Super-rich Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea was given a yellow card by Tesco — for pinching a £1.19 DOUGHNUT.
The Spaniard, 20, was quizzed by security staff after he scoffed an Original Glazed ring treat from a Krispy Kreme cabinet at a store in Altrincham, Greater Manchester.
De Gea was hauled up after being captured on CCTV helping himself to the treat — but escaped a penalty.
The sticky-fingered stopper — thought to be on £70,000 a week — wolfed down the doughnut in the magazine aisle.
But as he headed for the exit without paying, he was tackled by security staff — one of whom spoke fluent Spanish.
They took the keeper, signed from Atletico Madrid in the summer in an £18.3million deal, to the store's "stop and search" room.
And they made it clear he had made a right howler by giving him a hairdryer treatment that would have made Man U boss Sir Alex Ferguson proud.
De Gea strode into the Tesco Extra with two Spanish pals.
A source said: "They weren't very subtle. They swaggered in chatting loudly in Spanish.
"The security guards who monitor the CCTV watched two of them take a doughnut each out of the Krispy Kreme cabinet.
"Incredibly, they then appeared to try to leave without paying — or buying anything else for that matter."
The source said that when challenged and ushered into the search room, de Gea did not seem to know what was going on and "looked pretty embarrassed".
Last night a Tesco spokesman said: "A customer was spoken to by our security team and the issue was resolved."
Police were not called and no further action was taken.
Tesco has a strict policy of a three-month store ban for alleged shoplifters.
De Gea is regarded as the best young goalkeeper in Europe and was part of the Spain Under-21 team that won this year's European Championship.
His United career got off to a shaky start but he has recently begun to impress with some fine saves.
Sir Alex is fully behind his star signing. He said of de Gea earlier this month: "He's 20 years of age and doesn't know the culture of the country.
"That's a lot to deal with but he has shown great composure about the whole thing.
"He's not got himself flapping about the goalmouth. I think he's absolutely outstanding. The boy is tremendous." - www.thesun.co.uk
Monday, October 24, 2011
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Serbian thugs worst than English thugs are possible banned for the upcoming UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
The match at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris was called off after only six minutes as travelling fans threw flares and fireworks onto the pitch. The kick-off had already been delayed by 35 minutes when, after pre-match clashes between visiting supporters and Italian police, Serbian fans threw flares in the direction of the north stand where Italian supporters were seated.
UEFA, who were waiting on the receipt of the official UEFA delegate's match report before deciding whether to open a disciplinary case, issued a statement around 1200 CET on Wednesday confirming the matter was being looked into.
It read: "Following the abandonment of Tuesday's UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying match between Italy and Serbia at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris in Genoa after only six minutes of play, UEFA has confirmed that it has immediately opened a full and thorough disciplinary investigation into the incidents of serious disorder witnessed at the match and the circumstances surrounding it.
"Once the full dossier is completed, with the assistance of both the referee and delegate reports, the matter will be put before the independent UEFA control and disciplinary body for further review and possible sanctions.
"The sanctions that are available to the control and disciplinary body can be found in the UEFA disciplinary regulations, edition 2008, article 14, and range from a reprimand or fine, up to a stadium closure or 'disqualification from competitions in progress and/or exclusion from future competitions'.
"The proposed date for the meeting of the control and disciplinary body to hear this case is Thursday 28 October."
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Has the curse of England still Not broken yet in UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying
For the first time in 12 matches at Wembley, England failed to post the victory required to lift their spirits and, worryingly for coach Fabio Capello, his players only ever occasionally looked like doing so.It is Montenegro who will top Group G until hostilities resume next March and England who are left to stew on a performance that lacked wit and guile for longer than the majority of the crowd of 73,451 would care to remember.
Just when Capello might have thought his squad was beginning to gloss over their failings at the World Cup, the first cracks duly appeared. Not even the referee’s failure to punish a blatant handball by Milan Jovanovic late on could disguise that.
And had Jovanovic’s sweetly-struck left-foot volley soon after dipped under the crossbar, rather than cannoning off it with Joe Hart beaten, then a night of frustration would have turned sinister.
As it was, Montenegro, ranked 40th in the world, were still celebrating one of the most famous results in their short history on the pitch long after England had slunk off to their dressing room.
Matters become more complicated now for Capello, the goodwill the wins over Bulgaria and Switzerland brought him lost amid a listless display which was greeted with a chorus of boos at the final whistle.
Wayne Rooney squandered two chances, or was denied by smart saves from goalkeeper Mladen Bozovic depending on your point of view, but while England prompted and probed they could not land the blow of a champion. “This is football,” said Capello ruefully afterwards. “It’s not boxing where you win by punching the opponent more.”
England’s trip to Wales next March is now crucial as they look to re-establish their credentials in a group from which only the winners are guaranteed to progress.
The intervening friendlies with France at Wembley next month and Argentina, on neutral soil in February, have extra significance attached.
It is four years since England failed to score on home soil, the last time being at Old Trafford in October 2006 when Macedonia secured a goalless stalemate in a result that severely undermined Steve McClaren’s tenure.
Capello must hope that this is not so costly. Signs that this was going to be difficult evening against opponents who have now not conceded in four games, were soon apparent.
Any disappointment Steven Gerrard felt about not retaining the captaincy was not detectable and his performance was arguably one of the few that rose above the general lethargy that gripped the rest of his team-mates. He almost chiselled out opportunities for Peter Crouch and Ashley Young when a clever free-kick played wide to Glen Johnson resulted in the clearest opening of a turgid opening passage.
The centre was aimed towards Crouch and the striker, under slight pressure from Marko Basa, was right to chide himself as his header flew wastefully over.
It was a miss that denied England the fillip of an early goal and also allowed Montenegro the luxury of sticking to their blueprint and sitting deep.
The visitors focused on containment first and foremost rather than summoning the courage to break forward and test Rio Ferdinand, whose comeback as skipper was both a genteel and, ultimately, dispiriting affair.
In response, England struggled to function at a tempo that stretched Montenegro and Ashley Young and Adam Johnson, who were so crucial to Capello’s masterplan, suffered as a result.
They offered flashes of inspiration, Adam Johnson more than Young, but the build-up play around them was, more often than not, so slow that the duo seldom found themselves one on one against their markers.
When Young did in the second half, he dived to try to win a penalty and was rightly booked by German official Manuel Grafe. It was disappointing that with England dominating possession, Capello did not send on Jack Wilshere and ask him to replicate the angled, clever passing he has showcased for Arsenal.
In the end, Wilshere’s withdrawal from the Under-21s served no purpose and the sight of Shaun Wright-Phillips coming on for another of those forgettable cameos summed up the lack of ideas.
“I thought a lot about bringing Wilshere on, but physically they were really strong,” said Capello. “I needed someone strong in the box so that is why I brought on Kevin Davies.”
At 33, Davies became England’s oldest debutant since 1950 when he replaced Crouch with 20 minutes remaining. Enough time for him to collect a booking rather than lay down a marker that he should be included again.
Yet, rather than the likes of Young, Adam Johnson and Davies providing inspiration, Capello is entitled to have expected more from his senior players – Gerrard apart.
Gareth Barry found the red shirts of Montenegro with more precision than his team-mates and Rooney, cautioned for a crude foul on Elsad Zverotic, continues to struggle to hit the heights.
If Sir Alex Ferguson was hoping representing his country would pep his confidence then, not for the first time, England duly disappointed him. It proved that type of night all round.
Czech Republic showed they had learned from their losing start against Lithuania
"We were under pressure before this game because we lost our opening game against Lithuania," said Čech. "We needed to win. Everybody was putting us under pressure because we knew that it was one of the most important games in the group stage. I think we did really well to win it."
Enjoying one of his quietest outings in his nation's colours against a timid Scottish attack, the Chelsea FC goalkeeper joined an increasingly anxious crowd in watching his team-mates fail to convert a number of opportunities. Hubník's 69th-minute header finally relieved the tension in the Czech capital, and eased fears their opening-game disappointment would be repeated.
"I think we put a lot of expectations on ourselves before that first game as we desperately wanted to start well," Čech said. "The last 15 to 20 minutes were very tough for us. We weren't patient, we started forcing things through and we didn't manage to score. This time the experience of the first game made a difference.
"
"
We knew we were playing really well in the first half, creating chances, and we knew if we continued in the same way in the second half that we would have chances. The chance came; perhaps it was the fifth one we'd had, but it went in."
Victory leaves the Czechs three points behind leaders Spain and within touching distance of both Scotland and Lithuania, who are a point ahead of them in second and third spots. With a trip to face section minnows Liechtenstein next up on Tuesday, Čech is now looking for another maximum haul.
"We have to win that game. We are in the group of five, and already the first game didn't go as we would have liked and we dropped three points," he said. "When you play in the group of five, you can't afford to lose more than one game if you want to qualify. We did that in the first game, so we have to keep on winning."
Spain's flawless start to UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying Group I
Substitute Fernando Llorente scored with 11 minutes left to keep up Spain's flawless start to UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying Group I after Scotland had fought back from two goals down.
David Villa equalled Raúl González's record of 44 goals for Spain with a penalty just before the break and Andrés Iniesta looked to have put the result beyond doubt when he added a second soon after half-time. However, Steven Naismith with his first for Scotland and an own goal from Gerard Piqué threatened to give the home side a point until Llorente – left out of the starting lineup despite scoring twice in Friday's 3-1 defeat of Lithuania – claimed the winner within three minutes of his introduction.
Having taken a cautious approach in the 1-0 loss in the Czech Republic on Friday, Scotland manager Craig Levein brought back striker Kenny Miller and gave defender Phil Bardsley his debut with Alan Hutton injured. In front of a capacity crowd Scotland sought to exert some early pressure but the visitors were the first to threaten through Villa, shooting over after being picked out by Iniesta.
Within two minutes Villa tested Allan McGregor with a header from a Sergio Ramos cross and the keeper then rushed from his line to block David Silva's goal-bound effort. Scotland broke and it took the combined efforts of Carles Puyol and Piqué to clear James Morrison's effort off the line from Darren Fletcher's cross. However, it proved to be a temporary respite and on the half-hour McGregor again denied Villa from point-blank range.
The opening goal seemed inevitable and a minute before the break Spain were awarded a penalty after Whittaker handled Ramos's shot in the box. Villa stepped up and although McGregor got fingertips to the ball, the away side were ahead.
Ten minutes after the restart Spain doubled their advantage when Iniesta slotted in from close range after Santiago Cazorla's shot had rebounced off Stephen McManus. Scotland, however, had hope three minutes later, Naismith turning in Miller's cross, and Hampden erupted when Piqué diverted Morrison's centre past Iker Casillas.
However Llorente, whose starting place had gone to Xabi Alonso, was brought on and swiftly side-footed in Joan Capdevila's cross from the left. Scotland ended with ten men when Whittaker picked up a second yellow card for a challenge on Ramos and they are back in third, two points behind the Czech Republic and five adrift of Spain having played a game more than both.
Cristiano Ronaldo helped ensure Portugal's revival in UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying Group H
An early free-kick from Cristiano Ronaldo helped ensure Portugal's revival in UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying Group H continued apace against point-less Iceland.
The Real Madrid CF forward's third-minute strike after a foul on Carlos Martins was cancelled out by Heidar Helguson after 17 minutes. Raúl Meireles restored the visitors' lead just before the half-hour, though it was not until 18 minutes from time that Paulo Bento's team confirmed their second victory in five days when substitute Hélder Postiga struck.
Ronaldo's third-minute set piece was not as powerful as his usual trademark efforts, but goalkeeper Gunnleifur Gunnleifsson could not prevent the ball going into his right-hand corner. Iceland constantly sought to use their aerial advantage, a policy from which they gained reward when Helguson headed in Indridi Sigurdsson's corner.
Portugal were ahead again ten minutes later, however, as Meireles unleashed an unstoppable shot from 30 metres. With Iceland preventing the visitors from deploying their passing game Portugal frequently tried their luck from distance, Meireles almost scoring again with a curling shot that hit the crossbar on 53 minutes.
Postiga could have scored five minutes after coming on for Hugo Almeida but failed to make the most of a fine lay-off from Ronaldo by allowing Gunnleifsson to block. He was not so profligate soon after, though, taking advantage of Gunnleifsson's fumble from Ronaldo's cross to tap in a simple third. Portugal, who defeated Denmark 3-1 on Friday, are in second place in Group H on seven points, two adrift of a Norway team they face when their campaign resumes in June.
Morten Rasmussen and Kasper Lorentzen helped the hosts celebrate their 100th EURO qualifier with victory.
Denmark were able to mark their 100th UEFA European Championship qualifier with victory as they overcame Cyprus 2-0 in Copenhagen.
Morten Olsen's side were on top throughout, but the contest was still goalless at the break and it needed second-half strikes from substitute Morten Rasmussen – who scored within three minutes of his introduction – and Kasper Lorentzen to secure the win. Following Friday's 3-1 loss to Portugal, Denmark now possess six points from three outings in Group H, while Cyprus are languishing on one.
Chances came and went for the hosts in the opening 45 minutes, with Daniel Agger spurning the first opportunity when he headed over from close range early on. Soon after, Nicklas Pedersen also missed the target and the same player then had his shot saved by visiting goalkeeper Antonis Georgallides. The Cyprus No1 was in action again midway through the half, denying Michael Krohn-Dehli who had found space in the area.
Agger and Krohn-Dehli both passed up decent chances before the interval, when Olsen decided to shake things up by bringing on Rasmussen. It did not take long for the 1. FSV Mainz 05 forward to make his mark as he converted Lars Jacobsen's cross from the right on 48 minutes. The goal sparked Cyprus into life, but it was still the home side creating the danger, with Rasmussen soon going close again with a back-heel and Pedersen failing to keep another effort down.
Denmark were pressing to finish the job and, after Simon Kjær threatened with a header, Rasmussen nearly pounced following a Georgallides save. However, with nine minutes remaining, they finally put the outcome beyond reach, Lorentzen hammering in a left-footed shot from just outside the area.
Switzerland finally got their UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying up
Switzerland finally got their UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying up and running with a convincing victory against Wales, whose third consecutive Group G defeat leaves them bottom of the section without a point.
Marco Streller's 21st-minute strike sent the hosts in at the break in front after Gareth Bale's equaliser had cancelled out an early opener from Valentin Stocker. Gökhan Inler's 82nd-minute spot kick and a late second from Stocker means Ottmar Hitzfeld's team can now begin their pursuit of England and Montenegro in earnest, while Wales will seek to get off the mark when they resume their campaign in March.
Eight minutes had elapsed when Hitzfeld was up celebrating his side's opener. Stocker was the scorer, nodding in after Streller unselfishly headed across the rebound from Tranquillo Barnetta's initial strike. The Nati coach was soon back in the dugout, however, as Bale raced on to Andrew Crofts' through ball and finished confidently past Marco Wölfli, who had replaced the injured Diego Benaglio early on.
With Wales buoyant Wölfli made an impressive save from James Collins' header soon afterwards, a stop which proved to be crucial as Switzerland restored their lead on 21 minutes. Inler chipped to the lurking Streller, who sliced his volley into the corner. The FC Basel 1893 striker could have had his second before the break but for a challenge from Wales captain Ashley Williams.
Wales produced the opening chance of the second period when Darcy Blake's delivery was headed narrowly over by Andy King, but Blake almost cost his team a goal soon afterwards when he failed to react to Alex Frei's cross. Stocker did, but his powerful header was beaten away by Wayne Hennessey.
The visitors' determination was never in question in what was an open encounter throughout. Bale persistently foraged for an opening on the left and nearly forced in an equaliser on the back of a slaloming run as the game entered the closing stages. However, Inler's penalty following Christian Ribeiro's foul on Barnetta and Stocker's simple fourth ensured Brian Flynn's final game as caretaker boss ended in another disappointment.
England and Montenegro remain unbeaten in UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying
England and Montenegro remain unbeaten in UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying but neither side can claim absolute authority over Group G following a goalless draw at Wembley.
Zlatko Kranjčar's visitors started and finished the day top of the section by three points after a disciplined display in London, albeit having played a game more than England. Three successive 1-0 wins had catapulted them to the summit and, despite enjoying scant possession, they so nearly made it four in a row when Milan Jovanović struck the bar late on during a frustrating evening for their hosts.
Steven Gerrard was one of only a few of Fabio Capello's players to try livening up proceedings during the opening period, twice injecting early verve to no avail. The first occasion, a raking pass from deep in midfield, ended in Peter Crouch stretching but failing to make contact, while the second – a quickly-taken free-kick – finished with the Tottenham Hotspur FC striker heading Glen Johnson's cross over from close range.
Though Montenegro could muster only tame shots from Radomir Djalović and Simon Vukčević, it was not until first-half added time that the hosts, for all of their possession, hit the target themselves. Wayne Rooney's deflected effort was comfortably held by Mladen Božović, who had earlier breathed a sigh of relief when Adam Johnson's free-kick whistled wide.
In charge, but out of ideas, it was Gerrard who once again provided the first sign of second-half spark, threading a pass to Rooney which Božović smothered at the second attempt. Not until the 73rd minute, though, did England's gusto test the visiting keeper once more. Rooney's instinctive shot was only parried after disruptive work from substitute, and debutant, Kevin Davies, and Gerrard's ensuing volley was well held by the Montenegrin custodian.
Just as England's lack of penetration looked set to limit them to a point, Jovanović so nearly took all three off them with a 25-metre shot which crashed off Joe Hart's crossbar. Božović again denied Adam Johnson late on to ensure it was not England's night.
Lothar Matthäus a winning start as Ivelin Popov scored the only goal in Cardiff to bring their UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying
Bulgaria gave new coach Lothar Matthäus a winning start as Ivelin Popov scored the only goal in Cardiff to bring their UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying campaign to life after defeats in their first two Group G games.
Popov struck three minutes after half-time to put a smile on the face of a Bulgarian team showing five changes to the XI who started last month's home game with Montenegro. The tall striker showed a sure touch, skilfully guiding a right-wing cross away from James Collins before firing in off the right-hand post.
It was a devastating blow to Wales who were also under new management, with Brian Flynn beginning a two-match spell as caretaker boss following the departure of John Toshack. That switch followed their own defeat to Montenegro in the opening fixture; a second reverse with games against Switzerland and England next on the agenda, casts Wales' qualifying prospects in a poor light.
In a lacklustre first-half only a handful of chances were created at either end of the field. Wales almost scored after seven minutes when Gareth Bale and Joe Ledley combined down the left. Steve Morison cleverly left the ball for the onrushing Chris Gunter whose shot flew hard and true but centimetres the wrong side of the post.
The visitors retaliated when a mistake allowed Martin Petrov a clear sight of goal. The response from goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey was exemplary as he palmed the ball over.
Following Popov's goal, Wales' search for an equaliser foundered on a well-drilled defence though Morison did force a fine save from Nikolay Mihaylov. With a minute of normal time remaining, debutant Hal Robson-Kanu got on the end of Bale's inswinging cross but could not keep his header down. In added time Gunter capped a miserable night for the Welsh by receiving a straight red card following a foul on Dimitar Rangelov.
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