Eduardo ban overturned

Arsenal striker cleared for opening fixtures

Last updated: 14th September 2009   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Eduardo ban overturned

Eduardo: Ban overturned

I know perhaps more than anyone else that when you have contact at speed it can be dangerous.

Eduardo.
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Arsenal striker Eduardo has seen his two-match UEFA Champions League ban overturned by European football's governing body.

The Croatia international was handed the punishment after tumbling to the ground to win a penalty in the second leg of the qualifying showdown against Celtic.

Television replays showed that Bhoys goalkeeper Artur Boruc had made no contact with the Gunners forward and Uefa subsequently charged Eduardo with 'deceiving the referee' and issued the two-game penalty.

The North London club responded to the announcement by stating their "deep frustration" with the decision and issued an immediate appeal.

Uefa's Appeals Body have accepted the plea from Arsene Wenger's side and Eduardo's suspension has been dropped, leaving him free to feature in their opening Group H clash away to Standard Liege on Wednesday.

A statement from Uefa on their official website read: "Following examination of all the evidence, notably the declarations of both the referee and the referees' assessor, as well as the various video footage, it was not established to the panel's satisfaction that the referee had been deceived in taking his decision on the penalty."

Standards

Arsenal welcomed their successful appeal, claiming that they were able to prove that Boruc had made contact with the forward.

A statement on the club's official website read: "We are grateful that the appeal body focused on the evidence and made the right decision in this case.

"We were able to show that there was contact between the goalkeeper and Eduardo and that the decision of the Uefa disciplinary body should be annulled.

"We fully support the drive for fair play in football and believe it is important that Uefa provide clear and comprehensive standards that will be consistently enforced going forward.

"We are glad to put this incident behind us and concentrate on the games ahead."

Truth

Eduardo has also hailed Uefa's decision, insisting that he would never attempt to cheat during a match, while hinting that the horror injury he sustained against Birmingham last year may have had an impact on how he went to ground.

He said: "I'm very pleased that we have finally arrived at the truth. All we needed to do was to prove what happened and we have managed to do that. This decision makes me feel a lot better.

"I certainly feel relieved now. I have had great support from my family, friends and of course everyone at the club.

"Now I just want to forget about this and think about our match against Standard Liege on Wednesday. I was always prepared for the match in Belgium because I had good feeling and I always remained positive about the outcome. Now we have a final result, I can now look forward to helping the team on Wednesday night.

"All I remember of the incident is that as soon as I had possession of the ball I headed towards goal at full speed. I was very close to the Celtic keeper and felt contact on my foot and then lost my balance. I know perhaps more than anyone else that when you have contact at speed it can be dangerous.

"I just want to say that I'm a fair player. To score goals you must take your opportunities and I'm not the type of player who needs to be dishonest to score goals."

Comments (47)

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Gerry Thompson (Arsenal fan) says...

Glad decision was made and ban lifted...Also would agree that the fans calling for the ban or moaning about it's lifting could all look at their own clubs... UEFA had to lift the ban , not because of Eduardo or Arsenal's power but because the pressure it would bring on them in every such incident.

Posted 22:46 14th September 2009

Robert Robson says...

This is a very sad day for football when a obvious cheat wins the day. Please can we set a standard for our youngsters who are the future in this game.

Posted 22:43 14th September 2009

Tbb Bb (Celtic fan) says...

Absolutely ridiculous. It was definitely 'simulation', and now the message is that diving is acceptable. What a waste of time. UEFA should have the courage of their convictions. I'm a Celtic supporter but Arsenal are my English team, and looking at it from a fairly neutral stand-point I thought it was a step in the right direction to discourage a blight on the game.

Posted 22:38 14th September 2009

Stewart Small (Dundee United fan) says...

It is amazing just how many people are "disgusted" by Eduardo's dive whose team benefit from their players decieving the referee week in week out. I hate diving and would love to see it removed from the game, but singling out one player and then stating that is all they are going to do, is not the way to go about it!! I will not single out any teams, but those who have written into this debate will know exactly who i mean!! A challenge type system that results in a free kick the opposite direction if wrong is the only way i can see this working!

Posted 22:04 14th September 2009

Lee Wiltshire (Tottenham Hotspur fan) says...

Fantastic news for the game of football. " When you feel contact you go down" is the quote from Gerrard, Terry and Eduardo and all and UEFA has backed this 100%. No more boring nil all draws from now on then as there will be at least 10 penaties per side per game as players fall like dominoes when patted on the back by the goalie as he tries to collect the ball.

Posted 22:03 14th September 2009

Ian Graham (Aberdeen fan) says...

There was contact. Never enough to trip anyone over but if you touch the player and not the ball and the player goes down in the box, it's a penalty. Open and shut case. Should have never been any action taken in the first case. If Uefa and Smith want to stamp out diving then surely they could have picked a better example than this. The whole thing was a farce and Eduardo was treated was a joke. Never mind tho, Drogba, Rooney, Ronaldo, and co will provide Uefa with the metre stick soon enough.

Posted 21:51 14th September 2009

Alan Jordan says...

I don't understand what the point was in the first place for banning the player if they are prepared to overturn their original decision? It opens the floodgates for cheats showing that even if UEFA ban them in the first instance, the precedent has been set and they (The cheat and/or their club) would have a strong argument put pressure on UEFA to overturn any decision UEFA make. I feel UEFA, football and Arsenal have lost some credibility here.

Posted 21:40 14th September 2009

Allan Dickson (Partick Thistle fan) says...

I want diving out of football but players dive every week Just because this became a big deal with the media doesnt mean Eduardo should be treated like a criminal when others get away with it thats what was happening here and im happy this has be over turned this time only. UEFA have to now sit down and write a clear guide for this so officials on the pitch, players and fans all know whats happening.

Posted 21:23 14th September 2009

Alan Thompson says...

Well that has given all the cheats in the game a green light to go down in the penalty box ,trust our governing bodies to get it wrong again if thry are really serious about stamping this out they should have harsh penalties on players then if that has no effect then penalise their clubs and no appeals

Posted 21:21 14th September 2009

Daryl Freemantle (AFC Wimbledon fan) says...

Sensible decision considering the actual (i.e. not what everyone thought they saw) video evidence. Shame we didn't see more of the conclusive video angle - where Boruc's knee clearly comes into contact with Eduardo's foot. Those of you who think there was no contact need to see this first. You might then review your opinion. Like UEFA. It didn't necessarily trip Eduardo, but there WAS contact. Even John Terry and Gerard say that if you feel contact, you go down. Rooney has won two penalties in the past two weeks by getting contact in the box - one AFTER he was on his way down anyway. But contact nevertheless. Glad to see Eduardo exonerated, but don't expect too many apologies coming his way from those that called him a cheat. He's just a professional footballer and actually seems more honest than many I could name.

Posted 21:16 14th September 2009

Anthony Evans (Tottenham Hotspur fan) says...

this is a disgrace. how can they prove there was contact when there wasnt any, and how can the panel all of a sudden not be able to make the decision that the referee was deceived. as for eduardo saying his broken leg was a factor in how he went to ground is absolute rubbish. could you use this in other situations in life. i once crashed my car. i saw one coming towards me so served to avoid it. would the police accept this decision or do me for dangerous driving. rubbish. I agree if you are gonna penalise people for diving then everyone has to be accountable. this is just uefa realising they have opened a can of worms and that it would be too much work for them. Its a shame. they looked a though they were on the right track to cleaning the game up but this u turn has just shown how pathetic they really are

Posted 21:14 14th September 2009

Sharon Mcbride (Celtic fan) says...

Absolute disgrace. One panel punishes him and another clears him, what a joke. As for Arsenals stance, disgusting, any respect for Arsene Wenger has just been wiped away. How did Boruc touch him - telepathically? Eduardo cheated and should be punished. Not only have foreign players been getting away with cheating on the continent for decades, UEFA have now ok'd sanctioned on these shores.

Posted 20:56 14th September 2009

Alberto Len (Arsenal fan) says...

Its a real shame they overturned this just when you think Uefa are going the right way about cleaning the game. I dont see the point for givng him a ban if they dont stick to it.

Posted 20:32 14th September 2009

Ben Harrison (Newcastle United fan) says...

Probably the correct decision. He was looking for the penalty but so was Rooney the following week, the only difference being that the keeper actually caught him. I don't think retrospective bans are the way to stop "divers". A video referee during the game would stop all the cheating, the players would know they couldn't get away with it and would certainly be booked. While if it had been a close tie and Eduardo won that penalty, I'm sure he would take the ban to ensure they qualified for the CL.

Posted 20:31 14th September 2009

Michael Lacey (Hull City fan) says...

Why should Eduardo have faced a ban, when Rooney dived for Man U and England and not a word is said. There was contact, evident by UEFA's decision. It was played for and got. Knocking the ball past the keeper and running into the him with no hope of getting the ball is 20% of Drogba's game. If gamesmanship is to be stamped out, then it has to be consistent, not one rule for Man U and another for the rest. Ban Eduardo? Then ban Rooney and back-date several for Drogba. UEFA are weak, but consistently weak.

Posted 20:30 14th September 2009

Wayne Edwards (Arsenal fan) says...

I spend a lot of time reading these columns and must admit i get great joy most of the time... I like to think i'm an honest person and can see that maybe UEFA should have just run with this instance to try and stamp out diving. The thing that frustrates me the most, being both a football fan and English is the amount of Manchester United fans that are 'sickened' and 'distugusted' by this decision! Guys, have a word with yourself and look at Wayne Rooney, one of Englands best players, and if you think that he never 'dives' then you shouldn't consider yourself a fan, your obviously on the Manchester United band wagon!!

Posted 20:28 14th September 2009

Angus Hume (Arsenal fan) says...

As an Arsenal fan I welcome the decision, but lament that this has made total fools of the system, and discredited the drive for fair play. They went about this totally the wrong way and succumbed to the media witch hunt. I do not think many Arsenal fans would have had an issue with Eduardo getting punished within a fair system. I hope that this leads to some review of the system to cut the rife diving out of the game.

Posted 20:21 14th September 2009

John Beaumont (Cardiff City fan) says...

Quite amusing, all this vitriol. Yes, he went down easily. Blatent dive? No. I think UEFA have demonstrated some sense as they'd already said they wouldn't be regularly reviewing other such incidents (which would be very difficult to prive). They're not allowing diving, they're just being sensible. Eduardo did what any striker would have done - took the contact, or sudden obstacle (aka. Boruc) blocking his way, and went to ground. We notice that Rooney hasn't been vilified for stupidly saying, "I never dive" and then diving in the next game (never mind vs. Arsenal '04). Sorry, Celtic fans, I think your anger is misplaced and would be better directed against your porous defence... the Arsenal match was one you weren't going to win, and the penalty didn't change the amount of goals you needed to score to win.

Posted 20:20 14th September 2009

Mark O'regan (Southend United fan) says...

This is a dark day for football. Dropping Eduardo's suspension is a step in the wrong direction by footballs governing body. The only way to stamp out diving is to start suspending the divers by way of a two/three match ban. Uefa made a revolutionary decision that could of changed football for the better with this ban. It needed to come from the top and the best place to start was Europe's top competition at the start of a season. UEFA obliged but such is the state of football these days that clubs cannot accept their punishments for their or their players wrongdoings. It is as clear as day that Eduardo dived and "won" a penalty by cheating. Yet his club don't think he should be banned? This would have formed a precedent which could have led to the curtailment of the diving problem but now, what's stopping players carrying on diving?! NOTHING! It's an absolute farce. I would also like to point to the members of the Soccer Saturday panel, all of whom agrees that diving needs to be stamped out but all of whom then proceeded to condemn the suspension of Eduardo on the basis that there was no consistency and they can't just start banning players. It's the start of a new season! When do they want it to start?! They should be ashamed of themselves. While their opinions will have in no way influenced UEFA's decision today, the general idiocracies of these "experts" is well...idiotic

Posted 20:17 14th September 2009

Sam Boulton (Arsenal fan) says...

Ian Powell points that its "only Arsenal fans" who are behind this decision but, on the other hand, its interesting how many fans of rival clubs were just as quick to judge his guilt eh? Its important to note that UEFA have shot themselves in the foot, firstly by dealing with this case arbitrarily - Eduardo's guilt was seemingly decided before the hearing took place, and the so called process was ambiguous to say the least - and secondly by declaring that they would not be pursuing any further action against other players for the remainder of the season, thereby singling Eduardo as, apparently, the only diver in all of European football. Its not what you'd call a fair decision in the fullest sense of the word, but these things are measured against other cases and, in this case, it is fair that Eduardo be cleared and not singled out.

Posted 20:17 14th September 2009
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