World of Football
Usual and not so usual Football News from around the WorldNo draw?
The English Football League, the oldest in the world, is to consider settling drawn matches with penalty shoot-outs following a meeting of the league’s 72 club chairmen.One idea, put forward by League chairman Brian Mawhinney, is for each team to be awarded a point for a drawn match, with the winner of the shoot-out awarded an extra point.
The proposal, discussed by club chairmen on Thursday, will be developed by a working party which will canvas views from managers and supporters groups, amongst others.
Mawhinney said: “I suggested that for drawn matches each team gets a point and then maybe the team that wins a penalty shoot-out gets an extra point. Managers may hate penalty shoot-outs but fans love them.
“Some people were strongly against it, some people were in favor of it, but on both sides people said: ‘Lets be constructive and have a broad examination of what we have to offer.'”
If the idea was ever adopted, it would not need the approval of FIFA, world soccer’s governing body, as it would not involve a change to the laws of the game but a change to the rules of the competition.
The format could be a conventional penalty shoot-out, or follow the system used in the old NASL (North American Soccer League) giving a player a certain number of seconds to score from the halfway line.
The Football League was established with 12 clubs in 1888. The last major change to its points scoring system was in 1981 when three points were awarded for a win rather than two.
Source :http://uk.reuters.com/article/sportsNews/idUKL1660746620070316
Joey Barton arrested
Manchester City star Joey Barton has been arrested on suspicion of assault and criminal damage following an alleged argument with a taxi driver in Liverpool earlier this month.
“I can confirm a 24-year-old man from Widnes was arrested on suspicion of causing criminal damage and assault,” said a spokeswoman for Merseyside police. “He has been bailed until May pending further inquiries.”
Barton is no stranger to controversy. He was fined by the Football Association after baring his bottom at Everton supporters in October and fined six weeks’ wages by Manchester City for stubbing a cigar out in the eye of young City team-mate Jamie Tandy at a Christmas party.
He was also sent home from a pre-season tour of Thailand after becoming involved in a brawl with a teenage Everton fan.
England chef ‘shocked’to know pork and milk ban
The chef of the England international football team was “shocked” to learn that he would be banned from cooking the players food containing pork, bacon and ham when they stay at a kosher Israeli hotel this month, it has been reported.
The Football Association has booked 80 rooms at the five-star Dan Accadia Hotel in the resort of Herzilya, near Tel Aviv, when England play Israel in the forthcoming Euro 2008 match.
However in advance of their stay, the hotel has warned the England team, its officials and management, that they will have to abide by the laws of kashrut or laws of kosherness.
England’s chef usually cooks pork sausages for the players, and mixes meat with milk by serving cheese at the same time.
Captain John Terry particularly likes Parmesan cheese with every meal, the chef was reported to have revealed, and the rules of mixing meat with milk will prohibit that, the hotel has said.
“The England chef was shocked when he found out he wouldn’t be able to cook pork, sausage and cheese together,” Arik Porat, the hotel’s chef, told the Jewish Chronicle newspaper. “He said: ’What will I do with captain John Terry, who likes to have Parmesan with every meal – including meat?’”
In an official statement, the FA, however, said the restrictions would not cause any problems. “We are satisfied that we will have an enjoyable time in Israel, and we are looking forward to our visit,” a spokesman said.
For its part, the FA has handed a 13-page list of demands to the hotel with strict requirements for management to abide by in order to ensure that the team functions optimally on the playing field.
It includes removing mini-bars and restricting room service for all 80 rooms reserved for the team, it has been reported.
“We are very thorough in our preparation for matches and this is standard practice,” an FA spokesman said.
“We are doing nothing different in Israel than we do anywhere else.”
Source :http://www.ejpress.org/article/14952
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