Sports

15, May 2020

Football and the virus: Liverpool’s Klopp pokes fun at Neville over lockdown rants ⁰

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has joked that his biggest lesson from the coronavirus lockdown is just how outspoken former Manchester United defender Gary Neville can be.

In his role as a television pundit, Neville has vented on a range of issues related to the Premier League and the health crisis.

The former England international has criticised Premier League chiefs for being slow to give updates on their restart plans.

He also took issue with the government’s call for players to take wage cuts during the pandemic and let rip on a host of other subjects.

Klopp could not resist a good-natured jibe at Neville when asked what his lockdown experience had been like.

“I didn’t learn a lot in lockdown, other than Gary Neville has an opinion about absolutely everything. It is incredible,” Klopp told the BBC’s Football Focus programme.

Liverpool were two wins away from winning the English title for the first time in 30 years when the Premier League was postponed on March 13.

The league hopes to resume in mid-June and players are already returning to training while observing strict social-distancing rules.

Klopp has been in touch with Liverpool’s squad, but he admitted it had been hard to go so long without seeing them in person.

“I am quite proud how we as a society have dealt with it,” he said. “We are not perfect. We will always make mistakes but I think we have learned how connected we are to each other.

“I miss the boys the most because we created a group where all the people at Melwood (training ground) have a really good relationship and we became friends over the last four-and-a-half years.

“We saw each other with Zoom and other calls but it is still not the same. Going back to Melwood and doing the things we usually do is something I really miss.”

Source: AFP

14, May 2020

Ambazonia Crisis and the virus: PWD of Bamenda declared Cameroon league champions ⁰

Cameroon Football Federation (Fecafoot) has terminated its domestic championships over the novel coronavirus pandemic, effectively declaring PWD of Bamenda champions of Elite One league.

Fecafoot Tuesday announced that it was impossible to complete the 2019/20 football season due to Covid-19 virus which had infected 2,689 people as at Wednesday.

Cameroon national government suspended soccer and other sports-related activities in March, following the outbreak of the virus grinding the 18-team top tier league to a halt.

The top-tier league was preparing for Round 29 at the time and Fecafoot has now confirmed that the current standing will be considered final. PWD of Bamenda – who will represent Cameroon in the Caf Champions League – had 47 points by Round 28, one ahead of second-placed Coton Sports who will represent the country in the Confederations Cup.

The decision also crowned, Astres of Douala, Louves MINPROFF of Yaounde as champions of Elite Two league and the women’s championships respectively.

Source: Daily Nation

13, May 2020

FECAFOOT aborts football season amid COVID-19 pandemic ⁰

Cameroon has opted to end its football season amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the head of the country’s football association said on Tuesday.

Seidou Mbombo Njoya, president of Cameroon Football Federation (FECAFOOT) said, the decision was reached following recommendations from the health commission of the association stressing on the need to stay safe.

“Football is not the priority in the current situation (COVID-19). Football is secondary. Health safety comes first,” Njoya told reporters in the capital, Yaounde after the decision was taken.

PWD Bamenda were declared champions after leading Coton Sport by a single point, when the championship was suspended in March. The club will now compete in next season’s African Champions League.

The Cameroonian government halted all sporting activities in March following an outbreak of the pandemic in the country.

Source: Xinhuanet

12, May 2020

Indomitable Lions: Former coach Philippe Redon dies at 69 ⁰

The former coach of Cameroon’s Indomitable Lions Philippe Redon has died at the age of 69.

The information was made public by his boyhood club Stade Rennais were he was also a member of staff for the French outfit.

Philippe Redon took charge of Cameroon between 1991 and 1992. He drew goalless at home during his first game in charge against Mali on October 1990 and reignited the Lions winning spark during the return leg game securing his first win (2-0) in emphatic fashion.

The former French footballer guided the five time African champions to the semi final of the 1992 African Cup of Nations in Senegal.

Philippe Redon also coached Liberia in 2000. He has also had spells in club football with RC Lens and US Creteil.

Philippe Redon holds a pharmacy diploma and a DEPF (Professional Football Coaching Diploma), and has also worked as a FIFA instructor

Source: 2020 kick442.com

9, May 2020

Football: Umtiti suffers calf knock in second Barca training session ⁰

France defender Samuel Umtiti has picked up a calf injury in just the second session since Barcelona returned to training from the cornonavirus quarantine, the Spanish champions announced on Saturday.

Barca said that Umiti picked up an injury to his right calf during Saturday’s training session at the club’s Joan Gamper facility, but did not specify how long the 26-year-old would be out for.

Spanish media report that he will be unavailable for two or three weeks, so will likely be back in time for a potential June 20 restart for football in Spain as the country attempts to loosen coronavirus restrictions.

The 26-year-old Umtiti joined Barca from Lyon in 2016 after he helped France to the final of Euro 2016. He had further success with France in their successful 2018 World Cup campaign.

He played 16 times for the Catalan giants this season before play was suspended in March, and was twice injured earlier in the campaign, causing him to miss 10 matches between September and November last year.

Barca returned to training at the club’s facility on Friday after almost two months on lockdown in defence against a virus that has killed over 26,0000 in Spain.

Footballers in Spain restarted training following the announcement last week of a government plan that aims to end quarantine for professional players.

Individual training sessions are the first step to what La Liga hopes will be a return to action in June that will complete the 2019-20 season behind closed doors.

Source: AFP

4, May 2020

Football: Ronald Koeman in hospital with heart problems ⁰

Netherlands manager Ronald Koeman has been hospitalized in Amsterdam, and is in stable condition after undergoing a heart procedure.

Koeman wasn’t feeling well on Sunday after a bike ride, and felt chest pain before being rushed to hospital by ambulance. Fortunately, he did not suffer any serious harm as the surgery went well, and he should be able to return home on Monday.

The Dutch Football Association showed support for the 57-year-old on Twitter and said things are going better again.

Koeman was appointed Netherlands manager in 2018, and has enjoyed a successful spell in charge of his country so far. He took the Dutch National Team to the final of the inaugural UEFA Nations League and guided them to qualify for Euro 2020, which has been postponed to next year, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Source: Presstv

1, May 2020

Football: Bale interested in MLS ⁰

Gareth Bale has said he would be interested in playing in Major League Soccer in America if he leaves Real Madrid.

Bale has not been a regular in Zinedine Zidane’s team this season and the 30-year-old almost departed last summer, before a move to Chinese club Jiangsu Suning fell through.

Any MLS club keen to sign Bale would likely have to overcome the huge financial implications of a deal. Bale’s Madrid contract ends in 2022 and earns him close to 30 million euros ($33 million) a year before tax.

“I really like the league,” said Bale, speaking to the Hat-Trick podcast presented by the ICC, in an episode released on Thursday.

“I think it’s grown so much over the years. When we come over and play them in pre-season, the games are difficult, the standard is getting a lot better. The clubs are improving, the facilities are improving, the stadiums are improving.

“I think it’s a league that’s on the up and still rising. I think a lot more players want to come over to America now and play. I would definitely be interested in it.”

Bale was also asked about the banner he celebrated with after Wales qualified for Euro 2020 in November, which caused a stir in the Spanish press.

The banner taken from the crowd read, ‘Wales. Golf. Madrid. In that order’, as an indication of Bale’s priorities.

“We were just joking around,” said Bale. “A few of them were saying ‘if we do qualify, let’s try to find it and bring it out. I was like, ‘do what you want but I won’t be going to get it. They found it and brought it down.

“We were all celebrating as a team and I’m not not going to not jump around with my teammates. It was a bit of banter, a bit of fun.”

Bale is keeping fit at home as the coronavirus pandemic means players are waiting to see if La Liga can resume, with the plan to restart games behind closed doors in June.

“The club are sending us two weeks of programmes every two weeks,” Bale said. “We’re sticking to that, you can change it a bit if you want to do a bit more or a bit less depending on how your body is feeling. We have a guideline and we’re doing the best we can to tick over for the time being.”

Source: AFP

30, April 2020

French football season declared over, PSG awarded title ⁰

France’s football league declared the season over on Thursday, with Paris Saint-Germain named as Ligue 1 champions.

PSG led the table by 12 points from Marseille when the season was suspended in mid-March because of the coronavirus outbreak, which has gone on to kill more than 24,000 people in France.

The announcement by the LFP comes after Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said on Tuesday that “professional sports leagues, notably football, cannot restart” because of the risks linked to the pandemic.

“There is no ambiguity about this declaration. We needed to make a final decision about this season. We acknowledge that the 2019-20 season is over,” said LFP president Nathalie Boy de la Tour, in a conference call with reporters.

Ruling out any possibility of following the lead of the Netherlands, who decided to void their season without a champion, relegation or promotion, the LFP said a final table was arranged on the basis of average points per game.

Ten rounds of matches remained when the campaign was halted, although PSG and Strasbourg both had a game in hand.

As a result, Marseille and Rennes will go into the Champions League next season, while fourth-placed Lille will play in the Europa League.

Toulouse and Amiens, the bottom two, are condemned to relegation, with Lorient and Lens coming up from Ligue 2.

The identity of the other European representatives depends on whether the finals of the two domestic cups are ever played.

Large gatherings of people remain banned in France until September.

However, if the French government and UEFA accept, both cup finals could yet be staged in August with European places still up for grabs.

PSG were due to play Lyon in the League Cup final and Saint-Etienne in the French Cup final. If the games are played, Lyon and Saint-Etienne would qualify for the Europa League by winning.

Lyon — seventh in the table when the season was stopped — would otherwise miss out on European qualification for the first time in over two decades.

AFP

29, April 2020

Man Utd given permission to trial safe standing at Old Trafford ⁰

Manchester United have been granted permission to install 1,500 safe-standing seats for use in a trial when Old Trafford is opened again to supporters.

The use of barrier seating has been approved following a change in regulations and a feasibility study carried out by the club.

Fans are not expected to be permitted to attend matches for at least a number of months with English football indefinitely suspended due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Even when matches do return, they will likely take place behind closed doors for the forseeable future.

However, United insist work can be carried out on the project whilst respecting social distancing guidelines to ensure it is ready for when fans can return.

“It may seem strange to talk about stadium plans at this time, but football and our fans will return when it is safe, and our preparations for that must continue in the background,” said United’s managing director Richard Arnold.

“This announcement is the latest step in what has been a long journey with our fans.

“We have listened to their feedback, in particular, the representations made by MUST (Manchester United Supporters’ Trust), and worked with Trafford Council to develop and approve this proposal.”

Arnold added that the barrier seats can enhance spectator safety in areas of the ground where fans persistently stand anyway and that the trial could be extended to other areas of the stadium.

“We will now move on to develop the installation, compliance and licensing plan for the trial, with a view to having the new seats installed for when we can welcome our supporters back to Old Trafford,” said Arnold.

All-seater stadiums have been mandatory in the top two tiers of English football since 1994/95, following recommendations on stadium safety made in the Taylor Report, which was commissioned after 96 people died in the 1989 Hillsborough disaster.

But there has been a renewed push in recent years for safe standing to be brought into the top levels of English football with United set to follow fellow Premier League clubs Tottenham and Wolves in installing rail seating.

Source: AFP

19, April 2020

COVID-19: Chelsea FC players in talks over pay cut ⁰

Chelsea players are in extensive talks with the club over a potential 10 percent pay cut amid the financial crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Blues director Marina Granovskaia is leading the discussions on the club side with captain Cesar Azpilicueta representing the first-team squad.

If Chelsea can convince their players to take a 10 percent pay cut, it will save the club between 8 and 10 million pounds in the financial fight against the pandemic.

Premier League players have come under huge pressure to accept pay cuts or deferrals during the pandemic, but the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) has refused a 30 percent pay cut proposed by the Premier League.

Source: Presstv