Mohareb in FIFA agreement over video technology

Lancashire’s Referee Development officer Dean Mohareb has backed FIFA’s recent decision not to include video technology or additional referees in the 2010 World Cup.

Mohareb, also officiating as an assistant referee in the Football League, agrees with FIFA that it is ‘too soon’ to bring in changes for the World Cup, he said: “To be fair to FIFA the experiment with the additional referees has been a pilot scheme so they have to wait for the results of the scheme until they can bring it into law and the next time they can make law changes is after the World Cup.”

FIFA were put under severe pressure from the Irish Football Association (IFA) and the media following the Republic of Ireland’s controversial exit form the qualifying stages for next summer’s World Cup courtesy of a Thierry Henry handball.

While the decision to rule out the option of using instant video replays wouldn’t have come as a major shock to most people the idea of introducing extra officials behind the goal-line, which is already being tested in the Europa League this season, is one many thought FIFA would consider introducing.

Although Mohareb agrees with FIFA’s decision to not include video replays in the South Africa World Cup he does believe that the technology or extra officials would be a helpful addition to referees and assistant alike.

He said: “From a referee’s point of view any assistance that we can have on decisions that are factual like is the ball over the line would be helpful, whether that’s video or the additional assistants it would be helpful if that is brought in.”

UEFA President Michel Platini was behind the plan to employ extra officials behind the goals and the approach is something that Mohareb believes that if extra officials were officiating in the game between Republic of Ireland and France then Henry would have been spotted handling the ball.

He said: “It (The handball) was one of them situations where I think only the official behind the goal would have picked up. The decision was wrong due to poor position rather than anything else.”

The incident involving French captain Henry sparked huge controversy throughout the footballing world and with FIFA declining the IFA’s appeal for the game to be replayed the ongoing debate about whether or not video replays should be introduced into football was once again refuelled.

FIFA President Sepp Blatter is opposed to the idea of video technology becoming a part of football because he believes it will broaden the gap further between the elite and amateur level. The stance taken by Mr Blatter is one that Moherab completely agrees with, he added: “It would certainly be made bigger in terms of finance. Football is a worldwide game so in some countries funding such equipment is going to be difficult so the gap would increase financially definitely.”

With the attention on FIFA it gave the referee in question, Mr Martin Hansson, time to reflect on his decision and recover from a tirade of abuse from football fans who heavily criticised him for not noticing the handball. At one point the Swedish referee even considered quitting the game altogether.

But Moherab believes there was nothing the Swedish referee could have done.
Most of the criticism from the media came from his homeland Sweden where in one newspaper, Aftonbladet, their article said: “There are millions of Irishmen around the world. We guarantee they all feel pretty bad today. But I sincerely hope there are three Swedes that feel even worse. They are Martin Hansson and (referee's assistants) Stefan Wittberg and Fredrik Nilsson."

They concluded by adding: "There will be no World Cup for Ireland and I assume that Team Hansson has also forfeited its right to continue to take charge of major international matches. Anything else would be a further insult to the Irish nation."

However Mr Hansson has since decided to stay in refereeing after seeing a graphic produced by English newspaper The Times. The graphic showed that Hansson, who was standing on the edge of the 18-yard box, had his view blocked by three players. The assistant was on the other side of the pitch to Henry and had his line of sight obscured by Shay Given, the Ireland goalkeeper.

Moherab backs Hansson decision to stay in the game and also feels the Handball decision was impossible for him to make, he said: “If you look at the pro-zone traces of the actual clip the assistant has players in between him and Henry and the ref was very square on and didn’t have a good view. Unfortunately the official has got the big decision wrong but it was down to poor position rather than anything else.”

He added: “I thought the referee had an excellent game up to that point game and unfortunately we are in a game as referees where we get judged on the big decisions and he got the big decision wrong so obviously the assessment of the referee will reflect that but it’s really unfortunate because up to that incident he had a really good game.”

Blatter further angered the IFA further by announcing and laughing at their proposal to include the Republic of Ireland as the 33rd team in the 2010 World Cup which is only meant to have 32.

The IFA has hit out at the FIFA President for making their claims public, a statement said: "The Football Association of Ireland acknowledges that the suggestion of an additional place at the World Cup is not a possibility and requested yesterday that it will not be raised at today's FIFA executive committee meeting."

(Below) Is a timeline I created using dipity: it represents some of the major decisions of the years which video technology could have helped.

Refereeing Decisions that Video Technology could have aided on Dipity.

England's 2010 World Cup Draw

Fab Fix for Cautious Capello

I can imagine Fabio Capello will have secretely drawn a huge sigh of relief last night after Slovenia were the last team to be drawn in a dream group fix up for England. But no game against a team playing in the World Cup is an easy one and you can guarantee that Slovenia and Algeria will relish the chance to play England on the World stage. USA will pose somewhat of a different threat and even David Beckham raised a smile when his domestic league nation were drawn out of the hat in a match that many England fans hope will be the Group C highlight game.

Capello said: “We played against Slovenia at home in September and I well remember suffering in the second half. And I saw the USA’s game against Spain in the Confederations Cup, so that will not be an easy game.

"As for Algeria, they played very well against Egypt in their play-off. Psychologically, it will not be easy. We respect all the teams but we have to win., ” he added.

USA, ranked somehow 14th in the World, have the likes of Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan and of course goalkeeper Tim Howard. The number one position occupied by the Americans is something that Fabio Capello will envy, with more than capable back up replacement Marcus Hahnemann on hand if Howard fails to deliver or gets injured.

Avoiding the likes of Portugal, Ivory Coast and Republic of Ireland… sorry… France was key for England but if the form on paper goes as predicted then the Three Lions are set to face the runner up of Group D, providing they of course top their own group, either Germany or Ghana which admittedly comes as a slight concern.

Germany while not as dominant as they were a few years back still have a team that rise to the big occasion where as England on the other hand seem to crumble. Ghana pose a whole different danger entirely and with the African Nations Cup approaching there will many England fans watching with a keen and nervous interest.

Yes, avoiding Spain and Brazil till not late on in the finals is great but as a team 5/1 to go all the way (Ladbrokes) I feel England may fall at the second hurdle and would encourage many England fans, as I’m sure they already are, to be cautious.

There is no question that Capello has got the England side playing and working much better than his wolly predecessor but the test will truly come in the World Cup. Also don’t forget to be on the lookout at the end of the league season with perhaps one or two hefty challenges being not too uncommon and Beckham’s loan move to Milan could prove a blessing in disguise after all who knows what ‘pals’ Landon Donovan and friends had in store.

Digital Newsroom Skills Test: Video Test

If you asked many young boys what they want to be when they're older..the answer would very often be a professional footballer.
With huge amounts of money not only being paid to the players themsleves but also being invested in the set up of Youth Academies at Football clubs I spoke to Elliot Cox, a young and aspiring footballer currently on the books at Queens Park Rangers FC.

I quized him on the sacrifices he has to make as well as what he would do if football failed plus his ambitions for the future.

Digital Newsroom Skills Test: Map Test

Using my Google account and Google maps I have been able to create and design my own map of stories from the Lancashire Evening Post mainly focusing on Preston. Within my map are four stories from the 24/11/2009 edition of the newspaper with online articles to match.


How to use it?

The map has four markers, each representing a different story, and by clicking on the marker a bubble will appear with the story accompanied with additional links to related stories.



View Lancashire Evening Post Stories in a larger map

Digital Newsroom Skills Test: Image Test

For one of my University modules, Digital Newsroom, I had to do an image test to show that I can edit and upload photos succesfully to my blog.

I chose to take a photograph of Preston North End's football stadium called Deepdale using my digital camera.

Original photograph. (below)

The original image is resized to 100x100 pixels to create a thumbnail image (below).

The image below is cropped to 400 pixel wide by 300 pixel high version in jpeg format and shows the two floodlights of the stadium along with the Bill Shankly Kop and beside it the National Football Museum.

The image (below) is cropped to 200 pixel by 500 pixels. It shows the main floodlight of the stadium from the original photograph and the entrance to the National Football Musuem.

Digital Newsroom Skills Test: Data Test

The cost of the War on Terror

The War on Terror began almost as soon as the 9/11 plane attacks happened and in October 2001 the official invasion of Afghanistan was launched by US and British forces. Reasons for the invasions were said to have been that the Taliban government of Afghanistan failed to turn over Osama bin Laden, the alleged mastermind behind 9/11, and al-Queda leaders operating in the country.

The 2003 invasion of Iraq began on March 20th and ended on the 1st May of the same year. It was led by US forces but heavily backed by British forces under Tony Blair’s labour government and marked the beginning of the current Iraq War. According to Blair the reasons for the invasion were ‘to disarm Iraq of weapons of mass destruction, to end Saddam Hussein's support for terrorism, and to free the Iraqi people.’

As the pressure now mounts on current Prime Minister Gordon Brown to withdraw troops from Afghanistan and Iraq I have come up with a bar chart representing the amount of British soldiers that have died since the War on Terror began using the data-store section on the Guardian website.

To view the data yourself and more visit the Guardian data-store website at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2009/sep/17/afghanistan-casualties-dead-wounded-british-data

To read the Daily Telegraph's story on number of deaths in Irag/Afghanistan reaching 300 visit: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/onthefrontline/3453048/The-300-British-dead-in-Afghanistan-and-Iraq.html

The hand of Henry

After tonight's game that saw Republic of Ireland fail to qualify for the World Cup next summer losing on aggregate 2-1 thanks to a great peice of handling play by Thierry Henry, who's reputation as one of the best strikers in the world is sure to be heavily tarnished.

Personally I am struggling to come to terms with the incident, not as an Irish fan, not as a passionate football fan or as an Henry hater but as someone who is a firm believer in fair play and sportsmanship.

The Vince Lombardi ethic of 'winning at all costs' is certainly the mindset Henry took on board when he touched then patted down the ball before passing for Gallas to head in. While accepting that footballers sometimes handle the ball as an instinctive response and throughout the post match coverage hearing the phrase 'other players would have done the same', which may or may not be true and cannot be proved, it questions the integrity of professional footballers.

Thierry Henry could have stopped - turned to the referee and simply said, 'sorry ref handball there, no goal'. But as he turned and headed for the stands it was clear with his celebrations the thought of owning up to the crime he had committed hadn't even crossed his mind.

The impact of the winning goal aided by the hand of Henry is huge - it's sent a team that didn't deserve to qualify through but has also destroyed the dreams of the Irish players of playing in the World Cup.

The goal will also once again spark the on-going debate on the need for video technology in the game for decisions such as the one that presented itself tonight.

Defender Sean St Ledger said: "Now is the time to use them it's costing a lot of people their dreams. As a boy I wanted to play in the World Cup and the other boys are the same."

I am very intrigued to listen to what Henry will have to say for himself as I'd imagine are many others. I suspect he will deny the act of cheating but with such an obvious example he may own up.

If he admits to his action then it will merely be for the sake of his public image because if it were an act of honesty and fair play then he would have done it at the time. The admittance and dare I say perhaps proposed apology is sure to come across as an insult to Irish fans.

The hand of Henry will be compared to the infamous Hand of God by Diego Maradona to knock England out of the 1986 World Cup quarterfinal under the great Sir Bobby Robson and as someone of only 19 years of age I cannot imagine what my immediate reaction would have been if I had been alive to see it.

Formula One 2009: A Season Review

A timeline review of the 2009 Formula One season I created using the software Dipity.

Sam R. on Dipity.

FA Cup Preview: Northampton v Fleetwood Town

Ahead of Fleetwood Town’s trip to Northampton in the first round of the FA Cup I spoke to centre half Steve McNulty who claims that going to the game as underdogs is a good thing. McNulty, who snatched an 87th minute equaliser against Alfreton in the Blue Square North on Saturday, said:
“We have nothing to lose and everything to gain. They’re expected to beat us and it’s going to be a tough game as they are a League Two side but we’ll go and enjoy the day and see what the outcome is.”

Town travel to the League Two side after beating Kidderminster Harriers 3-1 in the qualifying fourth round replay and McNulty feels Town are more than capable of stepping up to a team placed two leagues above them, he said.
“The step up to League Two is not too much different. Non-league football doesn’t get as much credit as it deserves, it’s a really tough standard.

“They (Northampton) are obviously going to have a lot more experience than Fleetwood in terms of league football. It’s going to be tough because their players have been in the league for years, but we have enough experience to put up a good fight.”

McNulty wasn’t part of the Town team that narrowly missed out to Hartlepool last year in the second round but did play for Barrow who were edged out 2-1 by Middlesbrough in the third round. Having played against Premier League opposition McNulty insists that ‘anyone can beat anyone’ in the FA Cup.

He said: “At the end of the day the FA Cup is all about dreams and about who wants it more on the day. I played against Middlesbrough for Barrow last year and they battered us and could have scored five or six but it went right down to the wire in the end and we were unlucky not to get a draw.”

Over one thousand fans travelled to Town’s fourth round qualifying game against Kidderminster and McNulty is hoping that there will once again be a strong turn out from the Cod Army. He added: “We took a good few to Kidderminster so hopefully we’ll get a few more going down with us to Northampton and getting behind the lads.”

Sir Alex Ferguson: Best in Europe

For many managers the achievement of 100 European victories would rank highly among their accomplishments but compared to all of Sir Alex Ferguson’s other triumphs the feat of recording such a tally would hang merely off the underside of his trophy cabinet.

His success as a manager is phenomenal and is reflected by the amount of silverware he has won during his 22-year stint at United. While he often receives huge amounts of criticism from opposition supporters and some members of the press for his 'mood swings', he is without question the best manager in Europe. And as Rafa Benitez so loudly drummed on about last season ‘it is fact’.

As well as the countless trophies he has with United, he has been acknowledged as manager of the year the most times in British football history and is the most successful domestic manager ever in England.

His current 22-year service to United is by far the longest of the managers around today and is second ever to the legendary Sir Matt Busby, whose statue stands outside Old Trafford.
Why is Sir Alex such a good manager? Well, only the players that have played under him can truly answer that question but it is clear the legacy of Fergie works.

The ‘my way or the highway’ approach, where no one player is bigger than the club, is often blamed for the departure of big-name players. The likes of David Beckham, Paul Ince, Paul McGrath, Jaap Stam and previous inspirational captain Roy Keane have all left the club after reportedly getting on the receiving end of Fergie’s infamous ‘hairdryer treatment’.

As well as recording his 100th European victory with United, Fergie also maintained their impressive run of not losing a European group game on home soil for eight years.
The last time his side lost a Champions League group game in Manchester was in October 2001, when they lost 3-2 to Deportivo La Coruna. The United team included the likes of Denis Irwin, David Beckham, Roy Keane and, of course, current United veterans Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs.

However, there was an element of danger that the record might have slipped as Wolfsburg took an early lead in the second half when the Bundesliga champions' Dzeko lept well to nod his side ahead.

But the comeback from United was all too familiar for a Ferguson side. They controlled much of the second half with the injured Michael Owen’s replacement - Dimitar Berbatov - producing a flurry a clever flicks and passes.

Giggs continued his recent good form by pulling one back with his 150th goal for the Reds - the Welshman performing as if he was still one of Fergie’s trainees to inspire a United comeback against a dogged German side.

There is no doubt that Manchester United will challenge for the Champions League title again this year and Fergie is sure to win many more trophies - however long he remains at United.

He is a manager with a long list of achievements that will forever grow. The question is: How long until Sir Alex is standing alongside Sir Matt Busby outside Old Trafford?

'Season Over'

Well it’s all over for another year according to manager Neil Warnock who has blamed the disappointing form since the turn of the year on injuries to key players such as Paddy McCarthy and Claude Davis. After returning from a group of fixtures that saw the Eagles pick up just four points from four games and has seen them drift from possible play off contenders to mid table mediocrity. They sit eleven points adrift of the play offs and are ten points in danger of sinking into the drop zone.

The post Christmas form that in the past has seen palace creep into the play offs at just the right time is now just a fond memory. The Burnley side that fought back to beat a palace side that led two nil reminded me too much of an Ian Dowie team I once knew. Burnley certainly showed signs of ‘bounce back ability’ while Palace fell victim to a dubious penalty decision, which of course left Warnock fuming, and crumbled. The few hundred fans who travelled that day did not only have to suffer a four two drumming but watched on as palace players marched off the pitch without a single salute, except midfielders Nick Carle and Neil Danns, towards the contingent of red and blue support. The normally appreciative Neil Warnock wasn’t even acknowledging the fans, this after, he had of course berated the referee and official for awarding the penalty.

After this game I, like Neil Warnock does now, thought the season was over but the impressive away win at Swansea the following Saturday had me rethinking. Until I was brought back down to earth by the defeat to relegation threatened Barnsley. Now I accepted the season was over.

The risk of being dragged into a relegation battle while at this stage is not a big issue may still happen. Tough fixtures against teams in the top half of the table as well as games against teams fighting it out at the bottom, combined with the poor form of late, could see that issue turn big, very big. After a much needed international break palace will return to face QPR, Coventry and Cardiff in eight days before travelling down south to St Mary’s to play a Southampton side who have lost just once in seven games. This time next month things could be looking much worse for Palace fans and missing out on the play offs may not seem so bad after all.

So thoughts turn to rebuilding for next year and with Warnock admitting that there will be little money to spend next season the aim for the summer must be on keeping hold of the young players. Players such as Victor Moses and Nathanial Clyne, who has emerged this season as another product of the youth academy, could be tempted by Premiership football next year. Hopefully they will learn from previous youngsters that have left Selhurst Park in search of top-flight football, the likes of John Bostock who has played a handful of games for Spurs and Wayne Routledge who again left for Spurs but after failing to impress has returned back to the Championship.

As for signings, a goal scorer is a must but with Chairman Simon Jordan wanting to sell it looks like they will sign no-one capable of taking Palace back to the Premiership. Warnock has said that ‘he is hopeful of making a number of Bosman free transfer signings of the summer’, some ambition. The 2009 summer transfer window will probably consist of the ‘one in one out’ system that palace have been using so far in 2009, where by a player has had to leave before another can be bought in, Darren Fletcher and Danny Butterfield made way for Claude Davis and Anthony Stokes. So unless the club finds a buyer before the end of the summer then Palace could be staring at the same situation this time next year.


o