Leah Williamson prepared to re-take her nerve-wracking penalty against Norway by going “for a sleep”. The England Under-19 player had to wait five days to take the spotkick after an unprecedented intervention by UEFA. Williamson had converted the original penalty on Saturday only for the German referee to mistakenly cancel it out. Uefa ordered it to be taken again on Thursday – and Williamson netted to book England’s place in the European Championships. The amazing scenes took place in Belfast five days after England and Norway had initially met. During the first game, England were trailing 2-1 when they were awarded a penalty in injury time at the end of the match.
Archive | April 10, 2015
Redknapp says people were against him at QPR….
Harry Redknapp has told BBC’s Football Focus he resigned suddenly as manager of QPR in February because he “no longer knew who was on my side”. Redknapp cited crippling knee problems as the primary reasons for his decision to leave Rangers, who were second from bottom in the Premier League table. But he has now revealed that was not the only issue. In an interview that will air in full on Saturday, the 68-year-old said the club had descended into a “soap opera”. “I always thought I had everyone pulling with me and suddenly I felt some were and some weren’t,” he said. “Behind the scenes, I always thought there were one or two people with their own agendas.” In a wide-ranging interview at his home in Poole, Redknapp says:
Man arrested after running on to track in Shanghai….
A man has been arrested at China’s Shanghai International Circuit, which hosts this weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix, after he ran across the track during the second practice session. The local man, in possession of a grandstand ticket, initially scaled 10-foot high fencing that runs along the main straight opposite the pits. With cars on track, the man then darted over the starting grid with a Force India approaching in the background before jumping up the pit wall into the pit lane and entering the Ferrari garage. It was there he was finally grabbed by security staff and handed on to police for arrest – but not before apparently stating he wanted to try a car.
Ibrahimovic given four-game ban….
Paris St-Germain striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been suspended for four Ligue 1 matches for a foul-mouthed outburst that was captured live on TV. The Sweden international lost his temper, criticised match officials then swore when describing France after his side’s 3-2 loss at Bordeaux last month. Ibrahimovic, 33, later apologised, saying his remarks “were not aimed at France or the French people”. He will now miss four of the quadruple chasers’ seven remaining league games. A disciplinary panel said his punishment reflected “the offensive nature and rudeness of his words”. Ibrahimovic is also banned for the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Barcelona after a red card against Chelsea in the last round. He can play in Saturday’s League Cup final against Bastia.
Kuyt returning to Feyenoord….
They say you should never go back. If former Liverpool striker Dirk Kuyt has heard this he has clearly opted to ignore the advice as he has announced this morning that he is leaving Turkish club Fenerbahce and returning to Feyenoord in his native Netherlands, nine years after leaving to move to Merseyside. The 34-year-old says the decision to leave Turkey had been taken before the gun attack on the team bus last weekend that left the driver injured. Kuyt, who was not on the bus at the time of the attack, revealed his intentions in a statement on Facebook addressed to “dear Fenerbahce fans”. Of the attack on the team bus, he said: “In football as in life, the most important thing is the health and safety of people. This is not just for Fenerbahce but for all football fans in Turkey. Turkey should come together to find a solution,”