The linked rings on every Chinese Coke bottle and the leaping athletes on each McDonald’s paper bag testify to the power the world’s biggest corporations believe this summer’s Olympics wields.

But having spent huge sums, the companies sponsoring the Beijing games are about to find themselves the targets of a new, more vigorous war on China’s human rights record by campaigners boosted by the success of protests along the torch relay route.

Yesterday a coalition of Tibetan groups warned Coca-Cola that it would be “complicit in a humanitarian disaster” unless it used its influence to ensure Tibet was dropped from the torch route. And tomorrow, Dream for Darfur will launch a critical “report card” on sponsors of the games.

Campaigners are urging companies to press the International Olympic Committee and Beijing itself for change - or risk damaging their brands. “Companies [who do not act] will get physical protests; they will get letters; we will ask people to turn off their adverts,” said Ellen Freudenheim, director of corporate outreach at Dream for Darfur, which argues that they should press China to put pressure on Sudan as its major oil buyer.

 
An advertisement showing China’s football captain
Zheng Zhi in Beijing. Photograph: Claro Cortes/Reuters

“Sponsors don’t make policy and we understand that. But combined they have about the equivalent of the GDP of Canada, the world’s eighth largest economy; they have government affairs offices; they have lobbying firms; they have international presences - and they all do engage in politics.”.

Canny activists are targeting the stars who represent the brands too: George Clooney has already said he has raised the issue of Darfur with Omega, the Olympic sponsor and watch manufacturer which he advertises. The aim is to create a domino effect as spokespeople or consumers pressure sponsors, who in turn push the IOC into lobbying China.

Each of the 12 global partners for this year’s event have paid £30-40m for a four-year deal. An IOC spokeswoman said yesterday: “A number of companies engage in partnerships with the IOC and the Olympic Movement to help us fund the work we do and spread the Olympic values. Their support is key not only to the success of the Olympic Games but also to the sustainability of the Olympic Movement.

In the period 2001-2004, sponsors contributed $1,459m, 39% of the IOC’s revenue.

Activists believe their protests are already having an effect. The angry reception afforded the Beijing torch relay in London, Paris and San Francisco earlier this month caused acute discomfort to the relay sponsors Coca-Cola, Lenovo and Samsung. Last week, Human Rights Watch accused “cowardly” partners of “remaining “largely silent” in the face of abuses; just a few days earlier the media freedom body Reporters Without Borders disrupted Coca-Cola’s annual general meeting.

Campaigners say some sponsors are raising concerns privately.

“Realistically, everyone who signed up for Beijing knew there were various risks involved,” said Damien Ryan, a Hong Kong-based media consultant advising several sponsors. He acknowledged that this “risk factor has escalated”. Activists are well aware that multinationals hope sponsoring the Beijing games will give them privileged access to 1.3 billion increasingly wealthy people without entrenched purchasing habits.

“Almost all of the top level sponsors want to leverage the games to a better market position in China,” said David Wolf, president of Beijing-based corporate advisers Wolf Group Asia.

Olympic sponsors argue it is simply unfair to hold them responsible for every action by the Chinese authorities.

The sportswear giant Adidas, a Beijing rather than IOC partner, said in a statment it was “conscious of the exceptional importance of the protection of human rights”. “Sponsors, however, should not be expected to solve political issues. We clearly see the limits of our influence.”

A Coca-Cola spokesperson pointed out that the soft drinks giant had supported the Olympics since 1928, expressed “deep concern” for the situation in Tibet and cited its support for charities working in Sudan.

Amnesty has asked all Beijing games partners to raise human rights concerns directly with the IOC and Beijing.

“The universal declaration on human rights calls on every individual and organ of society, which includes corporations, to ensure human rights are respected. Corporations do have influence, and we would call on them to exert it publicly,” said Robert Gooden, Amnesty’s Asian-Pacific campaign co-ordinator.

England is guaranteed at least one representative in the Champions League final for the fourth successive season after another night on which the Barclays Premier League strengthened its claim to being the best in Europe.

For the third time in four seasons Liverpool will meet Chelsea in the semi-finals of the Continent’s premier club competition after Rafael Benítez’s team produced one of their finest performances of a turbulent campaign to come from behind to beat Arsenal 4-2 at a raucous Anfield for an outstanding 5-3 aggregate victory.

With Chelsea having overturned a 2-1 deficit to beat Fenerbahçe 3-2 on aggregate at Stamford Bridge, Avram Grant, the first-team coach, will try to succeed where José Mourinho twice failed by overcoming a Liverpool team for whom Europe continues to provide a remarkable sanctuary.

But there was no doubting who provided the entertainment — and controversy. Having led 1-0 through Abou Diaby’s early strike only to trail 2-1, Arsenal appeared to have settled the tie on away goals with six minutes left when Theo Walcott raced almost the length of the pitch to set up Emmanuel Adebayor, who made amends for a bad miss moments earlier.

Within two minutes Liverpool, willed on by their magnificent support, had scored a disputed third when Ryan Babel, an inspired substitute, tumbled in the penalty area after tangling with Kolo Touré. Steven Gerrard made no mistake from the spot before Babel added a fourth at the death, but Arsène Wenger was infuriated by the decision of Peter Fröjdfeldt, the referee, to award the penalty.

The Arsenal manager, who insisted that his team should have been awarded a penalty in the first leg, said: “The game was over — it was down to a dodgy decision and to a lack of concentration at 2-2. Over the two games it’s very difficult to swallow. All the big decisions went against us.”

Benítez, who praised “the belief and character of our players”, claimed not to have seen the penalty incident, but Gerrard was not about to moan. “It was probably one of the worst performances I have had in a Liverpool shirt, but I was confident I would score the penalty,” the Liverpool captain said.

“It was a great team performance and when we defend like that, other teams find it impossible. We’ve got some big league games coming up, but we’ll be ready for Chelsea.”

After Chelsea had overcome Fenerbahçe with goals from Michael Ballack and Frank Lampard, Grant said: “I’ve said all along we can do good things. We can win the competition. We’re very close.” But with Petr Cech out for two weeks, Grant’s joy was tempered by a hamstring injury to Carlo Cudicini, who was replaced by Hilário, the third-choice goalkeeper, in the first half. “It doesn’t look so good,” Grant said of Cudicini’s injury.

It means that Rhys Taylor, the youth-team goalkeeper who has not made a first-team appearance and turned 18 on Monday, is likely to be involved in three matches in four days next week: on the bench against Wigan Athletic and Everton on Monday and Thursday and playing in the FA Youth Cup final, second leg away to Manchester City on Wednesday. “He’s a good goalkeeper,” Grant said.

But athletics became juxtaposed with politics as the Olympic torch made its way through the streets of London en route to the controversial Beijing 2008 games.

Protesters opposed to China’s human rights record and presence in Tibet made sure that attention was focused on more than just sporting endeavour.

Like any stadium crowd, they chanted and sang - but their slogans included “Shame on you, China,” and “Stop the killing in Tibet.”

They were confronted by crowds of pro-Chinese government demonstrators determined to dispel what they described as lies about their country propagated by the western media.

The incongruous April snowfall might have meant the day at times resembled the Winter Olympics more than springtime in London.

Teams of police and stewards ringing the torchbearers to prevent the flame being blown out - around 2,000 officers were mobilised to maintain order along the 31-mile route.

Cmdr Jo Kaye of Scotland Yard said the force faced a difficult task.

“It would be no good surrounding the torch with a twelve-foot high wall, would it? No-one would enjoy that,” he said.

“We’ve got to allow people to see it.”

And though there were arrests and regular grapples between protesters and police, the most serious attempt to disrupt the event - by snatching the torch from former Blue Peter presenter Konnie Huq - was foiled.

Ms Huq - who had publicly wavered over whether to take part - looked shaken as she recounted the incident to the BBC.

“I was completely oblivious at first, and before I knew what was happening this guy had lurched towards me.

“It was quite a violent little tussle, but I guess he wanted his opinions to be known.”

Further scuffles followed the flame all the way as protesters tried to breach police lines.

But even when 2,000 demonstrators from both sides faced each other outside the British Library in Bloomsbury, most concentrated on chanting rather than physically confronting their opponents.

One demonstrator who was determined to make his voice heard was Phuntbok Dalu, 33, from Enfield, Middlesex.

Born to Tibetan parents in India, he insisted it was impossible to disentangle Chinese government policy from the event.

“People say that sport and politics shouldn’t mix,” he said.

“But when the blood of Tibet is smeared all over these games, I don’t see how you can make that argument.”

Not all had a personal stake in the dispute, however.

Claudie Whitaker, 44, from Groombridge in Kent took part along with daughter Elizabeth Nicholls, 17, after seeing TV footage of recent protests in Tibet.

“I’m marching today because the people of Tibet aren’t allowed to do so for themselves,” Claudie said.

“I’ve never been on a demonstration before, but I felt I had do something positive.”

Tibet’s government-in-exile said on Tuesday that it could confirm 140 people had died in recent violence. China has reported 19 deaths.

However, the pro-Beijing contingent along the route - although less noisy - were equally insistent that their side was the victim of injustice.

“The western media hasn’t been telling the truth,” said Emma Ha, 34, from London.

“It was Tibetans who attacked Chinese the other week, not the other way round.”

A fellow Chinese expat in the UK capital, Paul Zhou, 50, added: “These protesters say they want freedom for Tibet.

“But if the Dalai Lama was in charge, Tibet would be even less free than it is now. I support Beijing.”

The Free Tibet contingent will argue that it has led the debate about Beijing’s policies right into the heart of London.

Harry Redknapp is going to the FA Cup final, Portsmouth have a great chance of their first significant silver for over half a century, and it must be the city’s maritime heritage that prompted the stadium DJ to play the Pirates of the Caribbean theme in celebration.Portsmouth Pirates is perfect. Not because they stole this semi - one-paced West Bromwich were there for the taking - but if Captain Jack Sparrow had joined Redknapp, Tony Adams and Joe Jordan on the Pompey bench he would not have looked wholly out of place.

And there is definitely a piratical gleam in the eye of Nwankwo Kanu, now lining up an improbable third FA Cup winner’s medal to add to a bulging treasure chest that also includes Champions League and Uefa Cup winner’s medals, titles in Nigeria, Holland and England and an Olympic gold medal. This final hurrah could not be envisaged when the Kanu career was petering out at West Bromwich, though anything is possible for a player who made FA Cup history at the very first attempt. It was Kanu of Arsenal, if you recall, who inadvertently took advantage of a sporting gesture by Sheffield United on his English debut in 1999 to create a situation where Arsène Wenger even more sportingly offered a replay.

‘We asked him to play 25 games to earn a new contract, but I’ll give him one anyway,’ Redknapp said, after Kanu’s 26th game of the season. ‘We’ve been relying on Jermain Defoe and I knew we would need someone to weigh in today.’

Albion have history too. They are still the only team ever to win the ‘double’ of promotion and FA Cup in the same season. They went into this game in a position to repeat their feat of 1931, and ended up sounding as though the promotion part is uppermost in their minds. ‘We were good for 75 yards, but never threatened their goalkeeper enough,’ manager Tony Mowbray said. ‘We showed we could play, though, and if we take that attitude into our next six matches we could be playing in the Premier League next year.’

Albion were responsible for most of the early attacking without making any impression on the Portsmouth defence. Kevin Phillips had a couple of shots blocked, but only Zoltan Gera appeared to have the guile to outwit defenders. The Hungarian brought the first save of the game from David James, though after keeping Manchester United at bay for 90 minutes at Old Trafford in the last round Pompey were not about to be intimidated by a Championship strike force.

Instead, Redknapp’s players kept their shape and bided their time, waiting for opportunities to launch Milan Baros on the break. Any Liverpool fan could point out a flaw in that strategy, however, and while Baros had a couple of promising openings it was no great surprise that half time arrived with the game still scoreless. Baros’s most conspicuous contribution before the break was to get himself booked for bringing down the ball with a hand to leave himself a clear shooting chance, and even then he put his shot over the bar. Baros also failed to capitalise when Kanu offered him a half-chance in front of goal after 40 minutes, leaving a 30-yard free-kick from Sulley Muntari that flew straight at Dean Kiely as Portsmouth’s only attempt on target in the first 45 minutes.

West Bromwich failed to cause James any further palpitations either, though a back header from Glen Johnson had him scurrying when a fumbled pick-up gave James Morrison a glimpse. It was a pity the game was proving so uneventful, since the atmosphere beforehand had been a real throwback.

For the record, Pompey fans kept up the noise for longer, partly because they have such a good tune and partly because from the 54th minute they had something to sing about. There was no real surprise in Kanu scoring against his former club - such things are written in the stars, like Peter Crouch scoring when Liverpool finally give him a start - though it was doubly ironic that the architect should be Baros. Because while the Czech did well to turn Martin Albrechtsen when Johnson launched a ball into the area, and even better to force a save from Kiely, replays suggested he again used an arm in controlling the ball. This time it was less blatant and was not spotted - if it had been, Portsmouth would have been down to 10 men - and Albion compounded their bad luck when Gera hacked the ball out of Kiely’s clutches to present Kanu with a tap-in. Without Gera’s intervention, Kiely would probably have saved at the second attempt, held the ball on the line or flicked it to safety.

That opened up the game and in an enjoyable last half-hour there were chances at both ends. Pompey ought to have made the game safe when Nico Kranjcar’s through pass released Baros, though in a reversion to type the striker showed too much of the ball to Kiely. Robert Koren crashed a shot against James’s bar in the best attack Albion had so far managed, then Ishmael Miller wasted a good opportunity by crossing too close to James, with Phillips waiting unmarked at the far post. David Nugent had a shot saved at the other end before Miller passed up perhaps the clearest chance of an equaliser, meeting Carl Hoefkens’s low cross at the near post, but failing to keep his shot on target.

Right at the death, Nugent had an opportunity to double Portsmouth’s lead, only to waft his shot unconvincingly over the bar. 17 May cannot come quickly enough for Redknapp. After that date Jermain Defoe will no longer be cup-tied.

Man of the match: Sol Campbell

Sulley Muntari was the liveliest of Portsmouth’s offensive players but, like the Manchester United encounter, this result was based on defensive solidity. Campbell and Sylvain Distin formed an impenetrable barrier at centre-back, Albion could not get a look-in, and the 33-year-old captain led by example.

After ten days of mounting speculation and clandestine meetings between the World Cup-winning captain and Rob Andrew, the union’s director of elite rugby, the most recent of which was held this week, Johnson has, after much thought, indicated that he would find the lure of working with England extremely attractive. Negotiations will continue over his exact job description as well as details of his salary and length of contract. Once those have been resolved, the decision to install Johnson, 38, would be put before an emergency meeting of the RFU’s management board for formal approval.

Johnson is still weighing up the options regarding his coaching team. Ashton could conceivably be asked to stay on in the short term and lead England to New Zealand, but whether he would want to is a different matter. Johnson has indicated that he would not be available for that tour because Kay, his wife, is expecting their second child in June.

Pat Howard could be a key figure in the new regime. An experienced backs coach, the former Australia international and Leicester director of rugby knows Johnson well from their time together at Welford Road. Howard, who has also been mentioned as a possible successor to Eddie O’Sullivan as Ireland head coach, is available, having last month left the Australian Rugby Union, for whom he had managed their high-performance unit since returning from England last May.

Graham Rowntree, the former Leicester and England prop, is likely to retain his consultancy role as scrum coach. Whether John Wells, the former Leicester flanker and head coach, stays on as forwards coach is uncertain, creating as it would a Leicester “mafia” at the top of the England coaching hierarchy.

Johnson, who retired as a player after leading England to World Cup victory in 2003, has had numerous offers of employment since, but has been happy to bide his time, enjoy a successful testimonial year and concentrate on lucrative media and corporate work. Despite reservations in some quarters about his lack of coaching qualifications and experience, he is confident that the time is now right to return to the sport.

Throughout the discussions between Johnson and Andrew, Ashton has maintained a dignified silence as he prepares for the two internationals against the All Blacks, with the party due to leave in nine weeks. He does feel, though, that he should have had some input into the appointment of a manager and the failure to include him in the process has left him humiliated and bewildered.

There will be some sympathy for Ashton for the way he has been treated and the circumstances in which he has had to operate. He inherited a coaching team in January 2007 not of his choosing but managed to guide England to the World Cup final in October and second place in this year’s RBS Six Nations Championship.

Mark Souster

A footballer with a serious gambling problem has admitted accepting a £50,000 bribe to help throw a game in Britain, The Independent can reveal.

According to a source familiar with the circumstances, the player – who has a Premiership club on his CV – racked up a £50,000 debt with a bookmaker. The bookmaker said he would write off the debt if the player got himself sent off and also persuaded three team-mates to get booked in a specific game.

The player agreed, and the incidents were fixed as requested. His team lostthe match, which was played in the past two years, the source said. The player subsequently sought professional help for his addiction, and was said to be “ashamed and full of remorse” about what happened. It is not known precisely how the bookmaker profited from the sending-off and bookings, but the assumption is that he either struck or laid “spread bets” relating to the cards, and that the game was at a level significant enough to warrant a sizeable market in this.

The suggestion that any match has been fixed – or that significant events within it have been rigged – is a nightmare scenario for football’s authorities. It is confirmation that football in Britain is not immune to the corruption that has recently blighted other nations – including Italy, Germany and Poland – albeit with personal addiction as a driving force, as opposed to institutional corruption or large-scale criminal syndicates in those cases.

But addiction experts say it is illustrative of a wider gambling problem in society that raises issues for government as well as football’s governing bodies.

The case was among a number of incidents disclosed privately by several sources at a seminar on gambling at the Sporting Chance clinic in Hampshire this week, seeking to highlight the threat of gambling to football’s integrity. Those present included players and former players with personal experience of destructive behaviour caused by addiction.

Sporting Chance is Britain’s foremost treatment centre for sports people with addictive illnesses. Its chief executive, Peter Kay, declined to confirm any specific details about the player who engineered the red card and who The Independent understands was treated at Sporting Chance.

Mr Kay said all the cases that the organisation handles were confidential. “Neither I nor Sporting Chance is responsible for what a client or ex-client might say, but if you’re asking whether I’m aware of this case, the answer is yes,” he said.

Pressed for further details about the “fixed” match, he said: “It doesn’t matter if it is a Premiership player or a Conference player, quite frankly. It highlights that addiction of any sort can lead a person to take grave actions, possibly even attempt suicide.”

One source at the seminar described a recent suicide attempt by a lower-division player who had a £37,000 gambling debt. Suicide attempts among problem gamblers are not unusual. Another source said they knew of current players – including some in the Premiership - who are fighting cocaine addiction without the knowledge of their clubs. There is an anecdotal link between cocaine and gambling among patients in rehab, according to Dr Henrietta Bowden Jones, one of the experts who addressed the seminar.

Dr Bowden Jones is a consultant psychiatrist and expert in substance misuse, and is the official spokesperson for the Royal College of Psychiatrists on matters pertaining to pathological gambling. She has worked with footballer addicts at a private London clinic, and has also referred players to Soprting Chance, founded by the former Arsenal player Tony Adams.

“You heard [in the seminar] from three speakers [all former players, unrelated to the “fix” case] about how lives and careers are destroyed, and how drastic decisions are made when someone is in the grip of addiction,” said Mr Kay. “I don’t believe the card business is widespread. But it has happened, yes, to my knowledge on several occasions.”

Mr Kay first talked of an “epidemic” of gambling among footballers two years ago in an interview with The Independent. He stands by that description and has data to support it. In 2006, Sporting Chance dealt with about 30 footballers with addictive illnesses, gambling included. New referrals in the past year are twice that figure.

Mr Kay believes the increase is partly due to awareness of a problem within the game, and players’ greater willingness to seek help. Though problem gambling is an issue for society at large, footballers seem to be disproportionately represented.

A government study last year – the 2007 Gambling Prevalence Survey – estimated that 0.6 per cent of Britain’s adults are “problem gamblers”. That should equate to about 24 problem gamblers in English football among about 4,000 professionals. But experts believe the real figure could be 10 times that number, equivalent to two or three players per club.

Football’s authorities have shown contrasting attitudes to gambling. In a survey of players conducted by The Independent in 2000 in association with the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA), more than a third of players said they bet on football, which at the time was against Football Association rules. Five players said they had been invited to “throw” a match, although all said they declined. But the FA subsequently relaxed its rules to outlaw bets only on games in which a player was involved, or could influence.

On the flip side, the FA is an active supporter – and funder – of programmes that educate players, especially young players, and provides help to those in trouble. The FA partially funds Sporting Chance, with the PFA the other major backer. No player has been declined treatment, and the provision of care for troubled players – paid for by the PFA and the FA – is not in doubt.

But there is intense debate about whether the game should take a concerted approach towards preventive education, using expert agencies. Within the Premier League, for example – the richest branch of football’s family, and the league with the most to lose through any tarnishing of its image – there is a theoretical obligation to provide education, including on addiction, to young players. But in practice, central funding for specialist agency assistance remains largely untapped, and there are wide disparities about the level of education provided.

A wake-up call that games are being fixed might force the pace of change.

Nick Harris

“It is fantastic,” he told liverpoolfc.tv. “For me, Stevie Gerrard is the best player, he is the hero of the fans. So when I hear them sing the song they have for me it makes me feel very pleased.
“Last week against Man United things did not go well for us but even when we were 3-0 down the fans were still with us and I could hear them singing my name.
“As a player that makes you feel really good, to know that you have their support, and for that reason my goal in the derby is for them.
“They were with me when things were going badly so it is good to be able to score a goal that will make them happy.
“It is very important to me that the fans are happy because if they are happy, I am happy.”

Source

Palamara intends to bring a case against Capello, who was being questioned in the trial of six men accused of promoting unfair competition through the use of threats or violence on behalf of Italy’s formerly all-powerful players’ agency Gea World. Under Italian law a person found guilty of withholding information in court can be jailed for up to six years. In London a Football Association spokesman said: “It is a private matter and the FA have no comment to make.”

Italy’s Calciopoli scandal revolved around accusations that the then Juventus general manager, Luciano Moggi, headed a powerful network of allies that pressured referees into giving favourable decisions on the pitch. Off the pitch the Italian court is now hearing evidence that Gea World, run by Moggi’s son Alessandro, bullied players into signing for the agency and then pressured them into signing contracts against their will. Both Moggis are in the dock, as well as Davide Lippi, son of the former Italy coach Marcello.

Questions put to Capello yesterday centred on his time as the coach of Roma from 1999 to 2004, particularly in light of an interview he gave in 2002 criticising Gea World for monopolising Italian football. But the England head coach told the court: “I know nothing about Gea or another agent pressuring players into going to a particular team,” adding: “I was never put under pressure to buy a Gea player,” and: “I have never heard of Alessandro Moggi threatening players.”

Capello’s lawyers said in a statement that they were “confident” the matter would soon be resolved. “At the end of the hearing this morning Mr Capello was certain that in his capacity as a witness he had given all the information required of him to the prosecutor and the court,” they said in a statement.

Prosecutors are seeking to prove that Gea steered young players into the orbit of Juventus, then moved them on when it suited the Turin team.

The former Roma coach Zdenek Zeman described to the court the grip held by Gea on Serie A through its handling of dozens of players. “Alessandro Moggi went around with a list of players and said to the various teams: ‘You buy this one and you buy that one.’”

It is Capello’s second run-in with the Italian authorities since taking the England job. In January it was announced that he faces an investigation by tax authorities over an alleged failure to declare up to £7.4m in income earned through sponsorship deals.

Also in the witness box in Rome yesterday was Capello’s assistant coach with England, Franco Baldini, who worked in a similar role under Capello at Roma.

While Capello denied noticing the effects of the “Moggi system” Baldini was more forthcoming, describing the Moggis as a father-and-son team that used Gea World as a weapon to bolster Juventus’s standing in Serie A.

“Luciano Moggi was the point of reference for Gea,” he said, recalling a dinner at which Moggi admonished him for not allowing Gea to make approaches to Roma youth team players. “You need to give us a hand,” Baldini quoted Moggi as saying. “One year you are working here, the next year you are working somewhere else and the year after that you are not working at all.” Proceedings were halted during Baldini’s deposition after Moggi was reported making “a gesture” at him across the court room.

Luciano Moggi was banned from football for five years in a sporting inquiry into his behind-the-scenes deal to appoint friendly referees for selected matches. Juventus, with Capello at the helm, were relegated and stripped of their 2005 and 2006 league championships during the scandal, at which point Capello moved to Real Madrid.

The Guardian

Kevin Keegan noted last week that it did not take much to set Geordie pulses racing. A couple of wins at the beginning of a season and the team are going to win the Premier League, he said with a smile. Newcastle is that kind of town. Back-to-back victories have been a rarity this season, which has been one to test sorely the patience of the club’s fans but joy surged for them here, as Keegan’s team built on the previous weekend’s 2-0 success over Fulham to put Tottenham to the sword.

Lingering fears of relegation were all but eradicated yet it was the manner of the win that warmed the black and white faithful. The sight of Newcastle pressing for and ultimately scoring a fourth goal away from home triggered memories of the glory years under Keegan. And as the team poured forward, only the hardest of Spurs hearts would have failed to take pleasure in seeing Keegan do what Keegan does so contagiously - enjoy himself.

The manager nipped about his technical area, to and from the bench, living every moment, every missed chance. He erupted in delight, along with the rest of his staff, when Michael Owen chipped in the third, which effectively sealed the contest, and, thereafter, the pressure finally seemed to lift from those shoulders.

This was riotous fare and Keegan could acknowledge requests from the delirious away enclosure for a wave. The three players he withdrew, Mark Viduka, Owen and Geremi, got the full treatment from him, hands clasped to their faces, sweet nothings whispered into ears and, at full-time, Keegan revelled in pointing his team towards their supporters.

What a difference a week and two matches makes. “I feel the same but I know what you mean,” said Keegan, when it was put to him that he looked a different man. He went on to insist that Premier League safety was not guaranteed but then the old excitement bubbled to the surface and he could not help but suggest that a few big signings would “set us alight”.

He joked that he might “put a couple more forwards in next time” but the ones on the pitch had served him well. Viduka’s strength and mercurial skill were at the heart of the second-half effort, together with Obafemi Martins’ boldness and direct running, while Owen put his England disappointments behind him to shine in his attacking midfield role.

The clocks sprang forward yesterday but in a sense Keegan turned them back. Attack has long been his best form of defence and when it comes together as it did so gloriously against a Tottenham team lacking motivation, the fireworks can be compelling.

“You’ve only got to look at our defensive record and not just since I came back in. When you just try to defend and hang on to something, it puts as much pressure on your defenders,” said Keegan. “I think our defenders know now when I put this team out that maybe they can concede a goal and still have enough to win, whereas in the past maybe a goal goes in against us and ‘that’s it, we’re going to get beat’.”

Newcastle did not allow their heads to drop after Darren Bent glanced in Steed Malbranque’s cross from the left. They had already struck the bar through Habib Beye and gone close through Joey Barton.

It was Nicky Butt who restored parity just before the interval, sweeping in a low first-time shot beyond the unsighted Paul Robinson after Geremi had seized on Jonathan Woodgate’s poor clearance.

The second-half was a golden period for Keegan. After Barton had hit the outside of the post, Geremi’s free-kick deceived Robinson to give Newcastle the lead and, having just forced Robinson into a smart save, Viduka ushered in Owen for the third. There were further chances, notably for Owen, before Barton sent Martins galloping clear to apply the coup de grâce.

Keegan cannot understand why Fabio Capello omitted Owen from the England team against France last Wednesday - “When the big games come, Michael will play,” he ventured - and there was an element of disbelief about what unfolded before his eyes yesterday.

“You dream about playing like that and being 4-1 up away from home with 10 minutes to play but the reality is that it’s difficult to get into those situations,” said Keegan. Best simply to enjoy them when you can.

Man of the match Abdoulaye Faye

He might have been beaten by Bent for the Tottenham goal but the central defender grew in assurance and was the foundation for the Newcastle victory

Best Moment Any one of a number of towering defensive headers which stifled Tottenham’s attacks

The announcement adds further travel misery for fans travelling by train from South Wales, who will also be hit by long-term maintenance work on the Severn Tunnel starting today and carrying on throughout every weekend until August.

Around 33,000 fans will make the journey to North London on April 6 for Cardiff’s first appearance at Wembley for 81 years, with hundreds having already booked weekend breaks in the capital. Earlier that day, the Ospreys take on Saracens in the quarter-final of rugby’s Heineken Cup in Watford.

But there is likely to be chaos on the streets of the capital as thousands of travellers, who would normally be on the Underground, spill on to the streets, railways and buses in search of alternative transport, or bring their cars into the English capital.

Last night, stunned supporters said the news would take away some of the enjoyment of a historic fixture that could see the Bluebirds secure a place in the final of one of football’s showpiece tournaments. They also warned of the dangers of allowing thousands of fans to become agitated while waiting for hastily- arranged alternative transport.

“It’s going to be absolute chaos and take the edge off the day for many fans,” said Gwyn Davies, of Cardiff City’s Valley Rams supporters club.

“They [the transport unions] always do things like this at the most volatile times for optimum publicity, to increase pressure and to give them more leverage for their case. I don’t know the details of what they are fighting over but the general public are again being used as tools.”

The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) and the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association said a dispute over safety issues would lead to its members walking out at 6.30pm next Sunday and not returning until Wednesday.

Cardiff City’s game kicks off at 4pm, meaning it could end less than 45 minutes before the strike begins. The Ospreys’ match kicks off at 12.15pm, with many fans planning to attend both high- profile games.

The unions have told London Underground its plans for ticket office closures, de-staffing, lone working and the introduction of “mobile supervisors” amount to an unacceptable attack on safety standards and overwhelmingly voted to walk out in ballots organised by both unions.

RMT general secretary Bob Crow said, “Each of these issues is serious in its own right, but together they amount to a fundamental and unacceptable attack on staffing across the network, putting our members’ and passengers’ safety at risk. Tube workers will not stand idly by while the security of the network is compromised by managers who clearly believe that staff and passenger safety can be looked after on the cheap.”

But the concerns found little sympathy among supporters.

Mr Davies said, “They say they are concerned over safety but this is going to cause chaos. There are all sorts of possibilities if thousands of people are left to hang around getting agitated. It’s a bad announcement and let’s hope common sense prevails.”

The announcement came just four days after ecstatic fans queued at Ninian Park through the night to get their hands on tickets, for which the majority of supporters paid between £25 and £45.

“Coaches can only get so close to the stadium and are mainly planning on dropping fans off and picking them up at Tube stations, but they can’t do that now,” said Mr Davies.

“But you can’t get all those coaches right up to the stadium either. People need to know they will be able to get home.”

Wembley Stadium is on the Bakerloo and Metropolitan Tube lines. The Saracens’ Vicarage Road ground in Watford is also on the Bakerloo line. Only one above-ground rail service, run by Chiltern Railways, travels between Paddington and Wembley and there are also bus services – but these will come under strain without an operating Tube.

Passenger watchdog Passenger Focus last night urged the opposing parties to resolve their differences with the potential for disruption heightened by the extra visitors to London, with the Olympic flame also passing through Wembley on April 6 en route to Beijing.

“Lots of travelling fans will expect to use the Tube, which is the easier and most popular method of getting across London,” said the organisation’s Wales manager, Simon Pickering.

“Without access to it there will be confusion, if not chaos, for Cardiff City fans. On a busy weekend, with lots of competing demands for public transport in London, taking out a major component is an extra stress which passengers can do without.”

Transport for London said last night it was too early to say how the strike would affect the semi-final clash or what alternative arrangements could be put in place.

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