Abroad: Cameroon’s Gaetan Bong claims involved in a racial abuse case

Gaetan bong claimed that West Brom’s Jay Rodriguez racially abused him when his Brighton & Hove Albion visited the Baggies at the Hawthorns on 13 January, 2018. The English striker seemed to have pinched his nose when the two clashed and afterwards Bong approached the referee. Rodriguez still remains defiant on his stance on the allegation and had until today to respond to the Football Association, which would make a decision to hand him a five-match suspension, if he is to be found guilty. Jay has already hired top lawyers to represent his case and we are monitoring the development of the case.

Russia 2018: Former Nigerian coach believes Rohr should have included more local based players in his squad

Gernot Rohr’s decision to include two Nigerian Professional Football League players in his 28 man squad for the upcoming friendlies against Serbia and Poland did not  sit in well with former coach, Austin Eguavoen. Eguavoen believes that the Nigerian coach could have reaped more from the players who reached the final of  2018 African Nations Championship, eventually losing to hosts Morocco.

"I saw the list and it's a good one," he told Complete Sports Nigeria, "but I think there should be more players from the league in his squad."

Players who ply their trade abroad are usually preferred in terms of representing African countries in major tournaments. One of the popular arguments against such decisions, is that team chemistry and passion may be compromised.

PSG Behavior Under Scrutiny

To add salt to the Real Madrid-inflicted wound, the Parisians have now gotten the attention of the UEFA board who are looking to investigate on their compliance with the Financial Fair Play rules and the behavior of their ultras. The cash-rich club have invested a lot in their squad as they spent hundreds of millions to find talent in each position in the pitch and possibly a substitute for each bar those two players in the picture, Rabiot and Kimpembe who have come through their academy. UEFA has made a conscious decision to intervene and analyze their books especially because of their recent deals of Neymar and Mbappe whom they bought in a collective $380 million deal in the summer of 2017. The other issue is about the behavior of their fans who used flares and lasers, blocked the stairways and were terribly organized in their match against Real Madrid. The club has already received penalties before with a section of their ground being closed due to indiscretions. Could they be banned from making any purchases in the coming two transfer windows? Anything is possible in the game of football.

Mahrez Admits Regret For Man City Winter Transfer Saga

The former PFA Player of the Year Winner Riyad Mahrez of Leicester city has finally opened up about his reactions post the Manchester City saga in January this year. The player got angry when his club refused to let him go to Manchester City when the league leaders came calling for his services in the transfer window. The Algeria international immediately stopped training with the first team and was quoted to having said that, “I will not play for them ever again.” Mahrez felt that the club did not do him justice by allowing him his dream move to a massive club that has the opportunity to lift three trophies this season under Pep. His self-imposed exile lasted for a little more than a week as he eventually came to his senses and returned to play for the club that made him the player he is today. He regrets having made that decision of taking some time off because it represented a lack of professionalism which could potentially harm his move to another club in the future. He concedes that it was a bad period for him and that he has now gotten that behind him and if focused on giving his all for Leicester. Who knows what could happen in the summer? He could eventually go to City and increase the competition for Sterling on the right.

Battle of the Struggling

The UEFA Europa League clash between Arsenal and AC Milan on Thursday evening represented the battle of two teams that have pretty much been poor over the course of the season so far. AC Milan, much like Arsenal, has been a giant in their country Italy and their fans have a lot of expectations for the club that used to deliver titles when they had players like Seedorf, Pirlo, Maldini and current coach Genaro Gattuso. Gattuso’s team invested in young players like Andre Silva, Hakan Cahlanoglu, Rodriguez, Bonucci among others who were sought after by big clubs in Europe last summer. To the fans’ disappointment, the club has been underperforming regardless of who plays. The same can be said about the Arsenal side that took pride in beating poor AC Milan 2-0 in the San Siro. It was arguably a miracle for the team to turn up against their counterparts whom they lost 4-0 during the days of Robin van Persie. Last night, Mkhitaryan justified his switch to Arsenal with the opening goal less than 15 minutes into the game. Ramsey scored the other right on the stroke of halftime but all credit must go to Mesut Ozil who was bossing the game in midfield as he assisted both goals. This result does not fool the Arsenal faithful though because they face a mountain to climb if they keep progress in this tournament which is their only hope of UEFA Champions League qualification for next season.

UEFA Takes No Action Against Racism Claim

The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) is the administrative body for association football in the European continent. They highlight the fight against racism and all forms of discrimination in football stadiums in all competitions. Liverpool’s young striker Rhian Brewster believes that racists will take encouragement after UEFA failed to take any action against his claims of racial abuse. The England U17 player claims that he was racially abused in the match against Spartak Moscow, a Russian team that has been involved in several alleged racist incidents in recent years. UEFA could not take any action because they could not find conclusive evidence after investigating the allegations. This is an important issue that needs to be addressed because racism is a toxic disease that should be dealt away with. All people of any race are equal and they sacrifice a lot to make the game of football better. Respect should be given to all.

Messi: Looking Back

It has been 17 years since Lionel Messi started playing in the Infantil B in the Barcelona academy. The club have been celebrating this milestone on social by sharing his old videos when the player was learning how to master the art of football before becoming arguably the best player in football history in present day. The 30-year-old’s arrival at Barcelona from Argentina can never be forgotten as he was signed on a napkin. Many clubs like Arsenal came asking for his services during his youth years because they knew the boy had something special. However, this was not common to the eye that watched the first team which had amazing players like Ronaldinho and Eto’o at the time. It did not take time for him to make a statement when he was eventually handed the opportunity in the first team by Frank Rijkaard who was the coach at the time. He has not looked back ever since. The player has gone on to win a record 5 Ballon d’Ors only matched by goal machine Cristiano Ronaldo. Visit the link to read more on the story. 

Klopp > Mourinho According to Danny Mills

Saturday looks far away for many as analysts get ready for the early Premier League showdown between Manchester United and Liverpool. This is the biggest game in England because of the history of both clubs who have won the most Premier League titles among the rest. Danny Mills, a former Manchester City player, made a pick on who his preferred coach is between Jose Mourinho and Jurgen Klopp who represent Manchester United and Liverpool respectively. His pick was Mourinho because he believes the Portuguese manager has something special that Klopp is yet to achieve. He always backs his players, is tactically astute, and has won a lot of domestic titles and the UEFA Champions League twice with different teams among other things. Klopp, however, has only had success at Dortmund before coming to Liverpool and has a history of losing cup finals. He is still yet to deliver silverware to Anfield.

These views are also shared by current German prodigy Timo Werner who hinted that he would prefer to move to United as opposed to Liverpool. The 22-year-old dreams of playing in the England with some of the best players in the world and is quoted to having said, “I am more Manchester United than Liverpool.” Could it be that the young forward believes that Mourinho is the coach to take him to the next level when he decides to leave German side RB Leipzig? Whilst we wait for that to happen, let us brace ourselves for the biggest match in England which has a lot of traction.

CAF: Liberia’s First Lady, Clar Weah, Named CAF Ambassador for Women Football

"It is a task that I am ready to do because I know the importance of football right from what it did for my husband and now my family." - Clar Weah

It has been quite the week for the Weahs. George Weah’s son, Timothy recently made his debut for PSG in their 2-0 win against Troyes. This was 23 years after his father made his debut for the same club. Now, Clar Weah, the mother of the Liberian first family has been ordained with the task of promoting women’s football at the first CAF symposium for women football in Marrakech, Morocco.

Legends: Jay-Jay Okocha Inducted Into the Bundesliga Hall of Fame

The magician, with feet like Ronaldinho graced the German top flight between 1992-96 where he scored 18 goals and registered 13 assists in 90 games for Eintracht Frankfurt . That’s not what he was mostly known for though, he was a crowd favorite both at home and abroad who will always be remembered to care more about entertaining himself and the fans than putting numbers on the scoresheet. He has now joined the Bundesliga Legends Network, the 11-man legends network that will be flying the Bundesliga flag across the world.

Russia 2018: Only Two Players Based in Nigeria Included in Rohr’s 28 Men Squad

Gernot Rohr’s choices might not positively reflect a lot on home soil but definitely endorses the depth that most people know the Super Eagles have when it comes football. Alex Iwobi, Kelechi Iheanacho, Victor Moses and Wilfried Ndidi are some of the notable names in the Nigerian camp to face Poland and Serbia in friendlies as they prepare for the FIFA World Cup finals in Russia. Only goalkeeper Ikechukwu Ezenwa and the CHAN starman Gabriel Okechukwu are the local players to make this squad. Nigeria will face-off with Croatia, Iceland and Argentina in June finals for a place in the knockout rounds.

AFCON : Morocco Backs Cameroon to Successfully Host the 2019 Tournament

There were doubts as to whether the West African nation would be able to host next year’s AFCON, the first to feature 24 teams, after the CAF President had remarked that they had “work to do.” And now, Cameroon will be happy to learn that Morocco, who are looking forward to land the bid to host 2026 world cup, are fully behind them. This is what the president of the Moroccan Football Federation (FMRF) had to say about the matter at CAF’s first ever symposium for women football:

"We wanted to put an end to rumours making rounds in the media for a while. The FMRF is at the disposal of the Cameroonian federation to make the Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon an African football festival.” - Faouzi Lekjaa
Read more about 2019 here.

Russia 2018 : EPL Based Players Dominate Egypt’s Squad For Friendlies

The Pharaohs’ coach has picked West Brom duo Ali Gabr and Ahmed Hegazi, Ramadan Sobhi (Stoke City), Mohamed Elneny (Arsenal) and of course Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) for the friendlies against Portugal and Greece in preparation for Russia. Other players who made the squad are from other European leagues such as Belgium and Turkey. The coach is expected to add more Egyptian based players in the coming few days

The world cup finals are less than a hundred days away and any crop of players picked for friendlies would probably, more or less, resemble the actual team to compete in the June finals.

Read more on the team selections here.

Tottenham In An Advantageous Position

Coming into the first leg of the Champions League fixture between Juventus and Tottenham,  many of us were surprised to see Tottenham go toe to toe with the Italian Giants. The Bianconeri, are a formidable opponent for any club, seemed to be caught back at times during the eventual 2-2 draw between both teams. With the second leg being held at Wembley in London, one feels that the pendulum is shifting ever so slightly in the Spurs direction. 

Juventus has spent around $140M since the 2017 summer transfer period, and are in a similar position to that of an underachieving PSG. Success is judged differently for both of these clubs, as they sit comfortably atop both of their respective leagues. In the last 5 years, PSG has won 4 out of the 5 Ligue 1 titles in France, absolutely dominating teams with their exquisite play, but with their checkbooks as well. Juventus has won the Series A title 6 years and running, which is a staggering stat that ultimately alters the perspective of a successful campaign for them. With a domestic league championship almost a given for them recently, attention has shifted heavily towards a UEFA Champions League trophy that has evaded them since 1996. An exit at this stage of the tournament would no doubt be catastrophic for Turin club as it was for the Parisians.

Tottenham on the other hand, enter the match without any of the heavy expectation that plagues their opponents. They are in every sense of the word, over-achieving, in not only their progression in the tournament, but also their ability to stay “Top Four” in the English Premier League. This is a feat they have yet to accomplish as a club, and simply cannot be understated given the completion level in the EPL. Since the 1960-1961 Tottenham have yet to win an English League Cup and have nowhere close to the Champions League clout of a Juventus. Tottenham should instead be relishing the opportunity to take a step forward and continue demonstrating to the footballing world that they belong at this level. Read more on Tottenham coach Pochettino thoughts going into the fixture.

Weekend Highlights: Pirates Win the Soweto Derby but Campaign Against Women Abuse Took Center Stage

One of the most anticipated football matches on African soil was dominated by Orlando Pirates, winning 3-1 and keeping them within four points of the leaders, Mamelodi Sundows (PSL’s Man City). However, this time, the headlines were about the women of South Africa. The nation’s major influencers in the form of the most loved beer, Carling Black Label, and the two Soweto giants came together for a post-match group photo in solidarity of the #noexcuse campaign. The message was clear, “whether your team lost a football match or you are just drunk, neither should be an excuse for gender-based violence.” Here at FirstTouch, we couldn't agree more. Read more about Soweto on Supersport.

Real Madrid Qualifies to UCL Quarterfinals

The main man Cristiano Ronaldo was on target as Real Madrid saw out PSG in a 2-1 win in the return leg of the clash away from home. This result means that Paris Saint-Germain have been knocked out of the competition in the round of 16 which defies their ambitious target of going all the way and win the competition. The Parisians have undeniably invested a lot in their club in the summer of 2017 and were hopeful that the team could mount a challenge but they were exposed by Madrid and showed the lack of experience and hunger that is required at this level. Maybe the tale could have been different if Neymar was not injured, but the coach Unai Emery will be left to bemoan his decision to rush the player back to the lineup in that match which he got injured. Cavani had brought the teams on level terms when he scored a deflected goal before Casemiro scored the winner against 10 men when Verratti picked up a second yellow for a silly reaction after failing to win a foul. Madrid have booked a seat in the next round, along with Liverpool who eliminated FC Porto with a 5-0 aggregate on the same night. For more insight on the match, continue reading at Goal.

Pep: "City Have A Lot To learn"

Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola has downplayed reports that his current club have reached the level of Barcelona. These reports have been based on their dominance in the 2017/18 English Premier League where they have swooped teams up with their high pressing and ruthless attacking even when the squad was hampered by injuries. He is adamant that they are different and cannot be compared to his past players at Barcelona because they have achieved a lot more and he is just starting to create his own legacy in England. He insists that his club should be consistent for a decade at least for them to be considered on the same level as Barcelona because they have been on fire and claimed many times in 15 or 20 years with different managers including himself. Read more on Guardiola’s perspective on the matter here.

Guardiola Continues to Protest

Guardiola seems to be the name on everyone’s lips for building a team that is challenging on 2 fronts, having already won the Carabao cup in England. Not often have we heard anything bad about him, save for the traction coming from the tiny ribbon that he wears on the left side of his chest. For those who don’t know, the yellow ribbon represents a strong support for politicians who have been imprisoned in his native Catalonia. Guardiola has accepted a charge from the Football Association in England for wearing it during his teams’ 1-0 FA cup defeat to Wigan. It seems that this charge was not enough as the Manchester City boss has confirmed that he will wear the ribbon again in the UEFA Champions League when his team faces Basel on Wednesday. His actions, by some, have been compared to someone wearing an ISIS badge and this is probably not how Guardiola wanted his message to come across. Is it time for him to find another way of protesting which will not get him into trouble before it is too late? Read more on Pep’s stance here.