English players trying to win Croatia game before kick off - conspiracy theory alert

mike65

from Guardian

The president of the Croatian Football Federation has launched a bizarre attack on English football by claiming players in the Premier League are deliberately targeting his country's leading internationals.

Vlatko Markovic believes there is a conspiracy against Croatia after Tottenham Hotspur's Luka Modric broke a leg in a Premier League match against Birmingham City last Saturday, ruling him out of World Cup qualifier against England at Wembley a week tomorrow.

Apparently there is still ill-feeling that the Arsenal striker Eduardo da Silva missed out on the European Championship last year after he broke his leg, also against Birmingham, in February 2008. Markovic now says that the two incidents are related and are part of a plan to injure his nation's best players.

"It is terrible what has happened to us," said Markovic. "Maybe someone has something against us and our national team. In the past year, they [English footballers] have injured Eduardo and now the same has happened to Luka Modric. I can only ask whether someone did it deliberately on the eve of the game with England. I can only ask myself whether it is a coincidence or not."

Markovic said the Spurs playmaker was as important to Croatia as Andrés Iniesta is to Barcelona. "Modric is our most important player," he said. "We are depleted without him."

Modric fractured his right fibula after going in for a challenge with Birmingham's Lee Bowyer. A foul was given against the Spurs midfielder and it is generally accepted by commentators that Bowyer was not at fault. Eduardo has only recently returned to the Arsenal first team after suffering a horrific injury following a clash with Martin Taylor. The Birmingham defender was sent off and Eduardo endured a compound fracture of his left fibula and an open disclocation of his ankle.

The 72-year-old Markovic has been a vocal critic of England and English football before and after Fabio Capello's side beat Croatia 4-1 in a Group Six World Cup qualifier in Zagreb last September – a game Eduardo missed – he said there was a "dirty tricks campaign" to unsettle the Croatia coach, Slaven Bilic, by linking him with the then-vacant manager's job at his former club West Ham United. Croatia trail England by seven points in their qualifying group.

The Birmingham chairman, David Gold, strongly rejected Markovic's claims. "He needs to go and have a lie down," he said. "His comments are absolutely idiotic. They are ridiculous and insulting.

"To say such things is little short of incredible. For a man of such stature and position in the game to come out with such rubbish is pathetic. His remarks border on paranoia and I struggle not to take it personally when they two incidents he talks about involve my club. To lay such stuff at Birmingham's door is appalling. It's emotive and doesn't stand up to close scrutiny."

He could just a paranoid nut job, or is getting his excuses in first. Or maybe its a national rallying cry.

5starpool

Read that earlier. That really is the most cuckoo of conspiracy theories in fairness. I don't think it would matter if England lost to Croatia anyhow as they would still top the group easily.

Liam O

That's gas

SlickRic

one of the most ridiculous rants i've heard in a while.

rafa has a new hero.

kippy

Was it an English player who "done" eduardo?

It's a pretty daft theory. Bowyer must be an expert if he could break a leg with such an innocuous challenge intentionally.

What an idiot,he should be puniched for saying that.

Also if England play to anywhere near ther potential then Luka Modric or not,Croatia are getting a beating.
They dont need to injure Croation players to win.

Soby

Dunno whats worse that or the Chelsea-Barca one

stovelid

What a nutter.

It's obvious that the only conspiracy involving Eduardo is the diving one involving a pan-Scottish UEFA conspiracy (as pointed out by Arsene).

Seriously though. Just a wind-up. Won't effect England I'm sure.

Boggles

Lost in translation I'd say.

Non story.