Thursday 1 The FA is fined £70,000 for the pitch invasion and racist abuse at last month’s Euro 2004 qualifier with Turkey. UEFA also criticises David Beckham for his “provocative” goal celebration. England’s next match, against Slovakia, will not be played behind closed doors, however. Acting joint chief executive David Davies promises action: “We need to take this decision and use it to our benefit. There are people who have shamed this country, we all know that.” UEFA will also be sending a bill to Sir Alex, who’s fined £4,500 for claiming the Champions League draw was fixed. In the Conference play-offs, Dagenham beat Morecambe 2-1 and Doncaster draw 1-1 at Chester. Thierry Henry is named Footballer of the Year to add to the PFA award he won last week.
Search: 'East Fife'
Stories
Nathan Lee Davies explains why Inverness Caledonian Thistle revel in cup glory and league success
Celtic supporters will never forget February 8, 2000 when Inverness Caledonian Thistle won 3-1 at Parkhead in the third round of the Scottish Cup – a result that cost manager John Barnes his job. However, they could be forgiven for thinking their team only had to turn up at Caledonian Stadium to progress to the last four of this year’s competition given that, three days earlier, they had comfortably dispatched Liverpool from the UEFA Cup at Anfield. There was little in the first half to suggest a shock was in the offing, but shortly before half time ICT striker Dennis Wyness struck and his side were 45 minutes away from repeating their feat.
Every Saturday three men decide the results of postponed matches. If you don't want to find out why and how, look away now, because Al Needham met them
Whenever I have an argument with anyone about the innate superiority of British football over any other sporting entity in the world, I always keep one killer argument in reserve: the fact that we have a Pools Panel. It gives off the impression to foreigners that our game is so important that when matches can’t be played, we actually have a platoon of experts who decide the result for us. Of course, they could counter this fact by pointing out that if every team in the country had the kind of facilities that they should have in the 21st century, there would be no need for a Pools Panel, but I counter that by stating that, even if there was a nuclear holocaust, the Pools Panel are probably on standby to decide entire seasons until civilisation recovered. That shuts them up a treat.
After over 120 years East Stirlingshire FC could be no more if a proposed move goes through. Ken Gall reflects on a club with a rich history and their fight to survive
Even the kindest of souls would have to acknowledge that East Stirlingshire FC have not been one of the major players in Scottish football history. Winners of precisely no major honours and with a grand total of no cup final appearances, even their apparently geographically specific name tends to leave fans scratching their heads as to the club’s location (“near Falkirk” is the best most can come up with).
Dear WSC
I have no time at all for deposed Rangers vice-chairman Donald Findlay, but Gary Oliver’s article about him (WSC 149) was unfair in two respects. Findlay is Scotland’s pre-eminent defence counsel. He has defended scores of people accused of rape, murder, etc – including many Catholics. To extract from his long career two cases where the victims were Celtic fans is a distortion. And Findlay’s admittedly ill-judged joke that his birthday should have been on July 12th rather than St Patrick’s Day was a mutual one he had with a Catholic friend whose birthday is on the former date. The good news is that Rangers chairman David Murray has, by getting rid of Findlay, again taken strong action against sectarianism.
Ian McLean, Glasgow