SPORTS UPDATE

[Edoman]

EPL: Arsenal identify two managers to replace Unai Emery



Arsenal have identified Massimiliano Allegri and Mikel Arteta, as possible candidates to replace Unai Emery as manager, Mirror Sport reports.

Emery has overseen a miserable start to the 2019/2020 Premier League season, with the Gunners already six points off Champions League spots.

Arsenal have recorded just one win from their last five games, dropping points several times from winning positions.

While the board are committed to giving Emery time to turn things around, they have expressed interest in Allegri and Arteta.

Former Gunners midfielder Arteta, was strongly linked with the job in north London before Emery’s appointment and Allegri won five Serie A titles and four Coppa Italias during his spell at Juventus, before leaving the Italian giants earlier in the year.

[Edoman]

Football star Manuel Cabit in serious condition following car crash in France











Manuel Cabit, a Martiniquais professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Metz in France has been hospitalised after sustaining serious injuries in a car crash in north-east France.
 
The incident occurred on Sunday afternoon (Nov.3) on the A4 motorway near Metz after he played in Saturday's 2-2 draw in Ligue 1 with Montpellier which left the club 19th in the table. 
 
The 26-year-old was travelling with his team-mate Kevin N'Doram, who escaped from the collision unhurt.
 

 
A statement from Metz said: 'Kévin N'Doram, unscathed, was able to quickly leave the hospital. However, shocked by the accident, he will rest for a few days.
 
'Manuel Cabit, unfortunately, was seriously injured. He is currently hospitalized at the University Hospital of Reims, his vital prognosis is not engaged. 
 
'His family and loved ones are with him. His teammates, his coaches and the whole of FC Metz bring him their most intense support in these difficult moments and wish him a quick cure.'
 

[Edoman]

NFF president Amaju Pinnick, 4 others discharged and acquitted on alleged $8.4m corruption charges






Chieftains of the Nigeria Football Federation, including its President, Amaju Melvin Pinnick, have been discharged and acquitted on all counts of alleged corruption charges in a case brought by the defunct Special Presidential Investigation Panel, SPIP.
 
The panel, headed by Okon Obono-Obla who is now on the run to avoid prosecution by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Related Offences Commission, ICPC, had filed a 16 –count charge against Pinnick, Seyi Akinwunmi (1st Vice President), Shehu Dikko (2nd Vice President), Mohammed Sanusi (General Secretary) and Ahmed Yusuf (Executive Committee member) with wild claims of alleged corruption against the men, and even subjected them to extensive media trial at home and abroad. Among the charges were misappropriation of the sums of $8.4million and N4billion, conflict of interest and non-declaration of assets.
 
Today Tuesday November 5th, Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu dismissed the entire case with all 16 charges, and acquitted the NFF chieftains in consideration of the submission of the defence and the prosecution and in line with the rules of administration of criminal justice.
 
The clean bill is a confirmation of the position of the NFF on all swirling allegations of corruption against its officials. Nigeria’s supreme football –governing body has always insisted that its leaders were being victimized by persons who lost elections through the ballot and were seeking other means to upturn things at Glass House, or disgruntled individuals simply on a mission of vendetta.
 
At the court today, a counsel from the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation, which had taken over the case, said it could not proceed with the matter as the proof of evidence could not sustain the charges. NFF’s counsel adduced reasons why the charges could not be sustained:

1.  The SPIP Investigation Report dated April 30, 2019 filed in the Honourable Court as Exhibit 7 in the Proof of Evidence and its Findings as contained in page 13 to 21 cleared the NFF officials of all allegations, based on the petition investigated by the Panel.
2. A review of the certified true copy of the NFF Bank account with the Central Bank of Nigeria found that there was no transaction of N4Billion or any amount whatsoever on November 3, 2018 as alleged in the charges filed by SPIP. It was also found that the total inflow into the said NFF account for the whole of 2018 is far less than N1billion, confirming that the alleged N4billion never existed anywhere in the first instance.

 
In the circumstances, the Defence Counsel applied to the court to dismiss the charges and also discharge and acquit the NFF chieftains, since the proof of evidence could not sustain the charges. The AGF office counsel did not have any objection to this submission by the defence.
 
The judge then ruled that in view of these facts, she had no option than to discharge and acquit the defendants on all counts, wondering why the case was brought to the court in the first place.
 
Defence Counsel, Barrister Sani Katu, put the issues in perspective:
 

“The matter was adjourned till today to allow time for investigation as to whether the defendants should be arraigned or not by the Office of the Attorney General which had taken over the matter. The Office of the Attorney General went and investigated the matter and discovered that the proof of evidence could not sustain the charges. On that basis, the Office of the AGF applied to withdraw the charges and the consequence is that the defendants should be discharged and acquitted from all 16 charges, to which the court agreed.”

 

[Edoman]

Olympic athlete arrested and jailed for 8 years for smuggling £2m worth of drugs



             


A Dutch athlete, Madiea Ghafoor, who represented Netherlands in the 4 x 400 relay race in Rio 2016 Olympics has been arrested and jailed after she was caught during a routine border check with 50kg of ecstasy tablets, 2kg of crystal meth and 11,950 euros in cash in the boot of her car.
 
                 
 
According to Kleve District Court who sentenced her to 8 years imprisonment on Monday, she said didn't know she was carrying Meth and Ecstasy, believing them to be doping drugs and she refused to say how she got the drugs and who gave them to her.
 
                            
 
She denied the charges leveled against her and has instructed her lawyers to appeal the judgement.
 

The Dutch Athletics Union said in a statement on their official website: ‘We are stunned by the judgments of Ghafoor during the trial and immediately reported to the Doping Authority.
‘The case has been transferred to the Doping Authority to investigate the extent to which the doping legislation has been violated and to investigate the other judgments of the lawyer.
‘With the ruling of the German court, the Athletics Union has obtained clarity regarding the question of guilt and rejects the actions of Ghafoor.
‘The Athletics Union condemns any use or trade in doping or drugs and fully commits itself to the Dutch Doping Law.
‘We regret the situation that has arisen for Madiea Ghafoor and her family.’

[Edoman]

Nigeria 1 -3 Netherlands: Olakunle Olusegun strikes as Golden Eaglets crash out of U17 World Cup



     


On Wednesday morning, Nigeria's under-17 team nicknamed the Golden Eaglets crashed out of the 2019 U-17 World Cup after a dismal 3-1 defeat to the Netherlands at the Estadio Olimpico in their Round of 16 knock out stage clash.
 
                
 
The starting line up included starlets Jinadu, Adeniyi, Etim, Tijani, Ikenna, Ibrahim, Olusegun, Ojediran, Olawale, Amoo and Ibrahim Sa'id but Netherlands were the more coordinated and attacking team in the first 20 minutes of the game and allowed Manchester City's Jayden Braaf to tee up Ajax's Sontje Hansen for the opening goal inbarely four minutes.
 
Nigeria's Amoo celebrated Olakunle Olusegun for the equalising goal twelve minutes later, but after three minutes, bad defending exposed Manu Garba's young team when Hansen was allowed to score his second goal and put Netherlands in the lead 2-1.
 
 Peter Olawale and Olusegun had opportunities to change the match and missed important chances but Dutch youngster Hansen converted a penalty to grab his third goal after VAR ruled that Nigeria's Ferdinand Ikenna blocked Mohamed Taabouni's shot with his hand in the 76th minute.
 
Nigeria is now out of the tournament together with another African side Angola who lost to South Korea on Tuesday.

[Edoman]

Real Madrid vs Galatasaray: Zidane releases strong squad for Champions League clash

Published
 4 hours ago 
on
 November 6, 2019
By
 Don Silas

Real Madrid manager, Zinedine Zidane, has released his side’s squad to face Galatasaray in today’s Champions League fixture at Santiago Bernabeu.
Zidane announced a 19-man list to tackle the Turkish giants in a post on the club’s official Twitter page.

Real Madrid head to the game after a 0-0 draw with Real Betis in the La Liga encounter last weekend.

Below is the squad prepared against Galatasaray:

Courtois, Areola, Altube, Carvajal, Militao, Sergio Ramos, Varane, Marcelo, Mendy, Kroos, Modric, Casemiro, Valverde, Isco, Hazard, Benzema, Jovic, Vinicius, Rodrygo.
The kick-off time for the match is 9pm.

[Edoman]

SPORT
Europa League: Solskjaer confirms four players will miss Man Utd, Partizan match

Published
 4 hours ago 
on
 November 6, 2019
By
 Don Silas


Manchester United manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, has confirmed that Victor Lindelof, Eric Bailly, Tim Fosu-Mensah and Paul Pogba will miss the Red Devil’s UEFA Europa League match against Partizan Belgrade on Thursday night at Old Trafford due to injuries.
Solskjaer’s side head to the clash following a 1-0 defeat to Bournemouth in the Premier League last weekend.

Speaking ahead of the clash, Solskjaer told MUTV on Wednesday in his pre-match press conference: “No, Victor is out, so he won’t be available. Hopefully, he can make the weekend but I’m not sure.

“Eric and fellow absentee Tim are working on the grass, they’re working with the fitness staff. I think we can see them coming into training, especially Eric, in the next two to three weeks. Hopefully, he can join the boys and he won’t take too long.

“Maybe we’ll see them in a Reserves [Under-23s] game but I think they’ve both come through the surgery well.

“I think Paul said it himself, didn’t he? It won’t be too long until he’s out of his cast and he’s going to work through the international break. Hopefully, we’ll have him back in early December.”
The kick-off time for the match is 9pm.





SPORT

[Edoman]

Super Eagles defender William Troost-Ekong signs contract extension with Udinese until 2023 (Photos)







Super Eagles defender, William Troost-Ekong has extended his contract with Udinese after his impressive form for the Italian club. 
 
The 26-year-old Nigeria international who joined Italian Serie A club in 2018 from Turkish side Bursaspor, signed the deal this afternoon (Nov. 6). The new deal will see play more games for Udinese until 2023. 
 
Announcing the deal on Twitter, Italian club Udinese wrote: “William Troost-Ekong has signed a new deal with Udinese until 2023,” Udinese said on their Twitter account.
 

 
Very happy with my renewal. Thanks to Udinese for the confidence, the hard work continues! #ForzaUdinese,” the Nigeria international wrote via his Instagram page.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

[Edoman]

Arsene Wenger is set to be offered the Bayern Munich manager’s job until the end of the season

And if he takes the position, this means the former Arsenal boss would face a sensational meeting with old foes Tottenham as they visit the Allianz Arena in the Champions League group stages on December 11.

Wenger, 70, is understood to have now been contacted by Bayern who sacked Niko Kovac after a humiliating 5-1 defeat to Frankfurt on Saturday.

Bayern are keen to give Wenger , 70, a short-term deal before then deciding whether to offer him a longer contract in the summer or search for a young coach.

But Wenger, who spent 22 years at Arsenal before leaving in 2018, is seen as the perfect man to steady the ship with Bayern currently fourth.

Wenger is likely to stage full discussions with club chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge after this weekend’s massive clash with Dortmund so an appointment could be made during the international break.

An added appeal for Bayern is that the Frenchman speaks fluent German so there would be no language issues.

And equally, the Bavarian side feel there are very few other tempting managerial options at this stage of the season.

Wenger has been offered a technical role by Fifa but the chance to take charge of one of Europe’s biggest clubs should be too good to turn down.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/10293211/arsene-wenger-bayern-munich-arsenal-until-end-season-kovac/

[Edoman]

SPORT
Rohr admits it is difficult to convince players to represent Nigeria

Published
 1 min ago 
on
 November 7, 2019


Head coach of the Super Eagles, Gernot Rohr, has admitted it is difficult to convince players born outside Nigeria, to play for the country.

Rohr stated this against the backdrop of QPR midfielder, Ebere Eze, turning down the chance to feature in the upcoming 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Benin Republic and Lesotho.

Few weeks ago, Tammy Abraham and Fikayo Tomori also opted to represent England.

“The door to the Super Eagles is always open to the best players.

“There are so many players to choose from, but the media sometimes insist they must come. But they don’t want because they can play for England and Germany.

“So it is not always easy for the players to decide and it’s never good to put pressure on them,” Rohr said according to SportingLife




SPORT

[Edoman]

Champions League: Guardiola angry as Man City miss chance to qualify for Round of 16




Manchester City manager, Pep Guardiola, was not impressed with his team, following a 1-1 draw with Atalanta in the Champions League on Wednesday night.

Raheem Sterling gave the Premier League champions an early lead, before Mario Pasalic equalized for the Serie A club.

The result mean City would have to wait, to book a spot in the knockout stages.
“In this competition you know you have your chances and moments and you have to take it.

“But with the problems we have, we made a good first half. First half we were outstanding and second we suffered.

“In the last 15 minutes we had the issue with the new keeper,” Guardiola told the media after the game.

SPORT

[Edoman]

EPL: Three first team players to leave Chelsea revealed



Chelsea are prepared to sell three first-team players in January as manager Frank Lampard looks to shake up his squad at Stamford Bridge, The Telegraph reports.

Olivier Giroud, Pedro and Marcos Alonso are up for sell if the Blues receive worthwhile bids for them.

Giroud and Pedro’s contracts both expire in June 2020 and will be allowed to begin negotiations with foreign clubs in January.

Chelsea are willing to offload Giroud in January so they can recoup some money from him, rather than letting him leave on a free transfer in the summer.
Giroud has fallen down the pecking order since Lampard arrived last summer.

The Frenchman has started just one competitive match this season and wants regular football to give himself a chance of playing for France at Euro 2020.

Pedro has also seen himself become less important within the first-team squad at Stamford Bridge.

Lampard’s preference to play younger players, as well as the summer arrival of Christian Pulisic, has meant the Spaniard is no longer a regular starter.

Alonso has also been in and out of the Chelsea team and it may be time for him to call it quits on his Stamford Bridge career sooner rather than later.

Chelsea are said to be interested in Leicester’s Ben Chilwell next summer and that would leave Alonso seemingly ready to go.



SPORT

[Edoman]

Champions League: Sarri reveals why Ronaldo was angry during Juventus’ 2-1 win over Lokomotiv Moscow



Juventus manager, Maurizio Sarri has disclosed that forward, Cristiano Ronaldo was angry during his side’s UEFA Champions League 2-1 win over Lokomotiv Moscow because he was not doing very well.
Goals from Aaron Ramsey and Douglas Costa ensured Maurizio Sarri’s side defeated the host.

However, Aleksei Miranchuk did score a goal for Lokomotiv Moscow
“Ronaldo was angry because he’s not doing very well, he’s had a knee problem for a few days and the adductor is easily fatigued,” Sarri told Sky Sport Italia.
“Already at the end of the first half he was nervous because of the adductor, I saw him in difficulty in a sprint and I did not want to risk it.”

Sarri added: “We did not have one of our best performances, we left room for the many counter attacks of our opponents and we knew that they would play a game of this type.
“The character aspect is good because at the end the team wanted victory at all costs and reached it with the goal of Douglas Costa in collaboration with Higuain.”


SPORT

[Edoman]

Gabriel Jesus Slow Penalty Miss: Fans React (Photos)


Manchester City forward Gabriel Jesus showcased 'one of the worst penalties ever' as social media mocked the Brazilian following his slow spot kick against Atalanta, MySportDab reports.

Pep Guardiola's side produced a dominant display in the first half at the San Siro and Jesus assumed responsibility to take the penalty after Raheem Sterling had opened the scoring after seven minutes.

Jesus' record is questionable at best from the spot but up he stepped and he rolled an atrocious effort well wide of the target at an incredibly slow pace.

And social media fans wasted no time in finding humour at the player's expense.

Jesus was left with his head in his hands and having been hauled off and replaced by Sergio Aguero in the second half, he may want to avoid checking social media for the evening.

Gary Lineker was one of the first to stick the boot in as he wrote: 'Jesus has just taken one of the worst penalties you'll see.'

A Manchester City fan added: 'I don't know whether to be angry or laugh at Jesus penalty but that's a perfect example of me trynna shoot my shot in an Exam paper when I know the right answer but write the wrong one anyway.' watch the video...

https://twitter.com/RouteOneFootbal/status/1192182728080408576?s=19

Source: https://www.mysportdab.com/2019/11/penalty-ever-fans-reacts-after-gabriel.html

[Edoman]

Barcelona, Man City, Juventus, Liverpool top respective groups after matchday 4 in UEFA Champions League (full tables)



    


Match day 4 of the UEFA Champions League was filled with a lot of action as the traditional European heavyweight clubs registered impressive wins in their respective matches on Wednesday night.
 
Bayern beat Olympics 2-0 to gain control of their group while Real Madrid made playing football easy with a 6-0 win over Galatasaray.

Tottenham beat Zvezda 4-0 while Atalanta fc of Italy played out a 1-1 draw with Manchester city.
 
See the full UEFA Champions League tables below.
 

[Edoman]

Lyon striker Bertrand Traore’s house burgled during Champions League clash with Benfica







Burkina Faso striker, Bertrand Traore is the latest footballer to become a victim of burglary. 
 
The 24-year-old footballer was robbed of his belongings while playing for Lyon in their Champions League win over Benfica, police said on Wednesday, November 6, 2019.
 
Authorities said they arrived at Traore's home at around 9.20 pm (2020 GMT) Tuesday to discover the front door forced open and that thieves had broken into a safe before fleeing the scene.
 
According to the Lyon Mag website, a significant sum of money and luxury watches worth up to 300,000 euros ($332,000) were stolen from the property in the eastern Lyon suburbs.
 
Traore who featured in the game at Groupama Stadium scored a late goal in a 3-1 victory for the French club. 
 

[Edoman]

SPORT
Europa League highest goal scorers this season [See top 18]



Following the conclusion of the UEFA Europa League Match Day 4 fixtures on Thursday night, below are the current highest goal scorers chasing the golden boot in the Europe second top-flight league.
Sevilla’s Munir El Haddadi is presently the highest goal scorer in the Europa League after he scored a hat-trick in his side’s 5-2 victory over Dudelange on Thursday to take his tally to 5 goals.

AZ Alkmaar forward, Myron Boadu has four goals alongside Slovan’s Andraz Sporar and Dudelange’s Danel Sinani.
UEFA Europa League top scorers:
5 goals: Munir El Haddadi (Sevilla)

4 goals: Myron Boadu (AZ Alkmaar), Danel Sinani (F91 Dudelange), Andraz Sporar (Slovan Bratislava)
3 goals: Gabriel Martinelli (Arsenal), Alfredo Morelos (Rangers), Bruno Fernandes (Sporting), Donyell Malen (PSV Eindhoven), Claudiu Keseru (Ludogorets), Víctor Campuzano (Espanyol), Ángel Rodríguez (Getafe), Roman Yaremchuk (KAA Gent)
2 goals: Dani Quintana (FK Qarabag), Nicolas Pépé (Arsenal), Matías Vargas (Espanyol), Nicolò Zaniolo (Roma), Calvin Stengs (AZ Alkmaar), Munas Dabbur (Sevilla).

[Edoman]

EPL: Seven players Man United will sign in January revealed




Manchester United have identified seven players to add to their squad when the transfer window reopens by January, according to the Evening Standard.
United have struggled this season under manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and are currently tenth on the Premier League log.

Midfield and attack are the areas Solskjaer is desperate to improve in January as they fight to keep their place in the top six.
The players on United’s list are: former Liverpool midfielder Emre Can, Everton’s Richarlison, Red Bull Salzburg’s Erling Braut Haaland.
Others are Lyon’s Moussa Dembele, Juventus forward Mario Mandzukic, Jadon Sancho and James Maddison.

Kai Havertz is also said to have opened the door to £80m Manchester United transfer.

[Edoman]

Europa League: What Solskjaer said after Man Utd qualified for knockout stages




Manchester United manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, has urged his side to stick to an attacking “template”, following their 3-0 win over Partizan Belgrade in the Europa League on Thursday.
Mason Greenwood, Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford were all on target, as United booked their place in the knockout stages.

Solskjaer hopes his team can put up some impressive performances more regularly, but accepts it will not always be this easy.
“This is a little bit of a template on how we want to play.
“We needed a win but we needed a performance in which the boys wanted to go forward. We could have had loads more tonight, but it was a pleasing performance.

“You expect to win at home against teams like this, no disrespect by Partizan. We should have buried it in the first 10 minutes really. Going into half time with a 2-0 lead, you’re confident.
“It was pleasing for me. We needed the second and third goals because too many times we’re 1-0 up and haven’t done that.
“But these boys are learning and tonight will give them loads of pointers of how we play when we’re performing well. The opposition is not the same as Premier League but they are still good principles.

“That was the reason we played the three up front. I was very pleased with the finishes, all three were high class.
“Mason showed great composure, the keeper goes early and changes his mind. Anthony’s is probably the skill of the night and I’m very pleased Marcus scored with his left foot because he’ll need more goals with his left so he can go inside and outside,” Solskjaer told BT Sport.

[Edoman]

Europa League: What Solskjaer said after Man Utd qualified for knockout stages




Manchester United manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, has urged his side to stick to an attacking “template”, following their 3-0 win over Partizan Belgrade in the Europa League on Thursday.
Mason Greenwood, Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford were all on target, as United booked their place in the knockout stages.

Solskjaer hopes his team can put up some impressive performances more regularly, but accepts it will not always be this easy.
“This is a little bit of a template on how we want to play.
“We needed a win but we needed a performance in which the boys wanted to go forward. We could have had loads more tonight, but it was a pleasing performance.

“You expect to win at home against teams like this, no disrespect by Partizan. We should have buried it in the first 10 minutes really. Going into half time with a 2-0 lead, you’re confident.
“It was pleasing for me. We needed the second and third goals because too many times we’re 1-0 up and haven’t done that.
“But these boys are learning and tonight will give them loads of pointers of how we play when we’re performing well. The opposition is not the same as Premier League but they are still good principles.

“That was the reason we played the three up front. I was very pleased with the finishes, all three were high class.
“Mason showed great composure, the keeper goes early and changes his mind. Anthony’s is probably the skill of the night and I’m very pleased Marcus scored with his left foot because he’ll need more goals with his left so he can go inside and outside,” Solskjaer told BT Sport.