good luck Mou, and other news

UPDATE: the decision is out.  All UEFA did was change the fourth game of the five-game suspension from an outright ban to part of the probationary period.  The rest, including the other game bans and the fine, has been upheld.  The Appeals Body also rejected the appeal relating to the €20,000 fine imposed on Real Madrid for the improper conduct of their supporters during the same match.  The club and Mou have a 10 days to appeal to the CAS.  UEFA has shown how idiotic they are again.  And so I’ve got to post this gif again.

Original post: José Mourinho will present his case to UEFA’s appeals court in Nyon, Switzerland today.  Mou will defend himself against the sanction handed down by the organization’s Control and Disciplinary Body after the Champions League first leg semifinal on April 27.  Keep reading if you want a refresher, but first I have to say that I have no hope that anything will change.  This is how I feel (I made this a while ago and have been looking for a chance to use it since).

To refresh your memory, Mou was kicked out of and complained about the refereeing decisions in the first leg game of the Champions League semifinals against Barcelona on April 27.  UEFA and Barcelona took offense.  Barcelona cried and UEFA suspended Mou for five games and fined him €50,000.  Mou has already served the first game of the suspension, during the second leg of the semifinals, and the fifth game will be rescinded if UEFA deems that Mou is on his best behavior for the next three years.  Madrid then appealed and UEFA cited Mou to appear before them.  Mou has complained that UEFA never told him why he was suspended, which prevented him from preparing a defense, and said he has not ruled out appealing to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, as he doesn’t believe he did anything wrong.

Our boys held a training session yesterday afternoon, after getting the morning off to recover from the friendly on Wednesday.  There was some good news during the practice, as Sergio Ramos and Esteban Granero have recovered from their respective injuries (back pain and a bruise to the left quadriceps) and were able to train normally with their teammates.  Tomás Mejías and Jesús Fernández, who weren’t called up for the game, joined Iker Casillas and Antonio Adán at the session.

Why must Sergio be so attached to that cap?

In other news, Málaga, who is holding their pre-season training in Mierlo, the Netherlands, got a surprise visitor in the form of Raúl, who showed up yesterday afternoon at the team’s hotel.  Actually, it’s not that surprising considering how many people on Málaga have ties to Real Madrid and the Spanish national team.  To start, Manuel Pellegrini and his coaching staff.  Then we have Julio Baptista and Ruud Van Nistelrooy, as well as their sporting director, Antonio Fernández (below, with Rulo), who was an analyst with La Roja.  And of course, there is Fernando Hierro, Málaga’s new general manager.  Raúl spent time with all of them and had a coffee with Pellegrini.  Málaga also made sure to deny that despite their recent spending spree, Raúl is not on their agenda.

And my poor MFC.  So adorable, yet made to pose for such awful photographs.  The lighting is pretty awful too.  This one comes courtesy of AS, who made ABMM pose with four balls to represent the four goals he’s scored in the U-19 Euro so far.  Spain plays Ireland in the semifinals tonight at 19:45h.