Riot breaks out at football match in Athens

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A soccer match at the Athens Olympic Stadium was the scene of mass rioting last Sunday. FC Olympiakos and FC Panathinaikos are long-standing rivals and a match between them is known as “The Derby of Eternal Enemies”. Out-of-control fans underscored that enmity in a disgraceful exhibition that left 20 police officers injured and at least 50 fans in custody.

The trouble started before the game even got underway, when Panathinaikos fans scuffled with police as they tried to enter the stadium without tickets. Midway through the game, with the score 1-0 in favour of Olympiakos, an outburst of burning flares and improvised Molotov cocktails rained down on the pitch, iron bars and seats were hurled and the game was called off entirely.

This level of violence over a football rivalry is not entirely unprecedented but the fact that these “fans” showed up with weapons of destruction gives the scene an alarmingly dark side. The Greek Super League has a practice of not allowing a visiting team’s fans to attend a match. This is intended to prevent this sort of over-the-top behaviour, which has been a problem in the past, but not to such a horrific extent.

Panathinaikos faces disciplinary measures that include a stiff fine and the possibility of having to play to an empty stadium for the rest of the season – if they play at all

Health risks to professional sportsmen back in the headlines

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The controversy about health risks for professional athletes has been stirred up again, following the collapse due to a cardiac arrest of soccer player Fabrice Muamba during a match at Tottenham last Saturday.

Doctors from both clubs as well, as a cardiac consultant who was in the stands, were quick to respond with efforts at resuscitation, but it was a close thing. At latest report Muamba is recovering, but he was effectively dead for more than an hour.

In cardiac arrest, the heart stops pumping and death results in minutes if the victim gets no medical attention. It always occurs suddenly, without warning, and it happens fairly often in those who have never shown any evidence of heart disease. In the aftermath of Saturday’s events, many are calling for more intensive screening of athletes, in hopes of preventing future episodes.

The cholesterol charity Heart UK is urging football authorities to take the lead in the instigation of such screening. Chief executive Jules Payne said that an inherited condition known as FH (familial hypercholesterolaemia) is one known cause of cardiac arrest that could be detected with proper screening.

Peter Scudamore, CE of the English Premier League, said that while there can never be any guarantees, the organisation will be taking every measure necessary to reduce the risks to players.

Plan for the future from Scottish football Fans

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Plan for the future from Scottish football Fans

Plan for the future from Scottish football Fans

Football supporters have a unique vision for league football in Scotland, and it includes larger attendance at games, better methods of funding, and increased competition.

The Scotland trust Supporters Direct Scotland aims to implement some of these changes by publishing their directive, The Fans’ Plan,’ that is filled with recommendations to help make league football more entertaining for fans in the country. The information contained inside is the result of two years of surveys conducted among fans and supporters.

The Fans’ Plan calls for:

greater competition within Scottish league football structures

equal funding for each team in a league

support for clubs by central league management to increase the average attendance by 20% by 2016, and achieve an average stadium capacity utilisation of 65% within 10 years

two leagues of 16 teams, and a qualifying league of 10 or a feeder league of 16

re-introducing the League Cup, with a mini-league qualifying format structured on a geographical basis with four teams in each group

improved training and professional development for all players including greater use of Modern Apprenticeships and post-career planning

the establishment and implementation of a strong club licensing scheme

SDS spokesperson, Alan Harris commented: “The future of Scottish league football lies in the hands of its supporters and Supporters Direct Scotland has gathered the views of fans for the past two years: the most comprehensive surveys of football supporters in recent times. Fans are clearly telling us, we want more competition, more even distribution of the available funds, investment in the game, especially developing its talent from grassroots, and a greater say for supporters in clubs and national football.”

Alan Harris added: “Our approach is fairly simple. It’s about creating a virtuous circle for the long-term benefit of Scottish football. Too much of the present has been driven by short-term fixes and quick wins. However, that approach is unravelling at every level of the game. The time is right to re-build the foundations of the game in Scotland. We are proposing that a combination of league re-structuring, a re-formatted League Cup and more even distribution of funds, can continue to attract the all-important television sponsorship, create more competition between clubs and widen the game’s attraction to bring supporters back. This is our path to more sustainable development of Scottish league football.”

 

Bolton pull together for Muamba

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Bolton Wanderers will pull together and hope for the best in the aftermath of midfielder Fabrice Muamba’s close brush with death last weekend. The match with Tottenham was called off when Muamba collapsed on the pitch and was rushed to the London Chest hospital. Following a cardiac arrest that left him technically dead for well over an hour, the 23-year-old was miraculously revived, and according to latest reports he is in a stable condition, but his long-term prospects are still uncertain.

Wanderers captain Kevin Davies has said he’s amazed and gratified by the quick response of medical personnel who saved Muamba’s life, as well as the sincere concern expressed by fans and players. Davies was the first team member to see Muamba in hospital, and told reporters that it was too soon to think about anything beyond the immediate future.

Davies was among the handful of players who turned out for training on Monday. He says the team is still pretty much in shock, but for himself and others the best thing to do is carry on; that’s what Muamba would want.

Team manager Owen Coyle has also expressed his appreciation for the overwhelming response from all quarters. In reference to the match scheduled for this Saturday with Blackburn Rovers, the first one since Muamba’s collapse, Coyle said that any team member who doesn’t feel ready for it will be excused. But, he says, whoever does take to the field will be doing their best for Fabrice and for the team

Rangers owner fighting to keep club afloat

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Craig Whyte is the owner of Rangers football club and he came into power after muscling his way to the top through an investment from a company called Ticketus. He managed to secure funding to purchase the club through a promise of the sale of 100,000 season tickets in the future.

His method of funding the purchase was kept a secret and many people thought that he had funded it with his own money, but once the story was broken by Record Sport he became a disgrace in the eyes of the fans.

Now the football club is in a financial crisis and it seems that they could be about to enter administration. Paul Murray has been working hard at finding a way to save the club and improve its financial situation but it has recently emerged that he has been working with an investment firm that the fans are not going to like.

It has emerged that Mr Murray has approached the parent company of Ticketus for funding that would enable the football club to stay out of administration. This has left many fans rather bewildered and they are unsure about why Mr Murray has made this decision. He has recently made the argument about why Octopus, the parent company, should be involved with the club and help it to stay in business.

It is expected that Mr Murray is going to meet with executives from Ticketus in the near future to discuss a rescue package for the club. The deal is also expected to involve the removal of Mr Whyte from ownership of the club.

The investment company is going to help the club deal with a significant amount of debt, which totals nearly £25 million. They are also going to provide some funding in order to keep the club running during the next few months. Once a financial recovery has occurred, there are going to be shares issued in the club which will allow the investment fund to get a return on their money.

It is going to be very hard for the fans to understand how their club is going to be saved by the very company that brought them to near financial ruin in the first place. There are sure to be significant trust issues about this company and the deal by Mr Murray is being doubted by many.

Mr Murray commented, “It is important that people remember that it is Mr Whyte who was responsible for many of the club’s financial problems, not Ticketus. They have offered us an agreement in good faith and I want fans to remember that they have helped us in the past.

They helped us get out of the debt we had to Lloyds bank and they also have significant experience in the industry. My primary concern is bringing the club out of its administration proceedings and I will take whatever steps necessary to make this happen.”

If the deal does go ahead, the football club is going to have a significant debt to repay. The club has struggled with debt payments in the past and last year they failed to repay around £10 million to a lender.

Mr Murray continued, “The club does not need to be involved in any sort of legal complication right now. We need to move forward with this financial planning, so that the best interests of the football club can be preserved. We are currently looking at our projections of future cash flow and we are ironing out the main details of the deal.

“I have come forward about how I am getting this funding because I believe secrecy has got the club into trouble in the past. Mr Whyte taught us that secrecy is suspicious and I don’t want to run the club in this way. If I find a better option, I’ll take it, but this is the only choice we have right now.”