Ribery keeps Bayern Munich fans guessing
January 6, 2010
French international Franck Ribery has hinted he could make amends to fans and chiefs at Bayern Munich, left frustrated by his string of injuries, by seeking a contract extension with the club.
“Why not?” Ribery told the media when asked if he would consider extending his contract past 2011 when it expires.
Ribery, who is in Dubai on a team training camp, said however he wants his case settled before the start of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa this June.
“It’s me who will decide. We’ll sit around the table and come up with a solution but whatever it is it has to be settled before the World Cup.”
Fans of the German giants, however, may not be getting their hopes up.
The highly-valued midfielder has been a target of top clubs since producing some scintillating performances for Bayern last season, notably Real Madrid, who failed to sign him last summer.
Bayern bosses have recently denied rumours they will cash in on Ribery next summer by selling him to the Spanish giants.
According to Bayern’s sporting director, Christoph Nerlinger, talks will begin in the coming weeks.
“We want to keep Franck, but we have to come to an arrangement that is a win-win situation for both parties,” he said.
“What matters most is that he gets back to playing regularly.”
Ribery has been out of action since October 3 due to injury, a fact that Bild newspaper was keen to highlight Wednesday with a full page detailing Ribery’s injury setbacks entitled “The French Patient – episode 601″.
After suffering blisters on his foot in the summer, he was then sidelined with knee tendinitis. He was due to return in mid-December but then suffered an ankle injury in training.
Bayern return to Bundesliga action against Hoffenheim on January 15, but Ribery – who has played only six of 17 league matches all season – is still uncertain.
BERLIN (AFP)
Tags: ankle injury, Bayern, bayern munich, berlin, chiefs, Christoph Nerlinger, contract extension, Dubai, franck ribery, french international, Hoffenheim, knee tendinitis, midfielder, real madrid, setbacks, South Africa, target, top clubs, training camp, world cup fansRelated posts
Muslim side spurns gay football challenge
October 6, 2009
A gay football club in a Paris suburb have protested to local league chiefs after being snubbed for a scheduled match by a fellow league side.
Paris Foot Gay (PFG) were set to play fellow Creteil side Bebel, who are composed of mainly Muslim players, but the evening before the match Bebel cried off.
PFG said they received an e-mail from Bebel which said they could not honour the match because it was “against their principles”.
“Sorry, but because of the name of your team and in keeping with the principles of the team, which is a team of practising Muslims, we cannot play against you,” said the e-mail, according to PFG’s co-founder and current president Pascal Brethes.
It added: “Our convictions are stronger than a game of football. Sorry to have informed you so late.”
PFG believe the decision was “homophobic”, and have threatened to press charges “if Bebel continue to carry on like this”, according to Brethes.
He said his team was a haven for all kinds of races and also welcomed non-gay players, and he believes Bebel’s decision contravenes laws governing racism and homophobia.
“We (PFG) are first and foremost an association which is against homophobia in football,” he said, adding the the club had “heterosexuals, blacks, whites, north Africans, and several different religions.”
But an unnamed representative from Creteil Bebel said in a local radio interview they would not back down.
“We’re sorry if anyone feels insulted. (But) as a Muslim I still have the right to decide not to play because I don’t agree with their philosophy,” said.
CRETEIL, France (AFP)
Tags: bebel, chiefs, co founder, creteil france, e mail, football challenge, football club, France, game of football, Gay, gay players, honour, local league, muslim side, muslims, north africans, PARIS, paris suburb, Pascal Brethes, pfg, racism, radio interviewRelated posts
Milner rejects Croat kicking allegations
September 2, 2009
England winger James Milner has ruled out conspiracy theories that Croatia midfielder Luka Modric was deliberately injured ahead of a crucial World Cup qualifier at Wembley next week.
Croatia FA chiefs are frustrated that key midfielder Modric broke a leg in a tackle with Birmingham’s Lee Bowyer just 10 days before a match against England that could decide the World Cup fate of both teams.
They already have bitter memories of how key striker Eduardo also suffered a broken leg playing against the same opposition for Arsenal in February 2008 and Croatia FA supremo Vlatko Markovic on Tuesday said: “First Eduardo, now Luka Modric. This is horrible. I can only ask myself if it was really an accident.
“I’m close to thinking it was done to us deliberately before the England match. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw what happened to Luka. He is irreplaceable.”
But Markovic’s claims have been quickly dismissed in Fabio Capello’s camp with Aston Villa star Milner, speaking at England’s team hotel in Watford, saying: “It’s just bad luck, that’s the way it is in football.
“People are making more of it but obviously it’s nonsense. We just go out there and try and play as well as we can. You don’t look at who you are tackling or anything like that when you are on the field.
“You don’t think ‘oh it’s him, I’ll go in hard on him.’ You just are just trying to win the ball.”
Far from being frightened of Modric, Milner would have relished facing the playmaker on September 9.
He added: “You’ve seen what a good player Modric has been since he’s been in England, he makes Tottenham tick and it’s the same at international level. He will be a big miss.
“But as players you want to play in the best competitions in the world against the best players.
“In a way it helps you if the best players aren?t there but also you want to challenge them. That?s what being a professional in any sport is all about.”
Milner, 23, is hoping to make a big impact against Croatia and also against Slovenia in a friendly at Wembley on Saturday, having finally made his debut in the recent draw in Holland after winning a record 46 caps at Under 21 level.
He showed great potential as a youngster, becoming the Premier League?s youngest ever goalscorer at the age 16 years and 309 days – just three months after Wayne Rooney had set the previous record.
But his progress has always been slower in comparison to the Manchester United striker.
He said: “That goal put me on the map but Wayne came through at a very similar time and progressed very quickly at a very similar age. In a way, he took a lot of limelight off me, which helped massively. If that had not happened, I would probably have had more attention than I had.
“I am very grateful to him! When you look at how well he dealt with it, it just shows what a strong character he is and what a fantastic player. But now I feel ready for it to be my turn.”
Milner has certainly waited a long time for his international breakthrough and perhaps it should come as no surprise that it happened after he moved to Aston Villa and left behind the trauma of crisis clubs Newcastle and Leeds.
The winger, who has astonishingly played under 12 different managers already in his career, said: “Hopefully this could be the first season in my whole career when I start and finish with the same manager. Believe it not that?s never happened before.
“I am not making excuses but that hasn’t helped. As a young player coming through, you need that stability.
“Now I am lucky enough to be at a club with some good, young English talent and some great experienced players as well. I am working for a great manager with a great track record in Martin O?Neill.”
WATFORD, England (AFP)
Tags: aston villa, bad luck, Birmingham, bitter memories, chiefs, competitions, conspiracy theories, croatia, Eduardo, England, fabio capello, fate, Holland, James Milner, Lee Bowyer, LEEDS, Manchester, markovic, Martin, midfielder, Neill, NEWCASTLE, nonsense, opposition, playmaker, premier league, september 9, team hotel, watford, Wayne, wayne rooney, Wembley, winger, world cup qualifierRelated posts
French mayor shows spitting red card
August 26, 2009
In a bid to halt the spread of swine flu, the mayor of a small French town banned spitting on Tuesday and wrote to football chiefs to demand that footballers who spit be sent off.
“On this day, I issue a decree that henceforth in my district spitting on a public thoroughfare will be banned,” declared Christophe Rouillon, mayor of the town of Coulaines, near Le Mans in northern France.
France had considered itself spared the worst of the A(H1N1) flu pandemic until this week, when an outbreak in French Polynesia and a change in the method of counting cases put the issue back on the front page.
Going beyond the ban on public expectoration by his own constituents, Rouillon also wrote a letter to Michel Platini, the French head of European football’s governing body UEFA, demanding that players set a better example.
“One spitting incident should be punished with a yellow card, and repeat offenders should be shown a red card,” he suggested.
LE MANS, France (AFP)
Tags: body uefa, chiefs, constituents, expectoration, flu, flu pandemic, footballers, france france, french head, french polynesia, french town, governing body, le mans france, northern france, outbreak, public thoroughfare, repeat offenders, swine flu, yellow cardRelated posts
Iraq to build ´Sport City´ for 2012 Gulf Cup
July 4, 2009
BAGHDAD (AFP) – Iraq is to construct a “Sport City” in the southern oil hub of Basra to host the Gulf Cup at the end of 2012, government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said on Saturday.
“The council of ministers, on the recommendation of the minister for youth and Sports freed up 446 million dollars to build a 146 hectare modern complex inspired by the architectural style of Basra,” he said in a statement.
In January 2009, Gulf football chiefs accepted Iraq’s request to host the 21st edition of the tournament.
Youth and sports ministry spokesman Assifa Moussa said the complex would consist of a 65,000 capacity main stadium, a 10,000 seat arena and four smaller training stadiums, each with 400 seats.
A sporting village consisting of eight buildings each housing 16 apartments will also be built under the project, led by an Iraqi company working in association with two US firms, Moussa added.
Tags: Ali, apartments, architectural style, Assifa, baghdad, basra, chiefs, council of ministers, dabbagh, government spokesman, gulf football, hub, Iraq, million dollars, ministry spokesman, moussa, seat arena, sport city, sports ministry, stadiums, The Gulf, U.S., village, World CupRelated posts
League orders inqury into Saints´ accounts
April 8, 2009
LONDON (AFP) – English Football League chiefs have ordered an independent probe into the accounts of Championship strugglers Southampton before deciding whether the club should face a 10-point penalty.
Last week the south coast side’s parent company, Southampton Leisure Holdings (SLH) called in the administrators.
League rules, designed to encourage sound financial management of the clubs in the three divisions below the lucrative Premier League, state that if a side goes into administration it will be docked 10 points.
But Saints insist there is a difference between SLH and the football club itself which means they should avoid a punishment that has already been handed out to the likes of Rotherham and Luton this season.
“The League Board has instructed its legal advisors to commission an independent forensic accountancy report in order to clarify the legal and financial position of the club, as a matter of urgency,” a League statement, issued after their board meeting here on Tuesday, said.
“The Board will reconvene once that report is available.”
Mark Fry, the joint administrator of SLH, said in response: “Subject to the scope of the report we welcome the Football League’s initiative in commissioning an independent report into the legal and financial position of the club ahead of any decision being made on the possibility of a 10-point deduction.
“In our view this indicates the situation will be reviewed thoroughly and independently ahead of any decision made. We are confident of a successful outcome because in our view no rules have been breached.”
Southampton, second-bottom in the Championship, may well be relegated to the third tier of English football by conventional means. But a 10 points deduction would seal their fate.
The potentially tricky scenario for the League is if they find in Southampton’s favour or impose a 10-point penalty ahead of the start of next season with the Saints having saved themselves from the drop.
That could spark a challenge from clubs who are also facing relegation into League One while a deduction, which would damage Saints’s prospect of finding a new buyer, might lead to legal action from the Hampshire side.
Southampton’s financial plight is largely due to the costs incurred in building a new 30,000-seat stadium, St Mary’s, which have proved unmanageable in the aftermath of the club’s 2005 relegation from the Premier League.
Written by: AFP
Tags: board meeting, chiefs, english football league, English Premier League, fate, favour, financial position, football club, independent probe, independent report, london, Luton, Mark Fry, parent company, premier league, rotherham, saints, scope, slh, sound financial management, south coast, Southampton, St Mary, urgencyRelated posts
Platini to visit Poland and Ukraine 2012 chiefs
March 26, 2009
COPENHAGEN (AFP) – UEFA president Michel Platini will visit Poland and the Ukraine on April 15 and 16 to meet officials organising the troubled 2012 European Championships.
"This visit is important because I will bring with me the top UEFA directors so that we can get a precise idea of what’s happening in Poland and the Ukraine," explained Platini during a press conference here on Wednesday at the end of UEFA’s 33rd Ordinary Congress.
"We’ll spend one day in each country to listen to the presentations of the local organising committees on stadia, cities and infrastructures," he added.
"We’re doing this because there’s a steering committee that will discuss everything at the beginning of May and I’d prefer to have seen the host cities in order to see the progress that is being made on the stadia and the cities."
Regarding the preparation work, the former France international said that "the situation at the organisational level is not easy for Poland and the Ukraine, and it’s not easy for UEFA either".
"But these two countries are working thoroughly and UEFA is also doing everything it can to take things forward," he insisted.
Poland and the Ukraine were a surprise choice to host the tournament and have since been dogged by concerns about their ability to meet their commitments regarding the construction of stadia and the creation of transport and hotel infrastructures.
Written by: AFP
Tags: Championships, chiefs, commitments, congress, copenhagen, European, France, france international, host cities, infrastructures, michel platini, organisational level, organising committees, Poland, precise idea, quot quot, steering committee, surprise choice, uefa, ukraine, World CupRelated posts
Bid chiefs coy over Twickenham as World Cup venue
February 21, 2009
LONDON (AFP) – England’s football World Cup bid team have refused to rule out reports that Twickenham – the home of English rugby union – could be used as a host venue if they win the right to stage the 2018 tournament.
Twickenham has been talked of as one of the grounds that might be used if the English bid is successful because of its’ 82,000 capacity and London location.
But the RFU and local residents have yet to be approached about the possibility of putting Twickenham – which has never staged a major football game – on the list of potential grounds.
English bid chief executive Andy Anson knows South Africa have until March next year to decide their venues and a bid spokesman said; "The process to identify host cities and stadia has only just begun and no decisions on venues are required until much later in the process
"We will obviously be considering all the options available to us so we can present the best possible scenario to FIFA at the appropriate time."
England are one of the early front-runners to host the event but Spain and Portugal are putting together a combined bid, while Australia are also among the favourites in an 11-strong field.
Written by: AFP
Tags: AFP, anson, Australia, chiefs, cup venue, decisions, England, English Premier League, english rugby union, favourites, football game, football world cup, front runners, host cities, host venue, london location, portugal, South Africa, Spain, spokesman, World CupRelated posts
Pull of Milan tempts Beckham away from Galaxy orbit
February 5, 2009
GLASGOW (AFP) – David Beckham has pleaded with LA Galaxy chiefs to release him from his contract with the US Major League Soccer side and let him turn his loan move to Italian giants AC Milan into a permanent deal.
Initially derided as a publicity stunt for a player whose off-field celebrity has overshadowed his football ability in recent years, Beckham’s move to the San Siro has sparked a renaissance in the England midfielder’s career.
And staying with the Rossoneri, who’ve made no secret of their wish to hang on to the 33-year-old former Manchester United and Real Madrid playmaker, would undoubtedly do more for Beckham’s hopes of appearing for England in the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa than a return to the west coast of America.
However, as things stand, Beckham is due to head back to Los Angeles when his loan move expires on March 9.
But Beckham, after playing in the first-half of Milan’s 2-2 friendly draw with Rangers here at Ibrox on Wednesday, made no secret of where his heart lay.
"At the moment my lawyers are not talking to the Galaxy but I have expressed my desire to stay at AC Milan now and it’s just down to Milan and Galaxy to come to an agreement," he said.
"I have enjoyed my time here (at Milan). I knew I would enjoy it but I didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I have."
Beckham, 33, has been in fine form since arriving at the San Siro, scoring twice for Milan to help the club into second place in Italy’s Serie A behind city rivals Inter.
"I’ve expressed my desire to stay here for a while but at the moment I’m still a Galaxy player," Beckham said. "I respect the Galaxy and everything they have done for me. They have always been great to me."
Nevertheless, he added: "But I hope they can come to an agreement and it’s down to the clubs now. At this point it’s out of my hands. I’ve said what my feelings are to both clubs.
"To be given the chance again to play at this level at my age is pretty incredible and I’ve enjoyed it so much I would like to continue it. I think people have seen the way I’ve been since playing at this level again.
"It’s nothing against the MLS and the football over there, because it’s a game that will grow but it will take quite a few years.
"I’m still confident that will happen eventually, but I want to have a chance of being involved in 2010 and I believe my best chance of doing so is to remain here."
With perhaps one eye on next week’s international friendly away to Spain, where Beckham could equal Bobby Moore’s England record of 108 caps for an outfielder, the dead-ball expert rarely broke sweat before being substituted at half-time.
Instead it was the Brazil duo of Kaka and Peto who scored for the visitors after DaMarcus Beasley, himself a former MLS player, put Rangers ahead.
Sasa Papac’s late equaliser ensured parity for the Gers.
Beasley gave Rangers the lead in the 65th minute when the US international sped past two Milan defenders before beating Dida from ten yards out.
That lead lasted just five minutes before Pato equalised.
The Brazilian wonder kid, only on the pitch for a minute, had an easy task in netting from six yards after the ball broke across the goalmouth.
Kaka, who had replaced Ronaldinho on the hour mark, put Milan in front after 78 minutes.
The former world player of the year, who recently turned down what would have been a world record transfer to English Premier League big-spenders Manchester City, held off Steven Davis’s challenge before firing a low shot into the bottom corner from the edge of the box.
Rangers were soon level when left-back Papac scored only his second goal for the club in the 83rd minute after good work from Aaron Niguez.
Written by: AFP
Tags: ac milan, AFP, chiefs, city rivals, David Beckham, galaxy player, giants, Glasgow, la galaxy, Major League Soccer, manchester united, midfielder, MLS, playmaker, publicity stunt, real madrid, renaissance, rossoneri, san siro, Serie A, west coast of america, world cup finalsRelated posts
Barcelona look to cash in and sell Henry
February 4, 2009
MADRID (AFP) – Barcelona striker Thierry Henry could be offloaded at the end of the season, despite his great form, in a bid to boost the Spanish giants’ coffers, Spanish sports daily AS claimed Wednesday.
The 31-year-old France international is under contract with Barcelona until 2011 but AS said that Nou Camp chiefs want to cash in by selling the former Arsenal striker at the end of this season.
Barcelona coach Josep Guardiola is said to be a big fan of Henry, however the report claims the club has already identified two possible replacements in Frank Ribery of Bayern Munich or Yoann Gourcuff of Bordeaux.
Henry signed with Barcelona from English Premier League side Arsenal in June 2007 in a deal worth 24 million euros (35 million dollars).
Written by:
Tags: AFP, arsenal, Barcelona, bayern munich, Bordeaux, chiefs, coach, coffers, English Premier League, france international, frank ribery, giants, josep guardiola, LA Liga, Ligue 1, MADRID, million dollars, replacements, spanish sports, striker, thierry henry, yoann gourcuffRelated posts
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