offside

According to lip readers, he made a comment about the referee's mother's c**t. He then refused to shake hands at the end of the game. South American referees take more abuse than European referees, if that can be imagined. They've been trying to cut down on it. The timing however was a disgrace. It should have been done after the game so that Argentina had time to appeal, the Argentinian team had time to practice with a new lineup, and the Bolivian team had time to prepare to play against a different than expected lineup. The referee didn't even say anything about it in his post-match report. The Chilean federation filed the protest presumably to weaken Argentina's chances of qualifying as the CONMEBOL competition is extremely close. That, plus the fact that the video went on the internet for all to see, compelled FIFA to act. Speaking of the CONMEBOL qualifiers, the games are fantastic. I much prefer the chaotic South American style over the ultra planned European style. If only the faking wasn't so over the top. There's a good chance at least one of Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, or Colombia will miss out. You don't have games like Germany against San Marino or whatever. Each game could go both ways. Bolivia, for example, are one of the weakest teams in the league, but they are dangerous at home because of the altitude. The altitude of La Paz is higher than the highest point in Austria, Germany, and all but a small handful of European countries. It is more than 3 times the altitude of Ben Nevis.

There's a thread on redcafe citing an article saying that Roman's relationship with Conte isn't great. The article doesn't seem to have much meat to it thankfully. http://www.redcafe.net/threads/sportwitness-conte-and-abramovich-relationship-is-strained.427587/

Ireland Wales was so sh*t. That group is the least predictable because there are no standout teams. I can't see Wales winning the group after tonight. Bale and Taylor are suspended for the next game against Serbia. As much as I want Ireland to qualify, they don't really deserve to on the basis of their play. Seamus Coleman suffered a gruesome leg break from a Taylor tackle. Here's the tackle. To be honest I don't think it's worse than some of the Spurs thuggery in the Battle of the Bridge last season which tells you how lucky our players were to not be injured during that game. http://www.thickaccent.com/2017/03/25/nsfw-video-the-horror-tackle-from-swanseas-neil-taylor-on-evertons-seamus-coleman-during-ireland-v-wales/ This is the injury. Not for the squeamish. It's like the one Demba Ba got last year in China. I didn't embed the image because of its graphicness. http://storage.proboards.com/800541/thumbnailer/DXfGIALk0BWIHOkobkUa.png On a less serious note, Glenn Whelan and Joe Allen, teammates at Stoke, had an altercation. The look on Shane Long's face is funny. http://media.gettyimages.com/photos/glenn-whelan-of-the-republic-of-ireland-and-joe-allen-of-wales-clash-picture-id657415910

Leicester are the only English team left in the Champions League

This has been a fantastic year for the FA Cup as a competition. There was plenty of magic. It was the first time in the modern era that two non-league teams, Lincoln and Sutton, reached the 5th round, and a non-league team reached the quarterfinals for the first time in over 100 years. In the process they beat a strong Burnley side at Turf Moor, a feat achieved by only 3(?) Premier League opponents so far. Ultimately, however, all the Wembley bound teams are those that should be there on paper, any they all used strong sides in the quarterfinals. This ensures that the winner will be a top team, and the semi finals and final will undoubtedly feature very strong lineups, thus preserving the prestige of the trophy.

I bet I'm shorter than any of you. I'm 5'2" (1.59m)

I think we should beat any of them. I'd say Man City would be my preference.

Probably around 30 seconds were used for the sub.

Phew. We got away with that one. We were poor.

Or if could end 1-2, 1-3, or worse Come on Kante, get us a second. No one else is shooting on target, so it's up to you.

The way we're dominating makes it seem like we're playing well, but in reality our passing is sloppy and our shooting is laughable. That shows you just how sh*t Man United have played that they make us look good.

Costa you're being embarrassing

Costa stop acting like a prick and start scoring.

That Rashford effort makes me uneasy. I can see this being one of those games where we dominate, but they score from a lucky counter. Come on, we need another goal.

The way Man United are chasing shadows you'd think we're playing a lower league side. The scoreline flatters them.

Whom will he blame this time?

Just tuned in. How has it been?

Something positive about Millwall fans. Spurs fans were singing "Que sera sera, whatever will be will be, we're going to Wembley, que sera sera." Millwall fans responded in kind but with "We're going to Shrewsbury"

You'd think they were protesting police brutality or a war. It's pretty funny.

A sport that is being ruined by cheating f**kers like Suarez. Absolutely pathetic.

Why the f**k do referees still reward penalties to Neymar and Suarez? I've not seen them legitimately fall inside the box ever. The referees are either bent or really stupid.

La Liga has not conducted a single valid doping test in over a year. http://m.independent.ie/sport/soccer/la-liga-has-not-conducted-a-single-valid-antidoping-test-this-season-after-uefa-and-fifa-decline-to-step-in-35438144.html

Good article on the Crowley brothers at Lincoln. I like their approach of breaking the game into small intervals of time such that when an interval is over, you mentally reset. Wenger would do well to adopt that approach. https://www.theguardian.com/football/2017/mar/07/danny-cowley-lincoln-city-arsenal-fa-cup

I'm not so sure. Chelsea fans are classier than Arsenal fans. While I'm biased of course, I'm not so biased as to nullify my statement. Think about the way we treat our former players. Arsenal boo their former players because they have an enormous sense of entitlement. How dare someone choose another team! In addition, I'm pretty sure we'd direct a good deal of our frustration at the board rather than almost solely at Wenger.