Former Mali striker Frederic Kanoute says he wants to persuade Wolves winger Adama Traore to play international football for Mali rather than Spain. Traore, 24, was born in Spain and has played for them at youth levels but is eligible for Mali through his parents. He was named in a Spain squad in November withdrew because of injury. “If he is listening to me right now – I am heading your way, Adama,” Kanoute, who swapped himself from France to represent Mali said.
Former Brazil forward Ronaldinho will not be charged for using a fake passport to enter Paraguay, says the lead official in the case. The 39-year-old and his brother were both questioned by law enforcement on Thursday having shown false documents. Prosecutor Federico Delfino said the brothers were aware they had committed a crime but said they did so unwittingly. The pair have agreed to face an alternative punishment.
New York Jets player Quinnen Williams was arrested at a New York airport on Thursday in possession of a handgun. Williams, 22, will be formally charged with criminal possession of a weapon in a court appearance on 25 March. Flying with a gun is not illegal, but the firearm must be unloaded, locked in a hard container and stored in checked baggage, not carry-on luggage.
Monaco winger Gelson Martins has been banned for six months for twice pushing the referee in his side’s Ligue 1 defeat at Nimes last month. Martins had been indefinitely banned after the incident on 1 February.
Manchester City can still have a “successful season” despite looking like relinquishing their Premier League title, says forward Raheem Sterling. Pep Guardiola’s side, champions for the past two seasons, are 22 points behind leaders Liverpool going into Sunday’s derby against rivals Manchester United. City have already won the Carabao Cup and remain in the Champions League and FA Cup. Sterling told Football Focus the league campaign had been “disappointing”. He said: “The Premier League, the bread and butter, fair play to Liverpool they have been better than everyone. “I wouldn’t say we gave up – we weren’t consistent enough for long enough. We didn’t purposely give away the title.”
Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson has been ruled out of their Champions League last-16 second leg against Atletico Madrid with a hip injury. Alisson will also miss Saturday’s home Premier League game against Bournemouth and is a doubt for the Merseyside derby at Everton on 16 March. Liverpool host Atletico on Wednesday, trailing 1-0 from the first leg. “He is not available for tomorrow and then the next week,” manager Jurgen Klopp said of the 27-year-old.
The Morocco Football Federation has ordered all matches in the country to be played behind closed doors, to try and combat the spread of the coronavirus. It means that the Confederation Cup quarter-final second legs being hosted in Morocco on Sunday will be played without any fans. Hassania Agadir hold a 5-0 advantage as they host Libya’s Al Nasr, while Renaissance Berkane take on visiting Al Masry of Egypt with the tie locked at 2-2.
Ghana’s former football chief Kwesi Nyantakyi has officially been charged with fraud by a high court in the capital Accra. He was charged with dishonestly obtaining $65,000 as an inducement for showing favour to a potential sponsor of the Ghanaian FA. Mr Nyantakyi was filmed taking $65,000 from a reporter in a 2018 undercover investigation.
Harry Maguire is doubtful for Sunday’s Manchester derby after missing Manchester United’s FA Cup tie at Derby with a slight ankle injury. The England international faces a race to be fit to face neighbours Manchester City, in a vital match for their top-four hopes. Maguire expressed his disappointment on social media after he was ruled out of the match at Pride Park on his 27th birthday.
A bus crash has killed at least eight players from Guinean second division side Etoile de Guinee, with a further 17 injured. The accident happened just outside the city of Mamou, some 250 kilometres east of the capital Conakry where Etoile are based. The team were on their way to play in the city of Kankan, a further 400km east of Mammou, in what was meant to be the first match of the league season.
Former Brazil forward Ronaldinho is being held by police in Paraguay for allegedly using a fake passport to enter the country, authorities say. Police searched a hotel in the capital, Asuncion, on Wednesday, where the star had been staying with his brother. Paraguay’s interior minister told ESPN Brazil that the pair had not been arrested but are under investigation.
Danish side Brondby have quarantined 13 people, including a player and their assistant coach, after former Denmark international Thomas Kahlenberg was diagnosed with coronavirus. Brondby director of communications Christian Schultz says Kahlenberg contracted the virus in Amsterdam last weekend and was at Brondby’s game against Lyngby on Sunday.
The Premier League has announced that the pre-match handshakes between both teams and officials will not take place until further notice because of fears over the spread of coronavirus. The measure comes the day after the government asked the league “to step up its contingency planning”. The teams will still line up as usual but the home team will walk past the away side without shaking hands. There have been more than 90,000 cases of the virus in 87 countries.
Manchester United striker Odion Ighalo says he “doesn’t care what anybody says” about his surprise move to Old Trafford after his two goals ensured an all-Premier League FA Cup quarter-final line-up and comfortable 3:0 win at Derby County. January signing Ighalo again showed why his shock acquisition in January may yet prove to be shrewd business with two smart finishes to book a tie with Norwich at Carrow Road later this month.
Kylian Mbappe scored a hat-trick as Paris St-Germain thrashed Lyon to reach a sixth consecutive French Cup final. Martin Terrier gave Lyon the lead but Mbappe levelled from inches out and Neymar scored a penalty after Marcal’s handball, which earned the Lyon player a second yellow card.
Head coach of the Super Eagles of Nigeria, Gernot Rohr, has invited 24 players ahead of their 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Sierra Leone. Kingsley Ehizibue that plays for FC Cologne and Heracles Almelo’s Cyril Dessers have been called up. Leicester City forward, Kelechi Iheanacho, also makes his return to the team.
Manchester City’s Kevin de Bruyne is a doubt for Sunday’s derby against Manchester United with a back injury, says boss Pep Guardiola. De Bruyne missed his side’s FA Cup fifth-round win over Sheffield Wednesday. Guardiola said he did not know how long the midfielder would be out for. “Kevin was not fit,” added the Spaniard, who revealed De Bruyne had suffered the injury in the Carabao Cup final win over Aston Villa on Sunday. “It was the last game in the last minute – he fell down in a bad position,” said Guardiola. “We don’t know how long – hopefully not too much. I don’t know right now.”
Sheffield United vs Arsenal
Newcastle vs Manchester City
Norwich vs Derby/Manchester United
Leicester City vs Chelsea
England midfielder Eric Dier was involved in a confrontation in the stands after Spurs exited the FA Cup at home to Norwich after being “insulted” by a fan, said manager Jose Mourinho. Dier climbed into Tottenham Hotspur Stadium’s bottom tier and was involved in a fracas before security intervened. Mourinho said Dier’s younger brother was “not happy” about the insult. The Portuguese added: “I think Eric did what we professionals cannot do but probably every one of us would do.”
Frenchman Patrice Beaumelle has been appointed as the new Ivory Coast coach. The 41-year-old replaces Ibrahim Kamara, who left the post by mutual consent in February. It is a return to Ivory Coast for Beaumelle, as he was assistant to his compatriot Herve Renard when the Elephants won the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations. He has worked extensively with Renard and was his assistant when Zambia won the title three years earlier, in 2012. Before moving to join Renard with the Elephants he was head coach of Chipolopolo for nine months.
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