Everton have been locked in talks with Lukaku for some time now over a new deal and were hopeful of tying down the striker to a new long-term contract, with the player’s agent Mino Raiola claiming it was “99.9 percent agreed.” However, those talks have reached a deadlock with Lukaku indicating he does not want to sign a new deal at Goodison Park, as first reported on Tuesday by multiple English newspapers. Despite the setback, a deal for Lukaku remains on the table and Everton remain hopeful of a successful resolution, one source told ESPN FC. The 23-year-old has never…
Author: David Folami
Rojo appeared to make contact with Hazard, who had fallen to the ground, after losing his balance in Monday’s FA Cup clash as Chelsea advanced to the semifinals with a 1-0 win. The referee’s report confirmed Michael Oliver and his officials saw the incident, meaning the case cannot go to a review panel and the Argentina international will avoid a potential three-match ban for violent conduct. But United will face a fine for their reaction to Ander Herrera’s sending off, also for a foul on Hazard. The midfielder earlier received a two-game ban after his dismissal. An FA statement read:…
The Football Association confirmed the length of ban for Herrera, dismissed in the 35th minute after two bookings for fouls on Eden Hazard. He has been given the two-game sanction because it was his second sending-off of the season, meaning a further game is added to the automatic one-match ban for two yellow cards. Herrera’s ban means United will be without two first-team players against Boro and West Brom, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic serving a suspension for elbowing Bournemouth defender Tyrone Mings.
Leicester City are heroes again after a night that surely makes their season’s toils seem worthwhile. A Champions League quarterfinal spot is theirs, and while it may have taken some twisted logic to predict that when this tie was drawn, the Foxes defied it thrillingly in front of a home crowd who must have thought they had already seen everything. A scrappy effort from Wes Morgan in the first half and a sweet drive from Marc Albrighton in the second made history for Leicester here, and that only told part of the story. Keeper Kasper Schmeichel’s penalty save from Steven…
Kane suffered the injury to his right ankle, and is the same knock as he picked up in September that ruled him out of action for seven weeks and 10 games. Spurs are optimistic that the injury is not as severe this time after a scan on Tuesday, and he was able to walk immediately after the incident rather than being carried off on a stretcher. “We can confirm that Harry Kane sustained ligament damage to his right ankle during Sunday’s FA Cup win against Millwall,” Spurs said on their Twitter account. “The injury is similar to the one suffered…
Chelsea moved into the semifinals of the FA Cup with a 1-0 home victory over Manchester United in a bad-tempered match Monday. N’Golo Kante scored the only goal after 51 minutes with a shot from 20 yards, but the turning point in the match came after 35 minutes. After a number of United players fouled Chelsea’s Eden Hazard, referee Michael Oliver called over United’s Phil Jones (who committed the latest foul) and United captain Chris Smalling to issue a warning. It was evident that the referee — and the winger — had had enough of the constant fouls. From the…
Atletico Madrid will rely on leading striker Antoine Griezmann as they bid to finish off Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League on Wednesday and reach the quarterfinals for the fourth season in a row. Having romped to a 4-2 victory in Germany in the first leg, Atletico have a clear advantage and with their talisman back in form have high hopes of progressing. Frenchman Griezmann has six goals in his last seven games, with his 84th minute strike helping the Rojiblancos to a 1-0 win at Granada on Saturday. Spain media reported that the player has decided to stay with…
It was supposed to be a walk in the park for the Merengues. They had won the Champions League quarterfinal first leg, 4-2, at home. They were superior technically and in terms of experience to this really offensive, but yet still young, Monaco side coached by Didier Deschamps. Let’s be honest, not many people believed the team from the Principality could do it. Even less after Raul, thanks to some great work by Ronaldo, beat Flavio Roma after just 36 minutes. But Ludovic Giuly scored twice (the second one with a genius back heel) and Fernando Morientes added another against…
After losing their first two Chinese Super League (CSL) games of the season, John Mikel Obi is confident that Tianjin TEDA will find their form soon. Since the start of the 2017 CSL, Tianjin TEDA lost 2-0 defeat to Shandong Luneng in the opening day fixtures and were held at home by Jiangsu Suning to a goalless draw in matchday two. The Mikel Obi captained side has failed to score in their two opening fixtures but the 29-year-old is confident the goals would come soon. “It’s clear that it is complicated not to have scored after two games but I…
First he made the beats, then he murdered raps. First he had our ears, then he had our hearts. Now, it’s just a simple matter of ‘where the fuck is Kanye when you need him?’ as Eminem once rapped. While Kanye West had nothing to do with the line that inspires the headline, the first paragraph and the quote reek of him. In recent years, Kanye’s divided opinion with whatever he says or does and, to be frank, that’s normal for Kanye. As normal as the time he interrupted Taylor Swift. He’s been doing so for a long time but…
Chocolate City boss, Audu Maikori has been granted bail, following his arrest on Friday, March 10, 2017. The Nigerian entertainment expert was escorted to Kaduna Magistrate’s Court, located along Ibrahim Taiwo road this morning by the state’s police officers and Dari Bayero – Director of Public Prosecution in Kaduna State. Audu, who was charged under Section 24 of the Cybercrime Act, was granted bail on health grounds. The court has adjourned his trial till April 20, 2017 where he would appear before the state’s Chief Magistrate. The businessman reportedly collapsed on March 7 while taking pictures with attendees at a…
Following the controversies that her comment about trans women raised, Chimamanda Adichie has written to clarify what she actually meant when she said that trans women’s issues and experiences are different from those of women born female. Taking to her Facebook page, the award-winning author wrote: ‘CLARIFYING ‘Because I have been the subject of much hostility for standing up for LGBTQ rights in Nigeria, I found myself being very defensive at being labeled ‘trans phobic.’ My first thought was – how could anyone think that? ‘I didn’t like that version of myself. It felt like a white person saying ‘I’m…
The National Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Sen. Ali Modu Sheriff, has advised the Prof. Jerry Gana-led Strategy Review and Inter-Party Affairs Committee to stop speaking for the party. Represented by his National Deputy Chairman, Dr Cairo Ojougbo, at a news conference in Abuja on Monday, Sheriff described the Gana-led committee as “illegal”. The committee was constituted on Nov. 10, 2016, by the National Caretaker Committee of the party headed by Sen. Ahmed Makarfi, which was disbanded by the recent judgment of Appeal Court, Port Harcourt. The committee had been visiting founding and prominent members of PDP, including former…
Now a different set of statistics matter: without Kane, Spurs were winless for six games in October and November, scoring once from open play. They were toothless then, and as Kane limped down the tunnel six minutes into the 6-0 win over Millwall it was easy to wonder if Spurs’ hopes of winning the FA Cup and catching Chelsea in the Premier League were going with him. Mauricio Pochettino did not sound optimistic, ruling him out of next weekend’s match against Southampton and saying the damage was similar to his previous ankle injury, which sidelined him for seven weeks and…
Victory for Zinedine Zidane’s side put them back in the driver’s seat in La Liga, two points clear of Barca and five ahead of Sevilla with a game still in hand. Inevitably, after the dust had settled on another weekend of action contributing to a fascinating season, the question on everyone’s lips was: where exactly would Real Madrid be in 2016-17 without Ramos? One of the pro-Madrid dailies provided the math: in third place, was the answer. While the science behind such hypotheses is never fully satisfactory, there is an element of truth to the notion that Real would be…
The match started with the visitors trying to press high and disrupt Chelsea’s rhythm. Part of their tactic involved the systematic rotational fouling of Eden Hazard, who had clearly been targeted by United. The fouling became so regular and intentional that referee Michael Oliver warned them that the next one committed on the Belgian would earn a booking. Seconds later, Ander Herrera brought Hazard down again and saw red for receiving his second yellow card. Chelsea dominated possession with their numerical advantage, and the breakthrough was imminent. The goal arrived on 51 minutes from an unlikely source, as N’Golo Kante…
The first Big Brother Nigeria eviction party was held on Friday, March 10, 2017, in Lekki, Lagos! Whoop! Whoop! From Somadina to Miyonse, Uriel, Ese, Jon and CocoIce all evicted Big Brother housemates were in attendance except Kemen. This was because the fitness trainer was disqualified and unceremoniously sent out of the competition for fondling Tboss while she was asleep and without her consent. Although he was seen with the other evicted housemates at Payporte Lagos office on Thursday, March 9, 2017, the former housemate was absent from the crowd. Meanwhile, other celebrities on ground to celebrate with them includes:…
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, on Monday, March 13, 2017, received communication from President Muhammadu Buhari on his resumption to duty. Speaking shortly after the letter was handed over to him by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly matters (House of Reps) Hon. Suleiman Abdurhaman Kawu Sumaila, Dogara said he will read the letter to his colleagues in plenary on Tuesday, March 14, 2017, since the communication was meant for them. “Tomorrow (Tuesday) I will read this to my colleagues on the floor of the House and thereafter make comments from there,”…
Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo on Monday briefed President Muhammadu Buhari on some of his activities as acting president while the president was away in London. Osinbajo, who made this known after a closed door meeting with the president in Abuja, said “I’m back to my regular position as Vice-President .’’ He said that the president, who was updated on national and international issues as they concerned the country, gave specific directives on the next steps to be taken. “We just had a very long meeting. As you can see we were basically trying to bring the President up to speed on…
FA Cup holders Manchester United bowed out vs. Chelsea at the quarterfinal stage after a start that promised so much. Marcus Rashford spearheaded considerable intensity in attack but, once Ander Herrera was dismissed for a second yellow card, Jose Mourinho’s side were mostly concerned with holding the fort and their best performances came from defenders. Marcos Rojo was immense at centre-back, even pressing into the final third as late as the 85th minute, while Antonio Valencia was equally terrific on the right flank. Rashford showed intelligence and poise playing as a lone front man. Herrera has a feisty game in…