Football News: Review Of The Day 21st December 2019

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Review of the Day

Contracts

Toby Alderweireld has signed a new deal with Tottenham Hotspur which runs until 2023.

MLS side Houston Dynamo have given El Salvadorian midfielder Darwin Ceren and Honduran duo Maynor Figueroa and Boniek Garcia a 1 year contract.

Stade Rennais's French forward Adrien Hunou has signed a deal until 2023.

Callum Booth has been given a contract extension by St Johnstone.

Transfers

Atletico de Kolkata of the Indian Super League have signed Spanish midfielder Mandi.

Injury Round-Up

On-loan Liverpool forward Ben Woodburn has had his return from a broken foot delayed after he broke a bone in the other foot. The Welsh forward is currently on loan with Oxford United for the season, but has returned to Liverpool for treatment.

Arsenal left-back Sead Kolasinac has been ruled out of action for the rest of the month after injuring ligaments in his right ankle during Sunday's defeat at the hands of Manchester City.

Ben Godfrey has been ruled out until February with a torn lateral collateral ligament in his right knee. The Norwich City captain is not expected to need surgery.

Bayern Munich's Polish striker Robert Lewandowski is to have a groin operation next week with the Bundesliga heading into its 4 week winter break. Bayern hope the forward will not miss any football.

Barcelona's teenage starlet Ansu Fati has been ruled out of the match against Alaves at the weekend. The 17 year old has a hip contusion.

Macc Docked 6 Points

Financially trouble Macclesfield Town have been docked six points by the English Football League after failing pay their players on time and to fulfil their fixture with Crewe Alexandra. A further four point deduction was suspended. They could yet face further problems too as the club have been served a "zero-capacity notice" at their stadium Moss Rose. Ticket sales have been suspended and there are doubts the game will be able to take place. A Cheshire East Council statement read: "This unanimous decision by members of the SAG was not taken lightly but against a background of numerous requests to the club to provide the necessary reports and inspection certificates required to demonstrate that the ground is safe. Without the necessary assurances from the club that the ground is safe the council, therefore, has issued the club with a 'zero capacity' notification, meaning that no spectators can be admitted to the ground for any event. The club has been informed that it has breached its safety certificate in a number of areas."

Sunderland Legend Hughes Passes Away

FA Cup winning Sunderland hero Billy Hughes has died at the age of 70 after a lengthy illness. Hughes scored four in the run to a 1973 cup final against Leeds United. He also played for Derby County and Leicester City, as well as winning a Scotland cap.

Four Arrested Over Match-Fixing Scandal

Four employees of French online gambling company Winamax have been taken into custody and interrogated by investigators in France. The quartet were apprehended on 16 December in relation to suspect bets placed on an Algerian Ligue 1 match between DRB Tadjenanet and ES Setif, which took place on 12 May 2018, the penultimate day of the 2017-18 season.

Premier League Confirm Winter 'Break' Fixtures

First weekend:
Saturday 8 February : Everton v Crystal Palace 12:30 GMT, Brighton v Watford 17:30 GMT
Sunday 9 February: Sheffield United v Bournemouth 14:00 GMT, Manchester City v West Ham 16:30 GMT
Second weekend:
Friday 14 February: Wolves v Leicester 20:00 GMT
Saturday 15 February: Southampton v Burnley 12:30 GMT, Norwich v Liverpool 17:30 GMT
Sunday 16 February: Aston Villa v Tottenham 14:00 GMT, Newcastle v Arsenal 16:30 GMT
Monday 17 February: Chelsea v Manchester United 20:00 GMT

Sociedad Invite Whole Village

Spanish La Liga side Real Sociedad thrashed 4th tier side Becerril 8-0 in the Copa del Rey and then invited the entire population of the village to a game in the San Sebastian. Sociedad president Jokin Aperribay has offered to pay for transport, tickets and dinner for all 754 people who live there, along with the players and staff of the football club. Becerril president Juan Antonio Redondo said: "The match was a real festival of football and we are very grateful for how we were treated by Real Sociedad and how they consoled us after the thrashing. We'll take a look at our calendar and as soon as we can we'll all be delighted to come to San Sebastian."

Ole Rules Out Pogba Sale In Jan

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solksjaer has said that midfielder Paul Pogba "is not being sold in January". Solksjaer said: "He is not being sold in January. I hope he will play before the end of the year, but I am not going to push him. I can't risk any setbacks or injuries." Pogba's agent Mino Raiola has also said: ""Paul wants to be successful and happy and wants to win prizes and he would love to do that with Manchester United. Okay there was big interest from Real Madrid and Manchester didn't let him go. We didn't make a fuss about it and he didn't make a fuss about it because I work in accordance with the player."

Arsenal Complete Arteta Appointment

Former Arsenal captain Mikel Arteta has been appointed as the club's new head coach in succession to Unai Emery. Arteta had been working as a coach under Pep Guardiola with Manchester City since retiring from playing in 2016. Arteta said: "We all know there is a lot of work to be done to achieve that but I am confident we'll do it. I'm realistic enough to know it won't happen overnight, but the current squad has plenty of talent and there is a great pipeline of young players coming through from the academy. We need to be competing for the top trophies in the game. That's been made very clear to me in my discussions with [owners] Stan and Josh Kroenke and the senior people from the club."

UEFA Charges

UEFA have finally announced a decision with respect to the numerous incidents of Turkish players performing military salutes and various other gestures in support of Turkey's genocide of the Kurds in Syria. The players have been reprimanded and the Turkish Football Federation have been fined 50,000 euros. Probably just enough to cover the costs of the brooms used to sweep it under the carpet....

Valencia defender Gabriel Paulista has been banned for the next two UEFA competitive matches for which he is eligible for assaulting another player. Shakhtar Donetsk's Domilson Cordeiro Dos Santos has picked up a 1 match ban for rough play.

The Czech Republic's Football Association have been fined 17,750 euros for provocative political messages and the throwing of objects during their Euro 2020 qualifier against Kosovo.

Barca Fined

Spain's Football Federation (RFEF) have fined Barcelona 1,500 euros and warned them that their stadium could be forced to close if there is a repeat of the incident wherein their La Liga draw with Real Madrid was interrupted by inflatable yellow balls being thrown onto the pitch. The balls were part of a protest against the jailing of Catalan separatist leaders and led to a halt of around 90 seconds while they were cleared off the pitch.

Madrid Seek To Monetise Facebook

Real Madrid have launched a Facebook subscription service as they seek to earn money from their 110m followers on the social network. Barcelona have a similar service already up and running, with a small monthly fee providing exclusive content, club promotions and a private supporters discussion group, as well as giving subscribers the choice of displaying the club's crest on their own profiles and comments as a 'sticker'.

Written by Tris Burke December 20 2019 20:17:16