Source: Daily_Mail
This was NO dive! UEFA cave in over Eduardo tumble and overturn Arsenal striker's two match ban
Eduardo's two -match Champions League ban was overturned last night as UEFA's hard-line stance against football's divers crumbled in their own appeal court.[LNB]Arsenal won their case in Switzerland, clearing the Croatia forward to play in their Group H opener away to Standard Liege on Wednesday night.[LNB]The decision will leave UEFA's top brass embarrassed and humiliated, but Eduardo was thrilled to clear his name.[LNB] [LNB] [LNB] [LNB] [LNB] [LNB] Going down: The moment that caused controversy involving Eduardo[LNB]'I'm very pleased that we have finally arrived at the truth,' saidthe Arsenal striker, who has been booed by opposition fans since theincident against Celtic.[LNB]'All we needed to do was prove what happened and we have managed todo that. This decision makes me feel a lot better. All I remember ofthe incident is that as soon as I had possession of the ball, I headedtowards goal at full speed.[LNB]'I was very close to the Celtic keeper and felt contact on my foot and then lost my balance.[LNB]'I know perhaps more than anyone else that when you have contact atspeed it can be dangerous. I just want to say that I'm a fair player.To score goals you must take your opportunities and I'm not the type ofplayer who needs to be dishonest to score his goals.'[LNB] [LNB] [LNB]Eduardo was originally judged to have dived to win a penalty under achallenge from Celtic goalkeeper Artur Boruc in the second leg of theChampions League play-off at the Emirates Stadium three weeks ago. [LNB]He scored the penalty himself to put Arsenal 1-0 up on the night and 3-0 in the tie. They went on to win 5-1 on aggregate.[LNB]The Gunners lodged a vigorous appeal, supported yesterday by apersonal appearance from Eduardo and a forensic expert who detailed thevideo evidence frame by frame to convince the appeal panel there hadbeen significant contact from Boruc.[LNB]This argument was helped by the fact that referee Manuel MejutoGonzalez of Spain insisted he had not been tricked by the striker andstood by his decision, even after watching the television replays.[LNB]Arsenal submitted a 19-page dossier for the first disciplinaryhearing and suspected it had not been fully digested by the UEFA panel,who took less than one hour to find Eduardo guilty and impose thetwo-game ban.[LNB] Flashpoint: Angry Celtic players confront Eduardo after he won the controversial penalty last month[LNB]The contents of the dossier formed the basis of their appeal,stressing the psychological impact of the broken leg suffered byEduardo last year as well as the video evidence.[LNB]It also criticised UEFA's sloppy administration, sending importantfaxes to the wrong number, and inconsistencies within theorganisation's approach to using video evidence to referee matchesretrospectively - and how this conflicts with that of football's worldgoverning body, FIFA.[LNB]Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson and England captain JohnTerry were among those convinced Eduardo had dived and they agreedsomething must be done to drive the habit from the game.[LNB]Scottish FA chief executive Gordon Smith had been quick to call foraction against Eduardo, but Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger lambastedUEFA for conducting a 'witchhunt'.[LNB]Angry: Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger hit out what he called a 'witch-hunt' against Eduardo[LNB]After the appeal hearing, UEFA issued a statement which read:'Following examination of all the evidence, notably the declarations ofboth the referee and the referee's assessor (Johann Hantschk ofAustria) as well as the various video footage, it was not establishedto the panel's satisfaction that the referee had been deceived intaking his decision on the penalty.'[LNB]Arsenal made a statement of their own, which read: 'We are gratefulthat the appeal body focused on the evidence and made the rightdecision in this case.[LNB]'We were able to show that there was contact between the goalkeeperand Eduardo and that the decision of the UEFA disciplinary body shouldbe annulled.[LNB]'We fully support the drive for fair play in football and believe itis important that UEFA provide clear and comprehensive standards thatwill be consistently enforced going forward.'[LNB]Eduardo added: 'I certainly feel relieved. Now I just want to forgetabout this and think about our match against Standard Liege.[LNB]'I was always prepared for the match in Belgium because I had a goodfeeling and I always remained positive about the outcome. Now we have afinal result, I can look forward to helping the team.[LNB]'I have had great support from my family, friends and everyone at the club. [LNB] No diving! Beat the cheats by joining Sportsmail's campaign against diversDiving in: A selection of Sportsmail's all-time most shameful dives in footballDiving Arsenal striker Eduardo deserved his two-match ban, insists Manchester United boss Sir Alex FergusonEduardo's NOT a diver! Wenger's witch- hunt jibe as striker hit by cheat chargeWe'll fight for Eduardo, says angry Wenger after UEFA hit star with ban ARSENAL FC
