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Football News: Review Of The Day 17th March 2020

Review Of The Day 17th March 2020
Image from: freelargeimages.com

Review of the Day

 


Coronavirus Latest

Two more players have been revealed to have coronavirus at Valencia, in Jose Gaya and Eliaquim Mangala, to take the total number at the club with the virus to 7, including 4 unnamed players and staff and Ezequiel Garay.

Six players at Sampdoria have been tested positive for covid-19. They are Omar Colley, Albin Ekdal, Antonino La Gumina, Morten Thorsby, Manolo Gabbiadini and Fabio Depaoli.

Ghana have put their football on hold following the country's president ordering a suspension of public gatherings. South Africa has also followed suit. South Africa's Football Association acting CEO Thamsanqa Gay Mokoena said: "This measure has a direct impact on all our football activities, particularly matches as most if not all our matches are attended by more than 100 people. Some of the football authorities elsewhere in the world have taken measures such as playing matches in "empty" stadiums without spectators. This response has not proven to be effective in minimizing the spread of the virus. In Europe, some players who were participating in matches "behind closed doors" have recently been found to be positive. Therefore, we do not believe that the practice of playing behind closed doors is effective."

Ann Budge, the Heart of Midlothian owner, says she would seek legal advice if the SPFL decided to relegate the club from the Scottish Premiership without playing the final games of the season. Scotland have put it on hold with eight games still to play. Budge said: "I would certainly go to a stage further than where I've gone to so far. I would definitely take further legal advice if we were to go down the automatic relegation route. In terms of decision making, how widely should this be being discussed? Is it just a board issue, or given we are a member organisation, should it be all members involved? I have expressed a view it should be the latter. We would challenge [relegation] on the grounds of sporting integrity as much as anything else because clearly the rules of the league competition are that we play 38 games. We haven't played 38 games through nobody's fault and I fully accept it's an unprecedented situation, but I think we can't ignore the fact that these rules were written for a different situation and we have to explore the implications of that. We are only four points adrift of Hamilton and six points of both Ross County and St Mirren with 24 games still to play for. I think that should remove any suggestion the club should be further penalised by being relegated. Hand on heart, I believe I would be saying the same thing whether we were in this position or not. It doesn't make sense to me."

Rangers want the Scottish season to be completed. Managing director Stewart Robertson said: "We believe that final standings can only be confirmed when all games have been completed, not before. Any attempt to finish the season with a significant amount of games still to play, impacts upon the integrity of sport in Scotland. Furthermore, we are strongly opposed to playing games behind closed doors. Rangers fans have stuck by our club in the darkest of times. Their loyalty will not be forgotten and they will not be left behind."

The Premier League have cancelled the inaugural Hall Of Fame ceremony due to the outbreak. Two players were set to be inducted, though the names have yet to be released.

Chelsea have reminded Mason Mount of his responsibilities after he was pictured having a kickabout with West Ham United midfielder Declan Rice. Chelsea players have all been told to self-isolate for 14 days after their winger Callum Hudson-Odoi tested positive for the virus on Monday.

 


Honda Sets New Record

Japanese star Keisuke Honda has become the first player to score on five different continents in professional football. Honda had scored in Asia, Europe, North America and Australia before joining Botafogo in January. Scoring in a 1-1 draw against Bangu Atletico Clube made him the first to score on five continents in club football. Africa is missing, though he has scored two goals for his country in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

 


CAF Picks Venues

The Confederation of African Football have picked Douala in Cameroon to host the final of the African Champions League, while Morocco's capital Rabat will host the Confederation Cup final. This will be the first time the finals will be played as one-off matches in neutral venues. Previously the games were played over two legs and this year's finals are scheduled to take place in May, though it looks likely that will change due to the coronavirus outbreak.

 


CIES Latest Meaningless List

With people in self-isolation, I guess anything to read is interesting in comparison right now, which probably explains why the CIES Football Observatory have released a list of the most valuable playing squads in Europe.
Club Country Value (in million euros)
1. Liverpool England 1,405
2. Manchester City England 1,361
3. Barcelona Spain 1,170
4. Real Madrid Spain 1,100
5. Chelsea England 1,008
6. Manchester United England 1,007
7. Paris Saint-Germain France 979
8. Atletico Madrid Spain 836
9. Tottenham Hotspur England 787
10. Juventus Italy 783

Written by Tris Burke March 16 2020 18:45:06

 

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