Mike Collett

Referee Peter Walton could face a suspension from the Premier League list if it is decided he made a mistake in Monday's 2-2 draw between Liverpool and Birmingham.

Walton reckoned Liverpool striker David Ngog had been fouled by Lee Carsley and ignored the protests of his Birmingham team mates before Steven Gerrard converted the spotkick. Even Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez said afterwards he did not think it was a penalty.

Former Premier League and FIFA referee Graham Poll is among those saying the FA must change the rules, arguing that if the referee can be banned for a mistake, players should be punished too. Under current FA rules, players who dive cannot face retrospective action if they were not booked for "simulation" during the game.

Maybe the FA could follow a recent German experiment. If a player was thought to have dived, the referee was instructed to ask him: "Did you dive?"

If he said he did, he was not punished, but neither did he gain any advantage and the match went on.

If he said he didn't dive and DVD evidence later proved he did, he was handed a severe ban.

Not a foolproof system by any means, but something needs to be done as diving players are damaging the credibility of the game.

PHOTO: REUTERS/Sergio Moraes

Has there ever been a more stupid and pointless sending off than  Simon Vukcevic's dismissal for Sporting against Fiorentina in the Champions League play-off round on Tuesday night?

The 23-year-old Montenegro striker, booked for getting involved in a petty squabble with an opponent after 12 minutes, then scored after 58 minutes to put Sporting level at 1-1 after Fiorentina had taken an early lead.

Its impossible to know what went through his head next. Running back with his team mates he took off his shirt in celebration and despite putting it back on a few seconds later was shown a second yellow card and then a red by Hungarian referee Viktor Kassai who gave him a look as if to say, "Sorry mate, rules are rules."

Not only did that leave Sporting with 10 men for over half-an-hour it also means the Montenegro international will be banned for next week's second leg in Italy, and that arguably could cost them the tie which is up for grabs after the sides battled to a 2-2 draw in Lisbon.

I have never ever understood why players take their shirts off to celebrate a goal. I think its disrespectful to the shirt, your team mates, to your fans and the club that pays your wages.

It's an utterly pointless gesture and when the authorities decided a few years ago it was a bookable offence, most players saw sense and stopped doing it.

What made it even more ridiculous was that Vukcevic looked surprised when he was red carded. You ought to read the rules, mate.

PHOTO: Sporting's Simon Vukcevic (L) celebrates with Miguel Veloso after his goal against Fiorentina during their Champions League playoff first leg at Alvalade stadium in Lisbon August 18, 2009. REUTERS/Jose Manuel Ribeiro

Last November Spurs beat Liverpool 2-1 at White Hart Lane just after Harry Redknapp took over a side that had slumped to the bottom of the table. Redknapp admitted after that game that Spurs had been lucky to win after being battered by Liverpool, who squandered an early lead and then hit the woodwork three times before losing.

Spurs beat Liverpool 2-1 at White Hart Lane again on Sunday and this time there was no doubting that Spurs deserved their victory.

On the evidence of Sunday's match a lot has changed at the two clubs since last November.

Spurs have clearly improved but fans have witnessed so many false dawns in the last 10 years or so that no one will get carried away by an opening day win -- even over last season's runners-up.

Likewise, Liverpool will not descend into doom and gloom at one opening day defeat but what is undeniable -- and this began to be obvious in their pre-season matches -- is that Liverpool are badly missing their gifted Spanish midfielder Xabi Alonso, sold for 30 million pounds to Real Madrid.

Liverpool failed to get the ball to Steven Gerrard as often as often as they used to when Alonso was distributing the ball, after putting his foot on it and finding the perfect pass.

Up front Fernando Torres looked jaded -- he has hardly had a break after playing for Spain in the Confederations Cup -- and Liverpool rarely threatened Spurs with a decisive attack.

The fact that Jamie Carragher and Martin Skrtel clashed heads with each other going up for a high ball in the first half was not the only reason Liverpool's defence seemed disorientated, as young Argentine fullback Emiliano Insua was given a roasting by the pace of Aaron Lennon on the right wing.

Their bench looked devoid of depth too and generally Liverpool had an afternoon they will certainly want to forget, but one which may resonate for a few weeks yet.

It is now almost 20 seasons since Liverpool were last champions of England -- the longest run they have ever had between winning titles (not including the break of competition for World War Two) since they entered the League in 1893.

They are desperate to be champions again -- and stop Manchester United winning an unprecedented fourth successive title and an all-time record 19th.

Clearly they are still championship contenders. But they won't be if they produce too many displays like Sunday's at White Hart Lane. Benitez needs to strengthen now -- but financial restraints off the pitch could yet add to his headaches.

PHOTO: Xabi Alonso waves as he leaves the pitch during Real Madrid's friendly against Real Sociedad at the Anoeta stadium in San Sebastian, August 15, 2009. REUTERS/Felix Ordonez

In the previous post, Simon Evans discussed where the U.S. go from here after their stunning win over Spain. Below Mike Collett looks at where the Confederations Cup semi-final victory ranks among shocks.

The debate is back on. Where does the United States' shock 2-0 win over Spain in the Confederations Cup on Wednesday rank among the all-time great upsets.

I would say very high indeed.

It's not just the facts leading up to the match that scream "WOW, that was something else" but also the way the U.S. played. It was defending, team-work, spirit, guts and resilience of the highest level. The goals were not flukey either.

Teenager Jozy Altidore muscled his way past some tame defending from his Villarreal team mate Joan Capdivila to score the opener and Clint Dempsey pounced with the opportunism all great strikers show to put the U.S. 2-0 ahead.

Perhaps because they won 2-0 and not 1-0 as is usual in the case of upsets, this victory deserves a place in the top five of all time.

And before anyone says, "ah but the U.S. is ranked No.14 in the world by FIFA, so it's not that big a deal," think again.

The U.S. is ranked that highly because of the low standard of most of the teams around them in the CONCACAF zone -- not all, but a lot. Any anyway, in football terms, the U.S. are not giants. They may rule the world, but they do not rule soccer -- yet.

My suggestion for the greatest international upset of all time remains the United States 1-0 victory over England in the 1950 World Cup finals in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

Some English papers thought the result was a misprint and "corrected" it the following day to read United States 1 England 10. They were wrong.

Here they are my choices then: I know I've probably left some real obvious ones out:

1. United States 1 England 0 1950 World Cup

2. North Korea 1 Italy 0 1966 World Cup

3. West Germany 3 Hungary 2 1954 World Cup final

4. Uruguay 2 Brazil 1 1950 World Cup final

5. United States 2 Spain 0 2009 Confederations Cup

6. Cameroon 1 Argentina 0 1990 World Cup

7. Senegal 1 France 0 2002 World Cup

8. Denmark winning 1992 European championship

9. Greece winning 2004 European championship

10. Faroe Islands 1 Austria 0 - Faroe Islands first ever competitive match in a Euro '92 qualifier played in September 1990

11. Northern Ireland 1 Spain 0 1982 World Cup

12. Nigeria 3 Spain 2 1998 World Cup

13. Egypt 1 Italy 0 2009 Confederations Cup

14. West Germany 0 Northern Ireland 1 - West Germany's first ever home defeat in a European qualifier, Hamburg 1983.

and possibly...

15. England 3 Hungary 6 1953 - England's first-ever home defeat to overseas opposition but those in the know, saw it coming...and the Hungarians were magificent.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter, World Cup organiser Danny Jordaan and just about everyone else involved in the 2010 finals have been playing down the risk of violence and crime in South Africa and in hundreds of reports over the last five years I have always been prepared to give them the benefit of the doubt.

That was until last night when I was effectively "mugged" by two uniformed police officers who demanded "pounds or dollars" before they would let me go on my way. In the end I handed over 200 rand (about 15 pounds) -- and they showed their "gratitude" in the most astonishing way.

I covered the Spain-New Zealand match for Reuters in Rustenburg on Sunday evening and drove the 120-miles back to my hotel in Sandton City after the game.

I left Rustenburg at midnight, made good time without incident, dropped off my travelling companion at his hotel and was nearing Sandton when I saw a flashing light about 200 metres ahead and realised a policeman was indicating by torchlight for me to stop. I did.

After the usual pleasantries of, "How are you tonight sir," and a check of my driving licence and passport, they quickly cut to the quick, ordered me out of the car and asked me where I had been and if I had been drinking.

I told them "Rustenburg" and no I hadn't been drinking as I was driving. Seeing my Confederations Cup accreditation tag around my neck they asked me what I thought of the game which Spain won 5-0.

I thought we might have a plesant discussion about Fernando Torres' 17-minute hat-trick, but they didn't seem too bothered about that. They then asked me where I was going.

When I told them the name of my hotel, which was only about five minutes drive away, they told me I would never find it.

I told them I had a very reliable SatNav. They told me it was useless and I would get lost. Only they knew where my hotel was and after giving me directions asked me for their money.

"Where are our dollars or pounds, sir ?" they asked in a more threatening manner.

I gave them their cash and they let me go.

A minute later I saw their blue light flashing in my mirror again. This time I was rather more concerned.

They pulled me over again and the younger of the two said: "You will get lost sir," and in no uncertain terms indicated I follow them again.

Bizarrely, they took me directly to the hotel -- blue lights flashing all the way.

"Good night sir," they shouted as the car park barrier raised, "and be careful, it is very dangerous on the roads in South Africa at night."

You can say that again.

PHOTO: Dancers perform during the opening ceremony of the Confederations Cup at Ellis Park stadium in Johannesburg, June 14, 2009. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings

Notts County might have been in the wilderness for many years now but they have never been far from the footballing consciousness.

Remember the great Glen Campbell hit of the 1960s "Wichita Lineman" which opens with: "I am a lineman for the county".

It didn't take long for wags to change that to: "I am the linesman at Notts County" and I've been told that linesman at Meadow Lane have been humming that tune to themselves ever since.

Notts also has the unique distinction of linking Italian giants Juventus, post-war English scoring hero Tommy Lawton and 19th century footballer Harry Cursham, who has scored more goals in the history of the FA Cup than any other player.

But more of that in a moment.

Now fans of Notts, the world's oldest football league club, have rather more to think about than dwell on their club's 147 years of under-achievement after hearing some truely astonishing news this week.

For Notts, whose glory days were long, long ago and who finished five places off the bottom of League Two (the fourth division in old money) this season, are about to be taken over by a mega-rich consortium of Middle East businessmen.

They dream of taking them back to the top after decades in the doldrums.

It is an interesting development and shows that it is not just Premier League clubs like Manchester City, Portsmouth and the others attracting overseas owners with millions or billions to invest.

John Armstrong-Holmes, the club's chairman, says it makes perfect sense to him that overseas investors would want to buy a club and manage it carefully through the divisions rather than by raising debts and paying out millions in interest every year.

Taking the club back to the top might be highly romantic on one hand and appeal to the game's traditionalists but also shows that perhaps in football, money is ever more increasingly the driving factor for success, even more than talent.

But it wouldn't be the first time that Notts County have stunned the football world. In November 1947 Lawton, then an England international at the peak of his game, moved from first division Chelsea to third division County for a British record transfer fee of 20,000 pounds ($32,090), helping them win promotion in 1950.

It truely was a sensational transfer at the time.

In the 1880s Cursham could not stop scoring goals for County and his 49 in the FA Cup is a record that has never been beaten.

Meanwhile, Juventus owe their famous black-and-white striped kit to County. Years ago Juve used to play in pink shirts which faded with every wash. An English player at the club had a mate at County who sent him a decent set of black-and-white shirts to use instead. Juve have worn those colours ever since.

Notts County v Juventus in the Champions League come 2015 or 2016? Don't bet against it. Stranger things have happened in soccer, like County being taken over by a Middle East consortium...

PHOTO: Seen that kit before? Former Juventus midfielder Pavel Nedved celebrates after scoring against Lecce during their Serie A match in Turin May 3, 2009. REUTERS/Alessandro Garofalo

Soccer magazine FourFourTwo has published a superb article this month: 49 Things We Hate About Football -- Even Though Its Still The Best Thing on the Planet.

I reckon every real fan would agree with almost all of the things we probably hate about football and I give you a random selection of their choices, in no particular order:

-- Fans booing their own players
-- Contrived goal celebrations ("Give it up, even your own fans think you look stupid")
-- Immediate post-match interviews ("always rubbish")
-- 23-year-old's autobiographies ("Bought exclusively by well-intentioned but misguided mums two days before Christmas")
-- Irrelevant mascots ("at what point did Gunnersaurus Rex play a part in Arsenal's long and distinguished history ?")
-- Manufacturers claiming to have made "the roundest ball ever"

and my personal favourite:

-- Sky Sports News interviews with fans outside the ground ("Its 11.24am on Tuesday and the only supporters around are a deranged pensioner wearing 837 club pin badges and an alcoholic maniac with a thin grasp of reality who is almost certainly outraged. Pointless.")

Well with this season drawing to a close it got me thinking about what I still love about football -- besides seeing my own team win of course.

I LOVE:

-- The day the new fixtures for the coming season are published

-- Going to the first match of the new season

-- Going to a new ground for the first time

-- Managers who say: "Yes, I saw the incident clearly and my player throughly deserved that red card. I'd like to congratulate the referee for getting that decision spot on." Thank You Alan Shearer.

-- The same as above only for penalties.

-- If a second player on the opposing team is injured and his own trainer is already attending someone the way the other team's trainer immediately sprints on to help him.

-- Players who can have a laugh on the pitch. One of the greatest football photos ever? Old mates Bobby Moore (West Ham) and Jimmy Greaves (Spurs) pictured twirling around each other arm in arm.

-- Fans who can applaud the other team when something truely outstanding happens

-- Teams playing away fixtures in their "proper" home kit

-- Impeccably observed one minute silences

-- The way David Beckham crosses a ball

-- The way you just "know" Fernando Torres is likely to score when he bears down on goal.

-- Jose Mourinho's fashion sense

-- Brazil's kit.

-- Cup finals which end in 90 minutes.

-- Watching Match of the Day if your team has won

-- Reading the Sunday papers if your team has won

Your turn...

Don't be surprised if you see this message on eBay in the next few days: "FOR SALE: 57,000 red and white flags as good as new -- only waved for eight minutes. Apply Arsenal FC, Emirates Stadium, North London."

For Arsenal's fans not only stopped waving their freebie flags after eight minutes, but they also stopped believing in their side after an hour as thousands of them trooped away from the stadium no longer able to watch as Manchester United demolished their young team.

It ended 3-1 as United reached the Champions League final for the second successive season 4-1 aggregate.

What was fascinating about Tuesday was what was going on off the pitch as well as what happened on it.

Arsenal fans have never exactly been noted as the most vociferous in the country, earning their old ground Highbury the nickname of "The Library" because it was often so quiet.

But on Tuesday, Arsenal, trailing 1-0 from the first leg, needed all the help they could get and the club left thousands of free flags on every home seat in the stadium to help create an atmosphere that manager Arsene Wenger believed would help intimidate United and boost the confidence of Arsenal's youngsters.

Wenger had been talking up Arsenal's prospects of victory all week, and they started the match like a whirlwind with the fans creating a frenzy of noise and colour.

But it went very quiet indeed after eight minutes when Park Ji-sung put United 1-0 ahead and what hopes Arsenal still harboured were detonated three minutes later with an explosive freekick from World and European Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo which made it 2-0, leaving Arsenal needing four goals to win.

United wrapped the match up with one of the goals of the season after an hour when Park, Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney all exchanged passes in a sweeping counter-attack move that went from one end of the pitch to the other in 13 seconds culminating in Ronaldo making it 3-0 and completing what Wenger called, "the worst night of my career".

In some ways United's two early goals ruined what was a hugely anticipated contest between two of England's biggest clubs, because as Wenger also said: "The match was over before it really started."

United were delighted and marched on imperiously to the final. Most Arsenal fans were long gone by the time it ended, but many who did stay to the painful finish had the grace to clap United off the field.

They could do that quite easily as their flags had long been put to one side.

For blogs on sports other than soccer, please click on http://blogs.reuters.com/sport

PHOTO: Arsenal fans wave flags ahead of their second leg Champions League semi-final soccer match against Manchester United at the Emirates stadium in London May 5, 2009. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh

PHOTO: We are half-used to seeing former Hammer Frank Lampard in a West Ham shirt (see this Ian Hodgson pic from 1998) but John Terry?

That shirt? Well yes it suits you sir, but looks a little strange ....!

 There are certain things you simply don't expect to see in football like John Terry in a West Ham shirt or ... and this one is for older fans .... Alfredo Di Stefano in Barcelona's red and blue rather than the all-white of Real Madrid.

The news this week that Terry, who trained with the Hammers until he left for Chelsea at 14, has agreed to play for West Ham in a testimonial match for their academy director Tony Carr sets the imagination racing.

Somehow, try as hard as you like you just cannot imagine Mr Chelsea himself in a West Ham shirt.

But some images are even stranger to behold. I saw Liam Brady, one of Arsenal's best loved heroes who scored an utterly astonishing goal against Spurs at White Hart Lane in 1979, in a Spurs shirt in 1984 playing in a testimonial for departing manager Keith Burkinshaw. It was almost surreal.

Diego Maradona also played for Spurs once in a testimonial for Ossie Ardiles. Kenny Dalglish also played in a testimonial for Spurs as well. Imagine Dalglish in a Spurs shirt. Hard isn't it ? Even weirder was seeing Glenn Hoddle and Paul Gascoigne line up in an Arsenal team in a testimonial for Paul Merson.

And try as hard as you like, images of Denis Law in a Manchester City shirt at the end of his career or Bobby Moore and George Best in Fulham shirts never looked quite "right" somehow.

There are rare photos of all sorts of players who later became big stars playing for teams while on loan as teenagers.

David Beckham in a Preston shirt, Frank Lampard in the all-white of Swansea ... or Ryan Giggs in a Manchester City youth team line-up. Fascinating.

Equally strange is Di Stefano, whose career in Spain began in controversy when he signed briefly for Barcelona and appeared in some friendlies before becoming the greatest player in Real Madrid's history.

There are plenty of others obviously, so what is the most unlikely player in a shirt you've ever seen ... ?

I'm not sure if Alex Ferguson would approve of a decision taken by one of his old clubs but East Stirlingshire, where he began his managerial career as a 32-year-old in 1974, have just taken a very controversial stand against "sporting behaviour".

The modest club, whose major objective in the recent past was to avoid
finishing bottom of the Scottish Third Division, but are currently third in the table, have ordered their players NOT to kick the ball out of play if one of their opponents is down injured.

Coach Jim McInally has told his team to only stop playing if the referee orders them to do so. He was furious following an incident during their 2-0 win at Forfar Athletic on Saturday.

After play stopped 10 minutes from time so an East Stirling player could be treated for injury, Forfar goalkeeper Ally Brown tried to restart play with a soft pass back to East Stirling. However, Forfar's substitute striker Calum Smith had other ideas.

With time running out and his side 2-0 down, he decided to try and pull one back and was only prevented from scoring by a save from East Stirling keeper Mark Peat.

Players from both sides started arguing which led to three of them being booked and McInally banning his side from kicking the ball out for an injury in future.

"It may seem a bit unsporting, but football is a ruthless business at times," he explained. "If Forfar had scored, they would have had a foothold in the game and the last few minutes might have been tricky for us."

Most fans accept the sporting convention as part of the game now and remember how Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger offered to replay an FA Cup tie against Sheffield United after his side had scored without giving the ball back after an injury. It made no difference in the end. They won the original game 2-1 and the replayed game by the same score.

Of course, there is no law against being unsporting in this respect -- it is just a convention that has grown up with FIFA's approval to make the game fairer. But is McInally right or wrong?

Is there a place for sportsmanship in the ruthless world of the Scottish Third Division -- or anywhere else for that matter?

PHOTO: Arsenal's Dutch winger Marc Overmars (R) is congratulated by his Nigerian team mate Nwanko Kanu (C) after scoring a controversial goal during their F.A Cup fifth round match. Sheffield United's captain David Holdsworth reacts angrily, Feb. 13, 1999. REUTERS/Ian Hodgson