Spain’s Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected an appeal by Barcelona soccer star Lionel Messi and stood by a Catalan regional court’s 21-month prison sentence for tax fraud, court documents showed. The five-times World Player of the Year is unlikely to go to prison, however. Messi and his father Jorge were found guilty by a Catalan court last July on three counts of tax fraud between 2007 and 2009 to the tune of 4.1 million euros on image rights and were also fined 2 million euros ($2.24 million). The court reduced Jorge Messi’s sentence from 21 months to 15, however, for…
Author: David Folami
Chelsea have cancelled a planned victory parade in London on Sunday in light of Monday’s bomb attack in Manchester. Antonio Conte’s side won the Premier League title and could claim the double by winning Saturday’s FA Cup at Wembley. Thousands of fans were expected to turn out for the parade. “In light of these tragic events, we feel it is inappropriate to go ahead with the victory parade in London on Sunday,” the club said in a statement. “Given the heightened security threat announced by the (British) government, and recognising that this is a developing situation, we have given this…
Paul Pogba propelled Manchester United towards a 2-0 victory over Ajax on Wednesday in a Europa League final rendered heavy with emotion by this week’s terror attack in Manchester. A night that began with a moment of silence, then applause, in memory of the 22 people who died at Manchester Arena on Monday ended with United completing their trophy collection through goals from Pogba and Henrikh Mkhitaryan. Reminders of the attack were everywhere at Stockholm’s Friends Arena, from United’s black armbands to the chants of “Manchester!” from their fans, while Pogba, too, was grieving, following the recent death of his…
Claudio Ranieri is hoping to be back in management somewhere in Europe before the start of next season and is not ruling out a return to the Premier League. “Why not? If a good project arrives, why not?,” the former Chelsea and Leicester City manager, sacked by the latter club in February, told Reuters on Tuesday when asked whether he might return to England. “I look for the Premier League or another league in Europe,” he added. The much-travelled Italian was back in the dugout on Tuesday, if only for an evening, as coach of a ‘World Stars’ charity match…
The Presidential Adviser on Economic Matters, Dr Adeyemi Dipeolu, has analysed the statistics released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) saying it showed the economy maintained path to recovery. According to Dipeolu, it is an encouraging indication of a steady, even if slow, progressive pace. He said by the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), figure the Nigerian economy was emerging out of recession. “The 2017 Q1 GDP figures released early Tuesday depicts an overall picture showing the economy is emerging slowly out of recession’’, he said. Dipeolu noted that growth had continued in agriculture and a notable positive turnaround had…
Lady Gaga scores a Maki Oh piece on the set of a new video. The superstar was pictured in a shirt with tiered ruffle sleeve details from the womenswear brand’s Fall/Winter’17 collection featuring ‘Oh’ inscribed on it. Lady Gaga scored the look over maroon pants wearing red hair untamed falling over her shoulders on the set of her ‘A Star Is Born’ video in L.A. Maki Oh’s pieces have been sported on Michelle Obama, Solange Knowles and a whole lot of celebrities. The Nigeria born creative director of the brand; Amaka Osakwe has been featured on BOF’s 500 list amongst…
Football star David Beckham spoke of his “heartbreak” as former club Manchester United and local rivals Manchester City came together Tuesday to pay tribute after 22 people including children were killed in a suspected suicide bombing in the northern English city. Britain’s deadliest terror attack in 12 years took place when a bomb went off shortly after the end of a concert by US pop star Ariana Grande at the Manchester Arena on Monday. Former England captain Beckham, who made his name as a global superstar at United after coming through the club’s youth system, expressed his condolences via an…
The Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, has expressed sadness over the news of the death of Mr Chukwuma Onuekwusi, the Channels TV State House Correspondent. This is contained in a condolence message by his spokesman, Mr Laolu Akande, on Tuesday. Akande said Osinbajo extended heartfelt condolences to Onuekwusi’s family as well as Channels TV family on the very sad passing of Onuekwusi. “He also commiserates with the State House Press Corps over the passage of their professional colleague, who combined high professionalism, wit, dedication and patriotism in his diligent reportage of activities in the Presidential Villa,” he added. The Acting…
The family of the late Senator Isiaka Adeleke has accused Ladoke Akintola University Teaching Hospital (LAUTH), Osogbo of refusing to release the tissue samples of the deceased. They also said the Osun government and the hospital are making it difficult for them to do a second autopsy to confirm the hospital result. The late Senator’s family also alleged that the hospital has still not given them the result of the autopsy which they requested for since April 23, 2017. Speaking on behalf of the family, Dr Deji Adeleke said “The Chief Pathologist’s claim that the Adeleke family is not entitled…
The Governor of Osun state, Rauf Aregbesola has praised the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai for saving Nigeria from the hands of coup plotters. There have been unconfirmed reports that a section of the Nigerian Army were plotting to overthrow President Buhari’s government. This might have been fuelled by Buratai’s warning to officers and men of the Army not to get involved in Politics. The Chief of Army Staff also revealed that some politicians have been approaching Army officers. Speaking to members of the Osun state House of Assembly, Aregbesola urged the lawmakers to issue a…
Barely 10 days after the release of ‘For Life’ a song currently topping charts across the African continent, Runtown has decided to bless his fans with the official video of the song. The Eric Many frontline act who has enjoyed a remarkable year with multi million naira endorsement deals, sold out concerts and tours all over the world, shot the new video in London and it was directed by award winning cinematographer, Meji Alabi. At the moment, the smash hit song ‘For Life’ currently tops the chart in over 10 African countries and the wave is fast spreading across the…
Nollywood actress Funke Adesiyan has criticised celebrities she has called ‘social media mourners’ over the death of actress Moji Olaiya. Adesiyan has spoken out against certain celebrities who only mourned the death of Moji Olaiya on social media but have not contributed a kobo to her funeral arrangements. “Life is funny. People are really not worth the trouble. The essence of being part of an association, group et al is so you can be there for one another in matters related to you all” she wrote on her Instagram yesterday, Tuesday, May 23, 2017. “It’s really a shame that many…
The South-South rapper who has an insanely bloated opinion about himself, his artistry and his celebrity outed a young struggling artist, who has been pestering him on Twitter for a collaboration. The artist named Jaysan is working on an EP, and being a young broke artist, he is punching above his weight for collaborations on the project. “I wanted yung6ix on my EP because I love his art and his delivery,” he said. “I love the fact that his wordplays are deep and not easy to forget. So I thought it would be an advantage working with 6ix on a…
China’s Tianjin Quanjin appear to have shut the door on a rumoured megamoney swoop for Chelsea’s Diego Costa or any other “excessive” spending, amid a government crackdown on high-priced foreign imports. The Brazilian-born Spain striker has since January been the subject of repeated speculation that he could join Super League club Tianjin when China’s summer transfer window opens next month and become the latest in a wave of big-money foreign signings. Tianjin issued a statement saying they have “had no communications or negotiations in any form with Diego Costa or his agent team regarding a transfer.” Echoing the official talking…
Investigators raided the headquarters of Paris Saint-Germain and the homes of the club’s Argentinian stars Angel Di Maria and Javier Pastore on Tuesday in a tax fraud probe, legal sources said. French prosecutors launched the investigation in December following revelations by the “Football Leaks” website concerning financial transactions and other details involving top football players. Di Maria and Pastore are being investigated in connection with the probe into the use of tax havens to hide earnings from the marketing of image rights, the sources said. The leaks also targeted Real Madrid’s Ronaldo and Manchester United’s Paul Pogba. The Paris head…
Arsenal’s Laurent Koscielny will miss this weekend’s FA Cup final against Chelsea, it was confirmed Tuesday, after his appeal against a three-match ban was dismissed by the Football Association. The 31-year-old French central defender was sent off against Everton on Sunday for a reckless first-half challenge on Enner Valencia. Despite his absence, Arsenal still ended their Premier League season with a 3-1 home win, although results elsewhere meant they failed to qualify for Europe’s lucrative Champions League. Koscielny’s absence is a further setback for Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, with the Gunners boss already having fitness doubts over two other defenders…
A “numb” Manchester United will honour the victims of the Manchester bomb attack with a minute’s silence and black armbands at Wednesday’s Europa League final, the club’s executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward said Tuesday. United flew out to Sweden with Manchester still reeling from an attack which left 22 people dead and 59 injured after a bomb went off following the end of a pop concert by American singer Ariana Grande at the Manchester Arena on Monday. Woodward, asked for his reaction, told United’s website: “Words don’t really do justice for how we all feel. We’re numb. The events were sickening…
The Kano anti-corruption commission has said that the evidence against the Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi is still intact. A source at the commission also said “That the State Assembly stopped the investigation just two weeks after its commencement is like giving us the go ahead to continue where we stopped.” The Chairman of the commission, Muhyi Magaji Rimin Gado said “Our commission is empowered by section 6 of our laws to investigate whoever, no matter his position and as for this matter what I will say is that we have not destroyed our evidence. We have them intact,…
The Senate has condemned the increase in rape and domestic violence cases in the country. This is following the motion made by the Deputy Majority Leader, Senator Bala Ibn Na’Allah titled: Urgent need to investigate the alarming rate of rape and sexual assault against women, children and vulnerable people across the country. He said “The Senate notes the frightening increase in cases of sexual violence, notably rape, where more than half of the victims are minors, children below the age of consent. “The Senate further notes that in most of these cases, the perpetrators are usually familiar neighbours, employers of…
The Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole has said that President Buhari could not be treated in Nigeria because of the bond he has with his doctors abroad. The minister also called on Nigerians to pray for Buhari and not to make wrong insinuations about his health. Adewole also said that there is no cause for alarm, adding that Nigerians should respect Buhari’s choice to go abroad for treatment. According to Daily Post, he said “One thing we must realise is that health is a complex issue. There’s what we call patient-doctor relationship; there is also a bond between the…