Football News: Review Of The Day 5th July 2019

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Review of the Day

Contracts

Veteran Argentinian forward Rodrigo Palacio has signed a 1 year extension with Bologna.

Brice Ntwambwe has signed a 1 year contract with Macclesfield Town.

Mohamed Maouche has extended his contract with Oldham Athletic by one year.

Transfers

Udinese have paid just £1m for Brazilian centre-back Rodrigo Becao from EC Bahia.

Lazio have spent over £9m to sign Slovakian centre-back Dennis Vavro from FC Copenhagen.

Brazilian left-back Douglas Santos has left Hamburg for over £10m to join Zenit St-Petersburg.

Excelsior Rotterdam midfielder Jerdy Schouten has signed for Bologna for just over £2m.

German left back Tim Handwerker has left Koln to join Nuremberg.

Ander Herrera's long-rumoured move to Paris Saint-Germain from Manchester United on a free transfer has finally been completed.

French goalkeeper Baptiste Valette has left Nimes Olympique to join Nancy on a free transfer.

Villareal have signed Spanish right-back Ruben Pena from Eibar for over £7m.

Gianluigi Buffon has completed a move back to Juventus on a free transfer from PSG.

Alaves have signed Pere Pons from Girona for a fee of under £2m.

Deportivo La Coruna's Nigerian goalkeeper Francis Uzoho has joined Cypriot club Omonia Nikosia on loan.

Leganes have made a double signing in the shape of Fede Varela and Aitor Ruibal. Varela has joined from Porto, while Ruibal has signed on loan from Real Betis.

Veteran Spanish centre-back Raul Albiol has left Napoli to return to his home country with Villareal in a less than £5m move.

Newcastle United forward Ayoze Perez has been signed by Leicester City for over £30m.

Goalkeeper Joe Murphy has signed for Shrewsbury Town on a free transfer from Bury.

Luke O'Neill has signed for AFC Wimbledon after his release from Gillingham.

Tony Andreu has found a new club following his release from Coventry City. The 31 year old midfielder is now a St Mirren player.

Cheltenham Town have completed the signing of defender Dan Bowry. The 21 year old was released by Charlton Athletic in the summer.

Recently released Bradford City player Nathaniel Knight-Percival has joined Carlisle United.

Colchester United have completed the double signing of Jevani Brown for an undisclosed fee from Cambridge United and Paris Cowan-Hall on a free transfer from Wycombe Wanderers.

South African international defender Kgosi Ntlhe has signed for Scunthorpe United after his release from Rochdale.

Spanish goalkeeper Tomas Mejias has returned for a second spell to Middlesbrough after spending last season with Omonia Nicosia.

Simon Power has joined Ross County on loan from Norwich City.

Robby McCrorie and Dan Pybus have signed for Queen of the South. McCrorie has joined from Rangers on loan. Pybus has arrived from Norwegian 4th tier side Tonsberg.

Former West Bromwich Albion striker Brown Ideye has returned to Greek football and signed for Aris Salonika after 7 months without a club after his release from Tianjin Teda.

David Ospina has completed a permanent move to Napoli after spending last season on loan there from Arsenal.

Long-serving defender Phil Jagielka has left Everton after 12 years to return to Sheffield United, the team Everton signed him from.

Lampard Finally Confirmed

The long running Chelsea manager saga has finally finished after Frank Lampard was confirmed as their first English manager in over 20 years. Lampard has agreed a 3 year deal and left Derby County after just one season there. Lampard spent 13 years as a player with the London club, and has succeeded Italian manager Maurizio Sarri.

Disgraced Sampson Returns To Football

The former manager of the England women's team, Mark Sampson, has returned to the game as a coach with LeagueTwo side Stevenage. Sampson was sacked by England in 2017 for "inappropriate and unacceptable" bahaviour with the female players, but Stevenage have looked past those issues to appoint him. Stevenage manager Dino Maamria said: "We are fully aware of Mark's past issues with the FA. I have known Mark for a long time and we have discussed what happened at length. I am convinced of his character and skill-set. He will be a big asset to the club moving forward." David Oldfield has also joined the coaching team.

Uganda Players End Boycott

A promise of an extra $6000 per player has ended the Ugandan players' boycott. The Ugandan team are set to face Senegal in the last-16 of the Africa Cup of Nations. A Ugandan FA statement read: "Considering the magnitude and importance of the event of Uganda Cranes match against the Teranga Lions of Senegal, the interests of the Nation, Government, the Sponsors, and the gallant fans, FUFA has agreed to pay 6,000 USD over and above the agreed terms in the Code of Conduct."

Argentina Make Referee Complaint

The Argentine Football Association (AFA) has complained to CONMEBOL, the governing body of South American football, about "serious and gross refereeing errors". The AFA accused Brazil president Jair Bolsonaro of making a "clear political demonstration". Bolsonaro had performed "an Olympic lap of honour around the stadium at half-time" when FIFA and CONMEBOL rules prohibit political demonstrations at sports events. Added to that it has been claimed that Bolsonaro's security team had attempted to block radio signals which had caused interference and communication failure with the VAR system, whcih was not denied by the organising committe. The committee do claim the problem was resolved before kick-off. Lionel Messi complained after the game: "The officiating was crazy. There were clear penalties, on [Nicolas] Otamendi, on Kun [Sergio Aguero]. [The referee] was on their side. In every divided ball or dispute, he went their way." The AFA's official Twitter account tweeted a message which translated as "we saw the same as you" after the game.

Blatter Sues FIFA

Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter has opened a legal case against them in order to reclaim 'around 60 watches' of his that he says they have in their possession as well as for "moral damages". Can you claim for moral damages when you have no morals though? Blatter said: "These are my watches, give me my watches. It's important for me. I worked in the watch industry and I made my collection. Forty-one years they were [at Fifa], I could have taken them home, a long time ago. Why are they fighting for these watches? There is no respect, there is no respect by the president [Infantino]." A FIFA spokesperson responded to the BBC saying: "Mr Blatter is of course entitled to his opinions but, at the same time, it's probably worthwhile remembering that these opinions and allegations come from a person who was banned from football for six years for engaging in unethical behaviour. In the meantime, we also understand that the Swiss authorities continue to investigate him for possible criminal misconduct and the new Fifa hopes these investigations come to a conclusion soon. Mr Blatter's views and opinions should be seen in that context, and against the background of his own conduct in office over a period of decades."

Written by Tris Burke July 05 2019 06:43:23