Football News: Review Of The Day 7th April 2020
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Review of the Day
Disciplinary Charges
Serbian international Aleksandar Prijovic has been sentenced to three months under house arrest in the country. The 29 year old ignored the ban on public meetings due to the coronavirus and was taken into custody along with 20 other people from a hotel in Belgrade. Prijovic is on the books of Saudi side Al-Ittihad Jeddah, who could potentially dissolve his contract over this issue.
Former Arsenal midfielder Alex Song and two other players have registered a case of unfair dismissal with FIFA. The trio were amongst nine players who had their contracts terminated for refusing to take a pay-cut during the coronavirus pandemic.
Coronavirus Latest
The African nation of Burundi is to continue with league football with players under instruction not to celebrate goals in groups. There are also to be no shaking of hands. The season has just three rounds of games left.
Rangers' manager Steven Gerrard, his coaching staff and the first team squad have all volunteered to defer their salaries for three months. Executive directors at the SPFL side are also deferring their wages. The Glaswegians still intend to furlough some staff members though. A Rangers statement read: "Senior players and staff were keen to ensure that no Rangers employee suffered financial hardship during this crisis. All parties volunteered and wholeheartedly agreed to defer wages to ensure that fellow colleagues could continue to be paid their salaries in full. We are proud of the leadership and responsibility taken by senior members of staff, and acknowledge the positive impact that this will have on everyone at Rangers."
Tottenham Hotspur forward Son Heung-min is to complete his four-week compulsory military service while football is shut down during the coronavirus pandemic. Son is currently in quarantine in South Korea after returning home to recover from his broken arm.
A number of Bundesliga clubs, including Bayern Munich, Borussia Moenchengladbach, Paderborn and VfL Wolfsburg have returned to training. The players worked in small groups with no contact between players.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has lost his mother to the coronavirus. Dolors Sala Carrio was 82 years old and lived in Barcelona, one of the worst hit areas of Europe.
England's two senior head coaches, Gareth Southgate of the men's team and Phil Neville of the women's, have both agreed to take a 30% pay cut.
Thankfully, Liverpool have reversed their decision to place some staff members on temporary leave and apologised to the fans over the decision to do so. Chief executive Peter Moore accepted that it was "the wrong conclusion" and they have "opted to find alternative means". Moore wrote in an open letter to fans: "Despite the fact we were in a healthy position prior to this crisis, our revenues have been shut off yet our outgoings remain. And like almost every sector of society, there is great uncertainty and concern over our present and future. Like any responsible employer concerned for its workers in the current situation, the club continues to prepare for a range of different scenarios, around when football can return to operating as it did before the pandemic. These scenarios range from best case to worst, and everything in between. It is an unavoidable truth that several of these scenarios involve a massive downturn in revenue, with correspondingly unprecedented operating losses. Having these vital financial resources so profoundly impacted would obviously negatively affect our ability to operate as we previously have."
Lists, Lists, Lists
Transfermarkt are up to 2014 in their most valuable players list.
Player - Real Madrid - Value in Euros
1. Lionel Messi Barcelona 120m
2. Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid 120m
3. Gareth Bale Real Madrid 80m
4. Neymar Barcelona 70m
5. Angel Di Maria Manchester United 65m
6. Andres Iniesta Barcelona 65m
7. Falcao AS Monaco 60m
8. James Rodriguez Real Madrid 60m
9. Edinson Cavani Paris Saint-Germain 60m
10. Luis Suarez Barcelona 60m
11. Luka Modric Real Madrid 55m
12. Mario Gotze Bayern Munich 55m
13. Thomas Muller Bayern Munich 50m
14. Mesut Ozil Arsenal 50m
15. Cesc Fabregas Barcelona 50m
16. Marco Reus Borussia Dortmund 50m
17. Robert Lewandowski Bayern Munich 50m
18. Eden Hazard Chelsea 48m
19. Hulk Zenit St Petersburg 48m
20. Juan Mata Chelsea 45m
21. Sergio Aguero Manchester City 45m
22. Sergio Busquets Barcelona 45m
23. Sergio Ramos Real Madrid 45m
24. Karim Benzema Real Madrid 45m
25. Toni Kroos Real Madrid 45m
Reading Announce A Loss
Championship side Reading have announced a £40.6m loss for the 2018-19 financial year, with players' wages increasing by more than £5m. £1.5m was spent on renting their Madejski Stadium ground, which they sold to a holding company controlled by their owner Dai Yongge in the previous financial year. £225 was spent by the Royals for every £100 of income on player wages alone.
Antic Passes Aged 71
A Luton Town legend who went on to manage Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Barcelona, Radomir Antic had a career to be envied. Antic played for the Hatters while they were in the top flight in the 1980s, then went on to management success with Atleti, who he led to a La Liga and Copa del Rey double in 1996. He also spent time in charge of Serbia and was only the second man to coach both Barca and Real Madrid.
Written by Tris Burke April 06 2020 22:02:22
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