Football News: Review Of The Day 12th February 2020

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Review of the Day

Contracts

Wojciech Szczesny has extended his contract with Juventus until 2024.

CA Osasuna have extended Aridane Hernandez's deal until 2022.

Charles Traore has signed a new deal with Nantes to keep him at the French club until 2023.

Boubacar Hanne has signed a contract extension with Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Transfers

Montreal Impact have terminated the contract of Argentine midfielder Ignacio Piatti so that the attacking midfielder can return to former club San Lorenzo.

Nashville SC have spent £1m to sign Walker Zimmerman from Los Angeles FC.

Emmanuel Adebayor has completed his signing for Olimpia.

TSG Hoffenheim have sent Brazilian winger Felipe Pires to HNK Rijeka on loan.

Cameroon winger Paul-Georges Ntep has returned to VfL Wolfsburg at the end of his loan with Kayserispor and been released.

Former Everton youngster Ben Tollitt has signed for Macclesfield Town until the end of the season. The 25 year old was released by Blackpool last month.

Free agent Scottish winger Ross Wallace has signed for St Mirren for the rest of the season.

Grasshopper Zurich have signed Wolverhampton Wanderers youngster Boubacar Hanne on loan.

Injury Round-Up

Barcelona winger Ousmane Dembele has been ruled out for six months after surgery on a hamstring tear. The 22 year old French starlet was only just back in full training after a previous injury when he picked up the problem in a training session last week.

Paris Saint-Germain are being patient with Neymar, who is expected to miss another game with his rib injury. Fellow Brazilian Marquinhos is also expected to miss the French Cup match with Dijon on Wednesday. Thiago Silva and Juan Bernat are fit to play though.

Dijon goalkeeper Alfred Gomis has been ruled out for at least two months after injuring his knee in a collision with Nantes forward Moses Simon on Saturday. A Dijon statement read: "The MRI performed on Monday confirmed the initial diagnosis: it is indeed a rupture of the posterior cruciate ligament of the right knee. This injury should not require surgery. The Senegalese goalkeeper should be unavailable for a period of two to three months. The entire club wishes Alfred a good recovery and rapid rehabilitation."

Atletico Madrid have been boosted by the return of Diego Costa to full training. He is now aiming to be ready to play the first leg of the Champions League tie with Liverpool.

Aston Villa defender Ezri Konsa is back to full fitness. Konsa went off early during Villa's match against Bournemouth but manager Dean Smith said: "He felt something in his thigh at half-time so we brought him off, but he had three or four days off and then he came back in and he's been back training ever since. So he's fine and he's fit."

Managerial Changes

Despite Hertha Berlin spending the most money in the January transfer window, their head coach Jurgen Klinsmann has quit. Klinsmann wrote on social media: "At the end of November, we stepped in with a highly competent team to help Hertha in the relegation battle. Within a short time, we were on a positive path and managed to gain a six-point gap to the relegation zone. I am convinced that Hertha will avoid relegation. Without the guarantee of trust, I cannot reach the full potential as the head coach and, therefore, not fulfill my duties." Hertha have appointed Klinsmann's assistant Alexander Nouri as new head coach. Sporting director Michael Preetz stated: "We are surprised by the development. In particular, after we worked closely together to make decisions on the transfer market over the winter. We will inform you of any further development." Klinsmann was in charge for just 10 weeks.

Disciplinary Charges

Schalke 04 have been fined 50,000 euros for the racist chants their fans aimed at Hertha Berlin's Jordan Torunarigha during a German Cup game last week. Schalke's president Clemens Toennies only recently returned to the role after three months out over racist comments he made.

Inter Milan's assistant manager Cristian Stellini has been given a one match ban for his sending off during the Milan derby on Sunday. The 45 year old was sent off in the second half after his protests over a decision led to him being booked. His protests against the booking then led to him being shown a second card.

City-Hammers Game Rescheduled

Manchester City and West Ham United have had their postponed match rescheduled for Wednesday 19th February. The game was postponed on Sunday due to the adverse weather conditions caused by Storm Ciara but the rescheduling has been a problem. With Man City still in the Champions League, FA Cup and League Cup, the available dates were limited and so the game has been arranged for a time that would otherwise be frowned upon by UEFA, as it clashes with some Champions League matches. It has also been scheduled during both team's supposed winter break, despite the FA and Premier League being so keen to avoid that happening.

Gilmour Promoted By Lampard

Chelsea head coach Frank Lampard has promoted teenage midfielder Billy Gilmour into the first team squad on a permanent basis. The 18 year old Scot has made five first team appearances this season and joined Chelsea from Rangers in 2017. Gilmour told the Chelsea official website: "It's the first big step I think, moving into the first team dressing room at a club like Chelsea. Knowing that the manager has such faith in you is massive, it gives me so much confidence when I step on to the field. It's really good knowing that he trusts in you and likes the way you play, and I think that's the same for everyone here. Age isn't really an issue here. The gaffer has shown that if you work hard and perform well, then you will get opportunities."

Ibe Found Guilty

Bournemouth's former Liverpool winger Jordon Ibe has been found guilty of failing to stop after an accident at a hearing at Bexley Magistrates' Court. The 24 year old had already admitted careless driving after he hit a parked car and then crashed into the front of a coffee shop on Plaistow Lane in London last July. The crash hit the shop front hard enough for it to need to be removed from the foundations to make it safe and for part of Ibe's Bentley Bentayga to be left behind in the rubble. Ibe has been given an interim driving ban while he awaits sentencing on 3rd March.

Ratcliffe Rules Out Premier League

Despite having made a number of attempts to convince Roman Abramovich to part with Chelsea in the past, Britain's richest man Jim Ratcliffe has ruled out investing in a Premier League team for the forseeable future. The billionaire businessman has just expanded his portfolio to include Formula 1 and already owns a French Ligue 1 side, in the shape of OGC Nice, and Swiss second tier club Lausanne. Ratcliffe told the BBC that he felt that was enough for now: "We are very comfortable with where we are with Nice actually. It's going quite well, it's been quite interesting, we are still learning and it is quite a challenging league in France with some very talented players."

Man Utd Apply For Permission For Rail Seats

It has been revealed that Manchester United applied to their local Safety Advisory Group (SAG) in December for permission to install rail seating in the north-east corner of Old Trafford. The club wants to replace seating in that area with the rail seats which could house up to 1,500 fans.

AFC Postpone Matches

The Asian Football Confederation has decided to postpone all cip matches that were due to be played in East Asia until April. Concerns over the coronavirus have seen a number of countries in the region impose travel restrictions and this has led to the AFC Cup's preliminary, play-off and group-stage matches to begin being played from 7th April. An AFC statement explained: "Taking into consideration the overall logistical arrangements as well as match preparations of the East Zone participating clubs, the AFC has decided that the AFC Cup 2020 (East Zone) will be postponed."

Players Salary Fund To Be Set Up

FIFA and FIFPro have come together to set up a global fund to protect players' salaries. The Fifa Fund for Football Players (rolls off the tongue!) is to provide financial support to players who have not been paid by their club. FIFA have set aside over £12m for the fund up until 2022. A further £3.8m has been allocated for players who have been affected between July 2015 and June 2020. A joint FIFA and Fifpro statement read: "While these grants will not cover the full amount of salaries owed to players, this fund will provide an important safety net." Fifpro president Philippe Piat added: "More than 50 clubs in 20 countries have shut in the last five years, plunging hundreds of footballers into uncertainty and hardship. This fund will provide valuable support to those players and families most in need. Many of these clubs have shut to avoid paying outstanding wages, immediately re-forming as so-called new clubs. Fifpro has long campaigned against this unscrupulous practice and thanks Fifa for combating it in its disciplinary code."

Emery Tries His Hand At New Career

Unai Emery has clearly moved into comedy since being sacked by Arsenal. The Spaniard has claimed that he would have become the best coach in the world if there had been VAR during his time with Paris Saint-Germain. Emery won seven domestic trophies in two seasons with PSG, but threw away a 4-0 first leg lead against Barcelona with a 6-1 defeat in the second at Camp Nou in his first season in the Champions League. In his second attempt, he again reached the round of sixteen, this time losing 5-2 on aggregate to Real Madrid. Emery told France Football: "In Paris, I missed the chance to become the best coach in the world. I won the league, four domestic cups and two Trophees des Champions. But the ultimate goal was the Champions League. The first year, in the round-of-16 against Barcelona, were played a really high-level first leg. In the return leg, we were knocked out because VAR didn't yet exist. We were very clearly knocked out by refereeing decisions. The second year, against Real Madrid, we bowed to a team who recorded an historic hat-trick and, again, in the first leg, we could find fault with the officiating. To conclude: we lost the first time on refereeing decisions, and the second against the defending and future champions." Emery has also claimed that he never made the choice to sign Nicolas Pepe from Lille when he was head coach at Arsenal: We needed time to succeed with our transition to a new Arsenal which is what I wanted. For example, Nicolas Pépé, who was the club's choice, clearly needed time to adapt. But I accept the rule of thumb and that I am poorly placed to criticise because I also benefited from such judgement in the past. I obviously am partly responsible, but you see that the team has not exactly done better since I left. Arsenal was a club on a downward slope for two years before I arrived. We stopped this fall and even began to rebuild the club with the Europa League final and 5th place in the league, only one point off of Tottenham despite the fact that we took just one point in our final five matches. We had Champions League qualification in our grasp and it went wrong in the end. But it was a good season and we had this notion of continuing to improve. But we lost our four captains: Koscielny, Cech, Ramsey and Monreal. They were personalities that we missed this season to stay on the right track. And some stars did not have a good attitude and asked for more than what they were giving back. Taking all of that into account, we needed time to succeed with our transition to a new Arsenal which is what I wanted."

Inter Who?

Inter Milan have won a trademark battle with David Beckham's new Major League Soccer franchise Inter Miami. The US Patent and Trademark Office have dismissed one of their two arguments against Inter Milan's trademark application of the name 'Inter' which was submitted in 2014. It now looks likely that they will be forced to rename the club before it even plays its first match.

Cassano Ordered To Pay Back Taxes

Former Italy striker Antonio Cassano has been ordered to pay 263,000 euros in back taxes to the Italian inland revenue. The forward was playing for AS Roma when payments were made to his agent by the club, which have been ruled to be part of his earnings at the club.

Written by Tris Burke February 11 2020 23:29:47