Let us bury the case

On 27 September 2012, Chelsea FC fullback, John Terry was found guilty by the English Football Association (FA), for racially abusing Queens Park Rangers', Anton Ferdinand. Though in July,Terry was found not guilty to a racial offence at Westminster Magistrates' Court (England) for the incident that took place in October 23 last year, the FA had proceeded their own investigation to the case which they found the Chelsea player guilty. I am still wondering whether the verdict was made on valid evidence or whether the FA was out to get him.



The 31 year-old, Chelsea fullback, is issued with a four match ban and a  fine of £220 000 (R2.9m) pending appeal. The English Football Assocaition should have laid the case to rest as Terry was   cleared of the allegations by a London court in July. I am not implying that top players should go off the hook when they act out of the global football code of conduct but it is evident that case has affected English football. John also retired from international football which has will impact England's manager, Roy Hodgson's, plans ahead of qualifying for the World Cup which will be hosted in 2014, Brazil. In a statement, he said "I am today announcing my retirement from international football," the former England captain said in his statement.I would like to thank the England managers who have selected me for my 78 caps."

The gravity of the case had displayed when Terry was chosen ahead of the Ferdinand brothers for the 2012 Euro tournament. Racism allegations in football tarnishes the sporting code's image and has led to a wide range of controversial incidents which have been reported in the media. The sport itself does not induce racism. It would be a great day in football if Anton Ferdinand and John Terry would bury this saga and set the example to upcoming players that football brings unity. 

 

Cowards racially abuse Obi

On 20 September 2012, Chelsea's midfielder, John Obi Mikel closed his Twitter account after being racially abused by fans for his costly mistake against Juventus. John deactivated his account from the micro-blogging social site less than a day after his miscue of the ball contributed to Juventus' equaliser which forced Chelsea to only come out with one point from the UEFA Champions League clash.Chelsea settled for a 2-2 draw in their opening UEFA Champions League match at Stamford Bridge.

John Obi Mikel, apologising at a press conference for his mistake which made Juventus equalise. (www.dailymail.co.uk)

Racism in football is unacceptable

Chelsea has informed the police about the unpleasant nature of treatment Obi experienced on Twitter. "We have informed the police and support taking the strongest possible action," a Chelsea statement read. At a press conference held by Chelsea, John Mikel apologised for his careless mistake as he mentioned at the conference, "If I want to make up an excuse, I can. But, for me, I gave the ball away. I put my hands up, we move on. I'm sorry about the mistake, but there are no excuses." www.metro.co.uk

This is not the first time a British fans have used Twitter as a platform to attack its players for costing the team, as Chelsea left back was also attacked after missing a penalty for England in the shoot-out against Italy at Euro 2012 tournament. this behaviour does not do good for football as there has been a lot of campaigns against racism and football federations have been working hard to get rid of racism in football. Football is known to be a sport that unites people, therefor, this improper behaviour from football supporters damages the character of the sporting code.

Ronaldo is sad

The football community was left amazed when Real Madrid player, Cristiano Ronaldo, did not celebrate his 150th goal for the club in a convincing win against Granada. On 3 September 2012, Portuguese superstar, Cristiano Ronaldo revealed to the media that he was not happy at Real Madrid FC. Though he did not give reason(s) why he is not happy at the club, the Spanish media speculated it could be that he did not win the European Best Player Award which was won by Andres Iniesta. Ronaldo also mentioned that it was not a personal but a professional reason that he is not happy at Madrid. "I'm sad because of a professional issue and the club know why. That's why I didn't celebrate the goals, because I'm not happy. The people [at the club] know why," he told reporters after the match.

Cristiano Ronaldo left fans to celebrate his 150th goal during a match against Granada (www.telegraph.co.uk) 

Will Ronaldo leave Madrid
Ronaldo, previously expressed his unhappiness in the manner that Madrid has been treating his fellow teammate Kaka. The pair joined Real Madrid in 2009 with hopes of winning EUFA Champions League for the club, but have failed to do so last season after losing in the semi-finals to Bayern Munich and Kaka falling out of favour with the manager as he has become a bench warmer at the club. Life seemed great for Ronaldo after winning the Spanish Super Cup against FC Barcelona as the win motivated the club ahead of the season.

Clubs dream to have Ronaldo in their team sheets but only a few can afford him. Manchester City is leading the race to lobby Ronaldo to the club after stating that they might make a 200 million euros offer for the winger. Ronaldo, whose 80 million euros transfer from Manchester to Madrid still remains the highest in football history.

Top 10 most expensive football transfers

Cristiano Ronaldo: Manchester United to Real Madrid – £80m (2009)
Zlatan Ibrahimovic: Inter Milan to Barcelona – £60.7m (2009)
Kaka: AC Milan to Real Madrid – £56m (2009)
Fernando Torres: Liverpool to Chelsea – £50m (2011)
Zinedine Zidane: Juventus to Real Madrid – £45.62m (2001)
Luis Figo: Barcelona to Real Madrid – £37m (2000)
Javier Pastore: Palermo to Paris Saint-Germain – £36.7m (2011)
Hernan Crespo: Parma to Lazio – £35.5m (2000)
Radamel Falcao: FC Porto to Atletico Madrid – £35.2m (2011)
• Sergio Aguero: Atletico Madrid to Manchester City – £35m (2011)
• Andy Carroll: Newcastle United to Liverpool – £35m (2011)