Manchester United cut Chelsea’s lead at the top of the Barclay’s Premier League to just one point despite being held by Aston Villa as title race heats up following the top two sides dropping points in midweek.

Aston Villa 1 Man Utd 1
The Red Devils’ 1-1 draw at Villa Park, achieved after playing the majority of the game with 10 men following the sending off of winger Nani, hacked at Chelsea’s lead after the Blues were beaten at Everton. A fine header from Villa defender Carlos Cuellar handed Martin O’Neill’s men a 19th minute lead but the champions needed just 4 minutes to draw level as James Collins deflected into his own net – United’s 10th own goal in their favour this season.

Everton 2 Chelsea 1
Meanwhile, Chelsea had a lead overturned at Goodison Park where a Louis Saha double cancelled out Florent Malouda’s opener to condemn the league-leaders to a 2-1 loss. The defeat is a major blow to boss Carlo Ancelotti, who could have seen his side move four points clear of United and nine ahead of Arsenal had they held onto their lead.

Arsenal 1 Liverpool 0
The real victors of the midweek programme, however, were Arsenal. The Gunners needed just one goal to halt a rejuvenated Liverpool side as Abou Diaby’s 72nd minute header sealed a 1-0 win at the Emirates. The win puts Arsene Wenger’s side back into contention for the title, albeit with just a glimmer of hope as they trail Chelsea by six points.

Wolves 1 Tottenham 0
Liverpool’s loss was a chance for Tottenham to leapfrog their top-four rivals back into the coveted fourth spot, but they failed after going down 1-0 at Wolves in a repeat of the scoreline when the two met at White Hart Lane earlier this season. Midfielder David Jones grabbed his second goal of the season with 27 minutes on the clock and Mick McCarthy’s relegation battlers held out to take three points off the North London club once again.

West Ham 2 Birmingham 0
At the other end of the table, meanwhile, West Ham conjured up a huge win with a 2-0 defeat over this season’s surprise package Birmingham. Alessandro Diamati’s perfectly placed free-kick gave the Londoners the lead shortly before the break while Carlton Cole’s second half header sealed a morale-boosting win for under pressure boss Gianfranco Zola.

Blackburn 1 Hull City 0
Elsewhere, Hull City were brought back down to earth following last week’s win over Man City with a 1-0 defeat to Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park. The Tigers had George Boateng harshly sent off when already a goal down to Boaz Myhill’s 16th minute own goal, which was enough to settle the contest.

Man City 2 Bolton 0
On Tuesday night, top-four contenders Man City strengthened their case for the cause with a comfortable 2-0 win over a battling Bolton side. A Carlos Tevez penalty and an Emmanuel Adebayor volley in either half sealed the win, with 5th placed City holding two games in hand over Liverpool.

Fulham 3 Burnley 0
Elsewhere, Fulham heaped more misery on struggling Burnley boss Brian Laws as goals from Danny Murphy, David Elm and Bobby Zamora ensured an emphatic 3-0 win for the Cottagers. After a bright start under the guidance of Owen Coyle, who left for Bolton in January, the Clarets have now dropped into the relegation zone with their early season confidence out the window.

Portsmouth 1 Sunderland 1
Meanwhile, there were three red cards at Fratton Park where a 94th minute strike from Aruna Dindane sealed a point for crisis club Portsmouth in a 1-1 draw with Sunderland. Darren Bent opened up the scoring from the penalty spot before Ricardo Rocha saw red first then Lee Cattermole evened up the numbers with a second bookable offence. Black Cats substitute David Meyler was on the field just two minutes before being dismissed for an elbow in a feisty encounter which will give Pompey a glimmer of hope for staging an unlikely survival bid.

Wigan 1 Stoke City 1
Finally, honours were even at the DW Stadium as well, where Wigan were held to a 1-1 draw with Stoke City. Paul Scharner’s exquisite header handed the home side the lead after just 14 minutes but a quarter of an hour before the final whistle Tuncay Sanli rescued a point for the Potters with a header of his own.

The two points dropped leave Wigan just a point above the dropzone and boss Roberto Martinez will no doubt be concerned by the constant inability to gain some consistency.

There was no dropping to the knees in jubilation this time, there was no place in an elite cup final as a reward, nor was there an epic fight-back attempt from the opposition, but on Saturday Avram Grant once again inflicted defeat upon Rafael Benitez.

The Portsmouth boss was at the helm of the Chelsea side which battled to an aggregate 4-3 win over Liverpool in the Champions League semi finals in April 2008 and Grant was the brains behind the Reds’ latest setback in a wretched season as Pompey strolled to a 2-0 win at Fratton Park at the weekend.

Despite not showing the same emotion as he did on that successful night at Stamford Bridge, the win will mean every bit as much as he sets about his task of saving the club from the drop after taking over from Paul Hart late last month.

It was a battle of the Premier League’s two biggest crisis clubs as financial worries and on-field performances have marred both Liverpool’s and Portsmouth’s seasons, with the latter deservedly coming out on top on this occasion.

But it is the former who continue to raise eyebrows throughout the country as there seems no end to Liverpool’s dreadful form, which has seen them lose 7 of their 18 games Premier League games.

Catastrophic, I think, is the best word to describe the job Benitez has done this season and, bearing in mind the club suffered an early Champions League exit this time around, any other manager would have been sacked for their sequence of results by now.

The Spaniard’s lucrative and lengthy contract has so far saved him the embarrassment of getting the chop, that’s if he isn’t embarrassed enough by sinking to the new low of losing to the league’s basement club.

However, Benitez is not the only figure for which to point the finger at after their latest defeat – Javier Mascherano’s first-half red card may have been harsh, but it is the little Argentine’s poor form this season which has gone widely unnoticed.

The Argentina captain’s head was turned in the summer when European Champions Barcelona made their interest known, with reports of a £30million bid in January resurfacing on the back pages as the January transfer window approaches.

Mashcherano’s heart just does not seem in it anymore in a red shirt and he has done little this season to suggest he is worth that price tag, and I for one would bite Pep Guardiola’s hand off if he came in with an offer in that region.

Perhaps his four-match ban (it was his second red card of the season) coupled with a spell on the treatment table as the clumsy challenge, which earned him his marching orders and ligament damage, will prove a blessing in disguise for Benitez, who will now surely give Alberto Aquilani the run in the side he deserves. Time will tell how important Mascherano’s absence really is to Liverpool over the busy Christmas schedule.

Regarding Benitez, if there is one thing we have learned about his managerial credentials this term, it’s that he does not possess the ability to win the Premier League, and even fans as patient as Liverpool ones would now be glad to see the back of his Spanish contingent should he quit amid his failings.

The Spanish Armada set sail with the intention of conquering England in 1588 and Benitez had similar ambitions in English football when he took over at Anfield in the summer of 2004.

Like the Armada, the Liverpool boss and his backroom staff of many compatriots have failed to triumph in the country by landing an elusive Premier League crown, and I for one would now encourage him to mirror that historical event further by accepting defeat, giving up and going home.

As for Grant’s Pompey side, they should not get too carried away by the win over an increasingly bland Liverpool side. After that creditable semi final win over Liverpool while at Chelsea, Grant went on to lose the final and ended up empty handed for the season, and I fear his Pompey side face similar disappointment come the end of the season.

After all, losing to one of the eventual relegation victims is a tradition of the Reds. Middlesborough last season, Reading the season before that – the list goes on and on, as does their tally of defeats this term.

Match details
Saturday 12 December 2009, 3:00PM

Reebok Stadium Att: 22735
Barclays Premier League

Referee:
Mark Clattenburg (County Durham)
Teams
Bolton Wanderers:

Jaaskelainen, K.Davies, Taylor, Knight, Robinson, Chung-Yong, Steinsson, Cahill, Muamba (Davies 82), Cohen, Klasnic (Elmander 74)

Unused subs:
Al Habsi, O,Brien, Elmander, M. Davies, Samuel, Basham, Ricketts

Bookings:
Klasnic 45mins, Davies 54, Cohen 59,
Manchester City:

Given, Richards, Toure, Lescott, Sylvinho, Wright-Phillips (Ireland 22), Barry, Kompany (Robinho 74), Bellamy, Tevez, Adebayor (Santa Cruz 83)

Unused subs:
Taylor, Onuoha, Zabaleta, Ireland, Petrov, Robinho, Santa Cruz

Bookings:
Sylvinho (61mins), Bellamy (53 and 68)

Mark Hughes men must feel that the world and his dog is against them in their attempt to break the status quo this season.

Every time an opportunity presents itself for them to make it into the top four fate rears its cruel head. As the Blues finished this game with ten men and Bolton held on for a three all draw.

With Tottenham losing and United playing Aston Villa his was another chance to push into those Champions League places but alas a linesman and referee were the protagonists in this festive pantomime.

In a North West derby that had six goals, an off side goal and a ridiculous red card every neutral got their fill, but Gary Megson will feel his fighters just dragged themselves over the finish line in what could prove to be a pivotal point for the Trotters.

The game started off well after some early Wimbledonesque pressure by Bolton the Trotters received a welcome piece of look.

A ball was fired into the six yard box from the City left to find Ivan Klasnic in a world record offside position to simply tap the balll into the net past a helpless Shay Given.

If the Bolton striker had been that far ahead of his opponents in a hundred metre race by the firing pistol had been fired he would have already been across the finish line.

Of course Bolton are not to blame, as they’d take anything to get them out of their rut at the moment, but serious questions have to be asked to why the linesman decided to keep his flag down by his side.

Bolton did what they do best in battering and bruising the Blues into losing their composure as much as they could. Fullback Robinson carried out his bosses orders of taking out Shaun Wright Phillips as soon as possible. Robinson not known for being subtle kindly obliged with a tackle that was as malicious as it was hard.

Within minutes SWP had hobbled off and was replaced by Steven Ireland, which changed the dynamics of the game. City know were more calculated in their approach and Ireland and Tevez began to pull the strings.

It was Carlos Tevez who put the Blues level by wriggling free on the edge of the box and hitting a shot that deflected off a diving Bolton defender past the helpless Bolton keeper.

Then against the run of play the pantomime continue as centreback Cahill tripped over the ball to send Ireland and Barry the wrong way before turning and firing in a vicious curler into the top righthand side of Shay Given.

It was a glorious piece of opportunism by the young England hopeful to put City behind for the second time in the match.

The Blues are a different kettle of fish this season though as they have shown on many occasions that they hae the resilience to come back into matches and in a fantastic sweeping move involving six City players Richards fired the ball past the Bolton number one.

The second half continued to throw up surprises as the Blues looked to build on their victories over Arsenal and Chelsea last week. After some early City pressure it was Bolton who went ahead for the third time in sublime fashion.

After a decent ball into the box the ball was expertly flicked on by Davies to the waiting Klasnic who smashed his volley into the net for is second of the game.

What happened next was bizarre as Bellamy was one on one with the already carded Robinson and went down after it appeared he’d been clipped outside the box.

Strangely Bellamy was yellow carded by pantomime villain Mark Clatternburg who subsequently showed the shocked Welshman a red card.

Unknown to many Bellamy had been booked for complaining after the Klasnic goal but this red was more than suspect as Hughes contemplated how to win the game with ten men.

What was more suspect was the fact that both Cohen and Klasnic could have been sent off for repeated offences yet the referee deemed them untouchable in this contest.

Down for the the third time and down to ten men the City of old would have almost certainly capitulated, but Hughes’ City have mettle.

It was Tevez again who brought them back into the contest after running at the Bolton defence to fire a fantastic low shot past Jaskelaanen into the bottom right corner.

As the game came to an end it was Bolton who looked the most nervous with City going for the jugular and coming close through Lescott and a Robinho shot.

But it wasn’t to be for City as Bolton held on for a point and the Blues failed to take the three points that they needed to go up the league.

MAN OF THE MATCH: CARLOS TEVEZ – The pocket dynamo dragged histeam through this miefield of a contest to almost snatch a victory. Two quality goals from the Argentinian forward.

MAN CITY 2 CHELSEA 1

Adebayor og 8

Adebayor 37, Tevez 56

Man City: Given, Richards (Onuoha 69), Toure, Lescott, Bridge (Kompany 74), De Jong, Barry, W-Ph’lips, Tevez, Robinho (Zabaleta 90), Adebayor.
Chelsea: Cech, Ivanovic, Carvalho (Belletti 64), Terry (Malouda 88), A Cole, Essien, Ballack (Mikel 64), Lampard, Deco, Drogba, Anelka.

Ref: H Webb

Attendance 47,348

In the past City have been too fragile psychologically or guilty of not having players up for the physical battle against the Londoners brute strength.

In Drogba and Anelka up front backed up by Lampard, Essien and Ballack, you have a midfield powerhouse that is the most dominating midfield in the world.

In midweek City showed signs that they had that physical brute force to compete for the first time by crunching the life out of Arsenals talented young gunners.

Yet the scintillating performance today proved to millions watching that this City side now has the power to go with the skill and fancy footwork to trouble any defence in the world.

With the players such as Lescott, De Jong, Richards, Barry and Kompany City are no longer the bullied, but the bullies of the playground.

City began the game showing the same intensity as against Arsenal and looked the better side with more shots on target and corners, but fell behind to an own goal form Emmanuel Adebayor.

No one would think that the best team in Europe at the moment would have then gone on to take control of the game, but nothing could be further from the truth as City showed another part of their new character.

The new resilience that has seen City only beaten once all season was again evident as the Sky Blues immediately pressured the Chelsea midfield, playing some exhilarating stuff stretching the Chelsea fullbacks and interchanging passes at will.

City finally broke the deadlock after a centre was floated into the Chelsea area and after the ball had found its way to Adebayor the big front man lashed it into the net.

Key a predictable mass protest from Chelsea, but it was to be in vain as the goal would stand and Webb waved the players back to the centre circle.

You know you have Chelsea on the back foot, when Ashley Cole is acting like a petulant school boy as if the opposition should not have the right to be on top.

The second half continued began with the same intensity as the first with both sides looking to impose their dominance on the game.

It was City spurred on by their magnificent support that began to look like the superior team again.

After a period of intense pressure, City finally found the breakthrough when a free kick was fired in by the electric Carlos Tevez past a Peter Cech that Paul Merson had previously lorded as the best in the business last week- Nice one Toady!

You need a nut-cracker to break a hard nut as Arsenal found out to their cost last weekend and City certainly were cracking bones with Lescott and Bridge giving Drogba a hard time and De Jong showing Essien there is more than one master of destruction in this league.

City, after recent collapses, understandably had a period of uncertainty when Chelsea created a few chances.

Drogba went close on a couple of occasions and Chelsea looked like they would get an undeserved goal.

Both Wayne Bridge and Micah Richards had become casualties in this all out war and had to be replaced by Nedum Onuoha and Vincent Kompany respectively.

Gareth Barry was shifted to left back and although already exhausted and on a yellow, proved his value to the team with a composed display.

Onouha on the other hand, made the mistake of letting Drogba get goal side and a rash challenge brought the Ivory Coast star for a definite penalty.

What happened next transformed this game into a Premier League classic with all forty-eight thousand fans in the stadium, millions worldwide watching and all of the Premier League teams held their breath as Frank Lampard faced off with Shay Given.

The resulting penalty save was met with shock and exultation from no doubt everybody not wearing Chelsea Blue as Given denied Lampard’s nervous penalty making every England fan sit nervously on their chair at a similar prospect next summer in South Africa.

It seemed as though every Chelsea player had been booked, including the subs by the time John Terry was forced to leave the field but there were to be no defensive lapses this week however, as City closed out the game after six minutes of stoppage time.

Tevez and Richards were fantastic, but none of it would have been possible without winning the infantry battle against Lampard, Ballack and Essien, and Nigel De Jong’s destructive presence in midfield puts him up there with the very best defensive midfielders in the world.

Dutch international defender Gregory van der Wiel is the latest young star to be linked with City in press around the world.

The 21-year-old 5 foot 6 right full-back became a regular in the Ajax side last term under coach Marco van Basten and also made his debut for the Dutch national side to boot.

He looks set to star at the next World Cup in South Africa and City have been following his progress for some time now.

With their defence still looking decidedly shaky, even after their multimillion dollar face lift, the Citizens of Manchester are scouring the transfer market to plug the wide open gaps in their defence.

Whether Mark Hughes will be the man to actually sign the Dutch youngster up is another matter though as a quarter final cup exit against Arsenal and a defeat against Chelsea on Sunday could see the Welsh supremo receive his marching orders.

According to his agent, Van der Weil is not fazed by the constant rumours linking him with Europe’s top clubs.

And although Hakim Slimani maintains Van Der Wiel has been watched closely by the Blues, he does state that matters stop there for now.

Slimani said: “There is no official contact between Ajax and Manchester City.

“But I cannot deny that his performance has been closely followed by Manchester City.”

Slimani insists Van Der Wiel is one hundred percent focused on seeing out his contract at Ajax Amsterdam which has three years left still to run.

“That’s why Greg is not concerned with a transfer to another club,” continued Slimani.

“He’s just broken through last season.

“This season he has set himself the target of being a major player for Ajax.”

Watching Paul Merson’s latest attack on Manchester City sent me back almost a decade in time to the days of Harry Enfield and his grotesque character ‘Loads a Money’.

How this ultra biased Gunner is still employed by Sky Sports is just a mystery to millions of watching fans across the globe.

It certainly isn’t for his eloquence of speech as the washed up Ex- England star stumbles through yet another incomprehensible utterance as though he’s just come back from lunch at the local pub.

The only conclusion I can think for the Toad of Powder Hall still being in a prime time television job is that he amuses host Jeff Spelling and the other pundits so much that they just can’t bear to be without him.

In fact, the Ex-England star looks so much like the Toad of Toad Hall in a monkey suit that maybe thousands of Children worldwide are to blame for a rise in viewing figures as they believe his segment to be a continuation of children’s programming.

In Toad’s latest instalment he analyses Man City’s performance against Hull City. In a game that City dominated but couldn’t kill off, Hull were awarded a penalty to level the score and steal a point.

When asked about the Sky Blues, Merson labelled the Blues as a coach of Hollywood superstars who had failed at top four clubs and were now cracking under the pressure of failing to deliver!

Now I don’t know about you Paul, but wasn’t Carlos Tevez a big hit and winner at Man United? Wasn’t Kolo Toure the last remaining member of ‘The Invincibles’ arguably the best Arsenal team of the last 30 years?

The next pearl of wisdom that made it’s way out of this sorry excuse for a man’s mouth was the bitterest attack on the Blues to date.

“I look at Man City’s team and not one of them could get into a top four side…”

So astounded were Matt Le Tissier and the other pundits at what was coming out of the Buffoon’s mouth, they were rendered speechless.

The silence was eventually broken by the tactful Stelling, sounding like a father to his teenage son, suggesting that Merson was exaggerating again and that of course Shay Given was good enough.

Merson’s response was typical of a man who has long since made brain-to-tongue communication redundant in his world.

“He wouldn’t get in ahead of Cech at Chelsea, but I’d ‘av ‘im at Arsenal…”

Are Arsenal not a top four side then Paul? The analytical genius obviously has a problem with City and one wonders if it is over more than just the Adebayor issue.

With a full three and a half minutes to talk, there is no shortage of material to illustrate how biased this man is and you just have to see it to believe it for yourself.

Now forgive me for being a little miffed at the moment, after all we have just drawn a sixth consecutive Premier League match.

Yet the reason for my sudden bout of dizziness lies not like most Blues sat staring into their Sunday night pint wondering when this rut will come to an end but elsewhere.

Nor is it because ‘that lot’ in Stretford won again against the Blue half of Merseyside either. No, It is because this Blue has just returned home to see the Spurs – Wigan score.

Now don’t get me wrong beating Wigan at home is not something that should or ever will give me cause for losing the plot. What does rile me more than anything else is the score by which they won this Premier League game.

For NINE goals to one in what is supposed to be the best league in Europe and possibly the world is quite frankly embarrassing. Jermaine Defoe scored FIVE and again let me make it clear that I have no agenda against the hugely talented Spurs pocket dynamo.

The problem I have is with the opposing team. I mean what were Wigan playing at, because it certainly wasn’t football! What happened to the team that almost took three points off Manchester City last month?

Losing four nil is embarrassing enough and five or six might would be classed as being taken to school, but NINE is just beyond comprehension in today’s so-called top league.

Anyone would think that Tottenham were the genuine title competition for Chelsea this year, but you only have to look at their latest attempt at playing a Top Four side to realise they are nowhere near.

Manchester United completely out-classed them in their recent contest and the Red Devils are hardly flying on all cylinders at the moment.

Wigan Athletic should sack their manager immediately for failing to inspire his players. For as nice a man as Martinez is, NINE goals against in the Premiership is just out and out incompetence.

All of the travelling Wigan supporters should have the cost of their tickets and accommodation refunded by the spineless overpaid players that call themselves entertainers.

In fact a memorial monument should be built outside the JD Stadium itself listing the names of all the poor souls that were victims of this disaster lest they never be forgotten.

The real loser is the Premier League however as the self-proclaimed best league in the world has to sit down and take the next day’s barrage of abuse from foreign hacks squarely on the chin.

Shame on you Wigan FC … shame on you.

Former Premier League referee, Jeff Winter, has said that Sir Alex Ferguson over stepped the mark with his comments on Alan Wiley. Ferguson implied that Wiley was unfit and not up to the standard of refereeing during Manchester United’s 2-2 draw with Sunderland.

Winter himself was once part of the referee’s club that had to put up with verbal bashings from the likes of Ferguson on a daily basis and he says that this time the big Scotsman was out of order.

He said: “I think Sir Alex may have overstepped the line this time and he may be about to get his comeuppance. I think referees will be so incensed about this that Sir Alex may find that United no longer get the benefit of the doubt on certain decisions.”

“Every game Alan Wiley takes charge of now where he makes a decision which upsets some fans is going to result in chants of ‘You’re not fit to referee’, he’s going to be known as the ‘unfit ref’. Sir Alex won’t care though. He’s a knight of the realm and he thinks he’s untouchable, bullet proof.”

“But he’s also a bully. He spoke at Sir Bobby Robson’s memorial service a couple of weeks ago and said he’d learnt a lot from Sir Bobby. But he hadn’t, they were totally different, Sir Bobby was a gentleman. He was humble and had respect for people.”

“I’ve trained with the guy and I know just how fit and professional he is. He’s 49 now but he’s still extremely fit. If he wasn’t he wouldn’t be getting a game, simple as that. Referees don’t just have an annual fitness test which is pretty tough but they are continually assessed and re-assessed.”

Winter may have a point in relation to the age of Wiley. Referees in England tend to get a longer lease of life than the rest of those across Europe. The referees in Spain, Germany, Italy and other countries all have to be younger and pass sterner fitness tests in order to qualify. The fact that Wiley is still going at 49 is remarkable and is something that should be admired.

It is unlikely that Ferguson would have made the comments were he happy with the way his side had played at the weekend and the FA will no doubt send him some form of warning sooner rather than later for his outburst.

Spurs romped to victory in their third round Carling Cup match against Preston North End, thanks to a hat trick from Peter Crouch. Tottenham looked in sparkling form and were never threatened during the match as they easily progressed to the next round.

Before the game, Spurs manager, Harry Redknapp, was calling for his side to show some backbone after two heavy recent defeats against Manchester United and Chelsea. Well they showed this in abundance against Preston as the gulf in class between the two sides was huge.

Redknapp said: “It was a good hat-trick. Robbie took his goal well. It [deciding which strikers to start] is a nice problem to have. This was a game a lot of people looked at and had it down as a potential shock.”

“But I thought we were dangerous and sharp going forward. That said, this was the type of game we would have lost 12 months ago. We’ve just had two defeats and we certainly didn’t want to be facing Burnley on Saturday on the back of three defeats.”

Spurs are still very much a team in progression. It is growing more clear as each game passes that Spurs are still some way behind the top teams in particular areas. The real test is reducing the gap in consistency between performances such as this and the ones that see them lose 3-1 to a Manchester United side that play for half an hour with only ten men.

Alan Irvine, the Preston boss, added: “Tottenham were very good going forward and certainly caused us problems. They showed the difference between the Premier League and the Championship. We could have taken the lead before they scored and we could have equalised when we were 1-0 down.”

“The scoreline gives an impression we were played off the pitch but I thought there were some good points to take from the game.”

Ironically this could have been the perfect game at the perfect time for this Spurs side. They were able to go into a match as the heavy favourites and were able to give a number of their first choice players a run out in a match that they were always going to win.

The next test for them will be how they perform in their next Premier League game against Burnley, who have shown no signs at all that they are out of their depth at this level.

El Hadji Diouf has launched a seething attack against Everton after he revealed that bananas were thrown at him during Blackburn’s match with the Toffees at the weekend. Diouf stormed into the headlines after it was reported that he had filed racist allegations against a number of Everton fans.

The fans were said to have been chanting towards him throughout the match as the stewards stood and did nothing to stop it. Diouf believes the Stewards should be disciplined by the club and has revealed that nothing was done to stop the fans throwing the fruit onto the pitch whenever he went towards that section of the crowd.

He said: “People threw bananas at me and the referee told me that he would report this to the police. I have had problems before but never anything like the ones I had on Sunday. I don’t want to let this matter rest.”

Everton Chairman, Bill Kenwright, responded: “Everton abhors anything to do with racism. We have worked diligently and tirelessly to eradicate this blight not only on the game but on society.”

The matter has been reported to the Football Association because the referee mentioned Diouf’s claims in his after match report. The referee also made the police aware at the time but the authorities have not yet commented on whether anyone has been charged following the incident.

This is a worrying story for football because it proves that the clamp down on racism in the game does not appear to be working. Although a search of the area Diouf claims bananas were thrown did not produce any evidence, it is highly likely that the stewards may have cleaned this up after the game had finished.

Everton have said that because of this there will be no official review by the club into any incidents that may have taken place. Therefore they are saying that they are not going to deal with the allegations that they believe are being made up by an opposition player who may have been a bit tainted that his side were so soundly beaten.

Diouf is one of the figures in football that not everyone warms to. His manner and charisma can sometimes be very annoying when he is out playing on the pitch. If the allegations are false then it may have just been that Everton fans were shouting something similar at the player, that he tends to hear at every away ground he goes to.