Football News: Review Of The Day 15th March 2018

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Review of the Day

Iniesta Considers China Offer

Barcelona legend Andres Iniesta has confirmed he is considering an offer from China. The 33 year old is coming to the end of his career with the Catalan giants and is considering the option. Barca head coach Ernesto Valverde said: "I don't know [what he will do], it's a very personal decision, he has to decide. He has his reasons and will decide what's best for him. I'm not thinking of a Barcelona without Andres Iniesta because right now we have a Barcelona with Andres Iniesta."

Chelsea Appeal For Witnesses

Chelsea have asked for witness accounts from supporters who travelled to Barcelona for yesterday's Champions League defeat after reports claimed a number of fans were hurt in clashes outside of the Nou Camp. A club spokesman said: "We are aware of reports of incidents outside the ground before the game where a number of Chelsea fans were hurt. We ask that our supporters contact us with accounts of their experiences of this evening's arrival at the stadium so that we can take this up properly with the authorities."

MLS Announce Partnership Deal With Mexican League

Mexico's Liga MX and the USA's MLS have come together on a new partnership that will see the two competitions face off against each other as rivals. The deal signed will see the two league champions face each other in the annual Campeones Cup, as well as Liga MX involvement in the MLS's All-Star weekend, which will mainly revolve around the All-Star Game being a clash between an MLS All-Star team facing a Liga MX All-Star team. "Major League Soccer is proud to come together with Liga MX for this unprecedented partnership," said MLS Commissioner Don Garber. "Together, we have a vision to elevate the popularity of our game to even higher levels in North America. We are excited to have the MLS champion take on Liga MX's top club in the Campeones Cup this year and build further programs in the years to come." Enrique Bonilla, Liga MX President, said: "For Mexican soccer, accepting the invitation to this project is a fantastic opportunity to meet our vital goals with a long-term vision. First, it will allow us to grow closer to our fans in the United States and Canada, who are passionate about their Liga MX clubs. Second, it establishes a strategic alliance between the two leagues to exchange experiences and implement best practices throughout both organizations, which will organically assist the growth of soccer in the region."

Hammers Threaten Lifetime Bans For Pitch Invaders

West Ham United have announced that fans found to have invaded the pitch and/or thrown missiles during Saturday's 3-0 defeat to Burnley will be banned from attending matches for life. A West Ham statement read: "The club is working in close conjunction with the Metropolitan Police to identify those individuals who entered the pitch during the second half and... to identify those who threw missiles. Any individual found guilty will be banned from attending any West Ham United fixture, home and away, for life and the club will request the courts serve a banning order to prevent these individuals attending any football matches in the future."

Vancouver Dropped As Potential Host City

A row over the possible costs to the people living in the area has seen Vancouver dropped from the 'United 2026' bid to host the World Cup. The bid is a joint Mexico, USA and Canada bid to split the hosting of the 2026 World Cup between the three countries, using a number of cities in those countries to play matches. Vancouver has admitted that they are no longer in the running as a host city after asking for clarification of the costs involved. British Colombia's Tourism Minister Lisa Beare told reporters: "We submitted our second bid last night and this morning we received notification that [United 2026] have not accepted the bid. So far, the bid committee has rejected our requests to clarify how much British Columbians could be expected to contribute. And they have declined to negotiate with the province regarding the concerns we raised."

Everton Face 2 Months Without Sigurdsson

With just 8 games left Everton will have to face the possibility of completing the season without record signing Gylfi Sigurdsson, who the Toffees have confirmed is out for 6-8 weeks. The right knee injury suffered by the Icelandic star should, at least, see him fit in time for the World Cup, which will be a big relief to his nation.

Royal Family To Boycott World Cup

In what, I am sure, will be a big loss to the tournament(?!?) the British Royal Family are set to boycott this year's iteration in Russia following the heightened political tensions between Russia and the UK. "There will be no attendance by ministers - or indeed members of the royal family - at this summer's World Cup in Russia," the prime minister Theresa May said. "The Russian state was culpable of the attempted murder. Many of us looked at a post-Soviet Russia with hope. We wanted a better relationship and it is tragic that President Putin has chosen to act in this way." It does make you wonder, can the tournament continue without the attendance of such key figures.... Does sarcasm work in text?

Cat Given MOTM In Bayern Game

As Bayern Munich and Besiktas went through the motions of their second-leg Champions League tie, which Bayern had put beyond doubt in the first leg, the game was livened up by the arrival of a cat on the pitch. Chased by players and stewards, kitty refused to be put in a corner and evaded attempts to remove it for a number of minutes. So well did it perform that it won the award for Man of the Match, as voted for by Bayern fans, by a landslide.

Dumbarton Striker Accused Of Baby Kidnapping

French striker Christian Nade has been in court after being accused of what amounts to a 3 month reign of terror over his ex-girlfriend and her family. Nade stands accused of battering his ex on three separate occasions, including using a toy car as a weapon to do so with, threatening to kidnap an 11 month old child, assaulting her father and leaving her mother in a state of fear on Mother's Day. Nade has denied all charges. Defence solicitor Aimee Doran said: "He tenders pleas of not guilty to all charges on the complaint and seeks bail. He is a professional football player and is employed by Dumbarton Football Club."

Hughes Gets Saints Gig

Unsurprisingly, Mark Hughes has been appointed to manage struggling Southampton. Hughes said: "It's a challenge I'm excited by. It's a great opportunity to come back to a club I know well, and a club I've got real affinity with, and I couldn't turn that down. I bring experience of the Premier League. I understand what it takes in this league to win games. But first and foremost I think it's about coming in and maybe being that different voice, that different message from myself and the staff, that will enable the players to recognise and focus on what needs to be done in this key period of the season. The objective clearly is to remain in the league and make sure we're a Premier League club next year. That's where this club needs to be, that's where it should be, and that's our intention to make sure it remains there."

Candeias Signs Rangers Extension

30 year old Rangers winger Daniel Candeias has signed a contract extension that sees his deal extended a year until 2020. Candeias joined Rangers in the summer from Benfica of Portugal and becomes the 5th Rangers player to extend his contract in the last few weeks, joining James Tavernier, Ross McCrorie, Josh Windass and Alfredo Morelos in doing so.

Chelsea Settle New Stadium Dispute

Chelsea have announced that work can begin on their new stadium, to be built on the site of their current Stamford Bridge home, after they settled a dispute with a neighbour. The family had been trying to block building work as they believe the 60,000 seat stadium would block light to their home, but have now agreed to end all their complaints. Chelsea plan to move away from Stamford Bridge at the end of the 2019-20 season while the building works are ongoing and may spend up to four years playing their home games elsewhere.

Kane Ruled Out For A Month

Tottenham Hotspur will have to manage for a month without key man Harry Kane to lead the line after ankle ligament damage ruled him out. The 24 year old has suffered with recurring injuries to the same ankle since his emergence as Spurs leading man. Kane said: "Disappointing to be out until next month but injuries are part of the game. Will do everything I can to get back out there ASAP."

Transfer Round Up

Firstly Brazilian football, as two players with names that conjure up images of heroes from yesteryear moved clubs on loan. Fabiano left Palmeiras for a loan spell with Internacional while Romario moved from Santos to Ceara.

Russian keeper Aleksandr Filtsov has been released by Rubin Kazan. Is that ironic that a keeper has been let go? Well more ironic than any of the examples used by Alanis Morisette anyway.

Another Brazilian with an evocative name, Wanderley, has also been released. This time by UAE Gulf-League side Al-Nasr.

R.I.P. Jim Bowen

Ok, I know it is not strictly football-related, but the legendary northern comic and long-time presenter of Sunday afternoon game show Bullseye Jim Bowen has passed away. He was an ardent supporter of Blackburn Rovers and, for those of us who were children during the height of Bullseye's popularity, he will be sadly missed. Just for Ed0333, who badgered me into including this, Bowen always said the show was popular because of his failings as a slick game show host. "I was so poor at the game show game," he said. "I'd say: 'What do you do for a living?' They'd reply: 'I've been unemployed for two years.' And I'd say: 'Smashing!' It was just a word to give me a chance to think." I think it is telling that all these years later I can still recall his little rhyme on the show: Stay out of the black and into the red, you get nothing on this show for two in a bed. R.I.P. Mr Bowen, you will be sorely missed.

Written by Tris Burke March 15 2018 05:55:02