Thursday, October 1, 2009

Live text - Europa League

GOALFLASHES AND MAJOR INCIDENTS (all times BST)

606: DEBATE

To get involved use 606 or text us your views & comments on 81111. (Not all contributions can be used)

By Jonathan Stevenson

1746: BATE v Everton line-ups:
BATE: Veremko, Yurevich, Shitov, Sosnovskiy, Bordachov, Pavlov, Likhtarovich, Krivets, Rodionov, Nekhaychik, Skavysh.
Subs: Hutar, Volodko, Radkov, Stasevich, Baga, Rzhevskiy, Goaryan.
Everton: Howard, Gosling, Hibbert, Distin, Baines, Osman, Cahill, Fellaini, Bilyaletdinov, Jo, Yakubu.
Subs: Nash, Duffy, Agard, Baxter, Wallace, Mustafi, Akpan.
Referee: Pavel Balaj (Romania).

1743: There's an early game to concentrate on before we get to Celtic, though. The Hoops and Fulham v Basle both kick-off at 2005 BST, but at 1800 hours Everton are in action in Minsk as their injury-hit squad takes on reigning Belarusian Premier League champions BATE Borisov.

1740: Thought you might want to get involved. Get rid of 25 years of pent-up rage by texting to 81111 and joining the debate on 606. Come on, let it all out.

1738: Or that Rapid are playing tonight in a special red strip to commemorate that *special* night in Manchester 25 years ago? "It's not aimed at upsetting Celtic," said Rapid spokesman Sharif Shoukry, presumably while winking in the vague direction of 2006's Cristiano Ronaldo and Bloodgate's Tom Williams.

1736: Oh, did I mention that the goalscorer in Manchester was current Rapid coach Peter Pacult?

1734: If this story has passed you by, here's a snapshot: Celtic lose first leg tie 3-1 at Rapid Vienna, but produce stunning fightback to win second leg 3-0 and book quarter-final berth. Oh no you don't, says Rapid's Rudi Weinhofer, who allegedly fakes injury, claiming he has been hit by an object thrown from the Celtic fans. Uefa agrees, says the result shouldn't stand and orders a replay, with the game to be played at least 100 miles from Glasgow. Rapid win 1-0 at Old Trafford and end up in the final, where they lose 3-1 to Everton.

1730: George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, the classic dystopian novel, tells a story of a world where totalitarianism is king, where an oppressive regime rules by fear and real events are systematically manipulated into untruths. It was also 1984 when a frankly appalling decision by European football's governing body Uefa led to Celtic being dumped out of the European Cup-Winners' Cup by Rapid Vienna, much to the Scottish club's disgust. In Glasgow, they've been talking about little else for days. Rapid are bored by the continual telling of the story. The Uefa Europa League is about to get unbelievably lively.

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