Sports

11, January 2019

Andy Murray announces impending retirement from tennis 0

A tearful Andy Murray on Friday announced he would likely retire this year due to severe pain from a hip injury, saying next week’s Australian Open could be the last tournament of a glittering career. The former world number one and three-time Grand Slam winner broke down at a press conference in Melbourne as he said the pain had become almost unbearable.

“I can play with limitations. But having the limitations and the pain is not allowing me to enjoy competing or training,” the emotional Scot said. Thirty-one-year-old “Sir Andy” said he would like to finish at his home Grand Slam in Wimbledon, but ruefully admitted he might not make it that far.

He will be remembered as the first British man to win Wimbledon in 77 years and as a player who battled his way to the top in a golden era for the game alongside Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.

“Wimbledon is where I would like to stop playing, but I am not certain I am able to do that,” he said. “I’ve been struggling for a long time. I’m not sure I can play through the pain for another four or five months.

“Pretty much done everything that I could to try and get my hip feeling better and it hasn’t helped loads.” He pulled out of last year’s Australian Open to have hip surgery and only returned in June at Queen’s Club in London.

He ended the season at Shenzhen in September after only a handful of appearances to concentrate on working his way back to full fitness.

But he was knocked out in the second round on his return at Brisbane last week and called it quits on Thursday after less than an hour of a practice match in Melbourne against Djokovic, with his movement clearly hampered.

“I think there is a chance the Australian Open is my last tournament,” he said.

While he intends to begin his opening-round match against 22nd seed Roberto Bautista Agut next week, how his body withstands potentially gruelling five-set clashes in energy-sapping heat remains to be seen.

‘Legend of a bloke’

One of the so-called Big Four, along with Federer, Djokovic and Nadal, who have dominated the game for years, Murray’s ranking has slumped to 230.

He hasn’t reached a Grand Slam final since winning his second Wimbledon title in 2016, but has nevertheless enjoyed a glittering career since turning professional in 2005, with not only three Grand Slam titles, but two Olympic gold medals and 45 ATP crowns.

Notably, in 2013 Murray became the first British man to win Wimbledon for 77 years, ending the nation’s obsession with finding a champion to follow in the footsteps of Fred Perry.

World number five Juan Martin del Potro, who has also struggled with injuries and will miss the Australian Open, told Murray to “keep fighting”.

“We love you @andy_murray and we want to see you happy and doing well,” he added. Billie Jean King called him “a champion on and off court”, referring to Murray’s long-time support of women’s equality in tennis.

“So sorry you cannot retire on your own terms, but remember to look to the future. Your greatest impact on the world may be yet to come. Your voice for equality will inspire future generations,” she said.

Top Australian coach Darren Cahill, who until recently was mentoring world number one Simona Halep, said Murray was an example of the never-say-die attitude that separated the best from the average.

“When you search for examples of ’emptied the bucket to be as good as they could be’ there should be a picture of Andy Murray sitting under that quote,” he tweeted.

“Remarkable discipline for training, competition, sacrifice, perfection, a little crazy but a legend of a bloke.”

Former star Andy Roddick also paid tribute on Twitter.

“I tip my cap to @andy_murray! Absolute legend. Short list of best tacticians in history. Unreal results in a brutal era. Nothing but respect here. I hope he can finish strong and healthy,” he said.

Murray said he had an option of another operation on his troublesome hip, but it was more about his quality of life after hanging up his racquet. “That’s something I’m seriously considering right now,” he said.

(AFP)

9, January 2019

Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah retains African Footballer of the Year award 0

Egypt striker Mohamed Salah has been named African Footballer of the Year for the second successive year at the Confederation of African Football’s 2018 awards ceremony in Dakar on Tuesday. “I have dreamt of winning this award since I was a child and now I have done so twice in a row,” Salah said soon after receiving his trophy in Dakar.

“My thanks go to my family, my team-mates and my fans and I dedicate this trophy to my homeland, Egypt.”

Just as he did 12 months ago, Salah beat fellow nominees including Liverpool FC Senegalese teammate Sadio Mane and Gabon’s (and Arsenal) Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to land the award.

Fans favourite

It was an identical outcome to last year when Salah became only the second Egyptian after 1983 winner Mahmoud al Khatib to be voted the best footballer in Africa.

Award caps ‘incredible 2018 for Mohamed Salah’

A poll of CAF’s national teams’ head coaches and technical directors, members of the governing body’s technical and development committee and a panel of media experts selected Salah as the continent’s outstanding footballer in 2018.

The Liverpool forward was also named in the Africa Best XI for 2018, along with Mane and Naby Keita. He scored 44 times during a 2017-18 campaign in which he helped his club reach the Champions League final, before then netting twice at last summer’s World Cup.

Salah scored four goals in three Africa Cup of Nations qualification outings for his country in 2018 and a further 16 goals in 29 appearances across all competitions for Liverpool in 2018.

Salah completed a memorable day for Egyptian football, as the country beat sole rivals South Africa earlier Tuesday to decide which country hosted the 2019 Cup of Nations.

Memorable day for Egypt

Salah was born in the northern Egyptian town of Nagrig and used to make eight-hour return trips to train with Cairo-based El Mokawloon.

Spotted by scouts from Swiss club Basel, he moved there in 2012 before joining Premier League giants Chelsea two years later.

The Egyptian had his share of setbacks. Early in his career Salah found scoring difficult, resulting in him quitting Chelsea for Italian outfits Fiorentina and then Roma. Salah blossomed in Rome, averaging close to a goal every two matches, and Liverpool paid almost €41 millionn (£37 million) to sign him two years ago.

South African Chrestinah Kgatlana was voted Women’s Player of the Year and South Africa coach Desiree Ellis and the Nigeria national team were the other female winners. The Goal of the Year award also went to Kgatlana.

France 24

6, January 2019

Bayern Munich hand Ribery ‘heavy fine’ for angry Tweetstorm 0

Bayern Munich on Sunday said it will impose “a heavy fine” on Franck Ribery over an obscenity-laced outburst on social media, after the French striker became embroiled in controversy for eating a gold-coated steak.

The punishment comes after Ribery lashed out at critics in a string of angry posts on Twitter and Instagram on Saturday. It is the latest scandal to engulf the 35-year-old, who is deeply unpopular in his native France but revered by German fans.

“I had a long talk with Franck and I let him know that we would impose a heavy fine on him and he accepted it,” the club’s sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic told journalists in Qatar, where the club is on a training camp.

“He used words that we, FC Bayern, cannot accept and that Franck does not have the right to use, as a role-model and player of FC Bayern,” added Salihamidzic.

On Thursday, Ribery posted a video on social media showing him in a Dubai steak house owned by celebrity Turkish restauranteur Salt Bae and rubbing his hands before tucking into a huge chop coated in gold.

That ostentatious luxury, and the reported cost of the meal, drew ferocious criticism before Ribery — who earns an estimated eight million euros a year with the German champions — hit back.

“Let’s start with the envious, the angry, surely born because of a broken condom,” read the first of the posts on Ribery’s Twitter account. “F*ck your mothers, your grandmothers and your whole family tree,” he wrote, having taken care to sanitise the French word “n*quez”.

Salihamidzic made clear that Ribery did not pay the bill himself because he had been invited to the restaurant.

“Franck has been slandered and insulted,” said Salihamidzic. “And not only Franck, but his pregnant wife, his child and his mother, who is currently in hospital for an operation. Franck wanted to defend himself and defend his family. He has the right to do that. I support him in that, but unfortunately he totally lost control.”

German media and social media users had called on the reigning Bundesliga champions to punish the striker, who is out of contract at the end of the season after 11 years at the club. “Bosses must suspend Ribery,” urged Germany’s bestselling Bild newspaper.

The news portal T-Online went even further, slamming Bayern for not taking firmer action. “Ribery should not play for Bayern anymore,” it said in an editorial. “With this fine, the club falls short of drastic repercussions and that is a fatal signal.”

– Hated at home, loved abroad –

Ribery’s outburst comes less than two months after the forward insulted and attacked French TV pundit Patrick Guillou who had criticised his performance following Bayern’s 3-2 loss against Dortmund.

Bayern later made Ribery post a video apology on the club web site. Despite being known as one of France’s best players, Ribery is little loved at home, partly because of his perceived key role in the French team’s infamous training ground strike during their disastrous 2010 World Cup campaign in South Africa.

Ribery’s reputation was also damaged by allegations that he had had sex with an underage prostitute although charges in the case were dropped for lack of evidence in 2014.

Ribery announced his retirement from France duty after the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, which he missed due to a back injury.

But run-ins with the media and perceived displays of arrogance have kept Ribery in the headlines, and he has repeatedly been mocked on the French satirical puppet show “Les Guignols” as a dim-witted, out of touch figure.

It’s a different story in Germany, where Ribery is known as “King Franck” to grateful Bayern supporters. Since joining the Bavarian giants in 2007, Ribery has helped the team win the Champions League in 2013 as well as eightBundesliga titles and five German Cups.

Although he now sees less time on the pitch than in his younger days, Ribery finished 2018 in style scoring four goals in the final three matches of the year. But Bayern bosses have indicated the current season is very likely to be Ribery’s last.

 AFP

4, January 2019

£12million Torino star Nicolas Nkoulou eyed to solve Arsenal defensive woes 0

ARSENAL are considering a bid for Torino centre-back Nicolas Nkoulou, according to reports. The Cameroon international captain has excelled this season to inspire his mid-table club to the fourth-best defensive record in Serie A.

Nicolas Nkoulou has been the star in Torino’s season so far. Gunners boss Unai Emery is a fan of the former Monaco, Marseille and Lyon defender from his time as Paris Saint-Germain coach.

The Spaniard is eager to strengthen Arsenal’s shaky defence, which has already leaked 31 Premier League goals – by far the worst record among the top five teams.

And reports in Italy claim Emery has urged Emirates chiefs to sanction a bid for 28-year-old Nkoulou. Torino value the defender at around £12million, just six months after paying Lyon £3.15m for him following a successful spell on loan.

Source: The Sun

AFCON 2019 Security Issue: Another Own Goal By CAF

31, December 2018

AFCON 2019 Security Issue: Another Own Goal By CAF 0

Egypt and South Africa are the only countries that met Confederation of African Football’s December 14, 2018 deadline to show interest in hosting the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) in 2019. The decision on who wins the hosting rights is expected to come up on January 9, 2019. This is going to be barely six months to the event in June. The decision to host arose when Cameroon was stripped of the hosting rights after it was originally awarded in 2014. CAF had claimed that Cameroon’s unpreparedness and the insecurity arising from the Boko haram insurgency and the Anglophone separatists group were reasons it denied the country from hosting AFCON 2019. I think CAF’s decision is unfair.

Taking the contentious issue of security for instance, what measure of insecurity is enough to withdraw the hosting rights from a candidate that had been awarded and how close to the tournament can this decision be made? Bigger events like the Summer Olympics in Munich 1972 and Atlanta 1996 are remembered for massacres of Jews and bomb blast during the respective games, yet they weren’t considered unsafe to host future events. Even AFCON 2010 staged in Angola witnessed a terrorist attack on the Togo national team bus while on its way to the competition by a Cabinda separatist group similar to the Bamenda separatist group in Cameroon. Then, Togo pulled out against CAF’s insistence. If CAF could demand Togo to partake in an event that they feared for their lives and encouraged other nations to stay behind, why use insecurity as an excuse to strip Cameroon of the event?

However, which African nation is safe? Nigeria, Chad, Niger and Cameroon are battling Boko Haram insurgents. Libya remains without a central government after Gaddafi. Kenya and Somalia are battling Al-Shabaab. West Africa is battling ISIS. Central African Republic is still on fire. The Congo wars have never really ceased. The same goes to Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda. Separatist groups abound in Angola, Cameroon, Morocco and South Sudan just to mention a few. Elections spark violence in African nations, so triggering the insecurity clause will mean AFCONs will be taking place outside the continent. I didn’t even mention Ebola. In fact, sports governing bodies often refuse to move tournaments from previously rostered venues over security or political issues to make a statement that sport is a unifying tool that transcends unhealthy differences.

Enter Cameroon’s unpreparedness. When Cameroon was granted AFCON 2019, the event was a 16-team event to be played in the traditional months of January-February. All of a sudden CAF’s new leadership felt that Africa’s football showpiece be expanded to 24 teams and moved to June-July to align with the European football offseason. Nothing is wrong with expanding AFCON, but why the immediacy considering that qualifiers had already begun for a 16-team event? That is akin to changing the rules of the match in the middle of the match. This same argument and suspicion goes to FIFA’s plan of expanding the 2022 World Cup to 48 after awarding Qatar on a 32-team platform. So Cameroon is now made to change plans. More matches, more hotels, more stadia, more ground workers and they will now have to consider the rains. Yes, the rains.

Because Europe is increasingly becoming the hub of football, more and more tier one players gravitate there to ply their trade. This means that for AFCON to showcase its finest, participating nations have to call up Europe-based professionals. For this reason, there is usually an exodus of African players during the midseason to participate in AFCON. This irritates European club sides because they are made to do without their best legs during the weeks of the competition and worse if the players return with injuries. This has made CAF tinker with the scheduling of AFCON over time. Older ones can recall it used to be in March-April before it stabilised at January-February which I believe is the best compromise. Besides being in the African dry season, it also corresponds with when most European leagues take a brief winter break.

However, these European football oligarchs have cornered CAF into an unforced foul of moving AFCON to the European summer. Did CAF consider that AFCON will now have to muscle TV time with the oldest international football competition Copa America (South America’s Nations’ Cup)? Did they also ponder that the June-July date clashes with FIFA Confederations Cup, a competition for continental champions? Does it mean the African champions would have just few weeks or days to prepare for that event? With preseason friendlies becoming progressively essential and the expanding International Champions Cup, the problem of clubs releasing players for AFCON will not go away just like that. African players will be doing all to secure their shirts and transfers will be on at that time.

June-July is the peak of the rainy season in sub-Saharan Africa. Compelling prospecting AFCON hosts to build roofed arenas to avoid shifting matches due to rains is practically impossible for African countries. Besides, football festivals like AFCON are not narrowed to the field of play. There are several other out-of-field events and drizzles will dampen the excitement of the event. Except CAF is saying AFCONs will only be hosted in North Africa and Southern Africa which is apartheid.

Boca Juniors and River Plate just played the finals of Copa Libertadores (South America’s Champions league) in November while Son Heung-min will be leaving Tottenham Hotspur for three weeks in January like other Asian footballers to captain South Korea in the 2019 Asian Cup. So what is the big deal about aligning with the European calendar? What is most important is that there is orderliness in schedules. Actually, the angst expressed by European clubs when there is a flight of African players in January publicizes AFCON.

Asking Cameroon to now host the 2021 edition does not break the ice on the farrago of chaos created. Will Cote d’Ivoire that was initially handed 2021 and Guinea 2023 now prepare for 2023 and 2025? Shouldn’t Egypt or South Africa be given right of first refusal after losing the 2019 bid?

Aligning with European football calendar is not what Africa needs, it is aligning with European football character. Africa can’t continue to run football with a national team bias, it is club football that is the soul of the game. Creating parallel AFCON for home-based players or the obsolete staging of the event every other year has only left African football behind. A quadrennial AFCON like other continents in my opinion will be a better deal. This will not only give prospective hosts more time to prepare but also reduce the number of low-ranked teams that drop out in the middle of the qualifiers. Also the duplicated African Nations Championship (biennial nations’ cup for home-based players) should be dropped so that CAF and its affiliates can invest in local leagues which are the tributaries that supply national teams. This way the best of Africa will be in the continent and would not continue to be tossed to and fro by Europe.

Culled from ThisDay

AFCON 2019 Palaver: Cameroon clubs take Caf to Cas over hosting rights

28, December 2018

AFCON 2019 Palaver: Cameroon clubs take Caf to Cas over hosting rights 0

The body representing amateur clubs in Cameroon (ACFAC) have lodged two cases against the Confederation of African Football (Caf) at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) over the loss of the hosting rights for the 2019 Nations Cup.

Cameroon were stripped of the rights to host the 2019 Nations Cup on 30 November 30 by Caf due infrastructure and security concerns. “We have two cases at Cas, first is over Caf’s decision to increase the participating countries from 16 to 24 and a second to contest the decision to strip Cameroon of hosting rights,” ACFAC explained.

In 2014, when Cameroon were awarded the rights to host the finals, it was set to be a 16-nation tournament but that was increased to 24 teams in July 2017.

“Things were going to be difficult for Cameroon. Caf should shoulder the blame and this is why we have decided to take legal action against Caf,” ACFAC president Henri Claude Balla Ongolo told BBC Sport.

“We are viable as hosts. We are five months away and a lot of things can change.”

Caf has said that Cameroon will now host the 2021 Nations Cup finals instead of Ivory Coast, who were originally awarded the rights for that tournament.

The confederation has confirmed that Cameroon’s President Paul Biya has officially accepted the chance to host the 2021 event.

The confirmation came despite some executive committee members saying that no formal decision had been taken by them. Ivory Coast have also lodged a complaint with Cas against Caf over the apparent decision to ask them to host 2023 rather than in 2021.

Egypt and South Africa have both submitted bids to Caf to replace Cameroon as hosts of the 2019 Nations Cup, with a decision expected on 9 January when the executive committee meet in Senegal.

Source: BBC

Egyptian soccer star threatens to quit Liverpool over Israeli player

28, December 2018

Egyptian soccer star threatens to quit Liverpool over Israeli player 0

An Egyptian soccer super-star playing for British football club Liverpool, Mohamed Salah has allegedly threatened to leave the premier league club over an Israeli player joining the team. 

Salah threatened to quit Liverpool if Moanes Dabour joined the team, media reported on Wednesday.

According to the report, Salah said that he will leave Liverpool should Dabour be signed.

Salah in the past refused to shake hands with Israeli players.  

However, people close to the Egyptian athlete said he needs to be left alone to focus on playing soccer and that he is a professional, and it is not his concern with whom Liverpool is discussing a possible contract. 

Salah has had a very good debut season in Liverpool history, helping the club reach the Champions League final.

Salah also represented his country at the World Cup.

Egypt and Liverpool forward, who is currently the best footballer in Africa, has been voted BBC’s No.1  African Footballer of the Year for the second time in a row.

Prior to this Nigeria’s Jay-Jay Okocha had won the award in consecutive years.

Source: Presstv

Cameroon forward Choupo-Moting’s home burgled in Paris for second time in a month

26, December 2018

Cameroon forward Choupo-Moting’s home burgled in Paris for second time in a month 0

The home of Paris Saint-Germain forward Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting was broken into by thieves for the second time in a month, a police source said on Tuesday.

Thieves escaped with jewels and handbags worth more than 500,000 euros (570,000) last month while Choupo-Moting was playing for PSG against Liverpool in the Champions League.

The Cameroon international was again targeted on Monday, as burglars reportedly forced open the door of his flat in the French capital and then fled after setting off an alarm.

PSG captain Thiago Silva had been the victim of a robbery on Saturday while he was playing in the club’s 1-0 win over Nantes at the Parc des Princes.

In December 2017, the Paris apartment of then PSG coach Unai Emery, now at Arsenal, was burgled as his team played Strasbourg in the French Cup.

Source: ahram.org.eg

Buckingham Palace: Anthony Joshua honoured by Prince Charles, receives OBE

22, December 2018

Buckingham Palace: Anthony Joshua honoured by Prince Charles, receives OBE 0

British heavyweight boxer Anthony Joshua has been awarded by the Royal Family for his services to Sport. The award of an OBE bestowed on him by the Prince of Wales. Joshua is currently a unified world heavyweight champion, holding three of the four major championships in the sport.

An OBE simply means: (Officer of the) Order of the British Empire. The event took place on Thursday December 20, 2018.

Anthony Joshua who has Nigerian roots currently holds the IBF, WBA and WBO heavyweight belts. He has fought 22 fights and won all with all but one coming by way of knockouts.

Anthony Joshua was born in Watford to a Nigerian mother and a British father of Nigerian and Irish descent. He has lived some parts of his life in Nigeria until his boxing debut in 2013.

Joshua expressed interest in representing Nigeria at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, but wasn’t selected. He has since climbed the ladder to be the unified World Heavyweight Boxing Champion under the British flag.

Source: Africa News

Chinese football imposes salary cap in new spending crackdown

20, December 2018

Chinese football imposes salary cap in new spending crackdown 0

Chinese football on Thursday imposed a salary cap of 10 million yuan ($1.45 million) a year for domestic players and vowed to kick teams out for so-called “yin-yang contracts”.

The swingeing measures are part of a ramped-up effort by the Chinese Football Association (CFA) to clamp down on big spending and get teams to toe a tougher financial line.

There will also be a limit on bonuses and other financial inducements for domestic players, according state sports channel CCTV5, reporting on an end-of-season CFA conference in Shanghai.

Foreign players are not affected by the salary cap, which will be in place for the new Chinese Super League (CSL) season when it starts in the spring.

Among a raft of other measures, teams must submit contracts for their players and coaches by the end of the year as part of a crackdown on “yin-yang contracts”.

Such contracts — one for the tax man and another with the real value of the agreement — are thought to be widespread in football and showbusiness in China.

If the CFA uncovers any tax-avoidance schemes, the offending player or coach face a ban of between one and three years. Their clubs can be deducted points or even kicked out the league.

Two years ago, Brazilian attacking midfielder Oscar joined CSL side Shanghai SIPG from Chelsea for an Asian-record 60 million euros and Argentine forward Carlos Tevez signed for rivals Shanghai Shenhua, both earning some of the highest wages in world football.

Their high-profile arrivals, along with dozens of other foreign stars such as Brazilians Hulk and Paulinho, triggered fears that Chinese clubs were distorting the international transfer market with overinflated wages and fees.

But the CFA has since moved to stop the splurge and force teams to focus on youth development instead, and there is unlikely to be serious money spent when the winter transfer window opens on January 1.

“The association will draw on the experience of advanced overseas leagues to design comprehensive measures to control high wages, high bonuses, high transfer fees and other issues,” Li Yuyi, CFA vice chairman, said earlier this week, according to Xinhua news agency.

Li added: “If there’s only investment but no clear idea of what the long-term returns are, Chinese football is not sustainable.

“Companies (who own teams) need to understand why invest, what are the rewards and what it contributes to society.”

 AFP

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