Birmingham star Jaidi to check with ref over controversial free-kick antics

Rahdi Jaidi will check with referee Chris Foy before kick-off today at Fulham to see if he will be penalised for his controversial free-kick antics.

Birmingham City's defender has started a trend by positioning himself directly between the ball and the goalkeeper when the Blues take a free-kick on the edge of their opponent's penalty area and Alex McLeish's struggling team have twice profited from his unusual methods.

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By waving his arms up and down, he has twice succeeded in distracting opposition goalkeepers, with Mauro Zarate and Seb Larsson benefiting.

Jaidi stands in a position that, before amendments were made to the offside law, would have been illegal.

However, with ambiguity surrounding the law, interpretation will be everything.

Jaidi said: 'I can stand where I want on the pitch when the free-kick is taken — as long as I don't touch the goalkeeper.

'Why not? That's normal. If it helps my team, I will keep doing it. There are no rules against that.

'But I was thinking about asking about the referee, you know, whether it is right or wrong. I will do it before the game.'

If Bolton and Reading win today and Birmingham lose, McLeish's team will be relegated, and skipper Damien Johnson says his team-mates need to fight for everyone involved with the club.

'We have got to scrap for everything. They won't be relishing us going down there. Both of us are fighting for our lives,' said Johnson.

'It's a horrible, horrible situation. No-one likes it. It affects the players. People think it doesn't but it does.

'We turned up last week at St Andrew's and you know some of the staff are relying on you because their jobs are on the line. It's a huge responsibility. We are all aware of it.

'The last couple of weeks we have put ourselves in a difficult position. We have got to roll our sleeves up and just get on with it.

'We have just got to look after ourselves and make sure we get something.

'I'm sure we can still get out of it. But it's not going to be easy.'