Football News: Review Of The Day 2nd April 2018

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Review of the Day

Spanish Footballer In Spectacular Accident

A footballer for Spanish Second Division club Albacete in critical condition in hospital after what the club described as a spectacular accident. The 27 year old, who had joined them from Romanian club Cluj in the summer, reportedly fell out of a third floor window at the team hotel. The match was postponed to allow his team-mates to sit with him in hospital. A statement on Albacete's website read: "The club's medical staff have been at his side the whole time. We will continue to release updates about the state of our player."

Defoe Targets World Cup

After coming off the bench to rescue a point for Bournemouth at the weekend, Jermaine Defoe is looking for a return to the England set-up. The 35 year old striker said: "I've missed the last three squads There's a lot more goals in me but I know I've got to be playing. I worked so hard to get back in the squad and signed for Bournemouth as an England player. I spoke to the manager a few months ago and I understand I have got to be playing. You can't just assume you're going to get in the squad because of what you have done over the years. You've got to be playing, you've got to be performing and you've got to be scoring goals. Once I start doing that I will feel I'm ready to go now. If I can get a run of games I am going to score goals because it's something I have always done."

Puel Disputes Ndidi Red

Leicester City manager Claude Puel believes his team were hard done by after midfielder Wilfred Ndidi was sent off late in the game, for a second booking, as the Foxes registered a 2-0 win over Brighton at the weekend. Puel said: "When I watched the replay it is not a yellow card for me. It is not a foul because he touched the ball and it changed direction. It is harsh to lose this player at this time. He is a valuable player for us because he works hard, he recovers a lot of ball and he starts play. I didn't understand all of the yellow cards we had at the end and for me it was not the same for the opponent. I wanted a better balance between the two teams."

McArthur Unhappy With Mane's Let Off

Crystal Palace midfielder James McArthur has admitted he has no idea why Liverpool forward Sadio Mane was not given a second yellow on Saturday. Mane, believing he was fouled, deliberately reached out and handled the ball, but the referee had not given him a foul. In fact Neil Swarbrick's decision was to give Palace a free kick for Mane's handball, but decided to take no further action when just about everyone watching was expecting him to produce the yellow card. Mane having been booked earlier in the game for diving would have been taking an early bath. Instead Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was able to take the Senegalese off to save him from further punishment. McArthur said: "I think a lot of games he probably would have got a second yellow. I am not sure why [he was not sent off]. He grabs the ball and when he does I do not know why it is not a booking, to be honest. He [referee Neil Swarbrick] has seen all the reactions during the game and it is not like for the game we are saying, 'Send him off, send him off'. But it is a clear opportunity for us to score and to grab the ball back ... it has penalised us, to be honest. We feel hard-done by, but it is the nature of the game. We go again next week and we need to get points on the board. Listen, the referee will tell you those rules. They will know better than us. But in the heat of the moment you obviously feel like it has cost us."

Vialli Claims Conte Wants Out Of Chelsea

While hardly surprising, as most of the world have been speculating just this all season long as Antonio Conte constantly attacks Chelsea's transfer policy in press conferences, it is interesting that the claims are now emanating from former Chelsea player and manager Gianluca Vialli. Vialli said: "Conte can't wait to leave Chelsea. He can't stand that they sell or buy players without consulting him. The truth is, Chelsea would like a manager who is more of a club man. Whether it's the Nazionale or Paris Saint-Germain, he'll find a place where he can start winning something important again. There will be a queue of contracts for him to sign."

Simeone Gives Up On La Liga Title

With Barcelona's lead at the top of the Spanish league cut to 9 points, with just 8 games left to play, closest challengers Atletico Madrid's manager Diego Simeone has admitted they have almost no chance of closing the gap. Simeone believes Messi is the difference, saying: "We're having a very important league campaign. We've already seen what happened at Sevilla. Without Messi, Sevilla would have won 2-0. With Messi on the pitch, Barca won 2-0, although the final score was 2-2. Messi is the decisive factor. We want to keep improving our numbers from last season."

Sunderland Fans Suffer Yet Another Disappointment

Sunderland's Republic of Ireland international 'defender' John O'Shea has denied he has any plans to retire at the end of the season, quashing the hopes of Mackems everywhere. The 36 year old has captained the Black Cats to one relegation and the verge of a second successive one, but he refuses to think about calling time on a career. O'Shea said: "I'm fit and well and you can see that by the amount of games I've played consecutively this season, especially over the festive period where I played five or six games in 10 days. When you retire from playing it's a permanent retirement and there's no going back, and whenever I speak to former pros or team-mates, they all say to play on for as long as you can. When I wake up in the morning my body still feels good - believe me, if it didn't I'd be the first one to admit it and finish up. There's plenty of things to look forward to when my playing career ends, from coaching and management to media and punditry work, and spending more time with my family, but my wife is certainly happy I've decided to play on for another year! First and foremost, I'm concentrating on helping the team between now and the end of the season - that's the big thing, that's the only thing. Perhaps I didn't expect to play as much as I have this season, but I know I'm capable of playing week in, week out and I want to help the team so I'm ready whenever called upon."

4 Injured As PSG Fans Brawl With Each Other

Four police officers were injured on Saturday night, as they tried to break up brawls between Paris Saint-Germain fans, who had fallen to fighting each other during the build up to the Coupe de la Ligue (League Cup) final win over AS Monaco.

Fabinho Denies PSG Talks

Monaco's Brazilian international Fabinho has denied contact with PSG, or anyone else, over a summer transfer. "Speaking the truth, I have had no contact with any team and I do not even care at the moment," Fabinho told Globo Esporte. "I'm concentrating on finishing the season well at Monaco and then, when it's time, I'll sit down with the club and if I have to listen to any proposal, we'll listen."

VAR Is Like Sex Without Pleasure

Former France international Bixente Lizarazu has compared VAR in football to sex without pleasure after the technology was used to deny Monaco a goal in their defeat to PSG in the French League Cup final. VAR was at the heart of controversy in the match, after referee Clement Turpin appeared to change his mind twice about a penalty for PSG due to looking at a replay. Eventually he gave a penalty which Edinson Cavani scored from. Then a goal from Radamel Falcao for Monaco was ruled out for offside with the score at 2-0 to PSG. Lizarazu said after the game: "VAR is a little like sex without pleasure. At the time of the fireworks, you are told to stop, that's how I felt in the stadium. Monaco fans are excited about Falcao's goal, they are very happy and then we have to stop everything. It's terrible, it's very frustrating. The fans do not participate in anything, it's as if you're not important. The supporter wants to participate in the show, but we are denied that. We have to use the video better. It has to be explained to everyone, in the stadium and on television. We're taking part in the same show."

La Liga Chief Lets Slip Transfer Confirmation

Rumours have been rife that Eibar's Japanese winger Takashi Inui was set to join Andalusian side Real Betis in the summer, but it now appears the Javier Tebas, the chief of La Liga, has confirmed the rumours are true. Tebas said: "We must try to make clubs like Eibar, Levante and Leganes have players that are points of reference in certain countries. There's Eibar with Inui, who is going to Betis next season, by the way."

Written by Tris Burke April 02 2018 07:23:28