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The Archive

Articles from When Saturday Comes. All 27 years of WSC are in the process of being added. This may take a while.

 

Kazuyoshi Miura

Known for his eccentric wardrobe and time in Brazil, Miura is now breaking records in Japan. Simon Coterill explains

Now that Shunsuke Nakamura has returned from Europe and Hidetoshi Nakata has retired, Japanese “sakka” is looking for a new leading man. Competing are Borussia Dortmund’s new talisman Shinji Kagawa and CSKA Moscow’s Keisuke Honda, whose World Cup goals, bleached-blond hair and penchant for expensive fashion make him the favourite. Whoever lands the role will be the latest to replace Japan’s first football superstar, Kazuyoshi Miura. Now aged 43 Miura is still playing professionally, seemingly unwilling to relinquish his limelight.

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Scottish Premier League 1985-86

Mark Poole describes the season in which Celtic won the championship on goals difference

The long-term significance
The year Hearts threw it all away, in one of Scotland’s most dramatic league finales ever. The Jam Tarts last won the title in 1960 and only Celtic and Rangers have won it since Aberdeen in 1984- 85. Hearts, unbeaten in seven months, went into the last day of the season needing just a draw.

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A game of chicken

With Blackburn Rovers linking themselves to several high profile players, it seems enhancing the brand may be a little too high up the priorities list for some clubs

WSC is delighted to announce that JK Rowling is set to join our editorial team later this month. We have arranged an attractive salary package in the vicinity of £20,000 a year plus three weeks paid holiday and various fringe benefits including the use of a bike rack. Her representatives are still to confirm that it’s a done deal but we expect to have it tied up by the middle of January. In the meantime be sure to join the throng flocking to our Twitter and Facebook pages for regular updates. We’re pretty stoked about this as you can imagine.

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Little white lies?

After controversial events during the Old Firm derby, Mark Poole writes why Scottish referees find themselves in a season of turmoil

Maybe it should have been a penalty, maybe it shouldn’t, but the decision that went against Celtic at Tannadice on October 17 has led to lies, controversy, misinformation, a linesman’s resignation, demands for apologies and further resignations, and a referees’ strike.

When Celtic’s Gary Hooper took a tumble in the box following a challenge from Dundee Utd goalkeeper Dusan Pernis, referee Dougie McDonald pointed to the spot. He was soon surrounded by angry defenders. He then consulted his linesman, Steven Craven, and reversed his decision. It was a game that Celtic didn’t look like winning at the time, although a late goal swung it in their favour. After the game, McDonald explained to his match supervisor and to Celtic manager Neil Lennon that he’d got a shout on his earpiece from Craven, saying he’d seen Pernis get the ball first. So no harm done, in the sort of exciting, competitive game that is all too rare in the SPL.

But then Craven resigned. Across the press, stories were published about his resignation featuring quotes from ex-referee Kenny Clark about how Scottish refs sometimes received razor blades in the post and had their windows smashed. The implication that could be drawn from these reports was clear: that Celtic fans had driven Craven out of the game. New SFA chief executive Stewart Regan called for a “respect” campaign for referees.

Two days after Regan’s appeal, in an interview with the Sunday Mail, Craven stated that the bullying that led to his resignation came not from fans, but from McDonald and the head of referee development, Hugh Dallas. Craven claimed that he had not called McDonald over. He says that the referee had run across, saying “I think I’ve fucked up”, before reversing his decision. And that after the match McDonald suggested lying to their supervisor and Lennon about why he’d changed his mind. Craven also claims that Dallas pressured him to maintain his lie.

Both McDonald and Dallas dispute the details of Craven’s interview. McDonald says it was Craven who suggested lying, while Dallas claims he never put pressure on the linesman. McDonald’s actions were investigated by an panel of six SFA employees – five of whom were former referees. They found him guilty of lying, but only gave him a warning.

Regan then announced that he would examine how the refereeing committee works. As well as having their disciplinary hearings conducted by their peers, individual referees often hear appeals against their own decisions. The system sorely lacks transparency and accountability.

McDonald and Craven’s lie wasn’t a big one, but it saved McDonald from allegations that he had given in to pressure from Dundee Utd defenders to change his decision. Lennon wants an apology from McDonald. John Reid has gone one further: “He [McDonald] should go and, if not, he should be removed from his post,” said the Celtic chairman and former home secretary. “There cannot be integrity in a system that allows a referee to lie.”

Celtic and the SFA haven’t been on the best of terms recently. Last season, the club queried three key decisions in games against Rangers. This November, referee Willie Collum received telephone threats after he gave Rangers a controversial penalty in an Old Firm match, and Lennon received a two-match touchline ban for his behaviour during a match against Hearts.

Two days after Reid’s comments, the referees announced their intention to strike, stating that the scrutiny they were working under was leading to personal threats against them. Over the weekend of November 27 and 28, SPL matches were covered by referees from Luxembourg, Israel and Malta. SPL chief executive Neil Doncaster said: “I’m really surprised and disappointed that referees felt the need to walk away from matches rather than talk about a solution.” Meanwhile, Lennon admits that he has “crossed the line” with officials at least once this season.

Given the frequently dangerous passions that surround the Old Firm, Celtic (and Rangers) have a greater responsibility than other clubs to avoid inciting threats. It is often difficult to balance this with their equal right to appeal against decisions. But it is a gamble for the referees to demand that the clubs stop questioning them, when at the root of the problem is a referee who was not punished for lying to his supervisor and a club manager. Many fans will now view McDonald as untrustworthy and his recent actions will undermine his authority the next time he has to make a big decision, particularly one that affects Celtic.

Players, managers and fans across the world need to show referees more respect. But the SFA must introduce greater transparency and accountability to the country’s archaic refereeing set-up. As referee Charlie Richmond said: “We have been trying to get referees and managers to work together. But if you tell a lie to a fellow professional, it’s going to hinder that relationship.”

From WSC 287 January 2011

Blackburn Rovers 2 Aston Villa 0

Simon Hart describes the scenes as Blackburn play their first match under the watchful eye of their new owners

There are three Robbie Savages grinning in front of me as I take my seat in the press box high in the Jack Walker Stand. The one-time Blackburn Rovers midfielder is appearing in a book-plugging interview on his former club’s in-house TV channel, playing on monitors suspended from the ceiling of the stand. The sight of Savage, very much a man of his time with blond highlights and perma-tan, is juxtaposed with the more traditional spectacle unfolding on the hill behind the Riverside Stand opposite. This Sunday lunchtime kick-off is still over half an hour away and supporters trail down the brown hillside before crossing a bridge over the River Darwen and filing into the ground. Today is very much about the old and the new.

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