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09-26-2004, 05:51 PM
STEVE BRUCE has told Robbie Savage to drop his appeal against his World Cup ban and take it on the chin.
The Wales midfielder wants to take his case to the European Court of Arbitration for Sport after FIFA confirmed his one-match suspension for being sent off in last month’s qualifier with Northern Ireland.
It means the Birmingham star will miss out on one of the biggest games of his career when Wales play England at Old Trafford on October 9.
But Brum boss Bruce took matters into his own hands when he confirmed: “Robbie will not be pursuing anything because I’ll be advising him it’s not worth it.�
Bruce insisted Savage, 29, has no chance of overturning FIFA’s decision because it would open up a can of worms over future appeals.
He said: “If they allowed it to happen on this occasion we’d all be going down that route and end up in chaos.
“We have a lot of sympathy for Robbie. You want to play in the big games and the match against England would probably be the biggest ever in his Wales career.
“But rules are rules and you can’t beat the system.
“FIFA say he has to serve a ban and he has to realise that and be sensible about the whole thing.
“If he keeps pursuing it he will just be pushing water uphill.
“So I’ll be telling him he has to accept it, put it to the back of his mind, and get on with his life.�
And Bruce admitted Mikael Forssell could have kicked his last ball for the club following his knee operation and the cancellation of his season-long loan deal from Chelsea.
The City chief said: “We’ll look at things again when Mikael is fully recovered. But the indications at the moment are that he’ll be struggling to play again this season.
“It’s a massive blow for us losing someone who scored 19 goals in 32 games last season.
“I wouldn’t have sold Stern John to Coventry last week if we’d known what was coming.
“But it does provide a great opportunity for Clinton Morrison or Dwight Yorke to step in and grab their chance.�
http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2002390000-2004442091,00.html
The Wales midfielder wants to take his case to the European Court of Arbitration for Sport after FIFA confirmed his one-match suspension for being sent off in last month’s qualifier with Northern Ireland.
It means the Birmingham star will miss out on one of the biggest games of his career when Wales play England at Old Trafford on October 9.
But Brum boss Bruce took matters into his own hands when he confirmed: “Robbie will not be pursuing anything because I’ll be advising him it’s not worth it.�
Bruce insisted Savage, 29, has no chance of overturning FIFA’s decision because it would open up a can of worms over future appeals.
He said: “If they allowed it to happen on this occasion we’d all be going down that route and end up in chaos.
“We have a lot of sympathy for Robbie. You want to play in the big games and the match against England would probably be the biggest ever in his Wales career.
“But rules are rules and you can’t beat the system.
“FIFA say he has to serve a ban and he has to realise that and be sensible about the whole thing.
“If he keeps pursuing it he will just be pushing water uphill.
“So I’ll be telling him he has to accept it, put it to the back of his mind, and get on with his life.�
And Bruce admitted Mikael Forssell could have kicked his last ball for the club following his knee operation and the cancellation of his season-long loan deal from Chelsea.
The City chief said: “We’ll look at things again when Mikael is fully recovered. But the indications at the moment are that he’ll be struggling to play again this season.
“It’s a massive blow for us losing someone who scored 19 goals in 32 games last season.
“I wouldn’t have sold Stern John to Coventry last week if we’d known what was coming.
“But it does provide a great opportunity for Clinton Morrison or Dwight Yorke to step in and grab their chance.�
http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2002390000-2004442091,00.html