Championship - News and Rumors

[zudomiriku]

EXCLUSIVE: Night raider Paolo! Swindon change locks after former manager Di Canio storms office

Swindon Town have been forced to change the locks at the County Ground after Paolo Di Canio stole into the manager’s office under darkness and caused damage by tearing down pictures of his successful reign at the club.

The Italian entered the stadium in the early hours on Thursday, using keys he had kept after resigning on Monday. He was driven by a desire to retrieve mementos of his 21 months in charge.

Accompanied by at least one member of his backroom team, Di Canio was caught on CCTV entering his old office and removing the photographs from the walls in what evidence suggests was a forceful fashion.


Storm: Paolo Di Canio resigned as Swindon manager on Monday

CCTV footage was viewed on Thursday by the League One leaders and Di Canio’s visit discovered — prompting a change of codes on the stadium entrance and replacing the door locks in the office builiding to prevent any repeat.

The matter has not been passed to police and, while the club would not comment on Thursday night, officials have decided not to take further action.

The eccentric Di Canio announced he would leave Swindon on Monday evening after falling out with the board over the sale of star winger Matt Ritchie. He cited a ‘number of broken promises made by the club’.

Less than 24 hours later, Swindon won 3-1 at Tranmere under assistant Fabrizio Piccareta to go top of the table, but he also resigned at full time, along with goalkeeping coach Domenico Doardo, fitness coach Claudio Donatelli and first-team masseur Giulio Viscardi.


Shock: Eccentric Di Canio announced he would leave Swindon on Monday evening


The management: Swindon interim caretaker managers Darren Ward, left, and Tommy Miller

Di Canio’s spokesman Phil Spencer on Thursday declined to comment about his man’s late-night call at the County Ground.

Di Canio himself released a statement accusing the club of being ‘disrespectful’ after outgoing chairman Sir William Patey said the manager had ‘walked out on the players’.

Di Canio said: ‘The club have still not responded to my letter of resignation of February 12, but instead have put out a wholly misleading version of events in their statement.’

Thursday's events cap a turbulent spell for Di Canio as Swindon manager.

Despite masterminding promotion from League Two as champions and a run to the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy final, he frequently clashed with players and the club hierarchy. In August 2011, he was caught on camera scuffling with striker Leon Clarke after the team had been knocked out of the Carling Cup by Southampton and last September he launched a remarkable verbal attack on goalkeeper Wes Foderingham, having substituted him 21 minutes into a game against Preston.



Any thoughts of a simple step up to Premier League management has been scuppered as West Ham co-owner David Gold has dismissed reports linking Di Canio with a job at Upton Park.

The Italian is still very popular in East London after a spell at the club where he scored 48 goals in 118 appearances, including a spectacualr volley voted goal of the season in the 1999/2000 season.

Talks with Sam Allardyce for a new deal have not started yet, but Gold is confident that they will be successful.

'I want to make this clear: there is no managerial vacancy for Paolo or anyone else at the club,' said Gold. 'There is no job available.

'I understand he’s a hero here but, as we’ll hold talks with Sam at the end of the season, that’s where it stands.'



Sportsmail understands several of the Swindon team were on Thursday unaware of Di Canio’s latest impetuous act.

There was better news for the club off the pitch as the takeover by Jed McCrory’s consortium was completed, steering Swindon away from any chance of administration.

‘This is a tremendously exciting time to be taking charge of Swindon,’ said McCrory. Sir William added: ‘Losing our manager is a disappointment but, as the result at Tranmere shows, Swindon is bigger than any person.’

Senior players Darren Ward and Tommy Miller, both 34, took charge of training for the first time on Thursday as caretaker managers and are both expected to start against Preston tomorrow.

‘We’ve got to perform as much as anyone else,’ insisted Miller. ‘If we don’t we’ll be out of the team.’

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2282559/Paolo-Di-Canio-storms-old-office-forcing-Swindon-change-locks--EXCLUSIVE.html

[Redsbusby]

Barutau itu stadion ternyata emang multifungsi, bukan khusus stadion.
Ya moga jgn kayak Cardiff aja. Punya stadion besar tp main bukan di level terbesar

West Ham Gunakan Olympic Stadium Mulai 2016

London - detiksportSiapa yang akan memakai Olympic Stadium akhirnya terjawab setelah West Ham United menyetujui perihal kontrak penyewaan stadion itu mulai musim 2016/2017.

Sebelumnya West Ham dan Tottenham Hotspur yang bersaing untuk menyewa stadion berkapasitas 80 ribu penonton yang digunakan untuk Olimpiade musim panas lalu. Pada akhirnya Spurs mundur dan West Ham jadi calon tunggal.

Sempat tarik ulur mengenai biaya sewa stadion tersebut akhirnya pada Jumat, (22/3/2013), The Hammers akhirnya dipersilakan menggunakan stadion itu mulai Agustus 2016 setelah setuju membayar 2 juta poundsterling per tahun untuk menyewanya kepada The London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) sebagai pemilik stadion itu. Durasi penyewaan West Ham adalah 99 tahun

Nantinya Olympic Stadium akan dimodifikasi sehingga bisa digunakan untuk pertandingan sepakbola dan non sepakbola, di mana kapasitas stadion diturunkan jadi 60 ribu kursi lalu bakal ada sistem konverter lapangan sepakbola ke atletik dan sebaliknya plus perubahan atap stadion.

Untuk biaya renovasi senilai 150-190 juta pound, West Ham akan dibantu pemerintah Inggris yang menyumbang 60 juta pound, pinjaman dari dewan kota Newham (tempat stadion Olympic berada) senilai 40 juta pound, pinjaman dari LLDC senilai 20 juta pound dan dari kas klub sendiri sebesar 15 juta.

Awalnya West Ham hanya mau patungan 5 juta pound dan itulah faktor utama yang membuat proses negosiasi penyewaan stadion berlangsung lama. Renovasi akan dimulai tahun ini dan diperkirakan tuntas pada musim gugur 2015 saat berlangsungnya Piala Dunia Rugby di Inggris.

Untuk mencari keuntungan tambahan dari penyewaan stadion itu, BBC melansir bahwa West Ham dan pihak LLDC akan bekerja sama mencari sponsor untuk penjualan hak nama stadion seperti laiknya Emirates Stadium dan Etihad Stadium.

[zudomiriku]

EPL Promotion Watch: Cardiff, Hull on Brink of Promotion, Bolton Up into Top 6

[/URL]

With the number of matches left in the Championship dwindling by the week, the two automatic promotion spots into the English Premier League are almost secured.

Cardiff City, who has dominated the league for most of the season, moved one step closer to the top flight with a 3-0 win on Saturday over Nottingham Forest.

Heidar Helguson opened the scoring in the 26th minute and was then followed by a second-half double by Rudy Gestede.

Malky Mackay's club are now just a single point away from earning the first automatic promotion spot. The Bluebirds can clinch their spot in the top flight on Tuesday in front of their home fans at the Cardiff City Stadium against Charlton Athletic.

Hull City, the club chasing the second automatic promotion spot, tightened their grip on second place in the table with a 2-1 win at Ipswich Town.

Robbie Brady was the first goalscorer of the day at Portman Road with a 28th-minute penalty. With seven minutes left in the match, Robert Koren solidified the win for the Tigers as his head connected on a cross from Brady.

Koren's game-winner pushed the Tigers ahead of third-place Watford by six points after the Hornets fell to bottom feeders Peterborough United, 3-2.

After conceding three goals, the Hornets fought back to score twice in the final five minutes, but an equalizer was not to be found for Gianfranco Zola's club.

With fourth-place Crystal Palace off this weekend due to Millwall's participation in the FA Cup semifinals, two clubs were able to put pressure on the Eagles in the table.

Brighton and Hove Albion moved within a point of Palace after defeating Middlesbrough 2-0. Andrea Orlandi and David Lopez scored goals in the 60th and 76th minute, respectively to keep the Seagulls' promotion dream alive.

The club that made the biggest splash in the playoff positions this weekend was Bolton Wanderers, who surged into the top six after taking down Bristol City, 2-1.

Bolton is tied on points with Nottingham Forest, but they have a small advantage in goal differential that has them currently sitting above Forest in the table.

Here is how the Championship table looks after this weekend's matches. The top two clubs earn automatic promotion to the EPL while the clubs placed in third through sixth will compete in a four-club playoff for the third and final promotion spot.

Club-------------------Matches Played---Points---Goal Differential
Cardiff City-------------------42----------83----------27
Hull City----------------------42----------77----------12
Watford----------------------42----------71----------24
Crystal Palace----------------41----------66----------13
Brighton & Hove Albion-----42----------65----------18
Bolton------------------------42----------63----------8

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1603694-epl-promotion-watch-cardiff-hull-on-brink-of-promotion-bolton-up-into-top-6

zona promosi juga tidak kalah seru. Cardiff & Hull sepertinya sudah hampir pasti promosi ke EPL, tinggal menunggu playoff aja u/ memperebutkan 1 tiket promosi lagi. Cardiff jarang berlaga di EPL yak, kalo Hull bbrp musim lalu sempat berlaga di EPL namun degradasi

[zudomiriku]

Brighton 0 Crystal Palace 2 match report: Wilfried Zaha double puts Ian Holloway back on road to Wembley



Sir Alex Ferguson may have retired, but on Monday night he once more proved himself a good judge of a footballer when his final signing, Wilfried Zaha scored the two goals that took Crystal palace into the Championship play-off final against Watford at Wembley on May 27.

Ferguson paid Palace £15 million for Zaha in January before loaning the winger back to the South London club, and will no doubt have permitted himself a smile as Zaha's two late strikes not only ensured that his farewell game for Palace will be in the fixture termed the most valuable in football, worth an estimated £120 million to the winners, but also ended the season of their fiercest rivals.

“I've played for Palace for ten years so this is the perfect way to cap it,” Zaha, 20, said. “I just wanted to finish one of my last games for the club in a strong way and getting two goals is a dream."

Ian Holloway, the Palace manager, will manage in the play-off final for the third time in four seasons. He led Blackpool to the Premier League with victory over Cardiff City in 2010 but he and the Tangerines came up short against West Ham last season. Now he tries a third time with Palace despite a run of one win from eleven games before last night.

“We learned so much from that terrible run we had,” Holloway said. “We've come to the hardest place ever and have shown all sorts of strength of character. Did I doubt my lads? No, I didn't. Did I doubt myself? No. Other people did. [Zaha] will be a match winner at the top, top, top level but I thought he wanted to keep playing well for us, and he did today. ”

Gustavo Poyet, the Brighton manager, who is always linked with every vacant Premier League management job, was downcast and suggested that he will be seeking assurances from Tony Bloom, the Brighton owner, about the level of ambition at the Amex Stadium after failing to take the team up to the top flight despite what he agreed had been 'a fantastic season'.

He said: “I don't like this feeling. I always said that I'll be at the football club while we keep improving. But today it feels like we've hit the roof. I want us to get better, and as a manager I want to get better. Right now, I don't know. I'm under contract, but we'll see.”



Palace pressed Brighton relentlessly, seldom allowing them to play their normal controlled passing game. Even so, the home side made chances, but Julian Speroni pushed aside a shot from Will Buckley and Danny Gabbidon deflected David Lopez' curling shot over his own crossbar. Palace also looked dangerous on the break and should have scored two minutes after half time when Zaha sent Jonathan Williams in on goal only for the Welshman to slip his shot wide.

Palace nearly paid dearly when Brighton's 64th-minute substitute Ashley Barnes twice went close. But Speroni deflected his left-foot shot onto the crossbar, then Dean Moxey nodded his close-range header off the goalline and within seconds Palace made the breakthrough. After 68 minutes Zaha dived to head in Yannick Bolasie's left-wing cross and two minutes from time he took Kagisho Dikgacoi's pass, turned Brighton captain Gordon Greer and lashed the ball in off the crossbar.

“We were technically poor, we made too many mistakes,” Poyet said. “The adrenalin made us play a bit quickly, trying to do everything in two minutes and not play our normal game. But if Ash's shot goes in we are talking about a different game. Those are the margins.”

Brighton & Hove Albion (4-1-2-3): Kuszczak; Calderon (LuaLua, 72), Greer, Upson, Bridge; Bridcutt; Lopez, Hammond; Buckley, Ulloa, Orlandi (Barnes, 64). Substitutes not used Brezovan, El-Abd, Crofts, Dicker, Painter

Crystal Palace (4-2-3-1): Speroni; Ward, Delaney, Gabbidon, Moxey; Dikgacoi, Jedinak; Williams (Bolasie, 62), Garvan (Moritz, 62), Zaha (O’Keefe, 90); Wilbraham Substitutes not used Price, Richards, Phillips, Ramage,

Referee M Clattenburg (Co Durham).

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/football-league/brighton-0-crystal-palace-2-match-report-wilfried-zaha-double-puts-ian-holloway-back-on-road-to-wembley-8614656.html

semoga bisa membawa Palace menang difinal & promosi ke EPL, persembahan terakhir sebelum gabung dengan United. kalo Palace promosi, om Ian Holloway balik ke EPL lagi deh

[troy andreas]

Kakes- kakek eksis, kalau di Indonesia sudah dipensiunkan.

Championship: Leicester are set to announce Sir Dave Richards as chairman



A boardroom shake up at Leicester is set to see Sir Dave Richards become the Championship club's new chairman, according to reports.

Richards, the former Sheffield Wednesday chairman, will return to club football when he steps down from his role with the FA Premier League at the end of this month.

The 70-year-old will replace Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha at Leicester and Terry Robinson will join him at the King Power Stadium to work alongside manager Nigel Pearson as director of football after leaving Stoke's academy.

It is understood the Foxes have made the appointments with Financial Fair Play (FFP) in mind.

The forthcoming FFP rules, if broken, carry penalties such as a transfer embargo and last season Leicester's losses were in excess of £29million.

As Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha prepares the club for what he hopes will soon be Premier League football, Richards has been brought in to ensure it is run on a cost-effective basis.

He is a member of the FA's board, chairman of the FA's international committee, president of the European Professional Football Leagues organisation and chairman of UEFA's Professional Football Committee.

Robinson's brief will be to assist Pearson in squad building but he will specifically be asked to concentrate on lowering Leicester's wage bill by jettisoning a number of high earners signed by former manager Sven-Goran Eriksson.

http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11095/8781584/Championship-Leicester-are-set-to-announce-Sir-Dave-Richards-as-chairman

[iamsetia]

Cardiff batal tour ke Malaysia. dikarenakan gangguan asap tebal yang berasal dari kebakaran hutan di Indonesia.. kira2 siapa yg bakar ya?
__________
Malaysian-owned Cardiff City cancel Malaysian tour due to ‘poor air quality’


Cardiff owner Vincent Tan tries to remember The Macarena (guardian.co.uk)

Newly promoted Cardiff City are owned by Malaysian businessman Vincent Tan and for the past few seasons have sported the word "Malaysia" on the front of their kit in lieu of a sponsor. They even changed their club colors from blue to red to appease their Malaysian investors (which was a bitter pill to swallow for fans of a club nicknamed The Bluebirds).


Cardiff City's new red home football kit and new blue away football kit.

In a further bid to encourage investment and tourism in the Southeast Asian nation, the club organized a six-day promotional trip of Kuala Lumpur, in which the likes of Malky Mackay, David Kerslake, Craig Bellamy and Mark Hudson were supposed to visit schools and speak to the local press. Sadly, those trying to promote Malaysia have been dealt a major publicity blow as the trip has been canceled due to dangerous smog levels there.

An official statement reads:

Tan Sri Vincent Tan today said, “It’s with disappointment that the planned visit to Malaysia this week by Malky, David, Mark, Craig and other club delegates has been postponed. A schedule of events had been put in place ahead of the opening Premier League fixtures, further raising awareness of Cardiff City Football Club in Malaysia.

“However due to the current poor air quality in Kuala Lumpur, it has been decided for the welfare of all concerned to delay the trip, re-establishing plans in the future when the manager and players can better interact with Malaysian based supporters in a suitable environment.”

On Sunday a state of emergency was declared in two southern regions of Malaysia, after smog from forest fires from Indonesia reached hazardous levels. Residents have been advised to stay indoors, which is exactly the same advice DT would offer to anyone in Cardiff on Friday nights when the pubs close.


Air pollution has shrouded Kuala Lumpur's iconic Petronas Towers in a thick haze

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/soccer-dirty-tackle/malaysian-owned-cardiff-city-cancel-malaysian-tour-due-193346860.html

[zudomiriku]

Karanka set to be unveiled as new Middlesbrough boss as Mourinho's former No 2 opts for Teesside over Palace

Aitor Karanka is expected to be announced as the new manager of Middlesbrough on Wednesday.

The Teesside club have called a press conference at their Rockcliffe Park training ground in Darlington for 10.30am with Tony Mowbray's successor likely to be revealed.

The 40-year-old Spaniard was Jose Mourinho's assistant at Real Madrid and has been interviewed for the vacant Crystal Palace job in recent weeks.


New appointment: Aitor Karanka, former assistant to Jose Mourinho at Real Madrid, is to be unveiled as the new Middlesbrough manager on Wednesday

However, he has been no 1 on Boro chairman Steve Gibson's shortlist for some time and is now set to become the club's first foreign coach.

Caretaker boss Mark Venus, who has been in charge for three weeks, is expected to leave the Teesside club along with coaches Mark Proctor and Stephen Pears as Karanka is expected to bring in his own backroom team.

Karanka, who hails from Vitoria in Spain, was a centre-back who spent most of his playing career with Athletic Bilbao save for five years with Real between 1997 and 2002.


Interviewed: Karanka, seen here with former boss Mourinho, was in the running for the vacant job at Crystal Palace


He was capped on one occasion for Spain back in 1995 - against Armenia in a qualifier for the 1996 European Championships - and he also represented his country at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.

Karanka's decision to choose the north-east over south London leave Palace still searching for a new manager nearly three weeks after Holloway quit the club by mutual consent.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2503358/Aitor-Karanka-set-announced-Middlesbrough-manager.html

[zudomiriku]

Six men held in match fixing scandal which has hit Championship... while Sodje admits he 'got himself sent off for £70,000 payout'

Six men have been arrested in a match-fixing scandal that suggests overseas betting syndicates are operating illegally in English football’s highest echelons.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) confirmed it was investigating spot-fixing involving Football League players being paid to get yellow and red cards.

It followed a report in the Sun on Sunday newspaper that former Portsmouth player Sam Sodje allegedly told an undercover reporter that he could arrange for footballers in the Sky Bet Championship to get themselves a yellow card in return for tens of thousands of pounds.


On camera: Defender Sam Sodje has been filmed allegedly admitting to fixing events in football matches

SODJE CHARITY SHAMBLES

The Sodje family’s charity projects are in jeopardy following the match-fix claims.

The brothers are involved in various goodwill endeavours which are reliant on partnerships and sponsorship.

The Sodje Sports Foundation, a charity that aims to provide support to children and young people through sport, boasts the FA among its official supporters.

Similarly, AFCAR, a community foundation which also involves Reading striker Jason Roberts’s charity, claims the support of the PFA on its official website.

On Sunday night, those partnerships were looking precarious, with various organisations eager to disassociate themselves with the Sodjes.

Sportsmail knows of at least one organisation considering severing ties with the SSF.

In the report the 34-year-old is alleged to have claimed he could rig Barclays Premier League games and even said he was preparing to fix matches at next year’s World Cup in Brazil.

An NCA statement said: ‘An active investigation is now under way and we are working closely with the FA and the Gambling Commission. People are in custody and are being questioned. We cannot comment further.’

The FA said: ‘We have been made aware of a number of arrests in relation to an NCA investigation. We are working closely with the authorities in relation to these allegations. We will make no further comment.’

Sodje’s astonishing claims will cause huge alarm across football and has led to a second probe by the NCA into allegations of match fixing, the first one involving low-paid players from non-league football.

Last week two players from Conference South side Whitehawk FC were charged as part of the ongoing investigation.

Sodje’s brother Akpo, who was on Tranmere’s bench for Saturday’s FA Cup tie at Peterborough, was also named by the newspaper.

Sodje, born in London and a former Nigeria international, is now out of contract but at one stage was a Barclays Premier League player with Reading. He claimed to be part of a spot-fixing operation that enables overseas gambling syndicates to bet illegally on red and yellow cards in matches.

As well as Sodje’s younger brother, Akpo, the revelations pointed to the involvement of another Sodje brother, Stephen, and Oldham’s Cristian Montano. It is reported that other players linked to the alleged operation have not been named for legal reasons.


Yellow card? Oldham's Cristian Montano reportedly tried to get booked against Wolves

Perhaps most extraordinary is the claim, made by Sam Sodje, that he deliberately got himself sent off earlier this year while playing for Portsmouth in exchange for £70,000.

It amounted to a bizarre incident and one that will shock Portsmouth fans, given the fact he was suspended for six matches as a result of an unprovoked attack on Oldham’s Jose Baxter on February 23. For no apparent reason Sodje suddenly punched him twice in the groin area in the 50th minute.

In The Sun On Sunday it is claimed Sodje showed an undercover investigator footage of the incident on a mobile phone before boasting that he was paid ‘70k’ for the dismissal.

‘Do you know how much I got fined? I got fined ten grand and I missed six games,’ he said. ‘I had to do it because the referee wasn’t booking me. Come on, who does that? Why would you do it on the pitch? I was tackling, tackling, it wasn’t working and I went f*** that, I’m off.’

He confirmed it was an unprovoked attack on Baxter. ‘The guy didn’t say nothing — I just started punching him. Everyone happy,’ he said.



On Sunday night, Portsmouth spokesman Colin Farmery said the club were shocked by the claims.

Farmery said: ‘If these allegations are true then we are extremely shocked and saddened, as match fixing of any type goes to the heart of the integrity of the game.

‘The player in question no longer plays for the club and we have not been contacted by the authorities, but of course we would co-operate fully.’

Montano, it is claimed, tried but failed to receive a yellow card during Oldham’s encounter at Wolverhampton Wanderes on October 22. The Colombian was apparently summoned to a hotel in Manchester by Sam Sodje to explain himself.

The Sodje brothers, meanwhile, are quoted outlining how much they want to spot-fix matches in the English professional game. Sam Sodje claimed he could guarantee events ‘100 per cent’ in return for cash. He said a former Premier League player had agreed to get himself booked in exchange for ‘thirty bags, three zero’, meaning £30,000. ‘The booking one is easy,’ he is then quoted as saying before adding that he controlled a network of players.

‘The easiest one is a booking,’ he says. ‘You just push someone, swear at the referee, kick the ball away. A yellow card is a standard thing. No one would even be suspicious.’

Later in the reported conversation he then asks the undercover investigators to pay him in the form of a new Range Rover car.

Staines Town offered bribes

Marcus Gayle, manager of Conference South side Staines Town, has claimed his players were offered match-fixing bribes just three weeks ago.

The former Wimbledon and Watford player told BT Sport he was furious when he discovered the approach, which was made to one of his players by telephone.

Gayle said: ‘We reported the incident straight away to the FA. That shows we have done the right thing. Our players are furious.

‘I never thought match-fixing was possible but now I’ve changed my mind. I am convinced it’s all over the place.

‘I want to stand up for the integrity of the game. It does worry me just how much is going on in the game and I am sure it is far more than people think.’

Stephen Sodje claims he can organise for his brother Akpo, a striker, to get booked in exchange for ‘50,60’ thousand pounds, suggesting he can simply ‘take his shirt off’ after scoring a goal. Akpo Sodje would then claim in person, in a separate meeting, that he could indeed provide such a service. Together the brothers claimed they could rig ‘six, seven games in a row’ provided Akpo was back in the Tranmere side after a recent injury.

On Sunday Tranmere acknowledged in a statement that they were aware of the allegations, adding only that they would not be making any comment in the light of a criminal investigation.

The Professional Footballers’ Association also released a statement saying: “These allegations, if proven, unfortunately demonstrate the real issue football faces in terms of corruption and highlights the necessity of the work carried out by the PFA and other stakeholders in the game in educating players of these risks.

“We take the issue of integrity very seriously and will continue in our efforts to eradicate this evil from our game.’

Danny Mills, a member of FA chairman Greg Dyke’s review panel, pointed to the fact that spot fixing in football is not new. He spoke of how footballers were once able to bet on the timing of a first throw-in, only to then kick the ball into the stands almost from the kick-off.

But this kind of spot fixing is far more serious when Sam Sodje’s dismissal had such a major impact, not only on that game but on Portsmouth’s next six games given the ban he then served.

These revelations threaten the integrity of English football, and highlight the possibility that such illegal activities are also present in the Premier League. After all, we have already seen this in Test match cricket and it would seem the World Cup in Brazil in June is also being targeted.

This week the two Whitehawk FC players, Hakeem Adelakun and Michael Boateng, will appear at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court. But the threat of illegal betting is not simply restricted to their level of the game. It would seem to have spread right to the top.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2520436/Championship-match-fixing-scandal-Six-man-arrested-Sam-Sodje-admits-getting-sent-70-000.html

[zudomiriku]

You can't play! Campbell and five other fix probe suspects are facing instant bans

The players at the centre of spot-fixing allegations could be banned from playing at least until the National Crime Agency investigation has run its course.

Oldham’s Cristian Montano, one of six men arrested by the NCA at the weekend, has been suspended without pay by his club while the investigation is ongoing, and Sportsmail understands Blackburn are in discussions with lawyers over whether to suspend striker DJ Campbell, who was also arrested.

On Monday night, Maria Miller, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, called senior officials from football, including representatives from the Premier League and Football League, tennis, cricket, rugby union and rugby league, to a summit meeting with the Government on Tuesday on how to tackle the problem.


Scandal: DJ Campbell could be suspended by Blackburn over his alleged involvement in spot-fixing

The final decision on whether the six arrested players will be banned could come down to the FA. On Monday, officials from the sport’s governing body refused to discuss the issue but interim bans have been applied to doping cases in the past.

The FA could also apply such a ban to two of the other men arrested; Tranmere’s Akpo Sodje and Ian Goodison, but Steve Sodje has not played football since 1994 and his brother Sam has not had a club since leaving Portsmouth this year.

All six have been arrested after evidence was provided by the Sun on Sunday newspaper suggesting Sam Sodje runs a network of players who get themselves booked or sent off for money supplied by illegal overseas betting syndicates.

Sam Sodje, 34, is reported saying he can influence players in Championship matches in exchange for tens of thousands of pounds. He also claimed he could rig Premier League games and next year’s World Cup in Brazil.

Goodison was the last to be released on Monday and has been bailed, along with the other five, until April.

It is also alleged Montano failed to get a yellow card in return for money in a match against Wolves on October 22 and offered to take part in another rigging incident.


Under suspicion: Cristian Montano (right) is alleged to have failed to get himself booked in October

Oldham manager Lee Johnson told the club website: ‘Anybody who saw that report will have been devastated and sick to their stomachs. However, we have to let the authorities do their job and duties, and we cannot prejudice that.’

Johnson said the club will have to wait for the results of the investigation before they can determine Montano’s future, adding: ‘The truth is we don’t know yet what has happened for him to be in the room talking about that.’

In Campbell’s case, detectives are likely to review a yellow card he received for a tackle committed in the first half of Blackburn’s league game against Ipswich last Tuesday.

Portsmouth will hold a meeting with their players today. In the original Sun on Sunday report, Sam Sodje boasts of getting himself sent off last season in exchange for £70,000.

How fixing works
Fixers bribe a player to perform a certain action, such as get booked. If the bribe costs £10,000, placing that amount of money on a single bet would be impossible in Britain.
No bookmaker would take the bet and spreading the money across several would be noticed. But in the vast, unregulated Asian betting market, placing fixed bets is much easier.
Syndicates spread money across countries and, with no regulators, there is nobody to complain to if corruption is involved.

The PFA said in a statement: ‘These allegations, if proven, unfortunately demonstrate the real issue football faces in terms of corruption and highlights the necessity of the work carried out by the PFA and other stakeholders in the game in educating players of these risks.

‘We take the issue of integrity very seriously and will continue in our efforts to eradicate this evil from our game.’

The FA said they were working closely with the authorities, while Football League chief executive Shaun Harvey said they treated any allegation with ‘the utmost seriousness’



An NCA spokesman said: ‘An active NCA investigation is now under way and we are working closely with the FA and the Gambling Commission.

‘Five people were arrested on Sunday morning, and bailed that evening until April 2014. A sixth was arrested on Sunday evening.’ He has since been bailed.

Former FIFA head of security Chris Eaton thinks English football authorities need to set up a dedicated anti-corruption unit.

Eaton, sports integrity director at the International Centre for Sports Security, told Sky Sports News: ‘What we need to do here is prevent fixing in the first place and take the money out of the criminals’ hands, that will stop them fixing.

‘When you are commercially roaming the world, selling sport, you are targeted by criminals. There has been a global trend. I think the FA and the new National Crime Agency organisation have done a great job on very little information.

‘But we know this needs serious global examination. The source of most of these investigations seem to be coming from outside England so you need to look at this in the international context.’

But author Declan Hill, whose work includes The Insider’s Guide to Match-Fixing in Football, feels previous warnings have not been taken seriously enough.

He said: ‘What we are dealing with now is a wave of globalised corruption that is going to threaten the credibility of the beautiful game.

‘Once this genie of doubt comes out of the bottle it’s very difficult to get it back in. There will be more scandals, then, months down the line, viewers are going to be watching matches and wondering if they are seeing a piece of theatre.

‘Unfortunately British authorities have gone from denial to resignation without going through combat.’


Investigation: Officers from the NCA remove documents and equipment from the home Stephen Sodje

The six men arrested

SAM SODJE
Born: London 1979. Club: None.
Former clubs include: Portsmouth, Notts County, Charlton, Leeds, Watford, West Brom.

STEVEN SODJE
Born: London 1974. Played football in the early 1990s but quit the professional game in 1994. Established the Sodje Sports Foundation in 2009.

AKPO SODJE
Born: London 1980.
Club: Tranmere.
Former clubs include: Scunthorpe, Preston, Hibernian, Charlton, Sheff Wed, Port Vale, Darlington, Huddersfield, Ebbsfleet.

IAN GOODISON
Born: Montego Bay, Jamaica 1972.
Club: Tranmere
Former clubs: Hull, Olympic Gardens (Jamaica).

CRISTIAN MONTANO
Born: Cali, Colombia 1991.
Club: Oldham.
Former clubs: Oxford, Notts County, Dagenham & Redbridge, Swindon, West Ham.

DJ CAMPBELL
Born: London 1981. Club: Blackburn.
Former clubs: Ipswich, QPR, Blackpool, Derby, Leicester, Birmingham, Brentford, Yeading, Billericay, Stevenage, Chesham.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2521033/Match-fixing-DJ-Campbell-suspects-face-ban-football.html

[zudomiriku]

Brentford promoted to Championship a year on from final day heartache at Griffin Park

Brentford will be playing Championship football next season after a dramatic day in League One ensured their automatic promotion alongside Wolves.

The occasion comes a year on from the Bees missing out on automatic promotion on the final day of last season after a stoppage time Doncaster goal at Griffin Park sent them up in their stead.

Mark Warburton's side went in to Good Friday's fixtures knowing they had to beat Preston, Leyton Orient had to lose at Crawley and Rotherham had to fail to win at Wolves for them to be promoted.

Finally! Brentford will play their football in the Championship next season after sealing League One promotion


Magic moment: Brentford midfielder Alan Judge scores his side's winning goal from the penalty spot


Fans' favourite: Brentford's Alan McCormack (centre) is carried aloft by fans after the final whistle


On the up: Brentford celebrate promotion to the Championship after beating Preston at Griffin Park


Get that down you: McCormack celebrates in the dressing room after the win against Preston




Pitch invasion: Brentford fans cover the Griffin Park field to celebrate moving up a division

And all of the above duly happened, but not without drama.

Brentford clung on to victory against promotion-chasing Preston. Alan Judge scored a first-half penalty but his late miss from the spot brought back memories of Marcello Trotta's failure from 12 yards against Doncaster a year ago.

Despite Preston efforts the Bees picked up the three points they needed. But the nerves had barely begun for the Brentford faithful.

Crawley then did their job, with Andy Drury scoring a 70th-minute winner against Orient, who had set the pace in League One at the start of the season.

Up at Molineux, the kick-off had been delayed by 10 minutes due to traffic, so Brentford fans were forced to watch in agony as Rotherham pulled back from 4-2 down to equalise in the last 10 minutes.

But there was relief all round as their title rivals Wolves scored twice in six minutes of added time to finally sink the Millers and send Brentford in to the Championship.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2607864/Brentford-promoted-Championship-year-final-day-heartache-Griffin-Park.html