limpper

1 Sep 09, 12:29

Arsenal submit defence of Eduardo ‘dive’ charge

Arsenal have come to the defence of striker Eduardo da Silva ahead of his disciplinary hearing.

The Croatian international has been charged with ‘deceiving the referee’ after a fall earned his side a penalty in last Wednesday’s Champions League qualifier against Celtic at Emriates Stadium.

The Gunners have submitted a 19-page defence to the charges which UEFA described as ‘grossly unsporting’.

A fax received by Arsenal from UEFA general inspector Gerhard Kapl outlined that Eduardo "succeeded in deceiving the referee, who was influenced by the player's gross unsporting behaviour".

It added: "There are no exceptional circumstances that would justify a plea for mercy."

If found guilty, Eduardo faces a two-match European ban but it seems the Gunners will do everything they can to not allow that sanction to be imposed.

zocoss

1 Sep 09, 13:40

Uefa tells Arsenal there can be no plea for mercy over Eduardo

• Uefa report damns Croatia forward for diving against Celtic
• Arsenal submit strident 19-page defence ahead of hearing

Eduardo is facing a Uefa disciplinary hearing after this incident in the Arsenal v Celtic Champions League play-off.

Arsenal have submitted a strident defence of Eduardo da Silva to Uefa ahead of the striker's disciplinary hearing tomorrow and they hope it can persuade the governing body to spare him a suspension of two European matches.

The London club believe that Uefa's process in arriving at the decision to charge Eduardo with "deceiving the referee" after his tumble earned a penalty against Celtic in the Champions League play-off last Wednesday has been flawed.

Arsenal were stunned to learn of the charge on Friday and were left to digest the wording of a fax from the Uefa general inspector, Gerhard Kapl, which appeared to point to conclusions already formed. In the fax outlining the charge and the surrounding circumstances, Eduardo is said to have "succeeded in deceiving the referee, who was influenced by the player's gross unsporting behaviour". It added: "There are no exceptional circumstances that would justify a plea for mercy."

Eduardo is also said to have won the penalty with an "obvious dive" and "through the act of cheating", while the referee's observer is quoted as saying that there was "not the slightest interference with the player", with regard to the Celtic goalkeeper Artur Boruc's challenge. It is implied that Eduardo ought to have immediately told the referee, Manuel Mejuto González, that he did not feel a penalty should have been awarded.

One of Arsenal's complaints, in their 19-page submission, is that, having also studied the video evidence, they feel that there was some element of contact from Boruc. They believe that this is shown in the footage that Uefa has sent them and, therefore, there is inaccuracy in the governing body's analysis. They have urged Uefa to scrutinise the flashpoint again.

Moreover, Arsenal contend it is impossible for Uefa or anybody to read any intention to deceive into Eduardo's tumble. They have pointed out he did not appeal for a foul and they have also stressed Eduardo's blemish-free disciplinary previous and the fact that, following his horrific leg break at Birmingham City in February 2008, he is generally mindful of the need to pull out of potential collisions.

Arsenal have drawn attention to what they believe is inconsistency in Uefa's application of Article 10 (1) (c), which gives them the opportunity to revisit incidents containing alleged deceptions, even if the referee has seen and acted upon them. Even though the article entered the rules in 2006, Uefa's retrospective charging of Eduardo has been the first time that it has applied it and Arsenal argue that there have been countless other occasions when it could have been employed.

Notwithstanding the potential to set a dangerous precedent, Arsenal are perplexed that Uefa has effectively condemned Eduardo with video evidence while it continues to refuse to use it to help referees to arrive at their decisions. The case will be judged on the basis of written submissions from both sides. Eduardo is on international duty with Croatia.

s0nic

1 Sep 09, 13:45

wth? 19 pages of defence? is there so much they can say just to appeal against his ban? lol.

limpper

1 Sep 09, 14:05

Originally posted by s0nic:

wth? 19 pages of defence? is there so much they can say just to appeal against his ban? lol.

limpper

1 Sep 09, 16:48

UEFA expected to ignore detailed Arsenal Eduardo defence

Arsenal's defence of Eduardo is likely to fall on deaf ears at UEFA.

The Times says Arsenal have made a 19-page presentation to Uefa before the striker’s disciplinary hearing today.

The Gunners point out that Eduardo did not appeal for a foul and claim that the striker could be mindful of pulling out of collisions after the broken leg he suffered against Birmingham City 18 months ago. Because of this, they believe it is impossible for anyone to judge Eduardo’s intention in falling.

But Arsenal can expect little leniency. So far, the club’s view has gained little sympathy within the sport and with diving and simulation still very much a problem in the game, Uefa is most unlikely to back down.

Pitot

1 Sep 09, 16:53

what do they have for the defence? telemetry and computer graphics by CSI?

kopiosatu

1 Sep 09, 17:17

wah, like that c.ronaldo should have been banned many times

s0nic

1 Sep 09, 17:24

not only c. ronaldo leh.. still got others.. lol

the Bear

1 Sep 09, 17:24

Originally posted by kopiosatu:

wah, like that c.ronaldo should have been banned many times

and also The Drog, although he's not been diving so much recently..

the Bear

1 Sep 09, 17:42

oh yeah.. i remember this:

Shao Wei

1 Sep 09, 17:53

Originally posted by the Bear:

oh yeah.. i remember this:

limpper

1 Sep 09, 18:06

Originally posted by the Bear:

oh yeah.. i remember this:

new_b

1 Sep 09, 18:20

lol :D

omgukilledkenny

1 Sep 09, 18:29

Originally posted by the Bear:

oh yeah.. i remember this:

iceFatboy

2 Sep 09, 10:08

tuned into football focus last night, and was awaiting how they would approach this.

Steve McMahon raised an interesting point.

His point was that at the point of time, when the incident occured, the ref deemed it as a penalty, and not a dive. so technically, the problem should not be with the player, but with the ref.

it is only after, when video replay showed it was simulation. So technically, the ref is wrong, and should be acted upon, right?

zocoss

2 Sep 09, 10:59

ED'S CASE ... Arsenal may appeal ban

UEFA branded Eduardo a cheat. Arsenal may appeal ban

ARSENAL will fight to clear Eduardo's name after UEFA branded him a cheat.

Europe's governing body banned the striker for two games after finding him guilty of 'deceiving the referee' by diving to win a penalty during last week's Champions League qualifier against Celtic.

Eduardo is banned for Arsenal's first two Champions League games against Standard Liege and Olympiakos.

But the Gunners are convinced the Croat has not been given a fair hearing and are ready to appeal.

A club statement read: "We are disappointed with UEFA's decision.

"We believe it is imperative UEFA's explanation for its decision provides clear and comprehensive standards that will be consistently enforced."

Croatia boss Slaven Bilic last night slammed Eduardo's dive ban as 'a disgrace'.

Bilic - who ironically dived to get Laurent Blanc sent off in the 1998 World Cup semi-final - said: "This is a disgrace.

"We are talking about a player who is a role model of a sportsman.

"I simply cannot understand how he can be punished."

AvanteGarde

2 Sep 09, 11:14

Originally posted by iceFatboy:

tuned into football focus last night, and was awaiting how they would approach this.

Steve McMahon raised an interesting point.

His point was that at the point of time, when the incident occured, the ref deemed it as a penalty, and not a dive. so technically, the problem should not be with the player, but with the ref.

it is only after, when video replay showed it was simulation. So technically, the ref is wrong, and should be acted upon, right?

i caught that too, yeah totally agree. they were also talking about introducing the challenge system as used in tennis. maybe not 3 challenges, 1 should be sufficient. however, technology would have to be used in the process & Michel Platini doesn't approve of it.

well i rather this over the 2 additional officials. if they are introduced to the game, wouldn't it depend on the majority (i.e 3 officials over 2) to make decisions? that would be contentious.

kopiosatu

2 Sep 09, 11:16

ayiah standardise lah

anyone who dives (after viewing replays) then tio banned lor.

this will surely make the players wake up their ideas

s0nic

2 Sep 09, 11:26

lol whats there to argue. it's a fact that he dived, and he should accept his punishment. why bother to appeal. o.o

i dont understand why they dont wanna accept the use of video replays to judge. everything will be so clear once seeing the replays, and players and coaches wont have any chance to argue at all.

kopiosatu

2 Sep 09, 11:27

they argue because its not standardised

s0nic

2 Sep 09, 11:33

yah, but they should just live with it. he dived, got punished, end of the story.

it's not like he's banned for life or for the rest of the season. if his two game ban cost Arsenal the chance to win the title, then thats just too bad lor. lol

Bus&Soccer l0v3r (VO3x 1)

2 Sep 09, 11:39

Originally posted by the Bear:

oh yeah.. i remember this:

Dun Ban Him can lia0

zocoss

2 Sep 09, 11:41

Personally, I think its a good direction to take by Uefa. Cos it is getting out of hand now and if nothing was done about it, it could just get worse...

I still remember those matches where Chelsea and Barce were outdoing each other in the dive and stimulation department when they were meeting each other those 2, 3 years... Touch a bit and they will start going down holding their legs in great pain or didn't even touch them and they would go down covering their face as though they got hit there... Yellow and Red cards were the order of the day then...

Actually, these last few years it has become more obvious... Since the Mourinho's Porto doing it well and winning, it has got more and more frequent... Arsenal and Eduardo are unfortunate that they became the first to be made an example... But we can argue that it has to start somewhere and the fact is Eduardo did dived... I honestly don't belief Arsenal will appeal as they are at the losing end of it... The earlier it is forgotten the better for them, if they prolong the problem, it will only bring more negative news on them... But they like to threaten hoping that Uefa will not dare to go ahead with the punishment...

At the end of the day, we just have to say Arsenal and Eduardo was at the wrong place and at the wrong time only... I think Uefa wants to put down a marker early and gunners were playing in the first matches, so... just their luck.

But I think after this, players will think twice before taking a dive or even going down easy...

alwaysdisturbed

2 Sep 09, 11:42

if his dive was a reaction to his previous horrific injury, he could have purposefully miss the penalty.

fudgester

2 Sep 09, 12:01

Originally posted by s0nic:

lol whats there to argue. it's a fact that he dived, and he should accept his punishment. why bother to appeal. o.o

i dont understand why they dont wanna accept the use of video replays to judge. everything will be so clear once seeing the replays, and players and coaches wont have any chance to argue at all.

You can thank the president of FIFA (Sepp Blatter) for that.

According to him, video replays take away the spontaneity of the game.

I'm like, isn't fair play more important? If spontaneity is an issue, then just allow video replays only for heavy decisions like penalties and red card situations. There wouldn't be much impact on spontaneity that way, and there would be more fair play.

That said, I hope they will punish all blatant divers across the board. They cannot just go after Eduardo and not do anything about all the other world-class champion divers.