1
NINE BELOW ZERO
Shamrock Rovers defender Cole
Omorehiomwan was kept in hospital
with suspected frostbite following his
side’s game against Galway United in
Dublin, after which nine visiting players
were treated for hypothermia.
Freezing conditions caused by Storm
Jorge also saw Galway’s Killian Brouder
substituted at half-time due to the effects
the conditions were having on his body.
Some of his team-mates were said to
have been vomiting after the game in
the Republic of Ireland’s First Division
ended 1-1.
The Galway team’s doctor, Alan Byrne,
said of Brouder: “He was as blue as
anyone I have ever seen in my life.”2
AT HOME WITH THE PARENTS
Highland League side Fort William
say their “ultras” are no longer
welcome at Claggan Park unless they
are “accompanied by a parent”.
Chairman Peter Murphy made the
decision following recent “unacceptable
behaviour” from the youthful element of
the club’s support, known as the Yellow
Order group.
Murphy said: “We have taken the
decision to ban this group from home
games. They will be able to gain entry
individually if accompanied by a parent.”3
THAT’S GOTTA HURT...
A player from French amateur
club AS Soetrich has been banned
for five years after biting the penis of an
opponent. The victim required 12 stitches
and four days off work.
The incident took place in Terville,
a town 200 miles east of Paris close to
the border with Luxembourg, following
a match between local side SC Terville
and Soetrich.
A dispute between the opposing sides
escalated after full-time, with a violent
confrontation breaking out in the dressing
rooms and then in the car park.
Both clubs were fined €200 each.4
SUBBED AFTER 23 SECONDS
In Romania, CFR Cluj coach Dan
Petrescu replaced 18-year-old Alin
Fica after 23 seconds of a league match
against Gaz Metan Medias. The youngster
left the pitch without having touched
the ball.
Clubs in the Romanian top flight are
obliged to start league games with at least
two under-21 homegrown players in their
line-up and feature at least one for the
entire match. This has prompted clubs to
bend the rules by subbing a youngster in
the first half, but not usually so quickly.5
RONALDINHO’S FAKE NEWS
Former World Player of the
Year Ronaldinho is facing a six-
month spell in prison in Paraguay after
he attempted to enter the country with a
false passport.
The Brazilian was arrested at a hotel in
the Paraguayan capital Asuncion alongside
his brother, Roberto Assis, as they were
preparing to take a flight back to his home
in Rio de Janeiro.
Ronaldinho and Assis, who were
questioned by police for six hours
following their arrest, said they were in
Paraguay for business reasons.REPORTS WE COULDN’T MAKE UP
as they do not apply to senior players
and are limited to practice sessions. The
game itself remains unaffected. Which
really makes little sense.
While Europe had been dithering, the
Americans made the decisive moves.
Since 2016 they have totally banned
heading for those below the age of 10
and in older youth games they allow
temporary substitutes to play while a full
protocol examination of a possibly
concussed player is conducted.
Admittedly, it took a lawsuit to jolt the
Americans into action, although this was
almost a “friendly” lawsuit, brought by a
group of parents. It did not seek money,
but demanded that FIFA and other
football bodies institute more stringent
rules to protect players, particularly
youngsters, from head injuries.
The threat of further – and much
more damaging – legal action hangs
ominously over the entire sport of
football. A class-action suit brought by
over 20,000 former grid iron players is
expected to cost the NFL $1billion.
The stakes then are high. Football has
had 18 years to make the sport safer by
adjusting its rules. It could, for instance,
ban long, high goal kicks that result in
ugly heading duels. Or it could penalise
goalkeepers who dive head first at the
feet of opponents. But football has, so far,
managed to delay any serious changes.
Justice delayed is justice denied. It is
time, past time, for the sport to face the
likelihood that some changes will be
necessary in the way that football is
played. The question must be faced: Is
the concussion problem leading to a
sport without heading? Most football
people, I’m quite sure, regard that as
simply unthinkable. They may be wrong.
Blue...Killian
Brouder is
substitutedArrested in
Paraguay...
RonaldinhoThe threat of
further – and much
more damaging –
legal action hangs
ominously over the
entire sport offootball
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