Football News: Review Of The Day 9th April 2018
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Review of the Day
Tunisia Hit By Injury
Tunisia's first World Cup for 12 years has just got a little more difficult after forward Youssef Msakni suffered a cruciate ligament injury ruled him out of the competition. The 27 year old was injured during his club side, Al Duhail's 5-2 victory over Al Sailiya, which saw them win the Qatar Stars League.
Kane Believes He Can Still Get The Golden Boot
Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane still believes he can claim the Premier League Golden Boot ahead of Liverpool's Mohamed Salah, despite seeing his claims to have scored at the weekend dismissed and the goal awarded to team-mate Christian Eriksen. Kane said: "I still believe I can. There are still games to go. I've got to focus on my game. I can't control what he does. Obviously as a striker, it would be great to win the golden boot again and I will keep working hard from now until the end of the season."
Udinese Players Wear 11 Different Shirts During Lazio Game
Udine's 2-1 defeat at the hands of Lazio was mostly notable because each Udinese player wore a shirt from a different season. The shirts were to be auctioned off for charity afterwards.
Northampton Send Pair Back
English League One side Northampton Town have ended the loans of Hildeberto and Gboly Arlylbl. Hildeberto (a former Nottingham Forest player) was sent back to Legia Warszawa and Arlylbl was returned to Forest.
Herrera Denies Deliberately Spitting On City Crest
Footage has emerged of Manchester United midfielder Ander Herrera appearing to spit on the Manchester City club crest on the ground as the teams left the pitch at half time. United have denied that the incident was intentional: "Ander has seen the footage of the incident and is mortified at any suggestion that his actions were deliberate. It was entirely accidental and there was no intent whatsoever."
France Back Morocco World Cup Bid
As FIFA begins investigating Mexico's suitability to host the 2026 World Cup, as part of a joint bid with the USA and Canada, France have thrown their weight behind Morocco. Morocco has yet to host a World Cup but will be boosted by the French football federation president's words to L'Equipe, which confirmed that France would be voting for Morocco.
Japanese News Reports Claim Manager Has Been Dismissed
With the World Cup just over two months away, Japan have reportedly sacked manager Vahid Halilhodzic after a pair of disappointing international friendly matches recently. The Kyodo news agency is reporting the news.
Ranieri To Stay With Nantes
Despite being linked with the Italian national job, Claudio Ranieri has said he will stay with Nantes in France's Ligue 1. Ranier told Canal+: "I'm under contract with Nantes. The media say one day I'm going to Italy, another to Nice. I'll be at Nantes next year because I have a two-year contract with them."
Tunisian League Decided
Another league has crowned a champion, following Bayern Munich in the German Bundesliga and Al Duhail in the Qatari Qatar Stars League. Esperance Sportive de Tunis are champions for the 28 time in Tunisia after reigning champions Club African failed to win their game against Ben Guerdane, who held them to a 1-1 draw. Esperance celebrated by beating Metlaoui 1-0.
Hamilton Manager Hits Out At Celtic Over Red Card
Martin Canning, the manager of Hamilton Academicals, has blamed Celtic left back Kieran Tierney and the Celtic fans convinced referee Andrew Dallas to send off Darren Lyon. At the time of the incident, the score was 1-1 and Accies ended up losing the game 2-1 with ten men. Canning said: "I didn't think it was a red card. I thought it was a really soft decision. I actually thought it was a foul for us. Kieran Tierney's jumped in on Darren Lyon. There's obviously a coming together and I think Darren pulls to get himself back into the game and Tierney away from him. I felt Tierney goes down a bit easily as well, throws himself a bit. For me it's never a second yellow card. I think if anything the referee not going to make an issue of it and let the game flow. You stop the game and speak to them both, you say to Tierney about jumping in and Darren about throwing him away. And you get on with the game. But to brandish a second yellow card for that is an extremely soft decision. There was nothing in the game. It was 1-1. You still know it's going to be difficult, you're playing against Celtic. With 11 on the pitch, though, you've still got a chance. But as soon as the ref makes that decision then it makes it really difficult to win the game or take something from it. I think it (the roar from the fans) influences refs and this is not a hit at them as it's a difficult job and I defend them all the time. In front of the Celtic fans when a roar goes up it can make a difference. You're only human and you react to that noise. You want the refs to rise above it and make the right call. I've spoken to Andrew and he said it was the right call, but I strongly disagree with him."
Werner Compares Keita To Iniesta
RB Leipzig forward Timo Werner has given team-mate Naby Keita huge praise in an interview with 442, comparing him with legendary Spanish star Andres Iniesta. Werner said: "Naby will be a world-class player because he has everything. I think he's a bit like Andres Iniesta, the same type of player, because he can dribble, shoot and score. He has a lot of qualities that the young Iniesta had."
Hoeness Dismisses The Idea Of US-Style Play Offs In The Bundesliga
Uli Hoeness, now the president of Bayern Munich, has hit out at the idea of play offs to increase the competitiveness of the Bundesliga. Hoeness said: "I simply think that the other clubs have to work better. At FC Bayern, we don't have a special patron who gives us money. Or an heiress from America. We've worked for it here over forty years. Changing the rules of competition would therefore be totally unfair. Just changing the rules, only because the others can't keep up as easily and so they are competitive again? That won't do. FC Bayern are now in the semifinals of the DFB Pokal and potentially in the semifinals of the Champions League. And sometime you'd have to start with the playoffs. Or let's assume we reach the Champions League final; then we'd have to play in the playoffs in between. How is that supposed to work?"
Chelsea Wanted Batshuayi To Stay
Michy Batshuayi, currently on loan with Borussia Dortmund, has admitted that Chelsea would have preferred him to stay with the London club. Batshuayo told Onze Mondial: "I needed game time to find myself. There were a lot of possibilities. On the one hand, I was happy to leave because I knew that I was going to benefit from more playing time. On the other, I had just put in some very good performances with Chelsea and the club would have preferred that I stayed."
Robben Confirms Contact With Other Clubs
Arjen Robben's contract is up in the summer and the Netherlands international has confirmed that he has spoken to other clubs about playing for them next season. When asked if he would be leaving Bayern in the summer, Robben replied: "It's possible. Anything is possible in football, which is why you have try to enjoy it and also keep your focus on football. I've often said it's not easy because we're all people, you have to plan and have thoughts in your head. Other clubs contact you and everyone's making plans for next season, that's the case for Bayern and other clubs as well and for me also. I have to think about it, but like I said the only important thing for me right now is this last month and I want to give everything." Robben failed to confirm that his first choice was staying put: "I think you always have to handle that very cooly. I'm not one to say that, 'Oh Bayern is first [choice].' You always have to wait and see, in football anything is possible. As I said, and I think have said many times before, once all the options are on the table, I can make my decision."
Written by Tris Burke April 09 2018 07:10:43