Former referees Keith Hackett and Graham Poll are calling for Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger to get a lengthy ban for pushing the fourth official after he was sent to the stands during Sunday’s dramatic 2-1 win over Burnley. Wenger appeared to push Anthony Taylor twice after the fourth official told the Frenchman to leave the tunnel, where he had stopped to watch Burnley’s Andre Gray take an injury-time penalty. Wenger had been sent off for protesting that decision by referee Jon Moss, even though Francis Coquelin had clearly fouled Ashley Barnes in the box. He apologised after the game but…
Author: David Folami
Bayern Munich midfielder Arturo Vidal says he “feels bad” and “must take a break” if he is to have any chance of playing in the Champions League against Arsenal next month. Vidal, 29, initially suffered a rib injury during Bayern’s 2017 Telekom Cup success during their winter break on Jan. 14. But the Chile international was passed fit to play in the Bundesliga champions’ first competitive game of 2017 against Freiburg on Friday, despite missing most of last week’s training due to injury. Vidal, however, aggravated his rib problem in Bayern’s 2-1 win and was replaced by Germany international Joshua…
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has said it would be difficult to make changes to his side despite recent dropped points due to the quality of the players’ performances. United’s nine-game winning run in all competitions ended when they drew 1-1 against Liverpool at Old Trafford and that was followed by another 1-1 draw, away against Stoke City, on Saturday. Anthony Martial, last season’s top scorer, was not selected in the matchday squad at Stoke. Mourinho told reporters: “Sometimes we are playing so well and creating chances — it is not easy to make changes. “It is easy to make…
Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State has said that all those found culpable in the killing of innocent people in the recent crisis in Southern Kaduna will be prosecuted. He described the incident as unfortunate and condemnable. He said this when the Council of Traditional Chiefs and Emirs, led by Emir of Zazzau, Alhaji Shehu Idris, paid him a solidarity visit. “This is not something to talk about because I am not the first governor to receive this kind of treatment, every governor in the last 15 years in this state has been treated this way and it is part…
Gov. Aminu Masari of Katsina State on Sunday enjoined teachers, parents and community leaders to inculcate good morals and discipline in children. Masari gave the task at the graduation ceremony of 82 Islamiyya students that have successfully memorised the Holy Qur’an held at Madarasatul Hidayatul Islam Wa Tahfizul Qur’an in Malumfashi Local Government Area of the state. The governor was represented by the Chairman, Katsina State Independent Electoral Commission (KATSIEC), Alhaji Ibrahim Bako. Masari emphasised the significance of both modern education and religious knowledge in the overall development of children in the society. The governor also called for the establishment…
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara has said that there is no room for dictators in Africa. Dogara said this while reacting to reports that Yahya Jammeh, the former Gambian President has gone on exile. The Speaker also commended President Buhari and leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) for prevailing on Jammeh to leave office. Dogara also added that the intervention of Buhari and the other ECOWAS leaders in The Gambia, saved a lot of lives. According to him, “The leaders have demonstrated their readiness and strong resolve to defend democracy on the…
Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on media and publicity, Femi Adesina, says he cannot confirm if the President uses the clinic at the presidential villa or not. Criticisms have trailed the President’s current trip to the United Kingdom, where he is seeking medical attention. Nigerians have continued to query why Buhari will fly overseas on medical grounds when huge amount has been allocated to the hospital in Aso Rock. Speaking on a Channels Television programme of Sunday, January 22, Adesina said he is not aware of any time Buhari fell sick, so he would not know if he uses…
Senator Dino Melaye has advised President Muhammadu Buhari to rejig his economic team for an effective implementation of the 2017 budget. Senator Melaye had in September 2016 called for the sack of Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun; Minister of finance, Udo Udoma, Minister of budget and national planning; and Godwin Emefiele, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) over Nigeria’s economic recession. Speaking in Abuja, Senator Melaye said except President Buhari “puts square pegs in square holes”, the 2017 budget would not yield the desired result. The Kogi West lawmaker called on the Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE) to…
The Federal Government has released N375, 434, 870 for the implementation of its school feeding programme. Vice President Yemi Osinbajo’s spokesman, Laolu Akande disclosed this in a statement issued in Abuja on Sunday, January 22. Akande said the amount is expected to feed almost 700,000 primary school pupils in the five states. He explained that other states of the federation, except two, are now being processed for the payment of N30, 000 monthly stipends to 200,000 graduates, who are the N-Power beneficiaries. The Federal Government’s Social Investment Programmes (SIP), according to him, are proceeding at different stages of implementation. He…
Femi Jacobs might be the darling of several women, but he definitely is not ready to quit bachelorhood any time soon. In an interview he granted to Punch, the movie star revealed that marriage was not on the cards for him as he doesn’t think much of romance. ‘I love the concept of love even though I am not a champion for it; I am not a champion for romance. If I was one, I would have been married at the age of 25. But I believe it is part of life and culture to an extent,’ he said. That…
Like they say, all good things must come to an end. For some of these artistes, the end has come for a few years. Because we really like them and we don’t want the good memories we have of them to be tainted, we’ll like to respectfully recommend them for retirement. There’s no shame in that, is there? When 9ice decided to enter politics, he knew what he was doing. Being involved in politics is likely to pay him (pun unintended) more than music. 2019 is around the corner. Now is the time to start campaigning o! When was the…
Aderemi Ogunpitan is a television producer with nearly three decades of production experience under his belt. He also has produced a reality show, Peak Talent Hunt and he bared his mind on the issue of South Africa being the choice of location for Big Brother Naija: Opinions have been divided between those who see nothing wrong with it; who point out the poor infrastructure of Nigeria, and incessant power cuts, unprofessional crews and potential lack of quality production had the decision been made to film in Nigeria. Those that take this position say it’s strictly a business decision, based on…
On Saturday, January 22, 2017, Peter Okoye and Lola Omotayo’s daughter, Aliona turned four. The celebrity couple threw their little girl a princess-themed birthday bash for her friends and family members. We all agreed a long time ago that Peter is one proud and committed dad and that has not changed in anyway, as these photos prove. The 34-year-old father who is one of the duo sensation, P Square is married to Lola Omotayo and are both blessed with two kids, Cameron and Aliona.
Former Nigerian BBA contestant cum actress, Beverly Osu, over the weekend shared a controversial video with her girlfriend, Maria, a Namibian ex-BBA contestant. The duo in the short clip shared a brief kiss and some touchy-feely moments fueling lesbianism reports. We then reached out to the actress’ manager who refused to say anything concerning the short clip. When asked what the brief video means and who Maria is to Beverly, her reply was, “I can’t answer this kind of questions on my client’s behalf. Thank you” Meanwhile, Nigerian actor Uche Maduagwu also accused the actress of being a lesbian. The…
Hausa top actress, Rahama Sadau, who was recently expelled from the Hausa film industry, Kannywood is currently in Mecca. The actress took the holy pilgrimage with her family members. She wrote alongside the shots, “On the authority of Adiyy ibn Hatim (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: I was with the Messenger of Allah (may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and there came to him two men: one of them was complaining of penury (being very poor), while the other was complaining of brigandry (robbery). The Messenger of Allah (may the blessings and peace…
Raheem Sterling should have thrown himself to the ground to win a penalty in Manchester City’s 2-2 draw with Tottenham Hotspur, according to teammate Yaya Toure. The England forward was pushed by Spurs defender Kyle Walker as he raced in on goal in the second half of Saturday’s clash — but tried to stay on his feet and fluffed his shot straight at Hugo Lloris. Referee Andre Marriner refused to point to the spot and City’s frustration was compounded just over a minute later when Son Heung-Min hit Tottenham’s equaliser. Walker admitted to BT Sport after the game that he…
Real Madrid did not play well in Saturday’s 2-1 win at home against Malaga, but the welcome three points saw them secure the virtual “winter champions” crown at the midway point of the season. The hero, as so often before, was Sergio Ramos, who converted two Toni Kroos set pieces (the second one from an offside position) to just about see off a Malaga team missing nine senior squad members for various reasons but who still came close to nicking an unlikely point. The Bernabeu crowd grumbled and groaned their way through the 90 minutes, occasionally venting their frustration with…
Barcelona swept to a 4-0 win at Eibar on Sunday with goals from Denis Suarez, Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar. Luis Enrique’s side are now back within two points of league leaders Real Madrid — who have a game in hand — and are just one point behind second-placed Sevilla. Luis Enrique has spoken frequently about the need to go on a winning run and it looks like his players have responded. Barca have now won four games in a row and as an added bonus have kept three consecutive clean sheets. There was also a first goal for…
David Luiz shrugged off the recent attention surrounding his Chelsea teammate Diego Costa, telling SFR Sport that “people talk a lot without knowing anything.” Costa marked his return to the side on Sunday with the opening goal in the Blues’ 2-0 victory over Hull City, having been left out of Jan. 14’s 3-0 win at Leicester City after a training ground row over a back injury, amid links with move to Chinese Super League club Tianjin Quanjian. The Spain international gave his manager Antonio Conte a warm handshake after being substituted late on in Sunday’s win against the Tigers, which…
Jurgen Klopp has said Liverpool are keen to reinforce the squad in the January window but have been frustrated by clubs’ refusal to do business in mid-season. Klopp has previously played down the idea of January arrivals and said English football is “obsessed” with transfers, but he acknowledged after Saturday’s surprise 3-2 loss to Swansea City that the club have been looking at potential additions. “I understand it is absolutely normal that people ask whether we should have brought players in,” he told reporters. “The situation is yes, on the one side pretty simple, but on the other hand it…