Football News: Review Of The Day 9th December 2020
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Review of the Day
Contracts
Transfers
Ross County have signed former St Mirren right-back Jason Naismith after he left Peterborough United. The 26 year old will not be able to play for County until the transfer window opens in January.
Danish Under-21 international striker Mathias Jorgensen has signed for Aarhus on a loan to buy deal according to the Danish side, from MLS side NY Red Bulls.
Houston Dynamo have sold Mauro Manotas to Mexican Liga MX side Club Tijuana.
Injury Round-Up
Blackburn Rovers will be without centre-back Scott Wharton for several months as the 23 year old needs surgery to repair Achilles damage.
Leeds United defender Robin Koch is to have surgery on his knee injury. The 24 year old lasted just 9 minutes in the weekend's game against Chelsea before he aggravated an injury that had initially occurred against Liverpool in September.
Newcastle United have reopened their training ground following a CV outbreak saw them close it for a few days.
Managerial Changes
Just a week after being appointed as assistant manager of Stevenage, Joe Dunne has left the club. The 47 year old has resigned due to a family illness.
Disciplinary Charges
Ipswich Town striker James Norwood is to go on trial for drink-driving on 30th August. The 30 year old pleaded not guilty during an initial hearing.
UEFA have hit Rangers with a 10,000 euro fine for a late kick-off in their Europa League game against Benfica.
Wigan Resubmit Takeover Bid
The takeover of Wigan Athletic is no longer set to be by a Spanish consortium after one member of the group was subject to a disqualifying condition. After talks with the administrators, the bidding group was pared down to just one man, Felipe Moreno who already owns Spanish side Leganes. It is believed that Moreno has already passed all relevant tests as well as providing proof of funding.
Israeli Club Go To The Next Level
The owner of Israeli club Beitar Jerusalem, Moshe Hogeg, has been waging a war against a racist element within the club's support since buying it in 2018. The club's hardcore support, known as La Familia, would regularly chant "Death to Arabs" and even set the club's offices on fire after they signed two Chechen Muslim players in 2013. Not content with threatening to sue any fan who shout a racist comment for a million dollars, Hogeg has now sold 50% of the club to an Arab. Despite opposition from some of the fans, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, a member of the ruling family of Abu Dhabi, is to invest tens of millions of pounds in the club over the next ten years.
Qatar Join European Qualifying Group
World Cup hosts Qatar have joined European qualifying Group A as they build up towards the 2022 tournament. As their place in the tournament is already assured as hosts, their results will not count towards qualification. UEFA stated: "UEFA has invited the Qatar national team - the reigning champions of Asia - to prepare for the FIFA World Cup 2022. Qatar will join Group A, alongside Portugal, Serbia, Republic of Ireland, Luxembourg and Azerbaijan."
Racist Language By Official Causes Players To Walk Off
The Paris Saint-Germain versus Istanbul Basaksehir Champions League match was abandoned after just over 14 minutes of play, with the score at 0-0, after the players objected to the 4th official's language towards Istanbul's assistant manager Pierre Webo. Romanian fourth official Sebastian Coltescu could be plainly heard on TV footage to refer to Webo as the negro, causing Webo to get involved in a lengthy row which resulted in a red card for the former Cameroonian international. The players surrounded the referee and requested the fourth official be removed, PSG star Kylian Mbappe could be quite clearly heard telling the referee that "we can't play with this guy" while pointing at the fourth official. After getting no joy from the referee, both sets of players walked off the pitch with PSG defender Presnel Kimpembe saying: "Is he serious? We are heading in. We're heading in. That's it, we're heading in." UEFA tried to get the game restarted by offering to swap the 4th official with the VAR operator, but Istanbul refused to play while Coltescu was involved at all and the game was eventually abandoned. A UEFA statement read: "Uefa has - after discussion with both clubs - decided on an exceptional basis to have the remaining minutes of the match played tomorrow with a new team of match officials. A thorough investigation on the incident that took place will be opened immediately." Mbappe later wrote on social media: "Say no to racism. Webo we are with you."
MLS Announce $1bn Losses
Major League Soccer has announced that the league lost almost $1bn in revenue due to the pandemic, which badly disrupted their 25th season. MLS commissioner Don Garber explained: "The overall [financial] impact is going to be deeper than we expected. Revenue for the league and its clubs is down almost $1bn compared to last year. But we also incurred expenses we were not intending to occur, including charter planes for the teams and creating the whole bubble around MLS is Back. We are concerned about the situation leading into 2021 and we are trying to figure out how to manage through it. No business could sustain the kind of impact we sustained for two years in a row. The challenge for next season is nobody has the magic date for when fans can enter stadiums and it will vary state by state. We need to make a schedule. We can't wait for a vaccine and we don't know what the reaction will be of fans returning to stadiums. It is not just about fans. Fifa has laid out their international dates and Concacaf has laid out Champions League dates. We will need flexibility."
Sabella Passes Away
Argentine former Leeds United and Sheffield United player Alejandro Sabella has died aged 66. Sabella went on to become a manager following his retirement from playing and led his country to the 2014 World Cup, where they were beaten finalists.
Written by Tris Burke December 09 2020 06:03:14
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