SPORTS UPDATE

[Edoman]

Brazil's Ronaldo is the greatest striker of all time - Samuel Eto'o







Four-time African of the Footballer of the Year, Samuel Eto'o, has expressed his admiration for the Brazil legend, Ronaldo.
 
According to Samuel Eto’o, two-time Ballon d’Or winner Ronaldo, renowned for his goalscoring exploits for Brazil and at club level for Barcelona, Real Madrid, PSV, and Inter Milan in a career that totalled 18 years, is the greatest striker of all time.
 

 
Ronaldo, won two Fifa World Cups, in 1994 and 2002, and was crowned the Fifa World Player of the Year thrice, while winning the Ballon d'Or in 1997 and 2002.
 
According to Eto'o he is the greatest African player ever, but Ronaldo nicknamed 'El Fenomeno' - a Portuguese word meaning the Phenomenon, is the greatest striker of all time.

"The best of all was Ronaldo, 'O Fenomeno',” Eto’o was quoted as saying in a live chat by AS.

“I have such great respect and admiration for him. Then there are a lot of us who come up behind him, and I'd include myself among them.”
 
The former Barcelona star chose his former teammate and six-time Ballon d’Or Lionel Messi as the best player who is still active while PSG star Kylian Mbappe has been tipped to succeed the Argentine’s dominance in the future.

“The best current players? I'd have to go with Lionel Messi, who's more experienced, and Kylian Mbappe, who's the youngster making the biggest impression,” he said.

“I think he's going to be the chief global star in the years to come."

[Edoman]

I don’t care whether it is Rohr or not we need a competent coach’ – Sport Minister Sunday Dare






Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare, has waded into the debate surrounding the Nigerian Football Federation's negotiations with Super Eagles head coach Gernot Rohr for an extension of his contract.
 
Rohr’s four year contract with the national team expires in June and he has been in negotiations with NFF on a new deal. Rohr has accepted new conditions such as living in Nigeria and being paid in Naira- placed in his contract, but has added his own moderations to the contract with the NFF yet to make a decision on his new deal.
 
The delay to Rohr’s contract renewal has increased speculation that the federation might not want the German tactician to continue as manager of the Super Eagles.
 
Sunday Dare has now come out to say what the national team needs a competent coah whether it is Rohr or not. He added that his desire is to see that the Super Eagles is in the best hands, given the quality of players in the national team.

“All I want is a coach that is competent, I don’t care whether it is Rohr or not. The name doesn’t matter, but does he have the credentials?” Dare said in a video made available to media.  
“Look at our footballers, they play in some of the best clubs in the world and are coached by some of the best coaches.
“So if you want to coach a Nigerian team, you better be sound because the invited players that are going to represent the country train under the best coaches, therefore, we don’t want a player that is sounder than the coach.”
 
Rohr has been in charge of the Super Eagles since 2016 and led the side to the 2018 World Cup in Russia. He guided the  three-time African champions to clinch their eighth bronze medal at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt.

[Edoman]

EPL: Five players Lampard wants to leave Chelsea revealed

 May 16, 2020


Chelsea manager, Frank Lampard, is ready to sell several first-team players, to help fund a summer rebuild, according to ESPN.



However, the Blues will resist offers for midfield duo N’Golo Kante and Jorginho.

The club has money from the sale of Eden Hazard to Madrid, but recorded a pre-tax loss of £102m in their last set of financial accounts.



However, Lampard wants to strengthen his squad having chosen not to do so in January, despite having their FIFA transfer ban reduced on appeal.

The Stamford Bridge outfit can bolster their budget, by offloading several players now deemed surplus to requirements.

They include Tiemoue Bakayoko, who is on loan at Monaco, Marcos Alonso, Emerson Palmieri, Michy Batshuayi and Davide Zappacosta.



Lampard is also keen on signing Leicester City left-back, Ben Chilwell and Lyon’s Moussa Dembele.
RB Leipzig’s Timo Werner and Arsenal’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang are also under consideration.

[Edoman]

Transfer: Juventus agree deal with Barcelona, offer two players, cash for Semedo

 May 17, 2020


Juventus have offered Miralem Pjanic, Mattia De Sciglio and alongside €25 million to Barcelona for their right-back, Nelson Semedo.



According to the Spanish newspaper, Sport, Juventus and Barcelona have reached “an agreement in principle” for Semedo to move to Turin this summer transfer window.
Pjanic and De Sciglio have reportedly already said yes to Barcelona, while Juve is trying to finalise a deal that will see Semedo join Maurizio Sarri’s side at the end of the season.



Pjanic has been linked with a move away from Juve at the end of the season.
The Bosnia and Herzegovina midfielder currently has one year left on his current deal with Juventus.


Semedo has also been linked with a move away from Camp Nou this summer.



The defender has not really lived up to expectations at Barca since joining the club from Benfica in 2017.

[Edoman]

Lewandowski matches Messi, Ronaldo’s records after Bayern Munich’s victory

 May 17, 2020


Bayern Munich striker, Robert Lewandowski, on Saturday matched Barcelona captain, Lionel Messi, and Juventus superstar, Cristiano Ronaldo’s goals records after his side’s Bundesliga 2-0 victory against Union Berlin.



Lewandowski scored a goal for Bayern Munich against Union Berlin to become the third player in football history, alongside Messi and Ronaldo to score 40 goals in five consecutive seasons, according to Mirror UK.


The Poland international did so from the penalty spot as Bayern saw off Berlin.



The victory over Berlin keeps the Bavarians top of the Bundesliga table and further cements Lewandowski’s place in history.


Only the great Gerd Muller ranks above Lewandowski in Bayern’s all-time scoring charts.
Lewandowski is now on course to break his single-season goals record, which currently stands at 43.



The 31-year-old achieved that number in the 2016/2017 season but has at least another ten games with which to better his current total

[Edoman]

Update: Chelsea star, Callum Hudson-Odoi,19, was arrested on suspicion of rape after inviting glamour model to his flat during lockdown







It has been revealed that Chelsea and England star, Callum Hudson-Odoi was arrested on  suspicion of rape after inviting a glamour model to his penthouse during the Coronavirus lockdown.
 
The 19-year-old winger was arrested at the scene after police were called to an address in South West London in the early hours of Sunday morning following a late-night tryst with the model who he reportedly met online. 
 
Hudson-Odoi is said to have sent a car to go pick her up across the capital to his West London home.
 
Police officers and paramedics went to the penthouse after a woman called them. Ofiicers arrested the footballer while the model was taken to the hospital after complaining of feeling unwell.
 
Cops were later seen at the apartment building interviewing concierge staff. At around 2: 30pm, another set of officers returned to the scene in an apparent search operation.
 
A police spokesman disclosed to The Sun that the winger was arrested on suspicion of rape and has been bailed but an investigation is ongoing.
 
'Police and London Ambulance Service were called at 03:53hrs on Sunday, 17 May to a report of an unwell woman.
 
'When emergency services attended, a woman reported that she was raped. She was taken to hospital.
 
'A man was arrested at the scene on suspicion of rape. He was released from custody and bailed to return on a date in mid-June,' the spokesperson added. 
 
Back in March, Hudson-Odoi became the first Premier League player to test positive for coronavirus but has since made a full recovery, and is due to return to action along with his Chelsea teammates when the Premier League resumes in June. 
 
 
 
 
 

[Edoman]

South Korean football club, FC Seoul use sex dolls to fill empty stadium as stand-in fans for a match (Photos)









South Korean football club, FC Seoul have been forced to apologize after using sex dolls to fill their empty stadium as stand-in fans for a match on Sunday.
 
The K-League resumed earlier this month with matches being played behind closed doors without fans due to the coronavirus pandemic. 
 

Since the resumption of the league, clubs have been struggling to improve the atmosphere at their grounds with pictures of supporters and by using artificial crowd noises. But FC Seoul took it far by using life-size "mannequins" - 20 female and five male - only for fans on social media to notice they were actually sex dolls. 
 
The "mannequins", kitted out in club attire were reportedly holding signs advertising adult streaming websites and adult stars, the resemblance of which the dolls had been designed after.
 

In a statement on social media, FC Seoul said: ‘We would like to apologise to our fans. We’re genuinely sorry to our fans about the installation of the mannequins at our game on May 17,’ FC Seoul said in a statement. 
 
‘We confirmed from the start that the mannequins we installed in the stands had no relation to the adult toys, even though they do indeed resemble real humans.

‘The mannequins are manufactured by a company named Dalkom, and they informed us that the mannequins are designed for displaying apparel and fashion products. We confirmed with them on numerous occasions to make sure that the mannequins are not adult toys. ‘However, Dalkom has been distributing some of the mannequin products to another business named Soros, and in the process of return and exchange of the products between them, the installation at our stadium included some products with messages in text that are related to the adult toys.

‘That was a problem on our employees who couldn’t check every detail of everything that was installed. That is an inexcusable mistake on our part. 
 
‘Our intention from the start was to provide even a small entertainment after it was decided that the games would be hosted behind closed doors due to coronavirus. 

‘Regardless of that, we would like to apologise once again to everyone who loves and supports FC Seoul. We will be holding further discussions on how we can review potential problems in similar matters. We will put forth our due diligence to prevent such issues in the future.’

[Edoman]

Transfer: PSG President expresses admiration for Cristiano Ronaldo

 May 19, 2020


Paris Saint-Germain president, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, has openly declared his admiration for Juventus’ Cristiano Ronaldo.



Al-Khelaifi, speaking to France Football, hailed Ronaldo’s unique determination and professionalism.


“Year after year, he shows a unique determination, an extraordinary strength of character.



“He remains motivated by this desire to improve every day and he always pushes his limits.


“I admire this relentless will; he is a great example for all athletes of the future,” he said.


Ronaldo has been linked with PSG in the past, with the mega-rich Ligue 1 champions having previously snapped up names like David Beckham, Neymar, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Kylian Mbappe.



The Portuguese superstar is contracted to Juve for another two years, and will be 37 by the time his current deal finishes.


Ronaldo might however be keen on a new challenge, as he has already won theleague in England, Spain and Italy, as well as five Champions League titles.

[Edoman]

[b]FC Seoul Filled Empty Stadium Seats With "Sex Dolls", Apologizes


Top flight South Korean football club FC Seoul has apologised after fans accused them of using sex dolls in the stands.[/b]

FC Seoul insisted they were "premium mannequins" rather than sex dolls - but did admit they came from a supplier that produces intimacy gadgets.

And some of the dolls were holding signs advertising x-rated websites - despite pornography being banned in South Korea.

The mannequins' manufacturer told the BBC they had apologised to FC Seoul. But they also reiterated that the dolls were merely "premium mannequins".

What happened at the match?

On Sunday, FC Seoul played their first home match of the K League season.

The ground was empty - one of many measures designed to prevent a Covid-19 outbreak.

So before the match, a company called Dalcom offered to fill some of the empty seats, and the club agreed.

In total, there were 30 mannequins - 28 of them female, and two of them male.

However, fans watching online noticed that some of the mannequins looked more like sex dolls - and some were advertising x-rated websites - leading to the club apologising on Instagram and Facebook.

Dalcom said the adverts came from a intimacy gadget company who placed orders with Dalcom, and wanted to take pictures of the mannequins before the game.

"They were supposed to take all the logos down before the game started," Dalcom director Cho Young-june told the BBC. "But there were several hairbands and logos left to be caught by public eye."

FC Seoul official Lee Ji-hoon told the BBC it didn't do a background check on Dalcom, and didn't realise they worked in the sex industry.

Mr Lee admitted he thought the dolls looked "very human" - but said it didn't even enter his mind that they could be intimacy gadgets.

When did football resume in South Korea?

The 2020 K League season was supposed to begin in February but was delayed because of the virus outbreak.

But South Korea's success in fighting the virus allowed football to resume sooner than almost everywhere else.

And, when the season began on 8 May, the K League was one of the few places for sports fans to get their fix - leading to increased global attention.

The opening match - Jeonbuk Motors versus Suwon Bluewings - was even streamed live by the BBC.

As well as empty stands, handshakes are banned, and coaches have to wear facemasks.

"Excessive spitting or blowing of the nose is prohibited and players should refrain from close conversations," said a K League official before the first match.

Which other football leagues have resumed?

The Bundesliga in Germany resumed at the weekend, but, like South Korea, with no fans present.

The Premier League in England has a tentative return date of 12 June - but there is a "growing feeling" this will need to be pushed back.

Other leagues, such as France's Ligue 1, have cancelled their season entirely.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-52702075

[Edoman]

 Roman Abramovich’s £66million Private Jet With Banquet Hall (Pictures) 

CHELSEA owner Roman Abramovich owns a fleet of amazing aircraft.

But the jewel in his collection of private planes is a customised Boeing 767-33A ER nicknamed 'The Bandit' worth £66m.

Source: https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/11655300/roman-abramovich-private-jet/amp/

[Edoman]

Six Premier League players and staff from three different clubs test positive for Coronavirus after massive testing







The Premier League has confirmed that six people from three different clubs have tested positive for Coronavirus after the first wave were carried out within the top-flight this week. 
 
A Premier League statement read:

“The Premier League can today confirm that on Sunday 17 May and Monday 18 May, 748 players and club staff were tested for COVID-19. Of these, six have tested positive from three clubs.

“Players or club staff who have tested positive will now self-isolate for a period of seven days. The Premier League is providing this aggregated information for the purposes of competition integrity and transparency.

“No specific details as to clubs or individuals will be provided by the League and results will be made public in this way after each round of testing.”

 
Clubs and individuals that tested positive for coronavirus have not been disclosed for data protection reasons.
 
The Covid-19 tests were conducted on Sunday and Monday and are due to take place twice a week from now on before the restart of games. 
 
According to Mail Online Football, the results come from the tests of 19 Premier League clubs, with one club testing on Tuesday. Those results will be included in the data from the second round of testing, which is due to be published on Saturday.   
 
Premier League clubs will now preparation ahead of the restart of games by conducting group training sessions involving all individuals who return a negative test. 
 

[Edoman]

Premier League players are being treated like ‘lab rats’ and ‘guinea pigs’ - England star, Danny Rose blasts football return amid COVID-19 pandemic



 


Danny Rose, who plays as a left-back for Newcastle United on loan from Tottenham Hotspur believes Premier League players are being treated as “lab rats” and ‘guinea pigs’ as they gear up for a return to football during the Coronavirus pandemic.
 
Clubs are due to resume training on Tuesday and Wednesday for socially-distanced sessions but the England international, who has been a vocal critic of the plan to resume the top flight remains skeptical.
 
“I’m dying to get back to football but just with the things that are happening right now, people are going through this coronavirus pandemic a lot worse than me, I don’t want to be complaining about everything,” the England defender told The Lockdown Tactics podcast with Robert Snodgrass and Kris Boyd.
 
“Just off the fact that people are suggesting we should go back to football, like we’re guinea pigs or lab rats.
 
“We’ve going to experiment this phase and see if it works or not. I can just imagine people at home saying, ‘Well they earn that amount of money so they should be going back’.”
 
Rose’s comments come as it was revealed that six people from three unnamed Premier League clubs have tested positive for the virus.
 
The English Premier League is expected to restart in June with games to be played behind closed doors. 

[Edoman]

Football fans in shock as Chelsea's N'Golo Kante shows off new hairstyle on training return (photos)






Chelsea and France footballer, N'Golo Kante is trending number one on Twitter, and it's because of his new hairdo. 
 

 
Football fans around the world have been sent into meltdown after the former Leicester City star showed up for the Blue's first training session with a full head of hair amid the Coronavirus pandemic.
 

 
The 29-year-old French midfielder has had a shaved head ever since coming to the Premier League with Leicester in the summer of 2015. But on Tuesday he was seen with a full head of hair as he made his return to Cobham for group training with his fellow teammates. 
 

 
Former Manchester United defender, Ashley Young, who now plays for Inter Milan in Italy also returned to training with a head full of hair. 
 

 
See how football fans are reacting on Twitter.
 

[Edoman]

Man City to appeal two-year UEFA ban at Court of Arbitration for Sport in June






Manchester City football club of England Manchester City will make their appeal against a two-year ban from European competitions next month.


The reigning Premier League champions were accused by European football governing body, UEFA, of breaching financial fair play rules in February, and immediately made clear their intention to appeal.
 


 
The adjudicatory chamber of UEFA's financial control body accused City of ‘serious breaches’ of UEFA’s FFP and club licensing regulations by overstating its sponsorship revenue in its accounts and in the break-even information submitted to UEFA between 2012 and 2016.
 
It said the club also ‘failed to co-operate’ with the CFCB’s investigatory chamber.  Man City was fined €30 million euros and banned from all UEFA competitions for two years.
 
City said the investigation had been ‘flawed’ and ‘prejudicial’ when confirming their appeal.
 
The Court of Arbitration for Sport which will hear the appeal, has listed the case on its website with a hearing date of June 8-10.

 

[Edoman]

Chelsea star, Callum Hudson-Odoi pictured for the first time after he was arrested on suspicion of rape (photos)








Chelsea and England star, Callum Hudson-Odoi has been pictured for the first time after he was arrested on suspicion of rape 

The 19-year-old winger was part of the Chelsea squad that took part in the club's first training session on Tuesday after the Coronavirus lockdown. 
 
There was doubt if he was going to train this week after flouting social distancing guidelines which led to his arrest following rape accusations. But Hudson-Odoi trained with a group of other players at the club's Cobham HQ after he tested negative for Coronavirus again.
 

 
He was one of the first footballers to contract Coronavirus back in March but has since recovered. 
 
The England international was arrested in the early hours of Sunday morning following a late-night tryst with a glamour model who he reportedly met online and invited her to his penthouse during the Coronavirus lockdown.
 

 
Police officers and paramedics went to the penthouse after a woman called them. Officers arrested the footballer while the model was taken to the hospital after complaining of feeling unwell.
 
A police spokesman disclosed to The Sun that the winger was arrested on suspicion of rape and has been bailed but an investigation is ongoing.
 
'Police and London Ambulance Service were called at 03:53hrs on Sunday, 17 May to a report of an unwell woman.
 
'When emergency services attended, a woman reported that she was raped. She was taken to hospital.
 
'A man was arrested at the scene on suspicion of rape. He was released from custody and bailed to return on a date in mid-June,' the spokesperson added. 

[Edoman]

I’ve been scratching my head to try to work out how I might have got Coronavirus' - Watford player, Adrian Mariappa confirms he's tested positive for Coronavirus








England and Watford defender, Adrian Mariappa has been revealed as the player that has contracted Coronavirus.
 
The Hornets confirmed on Tuesday that one player and two staff members were among six people in England's top-flight that tested positive for Covid-19.
 
The 33-year-old centre-half has now revealed that he has contracted the virus but is yet to figure out how he got it after 'barely leaving the house' during the lockdown.
 
 ‘Ever since I got my positive result back on Tuesday, I’ve been scratching my head to try to work out how I might have got coronavirus.
 
''It was a big surprise because I haven’t really left the house, apart from some exercise and the odd walk with the kids. I’ve mainly just been homeschooling and keeping fit.
 
'My lifestyle is very quiet, certainly no parties or going out or anything, so I really don’t know how I got it. Like most people, we’ve been having more deliveries of food and things, so maybe that’s one way, and my partner has been to the supermarket a few times.
 
‘The club doctor called to tell me and, to be honest, I did ask whether it could be 100 per cent accurate or whether my results could have got muddled up. Maybe if I had been displaying any symptoms then it might have made sense.
 
‘But in my head it wasn’t adding up.’
 
'But I’ve not had any symptoms and I’ve felt as fit as ever, probably fitter because I’ve been working really hard. I’ve been following my training programme and I’ve not felt out of breath or ill, or anything.
 
'We’ve been fully monitored the whole time and the club have been able to track our distances and things. I’ve been really excelling in all of that and feeling great.
 
'It’s quite scary how you can feel absolutely fine and not really have left the house, and yet still get the virus. If it wasn’t for the fact I had gone back to training and had this test, then I’d never have found out that I had the virus and I would just be getting on with things as normal. That’s obviously quite a strange thought.'
 
Mariappa who was informed of his positive test on Tuesday will now isolate away for a week before having a new test.