Football News: Review Of The Day 19th March 2019

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Review of the Day

Contracts

New manager Brendan Rodgers got his wish as Leicester City captain got a 1 year contract extension taking him up until 2020. At the rate they are going through managers that will be 3 more managers he will get to work with after Rodgers.

Ajax have extended Marc Overmars contract as director of football at the Dutch giants until 2024, amid rumours of Arsenal interest in their former winger, having missed out on Monchi. Overmars said: "There are still plenty of challenges at Ajax and I'm having a good time here. We are taking steps with both the youth academy and the first team and we still want to show a lot."

Transfers

Rangers' Mexican flop midfielder Carlos Pena has left on a free transfer to Polish side GKS Tychy.

England Call Up Ward-Prowse

Southampton midfielder James Ward-Prowse has been called up by England after Manchester City's Fabian Delph and John Stones, plus Chelsea's Ruben Loftus-Cheek all withdrew through injury. Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi has also moved up from the U21s to help fill the gap in the squad. Though the gap on the pitch Stones usually leaves will now not need filling after he withdrew from the squad....

Leeds Lose Their Swede

Leeds United's Swedish centre half Pontus Jansson has been ruled out of action for 3 weeks due to a knee injury. The 28 year old played on after the injury as Leeds had already used all 3 substitutes and even ended up playing in goal after their goalkeeper Kiko Casilla was sent off. As well as missing out Sweden's European Championship qualifiers, Jansson is likely to miss games against Millwall and Birmingham City in the Championship.

Birch New Swans Chairman

The former CEO of Chelsea, Everton, Leeds United, Sheffield United and Derby County, Trevor Birch, has been appointed as chairman of Swansea City. The previous incumbent, Huw Jenkins, had lost his way in recent years and resigned in February after 17 years in the role. Swans majority owners Steve Kaplan and Jason Levein said of Birch in a statement: "Trevor's track record in the game speaks for itself. He has the experience we need and a business reputation that is second to none. Quite frankly, he is one of the finest football executives currently in the game." If he is that good, why was Chelsea in such a mess under him before Roman Abramovich took over? In fact, what did he do so well in any of his previous roles that makes him seem an outstanding candidate? Why does football have such a closed shop where the same old failures continue to get job after job, making it almost impossible for new blood to freshen up the English game?

Brummy Sides Fined

Both Birmingham City and Aston Villa have been fined £5000 by the FA for failing to control their players during their recent derby match. The pair were charged due to a melee in the 5th minute following a foul by Birmingham's Maikel Kieftenbeld on Villa's Jack Grealish, which was overshadowed by later events.

Schalke Discipline Bentaleb

Former Tottenham Hotspur player Nabil Bentaleb has been dropped down to Schalke 04's under 23 squad for disciplinary reasons. The Algerian international is currently injured anyway, so unable to train or play, but the club have still announced the decision on their website. The Schalke statement read: "Nabil Bentaleb has been dropped to the U23s due to disciplinary reasons. The door is still open for him to return to the first-team squad and there is no set time frame on how long he will spend with the U23s. The 24-year-old cannot train due to a groin problem at the moment, so will only be doing rehabilitation work for the time being." I am not sure what the disciplinary matter was, but it seems very odd to announce it when he was injured anyway. It almost amounts to public humiliation.

CAF Reject Liberian Request

Liberia's request to have their AFCON qualifier against DR Congo moved from Kinshasa due to the Ebola epidemic has been denied by the Confederation of African Football (CAF). Liberia were hit hard by a previous epidemic, during which they were banned from hosting international football between August 2014 and December 2015 by CAF. But CAF maintain that Kinshasa is currently safe from the outbreak and can host the match as planned despite Liberia's understandable fears.

Ospina Out Of Hospital

David Ospina has been discharged from hospital after the 30 year goalkeeper collapsed during a match on Sunday. The on-loan Arsenal keeper was playing for Napoli when he took a blow to the head in a collision early in the match. He continued to play on until shortly before the break when he collapsed and was rushed to hospital. Ospina will now be taking a break during the international period, rather than joining Colombia.

Fan Violence Disrupts Athens' Derby

The Athens' derby between Panathinaikos and Olympiakos was called off with 20 minutes left due to violence between fans and police and 2 pitch invasions. Panathinaikos fans attacked players on the Olympiakos bench during the first pitch invasion after just 4 minutes. That caused an 8 minute stoppage in the game. The second pitch invasion followed Olympiakos scoring in the 53rd minute and led to Greek riot police attempting to calm matters by escalating them with tear gas. With the gas drifting onto the field of play and affecting the players, referee Marco Fritz called the game off. The Greek Super League have awarded the game to Olympiakos, who were 1-0 up when the game was stopped. A Pana statement read: "Panathinaikos FC condemns unequivocally every act of violence that took place at the Olympic Stadium and led to the permanent interruption of the derby. From the administration's point of view, absolute condemnation of all forms of athletic violence is essential."

Rio State Take Over Maracana

The state government of Rio de Janeiro has announced that it will be taking over the running of the legendary Maracana Stadium with immediate effect cancelling the contract they had with a private consortium. Former Rio governor Sergio Cabral was sentenced to 12 years in prison accused of manipulating bids and overinflating contract for the stadium. Rio's state assembly have stated that they will be investigating the contract they had with the private consortium, due to signs of mismanagement and corruption.

Chelsea Lodge Formal Complaint Over Hudson-Odoi Abuse

Chelsea have formally complained to UEFA after teenage winger Callum Hudson-Odoi was subjected to monkey chants from Dynamo Kiev fans after the youngster was brought on as a substitute late in the game. A Chelsea statement confirmed the reports: "We can confirm a report of racist abuse directed at one of our players in the final minutes of the match in Kiev from a small section of home supporters. We wholeheartedly condemn such abhorrent behaviour." The referee mentioned the abuse in his report.

Groin Injury Sees Shaqiri Pull Out Early

It may sound like the plot of Ed003's latest porn film, but Liverpool midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri has withdrawn due to a swelling in the groin. The 27 year old will not be playing for Switzerland in their matches against Georgia and Denmark due to his groin injury.

Ronaldo Charged For Simeone Copy

Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo copied Diego Simeone's recent goal celebration, which saw the Atletico Madrid boss fined 20,000 euros, after scoring the 3rd goal of his hat-trick in the Champions League win over Atleti last week. The former Real Madrid star has been charged with improper conduct by UEFA for the celebration.

Written by Tris Burke March 19 2019 04:57:36