Diskussionsbereich » Sept. 2 game against Minnesota

His latest victim called the ban excessive, Maradona suggested on Argentine TV FIFA might as well handcuff him and throw him in Guantanamo and the Uruguayan president suggested a hidden agenda. In banning Luis Suarez for nine international matches and all football related activity for a period of four months and fining him $100,000, FIFA made no provision for mandating the 27-year old Uruguayan to receive the professional help he so evidently requires. FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke stated Friday Suarez should seek treatment is clear evidence the governing body failed in this regard. I cant imagine a scenario in any of our major sports leagues where rehabilitation wasnt a significant aspect of any sanctioning handed down to a repeat offender. FIFA could learn much from the North American model where rehabilitation is an integral aspect of the disciplinary process. Which is a theme picked up by FIFPro, the players global union, who questioned why rehabilitation and professional support was not mandated by FIFA. The first part of that process is taking responsibility. Instead we learned this morning in his statement to the FIFA Disciplinary Panel, Suarez denied he deliberately bit Italys Giorgio Chiellini. "I lost my balance, making my body unstable and falling on top of my opponent. At that moment I hit my face against the player leaving a small bruise on my cheek and a strong pain in my teeth." During post-match comments to Uruguayan TV Suarez claimed Chiellini bumped into him with his shoulder. This is in stark contrast with video which clearly shows it was Suarez who initiated contact between the players. "Deliberate, intentional and without provocation," was the disciplinary panels conclusion. Which could be the same words used for the two previous Suarez suspensions for biting an opponent. The first of which occurred only months after the world witnessed his deliberate hand-ball in the final minute of Uruguays quarter-final match against Ghana. In doing so Suarez denied opportunity for an African nation to make it to the semifinals of a World Cup for the first time in competition history. In the referees match report from Tuesdays pivotal Group D encounter Marco Rodriguez admits neither he, nor of any of his assistants saw the incident and that that was reason why Suarez was not punished at the time. In time we may well look back at this as the tipping point for introducing video replays. During the FIFA congress which was held in the days leading up to the World Cup Sepp Blatter stunned all in attendance when he introduced the idea of allowing coaches through the course of a match two opportunities to challenge on-field decisions. Goal line technology was introduced for this World Cup as a consequence of not allowing the goal Frank Lampard scored in Englands Round-of-16 match against Germany at South Africa 2010. We saw GLTs worth only four days into Brazil 2014, when France was rightfully awarded a goal in their opening match against Honduras. Another distasteful aspect to all this is the way companies have looked to exploit for commercial gain one of the most unsavoury incidents in World Cup Finals history. The exception to this has been the online poker company who announced yesterday they had terminated their partnership with Suarez. A sizeable crowd of fans including the Uruguayan President had flocked to the airport in Montevideo in support of their ‘hero Thursday night in anticipation of his return home. However Suarez arrived back in Montevideo on a private jet in the early hours of Friday. Avoiding the fanfare and the spotlight in favour of anonymity might just be a first sign Suarez finally understands the full consequence of his irrational actions last Tuesday. Suarez now has to ignore the sentiment of a nation, the loyalty of his manager and the outpouring of sympathy he has received in favour of the wise words from Uruguays original football icon, Alcides Ghiggia. Ghiggia - who scored the winning goal for Uruguay when they beat Brazil in the 1950 World Cup Final - has been outspoken in his criticism of Suarez. Lets hope when Uruguay take to the pitch for the pre-match warm up ahead of Saturday afternoons Round-of-16 match against Colombia they dont wear t-shirts in support of Suarez, as Liverpool players did in December, 2011 when he was given an eight-match ban for racially abusing Manchester Uniteds Patrice Evra. Instead they hopefully counsel Suarez to admit the errors of his ways and take full responsibility. Only then can he begin the long journey back to the sanctuary of the football pitch. Noel.Butler@BellMedia.ca @TheSoccerNoel on Twitter TSN Radio is an official licensed radio broadcaster of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. Check www.tsn.ca/radio for the broadcast schedule in your home town. Stitched Soccer Jerseys . Alexander was released last week by the Edmonton Eskimos, where he spent the past three seasons at safety. He had 121 defensive tackles, five special teams tackles and seven interceptions in 51 regular-season and three playoff games. Replica Soccer Jerseys . The 30-year-old Moore played in 13 games for the Saints last season, catching 37 balls for 457 yards and two touchdowns. https://www.soccerjerseyschina.us/. -- Miami Dolphins defensive co-ordinator Kevin Coyle defended the management style of coach Joe Philbin in the wake of the teams bullying scandal. Fake Soccer Jerseys . With the suspension, Nigeria is unable to take part in any kind of international fixtures. FIFA had issued a warning to the NFF last week after the federation was served with court proceedings from the government that prevented the NFFs president from running the NFFs day-to-day affairs. Soccer Jerseys China .C. United on Wednesday night. Forward Bright Dike scored the games only goal in the 85th minute on a foggy night in Bradenton, Fla. ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Jeremy Hellickson isnt used to playing meaningless games. "Its definitely no fun when you come to the park and you know youre not going to be playing in October," Hellickson said after giving up four runs and seven hits in 4 1-3 innings of Tampa Bays 4-3 loss to the Chicago White Sox on Friday night that eliminated the Rays from playoff contention. "In the four or five years Ive been here I havent been involved in too many games that havent meant anything." The Rays, who dropped to 35-44 at home, began the day 9 1/2 games behind the second AL wild-card spot. Jose Quintana pitched into the eighth inning and Avisail Garcia had a two-run double for the White Sox. Chicago rookie Jose Abreu also had a run-scoring single during a four-run fifth, giving him 104 RBIs for the season. "We put ourselves in a significant hole (they were 24-42 on June 10) and its been really hard to dig out," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "To not be involved in the post-season is no fun. We expect to be there on an annual basis." The Rays reached the playoffs four of the preceding six years. Tampa Bay had a chance to tie the score in the seventh when Ben Zobrist hit a two-out double off the glove of second baseman Marcus Semien, but Semien recovered the ball in time to throw out Kevin Kiermaier at the plate. Kiermaier was attempting to score from first base after his single. "I never criticize (Kiermaier) because hes always aggressive," Maddon said. "Their guy picks it up and throws a strike at the plate. Out. Theres no guarantee that he would have scored on the next hitter doing something." Logan Forsythe drove in Tampa Bays runs with a two-run double in thee first and a leadoff home run in the fourth, his sixth of the season.dddddddddddd Quintana (9-10) gave up three runs -- one earned -- and nine hits in 7 1-3 innings. The left-hander is 3-0 with a 1.65 ERA over his last four starts. "After the homer, I think he just really settled down and was aggressive," said White Sox manager Robin Ventura. "Really its kind of a calling card of his. He gets stronger as the game goes along." Zach Putnam got the last two outs, striking out Kiermaier with two runners on in the ninth to earn his sixth save. Hellickson (1-4) failed to get through the fifth inning for the third time in his last five starts. "Its just happened so many times this year with guys giving me a three- or four-run lead, and I throw four or five scoreless and then just lose it the next inning," he said. TRAINERS ROOM White Sox: 1B Paul Konerko, retiring after the season, played for the first time since breaking his left hand in a Sept. 2 game against Minnesota. Rays: IF Sean Rodriguez was not with the team because of a death in the family. ... CF Desmond Jennings (sore left knee) is no longer listed as an extra player on the clubhouse lineup card and is expected to miss the rest of the season. UP NEXT White Sox RHP Hector Noesi (8-10) and Rays RHP Chris Archer (9-8) are Saturday nights scheduled starters. Archer has allowed a homer in four consecutive starts. He had never given up a homer in more than two straight games prior to this stretch. ZIMMER AWARD Tampa Bay INF-OF Ben Zobrist was named as the Don Zimmer Most Valuable Player by the local BBWAA chapter. The Rays MVP award was re-named this year for Zimmer, the Rays senior adviser who died in June. ' ' '