I’ve had a rummage around in the dark recesses of my memory, but I have yet to find a more obvious perversion of sporting justice than last Sunday’s Formula One finale.
Before I go any further, let me just say that Max Verstappen is a very, very worthy world champion, and the young man is in no way responsible for the farcical end to this year’s championship. However, whichever way you look at it, Lewis Hamilton was robbed of the title. Plain and simple. Apologies, that should be Sir Lewis Hamilton now, shouldn’t it?
That finale may have made for exciting television, with the title race essentially coming down to a straight head-to-head lap between the drivers. But you can’t adjust the rules just to make things exciting. You can’t manipulate the fundamental way a sport operates in pursuit of viewing figures. Either all the back markers should have been made to overtake before the safety car went in, or none of them. Allowing just those stuck between Hamilton and Verstappen gave the Dutch driver an opportunity to pounce that simply shouldn’t have happened.
If we had to try and take this situation and apply it to football it would be like Manchester City leading Manchester United 3-1 in the cup final with seconds to go before the referee decides to award two free goals to United to take it to extra time. And then forcing City to play the extra time without boots on.
Fantastic credit must go to Hamilton for accepting the situation in good grace, even though he knew the race had been doctored to produce some last-minute thrills (which it needed, having been otherwise rather dull).
The tragic part of all this is that, as I said earlier, Verstappen is an entirely worthy champion. But the fact he claimed his first-ever crown in such controversial and messy circumstances means his triumph will always be slightly tainted.
Verstappen is an entirely worthy champion. But his triumph will always be slightly tainted
On the positive side, the battle between these two drivers looks like it could run for years. And the way this contest ended will add extra spice for next season.
Hopefully the FIA will decide it’s spicy enough not to need any unwarranted manipulation.
A drawsome failure
How on earth did UEFA manage to make such a dog’s breakfast of last week’s Champions League draw?
We are talking about 16 balls in a few bowls here, it’s not rocket science by any stretch of the imagination. Interestingly, they blamed the cock-up on “software and technology from an outside provider”, which sounds to me very much like they have added an entirely unnecessary layer of complication to a simple process. And these are the people we trust to get VAR right? No wonder it works with all the efficiency of a chocolate teapot.
I could say a whole lot more on this topic, but I think Oliver sums it up perfectly down below…
Oh captain, my captain
The decision to strip Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of the Arsenal captaincy seems a bit of a harsh move by Mikel Arteta considering the striker was on a sanctioned trip abroad.
It would appear, from the bits and pieces being reported, that the striker was away looking after his sick mother but returned to the club later than he was supposed to. If that really is the case, then taking the captaincy away seems rather over the top.
It’s not as if he was on the beach drinking cocktails or completely missing in action when he should have been training with his team and preparing for games. Having said that, it’s almost impossible to know the full story in these situations and there could be lots more to the incident than is leaking out. Added to that is that this isn’t Aubameyang’s first disciplinary issue at the club.
I suspect the whole incident has been exacerbated by the player’s lack of form on the pitch. Wrongdoings are more likely to be overlooked if you are banging the goals in. But in Aubameyang’s case, since his arrival at Arsenal he has gradually transformed from one of the most feared strikers in Europe into the new Andy Cole. Well, maybe not Andy Cole, but he certainly isn’t the player he was when he arrived.
All in all, this tricky situation has decidedly uncomfortable echoes of the Mezut Özil fiasco and, unfortunately for Arsenal fans, the more the club takes stars and turns them into black holes, the harder it will attract the players they really need.
Right managers, wrong clubs
It can’t be just me who suspects Everton and Newcastle United have somehow managed to appoint each other’s ideal managers.
Rafa Benitez doesn’t fit at Everton. In the long term he may well get things moving in the right direction but his Liverpool past means he is very unlikely to be given the long term, especially after their good start to the season has gone rapidly downhill.
Eddie Howe, meanwhile, was appointed because Newcastle needed someone urgently and none of the ‘names’ they wanted to lead their Saudi revolution were available.
If Howe was at Everton, as a young manager with a record of building exciting teams, he would be given the time to put things together properly. Which is what Everton needs, rather than their current chop and change approach.
Meanwhile, if Benitez had returned to Newcastle he would have got a hero’s welcome. And this time he would have had the one thing available that was nowhere to be seen during his previous reign: money to spend.
Is a managerial swap allowed? Or could they take each other’s managers on loan for the rest of the season?
Stranger things have happened.
Your say
“Have you heard the latest about UEFA? Yes, the botched Champions League round of 16 draw, which had to be redone or redrawn. And you know the reason why? Because following a technical problem with the software of an external service provider, a ‘material error’ occurred.
“That’s the official explanation forthcoming from UEFA, implying that they are not to blame for this farce, or comedy of errors, if you like! After all, it is no easy procedure to perform, that is, to pair 16 teams in eight ties in the so-called round of 16, and recourse had to be made to sophisticated software which unfortunately failed at the crucial moment!
“It seems UEFA have a talent of making what should be a simple procedure into a needlessly overcomplicated one!
“Well, I know UEFA have become obsessed with computer technology, mainly for the right reasons. Such as goal-line technology and VAR, the latter sometimes overused and misused, such as checking almost every goal scored even in cases where no obvious infringement is involved.
“But for UEFA to resort to computer-based assistance to complete the draw for the knock-out stages of the Champions League involving just 16 teams is a bit too much.” Oliver Paul Vassallo, e-mail.
And on that note, all that’s left to do is wish you all a very Merry Christmas! Be safe and enjoy!
Twitter: @maltablade