Leagues
Euro 2020: UEFA name German referee for England vs Ukraine
German referee Felix Brych will take charge of England vs Ukraine – just days after the Three Lions dumped his nation out of Euro 2020. Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane grabbed the goals as Gareth Southgate’s side defeated Germany 2-0 at Wembley on Tuesday. That was enough to fire England into the quarters where they are now preparing to take on Ukraine in Rome. And the man in the middle will be someone who would have wanted England to lose two days ago. Brych is Germany’s representative at Euro 2020 and one of the best-known referees in the world. He took charge of Portugal’s last 16 exit to Belgium, a match in which he dished out five yellow cards. He’s already refereed Ukraine at this tournament, overseeing their thrilling 3-2 defeat to Holland. That match saw Ukraine boss Andriy Shevchen...
Cristiano Ronaldo is unconcerned over Juventus future
Juventus superstar Cristiano Ronaldo insists his sole focus is on Euro 2020 and reports of interest from rival clubs are causing him no “sleepless nights”. Ronaldo left Real Madrid for Juve in 2019, but the move has not worked out quite as planned. Although the Bianconeri won the Serie A title for a ninth successive season in the forward’s first campaign, they lost their crown to Inter this term and scraped Champions League qualification. Success in Europe’s premier club competition, which Ronaldo won five times with Manchester United and Madrid, continues to evade the Turin giants. A frustrating season ended with Massimiliano Allegri returning to replace Andrea Pirlo, and there has been speculation Ronaldo could follow his coach out of the door. Madrid, United and Paris Saint-Germain have...
Cristiano Ronaldo is unconcerned over Juventus future
Juventus superstar Cristiano Ronaldo insists his sole focus is on Euro 2020 and reports of interest from rival clubs are causing him no “sleepless nights”. Ronaldo left Real Madrid for Juve in 2019, but the move has not worked out quite as planned. Although the Bianconeri won the Serie A title for a ninth successive season in the forward’s first campaign, they lost their crown to Inter this term and scraped Champions League qualification. Success in Europe’s premier club competition, which Ronaldo won five times with Manchester United and Madrid, continues to evade the Turin giants. A frustrating season ended with Massimiliano Allegri returning to replace Andrea Pirlo, and there has been speculation Ronaldo could follow his coach out of the door. Madrid, United and Paris Saint-Germain have...
AFCONQ: Super Eagles boss wary of Benin ahead of crucial game
Nigeria national team coach Gernot Rohr believes the Republic of Benin will be a hard nut to crack, given their recent performances. The three-time African champions will square off against the Squirrels at Porto-Novo’s Stade Charles de Gaulle on Saturday. Michel Dussuyer’s men are on a five-game unbeaten run, having last tasted defeat against the Super Eagles in their first Afcon qualifying game in November 2019 Their home form has also been spectacular, given they have not lost for eight years, having last tasted defeat against Algeria in 2013 and Rohr has warned his side to be battle-ready for the encounter. “Benin have not lost a match for eight years at home, the last time they lost was in 2013 so you can imagine that we want to be the first team to win there in eight years,” Rohr tol...
Super Eagles invitee wants to prove there are quality NPFL players
Abia warriors defender Adekunle Adeleke has revealed his aim in the Nigeria national team squad is to prove there are quality players in the Nigeria Professional Football League. The defender is one of the three home-based players invited for the Super Eagles’ 2022 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers this month. The three-time African champions will take on the Republic of Benin on March 27 before slugging it out against Lesotho three days later in Lagos. Adeleke has set himself a target of representing the home-based players well in the national team in order to open doors of opportunities for them. “Definitely we are going to give a good account of ourselves and try to do our best to show that there are good and quality players in the league,” Adeleke told Brila FM. The defender is optimist...
AC Milan ready to pay €30 million for Real Madrid’s Brahim Diaz
AC Milan are willing to pay as much as €30 million (£26m/$36m) to land Real Madrid forward Brahim Diaz, with the 21-year-old having made a positive impact during his loan spell with the Serie A side. Goal can reveal that Milan bosses are keen to make the loan move permanent and, although they do not have a purchase option, they are keen to discuss a transfer with Madrid. While Brahim has always wanted to succeed at the Bernabeu, Madrid will now weigh up whether to keep him beyond the end of the 2020-21 campaign or sell for what would be a significant amount amid the coronavirus crisis. Following his loan switch to Milan in September 2020, Brahim immediately took to life in Italy and has become an important member of Stefano Pioli’s first-team squad. He has made 25 appearances in all compet...
Pep Guardiola confident Kevin de Bruyne will commit future to Manchester City
Pep Guardiola expects Kevin De Bruyne to commit his long-term future to Manchester City despite reports the Belgium midfielder’s contract talks have stalled. De Bruyne’s current contract runs until 2023, but City have already offered him a new deal. That contract extension remains unsigned amid claims De Bruyne was “disappointed” City’s offer did not significantly improve his reported salary of £280,000 ($380,000) per week. De Bruyne, voted the PFA Player of the Year last season, is said to want a deal that reflects his status as one of the world’s best midfielders and vice-captain of the club. Despite those issues, City boss Guardiola remains confident De Bruyne’s future will be at the Etihad Stadium. “I am pretty sure he will stay but at the same time we have to respect the process,” Gua...
FIFPRO wants specific measures to protect players from overload
Getty Images The global footballers’ union FIFPRO wants concrete safeguards to protect players from fixture overload and the consequent risk of injury. This demand has come as the sport catches up with a backlog of matches following the novel coronavirus stoppage. FIFPRO general secretary Jonas Baer-Hoffmann told Reuters that the union was talking to European clubs and leagues to find ways of protecting players. The sport is already facing an overcrowded calendar for the next three years. “There is the big question of how we manage the load in a very condensed period,” he said. “We can’t just leave it to the mercy of individual decisions because we know how big the pressure is on the players and nobody is going to benefit from additional injuries.” The new coronavirus halted football for t...
NFF adopts points per game, new league season to start September/October
Following resolutions passed at an online meeting of the NFF Football Committee, which had in attendance the Chairpersons of all the National Leagues and the President of the Nigeria Referees Association, the Executive Committee of the NFF has, after a holistic consideration of all the issues affecting the leagues (including the status of the leagues before the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic), the impact of the pandemic-induced disruptions, the health, safety and movement restrictive measures in the country, the potential protocols for football resumption, the costs, the financial status of the leagues and clubs, CAF calendar and resolutions of the various leagues as conveyed to the NFF, approved the following: 1. NPFL – The league ends at current Matchday 25 and the Points Per Game (PPG)...
Danny Mills: Leroy Sane winger could stay in Premier League
Leroy Sane would be interested in leaving Manchester City for Liverpool, says Danny Mills, with such a switch considered to be attractive to any player on the planet. The post Danny Mills: Leroy Sane winger could stay in Premier League appeared first on TODAY. You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautiful people, chat and make money in the process. Earn rewards by chatting, sharing photos, blogging and help give users back their fair share of Internet revenue.
UEFA clarify comments on teams from abandoned leagues pre-qualifying for Champions League
UEFA has made clear a statement which implied that teams from abandoned leagues would need to pre-qualify for next season’s Champions League. European football’s governing body had issued confusing comments which implied that teams such as Paris Saint-Germain would need to enter the competition in the first qualifying round. PSG, who remain in this season’s Champions League, were awarded the Ligue 1 title as the season was cancelled last month. But UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin appeared to warn that clubs from abandoned leagues – such as in France, Holland and Belgium – would need to enter European competition at the preliminary stages. UEFA have now clarified their comments, confirming that only teams in the positions normally needing to pre-qualify will need to be ready to compete in...
