Podcast: Court cases of John Terry and Harry Redknapp roil England
A major tournament is approaching, things seemed to be going smoothly – so that can only mean one thing for the England national soccer team: it's time for some bad news.
Misfortune never seems far away from England at crucial times, and even though Fabio Capello’s side eased through qualifying for Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine this summer, all is certainly not well.
Two of the most high-profile figures in English soccer are firmly in the headlines, with a tax evasion court case involving Harry Redknapp in progress and a court appearance involving John Terry set for next week. Redknapp, manager of Tottenham Hotspur, is widely expected to succeed Capello once the Italian's contract expires following the Euros and Terry is captain of the England team.
Terry must answer a charge that he aimed racist abuse at opponent Anton Ferdinand during Chelsea’s defeat to Queens Park Rangers late last year.
[ Podcast: Terry and Redknapp face criminal charges ]
These off-field incidents have taken the shine off an intriguing domestic season in English soccer and are the main topics of discussion in this week’s Yahoo! Soccer Podcast, in conjunction with World Football Daily.
I'm joined by the Wall Street Journal’s Matthew Futterman to discuss the ramifications and implications of the cases involving Redknapp and Terry.
If convicted, it is highly likely Terry would lose the England captaincy. Likewise, it would be hard to see Redknapp being appointed as coach following a guilty verdict.
Jonah Freedman of MLSsoccer.com comes on later in the show to discuss the United States’ third straight victory, a 1-0 win over Panama on Wednesday, as Jurgen Klinsmann’s revival following a slow start in charge continues.
After another winning El Classico performance for Barcelona, GolTV’s Phil Schoen discusses its recent dominance over hated rival Real Madrid and the pressure on Jose Mourinho.
Finally, World Football Daily co-host Sophie Nicolaou and I play our weekly games of Agree/Disagree, Teacher’s Marks and Premier Predictions.
To have your questions answered in next week’s show please message Martin Rogers on Twitter at @mrogersyahoo. To subscribe to the full version of World Football Daily, go to www.worldfootballdaily.com and sign up to receive one of three gifts: a Bumpy Pitch cap, a limited edition Lionel Messi T-shirt or a copy of “The Soccer Men,” the new book by Simon Kuper. And to download the Yahoo! Soccer Podcast on iTunes search for “Yahoo Sports Radio – Martin Rogers.”
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