Reuse this content Football Live scores Tables Fixtures Results Competitions Clubs News Opinion Sport Culture Lifestyle Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning Sign up for our email About us Help Complaints & corrections Contact us Tip us off SecureDrop Privacy policy Cookie policy Tax strategy Terms & conditions All topics All writers Newsletters Digital newspaper archive Bluesky Facebook Instagram LinkedIn Threads TikTok YouTube Advertise with us Search UK jobs Tips Accessibility settings Work for us Back to top © 2025 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. (dcr)
