| PACIFIC PREMIERSHIP SOCCER: Obscenities overshadow showdown
In soccer, miracles can and do happen with some regularity, especially in knockout cup affairs where the underdogs gird their loins to upset those in the higher echelons of the beautiful game. Although no miracles occurred at the weekend, suffice it to say some underdogs will savour the what-if moments until the next season. In Saturday's round of the Homeworx Knockout Cup quarterfinal matches, Napier Marist division one attempted to cut down to size Gisborne Thistle but came up a little short, losing 2-1 at Park Island. It was a tempestuous affair, with Marist coach Tony Bartlett (pictured) firing a volley of obscenities and Thistle player/coach Scott Hales exchanging ``pleasantries'' with Marist centreback Robbie Parker before referee Kay Sloan (nee Smith) blowing the final whistle to prevent any fisticuffs between the pair.
Referees Threaten Match Boycotts
THE Zimbabwe Soccer Referees' Association has threatened to boycott Premier Soccer League matches in protest over match fees. The association is demanding that premiership clubs pay US$70 per match in officiating fees. However, the Premier Soccer League torched a storm, when they announced at their extraordinary meeting that they had turned down the referees' demands as the standards of officiating had nosedived. Joseph Mususa, the Zimbabwe Soccer Referees' Association chairman said the PSL was treating the match officials as unequal partners and they would “withdraw their labour in protest". “We are getting a pittance (US$25) and we are demanding that the league should pay US$70. If our demands are not met we are going to withdraw our labour. At the moment we are officiating for the love of the game and our members are getting nothing out it," Mususa said.
Tyrone Marshall returns to FIU to compete in Gold Cup
General opinion is that the high-water mark for FIU men's soccer came on December 13, 1996. On that chilly afternoon in Richmond, Va., the Golden Panthers -- then a Division I program for less than a decade -- earned a spot in the national final with a 4-0 rout of UNC-Charlotte. The specifics might be fuzzy more than 12 years later, but there's a moment that those in attendance -- and anyone associated with FIU soccer -- will never forget: Tyrone Marshall, in the 57th minute, unleashing a bicycle kick from 15 yards out. The acrobatic shot connected, put FIU up 2-0 and guaranteed the Golden Panthers a place in the title match against St. John's. Marshall returns to his alma mater Friday, not for a reunion, but as member of the Jamaican national team. The Reggae Boyz face El Salvador in the second half of a CONCACAF Gold Cup doubleheader at FIU Stadium.
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