Friday, 29 November 2013

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Football news, match reports and fixtures | theguardian.com

Manchester United cannot afford to lose at Spurs now, says Patrice Evra

Posted: 28 Nov 2013 02:31 PM PST

• Tottenham is now a very big game, Evra adds
• Manchester United undefeated in 11 games

Patrice Evra has said it is foolish to dismiss Manchester United's chances of reclaiming the Premier League title but warned that they cannot drop points at Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

David Moyes's team head to White Hart Lane on an 11-game unbeaten run and with confidence increased by Wednesday's 5-0 mauling of Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League. While United are unbeaten in Europe and qualified for the knockout phase with a game to spare, they have struggled to find the same consistency in the Premier League and face Tottenham seven points adrift of the leaders, Arsenal.

Evra insists belief remains intact at Old Trafford and United's ability to overhaul the deficit cannot be discounted. The France international said: "People always write Manchester United off. Remember last year people were saying the same then, but in the end we won the league by 13 (sic) points.

"People think I just say that to look good but it is the truth. Wait until the end of the season. Every game, every year is a challenge playing for Man United. We are strong. We have mentally strong characters. Playing for United is never easy because when you put that shirt on we have the story of the club to consider. We have to show we love this team."

Despite the defender's confidence, Evra accepts Moyes's team must transfer their Champions League form to the domestic stage on Sunday to maintain hope of a 21st league championship. "We are playing well in the Champions League but we have to keep going at Tottenham," Evra said. "We didn't make the most of the Arsenal win and that was why we were so disappointed about the Cardiff draw. We are in good form but for that silly [late] goal at Cardiff. We have not lost for a long time and we want to keep winning and keep winning. We cannot afford to lose in the league.

"If we had won at Cardiff it would have been a bit easier going to Tottenham, but now we cannot afford to lose at White Hart Lane. We cannot afford to drop too many points and that is why Tottenham is now a very big game. Every game from now on is a big game because we had a bad start. If you calculate it – the draw against Southampton and Cardiff plus the defeat at home to West Brom – if we had won those matches we would be top of the league, and that is why we are so frustrated and upset."

Jonny Evans, who scored for United in Leverkusen, is expecting a reaction from André Villas-Boas's side following their 6-0 humiliation at Manchester City last weekend.

The United central defender said: "Tottenham will be pretty motivated. Leverkusen lost by a big score to us but they won't lose their next game by a big score. Sometimes things can go like that. Watching the Spurs-City game at the weekend, Spurs' heads went down after a couple of goals. It was similar to our game with Leverkusen. They will be looking for a fresh start on Sunday, especially at White Hart Lane, which is always a tough place to go."

Andy Hunter

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Liverpool eye Barcelona's Montoya

Posted: 28 Nov 2013 02:30 PM PST

• Spain Under-21 full-back can operate on either flank
• Montoya's progress thwarted at Camp Nou by Dani Alves

Liverpool have opened talks with Barcelona over the possible transfer of the defender Martín Montoya in January.

The Spain Under-21 international, who can operate in both full-back positions, is out of contract at the end of this season and his availability has alerted leading clubs throughout Europe. The 22-year-old and his agent have both claimed recently that he hopes to sign a contract extension with the Spanish champions but Liverpool are exploring the prospect of a permanent deal in January.

Montoya's opportunities have been restricted at Camp Nou by the excellence of the right-back Dani Alves but talks have taken place over a contract renewal. That has not deterred Liverpool, however, and their managing director, Ian Ayre, met Barcelona officials in Catalunya on Thursday to discuss a possible transfer fee.

Brendan Rodgers, the Liverpool manager, is keen to strengthen competition at full-back despite signing Aly Cissokho on loan in August and Jon Flanagan's impressive performance on the left at Everton on Saturday.

Andy Hunter

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Manchester United's Ryan Giggs still firing and fabulous at 40

Posted: 28 Nov 2013 02:29 PM PST

Ryan Giggs reminded the world of his ongoing excellence with a standout Champions League performance at Bayer Leverkusen

The only thing that will stop Ryan Giggs training on his 40th birthday on Friday is the thought of what his Manchester United team-mates have in store at Carrington. Otherwise it is just another day at work and another milestone in a career that surpassed convention and superlatives and extraordinary levels of achievement long ago. "I will be glad when it's over," Giggs said. The birthday, that is, not the football.

Tributes would have been bestowed on the remarkable Welshman regardless of his commanding performance in United's rout of Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League on Wednesday but it allowed David Moyes to pay the most rewarding of them all in the aftermath of the 5-0 win. The display was not impressive for a 39-year-old, the United manager pointed out, it was impressive full stop. The back-slapping that followed Giggs out of the BayArena was not some sycophantic response to an age-defying act but recognition of his influence on United's biggest away win in the European Cup for 56 years.

"During the game their centre-half was asking me how Ryan is still playing like that at his age," said Wayne Rooney. "He was fantastic. I've run out of things to say about him but it was great to see him with that composure on the ball. I don't know how he is still doing it. I certainly won't be playing at that age, that's for sure."

From bailing out defenders with the game goalless to threading Nani through for United's fifth goal in the 88th minute with a sublime first-time pass, Giggs dominated the midfield in Germany.

Leverkusen were not some disorganised, mediocre opponent. They just appeared that way once the 39-year-old, Rooney and Shinji Kagawa took over. Sami Hyypia has taken Leverkusen to second place in the Bundesliga courtesy of the club's best start to a league season and they were on an eight-match winning run at home in the Champions League before kick-off but the former Liverpool defender, stoic in defeat, had to concede: "We have been taught a football lesson."

For Giggs, the motivation on Wednesday was the same as when making his United debut against Everton in March 1991 – 22 years, 12 league titles, two Champions League triumphs and 953 club appearances ago. "I'm enjoying it, that's the main thing," said the midfielder and United's first-team coach. "You've got to work hard during the week, put in the performances in training and hopefully get picked. And when you are picked it is just like when you are younger really, you've got to take your chance.

"It helps when you have legs around you. You've got Phil Jones in midfield and the front four were brilliant against Leverkusen, a real handful. So that helps. So, yes, I'm enjoying it but I tend to enjoy it more in December and January when all the games come thick and fast and I can get into a rhythm."

Jones was not born when Giggs first appeared for United. Neither were Adnan Januzaj and Wilfried Zaha. But the midfielder took no added satisfaction from winning in Europe two days before his 40th. "It wasn't special for that reason," he said. "It was special because it was an important game. We knew we would go through if we won and we scored five goals away from home in Europe. I got a buzz because of that, you've got to. Winning 5-0 away against the team second in the Bundesliga, you've got to get a buzz. They've got a really good home record as well. I think only Bayern Munich have come here and won this year."

Giggs remains as ambitious as ever for silverware and, though United have a gap to close to catch the elite of Europe, he has not given up on a third Champions League winners' medal. Leverkusen were on the receiving end of United's best European away display for several years and the veteran at the heart of the performance believes another final appearance is achievable on that form.

"If we play like we did against Leverkusen we can," said Giggs on the prospect of United reaching Lisbon in May. "We've seen the speed and the quality we had up front. We were missing a lot of quality and experienced players in Robin van Persie, Nemanja Vidic and Michael Carrick. It was good for the lads who maybe haven't had their chance this season and they took it. Now it is up to them to stay in the team.

"We've got the experience and we've got some youngsters coming through like Adnan, Phil Jones and Chris Smalling, who haven't played much in Europe. I thought Shinji added an extra dimension against Leverkusen. It was very difficult for the opposition to pick him up and I'm really pleased for him. If we put on performances like this, then who knows? We can go a long way."

There is no date set on how long Giggs can continue to contribute at the highest level. Moyes claimed in Germany that the midfielder is improving and Giggs' next appearance will make him only the sixth player to perform in the Premier League at 40 or over. That group consists of Brad Friedel, Mike Pollitt, Mark Schwarzer – all goalkeepers – Gordon Strachan and Teddy Sheringham.

As for the 40th birthday, Giggs reflects: "Obviously it is a milestone but I try not to think about it as such and I don't think about it until people like you remind me. I'm not coming into training on Friday anyway. I'm going to stay in bed just in case the lads have something planned."

Andy Hunter

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Wigan Athletic 1-2 Zulte Waregem | Europa League match report

Posted: 28 Nov 2013 02:05 PM PST

Wigan will have to wait to see if their inaugural European tour will continue beyond the group stages after Junior Malanda's late curling effort from outside of the area for Zulte Waregem took the English side's qualification hopes from Group D out of their hands.

Owen Coyle's team must now beat Maribor in Slovenia in their final group game and hope Zulte lose against Rubin to reach the last 32 of the Europa League in their first foray into European football.

Victory meant here would have seen Wigan secure their place in the last 32 of the competition on their first foray into Europe and mean the small Lancastrian town could look forward to fixtures against sides coming down from the Champions League. So with the carrot of a tie against a major European force dangled in front of them, they went straight on the attack. And the home support did not have to wait long for the opener, even if it did come with a hint of fortune.

Callum McManaman crossed for Jordi Gómez in the seventh minute and the Spaniard miss-hit his effort only for it to find the feet of defender Barnett who showed the composure of a striker to turn a low shot home.

The Belgian side, managed by a former policeman in Francky Dury, had their own ambitions of progressing, of course. They needed a result here to keep their hopes alive but should have been two down early on only for McManaman to let the team managed by a former cop out of jail when he shot straight at Sammy Bossut from close range.

James McClean also spurned a chance to put Wigan further in front but his low shot was turned away by Bossut with Gómez better placed and aggrieved the ball did not come his way.

The visitors were gifted a route back into the game when Sven Kums capitalised on a midfield mix-up to release Thorgan Hazard out wide. The younger brother of Chelsea forward Eden, who is on-loan from Stamford Bridge himself, shot straight at Lee Nicholls but the ball went through the hands of the embarrassed Wigan goalkeeper for the equaliser.

While Wigan knew a win would secure their place in the knockout phase, Zulte were hoping for three points to overtake their hosts but Hazard snatched at a long-range effort not long after the break with team-mates in much better positions.

The home side's attacking menace had been somewhat curtailed from the early stages but Powell gave Bossut his first work of the second period with a powerful effort from inside the area. Gómez, who had endured a torrid hour, was taken off by Owen Coyle for Marc-Antoine Fortuné in the 64th minute and the cheers from the home fans summed up the Spaniard's wasteful performance.

With Wigan's season already clogged up with fixtures, Coyle could have done with their place in the next round secured on Thursdaynight. James McArthur, who was involved in the mix-up for Zulte's equaliser, flashed a late attempt wide from distance, but that would be the closest they would come before Malanda struck to leave the Latics needing that win in Slovenia and hoping Rubin do them a favour by beating Zulte in Belgium.


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Wigan 1-2 Zulte Waregem

Posted: 28 Nov 2013 02:03 PM PST

Europa League: Wigan face an uphill battle to qualify from Group D after throwing away a lead

Pardew: grumbling is 'no big deal'

Posted: 28 Nov 2013 02:03 PM PST

• Yohan Cabaye and Fabricio Coloccini unrest dismissed
• 'The media always look to upset you when you're winning'

Alan Pardew has played down suggestions that two of his key players, Yohan Cabaye and Fabricio Coloccini, are itching to leave Newcastle United.

Speaking in his native France, Cabaye said he was keen to play in the Champions League again while Coloccini told an Argentinian publication he still hankered after a return to his home country.

"Sometimes when they are abroad they get asked questions which are slightly loaded with slightly different connotations to them," said the Newcastle manager.

"If you want to ask me if I want to play in the Champions League I do, absolutely, and Yohan wants to play in the Champions League of course but we want him to do that here. We are trying to build that but it is difficult and it is only players like Yohan Cabaye who will get us there.

"As far as Colo is concerned, he is our captain and it is well documented that last year the pangs of home were pulling on him but he is a professional, he has been brilliant for us and I am just letting our fans know there is no big deal. The media are always looking to upset you when you are winning and we just want to continue where we are, which is in a good place."

Pardew's side will record a fourth straight Premier League win if they beat West Bromwich Albion at home on Saturday, when Cabaye and Coloccini are both expected to play important roles.

Cabaye briefly went on strike while hoping to engineer a move to Arsenal but since the transfer window closed the France midfielder's attitude has pleased Pardew.

"There was a lot of speculation that he was going to move but his application has been spot on," he said. "He is under contract with us and, of course, that is where his future lies until such time as we say his future does not lie here. He has repaired his relationship with fans by his performances which have been as good as he has played for us."

Louise Taylor

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Swansea 0-1 Valencia

Posted: 28 Nov 2013 01:59 PM PST

Another chance wasted, and Swansea now need at least a draw against St Gallen in Switzerland in two weeks' time to guarantee a place in the knockout stages of the Europa League.

After the Flamenco of their 3-0 triumph in the Mestalla back in September, the Welsh club's progress has become something of a hokey-cokey. According to the manager, Michael Laudrup, they had one leg in the last 32 in October, only to take their leg out when they twice conceded stoppage-time equalisers to the also-rans of Kuban Krasnodar. They shook it all about vigorously last night but were second-best against composed Spanish opposition and Daniel Parejo's first-half goal left them with one win in their last seven matches.

It won't get any easier for Laudrup and his charges: they are away to Manchester City on Sunday and they will go into that game without their leading scorer, Wilfried Bony, who injured a hamstring here. "It could be quite serious," Laudrup said. "We're talking about several weeks."

Valencia's present team are a mundane bunch by comparison with Rafa Benítez's stellar cast of the early 2000s and arrived in south Wales standing a miserable 11th in la Liga, having lost four of their last six games, but Swansea themselves are scarcely in irresistible form and were not at full strength.

Laudrup had warned his players that the Spaniards were capable of an upset, and so it proved. For most of the game Valencia were the more composed, cohesive team. Nevertheless it was Swansea who should have taken an early lead, only for Bony to be found wanting twice in the first 13 minutes.

First Jonjo Shelvey sent Roland Lamah sprinting away on the left and the Belgian's cross picked out the striker's run to the near post, but Bony's header from eight yards flew wastefully wide. On the second occasion Alejandro Pozuelo's corner from the left was flapped by Diego Alves straight to Bony, who again nodded wide of the gaping net.

Flapping by the Valencia goalkeeper appeared to be infectious. In the 20th minute Swansea's Gerhard Tremmel caught, or rather didn't catch, it and Juan Bernat's mishit volley reached Parejo who, 12 yards out in the inside-right channel, shot low inside Tremmel's left upright.

Things weren't going to plan for Laudrup and his team. Bony limped out of the game after 42 minutes, the £12m man left to rue his profligacy as much as his injury, and it took a vital last-ditch challenge by Shelvey to shut out Jonas in front of goal. Bad became worse just before half-time when Alvaro Vázquez, on for Bony, had an equaliser contentiously disallowed because Shelvey was in an offside position in the build-up. Laudrup disputed the decision, saying "he was a yard onside", but he appeared to be referring to Vázquez, rather than Shelvey.

Seeking a greater measure of control, or at least stability, in midfield, Swansea sent on Jonathan De Guzmán in place of Lamah for the second half, but Valencia ought to have made the game safe in the 50th minute when a lovely through-ball from Sergio Canales left Sofiane Feghouli one-on-one with Tremmel. The supply had been exquisite but the finish did it scant justice, Feghouli poking the ball wide.

There was a whimsical incident just before the hour when Jordi Amat, the Swansea central defender, went off to change his shirt and was twice refused permission to return to the pitch because the replacement jerseys on offer had the wrong names on the back. Amo and Amas? The Swans put in the stronger finish and Vázquez had a shot cleared off the line by Jérémy Mathieu late on, but Angel Rangel joined Bony and Michu among the walking wounded and all three will miss the trip to the Etihad, where Laudrup will be without a conventional striker.

Joe Lovejoy

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Official faces court after 'data hack'

Posted: 28 Nov 2013 01:59 PM PST

• Referee manager is accused of unauthorised computer access
• Two other men are charged in connection with the case

A senior member of the Football Association's referee department has been charged with perverting the course of justice and unauthorised access to computer data. Dean Mohareb, who was initially arrested in October last year and was then re-arrested in February, will attend magistrates court next week.

Mohareb, 30, the FA's national referee development manager and a Football League match official, was formally suspended by the governing body after his second arrest, having been stood down from officiating in October 2012.

Greater Manchester Police confirmed that two other men have been charged with perverting the course of justice in connection with the case. Vincent Rossi, 46, an FA-qualified tutor who delivers referee training courses, and 18-year-old Liam Cliff will also go before a magistrates court next week where it is thought that the case may be referred to the crown court. If found guilty, the defendants could be handed a custodial sentence.

Mohareb has been the subject of an 18-month investigation by CID into the alleged hacking of personal and work email accounts of the FA's former national referee manager for education and training, Janie Frampton. The FA's most senior woman in the referees department was dismissed last year after a series of leaked emails were published in the press suggesting that Frampton had offered FA Cup semi-final tickets to a flight steward in return for upgrades on a British Airways flight for herself and three female referees on a work trip.

Emails were also sent from an anonymous address to senior figures in football, including Fifa's president, Sepp Blatter, calling for Frampton to be sacked. The anonymous hacker, who adopted the name "pinkladyref", also posted comments about the case in internet chat rooms.

Frampton, CEO of Sports Officials UK, strongly denied wrongdoing and took her former employers to an employment tribunal. In July this year the FA agreed to an out-of-court settlement.

Mohareb had a number of electrical items seized from his home address by police last year, as part of the investigation into the alleged computer hacking and misuse of information.

Anna Kessel

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Tromso 0-2 Tottenham

Posted: 28 Nov 2013 01:57 PM PST

André Villas-Boas reckons Tottenham are in good shape to challenge Manchester United on Sunday after they emerged from their trek to the Arctic Circle with a much-needed win to secure Group K. The manager's position came under scrutiny following last week's 6-0 defeat at Manchester City but the Portuguese tasted victory on Thursday night in freezing Tromso.

An own-goal which owed much to Vlad Chiriches' efforts, followed by Mousa Dembélé's first of the season, gave Spurs the win that guaranteed them top spot in their Europa League group with one match to spare. They have won five games from five, moreover.

Spurs struggled to find their rhythm in the first half and they took more than an hour to beat Tromso's goalkeeper Benny Lekstrom but Villas-Boas was delighted that his team overcame a tricky hurdle.

"I am very happy for the players to have bounced back from the defeat against Man City," the Spurs manager said. "Obviously the opponent we have on Sunday is the biggest that we can have. But to prepare for that game it was important to get back to winning ways and we did it in a fashion where we looked solid and created lots of chances. I am extremely happy with the performance and result."

Chiriches turned Gylfi Sigurdsson's free-kick towards goal in the 63rd minute and the ball was helped over the line by the Tromso defenderAdnan Causevic before Dembélé wrapped the win up with 15 minutes remaining.

Roberto Soldado drew a blank once again and Nacer Chadli missed a sitter but in truth it was a case of a job well done. Temperatures dropped below zero and the players had to endure heavy snowfall during the first 10 minutes of a match which was played on an artificial surface at a venue so far north that it shares the same latitude as Alaska and Siberia.

"The players adapted to the conditions quite well," Villas-Boas added. "The quality of the pitch was fantastic. We came through OK with no injury worries. The conditions were tricky with the first blizzard of snow but after that it settled down."

Speculation mounted that Villas-Boas could be on his way out of White Hart Lane following the hammering at the Etihad Stadium. Another defeat would pile more pressure on the Portuguese and unfortunately for him he will face a United team with their tails up after their 5-0 win at Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday.

Villas-Boas had the luxury of taking in that game in Tromso's five-star Radisson Blu hotel. On Sunday he will cut a much tenser figure on the touchline but he says his men are ready to take on David Moyes' squad. "I watched the game last night. It was a good performance but it will have no bearing on Sunday," he said. "They are on a good run that changed their fortunes. We don't expect an easy match but it will be a completely different story [for United] on Sunday. I'm not being disrespectful but it will be a different game in different conditions and our players will be mentally ready."

Villas-Boas' critics multiplied last weekend after the rout at City. The TV pundits Jamie Carragher, Gary Neville and Alan Shearer all laid into the Tottenham team for their poor showing at the Etihad Stadium, and another critic emerged on Wednesday iin the form of Lord Sugar.

The former Spurs chairman aired his concerns about Villas-Boas' management on national radio and said his dream scenario would be to see the Portuguese replaced by Sir Alex Ferguson.

Villas-Boas, in a far better mood than during his cagey pre-match briefing, joked that Sugar had a point. "I think it is pretty fair [to say Ferguson could do better]," the 36-year-old said with a smile. "With the record Ferguson has, he would be a pretty good manager in any club in the world."


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Two charged over match-fixing allegations in English football

Posted: 28 Nov 2013 01:40 PM PST

• Men to appear at magistrates court on Friday
• Seventh man arrested as part of investigation

Two men suspected of involvement with an international match-fixing ring targeting English football have been charged with conspiracy to defraud, while five others were released on bail as the investigation continues.

The latest developments will be taken as proof that English football can no longer ignore the match-fixing claims that have swept Europe and the world in recent years, as the government came under fire for not doing more to fund the fight against corruption in sport.

In fresh revelations the Telegraph reported that during a secretly recorded meeting with a fixer, he said that he had influenced World Cup qualifiers and matches in other countries.

"I do Australia, Scotland, Ireland, Europe, World Cup, World Cup qualifier," he said, and claimed to control the entire team for one African country. He also claimed to be able to influence referees.

The newly constituted National Crime Agency confirmed that Chann Sankaran, a 33-year-old Singapore national, and Krishna Sanjey Ganeshan, a 43-year-old with dual UK and Singapore nationality, had been charged.

The pair, charged with conspiring together and with others "to defraud bookmakers by influencing the course of football matches and placing bets thereon", have been remanded in custody and will appear before Cannock magistrates .

They were among six people arrested earlier this week following a Daily Telegraph investigation that appeared to show a fixer explaining how he could influence the outcome of matches by paying players £50,000 to guarantee a minimum number of goals.

A seventh man was arrested on Thursday, the NCA said, and he and four others were bailed pending further inquiries.

They are understood to include Delroy Facey, a former journeyman striker turned agent who once played for Bolton in the top flight but now lives in Huddersfield and turns out for Albion Sports in the NCEL Premier League.

The charges represent the first time British authorities have amassed enough evidence to make arrests in a case linking attempts to fix matches in England with gangs benefiting from the huge $500bn illicit gambling market in Asia.

The matches concerned are believed to be non-league games, and there have been growing fears for some time that fixers are targeting the Football Conference and the tiers immediately below.

Soren Kragh Pedersen, from the European Union policy agency Europol, said the news was not unexpected: "We see it everywhere so it would be a surprise if you did not find it in England also."

Tim Lamb, the chair of the Sports Betting Group, said that it was time for the government to consider funding a specialist integrity unit to fight corruption.

"Why do we spend £6m on anti-doping when, in the eyes of some sporting grandees, this is a bigger threat? If governing bodies had more money available to help them with their anti-corruption programmes, the football authorities might have picked this up before the press or the police," he said. "Player education has been a hugely important factor. In this case, there has clearly been no education or insufficient education to remind them of the need to resist temptation."

Some would like to see part of the tax revenue raised from an amendment to the Gambling Act currently passing through parliament, which forces offshore bookmakers operating in the UK to be licensed here, ringfenced for a new unit.

"Unless we do something to ensure sport is fair and free from corruption, we will live to regret it. That's why the stakes are so high," said Lamb. Asked why football could not do more itself to fund player education or a new unit Lamb, who is also chief executive of the Sport and Recreation Alliance, said: "A lot of these problems are not football's fault. It has no say in what bets are placed. It's easy to say there's a lot of money sloshing around in football, but there isn't a lot of money sloshing around in the lower leagues."

Following a previous review in 2010, chaired by the former Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry, a new unit was set up within the Gambling Commission to co-ordinate between sports governing bodies and the police. But many within sport believe it remains underfunded.

The shadow sports minister Clive Efford backed the idea of bookmakers contributing more to fight corruption and called for new laws that would make it easier to convict those involved in match-fixing.

"Sport governing bodies invest a great deal of time and money into protecting the integrity of their sports. It is not right that betting operators contribute nothing to the sports from which they make a great deal of money," he said.

But the culture secretary Maria Miller said the government was committed to tackling the problem: "Match-fixing undermines the integrity of sport across the world and we will do all we can to help stamp it out. In Britain we have one of the leading systems internationally to tackle this blight but we are not complacent."

Owen Gibson

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Match-fixing in English football: who, why, when and how often?

Posted: 28 Nov 2013 01:34 PM PST

Nick Clegg is not alone in fearing that the six arrests made in England this week might be the 'tip of an iceberg'
• Two charged as match-fixing inquiry widens

From a suspicious South Africa friendly international with a glut of penalties to a curious 4-1 defeat for Argentina at the hands of Nigeria the football world has become inured in recent years to what appear ever more outlandish attempts to fix matches.

In leagues from Italy to Turkey and from Finland to Germany scores of arrests have been made as hundreds of matches have fallen under suspicion. The scale of the threat to the soul of the game, not to mention the commercial implications, has slowly dawned on sports governing bodies around the world.

Last month the president of La Liga warned that at least eight matches per season were fixed in the top two divisions in Spain. In Turkey two of its most famous clubs – Fenerbahce and Besiktas – are serving European bans due to match-fixing. And yet there was still a frisson of shock at the first arrests on these shores, which linked the illegal and unregulated betting markets in Asia to matches being played on bumpy pitches on freezing Saturday afternoons in the upper echelons of the non-league pyramid considered the lifeblood of the English game.

How big is the problem?

Nick Clegg, the deputy prime minister, spoke on Thursday of fears that the six arrests could be the "tip of an iceberg". But it is not as though the alarm bells have not been clanging. Earlier this year, in a self-aggrandising press conference, Europol announced it was probing 380 suspicious matches, including a Champions League tie at Anfield, as part of a Europe-wide crackdown. Fifa and Uefa have separately warned that match-fixing is the biggest threat facing the game and the former has begun issuing lifetime bans to those involved.

The fixer caught on camera by the Telegraph's investigation reeled off a list of countries in which he said he could influence results: "I do Australia, Scotland, Ireland, Europe, World Cup, World Cup qualifier." Closer to home UK bookmakers earlier this year stopped taking bets on a number of non-league teams amid fears about suspicious betting patterns. And the FA, which like other governing bodies uses a monitoring service to track betting activity in the legal market, issued a warning in March to clubs saying it had become "aware of suspicious betting activity on a number of matches played in the Football Conference South".

How do the fixers operate?

Other recent cases in England, such as that involving Accrington Stanley players in 2009, have been clumsy attempts to place bets on matches in which they were taking part. The arrests made this week are significant because they are the first in which police have gathered enough evidence to link players in England to the huge illegal and unregulated Asian betting markets.

Interpol has estimated the size of those illicit markets at $500bn. Once the fixer has gained the trust of a player or group of players, or even a referee, he will direct them to ensure a specific outcome – such as making sure a minimum number of goals are scored in a particular match. The fixer's main contact on the pitch will deliver a pre-arranged signal, such as getting booked in the opening five minutes, to show the fix is on.

Why do bookmakers accept these bets?

If the fixer is feeding back information to associates in the Far East, it may be that the sheer liquidity of the market will hide any suspicion over bets being placed. Monitoring firms have claimed that millions of pounds can be wagered on nondescript non-league football matches, or indeed county cricket games.

Inside information is more likely to be used by illegal bookmakers rather than against legal ones, giving them the opportunity to make a killing by offering attractive prices on outcomes they know will not happen.

If there was a spike in unusual bets placed with a legitimate bookmaker in this country, he would be obliged to report it to the Gambling Commission under the terms of their licence and it should theoretically be picked up by the monitoring services employed by sports governing bodies.

Why are players tempted?

Hundreds of documented cases across the world have shown that players earning a relatively low wage can be tempted by what is painted as a low-risk opportunity to earn a huge bonus. As the unnamed Singaporean in the Telegraph undercover investigation, who claims to work for the now notorious fixer Wilson Raj Perumal, says: "The players usually earn around £5,000 a month. So for 90 minutes I pay them £7,000. For two hours, definitely they take."

In recent years that has been true for players, referees and football federations around the world. Although Fifa has now promised to invest €20m (£16.6m) in Interpol to crack down on the problem, given that its own record is not unblemished when it comes to allegations of corruption and bribery, world football's governing body is often perceived as conflicted.

Who is Wilson Raj Perumal? Why is Singapore the centre of global football match-fixing?

In the unravelling web of global fixing, still only partially understood, many roads lead to Singapore. The names of Perumal, a Singaporean of Tamil origin who fixed games on an industrial scale across the world for over a decade and ended up living in Wembley before he was jailed in Finland, and Dan Tan loom large. Some say they are kingpins, others that they are no more than mid-ranking criminals in a much wider network.

Singaporean authorities, following criticism over their inaction, finally arrested Tan and 13 others in September. Italian investigators claimed Tan had been involved in fixing 680 local, league and international matches in countless countries between 2008 and 2011.

Perumal has been blowing the whistle on some of his former associates as international investigators attempt to piece together the way in which a sophisticated, if sometimes sloppy, network operated to drive profits for illegal bookmaking syndicates in south-east Asia. But those battling international organised crime say the threat is not confined to that area and exists wherever sophisticated criminal gangs are looking for a means to make or launder money.

Are the top two divisions in England immune?

Some will look at the fact those players arrested this week are non-league footballers and shrug. They may wonder whether players in the upper echelons of the game earning anything up to £300,000 a week could ever be tempted.

But look at other cases around the world. Look, too, at the fact the Sporting Chance clinic has warned that problem gambling is the unseen epidemic facing the game and at the financial difficulties faced by a significant minority of current and former players.

Then consider the lengths that some of those players might be tempted to go to if desperate for money, and the company that they may keep. English football prides itself on its sense of fair play and air of incorruptibility. This week's arrests will have shaken those comfortable assumptions.

The key figures

Chann Sankaran

Krishna Sanjey Ganeshan

Both men were on Thursday night charged with conspiracy to defraud. Sankaran, 33, a Singapore national, and Ganeshan, 43, who has dual UK and Singapore nationality, are alleged to be members of an illegal betting syndicate that has infiltrated English football, and conspiring to defraud bookmakers by influencing the course of matches

Dan Tan

Allegedly the ringleader of a global match-fixing network, Tan was arrested in Singapore in September along with 13 others. His network was allegedly responsible for rigging hundreds of matches worldwide, although he may not face trial. Interpol described him as "mastermind and leader of the world's most notorious fixing syndicate"

Wilson Raj Perumal

A convicted match-fixer, Raj Perumal is understood to have rigged a series of fixtures over the past 30 years. He fled to England from Singapore after skipping bail in 2009 on charges of running over a police officer and spent a year in a Finnish prison after being convicted of bribing 11 players in 2011. The fixer at the centre of the recent allegations described him as "the king, my boss"

Chris Eaton

The former head of security at Fifa, Eaton claims fixing is "endemic" in the game and has spent a number of years trying to highlight the issue. The Australian believes fixing is a worldwide problem due to the amount of money gambled on football and that international co-operation between federations is required to stamp it out

Scandals around the world

Brazil

The Whistle Scandal of 2005 involved millionaire investors bribing two referees to fix results

Italy

Calciopoli scandal preceded more than 40 arrests in separate 2011 case

Singapore

The centre for a vast network of fixers; 14 people were arrested there in September

Finland

Wilson Raj Perumal bribed 11 players in the Finnish league in 2011

Nigeria

Hosted a friendly against Argentina in 2011 that was under question by Fifa due to suspicious betting

China

Shanghai Shenhua stripped of 2003 title and 33 players and officials banned

Australia

Four British players to appear in court after allegedly fixing Southern Stars' matches this year

Turkey

Fenerbahce involved in major scandal in 2011; president Aziz Yildirim implicated

Owen Gibson

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FA complacency creates perfect conditions for match-fixing

Posted: 28 Nov 2013 01:31 PM PST

English players may be more expensive to bribe but the lower reaches of the pyramid remain fertile areas for avaricious match-fixing syndicates to get involved in

The avalanche of match-fixing revelations that have tumbled from every corner of the world over recent years has not been enough to shake the complacency of some in English football.

A fake team playing to order in a friendly in Togo or a desperate player being held at gunpoint in Salzburg still seemed a long way from the English pyramid and its unique structure that links the boggy battles of the 10th tier of non-league football to the shimmering green carpets of the Premier League.

But rather than a blithe assumption it could not happen here, it might have been sensible to wonder why not. Despite the billions pouring into the top of the game the cocktail of ingredients that have nurtured match-fixing elsewhere across the globe are firmly in place in the country that gave the game to the world.

If anything, players in the lower reaches of the Football League and the upper reaches of the non-league pyramid may be more susceptible to corruption, given the feeling that the huge paydays on offer at the top are tantalising beyond reach. As in cricket, where the threat is deemed to be greater in meaningless county matches than in high-profile Tests, the globalisation of sport, betting, technology and criminality has created a climate where the biggest risks lurk in the most mundane fixtures.

And while it is unfair to tar all of those who toil beneath the gilded upper floors with the same brush, there is no doubt that among those who wheel and deal in non-league clubs there lurks a minority of rogues.

To listen to the fixer in the Telegraph's undercover video the only thing that has been checking the growth of match-fixing in English football is the fact that the handful of players co-opted into cheating are more expensive to bribe than elsewhere.

And while there is no evidence at all that referees have been "got at" in English football, it would be naive to assume that those attempting to influence matches by approaching players were not trying to do the same with officials – as they have elsewhere in the world. Bribing players to ensure a minimum number of goals is one thing but how much more effective to reach the man in the middle?

The Football Association, used to drawing fire, is entitled to feel some degree of frustration at the criticism that will come its way.

Much of the work that it does in this area inevitably flies under the radar and Darren Bailey is a capable executive with one of the hardest jobs at Wembley – overseeing a department that encompasses everything from late tackles to child protection, corrupt betting and doping. Yet, as with so much that the English game's governing body is responsible for, there remains a lingering fear that it remains under-resourced and under-powered in this crucial area.

Given the threat to the very fabric of sport itself – the element of unscripted drama and human endeavour that has ultimately given it such a powerful position at the heart of the country's collective psyche and fuels those billion-pound broadcast deals – the response can appear plodding and prosaic.

It warned in March of suspicious betting patterns at some Conference South clubs, yet months later those same clubs said that no one from the FA had contacted them. Unlike horse racing, which was finally forced to set up a high-profile integrity unit when it faced its own existential threat, there has been no attempt to flag up its investigatory efforts or offer any sense that it is taking the initiative beyond monitoring the markets for suspicious activity.

There is a far wider debate about the funding of the fight against match-fixing that goes beyond anything football, or any other sports governing body, can do.

In Australia four British players who spent part of last season with clubs in the Conference South have been arrested and charged for alleged fixing in the Victoria Premier League and are scheduled to appear in court next week. There a specific offence of cheating at gambling exists, including "intentionally corrupting the outcome of a sporting event for the purpose of receiving a benefit", and police have sweeping powers to investigate.

Here the police often appear reluctant to devote time and money to investigating crimes that are hugely resource intensive and difficult to prove, though there is hope that the new National Crime Agency may provide fresh impetus. The Gambling Commission, meanwhile, is well-meaning but regularly comes under fire for failing in its role as the glue between the sports and the police.

And while the focus at present is rightly on the $500bn illegal markets that at times appear to be warping the fabric of sport, football must also at some stage examine its relationship with gambling in general.

Heavily reliant on bookies for sponsorship, particularly lower down the leagues where traditional sources of support are drying up, and with every ad break crammed with Ray Winstone and others urging punters to speculate, it can at times feel comfortable.

At a time when there are also renewed fears about a hidden epidemic of gambling addiction among players, the increased interdependence of the two industries should command a rare moment of introspection.

Owen Gibson

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264. Romelu Lukaku, Everton

Posted: 28 Nov 2013 01:00 PM PST

Click to enlarge, and debate the strip below the line. Keith Hackett's verdict appears in Sunday's Observer and here from Monday.

Competition: win an official club shirt of your choice

For a chance to win a club shirt of your choice from the range at Kitbag.com send us your questions for You are the Ref to you.are.the.ref@observer.co.uk. The best scenario used in the new YATR strip each Sunday wins a shirt to the value of £50 from Kitbag. Terms & conditions apply.

For more on the fifty year history of You Are The Ref, click here.


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A-League: what to look out for this weekend

Posted: 28 Nov 2013 12:48 PM PST

Paul Connolly: Victory's travel sickness; the trouble with Adelaide; Harry Kewell returns; and the beauty of a striker in form

Paul Connolly

Swansea v Valencia – live!

Posted: 28 Nov 2013 12:39 PM PST

Match centre: All the latest match stats as Swansea take on the Spanish side in Wales

Brazil World Cup host city Natal seethes at cost

Posted: 28 Nov 2013 11:53 AM PST

A stadium is rising in one of Brazil's tournament venues, but locals want jobs

It's easy to get a sense of how the locals in Natal – one of the venues for next year's football World Cup – feel about the tournament. "What's the new stadium like?" I ask a customs officer, in the arrivals hall of the city's airport. "It must be almost built by now."

The officer stamps my passport and looks up. "A spacecraft," she says, deadpan. "It's like a spacecraft has crash-landed in the middle of our town."

Few have heard of Natal, in Brazil's far north-east tip. Think Rio de Janeiro without the bikinis and beach joggers. But if it is unknown now, it won't be by June 2014: Natal is one of 12 host cities for next summer's tournament. Rumour has it that England could be playing here in the group stages.

The Arena das Dunas – named after the sand dunes on the nearby coast – looms into view on the drive from the airport.

The start of the World Cup is less than seven months away. But there is little pre-tournament excitement here so far. Resentment is more prevalent.

Jan-Marten Hoitsma, project manager at AFC Ajax's Amsterdam Arena, who was drafted in a few months ago to help see the Natal stadium project to completion, has an explanation: "There are no big football teams here – the biggest team gets gates of around 5,000 and we're building a 42,000-seater World Cup stadium."

The locals are unhappy about the costs, so he and his team are trying to encourage young people from the poorer neighbourhoods of Natal to train as World Cup stewards. "We need to win over the community," he admits.

A football stadium already existed on the site where the new one is being built, but it didn't meet Fifa standards. It's a familiar story across the 12 host cities; old stadiums being bulldozed to make way for shiny new ones costing tens of millions of pounds.

"We want 'Fifa standard' hospitals and schools" is a popular jibe in graffiti across the city. Outside the entrance to Arena das Dunas, someone has scrawled a new message: "We want 'Fifa standard' work."

Investment in World Cup projects – including stadiums, airports, roads and public transport – is expected to generate £55bn for the Brazilian economy by 2019, according to the Brazilian ministry of sport.

But the building projects have spiralled disastrously over-budget. Spending on the renovation and construction of football grounds was supposed to come in at less than £600m, but has climbed to more than four times that amount already.

The petal-patterned roof structure of the Arena das Dunas looks far more impressive from the inside. Hoitsma says around 1,900 construction workers are employed on the site. Most are on minimum-wage salaries, but many have asked for pay rises and recently downed tools in protest.

At Natal's local government building, a stone's throw from the ground, there are bullet holes in the door from a robbery the week before. No one has bothered to fix the damage yet. An empty safe sits upturned in the hallway.

Natal once enjoyed a reputation for being one of the safest cities in Brazil. But, like the rest of the country, the region's rapid economic growth of the past 10 years has stalled recently and crime has been edging up.

Rogerio Marinho, economic secretary for the region, tells me around R$400m (£105m) been spent so far on building Natal's stadium.

Compared with Wembley that is not a huge sum – but Natal is a city of fewer than 1m people and is short of about 40,000 homes. There's a desperate need for affordable places to live. People often live 10 to a house.

Statistics like those led to 30,000 demonstrators piling on to Natal's streets over the summer to protest over poor public services at a time when so much money is being spent on a stadium to host just four World Cup matches. Similar protests took place in more than 100 cities across Brazil.

"When the World Cup came to Natal, we felt as if we'd won a huge prize," Marinho says. "The federal government had a specific plan for every city. We were going to get better streets, better public transport, all sorts of benefits."

He admits: "Most of those projects will not be ready in time."

World Cup-fuelled tourism is one of the big hopes; Fifa has already received over 6 million ticket requests. But in the last World Cup, in South Africa, only 300,000 foreign football fans visited – around a third less than expected.

Another hope for Natal is the new airport that is being hurriedly finished. Marinho hopes it will be a boost for the local economy, given the ambition to make it the largest airport in Latin America – and one of the biggest in the world.

They hope it will become a mega hub like Atlanta in the United States, a place that millions of people pass through but few stay in.

That transience, perhaps, sums up the destiny of Natal's new World Cup stadium too.


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Tromso v Tottenham Hotspur – as it happened| Rob Smyth

Posted: 28 Nov 2013 11:50 AM PST

An own goal and a calm finish from Mousa Dembele gaves Spurs an easy victory in Norway

Rob Smyth

Tottenham head to the Arctic Circle and face Tromso – in pictures

Posted: 28 Nov 2013 09:30 AM PST

All the best images from Norway as Tromso host Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League

Steven Bloor

Former Gunner Rice admitted to hospital with cancer

Posted: 28 Nov 2013 09:05 AM PST

• Rice played 528 times for the club over 14 seasons
• 'We love him' Arsène Wenger says of one-time assistant

Pat Rice, the former full-back and assistant manager who served Arsenal for 44 years, has been admitted to hospital with cancer.

Rice, who was also the caretaker manager, joined Arsenal in 1964 before retiring last year from his role as the assistant to Arsène Wenger.

"It is very sad news. Not only do we love him, but of course we are very grateful for what he has done here. We are in touch with him, but I trust his legendary strength to get over it," Wenger said.

"I am confident that he still has the fighting spirit he always had to get over it and that he will come out in a successful way."

Rice, 64, made 528 appearances over 14 seasons after joining the youth team, going on to win the league and FA Cup double in 1971 and captaining the side to further FA Cup success in 1979. He also won 49 caps for Northern Ireland.

After a spell with Watford, he joined Arsenal as a youth team coach in 1984 before progressing to further coaching roles and enjoying great success as Wenger's assistant, winning seven trophies.

An Arsenal spokesman said: "Our thoughts are with Pat and his family. Everyone at Arsenal sends him our best wishes."


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Sergio Ramos and his 17 career red cards: a retrospective

Posted: 28 Nov 2013 08:56 AM PST

Real Madrid's Sergio Ramos may have won multiple honours but he is in danger of being remembered more for his ill discipline

Sergio Ramos may have won three La Liga titles, the World Cup and two European Championships but he is in danger of becoming more renowned for his ill-discipline rather than his football. On Wednesday night against Galatasaray, the 27-year-old was sent-off for the 17th time in his Real Madrid career. Here is a comprehensive guide to Ramos's red cards …

1) Espanyol 1-0 Real Madrid, La Liga, 18 September 2005

Two yellow cards in the 61st and 87th minutes was an appropriate beginning to Ramos's red card journey when he was sent off at the Olympic Stadium in Barcelona. It began a habit of obtaining double yellows rather than straight reds and his consequent suspension paved the way for a notable debut: step forward Jonathan Woodgate.

2) Real Madrid 2-1 Olympiakos, Champions League, 29 September 2005

Just 10 days later, Ramos received the second red of his Madrid career when he was dismissed for a clash with the Olympiakos substitute Giannakis Okkas, reacting angrily to a late challenge by the Cypriot in the 91st minute. The sending-off came only minutes after a young Roberto Soldado had spared Madrid's blushes with a late winner.

3) Real Sociedad 2-2 Real Madrid, La Liga, 27 November 2005

Madrid needed two goals within the last five minutes to salvage a draw at the Anoeta after Ramos had earlier been sent off in a game where both sides were reduced to 10 men.

4) Real Madrid 3-3 Villarreal, La Liga, 7 May 2006

Zinedine Zidane's final game was marred by a straight red card for Ramos after a handball in his own box. Diego Forlán duly converted the penally before Julio Baptista scored a late equaliser for Madrid.

5) Real Madrid 1-1 Atlético Madrid, La Liga, 1 October 2006

Ramos was sent off for the first time in a Madrid derby as two customary fouls earned him his two customary bookings. It seemed the experience of his fellow defenders Roberto Carlos and Fabio Cannavaro was having little impact on the young Spaniard.

6) Sevilla 2-0 Real Madrid, La Liga, 3 November 2007

Two silly tackles resulted in two yellow cards for Ramos five minutes either side of half-time. The loss relegated Madrid to third in the table, with Sevilla overtaking them.

7) Recreativo 2-3 Real Madrid, La Liga, 1 March 2008

In a hugely ill-tempered match that saw three red cards, Ramos was sent off in the 55th-minute after an elbow on the former Liverpool striker Florent Sinama-Pongolle. He had been booked following a rash double-footed challenge just five minutes earlier.

8) Mallorca 1-1 Real Madrid, La Liga, 5 April 2008

The Spaniard earned his second red card in little over two months as he was booked twice once again before receiving his marching orders. A 46th-minute handball was followed 20 minutes later by a deliberate trip. Despite dropping two points, Madrid remained top and would go on to win La Liga that season.

9) Real Madrid 4-3 Málaga, La Liga, 9 November 2008

Ramos received a straight red for a blatant step on the chest of Eliseu while the Portuguese defender was on the ground.

10) Atlético Madrid 2-3 Real Madrid, La Liga, 7 November 2009

The Spaniard was sent off for the second time in the Madrid derby, this time earning an instant dismissal following a last-man challenge on Sergio Agüero.

11) Ajax 0-4 Real Madrid, Champions League, 23 November 2010

After receiving a booking for throwing the ball away in the first half, he was shown a second yellow for the same time-wasting tactics in second-half injury-time. With the group won, sceptics believed Ramos' dismissal to have been deliberately earned, in order that he could serve a suspension in the dead-rubber final group game.

12) Barcelona 5-0 Real Madrid, La Liga, 29 November 2010

A scything tackle on David Villa was met with a yellow card 20 minutes from time before Ramos then hacked down Lionel Messi in injury time. Additional handbags with Carles Puyol and Xavi ensured his first red card in el clásico.

13) Barcelona 2-2 Real Madrid, Copa del Rey, 25 January 2012

An initial yellow card for protesting a free-kick was followed by another for an elbow on his international team-mate Sergio Busquets. Ramos had earlier had a headed goal disallowed for a foul in the build-up on the night Madrid crashed out of the Copa at the semi-final stage.

14) Villarreal 1-1 Real Madrid, La Liga, 21 March 2012

On Ramos's 300th appearance for Madrid, he set a new record for the club as his two yellow cards meant he had been sent off in La Liga more times than any other Madrid player in history. He received his marching orders following an elbow on Nilmar, on a night the manager José Mourinho and Mesut Özil also saw red for Madrid.

15) Real Madrid 4-0 Celta Vigo, Copa del Rey, 2 January 2013

After gaining an unneeded booking during a mild altercation with the Celta players, Ramos secured a very deserved second yellow for a challenge which possibly warranted a straight red. As they grappled for the ball, Ramos kicked out as Augusto Fernández, catching him in the chest.

16) Real Madrid 2-0 Rayo Vallecano, La Liga, 17 February 2013

Ramos received two yellow cards, was sent off and scored inside the opening 20 minutes. After doubling Madrid's lead in the 12th minute, he was booked twice in a 42-second period five minutes later. First he tugged the shirt of Robert Trashorras before committing a deliberate handball.

17) Real Madrid 4-1 Galatasaray, Champions League, 27 November 2013

The Spaniard earned a 26th-minute straight red as the last line of defence following a foul on Umut Bulut. His dismissal meant Ramos has now averaged a red card every 20 games for Madrid.


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Michael Chopra gambled sums of up to £30,000 on Newcastle team bus

Posted: 28 Nov 2013 08:49 AM PST

• Gambling on team bus 'part of team bonding', says Chopra
• Blackpool striker is giving evidence in £750,000 cocaine trial

Michael Chopra, the former Premier League striker, has spoken about his gambling addiction and how players would bet sums of up to £30,000 on the team bus.

Giving evidence at Newcastle crown court, Chopra, 29, who now plays for Blackpool, went into detail about the level of debt he got into and how he and his family were threatened by loan sharks.

He explained that just a year after making his debut for Newcastle United at 17, he already knew he had a problem and had racked up debts of tens of thousands of pounds. He told jurors that at the time the big-name players at the club included Alan Shearer, Kieron Dyer, Titus Bramble and Craig Bellamy.

"I started gambling when I was about 17, when I first played for Newcastle I was travelling with the first team," he said. "Players would gamble on the bus and I got involved. We would take thousands of pounds on to the bus, anything up to £30,000.

"It might change hands playing cards on the bus, we would go to the bank before and take out the money. It was part of team bonding. We were playing for real cash, if you were playing for £30,000 you would have it with you at the time."

Chopra was speaking as a witness in a £750,000 cocaine trial, relating to an alleged drug factory in the North-east.

He said his gambling addiction got so bad that he would set his alarm for 3am so he could place bets on games that were taking place in South America.

He also revealed that after playing for Newcastle and Cardiff City, the reason he then signed for Sunderland was to use the signing-on fee to pay off his debts.

"I was at Cardiff for one year and then I went to Sunderland. I got a signing-on fee and paid my debts off," he said. "The main reason I went to Sunderland was to pay my debts off. When you go to the Premier League you earn more money."

He said on one occasion a loan shark turned up at the Ipswich training ground, and told him they knew where his child went to school. I had loan sharks turning up at the training ground when I was at Ipswich [2011-13]. They came up to me and asked me for my autograph and said I better get myself into the club and get that money now.

"They said they knew what car I was driving and they would follow me until I paid them. They said they knew what school my little boy went to and where my parents lived and where I lived in Ipswich. I felt sick that I had put my family in that situation from my gambling."

The trial he was giving evidence at involves four men, Daniel Chisholm, 51, Christopher Bacon, 34, John Somerville, 53, and Joseph Lewins, 55, who are all accused of being involved in the drug scam.

Prosecutors allege that £50,000 found in the footwell of a car by police was drug money but the court heard that this money had belonged to Chopra and was due to be paid to a loan shark.

Somerville said he had often helped Chopra out with dealing with his debts, and that he had taken this money and then had it sent to the people he owed in Liverpool, jurors were told.

All four men deny the charges of conspiracy to supply the class A drug.

Chopra told the court that in total he thinks he has lost about £2m through his gambling.

It was also revealed that when he played for Ipswich, along with the Professional Footballers' Association, his club organised a £250,000 loan to help him pay off his debts.

Chopra's father, Minty, giving evidence after his son, said they had sold their house in an attempt to help him pay back the money he owed. He also said their relationship had broken down since and that he felt embarrassed and humiliated by his son's addiction.

Chopra denied an accusation by the prosecution that he had come to court to lie for Somerville and said he would not put himself in that situation as he has a football career.


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São Paulo stadium accident unlikely to delay start of World Cup

Posted: 28 Nov 2013 08:24 AM PST

• Crane collapse at the Itaquerão damaged perimeter wall
• Ground unlikely to be finished before Fifa's year-end deadline

The World Cup stadium accident that killed two workers could lead to a delay in construction of one to two months but the tournament's opening game is still expected to go ahead as planned on 12 June in São Paulo.

The crane collapse at the Itaquerão stadium on Wednesday damaged part of the perimeter wall. After a period of mourning and investigation, construction work will not resume until next week, making it unlikely that the ground will be completed before Fifa's year-end deadline.

With little more than seven months left until the start of the World Cup finals, time is running out but Fifa has no alternative but to accept a delay because other stadia in Brazil's biggest city are not suitable. Venues in other cities have been ruled out because the opening match coincides with Fifa's annual congress in São Paulo.

The construction company Odebrecht has yet to announce a new completion date and is unlikely to do so until a full assessment has been made of the accident. During this process, which is expected to last a week, almost a third of the site will be off limits.

Jair Paca de Lima, a civil defence engineer who has conducted a preliminary survey, said the structure of the stadium has not been compromised.

The cause of the accident is unknown but among the theories being explored are human error, technical failures and subsidence. Five workers have died building stadiums for the tournament, compared with two in the buildup to South Africa 2010, reported the Veja website.

Of Brazil's 12 World Cup venues, six were completed before the Confederations Cup in June. The remaining six were due to be finished by the end of December.

Jonathan Watts

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The Fiver | The ground-breaking civic work of Mrs Fluffytail and Tufty

Posted: 28 Nov 2013 07:35 AM PST

Click here to have the Fiver sent to your inbox every weekday at 5pm, or if your usual copy has stopped arriving

BECAUSE THEY'RE DEFINITELY NOT GOING TO TURN UP DRESSED LIKE SQUIRRELS NOW, ARE THEY?

Some articles just write themselves. Unfortunately that's not true, otherwise the Fiver would already be falling off its favourite stool in The Froth & Bile. But we'll be there in a jiffy (start pouring, Olga! And wash the glass first will you, it's been a while) because today's tale isn't very long. You could say it's short and bushy.

This weekend Torquay United travel to Firewall FC for a fixture that delivers a reminder that a football manager with the surname Knill is not as unlucky as you might think. In fact, Alan Knill is very fortunate to be still with us, as in September last year, when he was Firewall FC manager, Knill was pushed perilously close to extinction by a rodent whose reckless ignorance of the ground-breaking civic work of Mrs Fluffytail and Tufty almost caused Knill to, well, break the ground with his head. "It was quite serious at the time," explained Knill as he recalled one of sport's best-known squirrel and bicycle collisions. "I came off my bike at 20-whatever miles an hour, an ambulance was called and everything – I could have died."

Happily, Knill only suffered cuts and bruises and was thus free to resume work until sacked by Firewall FC a month later, with the club 22nd in the league. On Saturday he will return to Glanford Park for the first time since then, at the helm of 23rd-place Torquay, and home fans want to mark the occasion in suitable fashion. "Will anyone wearing any 'squirrel attire' be banned from entering the ground?" one fan enquired in a tweet to the club's official account today. "No you won't be banned," replied the club. "However, the club would prefer it if you didn't dress in 'squirrel attire'." Presumably because that would be acorny thing to do.

LIVE ON BIG WEBSITE TONIGHT

Join Rob Smyth for MBM coverage of Tromso 1-2 Tottenham, from 6pm GMT.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

17 October: "You don't make short-term decisions when you have a long-term strategy. That strategy is not going to change" – Bristol City vice-chairman Jon Lansdown on the future of manager Sean O'Driscoll.

28 November: O'Driscoll sacked. Lansdown: "The league table does not lie …"

FIVER LETTERS – STILL WITH PRIZES

"Re: Mathieu Flamini's short sleeves and Arsène Wenger's dislike for it (yesterday's Fiver). If Arsenal are a club full of tradition and history, shouldn't they do one back to south London?" – Steve Howell.

"Not sure who would hoard old Fivers just for Bill Appleby's amusement (yesterday's Fiver letters), but I think I can rule Stu Mackay out of the hunt, having boldly stated on 22 October 2008, 'I do not hoard copies of the Fiver'. Hope that helps narrow down the potential archivists" – Brian Burke.

• Send your letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. And if you've nothing better to do you can also tweet the Fiver. Today's winner of our letter o'the day is: Steve Howell, who wins a copy of Football Manager 2014, courtesy of the very kind people at Football Manager Towers. We've got more copies to give away this week, so if you haven't been lucky thus far, keep trying.

JOIN GUARDIAN SOULMATES

We keep trying to point out the utter futility of advertising an online dating service "for interesting people" in the Fiver to the naive folk who run Guardian Soulmates, but they still aren't having any of it. So here you go – sign up here to view profiles of the kind of erudite, sociable and friendly romantics who would never dream of going out with you.

BITS AND BOBS

PSG forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic says mere baubles do not interest him. "I don't need the Ballon d'Or to know I'm the best," he Zlataned.

Lionel Messi is to travel to Argentina for more treatment on his hamstring-knack.

Six people have been arrested as part of an ongoing investigation into an international match-fixing ring targeting English lower-league football matches.

And York City are set to launch their own range of club-branded tortilla chips. Obviously. "I've tried Minstermen Munchies and it's a really good product … It's a fun snack," corporate-line-toed boss Nigel Worthington.

RECOMMENDED VIEWING

This week's Classic YouTube, starring Marco Reus's hair, overhead kicks and the new worst shot of all time.

STILL WANT MORE?

Extra! Extra! Football Weekly Extra!

Liverpool's youth system ain't broke, so why are they trying to fix it, wonders Sachin Nakrani.

From space-walking to ski-jumping, via mayonnaise and tattoos, why Mathieu Flamini is not alone in unusual club bans.

In an article that definitely wasn't initially launched with text that read 'xxxxxxx' and 'insert words here', here are 10 talking points from the week's Big Cup action.

Oh, and if it's your thing, you can follow Big Website on Big Social FaceSpace.

SIGN UP TO THE FIVER

Want your very own copy of our free tea-timely(ish) email sent direct to your inbox? Has your regular copy stopped arriving? Click here to sign up.

HAPPY TURKEY DAY

Paul Doyle

theguardian.com © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Everton manager Roberto Martínez expects tough challenge from Stoke – video

Posted: 28 Nov 2013 07:23 AM PST

Roberto Martínez says that he expects Stoke to be in their best form of the season when they visit his Everton side at Goodison Park on Saturday

Football Weekly Extra: Champions League joy for Moyes and United

Posted: 28 Nov 2013 06:45 AM PST

AC Jimbo is joined by Jacob Steinberg, James Horncastle and Ian Macintosh to drool over the midweek footie action.

It's 11 games unbeaten for Manchester United and after their 5-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen the pod wonder whether David Moyes has finally found his best team, and discuss what crisis ridden Spurs can do to stop them on Sunday.

They ask whether the 'Özil factor' has had an effect on Jack Wilshire after his impressive display against Marseille, and debate what's up with Chelsea, after they lose to Basel again.

Also on the agenda, a full Premier League preview, amusing footballer injures and Jacob's powerful skills of recall.

Leave your comments for us below.

James Richardson
Peter Sale
Jacob Steinberg

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