Dele Alli handed one-match ban for social media post.

Dele Alli has been handed a one-game ban and £50,000 fine by the Football Association for his controversial social media post earlier this year in which he appeared to mock an Asian man over the coronavirus. He will miss next Friday’s clash with Manchester United.

He made fun of an Asian man in an airport with the caption: ‘Corona whatttttt, please listen with volume.’ He deleted the video within minutes of posting it and apologized twice.

An FA statement read: “Dele Alli has been suspended for one match with immediate effect, fined £50,000 and must undertake a face-to-face education course following a breach of FA Rule E3. The Tottenham Hotspur FC player denied that a social media post breached FA Rule E3(1), as it was insulting and/or improper and/or brought the game into disrepute, and constituted an “Aggravated Breach”, which is defined in FA Rule E3(2), as it included a reference, whether express or implied, to race and/or colour and/or ethnic origin and/or nationality. However, it was subsequently found proven by an independent Regulatory Commission.”

Alli said: ‘In response to the FA decision, I would like to apologise again for any offence caused by my actions on 6th February. It was an extremely poorly judged joke about a virus that has now affected us more than we could ever have imagined. I’m grateful that the FA has confirmed that my actions were not racist because I despise racism of any kind. We all need to be mindful of the words and actions we use and how they can be perceived by others.’ 

Brescia set to end Mario Balotelli’s contract.

Brescia are set to terminate Mario Balotelli’s contract following the striker’s failure to return to training ahead of Serie A’s restart this month.

The 29 year-old who, signed a three-year contract with the club last year was also involved in a row with the Brescia president, Massimo Cellino.

 

Cristiano Ronaldo is football’s first billionaire.

Forbes has named Portuguese football legend, Cristiano Ronaldo the first billionaire footballer. He’s only the third sportsperson to achieve the status after boxer Floyd Mayweather and golfer Tiger Woods. Ronaldo has also raked in around £36m-a-year in endorsements during his career, including lifetime partnerships with Nike.

The Juventus forward raked in £85million in the last year from his wages and endorsement deals. His Instagram earnings alone were put at £41.7m and he is the most-followed sports star on Facebook and Instagram.  Ronaldo took a £3.5m cut on his wages due to coronavirus, cutting his earnings down by 9%.

Also Read: Footballing world is joining the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

In March this year, as his contribution to the fight against coronavirus, he and his agent Jorge Mendes jointly donated life-saving equipment to Portuguese hospitals in Lisbon and Porto.

Premier League clubs to make 5 substitutions for the rest of the season.

Premier League clubs allowed to make five substitutions instead of the usual three for the rest of the 2019/20 season.

While each team can make five substitutions, each team will still only have three opportunities to make changes throughout the match in order to minimise disruption to the game.

A draft document containing biosecurity measures required for each match has been circulated. Premier League clubs will only be fined a maximum of £25,000 if they breach the competition’s new Covid-19 protocols.

The 20 clubs will be asked to voice any objections they have to relegation in the current season, ahead of a vote next week on how the league will be decided in the event of curtailment.

Tax fraud: Diego Costa gets €543,208 fine.

Atletico Madrid striker Diego Costa has been fined €543,208 and handed a six-month prison sentence for tax fraud.

The 31 year-old pleaded guilty to defrauding the state of more than €1m by not declaring payments of over €5.15m from his 2014 move to Chelsea in the UK and not did not declare more than €1m in image rights.

He will not serve jail term as Spanish legal system allows sentences under two years for non-violent crimes to be exchanged for a fine.

An Atletico spokesman told the Reuters news agency, “Diego Costa reached an agreement a few months ago with the prosecutor and has already paid the corresponding fine plus interest, and the request for a prison sentence was withdrawn.” 

Players who remove their shirts to protest against discrimination deserve applause, not punishment. – FIFA President

FIFA President, Gianni Infantino has said players who are calling for justice for George Floyd, an unarmed black man who was killed after a white policeman in Minneapolis handcuffed and kneeled on the American-African’s neck for around nine minutes.Image

The German Football Association (DFB) is currently investigating Borussia Dortmund duo Jadon Sancho and Achraf Hakimi, Borussia Monchengladbach’s Marcus Thuram and FC Schalke’s American midfielder Weston McKennie who paid tributes ripped to George Floyd with handwritten messages, took off their shirts, knelt down after scoring. Infact, the entire Liverpool‘s squad took a knee at Anfield as a tribute to George Floyd on June 1st, 2020.

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FIFA had earlier called on football leagues to use “common sense” when deciding on sanctions for footballers for displaying political messages. “For the avoidance of doubt, in a FIFA competition the recent demonstrations of players in Bundesliga matches would deserve applause and not a punishment,” Infantino said in a FIFA statement.

“We all must say no to racism and any form of discrimination. We all must say no to violence. Any form of violence.”

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“FIFA fully understands the depth of sentiment and concerns expressed by many footballers in light of the tragic circumstances of the George Floyd case.”

Premier League clubs to hold friendlies ahead of resumption.

Premier League clubs have been given permission to play friendlies ahead of the season restart on June 17 but under certain conditions outlined by the league. Some of the measures put in place to ensure hygiene and social distancing rules are adhered to are:

  • Clubs being forbidden from traveling for further than 90 minutes, though teams like Newcastle will be granted special dispensation if they have to travel further.
  • All players must travel in their own cars, possibly in their kits.
  • No official referees will be allowed, with members of coaching staff taking charge.
  • Full risk-assessments of the stadium/training ground before games.

Meanwhile, all EPL clubs have begun considering how reduced numbers of fans might be accommodated next season when neutral venues could also remain as a back-up option to complete fixtures. Players are facing a crucial week of testing as any positive test would likely rule them out from the opening round of restarted games. All players and club staff are being tested for coronavirus twice a week ahead of the restart date of June 17.

 

Real Madrid won’t play at the Bernabéu again this season.

Real Madrid president, Florentino Pérez has confirmed that the Los Blancos Will Not Return to Santiago Bernabéu once La Liga returns. The Bernabéu is currently undergoing renovation and was initially scheduled to be completed in the summer of 2022, but now that all games will be played behind closed doors, the club wants to take advantage of the situation to complete the work ahead of schedule. The team will now play their remaining ‘home games’ in the Alfredo Di Stéfano stadium.

“We have made the decision to play all the games in which we will play as the home team in the Alfredo Di Stéfano stadium in our Ciudad Real Madrid,” Pérez wrote. “This decision will allow us to advance in the works of the Santiago Bernabéu stadium.”

The Santiago Bernabeu was first completed in 1942 and last upgraded in 1982, the external facade of the stadium will be made up of strips of steel, the roof will have a retractable feature that will allow matches to be played under any weather conditions. Restaurant and entertainment areas will be featured. The rebuild of the stadium is expected to end right before the start of the 2022-2023 season.

Odion Ighalo reacts to his contract extension at Old Trafford.

Nigerian striker, Jude Odion Ighalo has spoken of his excitement about the extension of his loan at Old Trafford. The 30 year-old forward’s loan to Manchester United became extended till January following an agreement with chinese side, Shanghai Shenhua.

“I’ve been supporting Man Utd and playing for it is a dream. Now I’ve extended my loan, it makes it more even clear. I’m here until January ending. I just want to work hard and enjoy it, support the team and do whatever I can to make us go higher and higher. I’m really happy. It’s a dream for me to be here. I’m buzzing and ready to go. The last few days have been difficult as there have been different talks about it but now I’m really happy so I need to concentrate fully.” He said.

When Odion Ighalo returns to Shanghai Shenhua, he will be expected to sign a new contract until the end of 2024 worth £400,000 a week.

Odion Ighalo at Manchester United:

• 319 minutes
• 17 shots
• 11 on target
• 4 goals
• 1 assist

Odion Ighalo agrees extension of loan with Manchester United.

Nigerian footballer, Odion Ighalo has agreed to an extension of his loan with Manchester United until January 2021. His agreement with Shanghai Shenhua officially expired on Sunday night, and both sides have now come to an agreement for the 30-year-old to stay in Manchester until the new year.

His agent Atta Aneke told online newspaper, Nettavisen: “We are nearing an agreement with Manchester United on an extended loan. The agreement will mean that Ighalo will remain with them until January 2021.”

Ighalo has scored four goals in eight games for the Red Devils this season.

“Ighalo will now hope to pick up from where he left off, after winning United’s Goal of the Month award for March with a stunning strike in our last match, the impressive 5-0 victory over Austrian club LASK in the Europa League. That last-16, first-leg game at Linzer Stadion on Thursday 12 March was a sign of things to come, as it was played behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That will also be the case for all remaining fixtures in 2019/20.” The club wrote on its website.

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