The Greed Roadshow

The European General Court has ruled that UK football fans can continue to watch major events on free-to-air TV in future. Both FIFA and UEFA - pound signs flashing in their eyes as they worked themselves into a tool-stiffening orgy of debased greed - had challenged a decision allowing the UK government to designate the World Cup and European Championship finals as free-to-watch events. Both are on the UK list of 'protected events' of national sporting importance. The EGC now says that an EU member state can prohibit the exclusive broadcast of games at these two events on pay-TV. The court also dismissed FIFA's action against Belgium for showing all World Cup matches on free-to-air TV in that country. FIFA and UEFA had argued the current set-up interfered with their ability to sell television rights at the best price. And to make vast wads of cash that could then be used in sleazy behind-the-scenes deals and backhanded activities and vote rigging when it comes to who hosts major competitions. Allegedly. They had said there was no reason why all games at tournaments should be shown free on UK television, as part of a list the national sporting 'crown jewels' which have to be made available to everyone to watch. The court disagreed. Which was funny. The EGC said 'the court holds that the [European] Commission did not err in finding that the United Kingdom's categorisation of all World Cup and Euro matches as "events of major importance" for their societies are compatible with European Union law. Consequently, FIFA's and UEFA's actions are dismissed.' They then added 'and the greedy, corrupt bastards can go screw themselves.' Only, they did it quietly whilst no one was listening. Apparently. The EGC, formerly the Court of First Instance, is the first European court where a decision is made. Appeals about its rulings are taken to the European Court of Justice. FIFA and UEFA now have two months to launch any appeal. The two football bodies had argued that any games featuring England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland would have still been shown on TV for free, as would have the finals and semi-finals of the tournaments. But the rest of the sixty four World Cup matches and thirty one European Championship matches would not have been free in the UK. UEFA had said the listing infringed its property rights, as it resulted 'in a restriction of the way in which the applicant may market the television rights to the Euro [championships].' It had also said that showing the entire tournament on free-to-air in the UK had led to 'a disproportionate and unjustified distortion of competition on the relevant market.' An EU directive gives all member states the right to designate sporting and cultural events of national interest for broadcast on free-to-air TV stations. Hence, the Broadcasting Act 1996 gives the British government the power to designate key sporting and other events as 'listed events.' The purpose of the list is to ensure that such events are made available to all television viewers, particularly those who do not have subscription television. 'This obviously is a bad day for rights holders,' said Daniel Geey, competition and EU regulatory expert at Field Fisher Waterhouse law firm. But, a good day for everyone else, it should be noted in the interests of balance. 'FIFA and UEFA argued that the listing legislation constrained their ability to sell the broadcasts at the maximum commercial level to the widest possible selection of broadcasters.' Geey said that the two football bodies had emphasised to the court they only wished to sell the rights to games that did not include the relevant member state's teams. 'The General Court ruling however stated that the World Cup and European Championships are to be regarded as single events rather than individual games and that individual matches should not be divided up into "prime" or "non-prime" matches,' Geey added. And he said that the ruling would have the knock-on effect of insulating free-to-air broadcasters from pay-TV competition. In December 2008, the Labour government announced a review of the list, carried out by an independent advisory panel headed by former FA chief executive David Davies. The panel reported in November 2009 with its recommendations. 'I have read with great interest the summary of the findings of the European court,' Davies told BBC News. 'It's remarkable how they reflect the debate and conclusions that our own panel on listed events came to eighteen months ago. Personally, they don't alter my view that for the UK at least, the best solution in the future would be a voluntary agreement on the broadcasting of events of national resonance. If the will is there among the broadcasters and the sporting governing bodies, this is achievable, and maybe today's judgement could bring that agreement nearer ' In July last year, the Coalition government said that any decision on the future of the list would be deferred until 2013 - after the conclusion of digital switchover in 2012. The UK Department of Culture, Media and Sport said they were pleased with the result. 'We welcome the decision from the EU and continue to support the principle of protecting sports events for free-to-air coverage,' a spokesman said. Emma McClarkin MEP, the Conservative sports spokesman in the European Parliament, added: 'We need to ensure that the crown jewels of our national sports are accessible to everyone. I hope that FIFA and UEFA will not appeal this ruling.'

The Day The World Went Mad!

On a quite remarkable day in the Premier League, forty one goals were scored in eight games. Yer actual Keith Telly Topping's beloved (though still unsellable) Newcastle United produced a quite stunning comeback from 4-0 down at half-time to earn a draw which shocked title hopefuls Arsenal to their very core. Theo Walcott, with a smug grin on his face that was jolly satisfying to see wiped off come the final whistle, had scored after just forty four seconds before a Johan Djourou header and a shot from Robin van Persie put Arsenal 3-0 ahead inside ten minutes. Van Persie headed his second and Arsenal's fourth before half-time as Arsenal threatened to treat the whole thing like a training ground match. Most of the crowd and, apparently, most of the United players were simply hoping it wasn't going to end in a cricket score. However, Abou Diaby was given a straight red card after the break for pushing both Joey Barton and Kevin Nolan. Barton, having a superb game in midfield for United, then scored two penalties either side of a strike from Leon Best (who also had another, seemingly legitimate, goal disallowed). Finally, the best player on the pitch, Côte d'Ivoire international Cheik Tioté score his first Premier League goal when he hit a stunning long-range equaliser for the Magpies with three minutes left. Deep into injury time, United even had the chance to win the game but Kevin Nolan's shot from the edge of the box from Nile Ranger's knock-down rolled agonisingly inches wide of the post. To be fair, the second penalty, when Mike Williamson found himself sort-of sandwiched between Koscielny and Rosicky, did appear to be more than a bit soft but, other than that, this genuinely seemed to be a case of one team simply wanting it more in the second half than the other. Needless to say, well-known faceache (and drag) Arsène Wenger didn't see it that way - in an interview with BBC 5Live he managed to blame pretty much everyone and everything apart from his own defence for Arsenal being the first Premiership side ever to surrender a four goal lead. He also broke his usual habit of 'not actually seeing' incidents in which his players are sent off to suggest that, yes, Diaby has been 'a bit rash' but then, quite disgracefully, implied that Barton should have also been dismissed for the initial - robust but perfectly fair - challenge. Which wasn't even a foul, let alone something warranting dismissal as Match of the Day footage subsequently proved. That's Arsenal and their manager down to the ground, I'm afraid. Let them play football against you and they'll tear you to bits with a smile on their face but stand up to them and show them a bit of fight and they do not like it. It was noticeable that after the sending off Febregas, basically, man-marked the referee for the rest of the match instead of, you know, getting stuck in and trying to win the ball and do something with it. It had been a miserable week for Newcastle up to that point following the departure of Andy Carroll to Liverpool on Monday and then a serious facial injury to Shola Ameobi during Wednesday's defeat at Fulham. Magpies manager Alan Pardew had his arms crossed and a curious look of 'Oh no! Here we go again!' on his face for long periods of the opening half as he watched in horror from his technical area. Pardew later suggested that his side had, perhaps, not been mentally right before the game and were, like some of the fans, feeling a bit sorry for themselves after a few days of adversity. His team were seemingly blown away during the opening half hour, but they won a most unlikely point - which must feel like a victory - after playing with incredible drive, pace and determination after the interval. All the while roared on by a passionate and fifty one thousand crowd at St James' Park. As the nufc.com website put it, this was 'One hundred and thirty years of Newcastle United's history encapsulated in ninety five minutes. Unbelievable and difficult to digest at the same time. Just when you thought things couldn't get any dafter...' As previously noted, there's one thing about being Newcastle fan, it's never, ever dull. Arsenal could have kept the pressure on Premier League leaders Manchester United, at least temporarily reducing the deficit at the top to just two points, but they crumbled following the dismissal of Diaby. The confidence and attacking flair which had characterised their play in the opening half totally vanished, replaced by a shaky and unsure side prone to panic which could not defend a handsome lead and often struggled for long periods to get the ball off a team which had not won in their previous four games. As it happened, two hours later, Arsenal were probably looking at it more as a point gained rather than two dropped as Manchester United, improbably, lost their first game of the season, 2-1 at bottom club Wolves. The Scum had led after three minutes when Nani drilled home inside the near post after turning George Olokobi. But Olokobi made amends by heading in an equaliser soon after with United's defence sleeping as Matt Jarvis executed a short-corner routine. Kevin Doyle then glanced the winner just before the break, after which the visitors failed to carve out any clear chances. Elsewhere, there was also a remarkable game at Goodison Park where Louis Saha grabbed four goals as Everton broke Blackpool's spirited resistance. The hosts dominated before the break and Saha stroked them ahead but Alex Baptiste's six-yard shot levelled it. A neat near-post Saha effort made it 2-1 but Jason Puncheon's sidefooted finish and Charlie Adam's measured header put the Tangerines ahead. Saha headed home to level at 3-3 and he added his fourth on the break after substitute Jermaine Beckford's fizzing volley. James McCarthy struck twice as Wigan clawed their way out of the relegation zone with a thrilling win over Blackburn Rovers at the DW Stadium by the odd goal in seven. Jason Roberts put the visitors ahead, only for Wigan to race into a 3-1 lead through McCarthy's double and an opportunistic goal by Hugo Rodallega. Chris Samba made it 3-2, before Ben Watson's penalty made the game safe for the Latics. Blackburn's David Dunn scored a late penalty but Wigan held on for the win. Carlos Tevez's first-half hat-trick helped Manchester City see off West Bromwich and end a three-game winless run. The Argentine had already hit the post from Aleksandar Kolarov's cross when he slotted home from the spot after Steven Reid hauled Kolarov down in the box. David Silva set Tevez up to make it 2-0 and he celebrated his twenty seventh birthday with a third goal, converting another penalty after Jerome Thomas handled. Marc-Antoine Fortune wasted Albion's best chance when he fired wide. City could have been further ahead at the break but for Baggies keeper Boaz Myhill tipping a Kolarov thunderbolt on to the bar and also denying Silva when he was clean through. Clint Dempsey headed a late equaliser at Villa Park to earn stubborn Fulham a draw against the Villains. John Pantsil had gifted the home side the lead when he nodded a Stewart Downing cross into his own net. The visitors hauled themselves level when Andrew Johnson headed in after Steve Sidwell's strike was parried by Villa keeper Brad Friedel. Kyle Walker's stunning thirty-yard drive restored Villa's lead only for Dempsey to equalise in the seventy eighth minute. It was Dempsey's tenth goal of the season and, although both teams had to settle for a point apiece from a finely balanced game, they provided an entertaining spectacle. Substitute Niko Kranjcar's injury-time blockbuster gave Tottenham Hotshots a dramatic win over Bolton. Rafael van der Vaart put the hosts ahead from the the penalty spot after a Kevin Davies handball. The Dutchman then missed a retaken second spot-kick, before the Notlob Trotters hit back when Daniel Sturridge's shot squirmed under Heurelho Gomes. Jermaine Jenas's free-kick hit the post as Spurs pressed and Kranjcar sealed the win with a fearsome twenty five-yard strike. It was a vital and timely contribution from the Croatian midfielder, who struck just as the game, and with it Tottenham's Champions League aspirations, seemed to be slipping from their grasp. In the day's early kick-off, Robert Huth scored two late goals as Stoke fought back to stun Sunderland. Kieran Richardson rifled in Phil Bardsley's low cross for the visitors on two minutes, only for John Carew to score from a possible offside position. Sunderland edged ahead when Asamoah Gyan fired in after the break but the match turned on its head on eighty three minutes. Two Jermaine Pennant free-kicks caused the damage, first swinging in for Huth to bundle home and then teeing up the German to stab in the winner in injury time. It was an astonishing conclusion to a match which had ugly goals, controversial goals and a beautifully created goal. That will be no consolation for Sunderland boss miserable faceache Steve Bruce who will be furious after his sloppy team gave leads away twice having dominated the game, and seeing the officials fail to flag offside for the first equaliser. So, that'll be funny if nothing else.

And, speaking of Blunderland, Niall Quinn has said that he 'despises' fans who choose to watch Sunderland's 3pm Saturday kick-offs in pubs, while listening to 'some overseas commentator.' Sunderland's chairman was reacting to a legal opinion that was delivered by an advocate of the European court of justice yesterday. By concluding that the sale of exclusive rights to televise football on a country-by-country basis was contrary to the principle of the European single market, Juliane Kokott suggested that a Portsmouth landlady, Karen Murphy, should not have to pay a fine and costs totalling eight thousand pounds, after the Premier League took her to court for using a Greek decoder to show Premier League games in her pub, the Red White and Blue. Although Kokott's opinion is not yet binding, it could be made so by European judges. Pubs in the North‑East often show what have been regarded as illegal foreign broadcasts – usually from the Middle East, southern Europe or Scandinavia – of 3pm Saturday Premier League games which are not transmitted by British broadcasters. Quinn feels this is an 'easy option' which is reducing crowds at the Stadium of Light. Well, you could try lowing your prices a bit, mate. The Sunderland chairman said: 'Contrary to the opinion of the advocate general, the illegal showing of Saturday 3pm fixtures involving Sunderland has an extremely detrimental effect on our attendances. I can point to the evidence uncovered by an agency who covertly visited pubs and clubs in our catchment area and witnessed thousands watching the illegal broadcasts. My belief is a significant number of these people are taking the easy option of spending their money in the pub, watching their team, as opposed to supporting their team and helping to create a better atmosphere at the stadium. Our attendances are down for a couple of reasons and I would never criticise anyone who doesn't come to the stadium because of financial constraints but I despise those who spend far more than the price of a ticket watching some overseas commentator describing the action. All clubs thrive on full stadiums. Loud, passionate support is the backbone of football and when our stadium is full we are a force to be reckoned with. I know this first hand – when I was a player we could beat teams from the second they walked out of the tunnel, the atmosphere was so intimidating. To anyone watching the game illegally in the pub I will continue to say: "By doing so you're not supporting your team, you're actually damaging the progress of the club." We have a real chance here to make this club feel great again but to do it we need everyone behind us. I would urge these people in the pubs and clubs to come back to the Stadium of Light. And I reiterate, despite this opinion yesterday, it is still illegal to show games in this fashion.' It is. But, probably not for too much longer. Thanks for your contribution to the debate, Niall.

Oh Carroll! I Am But A Fool ...

There's a joke currently doing the rounds on the Internet. No, this one's clean and doesn't involve Richard Keys, don't worry. 'Shell-suits, trainers, Andy Carroll,' it begins. 'Mike Ashley has a long history of selling utter crap to Scousers.' It's not quite as good as the one about Fernando Torres's move from Liverpool to Chelsea collapsing after Torres's wife failed to agree personal terms with John Terry. But it does, undeniably, give a bit of brief light amusement to the situation. Actually, though, as with many football-related jokes, it's more than a bit unfair to both Scousers and to Andy Carroll himself - the lad is already a fine player with the potential to be so much more than that. At twenty one he can, if handled right and if he manages to keep himself out of nightclub fights and, you know, jail, go on to become the best Premiership striker of his generation and England's centre forward for the next decade. He certainly has the ability to. Liverpool have taken a colossal gamble paying thirty five million quid for a very young lad with raw talent but also with experience of just over forty premiership games (and a mere seventy minutes in an England shirt). But it's a gamble which could pay off massively. For Newcastle, Mike Ashley has taken an equally big gamble. If not bigger. It's virtually impossible to argue with the fact that thirty five million pounds for Carroll is too good a price to turn down. Hell, he's a good player, he might even be a great player in a few years, but he is not, by any stretch of the imagination, the eighth most expensive footballer ever to walk the planet. If the eighteen million quid Villa paid Sunderland for Darren Bent looked daft money (and it did), then this is positively obscene. Especially in the middle of a recession. But, for all that, as you'll find repeated in all the bars and clubs around Tyneside this week, 'you can't play a big bag of money up front and expect to get twenty goals a season off it.' Ashley has, quite literally, tossed a coin in the air and speculated that a Newcastle side which has, frankly, somewhat over-achieved thus far this season still has enough about them not to get relegated. It's a calculated risk. The club are currently in ninth place in the Premiership and sit nine points above a relegation place with thirty points for twenty three games. Even without Carroll, they can score goals but they also have an unfortunate habit of letting them in at the other end in increasingly ludicrous ways. It's almost certainly a far better position than most United fans expected them to be in at this time of the season when it started back in August. Is it false? Some results suggest not, others that it is. But, still, realistically four more wins and maybe a couple of draws from their last fifteen games, in theory, should be more than enough to keep them up. It might take less than that - particularly with one or two clubs apparently in free-fall at the moment. Although this has been a very strange year in the Premiership in terms of everybody beating everybody else. In the past, several clubs have certainly found themselves in apparently 'nothing to worry about' positions such as this during the first week in February, only to find a quick run of four or five defeats in a row and, suddenly, they're back down struggling for their lives among the dead men at the wrong end of the table. Ashley's gamble, if it comes off, is that United survive this season with the (weakened) squad they have. If they do and, in the summer, they spend every single penny of that thirty five million knicker (plus a bit more from their next chunk of TV money and next year's season ticket sales) and bring in let's say three or four real quality eight to ten million pound signings (a striker, a right winger and a centre half are three positions they need filling, along with cover at left back) then selling Carroll is, perhaps, going to look like one of the best bits of business in the club's history. Or any club's history, come to that. Regardless of how he actually gets on at Anfield (and, I think it's fair to say as far as most Newcastle fans are concerned - aside from two games each year - we genuinely wish him all the very best for the future after what he did for us in the last eighteen months). As with so many things in football, the trick is to try to predict the future. If it comes off, you look like a genius. If it doesn't, you're a plank. For better or worse, the next three months are going to define Mike Ashley's entire ownership of Newcastle - everything that's gone before is the mere prelude. Two points about the Carroll transfer really trouble me, however. Firstly, it spectacularly undermines Alan Pardew's position as manager at Newcastle just at the point where most Toon fans were kind of coming around to a grudging acceptance of the bloke and even a mild warmth that he seemed to be making all of the right noises and producing some decent results - albeit, with Chris Hughton's team. For the last month Pardew has said, repeatedly, whenever asked by the press, that Carroll was going absolutely nowhere. That Carroll was one of a handful of players (Joey Barton, Tiote, Enrique, Nolan, Steven Taylor, Ben Arfa) around whom Pardew wanted to build a side. Never once did he say 'Andy Carroll's not for sale ... unless we get stupid money offered, of course, in which case every man has his price.' Which I think most fans would have, with a heavy heart, accepted as the way of the world these days. Yesterday, Pardew was having to field some pretty awkward questions at his first post-transfer deadline day press conference. It was put to him that if fans can't trust him on this matter then why should they believe anything he has to say in the future. 'What can I say?' he replied meekly. 'We didn't force anybody to leave.' And that brings us to the second troublesome question. Did Carroll jump or was he pushed? A series of text messages between Carroll and the North East fanzine editor Steve Wraith on Monday afternoon, published in the national press yesterday, suggest that Carroll himself wanted to stay at Newcastle until the club made it clear they'd prefer the money. That's certainly the stance that Carroll himself has taken in his post-signing interviews. The club - through Pardew - have hotly denied this. Carroll claims that Derek Llambias asked him to hand in a written transfer request. The club deny this and say that it was Carroll himself who handed in the request without any prompting from them. (Interestingly, the text of the actual transfer request has not yet been made public.) So, essentially, either Andy Carroll is lying or Mike Ashley (via his various spokesmen, including Llambias and Pardew himself) is lying. Given the previous track record of Ashley, who has form infamously saying one thing to the fans and then doing exactly the opposite and claiming his original statements were mere 'public relations' (an entire industrial tribunal case was fought, and lost, over exactly that) lead many observers to know which side they believe. Watching the saga unfold on Sky Sports News on Monday afternoon was certianly a classic example of that curious modern TV-rolling-news phenomena, information and disinformation colliding head on and producing only confusion in their wake. For two hours mid-afternoon the broadcaster, in the guise of their North East correspondent David Craig, was confidently telling their viewers from a vantage point somewhere outside St James' Park that Craig's understanding was Newcastle had rejected Liverpool's overnight bid of thirty million pounds for Carroll. But they had let it be known to the Reds that an increased off of thirty five million would be acceptable to them. Andy Carroll was, by all accounts, already on his way to Liverpool at that time (around 2pm) to discuss terms claimed Craig. When, actually, Carroll was in Alan Pardew's office just a couple of hundred yards from where Craig and his camera crew were standing, discussing whether he'd get a new contract or not. On that much, pretty much everyone agrees. So who was telling Craig all this other stuff? Who told Sky that it had been 'intimated' Newcastle would accept a thirty five million pound bid? Somebody, somewhere, was sending out highly mixed signals. Within twenty minutes of it being announced that Newcastle had turned down Liverpool's 'increased' offer (which was described as 'thirty five million plus add-ons' and which happened at around about 4pm), Carroll's handing in of a transfer request was also announced - live on Sky - as was the statement that the club had, 'reluctantly', agreed to sell. If all of that doesn't sound like 'public relations' and - not unusually for Newcastle - particularly banal and unbelievable public relations at that, then nothing does. For what it's worth, despite their being a Tiding of Magpies involved, there are no black and white areas in this particular example of football gone mad. Newcastle, if they manage to keep themselves up, could - could, mark you - emerge a stronger better, more balanced side. Liverpool have signed a player with huge potential which might, long term, prove to be the start of something really special for them. Or, it could be the 2011 version of Peter Marinello. (That's a reference for all you fortysomethings out there!) Time will tell. In football, as in life, it usually does. Moscow Chelski FC have spent fifty million quid on Fernando Torres, a World Cup winner with astonishing natural goalscoring ability but someone who can be even more of a sulking child than the two they've got already, Anelka and Drogba. Only Happy Harry and Tottenham Hotshots appear to have lost out, but they've already got Steven Piennar so what they hell are they complaining about? The Andy Carroll transfer saga suggests that, on a day when football quite simply suffered from a manic overdose of ego-driven insanity, there remain only three proper certainties in life. Death, the rent man and the fact that being a Newcastle United fan is never, ever, dull!