Football News: Review Of The Day 7th January 2020

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Review of the Day

Contracts

Teenage VfL Bochum defender Armel Bella-Kotchap has signed a new deal running until 2024.

Transfers

Legendary Italian midfielder Daniele De Rossi has retired at the end of his Boca Juniors deal.

Barnsley have signed Austrian midfielder Marcel Ritzmaier from Wolfsberger AC.

VfL Wolfsburg have loaned out Elvis Rexhbecaj to 1.FC Cologne.

FC Augsburg have signed Eduard Lowen on loan from Hertha Berlin.

German attacking midfielder Marko Marin has left Red Star Belgrade to join Saudi side Ahli for a fee of £2m.

Liam Bridcutt has returned to Nottingham Forest from Bolton Wanderers, after his loan spell ended. Josh Earl's loan to Bolton Wanderers has also been ended and he has returned to Preston North End. Joining Bolton is Muhammadu Faal from non-league side Enfield for an undisclosed fee and Manchester United midfielder Ethan Hamilton on loan.

Colombian striker Adalberto Penaranda has returned to Watford at the end of his loan to Belgian side KAS Eupen.

Anders Dreyer has returned to Brighton & Hove Albion at the end of his loan to Heerenveen.

Rangers have ended the loan of Andy King and he has returned to parent club Leicester City.

Everton midfielder Callum Connolly has signed for Fleetwood Town on loan.

League Two side Salford City have loaned defender Carl Piergianni to division and local rivals Oldham Athletic. The Latics have also released former Man Utd winger Chris Eagles.

Bristol Rovers have signed winger Jayden Mitchell-Lawson on loan from Derby County.

Luke McCullough has re-signed for Tranmere Rovers on non-contract terms.

Leamington Town have banked an undisclosed fee for striker Josh March as he joins Forest Green Rovers.

Stevenage have taken Joe Leesley on loan from Harrogate Town.

Portsmouth have paid an undisclosed fee for Bromley striker Reeco Hackett-Fairchild.

Anthony Grant has signed on-loan for League Two leaders Swindon Town from Shrewsbury Town.

Injury Round-Up

Cheltenham Town have lost goalkeeper Scott Flinders for the rest of the season as he has had an operation to repair two broken bones in his leg.

Real Madrid duo Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema have been ruled out of the Spanish Super Cup semi-final against Valencia. Bale is too sick to travel to Saudi Arabia (or perhaps they could not get him off the golf course in time to fly?) and Benzema has a hamstring injury.

Former Celtic Boss Gets MLS Move

Former Celtic manager Ronny Deila has been appointed as the manager of Manchester City's sister club in Major League Soccer, New York City FC. Deila has been in charge at Valerenga in Norway since leaving Celtic, but has left them to take charge of NYCFC. Deila said: "When the opportunity came up to join New York City FC as their new Head Coach, it was a dream come true for me to manage an amazing club in a great city. I'm a very attacking coach. We want to have the ball as much as possible, but also try to be direct when you have those opportunities."

Zlatan Statue Removed

After a series of attacks on the statue of Zlatan Ibrahimovic outside Malmo's stadium, the club have finally removed it. It had suffered the indignity of a toilet seat on the head, around the neck, over the arm, graffiti sprayed all over it, being set on fire, its nose cut off and an attempt at sawing through its legs since Ibrahimovic bought into rival Swedish club Hammarby. Finally its legs were sawn off at the ankles and it was toppled, with graffiti reading "take away" written on it and a Sweden shirt pulled over its face, which has seen it taken away. Malmo say that it has been taken to be repaired and will be brought back.

Pope Investigated For Anti-Semitism

Port Vale striker Tom Pope is being investigated by the Football Association and Port Vale over a tweet he made in reply to being asked on social media to predict the outcome of World War Three. Pope tweeted: "We invade Iran then Cuba then North Korea then the Rothchilds are crowned champions of every bank on the planet - the end." Pope was accused of being anti-semitic as the Rothschild family is Jewish.

Lazio Win Marred By Abuse

Lazio's win over Brescia was marred by alleged racial abuse, as Brescia striker Mario Balotelli says they should be ashamed of themselves. Balotelli said on social media: "Lazio fans present at the stadium today, shame on you." Lazio themselves stated: "As always, Lazio dissociates in the most taxing way from the discriminatory behaviour carried out by a very small minority of fans during the match against Brescia. The club once again reiterates its condemnation of such unjustified misconduct and confirms its intent to prosecute those who in fact betray their sporting passion, causing serious damage to the image of the club." Balotelli had opened the scoring for Brescia with Serie A's first goal of 2020.

West Germany Keeper Passes Away

The West Germany goalkeeper Hans Tolkowski, best known to English football fans as the one Geoff Hurst put a trio past to win the 1966 World Cup, has passed away. The 84 year old won 39 caps for his country as well as helping club side Borussia Dortmund to win the German cup and the European Cup Winners Cup.

Christie Gets Genital Grab Ban

Celtic player Ryan Christie has been given a 3 match ban for grabbing Rangers striker Alfredo Morelos by the genitals during Rangers 2-1 win in an Old Firm game on 29th December. The SFA gave him a 2-game ban, with a further game added due to a previous red card this season.

Spurs Find No Evidence Of Rudiger Racial Abuse

Tottenham Hotspur have said that both they and the police have dropped their investigation into alleged racial abuse of Chelsea player Antonio Rudiger by Spurs fans when the two teams faced off in the Premier League during December. A Tottenham statement read: "We fully support Antonio Rudiger with the action that he took - however there is no evidence to corroborate or contradict the allegation and as such neither ourselves nor the police are in a position to take any further action. We are fiercely proud of our anti-racism work and our zero tolerance of any form of discrimination. This is one reason why we have attributed so much time and resource to investigating this matter. Had we identified anyone guilty of this we were intent on issuing them with a lifetime ban from our stadium as they would have no place among our proud, diverse fan base. If any new information comes to light, this will be fully investigated."

FA Cup 4th Round Draw

Watford or Tranmere Rovers v Wolverhampton Wanderers or Manchester United
Hull City v Chelsea
Southampton v Middlesbrough or Tottenham Hotspur
Queens Park Rangers v Sheffield Wednesday
Bournemouth v Arsenal
Northampton Town v Derby County
Brentford v Leicester City
Millwall v Sheffield United
Reading or Blackpool v Cardiff City or Carlisle United
West Ham United v West Bromwich Albion
Burnley v Norwich City
Bristol Rovers or Coventry City v Birmingham City
Manchester City v Fulham
Rochdale or Newcastle United v Oxford United
Portsmouth v Barnsley
Bristol City or Shrewsbury Town v Liverpool

Written by Tris Burke January 06 2020 21:58:13