Uefa retract Eduardo ban

[Nor]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/8236689.stm

Green light. Well done Uefa

 

[Nor]

I think they realised they would end up having to ban half the players in each football league.

If they are going to do it, fine but announce the intention and then start banning.

Eduardo was not the first time Uefa have banned a player for 2 matches for diving.

Uefa bottled it. Sod making the game worth watching, let's not upset the big teams.

 

[Nor]

How is it fair when the offense in game carries a yellow card?

Because cheating to get a penalty potentially affects the outcome of a game which can't be retrospectively changed. If it's caught in the game then it doesn't negatively affect the other team. If it's not caught, then the theory, at least, is that cheats shouldn't prosper. Clearly Uefa aren't interested in sending that message though as in this case a cheat did prosper.

Personally, I would red card players who dive to obtain a goal-scoring opportunity. Then it matches the punishment dished out to those who deny goal-scoring opportunity.

 

[Nor]

Look what happened at Man City as soon as he touched the ball, he got bood, same as the England game. As if Rooney, Gerrard or Lampard never look for the fould, which in my IMO that is all Eduardo was doing/

Eduardo dived to get a penalty. What is 'looking for a foul' exactly? Yer fouled or you aren't. If you go down pretending to have been fouled when you haven't then you're cheating.

The reason that it's rampant is because people are only too happy to make excuses for these millionaire cheats when it suits them and their team. Decisions like Uefa's today benefit these millionaire cheats and the club they're currently 'only ever wanting to play for'. It doesn't benefit football, and it ultimately doesn't benefit the fans.

 

[Nor]

Is pulling of the shirt not cheating, and denying a goal scoring opportunity (at a corner for example, like you see in every game)?

Should those players not be treated the same?

Let's not forget Eduardo wasn't charged with 'Diving'

That's fouling opponents. Eduardo didn't foul anyone. He pretended to be fouled himself. He was charged with deceiving the ref by diving to get a penalty. Uefa just don't have the balls to follow through with it. Why are you even defending Eduardo anyway? Is that what you want to see in the game? These millionaires theatrically throwing themselves to the ground pretending to be fouled?

 

[Nor]

We've ruined our good reputation by appealing against a decision which was discriminatory, good on them then.

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17553837

 

[Nor]

He dived, but he didn't mean to dive? I take it the wink to camera was involuntary too

We all know he dived to get the pen. Like many players before him and like many players after him. Folk will cheat if they can get away with it, and Uefa have shown the lack of conviction necessary for it to continue as usual. To think that Wenger wanted rid of divers a year ago, and now Arsenal are paying forensic analysts to prove Eduardo was fouled when everyone can see he clearly wasn't. It's a good day for these millionaire cheats, and a bad day for your average football fan who just wants to watch good football.

 

[Nor]

Apparently there was footage shown in the appeal that included an alternative camera angle that wasn't shown during the televised broadcast of the match. Being a huge Arsenal fan I have to say that from the footage on the match day it did look to me as if Eduardo had taken a dive, but seeing as, unless any of us here were at the appeal then none of us has seen the whole evidence and are not qualified to say wether it was or dive or wasn't a dive. Also, Wenger had brought in forensic expert with video evidence that Eduardo was tripped. Arsene himself did say that on the night he thought that Artur Boruc did make contact with Eduardo, but he thought it was not a penalty. Either way it doesn't matter now anyway. What does matter is the 3 penalty decisions that were definite penalties in the weeks after the dive allegations that we were turned down for. Two of them at Utd and one on the weekend against City. It seemed to me that both referees were handing a lot of decisions to the other teams, and it might sound silly but it was if the decisions were made just to spite Arsenal.

Was it from Arsene Wenger's video phone? Who we kidding.

It is embarrassing to hear Arsenal fans queuing up to make excuses. I've always had a lot of respect for the way Arsenal try to play football, and for Arsenal fans who seemed to want to see football played right. This incident has been a real eye opener. Arsenal, Arsene Wenger, Eduardo, Uefa, and Arsenal fans have come out of this badly.

 

[Nor]

LOL just lol...i dont know who your answering to but i dont see anyone saying he didnt mean to dive...as for the wink??...are you just making things up for the sake of it??...i didnt see no wink and i have seen various clips of the so called dive...even watching the game unless you can show me clearly where he winked??...

Was a smirk, not a wink. I was replying to Gooner and his argument about 'intent to dive'.

Im sure UEFA would be interested in hearing that or seeing that but obviously there was no such 'wink' or else the charge would have stuck i think but if you can prove me wrong then i will continue to laugh at the 'clutching of straws' act your putting on...the fact they rescinded the charge proves the simple fact that they couldnt prove without a shadow of doubt that he deceived the ref....you can sit here and bitch all about it but the fact is UEFA couldnt prove that Eduardo deceived the ref which was the original charge...so lets keep to the facts.

I'm sure Arsene Wenger and the forensic analyst said the same thing.

And i wonder whos fault is that eh??...i would say its UEFA's fault for letting it get this far...it was stupid of them to even level that charge at him...when it was quite simple for Arsenal to prove that there was no deceiving of the ref.

How did Arsenal simply prove this btw?

 

[Nor]

How many times do Arsenal fans have to say they think Eduardo dived too? Because as far as I can see, nearly everyone other than djmc0 in this thread has said so. Just because you can't understand that our complaint is with UEFA's consistency, not the actual incident, doesn't mean we deserved to "come out of this badly."

Typical Old Firm fan, obstinately blind to any viewpoint that isn't your own.

I'm not an 'Old Firm fan'.

 

[Nor]

My apologies then, got the impression you were a Rangers fan from somewhere.

You're still pointlessly blaming Arsenal fans for something we're not doing though.

I'm a Celtic fan. I'm not blaming all Arsenal fans, just the ones who are making excuses for Eduardo, and the ones who think it's unfair to punish him. I do think Arsenal have come out of this badly, and that reflects on the fans of the club, rightly or wrongly.

For the most part though, it's just a bad day for football fans, and a good day for the cheats in the game. The problem with getting rid of cheating in the game is that too many folk are prepared to accept it and make excuses for it when it benefits their team.

Incidentally, in Celtic's match following the Arsenal one Aiden McGeady went down without contact and was sent off for it. Quite rightly, and fair play to the ref for spotting it.

 

[Nor]

So yeah, we're all biased blind Gooners right? God damn my Arsenal-tinted specs!

I never said you're all biased Gooners. Don't think you are. I said Arsenal, Arsene Wenger, Eduardo, Uefa and Arsenal fans have come out of this badly.

So you ARE an Old Firm fan?

No, I'm a Celtic fan. What's an Old Firm fan, someone who supports both Celtic and Rangers?

He was given a yellow card, not a red. It was just his second yellow.

Aye, it was his second yellow and was sent off for the dive. Quite rightly.

 

[Nor]

I really don't understand how the fans have come out of this badly though. We nearly all agree it was a dive, and for the umpteenth time, our issue is with UEFA being consistent with their rules, and not singling out one player inexplicably.

Even Arsenal themselves have said as much too. The club's statement after the retraction states they'd agree with "clear and comprehensive standards that will be consistently enforced going forward." Which this situation wasn't.

Wenger was being Wenger. He never criticises one of his team in public, and I'm not really sure why you'd think any worse of him over this incident, considering he's done it time after time in the past. Hell, it's one of the biggest running jokes in football that Arsene never sees anything, isn't it?

This is UEFA's fault here, and theirs alone. They banned Eduardo on what seems to be a whim, with a ruling that's actually against their stated guidelines for punishments (diving = yellow card), and utterly unrepresentative of any intended action against other divers (no-one else will get punished in the same way). When challenged, they realised their utterly stupid position, got cold feet, and pretended that they were unable to prove the dive in o

To explain my view. I think Arsenal have come out of it badly because of their defence of Eduardo. I think Wenger has come out of it badly because he has argued against divers in the past, and as soon as it's someone at his club, he's changed his tune. I think Eduardo has come out of it badly because of what he did (oh and the "thankfully we've finally arrived at the truth" stuff). I think Uefa have come out of it badly because they bottled the decision to clean up the game. I think Arsenal fans have come out of it badly because 1. many have argued that there was contact, 2. many have argued that the punishment of Eduardo was unfair, and 3. (fairly or unfairly) the fans are associated with the stance of the club itself - that Eduardo was fouled and the penalty was correct.

I am not saying all Arsenal fans defended Eduardo. I am not saying all Arsenal fans said it wasn't a dive.

For the Arsenal fans here. Do you agree with the stance of your club on the incident?

No, it's someone who supports one of the Old Firm teams. Same as a "big 4" fan in England would refer to someone who supports one of the top four teams over here. Sorry, I thought it was a familiar term.

For me it kinda sounds like an interviewer with an American accent asking "What's it like being a London Derby fan"

Which is the same punishment Eduardo should have been given, a yellow card.

Definiately, if it was caught at the time.