Jose Mourinho is set to be investigated by the Football Association for comments made towards television cameras following Manchester United 3-2 win over Newcastle on Saturday. The Portuguese coach was captured speaking into a camera as he walked down the touchline towards the Old Trafford tunnel after the final whistle. The FA will decide whether the comments — which were in Mourinho’s native Portuguese — are offensive and warrant any further action. The 55-year-old, whose position at Old Trafford has been under intense scrutiny, could be hit with a touchline ban if he is found guilty of using language that…
Author: David Folami
Harry Kane has welcomed the return of his Tottenham teammate Harry Winks to the national squad. Winks was named man of the match on his England debut last October, in a World Cup qualifier against Lithuania which remains his only senior international appearance due to an ankle injury sustained last November, which eventually required surgery in the summer. The 22-year-old is now back in the fold as the Three Lions prepare to visit Croatia and Spain in the UEFA Nations League, and Kane said it is good to see him returning to fitness. “He’s a great player,” he said. “He…
Chelsea’s Eden Hazard has said it is still his “dream” to play for Real Madrid and he wants to “make it happen” but is determined not to leave under a cloud if he moves to Spain. Hazard, linked with a move to the Bernabeu in the summer, said he would be happy if he chose to stay at Chelsea but had a lifelong ambition to play for Madrid. “Real Madrid is the best club in the world,” the Belgium international said after the Southampton game. “I don’t want to lie, it is my dream since I was a kid. “We…
Alex Iwobi thinks Arsenal are proving their title credentials after taking their winning run to nine games with a 5-1 victory over Fulham at Craven Cottage. The win was Arsenal’s sixth in a row in the Premier League after opening losses to Manchester City and Chelsea. “The team spirit is better,” Iwobi, who helped create Alexandre Lacazette’s opening goal, told reporters after the game. “The confidence is definitely better. We analyse the games a bit more and we’re proving to the fans as well as ourselves that we’re able to compete for the title. “But there’s a long way to…
Robert Pires has advised Paul Pogba to “say nothing, play football” at Manchester United. And Pires, who won the World Cup with France in 1998, said: “For Paul Pogba, the best is to say nothing. He’s a great player. If Man United paid a lot of money for him, it’s because he’s a good player. “His relation with the manager may not be so good but he’s a professional. It’s very important for him to be focussed on Man United, on the pitch. “Now say nothing, play football and walk out — that’s my advice for Paul Pogba.” Pires said…
Bernard Mensah has backed Asamoah Gyan’s return to the Ghana national team after his recent call-up for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Sierra Leone was questioned in some quarters. Mensah is also back in the squad after a three-year absence, but it is Gyan’s return after he was dropped for the last qualifier against Kenya that is dominating the sporting conversation in Ghana. “It is good he is returning, even if he is not playing regularly at club level,” Mensah said of his Kayserispor teammate. “He has too much experience, is too good in front of goal,…
Monaco are set to name former Arsenal and France striker Thierry Henry as their new manager after deciding to sack Leonardo Jardim, sources have said. Jardim will lose his job with Monaco after a dismal start to the season that sees them marooned in 18th place in Ligue 1 nine games into the season, one point off the foot of the table. Monaco have not won since the opening day in any competition, and Sunday’s loss at home to Rennes extended their run of consecutive defeats to four games, and 10 matches without a win. Henry, who won the Ligue…
Christian Eriksen’s agent has said that reports the Tottenham midfielder has a chronic abdominal injury are the result of incorrect translations. Denmark coach Age Hareide addressed Eriksen’s absence from the squad on Monday by referring to the injury — which has prevented the midfielder making an appearance for Tottenham since the Sept. 22 win against Brighton — as chronic and long-term. But Eriksen’s agent, Martin Schoots, told the Evening Standard that Hareide was referring to the player’s recent absence and not concerns about his fitness going forward. “Christian has no chronic injuries — nobody has said that,” Schoots said. “He…
Antoine Griezmann believes France teammate Kylian Mbappe is playing like Cristiano Ronaldo when he was with Manchester United. “Kylian reminds me of Cristiano when he was in Manchester,” Griezmann told France Football. “Cristiano was the guy out wide, doing a lot of dribbling and occasionally scoring. He was not looking for goals, though. “When Kylian does what Cristiano did in Madrid, thinking only about scoring, then he will do the same. He will be scoring 50 goals per season.” Mbappe scored four times in 13 minutes on Sunday but also missed a number of chances, which does not surprise Griezmann.…
Jorge Sampaoli believes Lionel Messi can still realise his dream of lifting the World Cup in 2022 if the country doesn’t veer from “the process.” Asked if Messi, who will be 35 when the 2022 World Cup takes place in Qatar, can win the title, Sampaoli told Marca: “Of course he can. But this needs a process, considering what has happened up to now. “Processes don’t break, they are corrected. For the next World Cup or Copa America, there needs to be an organisation, unlimited confidence and know what the process requires. In other words, if the Copa America is…
Muhammadu Buhari has assured members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Nigerians that he will not disappoint them if he is re-elected as President in 2019. Fayemi, who was the Chairman,APC Presidential Primary Committee, later asked the no fewer than 7,00 delegates from the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to affirm the president’s candidacy through a yes vote, which they did. Aside the statuary delegates, the delegates who were drawn from the 36 states of the federation and the FCT, were made up of three from each Local Government Area. They were elected…
Esther Uzoma, member of the European Union (EU) Election Mission, who monitored the just-concluded All Progressive Congress (APC) National Presidential Convention, has described the event as a success. The EU Observer Mission had deployed a four-member team to monitor the special convention designed solely to endorse the candidacy of President Muhammadu Buhari as the party’s flag-bearer for the 2019 Presidential Election. Uzoma, a legal practitioner, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) shortly after the convention which held at the Eagles Square, Abuja, and lasted till Sunday morning, said the event was peaceful and orderly. “So far,…
Goodluck Jonathan has stated that any candidate elected out of the 13 at the Peoples Democratic Party convention will be the next President of Nigeria. Jonathan who spoke at the convention in Port Harcourt early on Sunday said that all the aspirants are qualified to lead the country, having interacted with them since 1999. According to him, the greatest problem with Nigeria is that of unity and urged Nigerians to elect a leader that would unite the county. All the aspirants are eminently qualified to lead the country and urged the delegates to select a person who will bring Nigeria…
Oby Ezekwesili has formally declared her intention to run for President in 2019. Ezekwesili, who is also the co-founder of the Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) group, made this know in a statement which she posted on Twitter. According to the former minister, she will be contesting on the platform of the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN). Ezekwesili, in her statement explain why she is contesting, said that the decision to run for President is the hardest she has ever had to make in her life. According to her, “I believe that every generation faces its defining moment –…
The Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) has enumerated its success stories in the past years, saying it has graduated from an opposition party in 2015 to a ruling party in waiting in 2018. Prince Uche Secondus, National Chairman of the Party, gave the verdict in an address at the opening of the PDP 2018 Special National Convention which he also declared open on Friday in Port Harcourt. Secondus, who expressed pleasure in welcoming members from all over Nigeria to Port Harcourt, said that the subject of this year’s national convention was: “Nigerians Take Back Your Country’’. The party boss also boasted…
Pastor Tunde Bakare has congratulated Atiku Abubakar on his emergence as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate. The vocal pastor also said that Atiku has the exposure and acceptance, just like President Buhari. He said “I congratulate him (Abubakar), he makes the issue in 2019 more robust. “It is not going an eaglet versus an eagle but an eagle versus eagle: an old eagle versus new eagle and probably both of them old eagles. “I wish president Muhammadu Buhari the best in 2019. “He has the power of incumbency and he will do his best to win the election,…
Gov. Seriake Dickson on Sunday congratulated Alhaji Atiku Abubakar for emerging as the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) flag-bearer in the 2019 presidential election. According to Dickson, the former Vice President of Nigeria has the requisite experience and knowledge to tackle the challenges bedevilling the country. Dickson described the primaries that produced Atiku as the freest and best election ever conducted in the history of the country. “Let me congratulate the former Vice President and now the presidential candidate of our great party for the next presidential election over his resounding victory in a free, fair, transparent and credible primary election.…
The Presidency has denied reports that President Buhari asked the Governor of Kaduna state, Nasir El-Rufai to punish Senator Shehu Sani. An excerpt of the letter obtained from The Cable reads: “When your excellency traveled to London in April 2018 for medical consultation, Shehu Sani ridiculed it on Facebook as ‘Voyage to London, Season 3. “In May 2018, he lamented what he said was Buhari’ s three years of failure to protect human lives. “In the same month, he wrote that ‘Baba should protect his testicle from any man who always bends down to greet him. “Your excellency will recall…
Atiku Abubakar has commended his fellow contestants for the display of unity and commitment during the convention. He made the remark while speaking at the convention after scoring 1, 532 votes out of the 3221 votes cast to get the ticket on Sunday in Port Harcourt. He described the convention as a landmark event, adding: ”today, we have also witnessed the most credible, transparent and fair primaries. ”Let me commend my fellow contestants for displaying unity of purpose and commitment. This is a very rare event. ”My fellow contestants have shown that the interest of the party is paramount to…
Lauretta Onochie, the new media aide to President Buhari has reacted to the emergence of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar as the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Atiku was declared the winner of the PDP presidential primaries on Sunday, October 7, 2018, after getting 1,532 votes. Onochie, in a post which he published on her Facebook page on Sunday, October 7, 2018, said that Atiku’s emergence has made the work easier for the APC. She said “Alh. Atiku Abubakar outspends Saraki, Tambuwal and others. Wins the PDP Presidential Ticket for 2019. “Congratulations Alh. Atiku Abubakar. You have outspent…