Football News: Vodafone Egypt Accused Of Match Fixing, Real Madrid Sack Rafa And More

Image from: doynews.com

1. Appeal successful
Stoke City's American international, Geoff Cameron, has had his appeal against a suspension upheld by the FA. The three match suspension he was due to be hit with has been withdrawn, as his case for wrongful dismissal was upheld. An Independent Regulatory Commission found that the match referee had made an obvious error in dismissing the Stoke City player for violent conduct during the game against West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.

2. Zamalek chairman accuses Vodafone Egypt of match fixing
Chairman of Egyptian giants Zamalek has accused rivals Ahly's main sponsors Vodafone Egypt of paying a bribe to the refereeing committee of the Egyptian FA to rig the results of league matches. Mortada Mansour has filed an official complaint with the prosecutor-general, as he accused the telecommunications giant of being involved in "the biggest corruption case in Egyptian football." In a telephone interview with TV channel Ten TV, Mansour, insisted he has all the legal documents to back up his claims and challenged the giant telecom company to disprove them. "I don't pay attention to these claims [that I do not have any proof]. How can I file the case with the prosecutor-general without documents?" he said, adding that Giza prosecutors were investigating the case.

3. Eagles take Socceroo on trial
Dutch Eerste Divisie side Go Ahead Eagles have taken Australian midfielder Adam Sarota on trial. Sarota will train with the Netherlands second tier team for a few days with a view to a permanent deal as the 27 year old looks to make a move from Utrecht, where he has been frozen out of the team. Sarota was hopeful that the summer change in management from Rob Aflen to new boss Erik ten Hag would lead to a more chances to play, but he has again been sat on the sidelines and Sarota is now looking for a new team.

4. Rafa no longer the gaffer
Real Madrid have sacked their manager Rafael Benitez, a day after the side were held to a 2-2 draw with his former side, Gary Neville's Valencia. Benitez was only appointed in the summer on a 3 year deal, but it was always likely to end in tears a lot sooner, as the players still pined after previous incumbent Carlo Ancelotti. Zinedine Zidane is being tipped to take over, most likely just on an interim basis.

5. Arsenal recall Serge Gnabry
Serge Gnabry will be heading back to Arsenal after they decided to terminate his season long loan early. The winger was set to spend the season with West Bromwich Albion, but has featured in just 12 minutes of Premier League action for the Baggies, after Tony Pulis accused him of lacking the required level to play for the struggling Midlands side. The Gooners have already begin the search for a new loan move for him, this time hoping to get the young German more chances of first team football.

6. Bojan buy out claims dismissed
Rumours have been circulating recently about the status of Stoke City forward Bojan Krkic. There have been numerous claims relating to the possibility that the former Barcelona attacker has a buy out clause, a standard practice in contracts in most European countries. Stoke manager Mark Hughes has dismissed the talk. "There's a lot of speculation on Bojan. There's a lot of misinformation about and there is no clause in his contract," said Hughes. "I take transfer speculation with a pinch of salt. I don't know where the stories come from and a lot come with no substance." Hughes is also hoping to tie winger Marko Arnautovic down to a long term contract. "The intention is to get Marko Arnautovic pinned down on a long-term deal like Erik Pieters. It's just taking a little longer," he said.

7. Accrington reveal pair in Rangers talks
Andy Holt, the majority shareholder in Accrington Stanley, has made several tweets revealing that Glasgow giants Rangers are in talks with a pair of their players. Josh Windass and Matt Crooks are both out of contract in the summer and so can talk to interested clubs about a deal. The two turn 22 next month and Windass has already rejected a new contract offer from the League Two side. They would require compensation to be paid to Stanley if they agreed a move under freedom of contract regulations.

8. Poyet returns to Charlton
20 year old Diego Poyet, the son of former Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Gus Poyet, has returned to Charlton Athletic. The young midfielder joined West Ham United in 2014 but has struggled to break into the first team, and so was farmed out on loan to MK Dons for the season. Unfortunately he dropped out of favour in Milton Keynes and so was recalled and has now been sent back to Charlton for a loan spell. Poyet will now spend the rest of the season at the Addicks, the team which awarded him player of the season for 2013-4.

9. Ryan Babel replaced by Colombian winger Asprilla
Al Ain are set to replace Dutch flop Ryan Babel with Danilo Asprilla, a Colombian winger. Asprilla has agreed to join on a two and a half year deal from Bulgarian side Litex Lovech after former Ajax and Liverpool forward Babel has struggled badly at the UAE champions. Babel's time in the Emirates has been little short of catastrophic, typified by his Instagram post last month including an obscene gesture and the club's name, accompanied by a series of sexist messages on Twitter. Babel has been linked with a return to Turkish football, while Al Ain are hoping his replacement can prove to be more useful to their quest to retain the title.

10. Gray becomes a Fox
Leicester City have completed the signing of Demarai Gray from Championship side Birmingham City. The 19 year old forward has already made 79 appearances, despite his youth, and is now hoping to take part in the Foxes challenge at the top of the Premier League. "It's been my dream to play in the Premier League since I started playing football so I'm very happy to join the club," Gray, told Leicester's official website. "It's a great club. The facilities are great and for a player like me it's an ideal place to improve. Meeting all the staff here, it seems like a nice family place, so I think that's perfect for me. You can see how well the team has been doing this year and I watch a lot of football so I can see that the way Leicester City play suits my style. I only hear good things about Leicester and I'm looking forward to starting." Leicester will be hoping he can provide some fresh impetus, as they had begun to stumble after starting the season so well.

Written by Tris Burke January 04 2016 20:02:29