Football News: Review Of The Day 22nd February 2020

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Review of the Day

Contracts

FC Cincinnati have given Rey Ortiz his first professional contract. The 23 year old was picked 29th in the 2020 MLS SuperDraft.

Alfie Doughty's contract has been extended by 1 year with Charlton Athletic.

Transfers

Tyler Attardo has become the first player to be sold to South America by a Canadian Premier League club. The 18 year old has joined Chilean side CD Fernandez Vial from Valour FC.

Free agent New Zealand international defender Tommy Smith has signed for Sunderland.

Gianelli Imbula's loan to Lecce has been ended and the French midfielder has returned to Stoke City.

Veteran centre-back Adil Rami has been released by Fenerbahce.

Chicago Fire have paid £450,000 to sign Serbian midfielder Luka Stojanovic from FK Cukaricki.

Colchester United have signed free agent defender Miles Welch-Hayes.

Injury Round-Up

Carlisle United midfielder Callum Guy has been ruled out for the rest of the season. The 23 year old was playing in just his third game for the Cumbrians when he picked up the injury against Cheltenham Town.

Ipswich Town striker James Norwood has had surgery on his adductor muscle but is expected to be back playing before the end of the season.

Motherwell left-back Jake Carroll has picked up an Achilles injury that requires an operation, ruling him out of the rest of the season.

Chelsea midfielder N'Golo Kante has suffered an adductor injury which rules him out for up to 3 weeks.

Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson has also been ruled out for around 3 weeks, but with a hamstring injury.

Managerial Changes

Ibrahim Kamara has left the job as head coach of Ivory Coast. Kamara took charge in 2018 and led Cote d'Ivoire to the AFCON, where they were knocked out in the quarter-finals by Algeria.

Disciplinary Charges

West Bromwich Albion striker Charlie Austin has been warned by the Football Association over his social media activity. The 30 year old deleted comments on Twitter which hit out at his former club Southampton's fan base.

The FA have given Wigan Athletic manager Paul Cook a one-match touchline ban after he admitted two improper conduct charges. The 52 year old has also been fined £4,000.

Barnsley have been fined £20,000 and told to implement an action plan to ensure that sectarian abuse aimed at Stoke City winger James McClean does not happen again. Barnsley admitted failing to ensure their fans behaved in an orderly fashion and refrained from using abusive language.

Chairboys Takeover Complete

League One side Wycombe Wanderers are in new hands today after American businessman Rob Couhig has completed his takeover, buying a 75% stake from the Wycombe Wanderers Trust. The 70 year old lawyer has become club chairman and chief executive, while his wife and nephew will join the board. Couhig has bought the club through his company Feliciana EFL Ltd, who will invest £2.2m to settles the club's existing debt and also make £1m additional funding available, as well as funding a new 15-year lease on their stadium Adams Park.

Dons Need To Play Cup Football

Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes has said that his team need to raise their game to get third place in the SPFL. McInnes said: "We've got to play cup football through our league. The real connection from the supporters and the players at the end of the game - that's what we want. It's what's needed at any club, it was good to see everybody celebrate as one."

Saints Back Kibble Plan

St Mirren will be fan-owned as early as next year after supporters voted in favour of a plan to partner with local charity Kibble and buy out club chairman Gordon Scott five years earlier than originally planned. More than 91% voted to implement the plan, which sees Scott remain as chairman and both St Mirren Independent Supporters Trust (SMISA) and Kibble represented on the board.

SA Pull Out Of Game Against Japan

South Africa's Olympic football team has withdrawn from a friendly planned to take place in March against Japan. The teams were due to play in Sanga, as the South Africans were looking to prepare for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics which are due to begin four months later. SA's acting chief executive Gay Mokoena said: "Japan is asking us to reconsider our decision, but we are sticking to our guns. We have to act in the best interest of our players. We can't put the lives of our players at risk. The death toll is rising each day and we are not prepared to take a big risk."

Written by Tris Burke February 21 2020 21:29:00