John Terry, the captain of England’s national soccer team and Chelsea of the English Premier League (EPL), has been charged by British police for racially abusing Anton Ferdinand of Queen’s Park Rangers. The charges, which were laid on Dec. 21, stem from an incident between the two London-based EPL teams in a recent game on Oct 23 at Loftus Road, home of Queens Park Rangers.

The Chief Crown Prosecutor for the city of London told police that Terry should be charged for the alleged comments he made to Ferdinand during the game. The prosecutor said she feels there’s enough evidence to garner a conviction and it’s in the public interest for Terry to be charged. Terry is scheduled to appear in a London court on Feb. 1.

If Terry is found guilty, it’s not really going to put much of a dent in his pocketbook since the maximum fine is 2,500 British pounds, which is about $3,900. It’s believed he rakes in approximately $235,000 each week playing for Chelsea. The 31-year old Terry of London has denied the charges and said he’s disappointed with them, but said at least he’ll be given the chance to clear his name in a court of law.

Terry has had a fine career on the field since he’s Chelsea’s most successful captain ever. Since 2004 he’s led his team to three FA Cups, three EPL championships and two League Cups. He made his debut for Chelsea in 1998 and has played in more than 500 games for the club. He’s also played 72 games for England since debuting for his country in 2003.

Terry said he has close friends of all creeds and races and hasn’t spoken a racist remark towards anybody in his life. He added that he’ll fight to prove he’s innocent and has also campaigned publicly against racism as he feels there’s no room for it in today’s society. Chelsea has released a statement supporting their captain and said the club won’t have anything else to say until the case is over.

Some fans have argued that Terry’s captaincy should be stripped from him by England, who play their next game on Feb. 29 at home against Holland. However, the English Football Association refused to comment on the incident, but an official said the league could take action against Terry if he’s found guilty.

The charges against Terry came just a day after Luis Suarez of Liverpool FC was found guilty by the Football Association (FA) of racially abusing Patrice Evra of Manchester United during another October game. Suarez, who also plays for Uruguay, was suspended for eight games of the 38-game EPL schedule and was fined 40,000 pounds, about $63,000.

The FA appointed an independent commission to investigate the Suarez/Evra incident and found him guilty. Suarez has 14 days to make an appeal and his suspension won’t begin until that time period has elapsed. The said Suarez insulted Evra by referring to his color. However, Suarez said the names he called Evra are acceptable in Uruguay. Liverpool released a statement which said the club was disappointed and surprised with the outcome, since there weren’t any witnesses to the alleged racial abuse.

While the police are busy with the millionaire prima donna soccer players who are crying over name calling on the pitch, they don’t seem to be doing a very good job concerning the violence off of it. On the same day Terry was charged, an English hooligan was found guilty of manslaughter for killing a Wales fan outside Wembley Stadium in London on Sept. 6.

Toronto, Canada is one of North America’s worst locations when it comes to the performances of its professional sports franchises. The NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs haven’t won a Stanley Cup since 1967 and haven’t even made it to a final series since then. The NBA’s Raptors have won a total of one playoff series in their history and the Blue Jays of MLB haven’t made the post season since 1993. Still all of these clubs are more successful than soccer team Toronto F.C of MLS. They haven’t made the playoffs since they joined the league.

It can easily be said all of these teams are pretty bad, but there’s also another common thread now since the Maple Leafs, Raptors, Toronto F.C, and Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League (AHL) were all recently sold. Canada’s top two telecom companies, Bell and Rogers, joined forces and bought 75 per cent ownership for a total of $1.32 billion from previous owners MLSE (Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment). Rogers already owned the Blue Jays and now the telecom giants have a monopoly on Toronto sports teams as well as the telecommunications market.

MLSE was funded by the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and they confirmed sales of the sports franchises as well as the Air Canada Centre, where the Leafs and Raptors call home. Rogers already owns the Rogers Centre, home of the Blue Jays and Bell has an 18 per cent stake in the NHL’s Montreal Canadiens, who play out of the Bell Centre. The other 25 per cent of the former MLSE stocks are owned by Larry Tanenbaum, who had first refusal on the shares that were sold.

The sale still has to be approved by the various leagues, such as the NHL, NBA, and MLS and the Canadian government’s Competition Bureau also has to approve it to make sure the sale doesn’t result in a substantial prevention or lessening of competition. Bell also owns TSN, which is one of Canada’s biggest sports networks while Rogers owns the Sportsnet channels which is it fiercest rival. The two companies now have to sort out some type of deal to see which network shows which games. The 66 Raptors contests this season will all be shown on one network or the other.

However, when it comes to the Maple Leafs, which is the NHL’s most valuable franchise, the broadcast deal might not be so easy to split up since both networks view the team as their golden egg. Bell and Rogers also own competing radio stations, but all of the current contracts involving the teams have to be honoured until they expire.

The announcement of the sale had been rumoured for a few weeks, but most fans and journalists wondered aloud how two of the nation’s top rival companies to come to an agreement. Both Rogers and Bell reportedly paid $533 million each while Tanenbaum’s previous stake of about 21 per cent was raised to 25 per cent in a separate deal.  The sale will allow the new owners to broadcast its franchises’ games on a variety of media devices, such as mobile phones and Xboxes.

The sale doesn’t mean the teams will necessarily improve and as one journalist put it, “It just means I can now watch their lousy teams on more electronic devices.”

Millions of British soccer fans were stunned on the morning of Nov 27 when they heard the news that Wales manager Gary Speed had died, apparently by hanging himself at home in Huntington, Chester. The Football Association of Wales released a statement and Cheshire Police then confirmed that Speed’s body was found just after 7 am local time by members of his immediate family. He had appeared on a national television program less than 24 hours earlier and was seemingly in excellent spirits.

Manchester United’s Ryan Giggs, who was a former teammate of the 42-year-old Speed, said he was devastated when hearing the news. Tributes and condolences to his family soon flowed in from politicians and many other sports and entertainment figures from across the world, especially those who had played with and for the former English Premier League midfield star. Speed was awarded with an MBE (Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) in 2010 and leaves behind two children and a wife.

Police said the death isn’t being treated as suspicious and Speed’s family have asked to be left in peace for the time being so they can deal with the tragedy. They added that the family may release a statement regarding the tragedy in the near future.

Swansea, which is Wales only Premier League Club, had a home game scheduled shortly after Speed’s death was announced and it was decided that the game should be played in his honor. Some players could be seen wiping away tears on the field during the minute of silence that was held for
Speed. Applause soon followed then thousands of fans started singing “There’s only one Gary Speed.”

He was a hero to Welsh fans because of the way he played the game and because he had turned the national team’s fortunes around in less than a year on the job as its manager. He took over the job just 11 months ago and led the team to five wins in his 10 games in charge, including the last three games. It may not seem like an exceptional record, but the tiny nation of Wales has struggled recently. The team was definitely improving under Speed, who only had four months of managerial experience with Sheffield United when he was hired.

He also represented his country a record 85 times as an outfield player during his 14 years in international soccer and was named captain of Wales 44 times. He made his international debut at the age of 20 back in 1990. Speed’s playing career began with Leeds United when he was 19 and he was a member of the 1992 championship squad. He played 312 games for the club before joining Everton in 1996 and went on to captain the side.

He left for Newcastle in 1998 and spent six years with the northern English team. He was on the move again in 2004 when he headed to Bolton, where he played four more seasons before finishing his career with a further two years at Sheffield. Speed was the first player to appear in 500 Premier League games. He retired from international soccer in 2004 after scoring a total of seven goals for his country. He also added 103 goals in 677 club games.

Soccer player Dwayne De Rosario has accomplished something in professional sports that we may never see again. The 33-year-old midfielder who plays for D.C. United of Major League Soccer (MLS) was honored by the league as its Most Valuable Player for the just completed 2011 season. However, the kicker is that he played for three different MLS teams this season.

De Rosario, a Canadian, started the season in his homeland with Toronto FC and was then sent to the New York Red Bulls. A few weeks later he was sent packing to D.C. United, where he spent the remainder of the season. It’s a little hard to understand how somebody, no matter how good he is, could earn an MVP award in these circumstances.

De Rosario has long been one of the league’s top players and has deserved to win the award in the past and perhaps voters figured they’d better give it to him this season because it could be his last chance at winning it. He had a fine season statistically with a total of 16 goals as well as 12 assists. He was the only MLS player this season to hit double digits on both of those offensive categories.

De Rosario’s goals and assists weren’t enough to help his teams succeed though since D.C. United and Toronto didn’t make the playoffs. However, he was a pretty popular choice with voters for the award. He received 26.38 per cent of total votes by his fellow players along with 25.91 per cent of media votes. He also garnered 20.43 per cent of votes by club representatives, which were tops in all three voting categories.

Brad Davis, a midfielder with Houston Dynamo came in second place. In addition, since he’s now a member of D. C. United, De Rosario is the first player in league history to earn the MVP award for a team that didn’t make the playoffs. Davis managed to lead the MLS in assists with 16 this season and also led his team to the league’s Cup Final where they were beaten 1-0 by the Los Angeles Galaxy on Nov. 20. However, Davis missed the final game after being injured during the Eastern Conference final.

Forward Chris Wondolowski of the San Jose Earthquakes also managed to bang in 16 goals during the season, but didn’t figure in the voting for MVP. It’s likely that De Rosario impressed the voters with his play over the second half of the season. He played just two games in Toronto this year and scored one goal. He then scored two goals in 13 games with New York. When he got to D.C. United he turned his season around by scoring 13 goals and seven assists in just 18 games.

United fell apart at the end of the year though and finished the season with just one tie and five losses in their last half dozen games. Their overall record with De Rosario was 5-7-6 and they missed the playoffs. They could easily have missed them without the MVP in their lineup too and this is why some fans can’t understand how he was considered so valuable.

At least two Iranian soccer players could possibly be punished by being lashed in public over their “inappropriate” goal celebrations on Oct. 29. The incident took place after Iran’s top soccer team Persepolis scored the winning goal in their 3-2 home win in Tehran against Damash Gilan.

Two of the club’s players, Sheys Rezaei and Mohammad Nosrati, got carried away when celebrating their teammate’s goal since the club was in the midst of a long losing streak. During the celebrations Nosrati pushed his hand between the buttocks of Rezaei in front of millions of television viewers who were watching the game.

Judges, sports officials and members of the Iranian parliament lost it when they saw the incident and have already handed down some punishment over what they called a lewd, shameless, and inappropriate act. The players were suspended indefinitely and fined the equivalent of about $40,000.

However, the punishment might get a lot worse as an Iranian news agency has reported that the players could also be lashed on the field where the incident took place. This is because their behavior is deemed unacceptable in Iran, which is one of the most conservative nations in the world. One judge said what the players did was violation of public chastity. He added that Rezaei and Nosrati are facing up to 74 lashes in public as well as two months in prison and the act was even worse because the game was televised across the country.

Even though Iran has slowly been changing over the years with the living standard rising and citizens allowed to access the internet, many of the country’s ruling Shiite Muslims are outraged at the goal celebrations because they want total control over state television and what goes on in public places. For instance, women aren’t allowed to attend professional soccer games in the country.

Because athletes and entertainers are in the public eye, rulers want to make an example of any of them who break the traditions of the Islamic land. This means they’re always walking a very thin line and can face pretty heavy punishment if they cross it. In the past, an actress was sentenced to a public lashing because she wasn’t wearing a head scarf when she appeared in a movie.

However, she got off lightly as the sentence was revoked before the lashing was set to take place. On another occasion a pro soccer player wasn’t allowed to take part in his game until he had his hair cut, which he did right on the pitch at the stadium before the game.

The nation’s soccer players said the authorities are definitely overreacting over goal celebration and the two players shouldn’t have been banned. As well as the players being fined, banned and facing a lashing, it was reported that Persepolis manager Mahmoud Khordbin was fired because he didn’t report the on-field incident to the Iranian soccer federation.

FIFA, which has recently been proved to be one of the most corrupt governing sports bodies in the world, has managed to outrage just about the whole population of Great Britain and several other nations around the world by refusing to allow the English national soccer team to honor its war veterans.

The outcry comes after FIFA has told England their players won’t be able to have poppies sewn into their shirts for their upcoming game against World and European Champions Spain at London’s Wembley Stadium on Nov. 12. The poppy is a symbol of honor and remembrance for all of those who fought and all those who died in the line of duty since the First World War.

In Britain and many Commonwealth countries Nov. 11 is known as Remembrance Day, Armistice Day, or Poppy Day. In America, a similar occasion is known as Veterans Day. World War I ended on the 11^th hour of the 11^th day of the 11^th month. In Britain, the second Sunday in November is also used to honor veterans and is known as Remembrance Sunday. Along with holding two minutes of silence on Remembrance Day, most Britons also attach a small red poppy to the left side of their clothing above the heart.

The English Football Association wanted to honor its veterans and educate younger fans about the day by wearing the poppy. However, FIFA told the association that it won’t allow any changes to the team’s official uniform. Numerous charities and war heroes condemned FIFA’s decision on Nov. 4 and reminded the soccer body that it wouldn’t be in existence if it wasn’t for the men and women who fought for freedom.

FIFA said it won’t allow any changes to the uniform as other countries would then want to do the same thing when commemorating special events. Many soccer fans see it nothing more than a childish act by FIFA President Sepp Blatter, who doesn’t like the fact that the English FA often questions the way his organization is run. Some Britons have said the team should defy the ruling and point out that many teams wear black arm bands when commemorating the deaths of certain people. They don’t understand why a poppy can’t be worn on an armband.

FIFA has no power over the English Premier League though and all 20 of its teams are wearing poppies on their sweaters until Remembrance Sunday. Last year the IRB, which is the governing body for world rugby, didn’t have a problem when both the English and Australian national teams honored their Armed Forces by having poppies sewn into their shirts during a game.

The Poppy Appeal started back in 1921 as a way to raise money to support the charity work done by the Royal British Legion and to pay respect to everybody who sacrificed themselves in the fight for freedom. The English team will wear uniforms with poppies on them in training sessions and will then auctioned them off for charity.

For a 36-year-old pro soccer player who’s about to be out of contract, David Beckham sure has a lot on his plate. The gifted midfielder has enjoyed an incredible career up to now, but there’s so much more he wants to achieve. Beckham is currently playing out his five-year deal with the Los Angeles Galaxy of the MLS and he’s hoping to win a championship trophy with the club this season before it expires.

To do that though, the Galaxy will have to get past Real Salt Lake in the Western Conference Final on Nov. 6 to advance to the MLS Cup. The Galaxy were the top team in the league this season, but unlike most soccer leagues, the MLS has a playoff system to determine the league champions at the end of the regular season.

Beckham hasn’t made up his mind yet what he’s going to do when his MLS season and contract is over, but he doesn’t have much time to make up his mind. French club Paris St Germain is interested in his services as are Queens Park Rangers and Tottenham Hotspur, both London-based English Premier League teams. Also, the Galaxy are hoping he signs one  more year with them.

But even if Beckham decides to stay in LA for another season it’s a good bet that he’ll head over to Europe to play this winter. The main reason for this is because he also wants to play for Great Britain in next summer’s Olympic Games in London and is also hoping to represent England again in the future.

The former England captain will be a sentimental favourite to play in the Olympics and with the European Championships (Euro 2012) taking place next summer as well and the fact the Olympic soccer teams can only name three players over the age of 23 to their squads, he should be invited. Great Britain’s Olympic soccer coach Stuart Pearce said he’s only going to take players who are in shape and in good form and Beckham easily meets those requirements.

He’s been playing some of the best soccer of career this season and doesn’t really show any signs of slowing down. He said it would be a dream come true to play in the Olympics and he’ll be honoured if selected. He added that he feels great, still loves playing, and isn’t planning on retiring anytime soon, but is concentrating on winning the MLS Cup before deciding who to sign his next contract with.

The former captain of England feels he can keep on playing at a high level and will know when it’s time to hang up his boots, but it isn’t yet. In fact, he also wants to play for his country again before his career’s over and is hoping for a recall to the national squad. He last played for England in October 2009 against Belarus. It looked like he was going to earn a spot on England’s World Cup squad for the 2010 tournament in South Africa, but then suffered a torn Achilles heel and had to sit it out.

He’s played 115 times for his country and would like to add to that number since he hasn’t retired from international soccer. He said he’ll never turn his back on his country if selected and believes he’ll suit up for England again before calling it quits. When that time comes, Beckham said he’d consider buying an MLS franchise to help keep the sport growing in the USA.

European soccer teams will conceivably be at a disadvantage during next year’s Olympic Games due to the fact the European Championships (Euro 2012) will also be taking place next summer. But while there will be four European nations in the Olympic tournament, only two of them, Spain and England will be competing at Euro 2012. And technically, England will be joining Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland in a united Great Britain team in the Olympics. Switzerland and Belarus have also qualified for the London Olympics, but they didn’t make it to Euro 2012.

It’s not likely that too many players will end up competing in both tournaments though because the Olympic soccer event is aimed at 23-year-olds and under, with each team being allowed to field three players of any age. England and Spain could have a few younger players on their rosters at Euro 2012, but they’re likely to take more experienced players with them to Poland and Ukraine, who are co-hosting the event.

But this hasn’t stopped some of the top managers in the English Premier League, such as Arsene Wenger of Arsenal and Sir Alex Ferguson of Manchester United from speaking out about the scheduling conflict. Wenger, who typically whines about anything and everything, said that players shouldn’t be allowed to play in both tournaments. He even went as far as saying that Olympic soccer isn’t a real competition and the Olympics are just track and field events.

However, the English Football Association doesn’t agree with him and said it has no problem with anybody who was selected for both events as long as Great Britain’s Olympic team manager Stuart Pearce can work things out with the England manager Fabio Capello.

There aren’t too many players that could realistically be asked to play for both squads, but most of those who could be selected play for Arsenal. These are Kieran Gibbs, Jack Wilshere, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Theo Walcott. It’s also possible that teammate Aaron Ramsey, who is Welsh, could suit up for the Great Britain Olympic team.

Wenger says he’s worried about the health of the players, but what he really means is he’s concerned about himself and his position as Arsenal manager. These are finely-tuned, professional athletes that Wenger’s talking about. People who get the best medical and training attention in the world and who are pampered with first-class air travel, hotels, and meals. But he’s worried they might get “tired.”

Euro 2012 takes place between June 8 and July 1 and the Olympic soccer event kicks off on July 15 with the final being held at Wembley Stadium on Aug. 11. The Premier League starts on Aug. 15. But only the two teams that play in the Euro 2012 Final will be in action until July 1. Some of the teams will be going home after just three games. The same goes for the Olympics, you need to reach the final to play up until Aug. 11.

Wenger also feels the players shouldn’t have a say in the matter and the FA should make a rule that bans them from playing in the Olympics and Euros. Ferguson, agreed with him to a point. However, instead of saying players shouldn’t go, he said there’s a good chance England might not fare so well at the two competitions because they play in the toughest league in the world and don’t enjoy a winter break.

Spain, who are the reigning World and European Champions, will be in the same position as England next summer. It’s interesting that we haven’t heard any crying from managers over there about the “predicament” they’re in.

It’s pretty tempting to head down to the local bookmaker’s shop when living in England as you can bet on just about anything related to soccer. But if you plan on getting some inside help you’d better think twice since the authorities are right on top of betting trends.

Wayne Rooney’s 48-year-old father and 54-year-old uncle found this out first hand on Oct. 6 when they were both arrested by police in their hometown of Liverpool as part of an investigation into betting irregularities concerning a Scottish Premier League soccer game. Rooney, of course, is one of England’s and Manchester United’s most famous players.

Rooney’s father, also named Wayne, and his uncle Richie Rooney were busted along with seven other bettors on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud along. The nine men were all questioned and then released on bail, with another hearing being set for January.

Naturally, Rooney Sr. denied any involvement in the matter and his lawyer released a statement saying he was cooperating with the police in their investigations. Wayne Rooney Jr. wasn’t implicated in the scandal, but the timing of it couldn’t have been any worse. Rooney was heading to Montenegro with his England teammates when the news broke as they were preparing for an important Euro 2012 qualifying game against the nation.

The investigation was launched because of strange betting trends involving a game between Scottish club Motherwell last Dec. 14 against Hearts. Motherwell lost the game 2-1, but the authorities noticed a lot of money was being placed on one of the players receiving a red card during the game. One of the Motherwell players, 26-year-old Steve Jennings, was then sent off the field with a red card with just seven minutes remaining in the contest.

Jennings, who also hails from Liverpool, already had a yellow card in the game and was booted out after arguing with the referee over a penalty call. Jennings was also arrested by police as they feel it’s possible he was in cahoots with the gamblers and received the red card on purpose, making sure the bet at odds of 10-1 could be collected on.

Police visited 10 different addresses in Liverpool and the Scottish city of Glasgow during their raid and said they were working hand in hand with the country’s Gambling Commission. The commission is an independent body that was established in 2006 in the UK by the Gambling Act to keep an eye on betting trends and it reported that several large bets were placed on a player receiving a red card during the Motherwell game.

One of the bets was for 500 pounds, which is about $765, at odds of 10-1 and it was placed through an account that was just opened in Liverpool. When betting on fixed matches, criminals usually keep the bets pretty low as a way to make sure they don’t attract any unwanted attention. It was reported that the account tried to place more bets, but the sportsbook’s online security filter wouldn’t allow it.

The Scottish Football Association announced that it was working with the Gambling Commission and police to try and get to the bottom of the allegations. It was reported that one of the other men arrested in the scandal is a cousin of Rooney’s.

Millions of working-class soccer fans were celebrating in the United Kingdom on Oct, 4 as Europe’s highest court ruled against big broadcasting companies in an ongoing case against a pub owner. Last season, Karen Murphy, who owns the Red White and Blue pub in the city of Portsmouth on England’s south coast, was fined a total of 8,000 British pounds (US $12,400) for showing a live English Premier League (EPL) game in the pub.

Murphy was using a satellite decoder that she had bought in Greece since it cost her about a 10^th of the price it would have in Britain. The decoder was paid for legally and the Greek broadcasters had paid the Premier League fees to show the games. However, the EPL claimed the decoders were only supposed to be bought, sold and used in Greece.

This didn’t sit too well with Murphy though as she rightfully claimed that the Europe Union has a free market system in place between its 27 member nations. This means any item can be bought in Europe and taken home with the purchaser to be used. For instance, English residents are free to purchase cars, television sets, clothes and other items in any European Union nation and take them home. Murphy argued that the same logic should be used regarding television decoders.

The EPL have been paid rights fees from broadcasters all over Europe since it sells them on a country-to-country basis, which has now been ruled illegal. They’re not losing any money by people using cheaper decoders since the rights have been paid for, but of course, they’re looking for more money when it comes to British fans.

The European Court of Justice ruled that British fans have the right to purchase any decoders they like in Europe, and obviously they’re going to be looking for the cheapest they can get their hands on. The court also ruled that actual soccer games can’t be copyrighted, but the league’s and broadcaster’s logos, graphics, and music can be. This means pub owners will have to make sure they aren’t showing any copyrighted materials.

However, fans will now be able to buy cheaper decoders and watch games to their heart’s content at home. This could have a huge impact on the broadcasters and EPL as this is a major money maker for both of them. At the moment each club receives a minimum of 35 million pounds ($54 million) from TV rights. Each club makes close to half a million pounds ($774,000) every time they play a live game on TV. A club can be paid this amount a minimum of 24 times a season and a minimum of 10 times.

In addition, clubs are paid more money depending on where they finish in the league table, with the league winner earning 20 times the amount as the 20^th and last placed team in the league. This means Manchester United made well over $20 million last season for finishing first.

Sky Broadcasting Network paid for the rights to EPL games in Europe and they sell them off to other nations, as well as ESPN. They don’t allow live games to be shown in Britain at 3pm on Saturdays as a way to encourage fans to attend the games live. But other European nations are allowed to show these matches live.

The court cases won’t end here, but it’s a victory for those who are sick of the way professional soccer is operated with its obscene salaries and transfer costs. It’s unclear effect the ruling will have in future TV tights deals. The EPL may decide to sell off one big package all over Europe or it could neglect to sell rights to countries such as Greece. If this happens, it could even mean prices will go up instead of coming down.

But in the meanwhile, fans are sure to take advantage of any financial break they can get.