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Showing posts from March, 2020

Coronavirus: With handshakes, fans, and abundant buckwheat, Belarus plays on

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Still hungry for your football fix? Belarus was only too happy to oblige on Friday. From India to Israel, Serbia to Slovenia, broadcasters availed themselves of a rare chance to show live football, but nobody outside the former Soviet republic needed a 60-inch screen to realise the bigger picture. Without context, there was little to distinguish Friday's match between Torpedo Zhodino and Belshina in the Belarusian Premier League . The hosts won 1-0, a scrappy 50th-minute goal settling a so-so match in the second round of the championship. Yet while large parts of Europe hunkered down, self-isolating, working from home, avoiding the neighbours, fearing the supermarket trip, in Belarus it was handshakes, high fives and hugs all round. Torpedo published a batch of anti-epidemic rules for supporters before the game, advising those over 65 and anybody with fever or signs of respiratory illness to stay away. Advising, though, rather than ordering. All under-16s had to be

Ex-Barca goalkeeper, Rustu Recber, tested positive for coronavirus

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As revealed by his wife Isil,  Rustu Recber , has tested positive for coronavirus and hospitalized in a Turkish hospital. The great Turkish goalkeeper, Rustu, went on a three-year loan to Barcelona during his club career, but he actually spent much of his career at Fenerbahce. Rustu only appeared for Barca seven times in 2003-04 season, and retired in 2012 at the age of 39 with 120 appearances for his national team. The 46-year-old's wife Isil posted on her Instagram page on Saturday to inform fans of her husband's diagnosis. Rustu's wife informed fans through Instagram that the 46-year-old goalkeeper had tested positive for the coronavirus, saying: "I would like to give you more positive news while sharing the truth in the most transparent way, but I'm sorry to say that my husband Rustu is hospitalised with the diagnosis of COVID-19," "We are shocked by the rapid symptoms that developed suddenly when everything was normal. These are cri

Facts You Didn’t Know about Paulo Dybala

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There are many famous people in the list of COVID-19 patients. In football world we also have had a lot of cases, including Mikel Arteta, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Daniele Rugani, and many more. It was just two days ago when we heard that two more famous soccer players have been added to the list. The two were Paulo Dybala , Juventus forward, and Milan’s technical director, Paolo Maldini, whom many of us know as one of the greatest defenders in the world ever. But what do we know about these famous players and their professional lives? There is no doubt that we may have some information, but do we know everything? Not for sure. That’s why we have decided to take a closer look at Paulo Dybala’s life in this article today. Are you ready to know more? If yes, then let’s keep on. Facts you should know about the new Coronavirus patient, Paulo Dybala You may know that Dybala is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for Serie A club Juventus and the Argentina na

Liverpool fan Sean Cox returns home almost two years after attack

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Liverpool fan Sean Cox has returned home almost two years after suffering life-changing injuries as a result of an attack outside Anfield. The father-of-three was assaulted prior to the Champions League semi-final fixture against Roma in April 2018. AS Roma fan, Simone Mastrelli, was jailed for three and a half years in February 2019 after entering a guilty plea to unlawfully and maliciously inflicting grievous bodily harm. Cox was left in a coma with serious brain injuries and underwent extensive rehabilitation. A Facebook post from his wife Martina confirmed he had returned to his family home in County Meath. "This is a day we as a family have been looking forward to for a long time," she wrote. "While Sean still has a long road to travel, having him home with us is an incredibly important step as we come together as a family unit again. "I can't thank enough those who have helped Sean along the way over the past two years. Without a doubt

Coronavirus: Euro 2021 and UEFA's other big decisions - what do they mean?

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UEFA convened a conference call featuring its major stakeholders on Tuesday to map out European football's response to the coronavirus crisis. The governing body's 55 member associations, the European Club Association, European Leagues and the international players' union Fifpro were all represented. Rescheduling flagship tournaments such as Euro 2020, the Champions League and the Europa League were key matters to address, along with domestic scheduling concerns. Here, we look at the key decisions taken and what the ramifications might be. EURO 2020 BECOMES EURO 2021 European club football entered a continent-wide shutdown across its major leagues over the past week, making the completion of 2019-20 competitions on schedule a virtual impossibility. These circumstances made moving the European Championship an obvious course of action and Euro 2020 has been put back 12 months to 2021, where it will occupy the same June-July timeslot. The format for the co

Cavani, Ibrahimovic and football's 2020 free agents facing contract limbo amid coronavirus chaos

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The coronavirus crisis continues to challenge decision-makers in football's corridors of power and could soon leave some of the game's biggest clubs facing contract conundrums. Manchester United, Milan and Paris Saint-Germain are among the major European outfits who are due to farewell high-profile players when free agency comes into force on June 30. Domestic leagues across the world appear increasingly likely to run beyond that deadline, meaning sides up and down the divisions could be forced to renegotiate deals beyond the typical expiry date. It remains to be seen how governing bodies will approach the unfamiliar territory but Edinson Cavani, Mario Gotze and Zlatan Ibrahimovic will be watching closely like dozens more across Europe's top five leagues. These are the stars and solid supporting cast members whose contract situations are worth monitoring in England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain. LaLiga Athletic Bilbao: Aritz Aduriz (retiring), Benat, Mike

Top richest football clubs around the world in 2020

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We all know that money in not everything, but is very important with no doubt. In soccer world, nothing is different as if there’s no money, then the team cannot have decent players, coaches, training facilities and stadium. It is good to know that the richest football clubs of 2020 had a 7% increase in revenue from last year, with the Top 10 generating a combined total of €6billion.  It also has to be mentioned that many teams have tried to gain their spot in the list for this year, while some have lost their own. One of the most important one in this case is the famous Premier League team, Arsenal. The Gunners have been known as one of the richest teams in the league all through these years, but they have dropped back from 6th place in 2018 to 9th in 2019 and are now out of the top 10 list for the first time in many years. This is while Barcelona have overtaken Real Madrid to bec+ome the world’s richest football club, according to Deloitte’s Football Money League. In the f

How has coronavirus affected football world so far?

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Dear reader, the following list is updated on a daily basis. Stay tuned! March 14, 2020 Premier League season put on hold until April 3 due to coronavirus worries All Premier League and English Football League matches have been postponed at least until April 3 after club officials met on Friday (March 13, 2020). March 14, 2020 Bundesliga fixtures are postponed due to growing fears over coronavirus Bundesliga fixtures scheduled for this weekend were all postponed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The growing number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 has led to Serie A, LaLiga, Ligue 1 and the Premier League suspension. March 13, 2020 Four Sampdoria players were tested positive for coronavirus Sampdoria confirmed that four players in their first-team, plus one of the club's medical staff, were tested positive for COVID-19. March 13, 2020 Barcelona cancelled their first-team training as recommended by RFEF  Barcelona suspended all first-team act