Embattled FIFA president, Sepp Blatter has lodged an appeal against his provisional 90-day ban imposed by FIFA’s ethics committee. Blatter was suspended along with vice-president Michel Platini and secretary general Jerome Valcke while corruption allegations against the trio are investigated. Blatter’s adviser Klaus Stoehlker said: “He is defending his position and he is sure that he will be found not guilty.”
Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero suffered a hamstring injury while playing for Argentina in the 2-0 World Cup qualifying defeat by Ecuador. Aguero, who scored five goals in City’s win against Newcastle on 3 October, was carried off after 22 minutes. The 27-year-old is set to have a scan and looks likely to miss Argentina’s game against Paraguay next week. Aguero had only just returned to fitness after a knee injury earlier in the season.
Article written by journalist and Sports development Enthusiast, Aderonke Bello:
I have said it over and again, Oliseh is not the right choice for the Super eagles job. So far the NFF said he is what they want, then, so be it! Some weeks ago in Abuja, the Nigeria Football Federation appointed Sunday Oliseh, who does not have enough technical clue about coaching, he has however never been able to coach a top team in the history of his coaching career, and has obviously waited on the shelf for good seven years to get the eagles job. Safe to say, his appointment was controversial because it lacks due process. It is no longer news that he obtained the UEFA license coaching certificate, rather he is renowned for his excellent TV analysis and punditry which necessarily does not amount to good coaching and man-management, on-field techniques amongst others.
Chelsea have completed the free transfer of former AC Milan and Italy goalkeeper Marco Amelia on a deal until the end of the season. Amelia, 33, has been signed after Thibaut Courtois damaged medial knee ligaments in September and is likely to be out until December. Capped nine times by his country, he is available for the Blues’ next game at home to Aston Villa on 17 October. He was part of the Italy squad that won the 2006 World Cup. Amelia has spent his career playing in Italy and his former clubs also include Livorno, Palermo, Genoa and Perugia. Asmir Begovic, signed from Stoke City for a reported £8m in July, has played in Chelsea’s last seven league and cup games. The Premier League champions are 16th in the table after losing four of their opening eight matches.
Argentina and Barcelona footballer Lionel Messi and his father should stand trial on tax fraud charges, a court in Spain has ruled. The judge in charge of the case rejected the request by prosecutors to drop the charges against the striker. Messi and his father Jorge are accused of defrauding Spain of more than €4m. They deny any wrongdoing. Lawyers acting on behalf of the tax authorities demanded 22-month jail sentences for both defendants. Prosecutors allege that Jorge avoided paying tax on his son’s earnings by using offshore companies in Belize and Uruguay in 2007-09. Messi’s lawyers had argued that the player had “never devoted a minute of his life to reading, studying or analysing” the contracts, El Pais newspaper reported earlier. “There are rational signs that the criminality was committed by both accused parties,” wrote the judge in a court filing, according to the AFP news agency. No date has been set for the trial of the 28-year-old footballer – the four-time World Player of the Year and one of the richest athletes in the world. In June, the high court in Barcelona ruled that Messi should not be granted immunity for not knowing what was happening with his finances, which were being managed in part by his father. The income related to Messi’s image rights, including contracts with Banco Sabadell, Danone, Adidas, Pepsi-Cola, Procter and Gamble, and the Kuwait Food Company. Messi and his father made a voluntary €5m “corrective payment” – equal to the alleged unpaid tax plus interest – in August 2013.
Jurgen Klopp has been appointed Liverpool’s new manager on a three-year deal worth £15m. The 48-year-old German replaces Brendan Rodgers, who was sacked on Sunday after three and a half years in charge with the club 10th in the Premier League. Klopp has been out of work since May, when he ended a seven-year spell at Borussia Dortmund to take a sabbatical. He will earn £5m a year, rising to £7m with bonuses for a Premier League title or Champions League qualification. Klopp is expected to bring Zeljko Buvac and Peter Krawietz – his former assistants at the Bundesliga club – to Anfield. Sean O’Driscoll, who was Rodgers’ assistant, has left the club, while Gary McAllister has been moved from first-team coach to a new ambassadorial position . Klopp will be officially introduced by Liverpool at a news conference at 10am today.