Search: 'Brazil'

The biggest name in Brazilian football right now isn’t proud of the fact – because, as Robert Shaw writes, he’s a corrupt referee, whose actions have led to bitterly contested rematches

Lift left hand in an upright position. Insert thumb of right hand into centre of upright palm while making a ducking, twisting motion with the rest of the right hand. Look around and imagine watching thousands of fellow fans copying your motion, while shouting “Edilson” and you have just been transported to a Brazilian football terrace.

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An injury suffered with Morocco by a Charleroi ‘star’ has put FIFA in the dock in Belgium and, as John Chapman explains, it could hit international football hard

Mogi Bayat’s uncle, Abbas, used to be big in fizzy water. He bought Chaudfontaine, the company not just a bottle of the Belgian eau minérale, and later sold it on to Coca-Cola. He was Chaudfontaine’s CEO and somewhere along the way he purchased the Royal Sporting Football Club of Charleroi, known affectionately to their fans as “the Zebras”.

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"A case of anything goes." Gavin Willacy looks at the laws of yesteryear

There seemed to be little unusual about the game at first. Twenty men of assorted shapes and ages, indulging in a ragged Sunday kick-about on the outer fringes of a south-west London marshland, shooting at goals without crossbars let alone nets, no corner flags or referee, wearing an assortment of knee-length trousers and footwear of varying suitability.

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The world’s largest continent wants a World Cup and to end European football’s colonialism. Matthew Hall reports from the latest FIFA congress on Asia’s big plans

“Thank you and enjoy your dessert,” said Youssou N’Dour, the Senegalese music star as he ended his performance at FIFA’s 55th congress in Marrakech in September. N’Dour was the musical entertainment during the “gala dinner”, an opportunity to hit the trough with 600 people from every country on Earth (except Yemen, suspended, and Libya, who got lost on the way, apparently).

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Northern Ireland’s shock victory over England was a welcome tonic on and off the pitch, as Robbie Meredith reports

Strange as it seems now, the visit of England to Windsor Park wasn’t originally particularly important. Sure, it was a rare chance for us to ogle at the Team England circus and gain some attention from Motty, Wrighty and… um… Woolnoughy, but many Northern Ireland supporters initially viewed the Azerbaijan match the preceding Saturday as more vital. It was a realistic chance to pick up a rare win, whereas most of us assumed that England would stroll into town, patronise us with a load of guff about how they expected a tough contest, then cuff us with relative ease. 

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