Search: 'UEFA'

Blink and you might miss it. But, as Matthew Brown writes, the quiet passing of this year's anti-racism week may not be a negative thing

You had to look pretty hard to notice it, but the days from October 13 to 25 were officially football’s “national anti-racism week of action”. It’s ten years since the FA and Premier League were first dragged out of their complacency into taking the issue seriously, forced – partly in reaction to Eric Cantona’s kung-fu kick – to join the national campaign then headed by the Commission for Racial Equality, the Professional Footballers’ Association and the Football Supporters Association.

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How times have changed for England and Germany

The internet is a breeding ground for rumour. Just recently, for instance, a message has been going around about a proposed England song for the 2006 World Cup, not the official one but a celebrity singalong in the manner of 1998’s Vindaloo. It’s Who Do You Are Think You Are Kidding, Mr Klinsmann? sung to the tune of the Dad’s Army theme. Ant and Dec are said to have been approached to sing it with Peter Kay and Gazza among others being asked to participate in the video. It might not be true, but the fact that it sounds all too horribly plausible demonstrates how bad things may get between now and next June.

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Thursday 1 “Toshack hates me, I can handle that,” says Robbie Savage, soberly conceding that his international career is over after being left out of the Wales squad and not called up when others pulled out. Northern Ireland drop Jeff Whitley and Phil Mulryne for going on an all‑day drinking session.

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Few players have made more impressive starts at a club than scoring 30 goals in half a season; few have then done less to earn their wages, writes Gordon Cairns

Marco Negri’s four years at Glasgow Rangers is one of the strangest episodes in the club’s history. Signed from Perugia for £3.5 million, the Italian striker scored 30 goals before Christmas in 1997-98, then barely made another appearance as he saw out the remainder of his four-year, £18,000-a-week contract.

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Is it too good to be true? Scotland has been longing for a club to break the Old Firm's dominance but, as Neil Forsyth asks, are Hearts stable enough?

The Scottish Premier League has long been a private title battle between the Old Firm with the other clubs reduced to contesting a UEFA Cup spot, derby wins and even the honour of being a top-six team after the league splits. This campaign has so far been as predictable as ever, but with a significant difference. The catalyst of Hearts’ incredible run (eight games, eight wins at the time of writing) is printed boldly on the team’s strips. Ukio Bankas is not just the team sponsor but also the Lithuanian bank part-owned by the club’s owner Vladimir Romanov. Since replacing former manager John Robertson with George Burley, Romanov has bankrolled an influx of foreign talent to the club that Burley has quickly gelled into a highly effective team.

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