Arsenal Striker Eduardo Sees Ban Overturned as UEFA Lose All Credibility

(Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

Arsenal striker Eduardo da Silva has seen his ban for 'deceiving the referee' in a Champions League play-off match overturned by UEFA.

In the home tie of a Champions League play-off against Celtic, where the Gunners won 3-1, TV replays seemed to clearly indicate Eduardo diving to win a penalty, after falling to the ground inside the penalty area following no contact at all with the onrushing Celtic goalkeeper Artur Boruc.

This prompted European football's governing body, UEFA, to subsequently charge Eduardo for 'deceiving the referee' and issuing him a two-match Champions League ban.

This in turn prompted the club from North London to appeal against the decision on their Croatian striker, stating their "deep frustration" with the ban imposed on the player.

Fast forward a few weeks, and days before Eduardo is meant to start his ban as Arsenal play Standard Liege in the Champions League on Wednesday, UEFA accept Arsenal's appeal and overturn the ban.

For seemingly everyone except Arsenal fans, UEFA's first decision was considered to be correct, and many praised the governing body for getting tough on cheats, sending out a message to players who dive to gain an advantage.

And now for seemingly all, except Arsenal fans, UEFA's decision to overturn their first decision is considered incorrect, with many questioning the credibility of UEFA.

It seems that UEFA have shown their true colours; they are not really as powerful as they've made out to be.

A statement of intent was made by them in banning Eduardo in the first place, but it appears they have succumbed to the pressure and overturned the ban.

This most certainly is not a good image for UEFA, with elite European clubs seemingly being in a higher position of power over the governing body.

FIFA have cracked down on cheats by banning Chelsea from making any transfers for the next two transfer windows, after their illegal signing of young talent Gael Kakuta from RC Lens in 2007.

UEFA tried to follow in their footsteps by also getting tough on cheats and banning Eduardo for deceiving the referee, but it appears they don't have as much bottle as FIFA.

The decisions of FIFA certainly don't have much credibility in football, but at the moment they are way ahead of UEFA.

With backtracking on decisions like that, you just have to wonder how long it will take for UEFA to lose any respect they have left.

Pundits say Football should take lessons from Rugby, but with farcical decisions like this one with Eduardo, it would appear the world's most popular sport is learn it's trade from the soap-opera that is Formula One.

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