So, dear blog reader, Rafa Benitez has now left this blogger's beloved (though unsellable) Magpies for pastures new. From the North East, to the Far East. During and after his departure, Rafa conducted himself as he had done since the day he first walked into St James' Park, with dignity, with honesty and with class. Something which those who employed him have and continue to, seemingly, be unable to match. Or anything even remotely like it. Following the expiration of his contract at Newcastle on Sunday, Monday saw Rafa The (Former) Gaffer issue a public statement, acknowledging the support which that he has received from the stands and alluding to the lack of it from off the field. The Spaniard said he felt like he 'belonged' at the club and had wish to stay. But, Benitez indicated he had wanted a longer-term deal, rather than just a contract extension. 'It became increasingly clear to me that those at the top of the club did not share the same vision,' he said. No shit? And, we're what, surprised by this? 'I wanted to stay, but I didn't just want to sign an extended contract, I wanted to be part of a project,' said Benitez in his letter to fans. 'I'm very sad about that, but I do not regret for one moment my decision to come to Tyneside and I'm very proud about what we achieved together.'
On the same day, Rafa gave his first post-United interview - a similarly classy, dignified and revealing piece - with The Times, telling George Caulkin that he had left Newcastle United to manage in China because the club's owner, Mike Ashley's desire to keep him had 'waned' and that 'I lost trust at Newcastle. If those in charge had my ambition, I would still be there.' Interestingly, this occurred on the same day that those mendacious cowards responsible for Rafa's departure were - crassly and shamefully - making a late piss-poor attempt to shift the blame onto someone else.
Not all pre-season friendlies are all that 'friendly.' Charlton Athletic were preparing for their return to the Championship by facing Romanian top-flight side Gaz Metan Medias on Thursday in what was intended to be a seventy-minute game. However, the action didn't even last that long as the match was abandoned after forty nine minutes. George Lapslie had given The Addicks a one-nil lead in the first half when, just minutes into the second period, they were awarded a penalty. This sparked what the club's own report called 'extremely distasteful scenes' and what opthers described as 'a mass brawl with kids gettin' punched and aal sorts.' Medias pair Valentin Cretu and Marius Constantin reportedly man-handled the referee, Raul Mateo, who showed red cards to both men. But, the double dismissal reportedly 'enraged' Medias head coach Edward Iordanescu, whose staff pleaded with the referee to be allowed to make substitutions instead of having players dismissed. When the referee insisted on their departure from the pitch, Iordanescu got all stroppy and discombobulated and withdrew all his players and the game was abandoned. 'It's disappointing and never nice to see. Rightly so, the referee stopped the game,' Charlton manager Lee Bowyer - himself no stranger to a bit of argy-bargy, of course - said. 'It would have been good if we could have got a game that was a bit longer, but overall I'm happy because we got a bit of a run around. Thankfully now, for us, it's better that it's ended this way so we can do a tough double session tomorrow.'
The Argentine Football Association has whinged to South American football's governing body over the 'serious and gross refereeing errors' in their Copa America semi-final defeat by Brazil. Tournament hosts Brazil made the final with a two-nil win in Belo Horizonte. The official complaint to CONMEBOL follows Lionel Messi's claims of 'crazy officiating.' The Argentine FA also accuses Brazil's president Jair Bolsonaro of making a 'clear political demonstration.' AFA president Claudio Tapia sent a six-page letter to CONMEBOL in support of the team and Messi, who was particularly aggrieved that his side were not awarded a penalty by Ecuadorian referee Roddy Zambrano before Brazil's second goal. Speaking after the defeat, Barcelona forward Messi said: 'The officiating was crazy. There were clear penalties, on [Nicolas] Otamendi, on Kun [Sergio Aguero]. [The referee] was on their side. In every divided ball or dispute, he went their way.' Tapia said Zambrano 'unjustifiably omitted the use of VAR in at least two specific moves that clearly influenced the final result of the match.' He also questioned whether 'the principles of ethics, loyalty and transparency' had been observed during the match. South American news outlet GloboEsporte reported that Bolsonaro's security team had 'attempted to block signals,' which 'caused interference and communication failure' with the VAR system. However, the Brazilian local organising committee denied the presidential radio was the reason for the cut in communication with VAR and claimed the problem was resolved before kick-off. Far-right politician Bolsonaro - who performed 'an Olympic lap of honour around the stadium at half-time' - was voted in as El Presidente last October. Via, El President! Tapia pointed to FIFA and CONMEBOL rules that 'prohibit political demonstrations at a sports event.' Something the Argentines themselves might like to remember the next time someone things it's a good idea to have the team pose with a flag in support of reclaiming the Malvinas.
Great Britain will have a women's football team at the 2020 Olympics after England finished in the top three European teams at the World Cup. The four home nations agreed in October to allow a GB women's team to try to reach Tokyo, but qualification depended on England's progress in France. England manager Phil Neville says the 'plan' is for him to manage the team. 'It will be England led by me and my coaching staff and we have a fantastic pool of players to pick from,' he said. 'Not just the ones I manage here, but Wales, Scotland and [Northern] Ireland.' England beat Norway to reach the last four, while the USA beat France two-one on Friday to ensure there are only three European teams in the semis. There will be twelve teams at Tokyo 2020. There was no agreement for a British men's team in Japan - although they would have failed to qualify anyway. At London 2012, a women's team made their debut, with the men returning after forty years away - with the home nations agreeing to that as a one-off for the home Olympics. Both sides went out in the quarter-finals. No combined British team featured at Rio 2016, with the associations of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales opposed to the idea. Last June, Neville said that fielding a Team GB team in Japan was 'absolutely fundamental' for the growth of the women's game. The Scottish FA, atypically, said that they will not 'actively support or promote' the side but will not prevent players being involved, while their Welsh counterparts said they will 'not align themselves politically' with the team. Unlike the men's event - which is an under-twenty three tournament - the Olympics is one of women's football's biggest events, with no age restrictions. The teams guaranteed a place are Great Britain, fellow semi-finalists the Netherlands and Sweden, hosts Japan, Copa America winners Brazil and Oceania champions New Zealand. The other spots will be filled by two qualifiers from each of Asia and the North, Central American and Caribbean group, as well as one from Africa and the winner of a play-off between Chile and an African team. Defending champions Germany won't be at the Olympics after they lost their World Cup quarter-final to Sweden.
Meanwhile, England ladygirls' World Cup semi-final defeat by the United States attracted the highest peak television audience of the year so far to BBC1 with 11.7 million overnight punters setting a new record for women's football in the UK. That was a fifty one per cent share of the available audience and smashed the previous best for a women's socherball game - 7.6 million for England's quarter-final win over Norway. England play will Sweden or the Netherlands in Saturday's third-place play-off. The USA take on the winner of that semi-final in Sunday's final after their two-one victory over England when Steph Houghton's arse fell out and she missed a late penalty. Afterwards, Big Steph said she thought she had 'let the team down.' Not just the team, Steph but, in fact, the whole country. But, don't worry about it, you're not the first and you won't be the last. And, besides, we're English, we crave disappointment as a matter of principle. And, as a bonus, you will have immeasurably brightened the lives of everyone North of the border after their own team's earlier, highly amusing, exit from the competition. The 11.7 million figure is the year's top audience based on a five-minute peak, as the semi-final attracted an average audience of 10.3 million. Episode one of BBC1's Line Of Duty remains the most watched programme overall of 2019 so far with a consolidated audience of 13.2 million punters based on twenty eight-day viewing data.
