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Football News: Belgium Hit By Match Fixing Allegations, Drogba Refuses To Play On Artificial Turf, Greek Cup Cancelled And More

Belgium Hit By Match Fixing Allegations, Drogba Refuses To Play On Artificial Turf, Greek Cup Cancelled And More
Image from: chroniclelive.co.uk

1. Effenberg sacked after just 15 games
Former Bayern Munich midfielder Steffan Effenberg has been sacked by Bundesliga 2 side SC Paderborn after just 15 games in charge. Effenberg joined as head coach in October, signing a 2 year deal, but has been sacked just five months into his contract. His reign, his first coaching job, began well with two wins in a row, but then went on a run without a win which stretched to 13 games, which was obviously an unlucky number for him as it led to his sacking. Paderborn are stuck in the bottom two of the table with 10 games left to play. "The SCP [Paderborn] has finished working with head coach Stefan Effenberg," read a statement on the club's official website. "In a meeting with the coach, president Wilfried Zinke communicated the decision."

2. Match fixing allegations rock Belgium football
Last week OH Leuven, a Belgium Jupiler Pro League side, asked UEFA to investigate possibility of match fixing, linked to gambling patterns during their recent matches. Now a German TV documentary has highlighted another top flight match between KV Oostende and Waasland-Beveren as showing signs of betting related match-fixing. Belgian magazine Sport/Voetbalmagazine had claimed that Leuven captain Romain Reynaud and goalkeeper Rudy Riou were implicated in betting on their own matches. UEFA are monitoring Leuven matches for any more possible irregularities. On the same day as Oostende's match with Beveren was afflicted with suspicious betting patterns, more suspicious betting patterns were also identified in a Dutch top flight Eredivisie match between NEC Nijmegen and Willem II.

 

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4. Drogba rules out playing on artificial surfaces
Montreal Impact's former Chelsea striker Didier Drogba has ruled out playing on artificial surfaces because of the damage to his knees. The 38 year old has revealed he will miss the first couple of games due to the games being played on artificial turf. This despite him posting up pictures of playing tennis on a hard court on Instagram recently. This has led to people questioning his desire and (ironically considering the title of his autobiography) commitment to the Impact's cause, especially as it was clear the Ivorian was desperate to leave and return to Chelsea recently, only for a deal to fall through.

 

5. Greek Cup cancelled
Fan violence during the Greek Cup semi-final between PAOK Salonika and Olympiakos has led to the Greek government stepping in and cancelling the this season's Greek Cup. Olympiakos were 2-1 up and PAOK had a penalty appeal rejected, the PAOK fans began a riot which involved a pitch invasion and flares and other missiles being thrown in large quantities, requiring the introduction of riot police to clear the pitch. 'In view of this mayhem in football grounds and a huge disturbance of the social peace and legal order in general, the government has decided to definitively cancel any process and match related to the Greek Cup as provided for by the law,' a government statement read. 'The government is closely monitoring developments and those who do not take seriously our policies should be aware that we will not hesitate to make further decisions on these matters.' PAOK owner Ivan Savvidis has already withdrawn his team from the competition following the violence.

6. File this under bizarre
Schalke 04 have a new plan to confuse opponents, a double throw in, tested out against Hamburg by Junior Caicara and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.

 

7. New injury blow for Klopp
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has confirmed that Brazilian midfielder (or should that be defender after his performance in the League Cup final?) Lucas Leiva's injury, suffered taking a penalty against Manchester City in the League Cup final, is worse than first feared. Initially it was thought he would only miss a game or two, but Klopp has now revealed that it will keep the 29 year old out for longer. "It's more serious than we thought," Klopp said. "He will be out for between five and six weeks."

8. Garde denies dressing room rift
With Aston Villa marooned at the bottom of the Premier League table all season long, it is inevitable that there will be friction within the dressing room, but the Daily Telegraph was reporting on Thursday that there was a dressing room split between the longer serving players and the new recruits. Manager Remi Garde has now denied there is any truth in the story. "I am surprised that this kind of stuff goes out, not because it goes out but because I strongly believe it's not the case," Garde told reporters on Friday. "I can tell you it was exactly the opposite from what you are seeing. When you are bottom of the league you don't enjoy it but I have been told there is no problem." The only issue here is that he is having to be told that there in no problem, as manager he should be there looking out for these problems and looking to work on keeping team spirit high. He should know, not be told.

 

9. Champions League final to use goal-line technology
With goal-line technology in use in England, Germany, France and Italy, UEFA have finally decided to introduce it into the Champions League, starting with the final this year itself, no less. Though the technology will be arriving, UEFA insist they will continue with the goal-line assistants, despite their lack of any real use, in conjunction with the goal-line decision making system. UEFA had previously confirmed that the technology would be introduced to the European Championships in the summer.

10. United to give away fans a free away shirt
Manchester United are preparing for their away trip to bitter rivals Liverpool in the Europa League by offering fans who are travelling to Anfield a free away shirt. The Red Devils wish to create a "wall of white" in the away end in a bid to "generate the best possible atmosphere at Anfield". Sunderland tried a similar promotion idea last week, when they gave out free away shirts for the club's trip to face West Ham United in the Premier League.

Written by Tris Burke March 04 2016 15:32:14