MARCH 07 - A MONTH IN REVIEW1

1 Arsenal full-back Emmanuel Eboue was found guilty of violent conduct at a Football Association hearing and was suspended for three matches. Eboue denied a charge of striking Chelsea full-back Wayne Bridge during the previous Sunday's Carling Cup final...England full-back Olly Morgan was ruled out of the remainder of the RBS 6 Nations after being sidelined for the season with a shoulder injury. Uncapped 21-year-old Wasps flanker James Haskell was handed a first call-up to the international arena in Brian Ashton's 28-man squad.

2 West Ham were charged with a breach of Premier League rules in relation to the signings of Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano...Hearts announced sporting director Anatoly Korobochka would take over as head coach on an interim basis "while Valdas Ivanauskas is away on football business on behalf of the club"...Engage Super League newcomers Hull KR produced a stunning performance to beat Wigan 26-16 at the JJB Stadium and move joint top of the table.

3 John O'Shea scored an injury-time winner as Barclays Premier League leaders Manchester United beat Liverpool 1-0 at Anfield in a game the hosts had dominated. Chelsea kept the deficit at nine points with a 2-0 win at Portsmouth, while relegation-threatened Charlton came from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 at fellow strugglers Watford...Jonny Wilkinson, just three internationals into his England comeback, suffered yet another injury scare after limping out of Newcastle's Guinness Premiership defeat by London Irish with a hamstring problem.

4 Paul Stalteri scored an injury-time winner as Tottenham beat troubled West Ham 4-3 in a remarkable Premier League game at Upton Park which the home side had led 2-0...Jason Gardener capped a fine weekend for Great Britain at the European Indoor Championships with victory in the 60 metres while the men's 4x400m relay team also took gold...Wakefield went to the top of Super League for the first time in the their history with a 19-6 win over coach John Kear's former club Hull.

5 England won their first World Cup warm-up match against Bermuda in St Vincent by 241 runs. Jamie Dalrymple top-scored with 76...David Beckham was ruled out for four weeks after suffering a knee injury while playing for Real Madrid against Getafe the previous evening...Ireland scrum-half Isaac Boss was ruled out of the Six Nations match with Scotland at Murrayfield on March 10 following a scan on his injured shoulder.

6 Liverpool and Chelsea booked their places in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. The Reds lost 1-0 on the night to Barcelona but progressed on away goals after a 2-2 draw on aggregate, while Chelsea came from a goal down to Porto to win 2-1 for a 3-2 aggregate success...Police confirmed they were investigating a complaint following footage of anti-Semitic chanting by West Ham fans in the match against Tottenham at Upton Park appearing on the internet...Jonny Wilkinson, Phil Vickery and Andy Farrell were all ruled out by injury of England's Six Nations clash with France on March 11. Eight changes and two positional switches were made by coach Brian Ashton, including recalls for Mike Catt, Jason Robinson and Julian White.

7 Arsenal were knocked out of the Champions League after a 1-1 draw with PSV Eindhoven. Alex put through his own goal in the 58th minute before scoring at the right end 25 minutes later giving the Dutch side a 2-1 aggregate advantage...Manchester United booked their place in the quarter-finals thanks to Henrik Larsson's 72nd-minute goal which gave them a 1-0 win over Lille. Celtic fell to AC Milan after Kaka's extra-time goal gave the Italians the only goal of the tie...England announced the hiring of Leicestershire captain Jeremy Snape as an assistant coach on a short-term basis during part of the World Cup...UEFA charged Valencia and Inter Milan with improper conduct following the on-pitch brawl which marred the previous night's Champions League match between the two clubs in Spain.

8 Newcastle defeated AZ Alkmaar 4-2 in the first leg of their UEFA Cup round-of-16 match. The Magpies' goals came from Gretar Steinsson (own goal), Kieron Dyer and Obafemi Martins (2), with Shota Arveladze and Danny Koevermans replying for the Dutch team...Tottenham beat Braga in the same competition, Robbie Keane (2) grabbed the late winner and Steed Malbranque claimed Spurs' other. Rangers drew 1-1 with Osasuna in thanks to a Brahim Hemdani strike...Yorkshire appointed Martyn Moxon as their new director of cricket. Moxon, a former Yorkshire batsman, had previously resigned from a similar post at Durham.

9 George Gillett and Tom Hicks secured unconditional control of Liverpool after meeting the acceptance condition...The remaining three English sides were kept apart in the Champions League quarter-final draw. Liverpool were paired with PSV Eindhoven, Manchester United with Roma and Chelsea were drawn against Valencia...England lost their last World Cup warm-up game against Australia by five wickets after a batting collapse saw them fall from 122 for one to 197 all out. Captain Michael Vaughan top-scored with 62...Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor was given an additional one game ban and £7,500 fine by the FA after being found guilty of "reacting aggressively and failing to leave the field of play immediately" following his red card in the Carling Cup final. Meanwhile, skipper Thierry Henry was ruled out for the season with groin and stomach muscle injuries.

10 Middlesbrough and Manchester United drew 2-2 in the FA Cup quarter-final at the Riverside...Italy claimed a historic second Six Nations win of the campaign when they defeated Wales 23-20 in Rome. Ireland clinched the Triple Crown with an 19-18 victory in Scotland...Dwain Chambers' future in athletics appeared uncertain after he was chosen to appear for Hamburg Sea Devils in NFL Europa.

11 England beat France 26-18 in the Six Nations clash at Twickenham...Referee Chris White apologised to Wales over the "misunderstanding" that caused a controversial ending to Italy's win at the Stadio Flaminio...Chelsea came back from 3-1 down to draw 3-3 with Tottenham in the FA Cup quarter-final while Watford beat Plymouth 1-0 and Manchester City went down to a 2-0 defeat at Blackburn.

12 Blackburn were drawn against Chelsea or Tottenham and Watford against Middlesbrough or Manchester United in the FA Cup semi-finals...The Football Association decided not to take action against Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho for allegedly swearing in Portuguese at referee Mike Riley during the FA Cup quarter-final tie against Tottenham...Ghana international midfielder Michael Essien signed a new five-year contract with Chelsea.

13 Hosts West Indies claimed a 54-run victory over Pakistan in the opening match of the cricket World Cup...Arsenal striker Thierry Henry insisted "I am staying here for life" following his season-ending injury...Manchester Unitedchief executive David Gill claimed winger Cristiano Ronaldo could stay at Old Trafford for another five years, despite persistent rumours of a move to Spain...Sublimity claimed a surprise victory in the Champion Hurdle on the first day of the Cheltenham Festival.

14 England suffered a scare ahead of their opening World Cup match against New Zealand when seamer James Anderson was taken to hospital with a suspected fractured finger..Australia thrashed Scotland by 203 runs - the second-highest margin in World Cup history - in their Group A opener in St Kitts...Tottenham progressed to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup with a 3-2 win over Braga, 6-4 on aggregate, but Rangers crashed 1-0 at Osasuna to exit 2-1 over two legs...Voy Por Ustedes claimed victory in a dramatic Seasons Holidays Queen Mother Champion Chase, the feature race on day two of the Cheltenham Festival.

15 The Government announced the estimated total budget for the London 2012 Olympics had risen to £9.325billion...Football League clubs agreed to consider a revolutionary proposal for penalty shutouts to decide all drawn matches as part of a wider review aimed at making the game more entertaining..Mike Newell was sacked by struggling Coca-Cola Championship club Luton.

16 England opened their World Cup cricket campaign with a six-wicket defeat to New Zealand. Kevin Pietersen top scored with 60 but Scott Styris (87 not out) and Jacob Oram (63no) saw the Kiwis home...South Africa's Herschelle Gibbs hit six sixes in an over off Holland's Daan van Bunge in the cricket World Cup - the first time the feat had been achieved in one-day history...Kauto Star, trained by Paul Nicholls and ridden by Ruby Walsh, won the totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup.

17 France claimed the Six Nations championship on points difference from Ireland after beating Scotland 46-19 with a dramatic, title clinching last-minute try. Ireland beat Italy 51-24 and England lost 27-18 to Wales as their slim title hopes faded...Ireland's cricket team completed one of the biggest shocks in Cricket World Cup history with a three-wicket victory over Pakistan...England confirmed several of their World Cup party had been disciplined after they broke team rules by staying out until the early hours at a Caribbean nightclub...Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen claimed pole position for the following day's Australian Grand Prix, the first of the new F1 season.

18 The cricket world was stunned by the death of Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer in his hotel...Kimi Raikkonen won the season-opening Australian Grand Prix in his maiden drive for Ferrari at Albert Park in Melbourne. Lewis Hamilton was third on his F1 debut...England stripped Andrew Flintoff - one of six England players fined for their late-night antics following their defeat to New Zealand - of the vice-captaincy and dropped him from the side that beat Canada by 51 runs. Ed Joyce top-scored for England with 66 of their 279 for six...Charlton continued their battle against Premier League relegation with a 2-0 win over Newcastle with goals from Zheng Zhi and Jerome Thomas...Hibernian beat Kilmarnock 5-1 in the CIS Insurance final at Hampden Park.

19 Preston striker David Nugent was called into the England squad for the.European Championship qualifiers with Israel and Andorra to become the first player from outside the top flight since Michael Gray in 1999 to earn international selection...Andrew Flintoff described himself as "ashamed" and "embarrassed" after his antics in the Caribbean...India hit the highest score in World Cup history as they made 413 for five en route to a 257-run thrashing of Bermuda...Chelsea beat Tottenham 2-1 and Manchester United defeated Middlesbrough 1-0 as both sides advanced to the FA Cup semi-finals.

20 The Pakistan Cricket Board announced initial post-mortem findings into the death of coach Bob Woolmer on had proved inconclusive...Valdas Ivanauskas left his post as Hearts head coach by mutual consent...Old Trafford and Villa Park were chosen as the venues for that season's FA Cup semi-finals. Blackburn and Chelsea were scheduled to meet at Old Trafford on Saturday April 14, with Manchester United taking on Watford at Villa Park the following day...England fined bowling coaches Kevin Shine and Jeremy Snape for their involvement in the previous Friday's late-night drinking session that has already seen several players reprimanded...Justin Rose was forced to withdraw from the WGC-CA Championship in Florida.

21 Police in Jamaica confirmed they were treating the death of Pakistan cricket coach Bob Woolmer on March 18 as "suspicious"...West Ham confirmed strikerDean Ashton would not return to action that season because of an ankle injury...Birmingham signed striker Andy Cole on loan from Portsmouth until the end of the season.

22 Jamaican police announced Pakistan cricket coach Bob Woolmer was murdered by "manual strangulation" in his Kingston hotel room, but the International Cricket Council insisted the World Cup would go on...Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez dismissed speculation linking him with a move to Real Madrid, insisting he was "completely committed" to the Anfield club...An FA disciplinary commission fined Wigan manager Paul Jewell and Portsmouth boss Harry Redknapp £2,000 and £750 respectively for their behaviour towards match officials...Scotland fell to an eight-wicket thrashing at the hands of Holland in their final cricket World Cup Group A game in St Kitts.

23 On the eve of England's crucial group game against Kenya, captain Michael Vaughan insisted the World Cup should continue despite the news Jamaica police were treating the death of Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer as murder. Deputy commissioner of the island force, Mark Shields, claimed Woolmer was probably murdered by someone he knew. Meanwhile, Woolmer's family released a statement claiming he would "definitely" have wanted the World Cup to continue and also denied he had played any part in match fixing...Tim Henman came out of Davis Cup retirement to be named in the Great Britain squad for April's Euro-African Zone Group One tie against Holland.

24 England's important European Championship Group E qualifier in Israel ended in a tame goalless draw...Scotland beat Georgia 2-1 in Group B, the Republic of Ireland won 1-0 against Wales in Group D and Northern Ireland beat Liechtenstein 4-1 in Group F...England qualified for the World Cup Super Eight stage after a comfortable seven-wicket victory over Kenya.

25 Super League side Catalans Dragons recorded their first away win of the season with a 29-22 victory over leaders Bradford...Shaun McRae was ruled out of the running for the Great Britain rugby league coach's job, with Leeds' Tony Smith the front-runner...Pakistan's players arrived in England on their journey home from a tragic and disappointing World Cup in the Caribbean.

26 Police investigating the murder of Bob Woolmer refused to rule out the possibility he was the victim of a professional hit...England coach Steve McClaren described as "absolutely ridiculous" reports of a dressing-room rift with Wayne Rooney after the goalless draw with Israel...Tony Smith was appointed as the new Great Britain rugby league coach on a two-and-a-half year contract but would combine his new role with coaching at Leeds Rhinos until the end of the season...The England and Wales Cricket Board reached a settlement with the Pakistan Cricket Board regarding the ECB's claim for compensation after the forfeiture of the previous year's fourth Test between the teams. Pakistan waived their right to a fee for a Twenty20 match in summer 2012 to settle the claim...Reading manager Steve Coppell signed a new two-year contract at the club.

27 The FA confirmed the 2007 FA Cup final would take place at the new Wembley Stadium on May 19...Tom Hicks and George Gillett's takeover of Liverpool was completed after shareholders agreed to sell the American tycoons 98.6% of the club's shares. Under Stock Exchange rules, remaining stockholders would be forced to sell their shares to the duo..Arsenal and Chelsea were each fined £100,000 and reprimanded by the FA for the involvement of their players and officials in the mass confrontation towards the end of the Carling Cup final on February 25...The Scottish Rugby Union announced Magners League side Border Reivers would be disbanded at the end of the season...KevinBlackwell was confirmed as the new manager of Luton. The former Leeds boss signed a four-year contract with the Championship club.

28 England beat Andorra 3-0 in European Championship qualifying Group E. Steven Gerrard scored twice and debutant David Nugent got the other goal for Steve McClaren's side...Scotland lost 2-0 to Italy in Group B, with Luca Toni scoring in each half for the hosts in Bari. Wales beat San Marino 3-0 in Group D. In the same group, Republic of Ireland beat Slovakia 1 0. Northern Ireland defeated Sweden 2-1 to top Group F. David Healy scored both goals for Lawrie Sanchez's team...Motherwell confirmed striker Scott McDonald would sign for Celtic "within the next few days", subject to a medical. McDonald would join his new club at the end of the season.

29 Argentina football legend Diego Maradona was admitted to hospital in Buenos Aires after falling ill...Wigan manager Paul Jewell denied an FA charge of improper conduct in relation to comments he made about referee Phil Dowd following the Latics' match against Arsenal on February 11...West Indies lost their second World Cup Super Eight match in a row, losing to New Zealand by seven wickets having already been defeated by Australia.

30 England beat Ireland by 48 runs in the Super Eight stage at the Cricket World Cup...Great Britain's men's team pursuit won gold at the World Track Cycling Championships in Mallorca. Rebecca Romero won silver in the women's pursuit. Chris Hoy won gold in the keirin with Ross Edgar in bronze...Kirsty Balfour won silver in the 200m breaststroke at the World Swimming Championships in Melbourne. The European champion tied for second with American Megan Jendrick...Andy Murray lost 6-1 6-0 to Novak Djokovic in the semi-final of the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami.

31 A Peter Crouch hat-trick helped Liverpool thrash Arsenal 4-1 at Anfield in the Premier League, while Manchester United came from behind to beat Blackburn by the same scoreline. United's joy was tempered by the news that centre-back Nemanja Vidic had dislocated his shoulder in the victory and was set to be out for at least a month. An injury-time header from Salomon Kalou saved Chelsea's blushes in a 1-0 win at basement club Watford, which kept them six points adrift of Sir Alex Ferguson's side.