Dear WSC
So Adam Powley thinks Chelsea have “obscene ticket prices” (WSC 151). He’s right, obviously, but having paid £29 to watch Tottenham play Chelsea from a seat situated behind the police control room at White Hart Lane last season, I hardly think Spurs fans are in a position to take the moral high ground. As for Chelsea’s “contrived glamour image”, I can only wonder at how he sees the image of his own club. “Real” glamour perhaps?
Colin Maitland, Ascot
Known as many things, mainly to rude to print, the referee has a tough job. Cris Freddi is taking no pity on the men in black
As always, there are enough examples of dreadful refereeing to fill a book, let alone a couple of pages. Only room here for a quick mention of Alan Hudson being given a goal for Chelsea against Ipswich, when the ball hit the side netting, and Clive Allen being denied one when his free-kick came back off the stanchion, both pushed aside by more momentous examples.
Arguing continues between the Asian Football Confederation and FIFA over the number of World Cup spots for Asian teams. Justin McCurry gives us the lowdown
When the Asian Football Confederation decided at the end of last year to boycott the 2002 World Cup if it was not granted an extra place in the qualifying rounds, there were few inklings of the bitter feud that was to develop among the most senior members of the FIFA family. With just three months left before the draw for the qualifying rounds, the prospect of FIFA and its Asian siblings kissing and making up still looks some way off.
Hooligan's and Graeme Souness (no connection) are just some of the things that Jamie Rainbow has been looking at on the web
In the wake of Cardiff’s opening day visit from Millwall, there has been much talk of a resurgence in football hooliganism involving rival fans allegedly arranging fights over the internet. Time then for WSC to undertake an in-depth investigation into the phenomenon. An initial search for “football hooligan” produced 230 sites. The first selection was called simply: “Hooligan’s”, which sounded promising until I discovered it was a site advertising Hooligan’s Tavern in New York. However, the bar does claim to be “equipped to serve all your sporting needs”, so you never know.
Despite going well in Euro 2000 qualification, scandal has hit Romania. Richard Augood reports
These are strange and troubled times for Romanian football. Yet just a couple of months ago everything seemed to be going so well. Romania were in a strong position in Euro 2000 qualifying group seven. On June 5th, Gheorghe Hagi, who had been back at his magnificent best with Galatasaray, was persuaded out of retirement for just one, very important, match. Inspired by Hagi, Romania beat bitter rivals Hungary 2-0. Almost unbelievably, this was the first time Romania had ever beaten the Hungarians in 20 games spread over 68 years.