TEAM
U.S. senators seek possible sanctions over Ethiopia conflict abuses
Two U.S. senators have called on their government to consider imposing sanctions on any political or military officials found to be responsible for human rights violations during a month of conflict in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region. The proposed resolution was introduced on Wednesday by Senator Ben Cardin, a Democrat, and Senator Jim Risch, a Republican. It was the first such call by U.S. lawmakers since war between Ethiopian federal forces and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) broke out on Nov. 4. The conflict is thought to have killed thousands and displaced more than 950,000 people, according to United Nations estimates, about 50,000 of them into Sudan. Concern has mounted over reports of civilians targeted by both sides, posing a policy dilemma for the United States, whic...
Neymar: No place for racism
Paris Saint-Germain and Istanbul Basaksehir played their Champions League match to a conclusion on Wednesday, 24 hours after it had been suspended, with Neymar scoring a hat-trick before saying both teams had felt compelled to make a stand against racism in what was an unprecedented protest over an alleged comment by an official. PSG won the game 5-1 after it restarted where it had stopped the previous day, in the 14th minute, following a touchline argument over accusations the Romanian fourth official, Sebastian Coltescu, had described Basaksehir’s Cameroonian assistant coach Pierre Webo as “black”, or “negru” in Romanian. “Sometimes in extreme circumstances these things need to be done to see if the world can change a little,” said Neymar, who together with other players and the new team...
Nigerian midfielder sees red as 10-woman SL Benfica fall at Chelsea
Christy Ucheibe got sent off in Wednesday’s Uefa Women’s Champions League first leg, Round of 32 encounter as 10-woman SL Benfica suffered a 5-0 loss at home to Chelsea. The Nigerian midfielder was first cautioned in the 31st minute for a foul on Fran Kirby before receiving a second yellow card for a bookable offence against Erin Cuthbert in the 74th minute. Having squeezed past POAK and Anderlecht to the Round of 32, the Portuguese champions hosted the English giants at the Benfica Stadium with the ambition of boosting their next round chances. The hosts made a false start in the encounter when Fran Kirby opened the scoring for the visitors after just two minutes. In the 29th minute, Guro Reiten set up Millie Bright to double the lead for Chelsea before Reiten bagged her brace of assists,...
Eberechi Eze makes Premier League Team of the Week
Eberechi Eze has been included in the Premier League Team of the Week following his impressive performance in Crystal Palace’s 5-1 win at West Bromwich Albion at the weekend. The list was compiled by football facts and statistics website whoscored .com on Tuesday. Eze marked a superb display for Palace with an assist for Wilfred Zaha in the win at the Hawthorns. The Team of the Week which is in a 4-4-2 formation has Eze on the left of the four-man midfield. Some other players also included are Eze’s Palace teammates Zaha and Christian Benteke, Mohamed Salah and Joel Matip of Liverpool and Aaron Wan-Bissaka of Manchester United. Commenting on Eze’s display whoscored. com wrote:”After being eased into the swing of things following his summer arrival, Eberechi Eze is starting to leave his mar...
CAFCL: Plateau United threatens protest against Tanzanian side
Nigeria Professional Football League side, Plateau United, have given an indication they would be lodging a protest against Simba SC for the alleged antics they deployed to progress in the CAF Champions League at their expense. Plateau United on their official Twitter handle said they are planning to report the Tanzanian club to the continent’s football ruling body for falsely claiming two of their key players tested positive for COVID-19 and were thus not allowed to play in Saturday’s second leg tie. The club while posting a negative result of one of the players alleged the false-positive results was only meant to weaken the team and give Simba SC an undue advantage. “The management of Plateau United is looking to petition CAF to look into the antics of @SimbaSC_EN who kept out two of our...
Man arrested with stolen car in Ogun
A Lagos-based car wash operator, Idris Ayotunde, who absconded with a customer’s car, has been arrested in Odeda, Ogun State. Ayotunde was arrested at Alakija village via Olodo at the weekend by Safer Highway Patrol team who were on stop-and-search duty on the Abeokuta/Ibadan expressway. The team stopped the car and demanded for its documents, and when Ayotunde could not produce them, he was taken to the Odeda Divisional Headquarters where the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Ajayi Williams, interrogated him, and discovered he stole the car. Police spokesman Abimbola Oyeyemi, in a statement yesterday, said the suspect, who claimed to be an ND holder, confessed to joining a car wash at Jimoh Bus Stop, Shasha-Akowonjo, Lagos State, recently. Abimbola noted that the car owner, Mrs. Tosin Shof...
Jose Mourinho lauds Spurs’ Premier League’s outstanding run
Tottenham boss, Jose Mourinho, has hailed the manner of their performance in victory over Arsenal. Harry Kane and Heung-min Son struck the goals and Mourinho says his Premier League leaders have “grown-up”. Mourinho said, “Harry Kane clearing balls in the box, Sonny for the first 60 minutes as a winger and then a second striker – it is not just about scoring goals and being world-class players. “It is about being great guys and doing your best for the team. “We grew up. I can imagine lots of people can imagine three matches in a row – against Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal – would be a moment for us to drop points and go back to ‘normality’ but we didn’t go back to ‘normality’. We are there. I believe one more week at the top of the table unless Liverpool win by many.” Get more stori...
Roy Hodgson ‘really pleased’ as Crystal Palace hit 5 goals in West Brom rout
Wilfred Zaha was outstanding for Crystal Palace as they took advantage of the controversial dismissal of Matheus Pereira to claim their first points in three games with a rout at West Brom. Zaha had missed Palace’s previous two matches – both of which ended in defeat – after testing positive for Covid-19 but quickly found his feet again at The Hawthorns with a typically lively attacking display that included two goals and an assist. It was from his low cross that Darnell Furlong diverted the ball into his own net to give the visitors the lead and his whipped finish into the far corner that restored the advantage after Conor Gallagher’s low, driven equaliser. Between these two Zaha contributions, though, came the incident that completely altered the complexion of the game – Pereira’s red ca...
Lekki shootings: Nigerian Army legal team submits report to General Buratai
The legal team set up by the Nigerian Army to represent the service at the ongoing Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry on the alleged shooting of protesters at the Lekki Tollgate has submitted its report to the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt-Gen. Tukur Buratai. The team, led by Akinlolu Kehinde, said the Nigerian Army was not under any form of trial over the alleged shooting at the Lekki Tollgate. The team has as members, the Director Legal Services of the Nigerian Army, Brigadier General M.U. Wambai, Samuel Agweh, Biola Oyebanji and Colonel Michael Ede. The report was received by the Chief of Policy and Plans (COPP), Lt-Gen Lamidi Adeosun, who represented the COAS. Presenting the five-page report, Kehinde said: “I want it to be clear that at no point in time was the Nigerian Army summon...
Mercedes replaces Lewis Hamilton with George Russell for Sakhir Grand Prix
British race driver, George Russell, will take Lewis Hamilton’s place at Mercedes for this weekend’s Sakhir Grand Prix after the seven-time champion tested positive for coronavirus. Mercedes has backed Russell’s career since 2017 and he is effectively on a three-year loan at Williams, where he has posted some impressive races since making his F1 debut last season. Jack Aitken, a 25-year-old British-Korean, will race in Russell’s place at Williams for his F1 debut while Russell is away at Mercedes. Mercedes had approached Williams to see if a deal to release Russell was possible as soon as it became apparent that Hamilton’s absence from the first race of his career was confirmed after the positive COVID-19 test and retest. And the confirmation of an agreement arrived on Wednesday morning. T...
Napoli boss rues Victor Osimhen’s absence
Napoli manager Gennaro Gattuso says the absence of Victor Osimhen is being felt within the team despite Sunday’s 4-0 win over Roma in a Series A tie. Osimhen suffered a shoulder injury while on duty for the Super Eagles during the international break, which has seen him miss a couple of games for the San Paolo Stadium outfit. And Manager, Gattuso while reacting to Napoli’s big win over Roma praised his team’s mentality but rues the absence of the Nigeria international. “We have missed Osimhen in recent weeks, remember, he is an important player,” Gattuso said of the Forward, who is gradually returning to fitness having commenced light training and gym work. Osimhen linked up with the Partenopei from French club Lille in a record deal in the summer. He has played a total of six matches for ...
Fulham shock Leicester to go out of relegation zone
Fulham climbed out of the Premier League relegation zone after finally solving their penalty woes in a shock 2-1 win at Leicester on Monday. Scott Parker’s side won for just the second time in the league this season thanks to Ademola Lookman’s opener and Ivan Cavaleiro’s penalty. Fulham had missed three of their four previous penalties this term, but Cavaleiro held his nerve to convert from the spot for the crucial second goal. It was an emotional success for the Cottagers, with Lookman celebrating his goal by displaying one of Papa Bouba Diop’s Senegal shirts after Fulham’s former midfielder died aged 42 at the weekend. Harvey Barnes scored for Leicester in the closing minutes, but Fulham held on and move one point above the bottom three. It was only Fulham’s second away win in the past 2...
