Sports

Football: Elated fans abandon social distancing to greet Liverpool Premier League win after 30-year wait

26, June 2020

Football: Elated fans abandon social distancing to greet Liverpool Premier League win after 30-year wait 0

Liverpool ended a 30-year wait for the English title as they were crowned Premier League champions on Thursday, triggering jubilant scenes as fans ignored social distancing to celebrate uproariously.

Jurgen Klopp’s men sealed a 19th league title with a record seven games remaining after Chelsea’s 2-1 defeat of second-placed Manchester City left the 2018 and 2019 champions an unbridgeable 23 points adrift.

Liverpool’s first English title since 1990 — further delayed by the coronavirus shutdown — earns them their maiden trophy in the Premier League, which was introduced in 1992 and has been won 13 times by their arch-rivals Manchester United.

Klopp was in tears after Liverpool’s long-awaited win, which follows their Champions League and Club World Cup victories last year, when they finished just a point behind City in the Premier League.

“It’s such a big moment, I am completely overwhelmed,” an emotional Klopp told Sky Sports. “Tonight it is for you out there.

“It’s incredible. I hope you stay at home, or go in front of your house if you want, but not more. We do it together in this moment and it is a joy to do it for you.”

However, thousands of fans, many in face masks, converged on Anfield, lighting flares, chanting and celebrating with a replica trophy, while motorists drove up and beeped their horns.

Congratulations poured in from around the world with basketball star LeBron James, actor Samuel L. Jackson and former world number one tennis player Caroline Wozniacki among those paying tribute.

(AFP)

Cameroon-born Agoume happy to help Inter Milan in six-goal thriller against Sassuolo

25, June 2020

Cameroon-born Agoume happy to help Inter Milan in six-goal thriller against Sassuolo 0

The teenage midfielder came off the bench to make his second appearance in the Italian top-flight on Wednesday evening

Lucien Agoume has expressed his feelings after playing a part in Inter Milan’s 3-3 draw against Sassuolo in Wednesday’s Serie A fixture.

The Yaounde-born midfielder replaced Christian Eriksen in the 62nd minute for his second appearance in Antonio Conte’s team this term since his summer-signing from French club Sochaux.

Goals from Romelu Lukaku, Cristiano Biraghi and Borja Valero were not enough to give the Nerazzurri maximum points at the San Siro Stadium.

During the 28 minutes he spent on the pitch, Agoume completed 10 passes with a 100 per cent accuracy, and he also managed three tackles – the third-highest by an Inter player after defenders Milan Skriniar and Andrea Ranocchia.

In his reaction, the 18-year-old rued Inter Milan’s missed chances as the dropped points leave them unmoved from the third spot in the Serie A table with four points behind second-place Lazio and eight points behind leaders Juventus.

“I am happy to have entered today even if the result is a pity. We had many opportunities, we had to win,” Agoume told the club website.

He made his league debut against Fiorentina last December, and he has disclosed how he is working to make himself a better player in Italy.

“I always try to work to be available to the coach when he needs me and I hope to continue like this,” he added.

“I try to learn from everyone, in my role there they are many strong players, I want to learn the best to improve more and more.

“Everyone told me to be calm, to play as I can do without haste. I tried to do it when I entered.”

Although born in Cameroon, Agoume also has a French nationality and he has represented the European country across their U16, U17 and U18 youth teams.

He led the France U17 team as captain to the 2019 World Cup in Brazil where they won bronze.

The 18-year-old is currently France U18 captain and he is still eligible to play for Cameroon at senior level.

Source: Goal.com

Football: Inter Milan’s Lukaku equals two Eto’o records against Sampdoria

23, June 2020

Football: Inter Milan’s Lukaku equals two Eto’o records against Sampdoria 0

The Belgium international found the back of the net as the Black and Blues edged Claudio Ranieri’s men at Giuseppe Meazza

Inter Milan striker Romelu Lukaku equalled two Samuel Eto’o records in his side’s 2-1 narrow victory against Sampdoria in Sunday’s Serie A game.

The Belgium international opened the scoring for the Black and Blues in the 10th minute of the game after he was set up by Christian Eriksen.

The strike is the 18th league goal of the former Manchester United and Everton striker, thus becoming the seventh Inter player to reach the 18 goal-mark in a single Serie A campaign after Cameroon legend Samuel Eto’o, Mauro Icardi, Diego Milito, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Christian Vieri and Ronaldo.

Source: Goal.com

Football: Neymar ordered to pay Barcelona 6.7 million euros as case against club dismissed

20, June 2020

Football: Neymar ordered to pay Barcelona 6.7 million euros as case against club dismissed 0

Neymar must pay 6.7 million euros ($7.53m) to Barcelona, a court ordered Friday after the player’s case against his former employer was dismissed.

After his world-record transfer to Paris Saint-Germain in 2017 the Brazilian forward sued Barca for 43.6 million euros that he claimed he was due for various bonuses.

But a judge dismissed Neymar’s case and instead sided with Barcelona, who had also sued their former player for breach of contract.

Neymar has five days to appeal the decision.

He joined Barca in 2013 and signed a new five-year contract in 2016, which included a renewal bonus worth 43.6 million euros, with 14 million paid up front.

The remaining 29 million euros was due to be paid on August 1, 2017 but Neymar left Barcelona on August 3 for Paris Saint-Germain, who activated the striker’s 222 million euro release clause.

Barcelona refused to pay Neymar the remainder of the bonus, insisting the terms of his contract had been broken.

The club in turn sued Neymar and requested the return of the 14 million euros they had paid him up front, as well as a further 8.5 million euros in damages.

“We express our satisfaction with the verdict announced today,” Barcelona said in a statement.

“The ruling has fully dismissed the player’s claim for payment of EUR43.6m, and has accepted a large part of the defence presented by FC Barcelona, as a result of which the player must return EUR6.7m to the club.

“Since the player’s representative is entitled to appeal this decision, the club shall continue to fervently defend its legitimate interests.”

Despite the financial dispute between Barcelona and Neymar, both the club and the player have been eager to be reunited.

There were even discussions last year about coming to an agreement out of court but a compromise could not be reached.

Barca spent most of last year’s summer transfer window negotiating a transfer with PSG but were unable to strike a deal, even as a number of different players were offered in exchange.

Neymar remains a popular figure among the leaders of the Barca squad, including Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez, with whom he formed a devastating attacking trio during his time at Camp Nou.

“I’ve said it many times, as a footballer Ney is one of the best in the world and I would love for him to return,” Messi said in an interview with Barcelona newspaper Mundo Deportivo in February.

“He was always happy, he had fun both on and off the pitch. He brought a special sense of joy to the dressing room.”

Messi added: “He is eager to return, he was always regretful. He tried a lot to come back and that would be the first step in trying to get him here.”

Another attempt to re-sign Neymar was expected this summer but the financial implications of the coronavirus pandemic make an agreement even more unlikely.

“Neymar-type transfers will not happen,” said La Liga president Javier Tebas earlier this month.

Neymar was brought to PSG to help them finally win the Champions League but they failed to go past the last 16 in his first two years at the club.

This season, they are one of four teams through to the quarter-finals, which will be played in Lisbon in August, according to an announcement made by UEFA on Wednesday.

Source: AFP

Ex-Cameroon defender Bedimo quits football

17, June 2020

Ex-Cameroon defender Bedimo quits football 0

Former Cameroon defender Henri Bedimo, a French champion with Montpellier, on Tuesday announced that he was retiring two years after playing his last professional match.

“I’m ending my chapter as a professional footballer,” Bedimo said on Instagram.

Bedimo played 52 times for Cameroon, taking part in the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations and the World Cup in Brazil four years later.

The 36-year-old began his career at Toulouse in 2003 and after four years in Ligue 2 established himself in the French top flight with Lens in 2010.

He joined Montpellier the following year, just in time to win the only major honour of his career – the 2012 Ligue 1 title which was also his team’s first and only French championship crown.

He then spent three seasons at Lyon before finishing his career at Marseille, where he last took the field as a professional player in 2018.

Bedimo, who played close to 400 club matches in his 15-year career, had been without a club since his contract at Marseille expired two years ago.

Source: Supersports.com

Messi on target as Barcelona return to action with thumping 4-0 win

14, June 2020

Messi on target as Barcelona return to action with thumping 4-0 win 0

Lionel Messi scored and grabbed two assists as La Liga leaders Barcelona eased to a 4-0 win away to struggling Real Mallorca on Saturday, making the perfect return to action after Spanish football’s three-month hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The champions got off to a flying start when Chilean midfielder Arturo Vidal scored with a diving header in the second minute, while Danish international Martin Braithwaite scored his first goal for Barca later in the first half.

Jordi Alba then added a third goal for Barca in the 79th minute after latching on to a through ball from Messi, who had also set up Braithwaite’s goal with a header.

The Argentine then completed the scoring with a deflected strike in stoppage time, netting 20 league goals for the 12th season in a row.

The win takes Barca on to 61 points after 28 games, five clear of nearest challengers Real Madrid, who host Eibar on Sunday in their first game back.

“We controlled the game and it was a great performance after not competing for three months,” goalscorer Alba said.

“We now have 10 must-win games to go and we are really looking forward to them.”

The game was played behind closed doors to prevent further spread of the novel coronavirus, but a fan wearing an Argentina shirt somehow made it on to the pitch, only to be swiftly taken away by security guards.

Luis Suarez made his first appearance since injuring his knee six months ago, coming off the bench in the second half, while his fellow Uruguayan Ronald Araujo hit the post shortly before Alba struck.

Mallorca occupy the final relegation spot in La Liga but despite the heavy loss they gave a decent account of themselves, with 19-year-old Japanese playmaker Takefusa Kubo pulling the strings.

Kubo tested Barca keeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen in the first half while Ante Budimir, Lago Junior and Abdon Prats all flashed shots just wide of the target after the interval.

(REUTERS)

Mainz’s Cameroonian midfielder Kunde Malong takes knee to pay tribute to George Floyd

8, June 2020

Mainz’s Cameroonian midfielder Kunde Malong takes knee to pay tribute to George Floyd 0

Pierre Kunde Malong on Saturday became the latest Bundesliga player to pay tribute to George Floyd when he took a knee after scoring the second goal in Mainz’s 2-0 win at Eintracht Frankfurt.

As thousands assembled in Berlin and Munich to demonstrate against police brutality and for racial equality, Mainz midfielder Kunde Malong paid tribute to Floyd, a black American man who died in Minneapolis last month while being arrested by police officers.

The Cameroonian will face no sanction from the German Football Federation (DFB) for the gesture after it gave the green light on Wednesday to players who wanted to honour Floyd or support the Black Lives Matter protests which have raged across the USA.

Borussia Dortmund players also wore messages on their T-shirts during their pre-match warm-up ahead of their clash with Hertha Berlin later on Saturday.

Jadon Sancho and Achraf Hakimi wore the messages “no justice, no peace”, while midfielders Axel Witsel and Emre Can’s T-shirts displayed the words “black”, “white” and “yellow” crossed out, with the word “human” below.

Sancho and Hakimi had avoided punishment by the DFB following their on-pitch calls for justice for Floyd last week, as German football’s governing body gave players the go-ahead to show their feelings regarding Floyd’s death and the subsequent protests.

Earlier, German champions Bayern Munich became the highest-profile club in the country to show their support the protests.

Prior to their 4-2 win at Bayer Leverkusen, players warmed up in T-shirts bearing both the Black Lives Matter hashtag and the slogan of the club’s official “Reds Against Racism” campaign.

“As players, we always have the same message: we are tolerant, we are open, we are open to the world,” Bayern captain Manuel Neuer told Sky after the game.

During the game, all Bayern players also wore black armbands bearing the words “Black Lives Matter”.

“FC Bayern stands for a world in which racism, discrimination, hate, injustice and violence have no place. The death of George Floyd and the images from the USA have shocked us all,” said club president Herbert Hainer in a statement.

“It’s a matter of actively and loudly showing our colours. Black Lives Matter and Reds Against Racism. We stand for togetherness that goes far beyond sports.”

Source: AFP

Football: Neymar mistakenly approved for $120 virus welfare payment

5, June 2020

Football: Neymar mistakenly approved for $120 virus welfare payment 0

Neymar, the world’s most expensive footballer, was approved to receive a $120 welfare payment meant for low-paid Brazilian workers affected by the coronavirus pandemic, in an apparent case of identity theft, a report said Thursday.

The Paris Saint-Germain star’s name, date of birth and Brazilian ID number were used to register for the 600-real stimulus payment from the federal government, news site UOL reported.

The emergency payments are meant to help Brazilians employed in the informal sector — such as cleaners or cooks — whose jobs and incomes have evaporated with stay-at-home measures to contain the virus.

With a contract at PSG, estimated earnings of $95.5 million this year and the record for most expensive football transfer in history, at 222 million euros, Neymar does not qualify.

Yet according to UOL, the application in his name “was initially approved and scheduled for payment… before being frozen and placed ‘under evaluation’ due to indications it failed to meet the requirements.”

The striker’s communications staff did not immediately respond to a request for comment from AFP.

UOL reported his staff said Neymar “obviously never applied for this benefit, and does not know who would have done so.”

Brazil is one of the countries hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic. It has the third-highest death toll globally, at more than 34,000, behind only the US and Britain.

Neymar, 28, is riding out the pandemic at his luxury villa in Mangaratiba, a resort town outside Rio de Janeiro.

Source:  AFP

‘Violence has never solved anything’ – Ex-Cameroon coach Seedorf reflects on racial unrest

4, June 2020

‘Violence has never solved anything’ – Ex-Cameroon coach Seedorf reflects on racial unrest 0

Former Cameroon coach Clarence Seedorf shared a video on Instagram in which he spoke about the ongoing unrest over the killing of George Floyd, asserting “violence solves nothing”.

The American died in the city of Minneapolis on May 25 after a police officer knelt on his neck for several minutes while he was apparently struggling to breathe.

Floyd died in hospital and the action of the police officer has drawn outrage all over the United States, with some of the protests turning violent which has been strongly condemned.

The football world has stood in solidarity for Floyd and has issued numerous calls for an end to racial injustice.

“Hi folks, I’m reflecting here, reflecting with you, reflecting about us, reflecting about the world,” Seedorf said in the video.

“Violence has never solved anything in the world, education has.

“I wish it would be more, I wish it would be really a movement of humanity to get things as they should be, not just better.

“But the passiveness of looking and seeing what is happening by the white people, that is not acceptable because then you become as guilty as those who started manipulating and killing for fun just because they thought they were superior.”

Seedorf joined a host of African stars like Didier Drogba, Jordan Ayew, Mikel John Obi, Franck Kessie, Michael Essien, Thomas Partey, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and many others who posted plain black squares on social media in what was tagged #BlackOutTuesday.

Borussia Dortmund and Morocco international Achraf Hakimi alongside his teammate Jadon Sancho wore a shirt with the inscription ‘Justice for George Floyd’ in their 6-1 thrashing of Paderborn on Sunday.

The Liverpool squad with African stars Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, Naby Keita and Joel Matip, all stood on their knees in solitary with Floyd.

Seedorf was the manager of Cameroon between August 2018 and July 2019.

He led the Indomitable Lions to the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt but lost out 3-2 to fierce rivals Nigeria in the Round of 16.

Seedorf managed a total of 13 games with Cameroon, winning four, drawing five and losing four.

Source: Goal.com

France: Ligue 1 presidents slam ‘brutal’ move to end season

1, June 2020

France: Ligue 1 presidents slam ‘brutal’ move to end season 0

Some of the French Ligue 1’s club presidents joined forces on Monday to criticise the decision in April to declare the season over due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said five week ago the campaign could not restart but Germany’s Bundesliga has resumed while Spain’s La Liga, Italy’s Serie A and England’s Premier League are set to follow suit by the end of this month.

“Start of April, we were the only league among Europe’s big five to propose the restart of the season,” Nantes’ Waldemar Kita said in a statement by Premiere Ligue, a union of the league’s chiefs.

“We were ahead of time, we were mocked. We were the motor and the other countries followed us later. But unfortunately, we stayed in the same spot,” Kita added.

Lille’s Gerard Lopez said the move was “pretty brutal”.

“We keep saying that we’re trying to catch up on the other four big leagues and then we make a rod for our own backs at a key moment.

“We’re all alone. It might be in France that football is not at the same level as other countries,” he added.

Saint-Etienne’s Bernard Caiazzo, who is the head of the body, pointed the finger solely at politicians.

“We’re not responsible, those who are responsible are the Prime Minister and the government. They have information we don’t have,” Caiazzo said.

“You could ask if the government decided too quickly. Was there a discussion with the clubs? No. Was there a discussion with other countries? No,” he added.

Lyon, whose chief Jean-Michel Aulas has been vociferous since the April 30 decision with his side set to miss out on Europe next season, and relegated Amiens will challenge the decision at France’s highest administrative court on June 4.

Bottom side Toulouse are among other clubs expected to appeal.

Source:  AFP

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