Football News: Review Of The Day 17th March 2018
Image from: blog.icpl.org
Review of the Day
Transfer Round Up
Celtic have sent young right back Anthony Ralston on loan for the rest of the season to Dundee United.
Jonas Lossl has made his loan move from Mainz 05 to Huddersfield Town permanent. The 29 year old goalkeeper has been an ever-present for the Terriers this season and will formally complete his move, for an undisclosed fee, on 1st July. Manager David Wagner said: "We knew Jonas had big quality when he joined us on loan and that has certainly proven to be the case. The quality of his distribution has been perfect for the way we play, but he's also made big, big saves at important moments. I also think we've seen him improve as the season has gone on. He's been a huge part of our season so far, on and off the pitch, and I'm sure he'll continue to be as we aim to retain our status in the Premier League."
Championship side Burton Albion have signed free agent Czech defender Tomas Egert until the end of the season. The 23 year old is currently studying Sports Management at Derby University.
Bates Ruled Out For Six Weeks
Rangers centre back David Bates is facing at least six weeks on the sideline with ankle ligament damage suffered in the SPFL match against Celtic, which will see him miss the Scottish Cup semi-final against the same team. Manager Graeme Murty said: "David Bates suffered a significant injury. He has damaged ligaments in his ankle. He hasn't got a break in there, although there is significant bone-bruising. I would suggest he is going to be a minimum of six weeks."
Rojo Signs New Deal
Despite his time at Manchester United being blighted by injuries, Marcus Rojo has been given a new contract. The 27 year old's contract now runs until 2021 but has made just 10 appearances this season due to injuries. Man Utd manager Jose Mourinho said: "Marcos has gone from strength to strength over the past couple of seasons. He is always ready to put his body on the line for this club."
Batshuayi Once Again Complains Of Racial Abuse By Atalanta Fans
In what has become a recurring theme for Atalanta fans, they have once again been accused of racism. Something the Italian FA has been keen to sweep under the carpet. UEFA were investigating following Borussia Dortmund knocking Atalanta out of the Europa League as on-loan Chelsea striker Michy Batshuayi said he heard 'monkey noises in the stands'. Dortmund were knocked out of the Europa League themselves on Thursday night and on Friday Batshuayi shared racially abusive messages he had received on Twitter. Some of the messages contained explicit racist slurs in Italian, many featured emojis of bananas and monkeys, some also reference the senders' support of Atalanta.
Walsall Have Appointed Keates
League One side Walsall have given former midfielder Dean Keates a second return to his hometown club. Keates had two spells with his hometown club Walsall as a player. Keates was in charge at Wrexham in the National League, his first job in management.
FIFA Confirm World Cup Will Use VAR
FIFA have now formally approved the use of VAR in the upcoming Russian World Cup. It was about as surprising as the appointment of Mark Hughes to manage Southampton, as FIFA had spent the last few months trying to figure out how to make money from the system via sponsorship and ad breaks while it was being used. "We need to live with the times," said Fifa president Gianni Infantino. "We wanted to give the referees tools so they can make better decisions, and in the World Cup some very important decisions are made. It's not possible that in 2018 everyone in their living room knows a few seconds after the play whether a referee has made a mistake and the referee doesn't."
Iraq International Football Ban Lifted
FIFA lifted the 30-year ban on Iraq hosting international football, with 3 cities given the green light to host matches, though the capital Baghdad is still not given permission to do so. "We are allowing international matches to be staged in the cities of Arbil, Basra and Karbala," said Gianni Infantino.
Heynckes Denies Bayern Interest In Malcom
Just last month Jupp Heynckes confirmed that Bayern Munich's scouting team were watching Bordeaux forward Malcom. Now the veteran manager has said there is no interest in him: "I have never seen him play. Therefore, I am not able give an opinion on him. But I don't think there is interest here. He always gets put into the shopping window but nobody really goes after him."
Coquelin Out For Season
Valencia midfielder Francis Coquelin, who only joined the Spanish club from Arsenal in January, has torn his Achilles and will require surgery. He suffered the injury in training on Friday and is ruled out for the rest of the season.
9 Arrested Following Weekend's Pitch Invasion At Lille
Police in France made dawn raids related to the pitch invasion following Lille's 1-1 draw with Montpellier, which saw Lille players attacked by their own fans. 9 people were arrested on charges of aggravated violence, property damage and death threats.
Valencia Manager Criticises Deschamps
Valencia manager Marcelino has criticised Didier Deschamps for overlooking his midfielder Geoffrey Kondogbia, claiming that he is better than Paul Pogba. "Kondogbia didn't only play brilliantly against Sevilla, but he has had a lot of excellent games throughout the entire season," Marcelino told the Spanish press. "He is a key player for us, he is important for how we play and although I don't follow how the other French midfielders are getting on, recently I don't think that some of them would be close to how Kondogbia is playing. We saw Pogba play against Sevilla and Kondogbia against the same opponent and there isn't any kind of comparison to be made. As always, however, I have total respect for the national team managers and as Valencia boss I am happy that he is here with us."
Villa Youngsters Sign New Deals
Two Aston Villa youngsters have signed extended contracts with the Midlands club. Andre Green is now tied to the club until 2021, the 19 year old winger has struggled with injury this season, after impressing over the last couple of seasons playing for the first team. Also 19, defender Mitchell Clark is now contracted until 2019 after impressing in the under 23s.
Ruddock's Idea Of Rehab
When Neil Ruddock was playing for Liverpool he was in the gym doing rehab with Stan Collymore one day, while legendary coach Ronnie Moran oversaw their work. The moment Moran left the gym, Ruddock produced a tabloid paper and bacon rolls and proceeded to sit there reading the paper while stuffing his face until Collymore warned him Moran was on the way back. Immediately Ruddock hid the crumbs and paper, picked up a bottle of water and threw it over his head to make it look like he had been sweating and jumped onto a treadmill. Moran came in and, after checking on Ruddock, went on to give a bunch of youngsters who were also there a lecture about what a consummate professional the bacon muncher was and how they would go far if they followed his example.
Written by Tris Burke March 17 2018 05:30:34
