Football News: Review Of The Day 6th February 2020

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Review of the Day

Transfers

Seattle Sounders have signed Yeimar Gomez Andrade from CA Union Santa-Fe.

Free agent midfielder Adrien Regattin has signed for FC Cincinnati.

Barcelona have signed teenage Argentine defender Santiago Ramos Mingo on a free transfer from Boca Juniors.

Former Wolverhampton Wanderers forward Yannick Sagbo has made a free transfer between Umm Salal and Al-Shamal, both Qatari teams.

Injury Round-Up

Tottenham Hotspur expect to have Harry Kane back for the end of the season. Jose Mourinho said, when asked if Kane would play again this season: "The Leicester match (May 9). Maybe we need that match for something. Maybe we need that match for something. To be fourth, to be fifth, to be sixth. Maybe we need that match for something and maybe he can help us in this match. I hope."

Borussia Dortmund captain Marco Reus has suffered a muscle injury which will rule him out for up to a month.

Southend United duo John White and Harry Phillips have bother been ruled out for around 3 months. White broke his arm on Saturday against Lincoln City, while Phillips injured the medial ligament in his knee in the same game.

Disciplinary Charges

Port Vale striker Tom Pope is being charged with an "aggravated breach" of the FA's Rule E3, making "a reference, whether expressed or implied, to race and/or religion and/or ethnic origin". It has also been alleged that his post was "abusive", "insulting" and "improper" and "brought the game into disrepute". Pope was replying to a question on social media, which asked him to predict the outcome in a World War Three scenario and he replied with: "the Rothchilds [sic] are crowned champions of every bank on the planet - the end". Somehow that is being claimed to be anti-Semitic. I have to be honest, the whole thing seems a bit of a joke as I can see no reference to Judaism, or any religion for that matter, at all.

Hamilton Academical and Celtic have both been charged by the SFA for failing to act "in an orderly fashion" when they played each other on Sunday. The referee was surrounded by players from both sides after Leigh Griffiths stood on Hamilton's Sam Woods. Celtic have also been charged with the same offence from their Scottish Cup tie at Partick Thistle. Defender Jozo Simunovic confronted the referee following the award of a penalty to Thistle.

Four players have been banned for involvement in "match manipulation" while playing for Kenyan club Kakamega Home Boyz. Ugandan player George Mandela has received a lifetime ban from football, while Kenyan team-mates Moses Chikati, Festus Okirin and Festo Omukoto were given 4 year bans. Mandela was said to have a "central role in the conspiracy", hence the longer ban.

Ighalo Desperate To Play For United

Refreshingly, Nigerian forward Idion Ighalo has revealed he was so desperate to sign for the club he supports, Manchester United, in the January transfer window that he took a pay cut to join on loan for the rest of the English season. The 30 year old said: "When we were young back in Nigeria we used to watch the Premier League on TV a lot, when the likes of Andy Cole used to play. People support Man United a lot back there in Nigeria, so I developed that love, because all of my siblings, they are Man United fans. I never thought this was going to happen, but dreams do come true, so I'm very happy to be here and this is going to be a big and good challenge for me in my career. A few other clubs had shown interest. I said 'please, just pick United, if it's going to be possible'. At 11pm in Shanghai, my agent called me to say that United want to do the deal, so I woke up that night and started looking for a translator to go to the directors' room and hit his door and all that. 'My agent wants to speak to you, United are coming for me, you have to make this happen' and all that you know. So, they started talking and discussing. I didn't sleep throughout that night, because it was going to end at 7am, Shanghai time, and the transfer (window) is going to close there. So, from 11pm, there was paperwork, negotiating and all that, for the loan deal and all that, so we are talking and other teams are calling them, wanting me, but I told my agent that this is what I want. I want to come here. He said you're going to get a pay cut to go to United. I said I don't care. Make this deal happen. I want to go to United. I don't care how much is the pay cut, I know that, make it happen."

Bury Winding-Up Petition Dismissed

Despite their expulsion from the English Football League, Bury have been handed a lifeline in the High Court after a case brought by HMRC over unpaid tax was dismissed. A lawyer for HMRC revealed that almost all of the money owing had been paid since the case was lodged before Christmas. It means the club now has a chance to return to football in the non-league pyramid, without having to enter liquidation.

Budge To Stay On At Hearts

Ann Budge will remain at Heart of Midlothian as both chairman and chief executive after she hands over her 75.1% stake to fans group Foundation of Hearts. The shares are expected to be transferred towards the end of April but Budge said she will stay on, telling the BBC: "The running of the business must not be interrupted. There is a board of directors who run the club, an executive team who run the day-to-day operations. The entity of FoH will protect and hold the shares - it doesn't mean they are going to run the club. I've said repeatedly, fan ownership does not mean fans running the club. If that happens, I genuinely believe it would be a disaster and undermine everything we've done."

Coronavirus Affects Asian Champions League

Games involving Chinese clubs in the Asian Champions League have been postponed until April and May due to coronavirus. Games set to be played in Australia this month and in March have been pushed back due to travel restrictions the Australian have imposed. Perth Glory will now face Shanghai Shenhua on 28 April, Sydney FC will play Shanghai SIPG a day later and Melbourne Victory will meet Beijing FC on 26 May. However, Thailand's Chiangrai United's match with Beijing will go ahead as originally planned on 18 February since Beijing are currently in a training camp in South Korea and may not have to be quarantined.

Pyro Trial In Hamburg

Bundesliga 2 side Hamburg have been given permission to run a trial allowing fans to use pyrotechnics legally at a match. The German Football Association (DFB) have agreed to allow 10 smoke devices to be let off as the teams arrive on the pitch before kick-off, in an area between the pitch and the north stand. There will be a specialist company supervising the pyrotechnics. A DFB statement read: "The action is continuously monitored and monitored by a pyrotechnician on site. Fire extinguishers and fire buckets will be available and the event will be monitored by the fire service on site. Future applications are still subject to individual review."

Messi Criticises Abidal

Barcelona sporting director Eric Abidal has given an interview in which he claimed that some of the players were not working hard under former coach Ernesto Valverde, who was sacked in January. Abidal said: "Many players weren't satisfied or working hard and there was also an internal communication problem. The relationship between the coach and the dressing room has always been good but there are things as an ex-player that I could smell. I told the club what I thought and we reached a decision [on Valverde]." Messi responded on social media by writing: "Sincerely, I don't like to do these things but I think that people have to be responsible for their jobs and own their decisions. The players [are responsible] for what happens on the pitch and we are the first to admit when we haven't been good. The heads of the sports department have to take their responsibilities too and above all own the decisions they make. When you talk about players, you have to give names because if not, it gives air to things which are not true."

Written by Tris Burke February 05 2020 22:42:07