Football News: Missing Money From FIFA, Arsenal Sign Duo, Liverpool Youngster Scores Beauty And More News
Image from: dailyrecord.co.uk
1. Madrid transfer bans suspended
FIFA have announced that Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid have had their transfer bans suspended pending the outcome of their appeal. Both Madrid clubs were banned from registering players for two windows for breaches of rules involving underage players. Barcelona recently underwent the same punishment for similar offences. As both clubs have appealed, their bans will not be imposed until the appeals process is completed. The bans were set to start in the summer window.
2. FIFA audit discovers missing million
According to reports emanating from news agency Reuters, up to US$1m in funding from FIFA has gone missing from Guatemala's football federation last year. According to Reuters, Fedefut (the Guatemalan soccer federation) received nine deposits from FIFA, but Fedefut budget and accounts only included around $250,000 of funding, with the rest having been hidden. An audit was begun by the FIFA committee put in charge of running Fedefut last year, after the top officials in the organisation were arrested on corruption charges. It is the audit which is uncovering the deception. The committee filed a complaint with the attorney general's office of Guatemala over the missing funds on Friday.
3. Guidolin admits working in English football is a long held dream for him
Welsh side Swansea City recently turned to an Italian head coach to attempt to stave off their relegation from the English Premier league. Now the Italian, Francesco Guidolin, has talked about why he was so keen to take on the job. Guidolin admits that he watched English football as a child, and that he chose to watch English football over Italian football when the choice was presented on television last year. Guidolin said: "At the moment, I hope to help the team remain in the Premier League. This is the priority. After that, I hope to stay here for many years in the Premier League - but the important thing at the moment is the table. It was everything I hoped for at Everton with the atmosphere and the feeling," he said of his first match in charge, a 2-1 victory over Everton. "When I was younger, a boy in Italy, we could watch some English football matches on the television. I remember important players like Bobby Charlton and Mick Channon, for example. I loved him and Kevin Keegan at Liverpool, I liked Arsenal, Tottenham and when I was a little boy and dreamed of one day playing in England. Years and years on, television gives us the possibility in Italy to see the Premier League and the Championship. The last year, when I was free with no team, I preferred to watch English football and not Italian. This is a dream for me."
4. Stubbs believes painful semi will drive on Hibs to rise up for the big occasion
Hibernian boss Alan Stubbs is hoping to use last season's defeat in the Scottish Cup semi-finals to drive his team on in this season's League Cup semi-final. Last season's loss to Falkirk can be used as motivation to get the win over St Johnstone, the former Celtic, Everton and Bolton Wanderers player believes. Stubbs told the Daily Record: "I've got to be honest, I think it could be a motivating factor. Before the last semi-final against Falkirk I said that sometimes on the big occasion you can get there and you can freeze. That was why I wasn't disappointed. We didn't freeze. It was just one of them days when it just wasn't meant to be. This will be the same," he added. "We will go there and I am very confident my players will perform. We will be focused purely on Saturday, it's a different game and another opportunity to get to another final. If we can do that against Premiership opposition, as in St. Johnstone, which we know will be a difficult game, it would be fantastic."
5. Arsenal win race to sign Nigerian teenagers
Nigerian youngsters Kelechi Nwakali and Samuel Chukwueze look set to join Arsenal from the Diamond Football Academy in Nigeria. The pair have been targets of the Gunners since they starred in last year's U17 World Cup in Chile. Now it seems the pair have signed for the North London club after a picture appeared on Instagram of them with Arsene Wenger, chief executive Ivan Gazidis and former Arsenal and Nigeria international Nwankwo Kanu.
6. Rowett rebuilding Birmingham
Birmingham City have had a busy January transfer window, as Gary Rowett seeks to rebuild his team. Australian defender Shane Lowry was allowed to leave on a free transfer. "We let Shane out because he was always a player that knew what his role was at the club," Rowett said. "At that point we needed that type of player in the building - both financially and in terms of being a cover defender and fill in for two positions. I told him that if he wasn't playing in January and a club came in for him I wouldn't stand in his way. He's got a move to his hometown club and I'm not the sort of person that would ever try and deny anyone that opportunity so we need to go and get another body in now." Lowry made just two appearances in his five months at the Blues. Derby County defender Ryan Shotton has joined on loan as Lowry's replacement. Also on loan at Brum is Will Buckley, the Sunderland winger has extended his short term loan to run for the rest of the season. Going out is striker Wes Thomas, who has joined Bradford City on a 93 day 'emergency' loan, which has a recall option if needed.
7. Jermaine Pennant already in trouble in Singapore
Much travelled winger Jermaine Pennant, who has previously been forced to play while wearing an electronic tag while at Birmingham City, has got himself into hot water and been ordered by his club not to speak to the media again. This time his unveiling was the cause of the trouble, even before he got to train with his team-mates, when a former club chairman of Tampines Rovers, the team he just signed for, egged him on to use a local phrase. Pennant, stupidly, obliged by using the term "kaya referee", which translates to 'wooden referee', but, in a league which is floundering under allegations of match-fixing, suggests corruption. Rovers were forced to make a grovelling apology and have banned the former Liverpool, Arsenal and Stoke City winger, who is Singapore's highest paid player ever, from talking to the media again. Pennant has yet to make his debut.
8. Mason makes move and Pilgrims get windfall
Former Plymouth Argyle forward Joe Mason has left Cardiff City to join Wolverhampton Wanderers, providing Argyle with a cash boost. When the club were forced to sell Mason, in the depths of a financial crisis, they had the foresight to include a sell-on clause in the deal. However 50% of the money will have to go to football creditors from their time in administration. Cardiff boss Russell Slade has admitted he was disappointed about the sale of Mason, but that the Welsh club were forced to sell to get the club out of its FFP transfer embargo. "It was not for football reasons, it was for financial reasons," Slade said. "What it means is when we submit our accounts on the fair play, then it will give us a much better chance of coming out of the embargo in the summer. It goes a long way to addressing it. You look at the make-up of your team, you're looking where your goals are coming from, you don't want to be losing goals from your team. It is only going to ever be detrimental. I think it got to a level whereby, in all fairness, with the club in the situation it is in, it was difficult to turn down."
9. Long ball football is not always ugly
A fantastic goal scored by Liverpool youngster Ben Woodburn in the FA Youth Cup win over Cardiff. The 16 year old forward will have enjoyed scoring against the Welsh capital club as he is Welsh himself.
Take a bow Liverpool youngster, Ben Woodburn! pic.twitter.com/XmLd5iNR4y
— Footy Accumulators (@FootyAccums) January 28, 201610. Former Celtic striker Watt joins Rovers
Charlton Athletic only signed Tony Watt from Celtic in the previous January window, but now he has headed off to join Blackburn Rovers on loan until the end of the season, with Rovers having the option to make the move permanent. Watt managed 14 appearances for the Addicks this season, before being sent on loan to Cardiff City in November. Now he has been farmed out again. It is all a far cry from the rising star who left Airdree United to join Celtic and notched two goals against Motherwell on his debut. The following season he was scoring the winner for the Bhoys against Barcelona as his star reached its zenith. In 2013 he was sent on loan to Lierse in the Belgian Pro League, with rumours of a problem attitude following him. The stories did not put off Standard Liege, also of the Belgian league, who bought him from Celtic in July 2014, only to sell him to Charltin in January 2015.
Written by Tris Burke January 30 2016 10:05:53
