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Tag: Football

  • Emiliano Sala: Body identified after recovery on Wednesday

    Emiliano Sala: Body identified after recovery on Wednesday

    Dorset Police have confirmed that the body recovered from the wreckage of a crashed plane is that of Cardiff City player Emiliano Sala.

    The Argentine, 28, was travelling to Cardiff in a plane piloted by David Ibbotson, which went missing over the English Channel on 21 January.

    The body was recovered late on Wednesday after the wreckage was found on Sunday morning.

    Dorset Police confirmed the identification on Thursday night.

    In a statement, the force said: “The body brought to Portland Port today, Thursday 7 February 2019, has been formally identified by HM Coroner for Dorset as that of professional footballer Emiliano Sala.

    “The families of Mr Sala and the pilot David Ibbotson have been updated with this news and will continue to be supported by specially-trained family liaison officers.”

    The body was spotted in the wreckage of the plane on Monday and the authorities were able to recover it two days later, despite “challenging conditions”.

    The Air Accidents Investigations Branch (AAIB) said the operation had been carried out “as dignified a way as possible” and the men’s families were kept updated throughout.

    Emiliano Sala (left) was on board a plane being flown by pilot David Ibbotson

    The Geo Ocean III, which was involved in finding the wreckage, took the body back to the nearest port of Portland in Dorset, where the body was formally identified.

    The Piper Malibu N264DB was en route from France to Cardiff, after the Argentine striker made a quick trip back to his former club Nantes two days after his £15m transfer to Cardiff was announced.

    Cardiff City, issued a statement shortly after identification was confirmed, saying: “We offer our most heartfelt sympathies and condolences to the family of Emiliano. He and David will forever remain in our thoughts.”

    Some of the club’s players reacted via Twitter. Full back Joe Bennett wrote “RIP Emiliano”, while centre-half Sol Bamba posted a black-and-white image of the team-mate he never got to play alongside.

    Stars from the wider footballing world also paid tribute.

    Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger wrote: “Heartbreaking to hear the news about Emiliano Sala. Rest in peace! Thoughts go out to the family and friends of Emiliano and the pilot.”

    And Arsenal’s Mehmet Ozil tweeted: “No words to describe how sad this is. Thoughts and prayers go out to his family and also to the family of the pilot.”

    Mr Ibbotson, 59, from Crowle, North Lincolnshire, was at the controls when the flight lost contact with air traffic controllers on 21 January.

    He is yet to be found.

    An official search was called off on 24 January after Guernsey’s harbour master said the chances of survival were “extremely remote”.

    But an online appeal started by Sala’s agent raised £324,000 (371,000 euros) for a private search led by marine scientist and oceanographer David Mearns.

    Working jointly with the AAIB, his ship and the Geo Ocean III, began combing a four square mile area of the English Channel, 24 nautical miles north of Guernsey, to make best use of the available sensors.

    Mr Mearns said the plane was identified by sonar, 67m (220ft) below the surface, before a submersible with cameras was sent underwater to confirm this.

    Cardiff fans left a sea of flowers outside the Cardiff City Stadium in tribute to Emiliano Sala

    During the recovery operation, the AAIB used a remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) to aid the search, with no divers involved.

    The body was moved first, and separately from the wreckage, to maximise the chances of it being successfully brought to the surface.

    It said efforts to recover the crashed plane as a whole proved unsuccessful, before being abandoned due to poor weather.

    “The weather forecast is poor for the foreseeable future and so the difficult decision was taken to bring the overall operation to a close,” the AAIB said in a statement.

    However, the AAIB said video footage captured by the ROV would provide “valuable evidence” for its safety investigation.

    Meanwhile, it has emerged that Sala’s former club, French Ligue 1 side Nantes, has demanded Cardiff City pay his £15m transfer fee.

    Sala was Cardiff’s record signing but never played for the club.

    The fee was due to be paid over three years but Cardiff have withheld the first scheduled payment until they are satisfied with the documentation.

  • Jose Mourinho accepts one-year jail sentence for tax fraud

    Jose Mourinho accepts one-year jail sentence for tax fraud

    Mourinho is one of the most successful coaches in modern European soccer, winning league titles with Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and Porto. He also won the Champions League in 2004 with Porto and in 2010 with Inter Milan.

    Spanish prosecutors have sentenced the ex-Manchester United and Real Madrid boss, Jose Mourinho to 12 months in prison as part of a deal reached in a tax fraud case.

    The 56-year-old, who reached an agreement with tax authorities after being accused of owing €3.3m while he was Real Madrid manager in 2011 and 2012.

    Jose Mourinho has accepted one year jail sentence and a fine of close to €2.2 million after admitting to tax fraud in Madrid – but will not serve time in jail.

    Sentences of less than two years for first-time offenders are usually suspended in Spain.

    Mourinho’s deal with the tax authorities will see him pay €1.9m – 60% of the amount defrauded. He is also paying a €182,500 fine in exchange for serving no jail time.

    He joins a long list of stars to be called out as tax dodgers by the Spanish Tax Agency.

    Last month Cristiano Ronaldo admitted committing tax fraud  and agreed to pay an €18.8m fine after striking a deal with prosecutors and tax authorities in return for a 23-month suspended prison sentence.

    Last year, Argentine Barca player Lionel Messi and his father received jail sentences and fines for tax offenses.

    The suspended sentences were later replaced with fines.

  • Alvaro Morata joins Atletico Madrid on 18-month loan deal

    Alvaro Morata joins Atletico Madrid on 18-month loan deal

    Alvaro Morata, a Chelsea striker has completed his move from Chelsea to Atletico Madrid, signing for the Spanish club on loan until the end of the season.

    Alvaro Morata Martin is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a striker for Spanish club Atletico Madrid on loan from Chelsea and the Spain national team

    The 26-year-old joined Chelsea from Real Marid following a stint at Juventus, becoming their club record signing in a £58million deal in the summer of 2017.

    After an impressive start at Chelsea, Morata lost form and confidence. He scored 24 goals in 74 appearances for the English club since signing for Chelsea from Real Madrid the summer of 2017.

    Accord to Atletico’s club website, Morata said: “I feel very happy. I am very content and very proud to be here, I can’t wait to train, to be with my teammates and to play.”

    The Spaniard spent four seasons at our Academy, having originally joined as an “Alevín,” and was a teammate of Koke during his first spell at our club. The two will now reunite in our first team, in which the striker will wear the number 22 shirt.

    Morata has proven himself as a prolific goal scorer in some of Europe’s most competitive leagues. Apart from his time in La Liga and the Premier League, the striker also played for Italian club Juventus in the Serie A.

    Moreover, he has earned 27 caps for Spain, netting 13 goals. With Morata’s arrival, we add a very talented striker to our club, who has the ability to score with his feet and his head thanks to his height and to combine with his teammates. 

  • Anthony Martial close to signing a new Five-year contract extension with Man Utd

    Anthony Martial close to signing a new Five-year contract extension with Man Utd

    The Manchester United winger and France international has agreed to extend his ties with the English club for the next 5 seasons, which will keep him at Old Trafford until June, 2024.

    Martial’s current contract was set to expire at the end of next season after the club triggered an optional year’s extension to his contract recently, but senior figures at the club have been working hard to secure his long-term future after a strong season so far.

    Anthony Martial has scored 10 goals in 25 appearances in all competitions so far this season.

    The 23-year-old forward is understood to have reached a final agreement with the club after months of talks and the rejection of an offer last October. Football Journalist Mohamed Bouhafsi posted on Twitter that the deal is expected to the be sealed on Friday.

    ​Martial came in for some heavy criticism from former manager Jose Mourinho and was rumoured to leave the club last summer after being fined for his extended absence from a training camp.

    However, he responded on the pitch with six goals in five Premier League games, and Mourinho said in November that he would like Martial to stay.

    United are also making progress on a contract extension for goalkeeper David de Gea, according to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

    Juan Mata, Ander Herrera and Ashley Young also face uncertain futures with all three out of contract at the end of this season.

  • Gonzalo Higuain Completes Loan Move to Chelsea

    Gonzalo Higuain Completes Loan Move to Chelsea

    Amid rumors surrounding future of AC Milan star Gonzalo Higuain has been officially confirmed. Marca came out with an article about Higuain’s imminent transfer to Chelsea early this year.

    Gonzalo Gerardo Higuaín is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a striker for English club Chelsea, on loan from Juventus, and the Argentina national team.

    Higuain spent the first half of the campaign on loan at AC Milan, where he scored eight goals in 22 appearances.

    The striker played under Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri while at Napoli in 2015-16, equalling the Serie A goal scoring record with 36 goals.

    Chelsea FC reports, upon completing his loan move to Chelsea, Higuain, who will wear the number nine shirt, said: ‘When the opportunity to join Chelsea presented itself I had to take it. It’s a team I’ve always liked that has a lot of history, a wonderful stadium and they play in the Premier League, a league I’ve always wanted to play in.

    ‘I now hope I can give back that trust Chelsea have shown me out on the pitch. I can’t wait to start and I hope to adapt as soon as possible.’

    Director Marina Granovskaia added: ‘Gonzalo was our number one target in this transfer window and arrives with a proven record at the highest level. He has previously worked with Maurizio to great effect and is familiar with how the coach likes to play.

    ‘This was not an easy deal for us to do because of the numerous parties involved, but we are delighted we were able to make it happen and we look forward to seeing the impact Gonzalo will make for us in the second half of the season.’

    As well as a glittering club career Higuain has been an important member of the Argentina national team for the last 10 years. The player was born in Brest, France, although he attained Argentine citizenship in 2007 through his father.

    Higuain scored on his full debut in a World Cup qualifier against Peru in 2009, and was subsequently named in the squad for the 2010 finals where he finished as joint-second top scorer after netting four goals, including a hat-trick against South Korea.

  • Barcelona Signs Dutch Midfielder Frenkie De Jong from Ajax

    Barcelona Signs Dutch Midfielder Frenkie De Jong from Ajax

    Frenkie de Jong is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Ajax.

    Barcelona signed 21-year-old Dutch midfielder from Ajax for 75 million Euros, plus a further 11 million in variables on Wednesday, although he won’t start playing until next season.

    Accord to FC Barcelona news, “FC Barcelona and Ajax have reached an agreement for the transfer of midfielder Frenkie de Jong, who will be joining the Catalan club from 1 July 2019. The player will be signing a contract for the next five seasons, through to 2023/24”.

    De Jong has been compared to Barça legend Johan Cruyff, a comparison he vehemently rejects, “I feel honoured,” De Jong says. “But I don’t think you can compare the two of us. He is so much better than me. He had so much quality. I will never reach that level. I don’t want to compare myself to Cruyff. And I think people who do that don’t want me to compare to Cruyff, they just see similarities in us. But not the same qualities. I watch his videos and he was amazing; the way he moved with the ball, the way he saw the game.”

    Watching him move around the pitch, orchestrating play, breaking opposition lines with his dribbles and using smart passes to manoeuvre colleagues like chess pieces, De Jong’s acumen for identifying and utilising space is striking. Like Cruyff before him, he plays football intelligently and intuitively, something he discussed in a recent interview with the guardian.

    “When I am on the pitch I play on intuition but I think a lot about the game as well,” De Jong said. “With my intuition, it is not just that I receive the ball and always think ‘I’m going to do this’ straight away, even though it just happens that way sometimes.

    “Most good players play on intuition. Everyone has a little but I don’t know if you can learn it. Sometimes I’m planning. I’m always searching for the pass. I’m always looking to see my teammate. ‘Is he free?’ Then you already know what to do. But sometimes the situation can change. Then you have to react and use your intuition. I try to have a picture when I receive the ball and know where everyone is. That’s one of the most important things for a midfielder.”

  • Cardiff City FC Player Emiliano Sala on missing Plane

    Cardiff City FC Player Emiliano Sala on missing Plane

    Argentine professional soccer player Emiliano Sala, who just signed with Cardiff City from Nantes last week for a club-record fee, has gone missing after the plane he was on disappeared over the English Channel on Monday night.

    According to the BBC, Guernsey Police said there was “no trace” of the Cardiff-bound flight. 

    Sala’s father, Horacio, told Argentine TV channel C5N, he heard the news from a friend.

    “I didn’t know anything. I couldn’t believe it,” he said. “I’m desperate. I hope everything goes well.”

    As BBC reports, the plane left Nantes France at 7:15 p.m. local time and was flying at 5,000 feet when it contracted air traffic control requesting descent. The plane then lost contact while at 2,300 feet and disappeared off the radar.

    Police said on Tuesday more than 1,150sq miles had been searched by five aircraft and two lifeboats. The search had resumed after being called off overnight “due to strengthening winds, worsening sea conditions and reducing visibility”.

    Ken Choo, chief executive of the Bluebirds, said: “We were very shocked upon hearing the news that the plane had gone missing. “We expected Emiliano to arrive last night into Cardiff and today was due to be his first day with the team. Our owner, Tan Sri Vincent Tan, and chairman, Mehmet Dalman, are all very distressed about the situation.”

    FC Nantes supporters gather in Nantes after it was announced that Emiliano Sala was missing. They are praying and hoping that Sala be found.

    Flowers and candles have been placed in Nantes’ main square as search for Emiliano Sala continues.

  • Police Issue Warrant for Soccer Superstar Ronaldo’s DNA in Rape Case

    Police Issue Warrant for Soccer Superstar Ronaldo’s DNA in Rape Case

    Source (Zusha Elinson)

    Authorities in Las Vegas have issued a warrant to obtain the DNA of soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo to see if it matches that found on a dress of a woman who has accused him of rape, according to a law-enforcement official with knowledge of the case.

    The authorities sent the warrant recently to the court system in Italy, where Mr. Ronaldo plays soccer, the official said.

    Las Vegas police reopened the case in the fall after the woman, Kathryn Mayorga, filed a lawsuit alleging that Mr. Ronaldo raped her in 2009 in Las Vegas and then paid her $375,000 to keep it secret.

    Mr. Ronaldo and his attorneys have repeatedly denied the rape allegations.

    “Mr. Ronaldo has always maintained, as he does today, that what occurred in 2009 in Las Vegas was consensual in nature,” Peter S. Christiansen, an attorney for Mr. Ronaldo, said in October. Mr. Chistiansen declined to comment on Wednesday on the new developments in the probe.

    An attorney for Ms. Mayorga and a Las Vegas police spokeswoman didn’t respond to requests for comment.

    A key piece of evidence in the investigation is a dress from the night in question nine years ago. Las Vegas police found DNA other than Ms. Mayorga’s on the dress, the law-enforcement official said. When the warrant is served in Italy, authorities would be expected to collect a sample of Mr. Ronaldo’s DNA and send it to Las Vegas police, who would assess whether it matches that found on the dress, the official said.

    Mr. Ronaldo plays for the Turin, Italy-based club Juventus, which signed him in a $92 million transfer last summer.

    The alleged rape occurred in June 2009. Mr. Ronaldo, then 24, was on vacation in Las Vegas and met Ms. Mayorga in the Rain nightclub at the Palms Casino Resort before inviting her to a party in his suite, according to her civil complaint.

    It was there that Mr. Ronaldo forced himself on Ms. Mayorga while she begged him to stop, the filing alleges. The complaint adds that “when Cristiano Ronaldo completed the sexual assault of the plaintiff, he allowed her to leave the bedroom stating he was sorry, he was usually a gentleman.”

    Ms. Mayorga reported the alleged sexual assault to police on the day it occurred. Under Nevada law, there is no statute of limitations on investigations or potential charges stemming from such reports.

  • AC Milan have no intention of letting Gonzalo Higuain go to Chelsea

    AC Milan have no intention of letting Gonzalo Higuain go to Chelsea

    Amid rumors surrounding future of AC Milan star Gonzalo Higuain,
    Di Marzio Sky Sport journalist insist that the striker’s future lies with the Italian club

    “Marca came out with an article about Higuain’s imminent transfer to Chelsea, but we have not found any evidence on this, confirming that Sarri would like the player but that today Chelsea has not made a decision on the investment,” he said.


    “Moreover, Milan has no intention of letting the player go because it would be difficult to replace him. Milan would not make money from the sale of Higuain. To date, Milan knows that Higuain had some ‘stomach ache’ but they made him understand that he will stay and must play and take responsibility.

    “It is clear that Juventus would have an interest in doing the operation with Chelsea but only if Chelsea redeemed him at the end of the season. But to date, there are no signs in this sense,”

  • Arsène Wenger to step down as Arsenal Manager at the end of the season

    Arsène Wenger to step down as Arsenal Manager at the end of the season

    Come the end of this football season, Millions of Arsenal fans will be saying farewell to one of the best manager the game has ever seen.

    Arsène Wenger announced on the club official site that he will be stepping down at the end of the season. The statement reads:

    “After careful consideration and following discussions with the club, I feel it is the right time for me to step down at the end of the season.

    “I am grateful for having had the privilege to serve the club for so many memorable years.

    “I managed the club with full commitment and integrity.

    “I want to thank the staff, the players, the Directors and the fans who make this club so special.

    “I urge our fans to stand behind the team to finish on a high.

    “To all the Arsenal lovers take care of the values of the club.

    “My love and support forever.”

    Majority owner Stan Kroenke said:

    “This is one of the most difficult days we have ever had in all our years in sport. One of the main reasons we got involved with Arsenal was because of what Arsène has brought to the club on and off the pitch. His longevity and consistency over such a sustained period at the highest level of the game will never be matched.

    “Arsène has unparalleled class and we will always be grateful to him. Everyone who loves Arsenal and everyone who loves football owes him a debt of gratitude. Three Premier League titles, including an entire season unbeaten, seven FA Cup triumphs and 20 successive years in the Champions League is an exceptional record. He has also transformed the identity of our club and of English football with his vision for how the game can be played.

    “We have high ambitions to build on Arsène’s remarkable tenure and to honour his vision by ensuring that Arsenal competes for and wins the biggest and most important prizes in the game.

    “We must now focus on making a strong finish to the season and ask our millions of fans around the world to join us in paying appropriate tribute to one of the greats of Arsenal’s history and one of the greats of the game.”

    Arsène will lead the team to the end of the season and we will make an appointment as soon as possible. The club will not be making any further comment on the selection process until an appointment is made.

    Source: www.arsenal.com