Punishment? the hearing hasnt even taken place yet and hes already been found gulity, there is no chance he will get a fair trial. Non of this should have been made public. The FA are nothing short of a joke, the fact that Rio called a couple hours later asking to take it shows how messed up the FA are if it takes them 2 days to return. Im not defending Rio he was stupid for missing the drugs test and he deserves to get a fine, which is all he should get as that what the punishment has been in the past, no ban should be given but with this muppet Palios in charge i just dont know. I hope England go to Turkey and get stuffed. This could be the making of Rio at United, look at Cantona and Roy Keane, and lets not forget Beckham he only recieved legendary status at United after world cup 98. The more the rest of the league hate you the more you are seen as a legend by the Old Trafford faithful.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/m/man_utd/3178426.stm Rio is okay to play for United for now - which is great - but begs the question WHY THEN WAS HE OMITTED FROM THE NATIONAL SIDE? The FA doesn't seem to be making sense.
Does Rio play better when he is pissed? If so, this situation should supply him with enough anger for a long time.
Apparently Gary Neville was ready to lead the Man Utd players on strike over this (from today's RedNews.co.uk): There's more at the site if you want a good read
Interesting that Sol Campbell has been one of Rio's biggest backers (perhaps because they're partners for England). Could go a long way to diffusing some of the tension between Arsenal and Man Utd. I do think Campbell has a major authority problem, though .
I bet you can all appreciate this... ... You'd never thought you wanted to kiss Gary Neville ever..... until NOW: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,27-854112,00.html [song]Gary Neville's an English Red An English Red An English Red Gary Neville's an English Red He hates Paliooooossss......[/song] God Bless Gary Neville.
I'm concerned at what I'm hearing from Palios and FIFA now. Palios, presumably smarting from the criticism he's received about pre-judging Ferdinand, has said that the ban was not part of the disciplinary procedure, that the FA was acting in their role as custodians of the England team. That sounds to me as if the ban will not be taken into account when it comes to punishing Ferdinand - ie if he's banned then that will not be considered part of it. FIFA are sounding even worse. They have declared that they want the FA to punish Ferdinand severely if found guilty. Listen to this: ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Fifa's medical committee head Michel D'Hooghe insisted: "This is a serious case. Ferdinand certainly has to be punished. "Fifa is waiting to assess whether a serious sanction is forthcoming - one which fits the infringement. "We will let the English do their work first. If everything is correct, we won't have to do anything." He added: "Fifa uses their rules as a guideline but they are not binding. We are applying individual case management in these circumstances. "The sanction could be less than two years or it could be more." ---------------------------------------------------------------------- I don't like the sound of either of these.
Yeah well, the FA didn't get any problems from FIFA last year when they imposed a small fine on a City player for the same offense.
This is getting ridiculous...now FIFA wants to get involved? Where where they when a City player missed a drug test last year?
Why do FIFA need to get involved. Lets have the decision first. Or is it as i suspect a message to the FA - Ban him for a few matches a fines not enough. On a related issue machoward did you enjoy the England game? Watching the Rugby world cup? Decided who you are going to support the Aussies or England?
>Why do FIFA need to get involved. Lets have the decision first. Or is it as i suspect a message to the FA - Ban him for a few matches a fines not enough. I have this horrible feeling that Palios and FIFA want to make an example of Ferdinand. I hope I'm wrong. >On a related issue machoward did you enjoy the England game? Didn't see it. Just got to see Beckham's penalty and some of the aggro in a news item but nothing more. >Watching the Rugby world cup? Yes indeed! Can't wait for the England/Springboks match this weekend. >Decided who you are going to support the Aussies or England? No decision necessary. If the Wallabies win I'm going into hibernation for a year to avoid the anti-pom taunts. I still haven't lived down the soccer result and I avoid discussions on cricket like the plague
Rio out for 3 months ? Ouch http://www.soccer365.com/EUROPEAN_NEWS/Premiership/page_99_59984.shtml any chance of a hernia op for him?
3 months? That is ridiculous! Again, I point to the precedent of the City player who got a fine and no ban.
If this happened in the US, you'd want this ban to be as bad as it possibly could be. Because the player will be suing any and all parties when its handed down. Banning players (without a hearing) from a *major* game and then letting them play the next weekend because I haven't had my hearing? Please! Any jury in the USA would award millions. What's the situation over there though? I don't know enough about barristers and broomsticks to even guess...
FIFA frenchie wants British Government involved in Rio case... :Michel Platini, however, said he regarded the case as a matter for the English FA to deal with and, if necessary, the British government. Platini, who captained France to triumph in the 1984 European Championship finals, said the laws in France were much stricter than they appeared to be in England with regard to making sure players, or athletes involved in any sport, attended drugs tests when called to do so. 'This could not have happened in France,' he said. 'When they come to the national team headquarters, sometimes on the day before a match, they come with the police as well because it is a national law to do this and to comply. 'In France, we cannot understand how this Ferdinand case actually happened because the French government plays a much stronger role in working in this area.' "
More bad news - its getting to be an "international incident". Sepp Blatter is stepping into the fray: http://tinyurl.com/rbc2
I've got a sinking fear of a 9 month ban as was awarded against Bosnich. Ugh. Joleon Lescott? Michael Dawson?
jeez... I really hope it was just an honest mistake on Rio's part. He is playing very well this season, and any sort of ban would absolutely suck.
There has been a delay in the charges the FA are bringing Rio up on. Now what happens if he gets a huge sentance, like a one year ban? Can he not play any soccer at all, or just with clubs that fall under the control of the FA? Would it be possible for him to go to another, far off, league to keep himself sharp?
I think FIFA would back up any domestic bans imposed. So, unless there is a professional league not under FIFA, he would be SOL.