Some bizarre and depressing news from UEFA, for the television rights to the European League 2009-12 have been blasted into space. Coverage of the tournament will be restricted to a single match on Wednesday nights. What is the use of a made-for-television tournament if there's no television coverage? Would we be right to ignore a tournament if we can't see any evidence that it exists?
The Round Four in the French Cup this week. Champions-elect Lyon and best-of-the-rest Bordeaux progressed, though Lille took Bordeaux to extra time. Metz also advanced, as did Paris St. Germain, beating Bastia. Division II Sedan, Amiens, and Dijon progressed against similar opposition, and Division V Carquefou took on Marseille, and won 1:0. We'll just repeat that, for those who think we've made a misprint.
Carquefou (V) beat Marseille (I) 1:0.
In Scotland, the upsets continue: Celtic lost 1:0 to Aberdeen, St Johnstone beat St Mirren 3:1, and Rangers were held to a 1:1 draw with Partick Thistle. It's now impossible for Rangers to make up their domestic commitments and play in the UEFA Cup final without playing three games in one week, or playing opposite the international next week.
Other cup news: Serbia is now an all-Belgrade affair, with Crvena Zvezda, OFK, Zemun, and Partizan making the semis. The Dutch final will be between Feyenoord and Roda JC. Germany's final will pit Borussia Dortmund against Bayern München. In Greece, the semis will include Olympiakos, Atromitos, Thrasyvoulos, and Aris Salonika. In Spain, Getafe and Valencia will dispute the cup.
And it was upsetweek in Italy, where seven of the eight matches that could end in upsets, did end in upsets.
The Upset-o-meter
55 Carquefou - Marseille 1:0 41 Lazio - Roma 3:2 39 Napoli - Fiorentina 2:0 39 Celtic - Aberdeen 0:1 38 Valencia - Barcelona 3:0 38 Genclerbirligi - Galatasaray 1:0 34 St Mirren - St Johnstone 1:3 33 Lorient - Metz 0:1 33 Cagliari - Atlanta 1:0 31 Parma - Palermo 2:1 31 AC Milan - Sampdoria 1:2 23 Rangers - Partick 1:1 19 Genoa - Internazionale 1:1 15 Empoli - Juventus 0:0
Advance notice of what might happen this week-end, and it's only Scotland that decides this: Gretna will change division before the clocks go back (again!) and be relegated if Kilmarnock beats Inverness, St Mirren wins at Aberdeen, and Celtic beat Gretna. Ross County will be promoted as Division C champions if they beat Raith, and Airdrie fails to beat Peterhead. Berwick will be relegated from the same division if they fail to beat Brechin, or Cowdenbeath beats Ayr.
