Funny

Sir Alex Ferguson famously quipped before the 2009 Champions League Final that Barcelona "get you on that carousel and they make you dizzy with their passing.” The rhythm and tempo of their passing makes opponents feel as though they’re chasing ghosts around the pitch.

55-year-old Diego Maradona had to be restrained by security staff at Pope Francis’ “Match for Peace and Solidarity” after getting into a verbal altercation with Juan Sebastian Veron on Wednesday night.

Few would argue against major international tournaments being the biennial highlight of the footballing calendar. They’re a marketing groups’ wet dream; hundreds of millions worldwide tuning in on their official World Cup Samsung 60’’ flat screens to watch Pepsi and Coca Cola adverts interspersed with 45-minute segments of the very best in the game representing their motherlands at the highest level.

No player wants to receive a yellow or red card during a match — what they do want now is a green card. What’s a green card? A green card is given to a player to reward them for their good sportsmanship and other acts of virtue on the pitch. Chivalry is alive and well.

Green cards can be earned for such actions as stopping play when a player is injured, helping the referee make the appropriate call or admitting to diving.