FOOTBALL BETTING MATCH FIXERS JAILED

Following a lengthy investigation into what officials have described as the biggest football match-fixing scandal to have hit Europe. The sentences handed out in Bochum, Germany are only the tip of the iceberg, as it’s estimated that there are another 300 or so suspects being investigated. 

All three defendants were presented with sentences of between three and four years. They pleaded guilty to betting on soccer matches they knew had been fixed, and to bribing players involved in certain games. Two of the three men were bookmakers while the third man, known as ‘Tuna A’, was identified as a gambler. Both of the bookmakers had developed relationships with football players over a period of time. These relationships were clearly “manipulative”, as pointed out by Judge Carsten Schwadrat. The men were charged with fixing at least eighteen soccer matches, up to as high as level as Europa League standard.

The three men had apparently been involved in the sordid world of fixing outcomes of football matches for several years. Sentences will also shortly be handed out to another seven defendants, including Ante Sapina, the mastermind behind a German match-fixing ring who was sentenced to three years imprisonment in 2005. Sapina only served one third of that sentence and told the court that after his release he wagered sums of money on games that had been manipulated, shortly after the 2006 World Cup.

Plying a trade as a football tipster is difficult enough without competing against the filthy obstacle that is match-fixing. The fact that the punishment being meted out is as severe as three or fours years imprisonment will surely thwart future offenders and eliminate this blight from the beautiful game. In the meantime perhaps I (with tongue firmly placed in cheek) can deny responsibility for any incorrect soccer tips I’ve provided in the past year, and claim that these blemishes on my record as a tipster have been the result of a vile European match-fixing ring.

Valencia 1-1 Barcelona: Messi penalty denies Los Che

Valencia held Barcelona to a 1-1 draw in La Liga as its energetic, yet resolute display made for a frustrating night at the Estadio Mestalla for the Catalans.

Ernesto Valverde had set out to refuse the Blaugrana their usual time on the ball, and it was a tactic that looked to have worked superbly as Ever Banega put the hosts ahead. Lionel Messi equalized from the spot soon after though, scoring in a record 12th consecutive La Liga fixture.

Both teams opened the game with a lot of energy, but Barca looked more threatening as it was largely in control of possession. The visitors were unable to fashion any chances to test Vicente Guaita as Los Che defended in numbers and pressed quickly. 

Valencia complemented its enthusiastic defense by playing on the break when it managed to wrest the ball away from Barcelona, with Roberto Soldado keen to make an impact. Midway through the first half the striker's bright run came to an end on the edge of the box due to a trip from Javier Mascherano. Tino Costa struck the free kick, but he failed to get it past the wall, and his team's appeals for a handball on Xavi were ignored.

Los Che's resilience at the back continued to frustrate the Blaugrana, and Valverde's men were rewarded in the 33rd minute. Soldado's cross was headed away by Gerard Pique, but only as far as Banega, who brought the ball down and rifled a low shot past Victor Valdes at his near post.

Barca were handed a route back into the game as Joao Pereira clumsily cut down Pedro in the box in the 39th minute. Messi stepped up to take the penalty and fired an unstoppable effort into the top left-hand corner for his 34th league goal of the season.

The teams went into the break level, but with just five minutes gone in the second half Valencia nearly regained the lead. Andres Guardado's cross was met by Soldado, but he could not guide his header inside of Valdes' post.

The game continued to go from end-to-end, and five minutes later Cesc Fabregas had a chance to put the Catalan side ahead after Messi's defense-splitting throughball, though his shot only rippled the side netting.

Valencia nearly struck after Sergio Canales replaced Banega in the 64th minute, as it did not take long for the former Real Madrid man to make his presence known. From Guardado's cutback, a fantastic, arrowed shot towards looked to be heading for the top corner until Valdes' fingertips turned it wide of the post.

The keeper was once again in fine form in the 89th minute, as a brilliant double save, the second of which came from a Soldado follow-up effort, stopped the hosts from stealing all three points at the death and ruining David Villa's return to his former home ground.

West Bromwich Albion 0 C 1: match report

Read a full match report of the Premier League game between West Bromwich Albion and Tottenham Hotspur at the Hawthorns on Sunday Feb 3, 2013.

One up: Tottenham Hotspur's Gareth Bale celebrates his goal against West Bromwich Albion  Photo: REUTERS

Gareth Bale's 11th league goal of the season eased a potential headache for Andre Villas-Boas to complete a disastrous week for Steve Clarke.

Bale ensured Spurs remain on the road for a Champions League place with another excellent strike but days after Peter Odemwingie's motorway meltdown, Clarke's West Brom have hit a dead end.

Albion have not won this year and Clarke had another controversy to deal with when Goran Popov was given a straight red card for spitting at Kyle Walker early in the second half.

But despite seeing Spurs extend their unbeaten league run to nine matches, Villas-Boas lost Jermain Defoe to injury to increase concerns over his lack of forwards.

Spurs supporters chanted "we should have bought a striker" after Defoe's departure in a clear message to chairman Daniel Levy, who was surprisingly quiet on transfer deadline day after a bid to sign Internacional striker Leandro Damiao collapsed.

Roy Hodgson confident in Ashley Cole for England friendly with Brazil

There are some occasions over which even an itinerant 65-year-oldEngland manager can find himself getting kittenishly excited. With England due to play Brazil at Wembley on Wednesday, a bravura friendly to kick off the FA's 150-year anniversary celebrations, Roy Hodgson admits the prospect has already kept him awake a little. "I was trying to remember and as far as I can tell this is the first time I've played against Brazil," England's manager said, casting his mind back through a career that has also included spells in charge of Switzerland, the UAE and Finland.

Hodgson has also been counting up his own managerial caps ("I think I'm up to 90") spurred on by the impending minor chord fanfare for another of his players reaching the 100 mark. For all the grander themes to a match that will also mark Luiz Felipe Scolari's first back in charge of the future World Cup hosts, Wednesday will also provide the occasion, barring injury, of Ashley Cole's 100th England appearance, a grand achievement for a player who perhaps more than any other draws into focus the occasionally ambiguous relationship between England's supporters and the outgoing crop of Premier League all-stars.

David Beckham becomes 'the grandpa' of Ligue 1 with PSG move

David Beckham sat on the top table at Parc des Princes and followed the script perfectly. Aside from the eye-catching and undeniably noble gesture that he is to donate his hefty salary to a local children's charity, the former England captain spoke glowingly of the Qatari-backed "project" which he will now effectively front. He said he would have to work his way into Carlo Ancelotti's expensively assembled team, massaged the considerable ego of his new club-mate Zlatan Ibrahimovic and even threw in a desire to score against Marseille – just to sweeten any local doubters. At his side the club president, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, basked in his coup.
Paris Saint-Germain will consider this signing to be better late than never. Twice in the past Qatari Sports Investments, owners since the summer of 2011 of French football's greatest under-achievers of modern times, had attempted to lure Beckham from Los Angeles and twice the timing had not been right. A year ago they had believed he was theirs, only for the lure of one last hurrah in Major League Soccer, culminating in a title triumph in December, to scupper their hopes. "I still felt I had something to achieve in Los Angeles last year," said the midfielder. "So we 'parked' it and I accepted one more year in LA. I won another trophy there and that made it the right time to leave.

Balotelli happy to escape English media, weather and food

MILAN - Maverick striker Mario Balotelli said he was relieved to escape the English media, driving, weather and food when the new signing was officially presented by AC Milan on Friday.
"To be a player for Milan has always been my dream so I'm very happy," he told a news conference. "But I prefer playing not talking."
The 22-year-old explained that he was happy to be closer to his family and friends following his move from Manchester City which came after a series of fall-outs with manager Roberto Mancini and some bizarre incidents.
"Now I'm at Milan it's very important above all because I am close to my family and friends. Manchester is not so far but it's not close like Milan," said Balotelli who this week cost the Italian club a fee that media reports have put at 20 million euros ($27.39 million).
The Italy forward mused on the positives and negatives of living in England.
"Good things, only when I get to Carrington to train, so my team mates, my manager, those are the good things. The bad things?...everything else."
Balotelli listed the bad as "the press first, the weather, the food and the way they drive" but said he would miss the Premier League.
"It is an amazing league and I think it's the best, together with the crowd and the pitches," he added. "I don't know for the future if I could go back or not."

Newcastle's Moussa Sissoko shatters Chelsea with last-gasp winner

This was one of the best games of the season, a marvellously entertaining and eventful contest between two well-matched sides. Whether that flatters Newcastle or Chelsea most is a moot point, given their respective positions in the table, though it would appear that the home side's latest top-up of French talent has restored the feelgood factor on Tyneside. That was true even before Moussa Sissoko rifled home a last-minute winner. That sort of exciting finale always send a crowd home happy, though even before that Newcastle had shown guts to climb back into the game at a point in the second half when Chelsea looked capable of running away with it. While it is not quite true, these days, to say not many teams come back against Chelsea, few will manage it when the Blues are playing this well.
Frank Lampard wasted the first chance of the game with a volley over the bar from a promising move involving Juan Mata and Ashley Cole, though after that it was all Newcastle for the rest of the first half, so much so that Alan Pardew must half been preparing an interval pep talk on the importance of turning pressure into goals until Jonás Gutiérrez relieved the situation with a lovely header four minutes before the break.
It was not that Newcastle were not creating opportunities, it was the fact they were missing gilt-edged invitations to score that was visibly driving Pardew wild. Papiss Cissé was foiled by a decent save from Petr Cech midway through the first half, though with only the goalkeeper to beat from a good position it was hardly the clinical finish we have come to expect from the Senegal striker. Sissoko should have done better than shoot too high after half an hour, then Cissé squandered the best chance of the lot, again allowing Cech to save when the ball dropped perfectly for him near the penalty spot.

Inter set to sign Schelotto, Kuzmanovic

La Gazzetta dello Sport has suggested that Inter are on the verge of signing Atalanta winger Ezequiel Schelotto and Stuttgart midfielder Zdravko Kuzmanovic.

After president Massimo Moratti confirmed that they would not be signing Corinthians star Paulinho in January, the club officials stepped up their efforts to conclude two transfer deals.

Inter have finally reached an agreement with Atalanta over the purchase of Ezequiel Schelotto, with Orobici due €3.8 million plus co-ownership of Inter striker Marko Livaja.

On the other hand, Stuttgart midfielder Zdravko Kuzmanovic is also set to arrive at Giuseppe Meazza, with the cost of the transfer mere €2 million.

The Serbian midfielder had less than six months left on his deal in Germany and was keen to return to Italian Serie A.

Schelotto and Kuzmanovic are expected to increase competition for places in the centre of the park, although La Gazzetta dello Sport claims that Inter could make another high-profile signing by the time the transfer window closes on Thursday.