Unfortunately for this male streaker, the field was a little to wet for him to avoid that double-team tackle from two Liverpool players.  Surprisingly, neither player received a card or an injury on the tackle.  As for the security guards at Anfield, they looked like a dozen seniors running on ice.  This streaker probably could have outrun them on crutches.  Kind of makes you wonder what types of qualifications are required in order to get hired for such a job.

(There is no dong sightings in this video, but if a naked man’s rear is considered not safe for your in your workplace, you may want to wait until you get home to watch this clip.)

During a pre-match warm-up, Tottenham’s Rafael Van der Vaart put on an incredible display of skill by spitting his gum onto his feet and performing several kick-ups with it.  That would be the amazing part.  As for the disgusting part, that came when he decided it would be a good idea to cap off this wonderful trick by kicking the gum back into his mouth.

I don’t care how much flavor was left in that piece of gum, this is one instance where it is clearly alright to let the object hit the ground during a game of kick-ups.

Hat Tip – [Kickette]

After playing to a scoreless draw with Tottenham in the second leg of their round of 16 match today, Seedorf was simply too sad to take part in an on-field interview, attempting to hold back the tears, before retreating to the locker room without saying a word.

This may have been Seedorf’s last chance at a Champions League title, but I bet if it was Sara Carbonero conducting that interview, he would have stuck around a little longer.

Hat Tip – [101 Goals]

Thankfully for him, the match was rather meaningless as Tottenham and Inter had already secured their spots in the knockout round, while Twente will have to watch from the comfort of their own homes.  However, they did manage to score an equalizer moments later, earning the tie in front of their home crowd.

Watching this clip took me back to my elementary school days of playing soccer-baseball, as I used to wonder how it was humanly possible to strike out.  After all, how hard can it be to kick a soccer ball that is rolling directly at you no faster than three miles per hour?  I guess for some, the answer to that question is “pretty damn hard.”

Hat Tip – [Dirty Tackle]

After going down in the Tottenham box, Nani thought he had been awarded a penalty shot and decided to grab the ball with his hand.  However, the foul was not called, but neither was Nani’s hand ball.  The Tottenham keeper was unaware of that fact, so when he set the ball for what he figured to be a free kick, he was quite surprised to see the official allow Nani to kick the ball into the Spurs’ goal.

As you would expect, the Tottenham players were not all that pleased with the referee’s missed call, which helped United seal the 2-0 victory.  Here is a look at the blown call.

We will begin with the good, and although there were several games which provided tense moments and spectacular highlights, perhaps none were more notable than the match between Chelsea and Hull City.  Favorites to battle Manchester United for top spot in the league standings, The Blues found themselves down 1-0 early.  They needed a spark and Didier Drogba was just the man to provide it.

After leveling the score on a beautiful free kick, he helped earn his side the win and three points after chipping a shot over Hull goalkeeper Boaz Myhill from an incredible angle (see video below).  It is almost enough to make us forget his on camera rant after Chelsea’s Champions League loss, or his crotch-grabbing celebration following their FA Cup victory.

For the bad, we look no further than the officiating for the match between Liverpool and Tottenham.  With time running out and the Spurs up 2-1, Liverpool forward Andrei Voronin looked to have been fouled in the Tottenham box while on a break.  No call was made and the game would end with the same score.

Following the match, Liverpool coach Rafael Benitez voiced his displeasure with officials for the missed call, as well as another hand ball late in the game he felt they had missed and their decision to eject bench coach Sammy Lee.

And now for the ugly, we look to the England’s second division where once again, officiating took center stage.  Crystal Palace were the victims of a terrible call this time, which resulted in their loss to Bristol City.  At the 30th minute, Crystal Palace player Freddie Sears looked to have scored, but after the ball rebounded from the back of the net out onto the playing field, referee Rob Shoebrid and his crew decided that it had not gone in.  Needless to say, their decision was not the right one (watch the video below and judge for yourself) and with the score still tied at 0-0, Bristol City capitalized on the error in the 89th minute, taking the 1-0 victory.

The officials from the game have since been suspended, but the league has decided not to replay the match.  A suspension seems like a rather light punishment when you consider what this Chinese referee went through after making the correct call.

Here is a look at Drogba’s goal.

And here is the blown call from the Crystal Palace vs. Bristol City match.

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez cannot resist referee rant after defeat to Tottenham – [Telegraph.co.uk]

Suspension for referee for failing to award Crystal Palace goal – [Times Online]

Fred had become disillusioned with a lack of playing time over the last season and ends his tenure at Lyon unceremoniously. After refusing to return from Brazil, Lyon retaliated with an in-house suspension before the two sides mutually came to terms on a release Thursday. The Brazillian, described as a “fraudster” by Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas, will join Fluminense on a 5 year deal with Lyon failing to recoup any of the 15 million Euros they paid Cruzerio in 2005.

I really don’t see any winners in this situation. Lyon looked to work a deal for the striker to ensure him playing time and shift his large wage of their books, but when Fred failed to show up for scheduled meetings with Tottenham officials this January what could they really do? With Karim Benzema a likely summer export, Lyon will look to heavily invest in forwards over the offseason since their next striking option behind Benzema and Fred is Frederic Piquionne who has managed just 1 goal in 15 appearances.  As for Fred, 2 goals in 15 games of French soccer and horrific character issues make him almost untouchable for any European side. I’m sure he considers Fluminense a stepping stone back to Europe, but it won’t be into the welcoming arms of Milan or Madrid likes he hopes. In the throngs of recession the last thing teams want are high risk, unprofessional hazards like Fred.