Double Standard for Footballers?

We live in an era where world famous athletes are put on pedestals above the average citizen because of success in their sport. Almost everyday you hear stories about athletes getting in trouble with the law for a variety of issues. Is the frequencies of this in result of athletes thinking they’re above the law? Does the government treat these athletes the same as any other citizen, regardless of social status? Let’s dive in and come to the bottom of this once and for all.

Just this week England winger and Sunderland player Adam Johnson was released on bail following his arrest on suspicion of sexual activity with a girl under the age of 16. Although the Premier League club suspended Johnson on Monday after learning he had been taken into custody, just a day later he was released on bail. Seems pretty quick for something as serious as potential rape. As a successful footballer, you have to wonder if this is part of the equation.

Although this example was as recent as this week, two precedents that were very similar are the cases of Ribery and Benzema and Ched Evans. Just last year footballers Frank Ribery, forward from Bayern Munich, and Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema, faced three years in prison if found quality of having sexual relations with Zahia Dehar when she was 18 years old. Robery claimed he didn’t know the age of this woman and Benzema denied claims they spent the night together in Paris. Although it sounds like the incident happened which would be consider rape as this Algerian woman was underage, the judge at the court in Paris ruled there wasn’t enough proof that the pair was aware of Dehar’s age at the time.

Lastly, there’s the messy situation of footballer Ched Evans. Three years ago in April 2012 the Sheffield United player was convicted of rape, of a 19-year-old woman and was sent to jail. He admitted to having sex with the woman but said it was consensual. On October 17^th 2014 after serving half of his term, Sheffield launched a fresh bid to have his conviction overturned by asking the Criminal Cases Review Commission to examine his case. He was released.

All of these examples share the fact that these footballers were released after being accused for rape. While we don’t know exactly what happened in every situation, it seems all too frequent that athletes are released of their charges for some reason or another… Would it be the same for some average Joe who maybe wasn’t well off? We need to ask ourselves if we should let the government put any individual above the law.

You tell me, what do you think about these cases and do you think justice was served? What roles could have played into the judges decision? Is there a double standard when it comes to athletes/celebrities? 

Expand The Game

MLS has seemingly grown over the past couple years, with stars like Landon Donovan and David Beckham becoming icons of the game.  Since the game has gained popularity in the US, there will be a need for more teams.  Recently, New York debuted the NYC FC.  Now, former soccer star David Beckham is advocating for a team to be placed in Miami.

Speaking at a media event, Beckham acknowledged the struggles in securing the idea of a team in Miami.  He's noted that plans for stadiums in South Florida have fell through a couple times, but he remains committed to finishing his idea.

When Beckham signed with the LA Galaxy in 2007, his contract included the right to own an MLS expansion club.  However the main problem is finding a permanent stadium and Beckham's group has been working to figure that out.  His plan to make a stadium next to where the Miami Heat play was denied.

MLS wants to expand to 24 teams by 2020.  I believe that a team should exist in Miami due to the large population in the area.  I'm glad to see Beckham has stayed involved with the game after his retirement.  Do we really believe MLS will continune to become more popular, or will the expansion only hurt the league?  Only time will tell.

http://www.si.com/planet-futbol/2015/02/09/david-beckham-miami-mls-delays-frustrating

Howard Webb urged to come out of retirement

Recent refereeing controversies has seen people calling for Howard Webb to return to refereeing in a bid to help improve the standard of officiating. The former head of the referees' board Keith Hackett is one of the most vocal proponents urge Howard Webb to return to the game in a bid to improve the standard of officiating.

Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, he said: "Referees are making big mistakes, week in, week out. They need some leadership and with that leadership the guy who is at the top needs to front up." Webb, who is one of England's most well known referees due to his officiating and his impressive physique, retired in August 2014 to become the technical director of the Professional Games Match Officials Limited (PGMOL). In 2010 he was the first person to officiate the Champions League final as well as a World Cup in the same year.

Howard Webb does have an impressive resume when it comes to refereeing big games but will his presence really make the difference? Isn't he also prone to the same mistakes his colleagues are making? Isn't he the same person to allow Nigel De Jong to basically get away with murder when he karate kicked Xabi Alonso in the chest in the 2010 World Cup final and only received a yellow card?

Keith Hackett is wrong in thinking that a reinstated Howard Webb will improve the officiating of his colleagues. I highly doubt that they will be thinking What Would Howard Do? when Ashley Young makes a 10/10 dive into the penalty area in the 90th minute. Officials are forced to act immediately and unwaveringly. That is just the nature of the game. Soccer is an amazing sport because of the fact that you don't know what will happen next, including blunders from referees. Mistakes will surely happen and it is idealistic to assume Howard Webb's presence will change that.

Bad Boy Gone Good?

Diego Costa is one of the more prominent strikers in the Premier League.  Over the past season, he's had his string of success, scoring a number of goals and gaining recognition for the Golden Boot award for the league.  While his place in Chelsea seems to be set, Costa has drawn some setbacks.

This past season, he was suspended three games for his violent conduct during a match againt Liverpool, where Costa was caught stamping on Emre Can.  While this didn't have much affect on Chelsea's overall play and their standing within the Premier League, losing a star player for a few games can lead to eventual failure.

This has given Diego an ego as a 'bad boy', where he is aggressive with most of his tactics.  He's a fierce competitor and truly enjoys competing in the game.

While this all seems true that Costa has this attitude, we need to realize that he's truly a humble person who sticks to his roots and cares about the others around him.

In his hometown of Lagarto, Brazil, Costa has began to open up schools for underpriveleged kids who are not presented with the same opportunities that have reached him.  He wants these young children to stay away from the danger, the drugs, and violence.  While his main focus is on education, he wants to provide these children with the chance at playing soccer.

We need to look past these bad images the media portrays and learn to discover the good in the star players.

http://metro.co.uk/2015/02/16/chelseas-diego-costa-shows-hes-really-a-nice-guy-after-setting-up-school-to-educate-children-in-brazil-5065904/

Team or Individual game?

Today more and more we see prime examples of football players playing for Themselves Instead of the team. In the Most recent national news, it was Cristiano Ronaldo Announced That's buyout is Said to be 1.5 billion euros. With That absurd amount of money even in conversation, do you think Ronaldo has Real Madrid in the front or back of His Mind? 

Whether it be on or off the field, it seems, nowadays That we're watching a bunch of talented athletes all try to make Their Way to the top of the rankings, statistic and financially speaking.

On the field you Have the example of Suarez and his crazy antics. All Because of Lack of self control bit Suarez DECIDED to defend Italian Giorgio Chiellini During play and in result was suspended for four months and hurt His teams chances in the cup. 

You'd think we'd see more players sacrificing part of Their Contracts to make room for other top players rather then a ridiculously big signing Contracts, far beyond the amount of money They need to live.

Attached is a list put together by putting together result Bleacher Report the top 10 Most selfish players in the world for a variety of reasons. Check it out and let us know if you Agree or if they're missing someone and if so, why? 

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1750355-the-10-most-selfish-players-in-world-football

Thanks for tuning in!

Zlatan scores against World Hunger

If you know Zlatan Ibrahimovic you know he prone to say some ridiculous things. He is also one of the few soccer players I've ever heard refer to themselves in the third person.

This past weekend after he scored PSG's opening goal against Caen he ripped off his jersey to show off what I thought was a new collection of tattoos. But I was very wrong.

It turns out that the Swedish striker partnered with the World Food Program to tattoo across his body (temporarily) the names of 50 individuals who were all suffering from hunger. A couple of days later a video starring Ibrahimovic surfaced on Youtube explaining the stunt.

"Wherever I go people recognize me, call my name, cheer for me. But there are names no one cares to remember. That no one cheers for," he said.

 "From now on I want this support to go to the people who really need it. So whenever you hear my name, you will think of their names. Wherever you see me, you will see them."

This is an incredible statement by the big Swed. Zlatan is using his platform as a popular celebrity to bring to raise awareness around world hunger. This is pretty unprecedented of a goal celebration. Usually when you see a player rip of their shirt its either because they are not really thinking or because they want to show you they have been hitting the gym lately.

 It is pretty routine for professional soccer players to volunteer at local fundraiser and youth soccer camps.

Soccer players have such an enormous platform because of the global reach soccer has and its reaching to someone take advantage of it - in a positive way. Because its pretty routine for professional soccer players to just volunteer at local fundraisers, youth soccer camps and sign some shirts. Cheer to Zlatan for raising the bar.

Check out the video below but MORE importantly check out the actual campaign.

Am I really worth the money?

A buzz was created within the soccer world recently.  In early February, Cristiano Ronaldo's manager, Jorge Mendes, stated on BBC that he believes his star client is worth over 1 billion euros.  This means if another team wants to pursure Ronaldo for their team, they must pay that massive fee as part of his buyout clause when he signed his recent contract with Real Madrid.

He also noted that Ronaldo could be sold to another team in the future for 300 million euros.  Mendes admitted that some person would step up and pay for his buyout clause.

Recently turning 30 and playing at what is considered the later years of a soccer players' career, do we see his value rising in the future?  I think about how long will he be playing the sport.

Real Madrid is slowly losing their lead in La Liga to the rival club FC Barcelona.  After Ronaldo's recent suspension and some poor performances (such as the recent blowout from Atlético Madrid), I believe his value will fall.

Being at that age in soccer and playing at a high level is impressive, but I just can't see Ronaldo participating in the game of soccer after another 5 seasons.  Hopefully he doesn't sustain more injuries, but I just don't see him being the best player in the world for the coming years.

There is a rise of younger stars that could potentially dethrone Ronaldo as king of the game.  Neymar Jr. and Eden Hazard are some examples of players who have the potential to be the best in the world.

Congratulations to Ronaldo for being valued so high and earning large amounts of money, but I don't see his value going up anymore.

It's my birthday and I'll do what I want to

Cristiano Ronaldo was at the center of controversy this past weekend after he went forward with his plans to celebrate his birthday hours after his side was thrashed by Atletico in the Madrid Derby. The Portuguese star had just turned 30 years old a couple days before and was hoping to begin his birthday festivities on the back of a positive result against cross city rivals. Instead Cristiano and company were left exposed and humiliated in a dominating 4-0 performance by Atletico. Madridistas heavily condemned Ronaldo for not canceling his post match celebrations.

Carlo Ancelotti, Real Madrid's manager, doesn't see anything wrong with it. "The party is not an issue for me. I have never judged the private lives of players and I won't start now," said Ancelotti in a post game press conference.

"I have no doubts about the players' professionalism. The private life of each individual is up to them. I'd be getting into their private lives if I asked the players to apologize. I only judge their professional life, on the pitch. 

Today, more than ever before in football, there is a blurred line between a player's personal and public life. Their every move is watched and consequently dissected by the public. Should Madrid and soccer fans have an opinion on whether or not Cristiano made the right decision? Yes. Should he have to succumb to public pressure and cancel celebrating his birthday? No. 

It isn't a fluke that Cristiano Ronaldo has consistently been one of best players in the world and has smashed every record in front of him. This is due to his near legendary work ethic off the field. He is always the first person at training and last person to leave. 

Jese Rodriguez, was promoted to Madrid's first team last season, had this to say about Ronaldo. "I remember the first time when I went to Real Madrid's training. I got there 2 hours earlier to impress my coach, but when I got there, I saw Cristiano was already there, training."

Last weekend's defeat was a big set back for Real Madrid. They are now only 1 point above arch rivals Barcelona in the La Liga standings with 15 games to go. With his birthday and backlash behind him, Cristiano Ronaldo ready to continue on in what has been another fantastic season.