Football Shorts – The Banned From Hell edition

Game Postponed Due To Bad Smell

I’m deadly serious. The French Cup game between Rouen and Marseille was called off due to a gas leak at a factory in Rouen, casting a horrible smell all over north-western France… No real change there to be fair.

Although there was no danger to the public, the French FA decided to play it safe and postponed the game until a later date.

Coupe de France Heartbreak

While we’re on the subject of the French Cup, a special mention must go to amateur side Meaux.

The minnows, who play in the Division d’Honneur (French seventh division), took Ligue 1 side St Etienne all the way to a penalty shootout, but couldn’t record the victory on the night and went out 5-3 on penalties, the unfortunate Younes Mokrane being the poor soul who missed his shot.

The feat is all the more amazing when you realise Meaux played over 80 minutes of the game with 10 men, after Edouard Pletho was sent off for a second bookable offence in the 38th minute.

Milan Jovanovic Banished For Drinking

Serbian side Red Star Belgrade banished star defender Jovanonvic from the first team squad after he was caught drinking during the team’s winter break. The 29-year old Montenegro centre-back was basically on an all-night bender in the team’s hotel in the Turkish holiday resort of Antalya, and coach Aleksandar Jankovic took major exception to this:

“Jovanovic was designated to lead by example as one of the key players in the second half of the season but he has committed an intolerable breach of conduct and is hence banished from the senior team. As far as I am concerned the case is closed and it’s now up to the club’s disciplinary committee to deal with it.”

Milan probably wasn’t drunk here.

Fenerbahce Ordered To Play Behind Closed Doors

UEFA have ordered the Turkish club to play their next home Europa League game behind closed doors after their fans threw fireworks and missiles onto the pitch against Borussia Moenchengladbach in December. UEFA also ordered the club to pay a fine of €40,000 after the incident, also noting in their judgement that there were similar incidents back in the Champions League play-off match against Spartak Moscow in August.

FIFA Working On Concussions

After young Dan Potts of West Ham was carried off the field against Arsenal with a serious concussion, Sepp Blatter tweeted:

Best wishes & quick recovery to Dan Potts. Concussion in football is a big issue that FIFA is taking very seriously.

Concussion is a serious injury, the effects of which can be severely underestimated. Other sports have taken massive strides towards the issue, particularly American Football. While football players can never wear helmets or have HANS devices like FA drivers, any steps the game can take to prevent head injuries is alright by me.

Sepp Blatter Is Leaving FIFA…Possibly

While we’re discussing the FIFA president, European FAs have suggested future FIFA presidents should serve an initial term of eight years and a maximum of 12 years overall.The 53 member associations of UEFA also called for an age limit of 72 for all elected FIFA officials, including members of the executive committee.

FIFA is due to discuss and vote on proposed changes to its statues at its Congress in Mauritius in May and is expected to discuss and vote on these proposals then, although FIFA’s own working group has suggested a limit of two four-year terms as president.

Peruvian U20 Player Sent Home… For Being 25

…and from Ecuador.

Peru sent Max Barrios home from the South American U20 Championships after it came to light that he may actually be Juan Carlos Espinosa, a 25-year-old from Ecuador.

‘Max’ was registered as an 18-year-old Peruvian by the U20s before they flew out to the championships in Argentina, but CONMEBOL sent him back home (wherever home actually is) after the Ecuadorian Football Federation (FEF) raised suspicions over his true identity. FEF officials noticed that ‘Max’ looked exactly like a player who played in the Ecuadorian league up until last year by the name of Juan Carlos Espinosa, who according to their records was born in 1987, thus making him 25.

CONMEBOL have already stated that the Peru U20s will not be punished if they are found to have fielded an illegitimate player, but his father is adamant everything is above board:

“My son hasn’t done anything bad, he simply has dual nationality and decided to play for Peru. I have a birth certificate which is formal and legal. He was born in 1995. I have all the papers in order.”

Huncoat United Break A Record

In a record even Scotland can’t match, the Lancashire-based U15 side Huncoat United have won their first ever match, after five years of trying and over 100 attempts.

They beat Brierfield Celtic 2-0 and set a league points record in the process…with three points. They’re still rock bottom, and with a current record of 104 goals conceded in 12 matches so far this season, I can’t imagine they’ll rise any higher in the table this season.

21 Fans Sentenced To Death

An Egyptian court has sentenced 21 football fans to death for taking part in a riot at a match last year in which 74 people were killed and around 1,000 people were injured. The riot took place when fans of local side Al-Masry clashed with fans of Cairo team Al-Ahly after Masry had beaten the away team 3-1. The league has been suspended ever since the deaths, and there is no start-up date in sight.

A further 52 people who were also on trial will have their verdicts delivered on March 9.