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/ 20 May 2005

Vieira reignites rivalry

Patrick Vieira began FA Cup final week with a spiky reference to his opposite number at Manchester United, Roy Keane, and their confrontation in the tunnel at Highbury before the Premiership fixture on February 1. Keane made a cutting remark about Vieira’s attitude towards his birthplace, Senegal, at Highbury.

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/ 20 May 2005

The brutal reality of player sales

After the blur of a breathless final afternoon last weekend came brutal reality. The Championship’s three reluctant new chairpersons awoke to the grim facts of relegation with a tortuous season of cutbacks, contingency plans and financial restructuring ahead. The trauma will not be confined to the season’s finale.

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/ 20 May 2005

Why Sir Alex should quit

Sir Alex Ferguson left Old Trafford without saying goodbye to the fans after Manchester United’s last home game of the season. There would have been little point on Tuesday because most supporters left after the 3-1 defeat by Chelsea without saying goodbye to Ferguson or even waiting for the players’ lap of honour.

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/ 20 May 2005

IFP national organiser acquitted of rape

The Inkatha Freedom Party was ”delighted” on Friday when the Pietermaritzburg High Court overturned a conviction and 10-year sentence for rape handed down to its national organiser Albert Mncwango. ”The political enemies of Mr Mncwango had contrived to bring these accusations against him,” said IFP spokesperson Musa Zondi.

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/ 20 May 2005

Kitsch pop-fest turns political in Ukraine

The Eurovision song contest, an annual extravaganza of Euro-pop kitsch, has taken a decidedly political turn for its 50th edition this Saturday in Ukraine. The Eurovision contest, first held in 1956, is often associated with music of questionable merit, bizarre costumes and marked political bias in the voting.