Football News: Review Of The Day 6th December 2019
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Review of the Day
Contracts
Numancia have given their experienced goalkeeper Dani Barrio a new contract running until 2022.
Teenage Colchester United striker Kwame Poku has a new deal. The League Two side have tied him down for 2 and a half years.
Nottingham Forest midfielder Ryan Yates has extended his contract until 2023.
Transfers
New England Revolution have signed winger Kelyn Rowe from Real Salt Lake. Leaving Revs is striker Juan Agudelo, who has joined Toronto FC.
Injury Round-Up
Southend United left-back Nathan Ralph has been ruled out for around 3 months after the 26 year old dislocated his shoulder, according to manager Sol Campbell. Campbell said: "It popped back in but they've got to assess it now and he will have a scan to see how much damage has been done. That will give us a timescale but I've done it before and it's three months really."
Real Madrid have revealed that Eden Hazard's ankle injury is worse than first feared. Initially manager Zinedine Zidane said it was a "bad twist", then the club announced it was "bruising". However further tests have revealed a fracture, which will rule the Belgian winger out for about a month. They are also going to be without Marcelo for a time, as the Brazilian left-back has a calf issue.
Werder Bremen's American attacker Josh Sargent is out until after the winter break with a hamstring injury.
Yems In Creepy Return
John Yems has returned to Crawley Town as head coach on a deal until the end of the season. He had previously taken charge of the club during the 2007-08 season, when they were in the National League and the 60 year old has recently been working at Premier League side AFC Bournemouth under Eddie Howe. Yems said: "I can't wait to be back in the dugout on Saturday and I hope the fans get behind the team. I want to get the feelgood factor back at the club and have everyone on board and pulling in the same direction."
Macc Warned By EFL
League Two side Macclesfield Town have been warned by the English Football League that they will face disciplinary action if they fail to fulfil the fixture against Crewe Alexandra, due to take place on Saturday. Macclesfield players have said they will not play as they have once again not been paid and said in a statement: "As a group we'd like to inform the EFL and Crewe Alexandra Football Club that the game on Saturday won't be taking place despite growing reports that it's business as usual. This is down to the the fact that salaries haven't been paid for last month, we haven't trained as a squad since last Thursday due to the fact we have no training ground but most importantly, the game can't go ahead for the emotional and mental wellbeing state of the players which is currently at rock bottom. We hope that our own fans - who have been tremendous - Crewe fans, and the whole of the footballing community can understand this decision with it being such an important month for us all on and off the pitch." The EFL said: "The EFL will meet the players of Macclesfield Town to discuss the current situation at the club, amid ongoing concern of the impact of late payments of wages on the health and wellbeing of those involved and their willingness to fulfil the club's scheduled League Two fixture against Crewe Alexandra and potentially other fixtures moving forward.
"The EFL notes today's latest statement from the players at the club alongside the recent comments made by the majority shareholder Mr Alkadhi, and it is clear there are challenges to be overcome. The league has significant sympathy for the players and employees, who continue to feel the substantial impact of the continued financial challenges. Since first being alerted to the financial challenges faced by the club, the EFL has worked tirelessly in an attempt to source an appropriate resolution, utilising central payments to ensure players and staff were paid whilst the owner has looked to find a sustainable longer-term solution to the ongoing issues. It remains the club's obligation to find a way to deliver on the commitments it has made both in private and public to the current issues being faced."
Owls Accuse EFL Of Unlawful Charges
Sheffield Wednesday have claimed that the charges brought by the English Football League against them for selling their Hillsborough stadium to owner Dejphon Chansiri, in order to avoid breaking FFP regulations, are unlawful. An EFL spokesperson said: "Following the review of a large number of documents provided by the club - some of those seen for the first time - evidence came to light to justify multiple charges of misconduct." Wednesday disagree and a club statement hit back: "The club has in its possession numerous emails, letters and other documents in which the EFL gave authorisation to the transaction, and on which authorisation the club understood it could rely. That authorisation gave rise in law to a legitimate expectation that the transaction would be accepted by the EFL, which is binding on the EFL. The EFL is acting in breach of that binding legitimate expectation by retrospectively treating as misconduct that which it had itself previously authorised, and this makes the charges themselves unlawful."
Dons Investigate Pie Throwing
Aberdeen are looking into claims that Rangers captain James Tavernier was hit by a pie thrown from the stands at Pittodrie during the 2-2 draw between the sides. Aberdeen have said they are "aware and investigating" the allegation, though Scottish police have said that the right-back was hit by "part of a bread roll" thrown at him while he was taking a throw-in. Police Scotland have also confirmed that no complaints were made.
CAF Awards Shortlists
Men's Player of the Year:
Andre Onana (Cameroon and Ajax)
Hakim Ziyech (Morocco and Ajax)
Ismail Bennacer (Algeria and AC Milan)
Kalidou Koulibaly (Senegal and Napoli)
Mohamed Salah (Egypt and Liverpool)
Odion Ighalo (Nigeria and Shanghai Shenhua)
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon and Arsenal)
Riyad Mahrez (Algeria and Manchester City)
Sadio Mane (Senegal and Liverpool)
Youcef Belaili (Algeria and Al Ahli Jeddah)
Youth Player of the Year:
Achraf Hakimi (Morocco and Borussia Dortmund)
Krépin Diatta (Senegal and Club Brugge)
Moussa Djenepo (Mali and Southampton)
Samuel Chukwueze (Nigeria and Villarreal)
Victor Osimhen (Nigeria and Lille)
Belgian-Born Striker Opts For Nigeria
The current top scorer in the Eredivisie, Heracles Almelo striker Cyriel Dessers, has said he wants to play for the country of his mother, Nigeria. Dessers was born in Belgium to a Belgian father, but is uncapped at any level by Belgium. Dessers told Sporza: "There has already been contact with the Nigerian association. After the match against ADO Den Haag, the assistant from Nigeria sent me a message that I was doing well. But that is not going to be easy either because there are 300 million Nigerians worldwide. I have never been to Nigeria, also because the political situation has not been so calm in recent years. The last year is only slightly better. I would like to go there and it would be twice as good to do that even if it's only to play a friendly game against Madagascar or Mauritius."
Mullins Wants Job Permanently
Watford's caretaker boss Hayden Mullins has said he would "love" to get the job on a permanent basis. Mullins was promoted from coaching the Under-23s after Quique Sanchez Flores was sacked, again. Mullins said: "I am really enjoying it. It was a big challenge but last night was fantastic to lead the team out against Leicester."
Townsend Reveals He Once Lost £46,000 In One Night
Crystal Palace winger Andros Townsend has revealed that he almost lost his career when bored during loan spells from Tottenham Hotspur. He told the Players' Tribune that he was on loan at Birmingham City staying in a hotel in Blackpool the night before a Championship play-off semi-final and spent a sleepless night gambling, losing £46,000. He said: "I'm probably the only lad in history to lose £46,000 lying in bed on a Wednesday night in Blackpool." In 2013 he was banned and fined by the Football Association and began to have counselling for his gambling addiction which he believes saved his career. Townsend said: "It snapped me back to reality. I really feared for my whole career. When the thing that you love in life can be taken away from you, it changes your perspective. That not only saved my football career, it also probably saved me as a human being. It opened me up to the possibility that actually talking to somebody about what I was going through was OK. I'm not telling this story for the whole world. I'm telling it for the people out there who have had their knocks - for those who have been misunderstood, depressed, lost, and especially the ones who have battled addiction."
Corriere Dello Sport Uses One Of Dumbest Headlines Seen
Inter Milan and AS Roma have both heavily criticised Italian newspaper Corriere dello Sport after it chose to headline a preview for a match between the two sides as "Black Friday" with pictures of Romelu Lukaku and Chris Smalling either side. Inter striker Lukaku called it "the dumbest of headlines i have ever seen in my career", then went on to say: "You guys keep fuelling the negativity and the racism issue." On-loan Roma defender Smalling said it was "wrong and insensitive". The two clubs released a joint statement which read: "We have decided to ban Corriere dello Sport from our training facilities for the rest of the year and our players will not carry out any media activities with the newspaper during this period. Both clubs are aware the actual newspaper article associated with the 'Black Friday' headline did portray an anti-racist message and for this reason we have only banned Corriere dello Sport until January. We remain totally committed to tackling racism." Corriere dello Sport itself described the headline as "innocent", saying "it was only a way to celebrate diversity".
Toffees Give Up On Silva
Everton have sacked manager Marco Silva with the Toffees stuck in the relegation zone following their defeat in the Merseyside derby. The 5-2 loss at Anfield was their 9th of the season already and leaves them sat in 18th on a run of 3 successive defeats. Silva was in charge for 60 matches and won 24, the same number as he lost, despite the club investing heavily in the transfer market. Duncan Ferguson will take charge of the team for Saturday's match against Chelsea while the search is on for a new man.
Cardiff Appeal Sala Verdict
Cardiff City have appealed against the decision to order them to pay 6 million euros to Nantes for the transfer of Emiliano Sala. Since Sala's tragic death in a plane crash on his way back to Cardiff, debate has raged over the transfer fee. FIFA ordered Cardiff to pay the first instalment in October but they have now submitted an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. A CAS statement explained: "Cardiff City FC seeks to have the (decision) set aside and requests the CAS to declare that no amount shall be payable by Cardiff City FC to FC Nantes."
Allegri Rules Out Early Return
Former Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri has ruled out a return to management before the summer, despite the links to available jobs around Europe's top leagues. Allegri told ESPN: "In June. I don't know if you can call it a sabbatical or not. Giovanni [Branchini] and I immediately came to that decision. As soon as the relationship with Juventus came to an end the decision was to take a year out. I had 18 years as a player and I've been in coaching for 16. I stopped this year after 34. I'm happy. I have a chance to reflect, go and talk to people, do things in my private life that I'm passionate about like going to the theatre, some art exhibitions, reading books. Next year will be an important year. Important for the choice I end up making and the need to be prepared for it. After a year out and five years at Juventus, I don't want to go back into the game and do badly. That would do my head in." He also revealed that he is learning English: "I am taking lessons here in Milan. I manage to speak quite well. I find the listening part a bit more difficult. If I'm talking to someone who helps me out by speaking a little slower then I understand. I watch films [in English] and if I read something in English I understand it fine."
Zlatan Makes Digs At CR7
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been discussing Cristiano Ronaldo and when asked about finding the "real Ronaldo" in Serie A Zlatan replied: "Not at all. The real Ronaldo is Brazilian. Cristiano is not a natural talent, his talent comes from years of hard work. He signed for a club that had won the Serie A seven years in a row. Signing for a club such as that is not a challenge. If he wanted a challenge, he should have gone to Juventus when they were in Serie B, then take them back to Serie A and to the top again."
Petit Makes Racism Claims
French World Cup winner Emmanuel Petit has claimed that he suffered racism in his 1 year at Barcelona, following a move from Arsenal. Petit told RMC Sport: "I experienced racism. I lived it in the Barcelona changing room. It may be shocking, but it was like that. It [happened] occasionally. Although with some players it happened with quite often. I arrived at a bad time. There was a war in the locker room between the Catalan and Dutch players. We also had Serra Ferrer for a coach, who did not have enough strength or the required charisma to manage the team."
Written by Tris Burke December 05 2019 23:48:31
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