Sport is made for betting

So once again England are ridiculed and isolated for making a stand against the self-righteous clowndom that is the Federation of International Football Associations. Pillars of the international anti-corruption community like Benin, Congo and Fiji yesterday stood up to reject the English FA's claims of corruption in FIFA. Of course, the representatives from these economic basket-case nations fly business class, live in mansions and drive Rolls-Royces because of their own individual business prowess rather than any untraceable cash which has fallen into their hands.... It's obvious continuing to complain and target FIFA with accusations and investigations isn't going to get anywhere. Blood is thicker than water, these guys work together to keep people they don't like on the outside and see themselves as above western ethical standards of business. So now it is time to try to a significantly different approach. Do things for the benefit of the sport, regardless of wh...

After the debacle of the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley yesterday - Chelsea should have had two men sent off, John Terry's tackle on James Milner was a leg-breaker, but the referee could be described in no other terms as gutless. No balls whatsoever, can't send off a Chelsea player in a Cup semi... John Inverdale wrote a great piece in the Evening Standard on Friday about how (field) hockey has introduced video replays in its elite club competition which concluded over Easter. It's not hard, it's quick, takes the pressure off the central referee and removes the effect of blatant bias or basic incompetence... or even the occasions they are genuinely unsighted. Hockey hasn't got it perfect just yet - only one challenge per match is a bit silly, especially if you get your challenge upheld, and in a game of rolling substitutions, only allowing the captain to call for it doesn't work as well as it could. But it does improve the game a lot. Football - the 'beautifu...