Thursday, June 26, 2014

Uruguay FA to appeal Suarez ban

The Liverpool star has been suspended for nine competitive international matches, banned from all football-related activity for four months and fined €82,000

The latest Luis Suarez controversy is set to rumble on after the Uruguay FA confirmed its intention to appeal the striker's four-month global ban for biting Giorgio Chiellini.

On Thursday Fifa announced that the Liverpool star will be suspended for nine competitive international matches, banned from all football-related activity and stadia for four months and fined €82,000 for the offence, which went unseen by the match officials but was captured on several television cameras.
The Fifa statement read: "The player Luis Suarez is to be suspended for nine official matches. The first match of this suspension is to be served in the upcoming Fifa World Cup fixture between Colombia and Uruguay on June 28, 2014.

"The remaining match suspensions shall be served in Uruguay's next Fifa World Cup match(es), as long as the team (remains in the competition), and/or in the representative team's subsequent official matches.

"The player Luis Suarez is banned from taking part in any kind of football-related activity (administrative, sports or any other) for a period of four months."

Claudio Sulser, the chairman of the Fifa disciplinary committee, added: "Such behaviour cannot be tolerated on any football pitch, and in particular not at a Fifa World Cup when the eyes of millions of people are on the stars on the field.

"The disciplinary committee took into account all the factors of the case and the degree of Mr Suarez's guilt in accordance with the relevant provisions of the code. The decision comes into force as soon it is communicated."

In the wake of the announcement Uruguay FA president Wilmar Valdez insisted they are not prepared to accept Fifa's decision. "We are preparing our appeal now, we have three days to do it," he told reporters.

"It is a severe punishment. I don't know exactly which arguments they used but it is a tough punishment for Suarez.

"It feels like Uruguay has been thrown out of the World Cup. We all know what Suarez means to Uruguay and to football around the world - not having Suarez would be a loss to any team."

The punishment ends Suarez's involvement at this summer's World Cup, since article 124 of Fifa's Disciplinary Code states that any appeal against a suspension does not see sanctions lifted while it is heard - scuppering any hope of the striker featuring in Uruguay's round of 16 clash with Colombia at the Maracana on Saturday.

It will also see the 27-year-old miss the first 12 matches of Liverpool's season in all competitions, though a possible transfer away from Anfield this summer remains a possibility.

In a statement published on the club's official website, chief executive Ian Ayre said: "Liverpool Football Club will wait until we have seen and had time to review the Fifa Disciplinary Committee report before making any further comment."

Adidas, who sponsor Suarez, welcomed Fifa's punishment and confirmed in a statement that they "will again be reminding him of the high standards we expect from our players", while online poker network 888 Poker have also revealed they are reviewing their commercial relationship with the Liverpool star.

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Arsenal 0-2 Chelsea: Mata magic helps Blues overcome below-par Gunners

The Blues' No.10 drilled a right-footed shot past Lukasz Fabianski to seal the win after Cesar Azpilicueta had seized upon a Carl Jenkinson mistake to open the scoring

Jose Mourinho maintained his hoodoo over Arsene Wenger as Chelsea beat Arsenal 2-0 to reach the quarter-finals of the Capital One Cup.
Arsenal boss Wenger had failed to secure a victory over a Chelsea side managed by Mourinho in eight attempts before Tuesday night's clash between the top two in the Premier League at the Emirates Stadium.

And Mourinho, taking charge of his 200th game as Chelsea manager, stretched that run to nine as Cesar Azpilicueta scored his first goal for the club following a mistake from Carl Jenkinson and Juan Mata opened his account for the season to give the visitors another London derby victory.

In-form Chelsea have now won their last five games in all competitions and they were good value for their victory against a more inexperienced Arsenal side.

Mourinho vowed to make wholesale changes with the game just two days after Chelsea's Premier League win over Manchester City and he was true to his word, as only Gary Cahill kept his place in the starting line-up.

Wenger also made full use of his Arsenal squad as Laurent Koscielny, Aaron Ramsey and Santi Cazorla were the only players who started the 2-0 victory against Crystal Palace on Saturday to stay in the side.

Such is the strength of Chelsea's squad that they still had plenty of experience in their side and they looked more threatening in the opening stages before they were gifted the lead after 24 minutes.

Jenkinson was the culprit as he hesitated and let the ball bounce before attempting to head back to Lukasz Fabianski, only for marauding full-back Azpilicueta to nip in and poke the ball beyond the Polish goalkeeper with a finish a striker would have been proud of.

The defender almost undid his good work four minutes later when his poor pass was cut out by fellow Spaniard Nacho Monreal, who let fly with a left-foot drive that flashed just past the far post.

Samuel Eto'o had the first sight of goal in the second half but the Chelsea striker fired his shot from 20 yards out wide.

Arsenal responded as Ramsey's shot from inside the penalty area deflected wide of the far post and the Wales midfielder tried his luck from just outside the penalty area 61 minutes in, but was narrowly off target.

Wenger brought on playmaker Mesut Ozil with just over 25 minutes remaining, but Arsenal were left with a mountain to climb just a couple of minutes later when the ball fell for Mata just outside the penalty area and the Spaniard beat Fabianski with a clinical right-foot finish to notch his first goal of the season.

Koscielny had to clear off the line to deny Ramires a third goal and the Brazil midfielder had a shot that landed on top of the net as 9,000 Chelsea fans behind the goal celebrated reaching the last eight.

Capital One Cup, United in quarterfinals

With the score 4-0, Manchester United has defeated Norwich City at Old Trafford, to provide training in the fifth round (quarterfinals) of the Capital One Cup.
It was a stunning display of midfielder Adnan Januzaj and forwards Javier Hernandez, who scored twice.

Albania talent drew a penalty in the first half, which converted into Mexican football goal (20 ').

Javier 'Chicharito' Hernandez was found best to double the lead (54 ') and to seal victory in the second half.

After a lifted Rafael, Phil Jones had a lovely goal to entertain the fans in the stadium (88 ').

The Red Devils were not satisfied with that, they scored again by Fabio Da Silva, who had just entered the game (90 +5)

Sunday, September 1, 2013

Real Madrid signs Bale for world record fee

Los Blancos have finally announced the arrival of the Wales international, who has usurped new teammate Cristiano Ronaldo as the game's most expensive player.

Real Madrid has confirmed the signing of Gareth Bale from Tottenham Hotspur for a reported 100 million euros.

The Wales international succeeds new teammate Cristiano Ronaldo as the game's most expensive player after penning a six-year contract with the Liga giant.

"I am not sure there is ever a good time to leave a club where I felt settled and was playing the best football of my career to date," Bale said in a statement published on the Tottenham website. "I know many players talk of their desire to join the club of their boyhood dreams, but I can honestly say, this is my dream come true."

Bale first came to prominence as a 16-year-old with Southampton before joining Tottenham in 2007.
The then fullback initially struggled at White Hart Lane but he flourished after being converted into a winger, winning the PFA Players' Player of the Year in 2010-11.

"I am well aware that I would not be at the level I am today were it not for firstly Southampton and then Spurs standing by me during some of the tougher times and affording me the environment and support they have," Bale said. "Tottenham will always be in my heart and I'm sure that this season will be a successful one for them. I am now looking forward to the next exciting chapter in my life, playing football for Real Madrid."

Bale collected the same prize last year, after scoring 26 goals in 44 appearances in all competitions.

His fantastic form was not enough to earn Spurs a place in the Champions League but the 24-year-old will now feature in the competition this season after finally completing his drawn-out move to Madrid.

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Real Madrid plan to secure Bale before announcing Ronaldo renewal

The attacker is close to a three-year extension to his contract, although the club hope to announce the news after they have completed the world-record signing of the Welshman
Real Madrid are close to successfully concluding talks with Cristiano Ronaldo over a new contract until 2018 worth €17 million net per season, but they intend to complete the world-record signing of Gareth Bale from Tottenham first before announcing the Portugal forward's renewal.
The 28-year-old's new and improved deal will make him the best-paid player in the Primera Division, earning €1m more per season than his Barcelona nemesis Lionel Messi.
Ronaldo, whose current contract runs until 2015, denied on Monday that his contract renewal is already a done deal, before hinting that there would soon be an update on his situation.
Despite reported interest from Manchester United and Monaco, Madrid sources are confident of final agreement but plan to announce the attacker's renewal after the conclusion of negotiations over Bale.
The Santiago Bernabeu side hope to land the 24-year-old Welshman this summer in a world-record deal worth up to €115m.
The capital club have already secured the services of Dani Carvajal, Casemiro, Isco and Asier Illarramendi in this transfer window, with the capture of Bale and Ronaldo's renewal representing the icing on the cake for los Blancos, who also brought in Carlo Ancelotti as coach to replace Jose Mourinho earlier this summer.
Ronaldo and Madrid had been close to agreeing terms since the middle of June, as revealed by Goal, and the last details have involved resolving a dispute over the player's image rights.
The Portugal international previously held a 60 per cent share (of which he pays a third to Jorge Mendes' company Gestifute), while the club kept 40 per cent.
The attacker joined Madrid from Manchester United in the summer of 2009 for a world-record fee of €94m and has since become the Liga side's undisputed star player.

Monday, August 5, 2013

Ronaldo strikes back at Mourinho

Cristiano Ronaldo has hit back at Jose Mourinho following the Chelsea manager's belittling comments about the Real Madrid star at the weekend.
Mourinho has previously criticised the attacker's attitude when he stated that the Portugal international struggles to deal with criticism and the flamboyant coach took another swipe at the 28-year-old this month by claiming that he is not the 'real' Ronaldo.
"There are certain things in life that are not even worth commenting on," the Madrid attacker said at a press conference when questioned about Mourinho's remarks.
"I will not say anything else about it for obvious reasons. I have always respected all my coaches and learned from them.

"I have gotten used to people saying bad things about me. As we say in Portugal: 'I do not spit on the plate I'm eating from.' That's all I want to say about it."
Ronaldo was also questioned about the potential arrival of Gareth Bale from Tottenham, but remained coy on the Welshman's proposed transfer.
"I have my opinion about Bale, but I will not go public with it", he added. "These kind of issues are not my responsibility. I do not talk about new signings or player issues."
The prolific forward then went on to discuss his contract renewal with Madrid and hinted that there could be new developments shortly.
"I still haven't signed a new deal," Ronaldo continued. "The situation is yet to be resolved. It's not the right moment to discuss this. I might have some concrete news later on.
"I cannot confirm that I will retire at Madrid. I don't know what my future looks like. I'm a Madrid player for now and happy here."
Ronaldo's current deal with Madrid runs until June 2015, with former club Manchester United having been linked with a move for him this summer by reports in England./Goal.com

Manchester United reject fresh Chelsea bid for Rooney

An improved offer of £30 million, including add-ons, was dismissed immediately as the Premier League champions maintain the striker is "not for sale" ahead of the new season
Manchester United have rejected an improved bid from Chelsea for striker Wayne Rooney
The Premier League champions immediately dismissed the bid on Sunday, understood to be worth £25 million plus add-ons to take the deal to just under £30m.
A United spokesperson said: "A bid was received yesterday and immediately rejected. Our position remains that he is not for sale."
Rooney is determined to force through a move to Chelsea this summer and is considering submitting a formal transfer request.
David Moyes, the United manager, has continually insisted that the 27-year-old will not be sold this summer despite the player's desire for a fresh start after nine years at Old Trafford.
Rooney is expected to be part of the United squad that faces Swedish side AIK in a friendly in Stockholm on Tuesday having missed much of the club's pre-season preparations with a hamstring injury.
Goal revealed last week that Rooney fears a fan backlash when he next pulls on the United shirt and feels there is no way back for him at the club.
Rooney fell out with former boss Sir Alex Ferguson and is keen for a fresh start at Chelsea, where manager Jose Mourinho has made the forward his top target as he looks to challenge for the Premier League title this season.
Chelsea are believed to be ready to offer Rooney a contract worth £200,000-a-week and are expected to returned with an improved third offer, with the saga expected to run until the final week of the transfer window.
Rooney made it known that he was "angry and confused" after quotes from Moyes emerged suggesting he would be kept at Old Trafford simply as back-up to Robin van Persie.
Moyes has since clarified his comments to Rooney in telephone conversations, with the relationship between the pair described as 'amicable' by club sources and the former Everton man due to travel with the squad for the next pre-season friendly in Stockholm on August 6.
Ed Woodward, United’s executive vice-chairman, has also suggested that the club would not open talks to extend Rooney’s £250,000-a-week contract, which expires in 2015.