Monday, September 10, 2018

Serena Williams fined $17k for three code violations during her confrontation with the umpire at the US Open Final

Serena Williams fined $17k for three code violations during her confrontation with the umpire at the US Open Final





Serena Williams?fined $17k for three code violations during her confrontation with the umpire at the US Open Final
Serena Williams has been fined a total of $17,000 for her three code violations during the US Open final against Naomi Osaka.

The six-time US Open winner was docked $10,000 for “verbal abuse” of chair umpire Carlos Ramos by the tournament referee’s office on Sunday. Additionally, she has been fined $4,000 for being warned for coaching and $3,000 for breaking her racket. The money comes out of her prize money of $1.85 million as the runner-up. Williams lost 6-2, 6-4 to Osaka in Saturday’s final.

Under Article III, Section P, “verbal abuse” is defined as “a statement about an official, opponent, sponsor, spectator or other person that implies dishonesty or is derogatory, insulting or otherwise abusive.”

The section says a player is subject to a fine up to $20,000 for each violation. There are separate categories for coaching (“Communications of any kind, audible or visible, between a player and a coach may be construed as coaching”) and for abuse of rackets or equipment.

In the controversial final, Serena was adjudged to have recieved coaching from Patrick Mouratoglou; a claim he accepted before being penalised a point later for racket abuse. She was then docked a game for verbal abuse after seven games in the second set. During the verbal tirade, Serena had called Ramos a ‘cheat’ and a ‘thief

Wednesday, November 16, 2016

Lionel Messi bans himself and teammates from talking to media after allegations that his teammate smoked marijuana

Argentina Lionel Messi helped Argentina in their world cup qualifier match against Colombia with a 3-0 win on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning but that's not what caught the headlines-the Barcelona star organized a march with his Argentine teammates to the post match press conference and informed the journalists present that he and his  teammates will not give any briefings, interviews or communication to the media till further notice.
Messi's shocking revelation comes after Argentine press accused Argentine striker Ezequiel Lavezzi of smoking marijuana at the Argentina training ground the day before the Colombia match coupled with numerous reports blasting Messi for not performing for his country the way he performs for his club side.

Messi said in a statement: 
“Hello, good evening, excuse me, but this is a small one. We prefer to look at the face before giving a statement. As you know, because we know everything here, we are telling you that we will not talk to the press anymore, obviously you should know why. Accusations and lack of respect and we never said anything, but this goes beyond everything. The accusation to Pocho (Lavezzi) is very serious and if we do not go out to say anything it is believed that it is true”. 
“We’d rather cut this one down. We are very sorry that it has to be this way, but we have no other choice. We know that many of you are not in the game of lacking respect, you can lose, win, play good or bad, but get into one’s life … If we did not cut it today we would not cut it anymore.We know that most of you guys don't play that game of disrespect. We can be criticised if we lose, or win, or if we play well or badly. But this is getting into personal lives. 
'If we don't put a stop to it now, we'll never stop it.' It’s very serious and we are here, and we will not get into that game. We are going to keep saying a million things. That said. A million thanks”.

An Argentine Journalist Gabriel Anello of Radio Mitre, tweeted that Lavezzi was left out of the Argentina squad for the Colombia match due to his use of Marijuana but the player has denied the claims saying he'll take the journalist and media house to court.

Anello Tweeted: 
“Lavezzi is left off the substitutes’ bench tomorrow because of the joint that was smoked last night in the camp? I’m asking… just asking.”
Lavezzi responded:
 “I have hereby communicate that I’m going to initiate legal action against Gabriel Anello for his false declarations against my person, for the serious damage that they have caused to my family and in my work.”

Friday, November 11, 2016

'VP Yemi Osinbajo's visit has motivated us against Algeria' - defiant Mikel Obi says ahead of WC qualifier

Ahead of the Russia 2018 World cup qualifier against Algeria on Saturday in Uyo, team captain John Mikel Obi has stated clearly that he and his mates will do everything within their power to defeat Algeria.

According to the Chelsea midfielder who hasn't played for his club side this season, the players are aware of the game’s importance and would do everything to ensure victory in Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, saying they are even more motivated following the visit of Vice president Yemi Osinbajo at their training base this week.
“We all know what this match means, why we have to give everything,” Mikel told NFF's official website.
“Yes, we started the race well by winning in Zambia, but we have to approach this match even more seriously. The Algerians will come with determination and they will play hard, but we will play harder. The World Cup is the biggest stage; every player wants to be there. I am happy we have such a young and energetic team.
“ I played at the World Cup in Brazil in 2014 but there are many of these players who have never been to the World Cup. They want to be there.Three points; that is what we will be playing for. We are committed and the visit of the Vice President (Professor Yemi Osinbajo) to our training in Abuja has motivated us even more.

'Mikel Obi is being punished at Chelsea because he played at Olympics'- Coach Gernot Rohr blasts Chelsea coach

John Mikel Obi has not played a single minute of football this season for Chelsea, with Chelsea coach Antonio Conte preferring the likes of Kante, Nemanja Matic, Cesc Fabregas, Loftus Cheek and Oscar to Mikel Obi.

Nigeria's chief technical adviser Gernot Rohr has blasted Chelsea coach, saying he is punishing the Nigerian captain for missing out on pre-season preparations with Chelsea as he helped Nigeria's U-23 team win the Rio 2016 Olympics football Bronze medal.
"I can never punish a player because he played for his country, and I am not happy with what is happening to Mikel at his club because he is my captain.' Rohr told journalists at a press conference in Uyo.

”The only thing that has not made Mikel to play for Chelsea this season is because he went with the U23 team that won bronze at the 2016 Olympics games, and that is why he is being punished” the Super Eagles coach said.

''He has not featured under the new coach, Conte, since then. But I will still build  the   team playing against Algeria around him because he is in a  good shape and fit for the match.

“Besides, Mikel is committed to the national team and he is a source of motivation to the other players.”

Thursday, October 27, 2016

Super Falcons train with coaches Florence Omagbemi & Perpetual Nkwocha ahead of African Women's Cup

The Super Falcons trained on Wednesday and Thursday morning with head coach Florence Omagbemi & assistant coach Perpetual Nkwocha ahead of the 12th edition of the African Women's Cup Of Nations tournament holding in Cameroon next month.

The players worked on tactical drills, defensive set-up, heading and goalkeeping drills. More photos after the cut.








Photo-credit : @NGSuper_Falcons

Friday, October 7, 2016

Neymar bloodied and battered as he's forced off field in World Cup qualifier (photos)

Barcelona footballer Neymar was on the receiving end of an elbow from a Bolivian defender on Thursday night which left him bloodied and bruised as he was forced off the field in Brazil's 5-0 win over Bolivia. Medics rushed onto the field to try to stop the streaming of blood from Neymar, but the gash proved too big, forcing the talisman to withdraw from the match.


Thursday, October 6, 2016

Alex Iwobi set for new £50,000 per week contract at Arsenal, his second pay rise this year

Arsenal football club of England is set to reward Nigerian football starlet Alex Iwobi for his wonderful performances this season with a new bumper pay rise, his second pay rise this year.

20 year old Alex Iwobi only signed a new £25,000-a-week contract in April, but having established himself as a vital part of Arsene Wenger’s starting 11, he's in line for another extension which will represent his new status in the club’s first-team plans as the club prepare to hand him a £50,000 per week contract.

Iwobi, who is with the Super Eagles of Nigeria in Abuja ahead of World Cup qualifier against Zambia, should also expect another pay rise if his startling form continues. Congrats to him!

Source: DailyMail

9 premier league football legends share 1260 goals between them in one photo

Thursday, October 6, 2016

9 premier league football legends share 1260 goals between them in one photo

Football legends Ryan Giggs, Dion Dublin, Alan Shearer, Jimmy-Floyd Hasselbaink, Matt Le Tissier, Michael Owen, Les Ferdinand, Emile Heskey and Robin van Persie stood posed for the camera as they attended the 21st Legends of football event at the Grosvenor House Hotel, London on Wednesday night to celebrate 25 years of the Premier League. The players have about 1260 EPL goals between them.


Wednesday, October 5, 2016

He's incredible, and works very hard'- Chelsea coach Antonio Conte heaps praise on Victor Moses

New manager of Chelsea Antonio Conte has heaped praise on Nigerian winger Victor Moses saying the Super Eagles player understands his type of football.
Moses, has had a re-awakening of his Chelsea career this season, featuring in most of the games and played well in a wing back role in Chelsea's 2-0 win over Hull. Conte praised the lad saying:

 ''It was a great performance from Victor Moses. Your name isn't important but you have to play my idea of football' Conte said to journalists.
 'For me, Moses played an incredible  game in a defensive situation and offensive situation It's fantastic!' 
'He's working very hard and that's why he deserved to play. He showed me that my choice was right If Moses and Pedro can play in this way, it's fantastic. To have wingers able to do this role (wing-back) is a great option.''

I didn't lack respect for Cristiano Ronaldo but my opinion doesn't change- Xavi restarts feud

Barcelona football icon Xavi Hernandez has reignited his war of words with Real Madrid/Portugal  Cristiano Ronaldo.

It all started when Xavi had an interview on Spanish radio station Cadena Ser where he said Ronaldo was unlucky to play in the same generation as Lionel Messi to which Ronaldo didn't take lightly blasting Xavi as a player who never won the Ballon D'or.


On Tuesday, speaking at a press conference at the Aspire4Sports event in Amsterdam, Xavi stated that he didn't disrespect Ronaldo with his comments but still stood by what he said;
'I stand by what I said. The problem for Cristiano is that there is another who is pretty much the best player in history. I saw that he didn’t take it well, but I keep thinking the same. What he said to me about the Ballon d’Ors is true [that Xavi hasn’t won one]. I didn’t lack respect, but my opinion doesn’t change. He lacked it for me? What do you think?'
Xavi also admitted that Ronaldo could be the favourite to claim football's top individual prize for a fourth time - although he warned that he will face stern competition.
"Cristiano has the numbers to win this year's Ballon d'Or, having won the Champions League and the Euros,"

Tuesday, October 4, 2016

FIFA president Gianni Infantino suggests changing World cup from 32 teams to 48 teams

Gianni Infantino, president of the World Football's governing body, FIFA has suggested starting up a 48 team World Cup tournament, saying adding 16 more teams to the competition would see a playoff round added prior to the group stages of the world cup, with the 16 defeated nations going home after playing just one match.
According to Infantino, the proposal could take effect from the 2026 World Cup.
"The idea is that 16 teams would qualify directly to the group stage and the other 32 would play in a preliminary phase, in the country where the World Cup is being played," Infantino told reporters at an event in Bogota, Colombia on Tuesday. 
"They would play for the remaining 16 places. It means we continue with a normal World Cup for 32 teams, but 48 teams go to the party."
One of Infantino's proposals while coming out for election  was to increase the number of teams competing in FIFA World Cups to 40 after Qatar 2022.
"These are ideas to find the best solution. We will debate them this month and we will decide everything by 2017," Infantino continued. 
"They are ideas which we put forward to see which one is the best. FIFA's idea is to develop football in the whole world, and the World Cup is the biggest event there is," he said. "It's more than a competition, it's a social event."

20 Super Eagles players train in Abuja with Gernot Rohr ahead of WC qualifier (photos)

The Nigeria Football Federation has confirmed that 20 Super Eagles players partook in this morning's training session at the Practice pitch of the National Stadium, Abuja with Technical adviser Gernot Roht, his assistants and coach Salisu Yusuf.


Some of the players confirmed to be in camp include Jamiu Alimi, Uche Agbo, Chisom Egbuchulam, Nosa Igiebor, Kenneth Omeruo, William Troost Ekong, Ikechukwu Ezenwa, Musa Muhammed, Carl Ikeme, Elderson Echiejile, Emmanuel Daniel and Ogenyi Onazi. More photos after the cut.




Monday, October 3, 2016

John Mikel Obi denies being injured ahead of Word Cup qualifier against Zambia

Chelsea and Super Eagles of Nigeria player John Mikel Obi has denied rumours making the rounds that he is injured, insisting he's fully fit and ready to help the Super Eagles start their World Cup 2018 qualifying campaign on a good start.
The crunch clash will take place at the Levy Nwanawasa Stadium against the Chipolopolo of Zambia and Nigeria will be hoping to start the qualifying campaign with a win.
“I don’t know where the story about my being injured came from. I have no injury. Mikel told the team’s Administrator, Dayo Enebi Achor according to www.theNFF.com 
''All the other players and myself are fit and ready and we are determined to start the World Cup race on a winning note,” 
Nigeria will face Zambia on Sunday, 9th October 2016.

Sunday, October 2, 2016

Man City lose, Chelsea 2-0 Hull city, Man U 1-1 Stoke (All the weekend's EPL results)

Man City lost for the first time this season to Tottenham 0-2 while two goals from Willian and Diego Costa were enough for a resilient and determined Chelsea side to defeat Hull city at the KCOM Stadium. Leroy Fer's 8th minute goal wasn't enough for Swansea as a spirited Liverpool side scored two goals through Roberto Firmino and James Milner. 
Manchester United despite having all the possesion in the world and being the better team over 90 mins still played out a 1-1 draw with Stoke City at Old Trafford after goals from Anthony Martial and Joe Allen.
See the other results of EPL matches this weekend and more photos after the cut.
Tottenham 2-0 Man City
Swansea City 1 - 2 Liverpool
 Hull City 0 - 2 Chelsea
 Sunderland 1 - 1 West Bromwich Albion
 Watford 2 - 2 AFC Bournemouth
 West Ham United 1 - 1 Middlesbrough

Friday, September 30, 2016

Kelechi Iheanacho and Alex Iwobi nominated for UEFA Golden Boy award, become 1st Nigerians to ever be nominated

Super Eagles attackers Alex Iwobi (Arsenal FC) and Kelechi Iheanacho (Manchester City FC) have been nominated for the UEFA Golden Boy award, an award given to the best promising teenage talent in Europe, and by so doing the two players are the first Nigerian players in history to be nominated for the award following their breathtaking performances the last 12 months.
 
The  40-man shortlist for the Golden Boy also includes talented popular youngsters like Dele Alli, Marko Grujic, Lucas Hernandez, Kingsley Coman, Marcus Rashford, Moussa Dembele, Youri Tielemans, Leroy Sane, Renato Sanches, Ousmane Dembele and Gabriel Barbosa among others.
Arsenal's Iwobi has made 17 league appearances and scored twice for the Gunners raking up a large amount of assists while Man City's Iheanacho has scored 10 Premier League goals from just 14 shots on target in 30 appearances.

Thursday, September 29, 2016

Photo: Footballer Cristiano Ronaldo's £15million private jet crashes in Barcelona

Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo's £15 million private jet crashed while trying to land in Barcelona on Monday evening. The plane, a Gulfstream G200 which he bought last year, is sometimes rented out to private clients or companies. The crash happened at El Prat airport.



The plane's landing gear broke on impact, and a runway at the airport was closed. None of the footballer's friends or family was onboard when the crash happened. The pilot was treated for minor injuries, but no one was seriously hurt.

African player of the year Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang thanks Cristiano Ronaldo for making his son's day

Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo put a smile on the face of CAF player of the year Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's son's face after he gifted him his jersey following Borussia Dortmund's 2-2 draw with Real Madrid in the Champions League.

After the match, the player took to his IG page to display his son's delight at receiving a Jersey from the 3 time Ballon D'or winner. See the post after the cut.


Tuesday, September 27, 2016

England coach Sam Allardyce in big trouble after being filmed negotiating £400k deal with reporters posing as agents (video)

The English Football Association is investigating allegations England manager Sam Allardyce used his role as manager to negotiate a £400,000 deal and offer advice on how to "get around" rules on player transfers after the Telegraph released a video last night showing him talking to undercover Telegraph reporters posing as agents from the Far East.

  



Over the course of two meetings which were secretly filmed, Allardyce told the fictitious businessmen that it was “not a problem” to bypass the rules on transfers introduced by the FA in 2008.

Allardyce said he knew of certain agents who were “doing it all the time” and added: “You can still get around it. I mean obviously the big money’s here.”

Allardyce, who as at the time of filming had not even taken charge of his first England game, negotiated a deal with men purporting to represent a Far East company that was hoping to profit from the Premier League’s billion-pound transfer market.

Allardyce will have to explain to the FA whether he was giving an honest account of what happened in the sport or if he was advising the “businessmen” to follow those illegal practices.

In the video, Allardyce also hit out at former England coach Roy Hodgson calling him 'Woy' while also blasting the FA’s  decision to rebuild Wembley as “stupid” 
He also described Gary Neville, Hodgson’s assistant, as “the wrong influence.


Watch the video below...

Floyd Mayweather reflects on his successful career as he shares pics of his luxury home

The Money Man took to Instagram to share a pic of himself surveying his empire as he relaxed in the shade. He wrote:
 ‘At one of my private estates; sitting back, thinking how it's one thing to get there and make it, but the question is... can you maintain it? I had my first fight in 1987 and my professional career started in 1996. I retired before 40 and I'm not even 40.’- More photos after the cut...

Samson Siasia gives NFF two weeks ultimatum to pay him his owed salary

Rio Olympics Bronze winning coach Samson Siasia has given the Nigeria Football Federation a two weeks ultimatum to pay him all his owed salaries or he will sit in the NFF's Abuja office until he's paid. Siasia signed a two year contract with the NFF which ended this summer after he led the Under 23 team to win a Bronze medal at Rio 2016 but complained that he was owed for 5 months and at even one point in time during the Rio Olympics threatened to join his players on a strike.


"I have given them a two-week ultimatum to me pay me or I will sit inside the NFF office in Abuja until I get paid," Siasia told BBC Sports. "The national team is preparing for a World Cup qualifier and to be honest my unhealthy distractions are the last thing they need right now."