Brazil football great Pele is reluctant to leave his house because he cannot walk unaided due to his poor health, his son has said. The three-time World Cup winner, who will be 80 in October, received treatment in Paris last April for a urinary infection. Pele, widely regarded as one of the greatest footballers in history, has had hip trouble for some time and now needs a frame to walk, with many of his recent public appearances in a wheelchair.
Former Arsenal boss Unai Emery has accused some of his ex-players of not having “a good attitude” in a stout defence of his 18-month reign at the Emirates Stadium. The Spaniard was relieved of his duties in November last year after a run of seven games in all competitions without a win, with the Gunners eight points adrift of the Premier League’s top four. He departed amid claims that he had struggled to motivate the club’s biggest names, although he has hit back at those suggestions and insisted he was turning things around.
Bournemouth winger Jordon Ibe has been found guilty of failing to stop at the scene of a road traffic accident. The 24-year-old had already pleaded guilty to a charge of driving without due care and attention. The former Liverpool player had been accused of driving off after crashing into ‘The Pantry’ on Plaistow Lane in Bromley, south London, in the early hours of July 30. As well as damage caused to the shop in south London, a Mercedes car parked in front of it also suffered minor damage.
Nigeria’s Asisat Oshoala is hungry for more success with Barcelona Femenino after winning her first major trophy in Spanish football. The 25-year-old scored a brace on Sunday as Barcelona thrashed Real Sociedad 10-1 to clinch the maiden Spanish Women’s Super Cup in Salamanca. “To add the Super Cup to last year’s Copa Catalunya was a great experience,” Oshoala said. “But my professional priority is to keep doing well and winning, so I can’t take my eyes off the targets.
Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Dele Alli has apologised for a post on social media about coronavirus, saying “I let myself down and the club”. Alli, 23, put a video on Snapchat in which he joked about the outbreak and appeared to mock an Asian man. He later deleted the post and then released a new video on Chinese social media platform Weibo to apologise.
Paraguay giants Olimpia Asuncion have agreed a deal “in principle” to sign Togo legend Emmanuel Adebayor. The 35-year-old is a free agent after ending a brief spell with Turkish side Kayserispor in December for personal reasons. The deal is expected to go through when the 43-time Primera Division champions reach 35,000 season ticket holders, according to club president Marco Trovato.
Jon ‘Bones’ Jones beat Dominick Reyes to retain his light heavyweight crown and set a new record for the most wins in UFC title fights. His 14th title fight win came via a unanimous decision over previously undefeated challenger Reyes in the main event of UFC 247 in Houston, Texas. When the scores were announced, the arena was filled with a mixture of boos and cheers. Jones, 32, was awarded the decision 48-47, 48-47 and 49-46. “To break a record, to be a part of UFC history in this way, I wouldn’t want it easy,” said Jones.
Bangladesh won the U19s World Cup for the first time after humbling heavy favourites India in the final in Potchefstroom, South Africa. India were unbeaten on their run to the final but their batting fell flat against Bangladesh’s pace bowlers. They managed just 177 in 47.2 overs – Yashasvi Jaiswal hitting 88 to end the tournament with an average of 133. Bangladesh slumped to 102-6 in their chase, but captain Akbar Ali saw them home to spark jubilant celebrations.
Sunday’s fixtures across Belgium and the Netherlands have been postponed because of the adverse weather conditions expected from Storm Ciara. The Dutch Eredivisie, the Belgian Pro League and the Belgian second tier have called off their fixtures. A statement from KNVB, the Dutch football body, read: “It is irresponsible to play football in those weather conditions.” The Eredivisie is yet to announce when the cancelled games will be played.
Manchester United striker Odion Ighalo will miss the club’s training camp in Spain because of fears the coronavirus outbreak could lead to him being refused entry back into the UK. Nigerian Ighalo, 30, flew to Manchester from China last weekend after signing on loan from Shanghai Shenhua. “He might have liked to have come with the players and got to know them,” manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer told MUTV. “But the risk [of border restrictions tightening] we don’t want to take.”
McLaren have launched their IndyCar challenger for the 2020 season as they prepare for a full-time return to the series as Arrow McLaren SP. Although McLaren have entered into two recent Indianapolis 500s – with Fernando Alonso almost winning in 2017 before failing to qualify in 2019 – the iconic event was treated as a one-off race by the team. But in 2020 they are returning for their first full-time IndyCar series since 1979.
Pakistan international batsman Nasir Jamshed has been jailed for his part in a spot-fixing scandal. He was arrested with Yousef Anwar and Mohammed Ijaz last February in a National Crime Agency probe. Jamshed encouraged other players to fix a Pakistan Super League (PSL) game in February 2018 by getting batsmen to avoid scoring runs from certain balls in return for a share of £30,000.
Manchester City forward Raheem Sterling will be out “for weeks” because of a hamstring injury, according to manager Pep Guardiola. The England international, 25, limped out of his club’s 2-0 defeat at Tottenham on Sunday. “It takes weeks, but I don’t know how long right now,” Guardiola said.
Barcelona’s hopes of reaching a seventh successive Copa del Rey final have ended at the quarter-final stage with defeat by Athletic Bilbao. The tight contest was decided in the third minute of stoppage time when Spanish forward Inaki Williams headed past Marc-Andre ter Stegen. Barcelona captain Lionel Messi wasted a good late chance when he fired at the legs of Athletic goalkeeper Unai Simon. There was another cup shock earlier when Real Madrid lost to Real Sociedad.
Haas have become the first team to release images of a 2020 Formula 1 car, with their new VF-20. In a preview to the sport’s full ‘launch week’ from Monday, Haas revealed digital pictures of their latest challenger on social media. Haas return to the grey, white and red colour scheme of their early seasons in a restyled form after a black and gold look in 2019, a season in which they slumped to a disappointing ninth in the Constructors’ Championship.
Anthony Joshua’s next fight is likely to be at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, according to promoter Eddie Hearn. The British heavyweight, 30, who defeated Andy Ruiz Jr in Saudi Arabia in December, is expected to take on Bulgarian Kubrat Pulev in June.
Saint-Etienne have condemned the violence which marred Wednesday’s Ligue 1 match at home to Marseille. Clashes took place outside the Geoffrey Guichard Stadium between rival sets of supporters following the arrival of buses carrying 400 visiting fans. Kick-off was delayed 15 minutes and police took the decision not to allow Marseille fans into the ground. Saint-Etienne said they “deplored the incidents that occurred on the margins of the match”.
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Barcelona sporting director Eric Abidal is to keep his job at the club despite being criticised by star forward Lionel Messi. Six-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi spoke out against Abidal after he had said players were not working hard under former coach Ernesto Valverde. Valverde was sacked in January and replaced by Quique Setien. Barcelona called an emergency meeting with ex-France defender Abidal on Wednesday to discuss the issue. After two hours of talks, it was decided the 40-year-old would remain in his role at the Nou Camp.
New 2020 kits for Nigeria has been revealed. The Super Eagles and the Super Falcons will henceforth adorn the new jerseys with a touch of traditional “Agbada”. Sportswear giants Nike’s senior director, Heidi Burgett shared the images on his twitter handle saying “the home kit’s hand-drawn design fuses the traditional aesthetis of an agbada with modern football design. Away kit trim is inspired by Onasim. A broader collection of Super Eagles apparel includes a poncho, vest, dress and more”. The Super Eagles will most likely launch the new kits during the 2021 upcoming Africa Cup of Nations match day three home qualifying match against Sierra Leone.
The draw for the knock-out stage of the CAF Confederation Cup has been held in Cairo. Libyan side Al-Nasr, who have qualified despite not having a league to play in at the moment, will meet Hassania Agadir of Morocco. Zambia’s Zanaco will take on Pyramids of Egypt whose compatriots Al Masry meet last year’s runners-up, Renaissance Berkane of Morocco. Nigeria’s Enyimba face Guinea’s Horoya in ties to be started later this month.
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