Akon’s Coming Home!

I’ve genuinely been so busy with deadlines at the University of Westminster, I’ve side-lined quite a few things in my life of late.

I truly apologise.

The past week in football has been crazy!

I for one am not surprised by the behaviour of Chelsea’s Didier Drogba against the referee during the Champions League semi-final.

I saw how the Ivory Coast captain and other Chelsea players chased after Norwegian referee Tom Henning Ovrebo, particularly after the final whistle.

I also saw, or rather laughed, at Drogba’s behaviour – with eyes bulging - towards a TV camera, which not surprisingly was beamed to millions of homes across the globe.

I also read with bemusement at how Stan The Man, a former professional footballer who was a part of the Spice Boys - sorry Liverpool FC team in the 1990s – say that Drogba should be punished for his behaviour after Chelsea’s dramatic exit.

Looking at Mr Collymore’s own chequered football career, in which he has proven himself to be a nearly man and was left alone to celebrate scoring a goal by his Nottingham Forest team-mates, I can’t help but feel he’s someone who, despite receiving lots of money, inevitably remains an underachiever.

I’m sure I’m not alone in saying that people living in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones!

Nevertheless, considering that Barcelona were down to ten men, I feel it’s only fair to say congratulations to this Catalan-based team for getting into the final.

Unfortunately, the game was soiled by the way it was run. There should have been at least three penalties for Chelsea.

The sending off, that left Barcelona with ten men on the pitch, should not have been allowed.

Barcelona got their last minute goal through sheer determination and passion. They did deserve it, particularly as it was in the dying minutes of extra time.

But I feel this match shows the way football is refereed needs to be updated.

Football, or soccer as it’s called in the United States, is run on rules and regulations that are as old as the game itself.

Footballers now are much faster, professional and dedicated to this magnificent sport, yet the way its run is still based on regulations made centuries ago.

The rules regarding the way such matches are refereed must change with it.

Having a camera to check every angle will be costly, especially for the smaller clubs, so why not let the guardsmen have more of a say when it comes to all football games?

Especially since they get to see the match from an angle the main referee doesn’t and in some cases can’t.

The reason why I don’t attack Drogba, instead I applaud him, is simply because football is a reactionary sport.

It was only when Eric Cantona delivered a kung-fu style attack on a ‘supporter’ for yelling racist abuse at him, that football made a real effort to clear up this cancer that was ignored for a long time.

Black football players before Mr Cantona had to put up with monkey chants every time they got the ball and even had bananas thrown at them on the pitch.

Yet it’s only when Eric gave a public reaction towards racism that the rest of the football world finally woke up to the fact that prejudice must not be tolerated, either in or outside the pitch.

The same goes for crowd safety. It was only when Hillsborough happened that people finally realised the importance of spectator guidelines for modern-day football.

So let us not be critical of Drogba, instead, lets accept this situation to highlight what is wrong with football, to make a change for a better future.

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I also, like the rest of the football world, saw the behaviour of Cristiano Ronaldo when he was substituted for Wayne Rooney during the Manchester derby on Sunday.

It seems that the hairdryer treatment of boss Sir Alex Ferguson is on the cards for him, as although he did have a good match, surely even Cristiano could realise that his Gaffer simply wanted to rest him for future matches.

Especially since Ronaldo’s ability to score from nowhere will be needed in Rome, against the football giants Barcelona, which is only a handful of days away.

As they showed against Chelsea FC, this is a team you under-estimate at your own peril!

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Sticking to Manchester United, the situation with Carlos Tevez is something he has good reason to sulk about, which he demonstrated after scoring a goal on Sunday, then cupped his hands to his ears to make a point.

As he’s been on loan for two years, Manchester United cannot renew his contract for another loan spell.

Either they have to sign Tevez or let him go.

He’s been playing so well, but ManU already have Berbatov, Rooney and – with exception to the Real Madrid rumours – Ronaldo.

Then there’s the current economic climate. The people behind Tevez are said to be asking for £26million.

Manchester United, despite their success, is known to be careful with the cash.

They will always go for a cheaper price, so it seems that Carlos may well be off to Liverpool or derby rivals Manchester City instead.

Either way, Tevez is a good professional; he respects the shirt of United as he’s relatively kept his nose clean both on and off the pitch, so I genuinely hope he gets a good outcome, wherever he plays next season.

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This brings me back to why I mentioned rapper Akon in my opening headline.

The star is co-ordinating the football World Cup anthem and opening celebrations for South Africa.

The singer has made it clear he won’t be asking his friend David Beckham for advice, saying: “I know David, he’s my man. But I’m not asking for his advice. Footballers should stick to football.”

Considering some of the dog howlers that became UK football anthems, I couldn’t agree more!

The only one worth remembering was Eat My Goal by Collapsed Lung.

Even then, that tune wasn’t officially adopted by the England team during its Euro 96 campaign. US company Coca-cola picked up on it instead.

Funny that, as Three Lions, by Baddiel and Skinner with the Lightening Seeds, was accepted by the England football team and it was adopted by the winners Germany.

They also sang it when they paraded the prized silverware to the Deutschland people.

My German mate Ijeoma (Nigerian parents) says this tune is still played on German radio stations.

Football came home alright, just not to England!

Please don’t hesitate to view my other internet site: www.andriagreaves.com


Peace


Andria

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