FOOTBALL - The African Mirror

Mar

14

2024

Cameroon suspend player over alleged identity fraud and face Cup of Nations ban

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CAMEROON have suspended a player they took to the Africa Cup of Nations in the Ivory Coast earlier this year for allegedly falsifying his name and date of birth, which could see them face a future ban from the tournament. The Cameroon federation FECAFOOT on Monday named Wilfried Nathan Douala among 62 players suspended from the league over administrative irregularities, mostly double identity and age cheating. There was considerable surprise ahead of January's Cup of Nations finals, where Cameroon went out in the second round when coach Rigobert Song picked the 17-year-old Douala, an unheralded player from second-division club Victoria…

Mar

13

2024

By The African Mirror

Ivory Coast Cup of Nations hero Haller to miss next two friendlies

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IVORY Coast’s Africa Cup of Nations hero Sebastien Haller will miss his country’s next two internationals this month because of injury, new coach Emerse Fae said as he named his squad for friendlies against Benin and Uruguay. Haller, who resurrected his career at Borussia Dortmund after testicular cancer, scored the winner for the Ivorians as they beat Nigeria 2-1 in last month’s final in Abidjan. He had missed the early stage of the tournament in the Ivory Coast because of an ankle injury but recovered to score two vital goals including the winner in the final as the hosts claimed the title…

Mar

12

2024

By The African Mirror

Premier League talking points

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TALKING points from the weekend's Premier League games: GUARDIOLA SHOWS RUTHLESS TOUCH AS DE BRUYNE HOOKED When Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne was substituted after 69 minutes of a rip-roaring contest at Anfield with the game locked at 1-1 and the top spot up for grabs there was widespread surprise, not least from the Belgian playmaker. De Bruyne, a key component of five Premier League title triumphs, was not impressed and made his feelings known to manager Pep Guardiola who sent on the more defensively-minded Mateo Kovacic. City hung on for the draw in the face of a Liverpool onslaught,…

Mar

12

2024

By The African Mirror

Talking points from European soccer

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Talking points from the weekend in European soccer leagues: FRANCE NICE IN A RUT Nice's promising start to the season feels like a distant memory as they extended their winless streak to six league matches with a 2-1 loss to Montpellier on Friday. Manager Francesco Farioli admitted it was a difficult time for the club, which seemed unstoppable just four months ago. "The efforts the players put in to keep the team at the top of the table for six months required a lot of physical and mental energy," he said. With Nice in sixth place and 16 points behind…

Mar

08

2024

By The African Mirror

Liverpool’s Klopp urges caution as Salah returns to training after injury

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LIVERPOOL boss Juergen Klopp said they wanted to be careful with Mohamed Salah after the forward returned to training following a hamstring injury ahead of Thursday's Europa League tie against Sparta Prague. Salah's return provides a timely boost for Klopp's Premier League leaders ahead of their last-16, first-leg clash in Prague and Sunday's meeting with league champions Manchester City at Anfield. "Mo Salah has travelled with us, he's trained for two days and is full of energy," the German manager told reporters. "We want to be careful, but this is a super intense period of the season. We want to…

Mar

08

2024

By The African Mirror

Real Madrid boss Ancelotti ‘calm’ about tax fraud accusations

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REAL Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti said he was calm about accusations he avoided 1 million euros ($1.09 million) in taxes on image rights revenues while he was at the club in 2014 and 2015. A Spanish prosecutor is seeking a prison term of four years and nine months for Ancelotti. In a statement on Wednesday, the prosecutor said that although the Italian coach was a resident in Spain for tax purposes at the time and filed his tax returns there, he had omitted the income earned through his image rights - 4.2 million euros ($4.58 million) in total. "It's an old…

Mar

07

2024

By The African Mirror

Mbappe, Cameroon-born French superstar has no problem with coach

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KYLIAN Mbappe said he has "no problems" with manager Luis Enrique after playing the full 90 minutes for Paris St Germain for the first time since February 14, the forward scoring both goals in their 2-1 Champions League win at Real Sociedad. The France captain, who scored either side of half-time to help PSG reach the quarter-finals for the first time since 2021, informed the Ligue 1 club last month that he would leave them as a free agent at the end of the season. Mbappe came off the bench in a 2-0 win over Nantes last month and was substituted in…

Mar

05

2024

By The African Mirror

Former German FA bosses go on trial over 2006 World Cup payment

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FORMER German Football Association (DFB) presidents Theo Zwanziger and Wolfgang Niersbach went on trial along with a former secretary general on Monday, accused of tax evasion in connection with the 2006 World Cup hosted by Germany. At the heart of this case which has dragged on through the legal system for years and has also included several other separate investigations, including a DFB-commissioned one, is a payment of 6.7 million euros ($7.27 million) linked to a 2006 World Cup-related event that never took place. Niersbach, who resigned as DFB president in 2015 as a result of the affair, his predecessor…

Mar

03

2024

By The African Mirror

Nigeria coach Peseiro leaves at end of contract

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NIGERIA'S Portuguese coach Jose Peseiro said that he had left the job only weeks after taking the team to the Africa Cup of Nations final. He announced on X, formerly Twitter, confirming the end of his contract with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF). “Yesterday, we concluded our contract with the NFF. It was a pride and honour to coach the Super Eagles. It has been 22 months of immense dedication, sacrifice, emotion, and enormous enthusiasm. We feel a sense of fulfilment,” he wrote. Peseiro took Nigeria to the Cup of Nations final for the first time since 2013 but they…

Mar

03

2024

By The African Mirror

Late Okafor strike earns Milan 1-0 win at eight-man Lazio

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A late goal by forward Noah Okafor earned AC Milan a 1-0 win at Lazio in Serie A on Friday after a chaotic end to the game in which the hosts were reduced to eight men in stoppage time. Milan, who ended their winless run of three games across all competitions, sit third in the league standings on 56 points. They are one point adrift of second-placed Juventus who travel to Napoli on Sunday and 13 behind leaders Inter Milan, who host Genoa on Monday. "In the last away matches we had conceded too many goals, being punished at the…