If Manchester United beats Aston Villa on Monday night at Old Trafford it will be their 20th top flight championship and it will be secured with four games still remaining in the season. Given normal circumstances, the game tomorrow night would be the center of attention and then move quickly to the two Champions League semi-finals on Tuesday (Barcelona vs. Bayern Munich) and Wednesday (Borussia Dortmund vs. Real Madrid). Up until Sunday, the weekend’s Premier League action had been pretty routine. Sunderland had sprung a surprise by beating Everton thus relieving some of their relegation concerns. QPR and Reading both lost (Stoke and Norwich also easing their respective concerns) and when they play each other next week it will decide which side will be the first to be officially relegated. Arsenal made heavy weather in beating mid-table Fulham 1-0 even though Fulham had to play a man short for around 80 minutes. Even at half-time of the early game on Sunday between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City it was routine stuff. Over the last month or so Manchester City had found the form that won the Premier League title just 12 months ago and with a 1-0 lead they looked to be on the brink of cutting into Manchester United’s lead. What’s more Arsenal and Chelsea fans were gleefully rubbing their hands as City seemed set to administer another blow to Spurs hopes of a top four finish and a chance at Champions League football next season. But in the second half three critical substitutions from Spurs manager Andre Villas Boas and goals from American Clint Dempsey, Jermain Defoe and Gareth Bale in just 7 minutes turned the story upside down. Spurs sudden comeback and City’s collapse was to be the defining story from this weekend’s play. With Liverpool against Chelsea the only remaining fixture, surely nothing could detract from Spurs marvelous and gutsy resurgence and City’s flaccid second half effort? Sure, unpopular Chelsea boss Rafa Benitez was returning to the more friendly confines of Anfield where he managed successfully from 2004 to 2010. And Fernando Torres would be along as well after his $80M move from Liverpool to Chelsea in January 2011. Chelsea led 1-0 at half time in a game that stammered and stuttered for the first 45 minutes. There was nothing to prepare us for the next 45 minutes which will be remembered as the most controversial of halves this season. The game finished 2-2 with Luis Suarez equalizing with the last attacking touch of the game and in the process Liverpool whisked two very valuable points out from under the nose of Chelsea. Rafa Benitez wondered why over six minutes of additional time had been played and his Liverpool counterpart Brendan Rodgers mused over a stray elbow from Torres on Liverpool center back Jamie Carragher. But both managers were clearly grasping for any straw in order to avoid the issue – what did they think of Liverpool’s Luis Suárez’s munch on Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic?
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Chelsea player criticized after ball boy kicked
Just when it seemed Chelsea’s reputation couldn’t sink any lower, along came “Ballboygate.”
The Football Association’s disciplinary body will review the game after winger Eden Hazard was sent off for kicking a 17-year-old ball boy while attempting to retrieve the ball near the end of a League Cup semifinal match against Swansea on Wednesday.
The Belgian winger has apologized to the ball boy — and will not face criminal charges — but will be handed a minimum three-match ban for violent conduct. The FA could increase the suspension in “exceptional circumstances.”
The European champions likely will face more accusations that its millionaire players are out of control, soon after the racism scandals involving John Terry, Ashley Cole and John Obi Mikel in 2012.
“There’s no defense for that,” former referee Dermot Gallagher said. “It was an extreme, but you can’t have that at a football match.”
The kick sparked a flurry of activity on social networking sites and induced imaginative headlines in British newspapers, such as “Ed Case,” ”Occupational Hazard” and “Boots of Hazard.” BBC radio has already been referring to it as “Ballboygate.”
Some ex-professionals sympathized with Hazard, who was attempting to get the ball into play quickly with Chelsea needing late scoring to force extra time. The match finished 0-0, with Swansea advancing to the final 2-0 on aggregate goals.
“I’m not saying its the correct thing 2 do but when in the heat of the moment u just want the ball,” Everton midfielder Steven Pienaar wrote on Twitter.
For Chelsea, controversy seems to hover over the English club.
“I do not know what you expect from me,” Chelsea manager Rafa Benitez said. “Do you think we are not disappointed with the situation, that we do not regret what happened?
“Do you want to change things? We cannot.”
Chelsea probably wishes it could change several circumstances in the past 12 months, except for its unexpected Champions League title in May.
Team captain Terry was banned for four matches for hurling a racial slur at an opponent during a league game. The case, which also involved Cole, took a year to be resolved.
In November, a complaint by Chelsea that one of its black players — Mikel — had been subjected to racist abuse by a referee during a game was dismissed by the FA. Referee Mark Clattenburg was removed from duty by the Premier League for four straight weekends.
Chelsea responded quickly to the latest situation, putting an apology from Hazard on its website. There are reports the ball boy was welcomed into the locker room and treated well by Terry and Frank Lampard, Chelsea’s two most senior players.
“Both parties have come together and we’ve got a mutual bond,” Gallagher said. “That is brilliant for the future, but it doesn’t escape the fact that the FA are duty bound to act.”
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News