Brazil and Barcelona forward Neymar was planning to pay tribute to Chapecoense’s football team had he scored against Real Madrid during last Saturday’s Clasico at the Camp Nou. A plane carrying members of Chapecoense’s football team crashed last week on its way to the club’s first-leg match of the Copa Sudamericana final against Colombia’s Atletico Nacional, killing 71 people in total, 19 of which were Chapecoense players. And the Blaugrana star told Gol on Thursday that he was going to reveal a shirt of the tiny Brazilian club from underneath his uniform upon scoring a goal against Barca’s arch-rivals last…
Author: David Folami
Tottenham will not be drawn into any mind games with “colourful character” Jose Mourinho ahead of Sunday’s match at Old Trafford, according to Jan Vertonghen. A win would put Tottenham nine points clear of United and further damage Mourinho’s hopes of the title, or even a top-four finish, in his first season in Manchester. The outspoken Portuguese is renowned for playing mind games before big matches, and he has previous described Vertonghen as “a disgrace” and “a cheat” after the Belgian clashed with Chelsea’s Fernando Torres in 2013, when Mourinho managed the Blues. The Spurs defender, who is expected to…
Southampton crashed out of Group K after drawing 1-1 at home against Hapoel Be’er Sheva. The Saints appeared to be on their way to the goalless draw they needed to advance before Oriol Romeu gave the ball away after 78 minutes and Maor Bar Buzaglo’s low shot from 20 yards stunned the St Mary’s crowd. That meant the Premier League club needed to win to advance, and after Virgil van Dijk’s stoppage-time equaliser had offered a lifeline, Maya Yoshida’s header went just wide of the post in the final added minute. Though they finished level on level eight points, Hapoel…
Jose Mourinho praised Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s determination to prove himself at Manchester United after the Armenian midfielder scored a stunning solo goal in the Europa League win over Zorya Luhansk. Mkhitaryan, a former Shakhtar Donetsk player, marked his return to Ukraine with his first goal for United after weaving through the Zorya defence early in the second half. Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s late goal secured a 2-0 win to confirm United’s progression into Monday’s draw for the round of 32. And with Mkhitaryan showing his quality after initially struggling to impress following his summer arrival from Borussia Dortmund, Mourinho said the player’s resilience…
Henrikh Mkhitaryan scored his first goal for Manchester United to secure their spot in the Europa League knockout stage with a 2-0 win at Zorya Luhansk on Thursday. A draw would have been enough to see United through on a frozen pitch in Ukraine, but often out-of-favour Mkhitaryan’s goal three minutes after half-time put them ahead before Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s late second. Marcos Rojo won the ball back in midfield and Mkhitaryan ran at the heart of the Zorya defence, weaving his way into the penalty area before firing home the coolest of low finishes. And United’s victory was confirmed when…
Former Chairman of the House of Representatives Appropriation Committee, Abdulmumin Jibrin has said that he is being witch-hunted by Speaker, Yakubu Dogara. Jibrin made the comment after the House Committee on Ethics and Privileges invited him to appear before it. Read his statement below: I have read from several media platforms that Speaker Yakubu Dogara using the House of Representatives has invited me to appear yet again before the ethics committee over two fresh petitions on absenteeism and poor Representation of my constituency and operating a foreign account. These petitions came from a nonentity sponsored by Speaker Dogara that calls…
Manchester United now have two months to get their season back on track without the distraction of Thursday night football in the Europa League, having cemented their place in the Round of 32 with a 2-0 win. Henrikh Mkhitaryan opened the scoring with a driving run and clever bit of skill before coolly slotting beyond goalkeeper Igor Levchenko; Zlatan Ibrahimovic sealed things late with a calm finish after a superb pass by Paul Pogba. But if their season is to start now, it must begin with a victory at home to Tottenham on Sunday, though it’s a pity their preparations…
Popular actor and model, Gbenro Ajibade is a year older today. His beautiful wife, Osas Ighodaro-Ajibade took to Instagram to shower him with words of love. “My husband, my lover, my friend!!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY @gbenroajibade … I love you beyond what words can say and I pray for nothing but more blessings, great health and prosperity over your life!,” she wrote. Adding, “Your first Birthday as Papa G and God will continue to enrich you more than you can ever imagine. HAPPIEST BIRTHDAY EVER now and always! I Love Bennie #HappyBirthdayGbenro #GodisGreat.” Recall that the couple welcomed their little girl…
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, says the Federal Government is under reported because its information handlers are not using the right and current communication channels. The minister said this on Thursday in Abuja at a meeting with Resident Information Officers (RIOs) in the ministry on the forthcoming launch of an information dissemination App. He said that: “government is doing so much, yet people keep saying they do not know because we are not communicating through the right channel.” The minister said that gone were the days when the newspapers and the television stations were the major…
Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana has called on the Federal Government not to go ahead with their plan to get a $30b. Falana also told the Buhari led administration to focus their attention on recovering Nigeria’s looted funds abroad. The human rights lawyer said the media should join in the campaign to compel the Federal Government to bring back the funds which corrupt officials took out of the country. He said “The Financial Times Magazine of the UK wrote an editorial asking the UK Government to release not less than one billion pounds instead of giving us aid; the Nigerian…
The Senate has postponed the screening of Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu to December 15. Magu was meant to be screened, and possibly confirmed, on Thursday, December 8, but the Senate was unable to carry out the exercise. According to Deputy Senate Leader, Bala Na’Allah, the exercise was postponed to enable senators who were not in attendance to participate. Magu is yet to be confirmed despite being appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari in November 2015.
Today is the birthday of Nollywood actor Gbenro Ajibade. Gbenro Ajibade broke into the limelight when he played the role of Soji in the MNET soap opera ‘Tinsel.’ He has grown beyond the TV series, as he is now one of the most promising actors in Nollywood. He recently featured in Juliet Ibrahim’s new flick ‘Shattered Romance’. The birthday boy also took to Instagram to wish himself lots of love. “3 DECADES AGO, I REALIZED A FEW YEARS PRIOR TO THAT DAY THE UNIVERSE DECIDED IT COULD NO LONGER GO ON WITHOUT ME. TODAY I PROMISE TO KEEP CALM AND…
Funke Akindele has probably decked her halls already and is ready for Christmas! The “Jenifa” star was spotted in her Santa outfit at a school in Lagos. “#jenifathesantamama stopped by to see the children,” she captioned the photo shared to her 2.5million followers. Meanwhile, A new sitcom from Akindele aka Jenifa, “Jenifa in London” continues the exploits of Jenifa and Adaku, as the two travel to London in search of greener pastures. It follows the trouble that comes with being an illegal immigrant. The Sitcom also stars Bikiyah Graham Douglas, Onyibo Princess, Bunmi Mojekwu, Lolo 1 among others. Funke Akindele…
Tiwa Savage’s husband, Tiwa Svage’s hubby, Tee Billz has just revealed he’s undergoing therapy. Although not your usual therapy sessions, it seems the artiste manager is using exercise as a form of therapy. He took to Instagram today, December 8, 2016, sharing a photo of himself at the gym with the caption, “Morning Therapy.” Another photo shared on December 7, 2016, had the inscription, “Some days it’s not about health or muscle building. It’s just therapy.” He also shared this inspiring post on suicidal and emotionally down people. “Black people have been suffering with deep rooted real pride and DHO…
Barcelona have invited Brazilian side Chapecoense to play in next summer’s Joan Gamper Trophy match at Camp Nou in homage to the 71 people who died in an airplane accident in Colombia last month. Nineteen of Chapecoense’s players were among those killed in the crash just outside Medellin as the side travelled to the first of two matches against Atletico Nacional to determine the champion of the Copa Sudamericana. CONMEBOL, the South America governing body for football, have since officially given the Copa Sudamericana title to Chapecoense, at the request of Atletico Nacional. Barca have not yet confirmed a date…
Arsene Wenger has ruled out the possibility of selling Mesut Ozil or Alexis Sanchez next summer if they do not sign new contracts, saying they will remain at Arsenal for the remainder of their current deals. The star duo have 18 months left on their contracts but are stalling at signing extensions as negotiations over their salaries continue to drag on. The Daily Telegraph reported on Thursday that Arsenal would be willing to listen to offers for Ozil next summer if he does not lower his wage demands, while the Daily Mirror claims Chelsea are lining up a move for…
Marcus Rashford has said that playing out wide for Manchester United, rather than as a striker, will help him in the long run. Rashford, 19, regularly played as a striker in his breakthrough campaign last season under former United manager Louis van Gaal, scoring eight goals in 18 appearances in all competitions. Van Gaal’s successor Jose Mourinho has regularly shunted him out to the wing though, meaning that Rashford has not been as prolific this season, scoring four in 19 in all competitions. “Playing out wide is going to help me to develop to play in the middle in the…
President Muhammadu Buhari has commiserated with the families of three National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members, who died recently during the 2016 Batch ‘B’ Orientation Programme in three states. A statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday by the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, described the demise of the youth corps members as “shocking, sad and unfortunate”. President Buhari expressed regret that they died in the course of answering the national call to serve. He urged the families, friends and associates of the deceased to be consoled by the knowledge that their “loved ones paid the…
Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) says Nigeria has lost $200 billion of investments due to its inability to legislate the proposed reform in oil and gas. PENGASSAN said this in a position paper sent to the Chairman and members of the Senate Joint Committee in the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill in Abuja. The union came out with the position paper signed on Wednesday in Lagos at the end of a seven-man committee meeting headed by Chika Onuegbu. According to the paper, the country loses 15 billion dollars annually in investments withheld or diverted by investors.…
The Federal High Court on Wednesday in Abuja struck out defamation suit filed by President Muhammadu Buhari against DAAR Communications, operators of the African Independent Television (AIT). Justice John Tsoho held that the court was compelled to strike out the suit because it appeared abandoned. According to him, no representations from the parties have been entered since the matter was assigned to the court. “This is against the rules of court, all opportunities given for the plaintiff and the respondents to put life in the suit have failed. The suit is hereby struck out,’’ Tsoho said. Buahari had filed the…