Sports

2, July 2022

Poverty Culture: Father of Marc-Vivien Foé, accuses the late footballer’s wife of killing his son ⁰

The dad of late Marc-Vivien Foé was the guest on the TV program “Décryptage” on Friday, July 1, 2022 aired on Vision4 to mark the 19th anniversary of the death of his son, who died on June 26, 2003 at the Gerland stadium in Lyon during the semi-finals of the Confederations Cup against Colombia.

19 years later, the late footballer’s dad, Martin Amougou Foe is still refusing the scientific thesis made public by FIFA medics on the passing of his son and continues to blame the late Foe’s wife, Marie-Louie Foe, of having killed his son.

Speaking on Vision4, Papa Amougou said his son was “poisoned” by his wife through a meal on the eve of the match against Colombia.

“Marc told me that after the game he will divorce her. I swear, God is my witness (…) At midnight, his wife brought him food at the hotel (…) It wasn’t Marc who could be killed like that. When Marc ate he started to vomit and had diarrhea, so we went to call the doctor, who worked all night to treat Marc“, revealed Marc-Vivien’s dad during the TV conversation.

He also did accuse his former daughter-in-law of infidelity towards his son.

By Rita Akana

1, July 2022

Football: Mo Salah signs long-term contract extension with Liverpool FC ⁰

Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah on Friday signed a long-term contract extension, putting an end to a lengthy saga about his future at the Premier League club.

The Egypt international has signed an extension until 2025, with the deal coming after strike partner and Senegal forward Sadio Mane left to join German Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich on a three-year deal last month.

“I feel great and (I am) excited to win trophies with the club. It’s a happy day for everyone,” Salah said in a statement on the club website.

“It takes a little bit of time, I think, to renew, but now everything is done so we just need to focus on what’s next.

“I think you can see in the last five or six years the team was always going (upwards). Last season we were close to winning four, but unfortunately in the last week of the season we lost two trophies.”

Salah scored 23 league goals for Liverpool last season to share the Premier League golden boot with Tottenham Hotspur’s Son Heung-min.

He was named the Professional Footballers’ Association Player of the Year and also took the top honour from the Football Writers’ Association.

The 30-year-old scored 31 goals in all competitions for Liverpool and helped them capture the League Cup and FA Cup. They were beaten 1-0 by Real Madrid in the Champions League final in May.

Salah, who joined the Merseyside outfit from Italian side AS Roma in 2017 and has scored 156 goals in 254 appearances, would have been available to leave them on a free transfer at the end of next season.

He is now expected to lead a new-look front line for Juergen Klopp’s side in the absence of Mane and Divock Origi — who left the club — with Uruguayan forward Darwin Nunez having joined in the close season.

“My message (to the fans) is the players in the team want to give our best next season to try to win all the trophies,” Salah added. “As usual, you stay behind us and give us a big push and I’m sure we are going to win trophies again (together).”

Source: REUTERS

1, July 2022

Football: Inter sign goalkeeper Onana on free transfer ⁰

Inter Milan have signed Cameroon goalkeeper Andre Onana on a free transfer, the Serie A club said on Friday.

The 26-year-old, who declined to extend his contract with Ajax Amsterdam which expired in June, has joined Inter on a five-year deal according to media reports.

“I’m very happy to be part of this great club and this family, which is a great institution. What more can you say about a club that has done it all? Being here is amazing, and we hope to achieve important objectives in the future,” Onana said.

He will compete with Slovenia’s 37-year-old Samir Handanovic, who has been Inter’s first choice since 2012.

Onana, who was banned by European soccer’s governing body UEFA for violating doping rules last year, leaves Ajax having won three Eredivisie titles.

Inter, who lost their Serie A title by finishing second behind AC Milan last season, have already re-signed Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku on a season-long loan from Chelsea and signed Albania midfielder Kristjan Asllani from Empoli.

Source: Reuters

29, June 2022

Football: Lukaku ‘very happy’ as he arrives in Milan ahead of Inter return ⁰

Romelu Lukaku said he was “very happy” to be back after the Belgian international striker arrived in Milan on Wednesday ahead of his return to Inter Milan on loan from Chelsea.

A beaming Lukaku emerged from Linate airport in the early hours of Wednesday morning and gave his short but delighted response to the handful of reporters awaiting his arrival.

The 29-year-old will undergo a medical later in the day before making his long-awaited Inter comeback official.

Chelsea agreed to a reported deal in which Inter will pay an initial eight million euros ($8.42 million) plus a further potential three million euros in bonuses for the loan.

Lukaku will again lead Inter’s attack as they attempt to regain the Serie A title after taking a pay cut — a reported 8.5 million euros for the coming campaign.

Lukaku leaves London after failing to make an impression for a second time at Chelsea, not meeting high expectations following a £97.5 million move from Inter last summer.

He had made himself a fan favourite over two years at Inter after scoring 64 times in 95 games and driving them to their first Serie A title in over a decade, the 2021 Scudetto ending both an 11-year drought and Juventus’ grip on Italian football.

However the financial problems of Inter’s owners the Suning Group, exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic led to coach Antonio Conte leaving the club almost as soon as the title was won.

He claimed the cost cutting required by Inter would have prevented him building the team he wanted to challenge domestically and in Europe.

Lukaku followed Conte out the door after then European champions Chelsea offered a whopping sum which eased some of Inter’s financial issues, and started well on his return to Stamford Bridge.

Coach Thomas Tuchel said “he was the type of guy we were missing” after he netted four times in his first four games, but his next goal didn’t come until early December and injury, Covid-19 and poor form kept him out of the team.

He then infuriated Chelsea fans by conducting an interview with Sky Sport Italia in which he expressed his unhappiness and said he had Inter in his heart and wanted to return.

Those comments also led Inter’s hardcore ultras to say they weren’t interested in having him back, considering his move to Chelsea a betrayal of his claim to love the Milanese club.

They told other fans not to arrive en masse to welcome Lukaku back as he is now “just one of many” after previously being “treated like a king” by supporters.

Lukaku will be critical to coach Simone Inzaghi’s bid to snatch back the league crown from AC Milan after they finished two points behind their local rivals last term.

Source: AFP

22, June 2022

Football: Bayern complete signing of Senegal star Mane from Liverpool ⁰

Bayern Munich confirmed the signing of Sadio Mane from Liverpool on Wednesday, as the Senegal forward signed a three-year deal with the Bundesliga champions.

Bayern have reportedly paid a fee which could rise to 41 million euros ($43 million) for Mane.

The 30-year-old won the Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup and Club World Cup titles during six years on Merseyside.

“My agent told me that there were also enquiries from other clubs, but for me, the feeling was right from the start when Bayern presented their plan with me,” Mane told German daily Bild.

“It was the right club at the right time.

“It is one of the biggest clubs in the world and the team are always fighting for all the titles.”

Mane added he wants to “do everything to make sure I win titles with my teammates”.

Bayern won a 10th straight Bundesliga title last season.

Mane, voted African footballer of the year in 2019, is a versatile attacker who has spent the majority of his career on the wing but can also play through the middle.

His arrival will ease the pain for Bayern if wantaway striker Robert Lewandowski leaves the club, while Serge Gnabry is also stalling over a contract extension.

“Sadio Mane is a global star, who underlines the appeal of Bayern and will increase the attractiveness of the Bundesliga as a whole,” said Bayern president Herbert Hainer.

“Fans come to the stadiums to see unique players like this.”

‘Top international star’

The signing of Mane takes some pressure off Bayern sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic after Lewandowski made it clear he would not extend his contract which expires next year.

Mane netted 120 goals in 269 games for Liverpool.

“In Sadio Mane, a top international star is coming to FC Bayern, who has left his mark on world football,” said Salihamidzic.

“We’re proud to have brought him to Munich.

“The fact that he’s joining FC Bayern shows that our club and he have big aims.”

Mane left Senegal at the age of 19 to join Metz and spent a season in France before joining RB Salzburg, where he learned German.

He switched to the Premier League when he joined Southampton in 2014 and moved to Liverpool two years later.

Mane played leading roles as Liverpool won the 2019 Champions League and ended their 30-year wait for the English league title in 2020.

“It is really strange to no longer be a Liverpool player but I had an unbelievable time,” he told Liverpool’s website. “I am going to be Liverpool’s number one fan forever.”

Mane, Senegal’s record goalscorer, was part of the team which won the Africa Cup of Nations in February, converting the winning penalty in the final shoot-out against Egypt.

Source: AFP

22, June 2022

FECAFOOT moves to clamp down on age cheating ⁰

Cameroon’s football federation has summoned 44 players from eight different clubs for a hearing next month into alleged age or identity cheating, it said in a statement.

They must be accompanied by their club presidents for an investigation to be held in person from July 4-8, the federation said on Monday.

All are suspected of”false titles (cheating on age and/or identity) and complicity”.

”The parties concerned are invited to appear, assisted or not by their counsel, for their hearing,” the statement added, saying those who did not appear would face consequences.

The hearings are a rare effort in Africa to stop age cheating, or identity fraud, which continues to be a major source of concern for the continent’s football.

Accusations of cheating are regularly made, and many of Africa’s international successes in junior tournaments are clouded by allegations of use of over-age players, but there has been little effort to either investigate it or stop it.

Cameroon federation president Samuel Eto’o, former Cameroon, Barcelona and Inter Milan striker, promised reform of the game in the central African country when he was elected in December.

Source: Reuters

21, June 2022

UEFA rubbish French minister’s Champions League fake tickets number ⁰

A senior UEFA representative said on Tuesday he did not believe French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin’s claims about the number of fake tickets in circulation during the chaotic scenes before last month’s Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid.

Following the game on May 28, Darmanin claimed that between 30,000 and 40,000 fake tickets in the hands of Liverpool fans was the cause of problems as police funnelled thousands of fans into overcrowded underpasses around the stadium, leading to the kick-off being delayed by more than 30 minutes.

Martin Kallen, general director of UEFA Events, who are in charge of the body’s commercial events, told a hearing at the French Senate, which is investigating the incidents, the figure was much lower.

“We know there were around 2,600 tickets taken to the turnstiles which were fake,” Kellen said.

“But a lot of tickets didn’t get to the turnstiles… How many? We don’t know, we can’t really verify.

“We don’t believe it’s the number mentioned in France, which was more or less 30,000 to 40,000,” he added.

Keller said other factors caused the problems at the Stade de France, in mayhem that saw the French police use tear gas at close range, even against children.

“It wasn’t only the paper tickets that created chaos in front of the gates,” he said.

“The reasons are numerous: a transport strike, poor reaction from stewards, police, there were delinquents and an extremely big flux of people in front of the stadium without a ticket or with fake tickets,” he added.

Liverpool and Real Madrid supporters are due to give evidence to the Senate later in the day.

UEFA have launched its own probe, overseen by a former Portuguese education and sports minister, which Kellen said would present its conclusions in September.

“We thought the investigation would take a minimum two to three months,” Kallen said.

“As it’s starting now, we could say sometime in September (for the results),” he added.

Real Madrid won the final 1-0 to become European champions for the 14th time.

Source: AFP

20, June 2022

Eto’o handed 22-month suspended prison sentence after defrauding Spanish government of £3.3m ⁰

SAMUEL ETO’O has received a 22-month suspended prison sentence after pleading guilty to tax fraud.

The former Chelsea star, 41, admits defrauding the Public Treasury of £3.3million between 2006 and 2009, while he was at Barcelona.

Samuel Eto’o received a two-year suspended sentence for tax evasion

Eto’o previously blamed his agent Jose Maria Mesalles for the tax evasion – who has also been given a one-year suspended prison sentence.

In court, Eto’o referred to Mesalles as a father figure, saying: “I admit the facts and I will pay, but let it be known that I was a child then and that I always did what my father asked me to do.”

Eto’o has partially repaid the fee he owes and has been ordered to pay a further £1.5m in fines, and Mesalles £776,000.

The Cameroonian failed to pay tax on the income he received from the transfer of his image rights from Puma to Barcelona between 2006 and 2009.

Instead, he taxed the image rights through two companies, one of which was based abroad in Hungary – so did not pay the full amount of Spanish tax required.

And Eto’o previously argued Mesalles was responsible as he looked after his finances.

Mesalles has previous form for fraud and was convicted on criminal charges of tax fraud, swindling and embezzlement after Eto’o brought a civil case against him.

The judge also ruled Mesalles had to pay Eto’o £15.4m in damages – but it was never paid.

Eto’o had a very successful period at the Nou Camp between 2004- 2009, scoring 130 goals in 199 games.

He won the Champions League twice and LaLiga three times. Eto’o was also named the African Player of the Year in 2004 and 2005.

Source: The Sun

19, June 2022

Boxing: Usyk-Joshua heavyweight rematch set for August 20 in Saudi Arabia ⁰

World heavyweight boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk will defend his titles in a rematch with Britain’s Anthony Joshua in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on August 20, promoters announced Sunday.

Ukraine’s Usyk defeated then WBA, IBF and WBO champion Joshua by a unanimous decision in London in September last year.

“Champion Oleksandr Usyk will put his IBF, WBA, WBO and IBO world titles on the line against Anthony Joshua in the coastal city of Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on Saturday August 20,” said a statement issued by promoters Matchroom Boxing.

No sooner had Usyk defeated Joshua 117-112, 116-112 and 115-113 on the judges’ scorecards in London then a rematch clause was activated.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, however, placed a question mark over when former undisputed cruiserweight champion Usyk would be back in the ring.

The 35-year-old returned to Ukraine to fight for his country but was given special exemption from military duty in order to prepare for this bout.

“I have a goal, with the help of the Lord I will complete my mission!”, said Usyk in Sunday’s statement from Matchroom.

Joshua, 32, has made changes to his coaching staff as he bids to be crowned world heavyweight champion for a third time.

Rob McCracken, the trainer who oversaw 2012 Olympic champion Joshua’s rise from the amateur ranks, is no longer a member of the team, with Robert Garcia added to the corner to work alongside the already-installed Angel Fernandez.

August’s fight will be Joshua’s second bout in Saudi Arabia after he regained his world titles with a points win over Andy Ruiz Jr in Riyadh in December 2019.

Joshua labelled his recent career as a “roller-coaster”, adding: “Fighting championship level back to back has had its pros and cons, but I decide every day to get stronger, to learn from my experiences and grow.

“A happy fighter is a dangerous fighter and I am the happiest and most motivated I have been.”

Source: AFP

16, June 2022

Eto’o rejecting Matip is a sign of pride which could cost Lions at the World Cup ⁰

FECAFOOT president Samuel Eto’o has reportedly refused centre-back Joel Matip an opportunity to come out of retirement and represent Cameroon at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

Matip retired from international duties in 2017 subtly citing the chaos in the Cameroon football federation (FECAFOOT) as his main reason.

Five years on, Fecafoot is now led by Samuel Eto’o, the legendary Cameroonian striker with the chaos mostly subsided and his beloved country Qatar-bound for the World Cup.

Joel Matip has now reportedly tried to unretired in a bid to be available for the showpiece which Eto’o has vehemently blocked but is that decision in the best interest of Cameroon or a show of pride which could cost the Indomitable Lions?

The Liverpool defender was one of the few high-profile players in the Cameroon national team at the time of his retirement and his decision to leave them high and dry was selfish even if justified. It appears that Matip left when the going got rough and is now trying to return now that it’s good again, that’s certainly how Eto’o sees it.

Joel Matip’s desire to rejoin the Indomitable lions is mostly self-serving but so is Samuel Eto’o’s decision to block the 30-year-old defender.

What is best for Cameroon?

The truth is, despite Matip’s dodgy intentions, his presence in the national team will do Cameroon more good than harm and that conclusion should be enough for Samuel Eto’o.

Matip was Cameroon’s best defender when he retired in 2017 and has since developed into one of the best centre-backs in the world, a solid rock at the back for Liverpool.

There’s no other real reason for Cameroon to not want him in the World Cup squad other than pride, albeit justifiable pride but still pride nonetheless which can only lead to a fall.

Cameroon will play against Serbia, Switzerland and Brazil in the group stage in Qatar, all teams with world-class players but will somehow not be competing with their only player of that level.

Matip was a part of the last Cameroon World Cup squad in 2014 where they also played against Brazil who were the host nation, his experience is invaluable.

In summary, Eto’o is right to feel how he does about Matip but in his position of power, the bigger picture should be the highest consideration and Cameroonian football should be his number one priority.

But right now it seems his pride and ego supersedes the need to take the strongest possible Cameroon squad to the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

Source: Pulse Nigeria