Football News: Review Of The Day 6th December 2022

Review of the Day

Contracts

Lecce have given Spanish midfielder Joan Gonzalez a new deal which will expire in 2027.

Former Norwich City, Blackburn Rovers and Swansea City full-back Martin Olsson has extended his deal with Malmo FF until the end of 2024.

New England Revolution forward Bobby Wood has signed a new 1-year deal with a club option for a further year.

Udinese have extended the contract of former Watford forward Isaac Success until 2024.

Veteran defender Andreu Fontas has signed a 2-year deal with Sporting Kansas City. They have also given another veteran Roger Espinoza a 1-year deal with club option for a further year.

Transfers

Nottingham Forest's spending spree shows no sign of abating just yet as they have already begun signing players for the January window in the shape of Brazilian Gustavo Scarpa on a free transfer from Palmeiras.

Celtic have made their second signing of the January transfer window with an undisclosed fee paid to CF Montreal of Major League Soccer for Canada's right-back Alistair Johnston.

Also leaving MLS side Montreal is Canadian international midfielder Ismael Kone, to join Watford for an undisclosed fee in the January window.

Portland Timbers have paid a club record fee of $10m to sign Brazilian winger Evander from FC Midtjylland.

Injury Round Up

Celtic with have their captain Callum McGregor back fit and ready to play after the World Cup break.

Bolton Wanderers have worries over their captain Ricardo Santos. The 27-year-old was hospitalised after suffering breathing difficulties following a virus. Trotters' manager Ian Evatt said: "Rico was hospitalised with a really bad viral infection and some pneumonia as well. He has had a really difficult time with breathing. It happened so quickly that has rocked us all and worried us. He is our captain and our leader and we miss him immensely, but we will rally around him, rally around his wonderful family and do everything we can to make sure he makes a speedy recovery."

Swindon Town defender Cian Harries has been ruled out until March with a "significant" hamstring injury.

Job Changes

South Korea's head coach Paulo Bento has revealed that he will leave the job following Korea's defeat at the hands of Brazil in the last-16 of the World Cup. The Asians were demolished 4-1 by Brazil and the Portugese native said afterwards: "We just have to think about the future and it will not be with the national team of South Korea. I have just announced to the players and to the president of the South Korean federation and this was a decision I had already taken since September that was set in stone. Today I have confirmed it and I have to thank them for everything they have done. They have given their very best and I have been very pleased and proud to have been their manager."

Germany's Technical Director Oliver Bierhoff has been sacked following the country's dismal showing in the 2022 World Cup. Bierhoff had been involved with the national team, away from the pitch, since 2004. That period saw Germany win a World Cup in 2014, as well as the 2017 Confederations Cup and 2 Under-21 European titles, but the last two World Cups has seen them exit at the group stage.

Celtic's former CEO Peter Lawell is to return to the club as non-executive chairman next year. Lawell stepped down as CEO in the summer but is returning to take the place of Ian Bankier, who is retiring.

Rangers shareholders group Club 1872 have said they will vote against the reappointment of Douglas Park as chairman.

Charlton Athletic have sacked their head coach Ben Garner after less than 6 month in charge at the League One team. Garner only joined them from Swindon Town in June but the Addicks have struggled under his leadership. They have taken just two points from their last five League One matches and dropped to 17th place. Club owner Thomas Sandgaard said that an interim coach will be appointed while they search for a long term replacement.

Wigan Athletic have appointed Ashvir Johal to their first-team coaching staff. New Wigan boss Kolo Toure has brought the 27-year-old over from Leicester City.

Brentford's assistant manager Brian Riemer has left the Bees to take up his first role as a head coach at Anderlecht in Belgium.

Disciplinary Charges

FIFA is taking disciplinary action against Uruguay and four of its players after the scenes at the end of their 2-0 win over Ghana. Despite winning, Uruguay were knocked out of the World Cup by finishing 3rd in their group behind South Korea on goals scored and their players reacted furiously at the final whistle. The referee was confronted and an assistant manhandled as they complained about a decision not to award a penalty to Liverpool forward Darwin Nunez. Jose Maria Gimenez, Edinson Cavani, Fernando Muslera and Diego Godin are the four facing punishment, along with the Uruguayan FA, with Cavani being seen to push over the pitchside monitor as he stalked down the tunnel after the game.

Serbia is also facing disciplinary action after "incidents" during their defeat to Switzerland, where their fans were told to "stop all discriminatory chants and gestures" during the match.

"Altercations" between the two sets of players saw Heart of Midlothian's 'friendly' with Almeria in Spain abandoned. Hearts' head coach Robbie Neilson told Hearts TV: "Players were round, there was a forearm smash from their centre-half on Alex, then the ref just totally lost control of it. The benches were over and there was about 60 people on the pitch. It was a shambles so we just felt it was a pre-season game and we've already got a number of injuries. There was no point carrying on because tensions were extremely high. There's always going to be a competitive edge. But there's a line you can't really cross and I think it was crossed several times. The referee just didn't do a good job of controlling it. We've got a training session this afternoon for a few of them, then we'll train the next couple of days and come back."

Accrington Stanley have been charged by the FA over crowd behaviour and have said they will offer no defence. Instead they have criticised the fans for using insulting language with reference to sexual orientation and warned fans that anyone identified as being involved will be banned from the club and stadium.

The president of the Cameroon FA, Samuel Eto'o is facing potential problems after he was reported to the police following an altercation which was caught on film. Following the Brazil v South Korea World Cup match, Eto'o is outside the stadium signing autographs when an Algerian YouTuber called Said Mamouni approached him and asked him about controversial Gambian referee Bakary Gassama. Gassama has been the subject of a number of complaints, most famously from Algeria, which allege bias against their teams, with most neutrals agreeing his performances were, at best, error-strewn in one team's favour in a number of important matches. The one that Mamouni was referencing though was that between his home country Algeria and Eto'o's Cameroon, which was surrounded by nasty scenes off the pitch, players being pelted with stones among other things, and a number of dubious decisions in favour of Cameroon. This has led to accusations of match-fixing, which have intensified in recent months as Gassama's refereeing has been questioned repeatedly. Mamouni stepped up to Eto'o to ask why Gassama was a World Cup referee and if Eto'o had bribed him. Eto'o reacted furiously, with Mamouni accusing Eto'o of hitting him and breaking his camera and microphone. Footage on social media from Brazilian media La Opinion shows Eto'o's entourage trying to stop Eto'o, while another man forcibly takes the camera off Mamouni and drops it to the floor. It then clearly shows Mamouni on all fours on the ground over his camera while Eto'o runs up and knees him forcefully in the head. It took Eto'o's entourage to drag him away before the former Real Madrid, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Chelsea and Everton striker could do more damage. Ironically, in a World Cup awarded to Qatar after a bribery scandal, Eto'o is a World Cup ambassador for Qatar.

Pointless List Of The Day

Ashley Sparks New Fight

Former Newcastle United owner and Rangers' fans' hate figure Mike Ashley has found a third set of fans to upset in the shape of Coventry City. No doubt in an attempt to get more money out of the Championship club, despite their financial difficulties in recent years, Ashley has issued the Sky Blues with an eviction notice from the CBS Arena, their home stadium. Ashley recently, via his Frasers Group, bought the stadium following Wasps rugby club's administration. He has now decided that the existing agreement with tenants Coventry City is no longer applicable, despite the existing license running until 2031. A Coventry statement read: "Frasers Group have now presented to Coventry City a new agreement with new commercial terms, which have been presented to us without any dialogue or negotiations, and are less favourable to the football club. Frasers Group have said they would negotiate for beyond May 2023, but this leaves us without the security and certainty that our current deal provides to us and our fans. Following Frasers Group's purchase of the Arena, one of the great assets of the city of Coventry, they stated they were 'looking forward to working with Coventry City Football Club'. Coventry City hope that they will act on those words for the good of the Arena, the football club, our fans and the city and community that they are now part of."

Takeover Attempt Ends

Former Barcelona striker Maxi Lopez and Paul Richardson's consortium has given up on its attempt to buy Birmingham City. Talks began back in July but due diligence through up some issues which the two parties have been unable to resolve satisfactorily. The Championship club will stay in the hands of Birmingham Sports Holding Ltd (formerly Trillion Trophy Asia). The consortium stated: "Following several months of due diligence at Birmingham City Football Club, Maxco has decided not to proceed with the purchase of the shareholding and stadium of BCFC at this time. In light of the due diligence we attempted to renegotiate the terms of the original agreements to reflect our understanding of the current business status, but we could not agree revised terms with the current owners. We have been left with no alternative and are bitterly disappointed as we know what this club means to the community and the very loyal fanbase. We really hope that BCFC finds a owner who is as passionate about the club as we are."

Written by Tris Burke December 06 2022 13:09:27