Turkish club Antalyaspor have dropped Samuel Eto’o from their squad until further notice in a row over the striker’s comments on social media. Former Cameroon captain Eto’o, 35, wrote on his Instagram account: “Perhaps some people do not feel respect for me because I am black.” Eto’o, who also posted a screenshot of his achievements from Wikipedia on Instagram, did not specify to whom he was targeting his criticism.
The goalkeeper of a German amateur club who were beaten 43-0 was arrested by police at his first training session after the result. Reporters from Germany’s Express newspaper paid Marco Kwiotek a visit after he fished the ball out of the net 43 times during SV Vonderort II’s defeat to PSV Oberhausen earlier this month. While he was training, two uniformed officers arrived and approached him. He returned to the dressing room and was led away, telling the Express: “I just need to go to the station to clear up a few things.” The reason for the arrest is not clear.
The newly elected UEFA president, Aleksander Ceferin, is in London to launch the countdown to Euro 2020. To mark the 60th anniversary of the competition, games will be played across 13 cities with both semi-finals and the final held at Wembley, London. A further 12 cities in 12 different countries will also host games, with Munich (Germany), Baku (Azerbaijan), Saint Petersburg (Russia) and Rome (Italy) having a quarter-final and three group stage game. Furthermore, Copenhagen (Denmark), Bucharest (Romania), Amsterdam (Netherlands), Dublin (Ireland), Bilbao (Spain), Budapest (Hungary), Brussels (Belgium) and Glasgow (Scotland) will all hold a round of 16 tie and three group games. Ceferin added: “There is great pleasure in being able to bring Euro 2020 to so many countries and cities, to see football acting as a bridge between nations, and to carry the competition closer to the fans, who are the essential lifeblood of the game.”
Valencia have dismissed coach Pako Ayestaran with the side bottom of La Liga having lost their opening four games of the season. Ayestaran, 53, replaced Gary Neville last March but the Spanish club have lost eight out of 12 games under his stewardship. His final match in charge was the 2-1 defeat at Athletic Bilbao on Sunday. Salvador Gonzalez Marco, also known as ‘Voro’, will take over as caretaker coach for a fourth time. He was previously put in charge when Nuno Espirito Santo resigned in November 2015. Ayestaran was Newcastle manager Rafael Benitez’s assistant at five clubs, including Valencia and Liverpool.
Senior figures at Manchester United do not anticipate manager Jose Mourinho’s abrasive style causing them problems this season. Mourinho’s decision to single out Luke Shaw for criticism following Sunday’s 3-1 defeat at Watford shocked the defender and his team-mates. The 53-year-old has also been critical of some refereeing decisions during United’s ongoing three-match losing streak. But it is understood United staff, who well remember Sir Alex Ferguson’s many confrontations during his illustrious 26 years in charge, are relaxed about the situation.
John Mikel Obi has admitted that he is ready talk to clubs in January if Chelsea fail to offer him a new deal. The Nigeria international has entered the final year of his contract and can begin negotiations over a Bosman move at the beginning of 2017. He has so far struggled to get into Antonio Conte’s side after playing in the latter stages of the Olympics football tournament in Rio, where he helped his country win bronze, and he accepts that his time at Chelsea could be coming to an end.
Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure, 33, has announced his retirement from international football. The Ivory Coast international said in a statement on his website: “Writing this note was probably ‘the most difficult match of my life’. After 14 years at the highest level, I’m sure this is the right time for me. “The fact that I am 33 now, the intensity of training and the multitude of games are not the reasons why I am making this decision.” Toure has been capped 113 times by Ivory Coast.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola says he will not pick Yaya Toure until he apologises to the club and his team-mates for comments made by his agent. Toure, 33, has made one appearance for City this season and was left out of their Champions League squad. His agent, Dimitri Seluk, said the midfielder had been “humiliated” and Guardiola should apologise to him if City do not win the competition. Guardiola said: “He must apologise. If he doesn’t, he won’t play.” The City manager also added: “I cannot imagine when I was a player that my manager [agent] would go to the media and speak against [former Barcelona coach] Johan Cruyff and say about this and that. “Maybe it is a new period and things are changing. But I am an old guy. In the old generation, the manager has to make his job and the player his job, trainer his job.” The Spaniard also wants an apology from Seluk.
Former Liverpool winger Ryan Babel has joined La Liga side Deportivo La Coruna. The 29-year-old joined Liverpool from Ajax for £11.5m in 2007 and scored 22 goals but failed to earn a regular first-team spot. He was sold to Hoffenheim in January 2011, before moves to Ajax, Turkish side Kasımpasa and UAE club Al Ain. Babel scored five goals in 43 caps for the Netherlands.
UEFA have confirmed the 2018 Champions League final will be held in the Ukrainian capital Kiev. The 2017 European decider will be held in the UK in Cardiff’s Principality Stadium and UEFA executive committee member Frantisek Laurinec confirmed the following year’s final will take place at the 68,000-capacity Olympic Stadium in Kiev on Thursday, ending year-long negotiations. The decision means Ukraine will host UEFA’s highest profile club match less than a month before the 2018 World Cup kicks off in neighbouring Russia, who annexed the Crimea region of Ukraine in early 2014. UEFA has blocked Russian and Ukrainian national and club teams being drawn together in competitions since July 2014.
Legia Warsaw have apologised for offensive chanting by their fans and will punish those guilty of violence after crowd trouble marred their 6-0 home defeat by Borussia Dortmund. Fans reportedly clashed with security during the Champions League match and tried to break into the away section. Legia denied racist chanting from home fans but apologised to those offended. UEFA is awaiting reports from the game which will then be considered by the disciplinary department.
Nigerian powerlifter Josephine Orji broke the world record as she won her country’s 8th gold medal at the ongoing Rio Paralympics. She took the prime prize in the women’s +86 kg category. It was a one-side show for Orji who was more or less competing against herself, completely dominating her other competitors to win with a WR mark of 156kg. The Nigerian had an impeccable performance that she established a big gap with her closest challengers. Poland’s Marzena Zieba won Silver finished with a mark of 134kg, with Netherlands’ Melaica Tuinfort winning Bronze lifting her best mark of 130kg. Nigeria presently in the 10th position on the games medals table.
Nigeria’s Kelechi Iheanacho scored City’s fourth goal after Aguero hatrick.
Wednesday 14th September, 2016:
Manchester City 4 – 0 Borussia Monchengladbach
Tottenham 1 – 2 Monaco
Club Brugge 0 – 3 Leicester
Bayer Leverkusen 2 – 2 CSKA Moscow
Legia Warsaw 0 – 6 Borussia Dortmund
Real Madrid 2 – 1 Sporting Lisbon
FC Porto 1 – 1 FC Copenhagen
Juventus 0 – 0 Sevilla
Lyon 3 – 0 Dynamo Zagrab
Aleksander Ceferin has been elected as the new president of UEFA – European football’s governing body – following a vote by the organisation’s 55 association members. Ceferin – the head of the Slovenian FA – received 42 votes while rival Michael van Praag from the Dutch FA got 13. “My dear friends thank you for your fantastic support.” said Ceferin. “It means a lot to me, my small and beautiful Slovenia is very proud of it, and I hope that one day you will also be proud of me.” The unsuccessful Michael Van Praag – who had the backing of the English FA – says he accepts result. “Losing is not nice, but thank you for the clear, open and pleasant campaign. “I really cherished the nice and intensive talks I had with colleagues. “Aleksander and I have the same goal, we want a different UEFA, we want a better UEFA – but he wanted to do it his way and I wanted to do it my way.”
Nigeria’s Flora Ugwunwa yesterday won the gold for Women’s Javelin Throw – F54 at the ongoing Rio Paralympics to bring her country’s medal haul to seven gold, two silver and one bronze medals. The 32-year old was in a class of her own on Tuesday as she went on to erase Tunisian Hania Aidi’s World Record (WR) of 18.86m set at the IPC World Championships in Doha last year.Ugwunwa furthered the mark by almost 2m, throwing an impressive 20.25m in her third attempt to also shatter Liwan Yang’s Paralympic Record (PR) of 17.89m set at the London Games four years ago.So massive was Ugwunwa’s throw that former WR holder Aidi had to set a Personal Best (PB) of 18.88m to take Silver, while South Africa’s Ntombizanele Situ won the Bronze medal with a PB of 17.90m. Former PR holder Yang was relegated to 4th place with 17.52m. Nigeria is currently in the 9th position of the tournaments medals table.
Tuesday 13th September, 2016:
PSG 1 – 1 Arsenal
Barcelona 7 – 0 Celtic
Man City vs Borussia Mochengladbach – Match postponed due to waterlogged pitch.
Basel 1 – 1 Ludo Razgd
Benfica 1 – 1 Besiktas
Dynamo Kiev 1 – 2 Napoli
Bayern Munich 5 – 0 FC Rostov
PSV Eindhoven 0 – 1 Atletico Madrid
The title can go to any of Rivers United, Enugu Rangers, Ifeanyi Ubah FC and Wikki Tourists. Thats makes the run in very interesting.
Cristiano Ronaldo will play the full 90 minutes against boyhood club Sporting Lisbon as he steps up his return from injury in the Champions League on Wednesday. Ronaldo made his first appearance since injuring his knee in the Euro 2016 final against Osasuna on Saturday, scoring the opener, but he was substituted on 65 minutes. Head coach Zinedine Zidanes said: “The idea is for him to play 90 minutes. I try to speak to Cristiano about other things than minutes because if you ask him he always wants to play 90 minutes. “I’m always thinking about the two months he was out because that’s a long time for a player … [But] he’s ready, we’ll see what happens.”
Chelsea captain John Terry has been ruled out for approximately 10 days after straining ligaments in his foot against Swansea on Sunday. The 35-year-old captain will miss Chelsea’s Premier League game against Liverpool on Friday and the EFL Cup game at Leicester on September 20. New signings David Luiz or Marcos Alonso could deputise in his absence.
Newly-crowned world number one Angelique Kerber says she has nothing left to prove after winning the US Open, her second grand slam this year. The German has also won silver at the Olympics and reached the Wimbledon final. She beat Katerina Pliskova to win the final Grand Slam of the year in New York to add to her Australian Open title. The 28-year-old said: “I don’t have anything to prove anymore. I am at the top, number one. I waited for this moment all my life.”
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