Man United/Bournemouth match called off over suspect device

Manchester United’s final Premier League game against Bournemouth on Sunday was  abandoned after a suspect package was found in one of the stands at Old Trafford, Soccernet reports.

The bomb disposal squad was called in and a controlled explosion carried out within the stadium. Greater Manchester Police described it as an “incredibly lifelike explosive device” but added that the “device wasn’t viable.”

Before the controlled explosion took place, Greater Manchester Police assistant chief constable John O’Hare justified the abandonment by saying in a statement, “We don’t make these decisions lightly and we have done this today to ensure the safety of all those attending.’’

The Stretford End and Sir Alex Ferguson Stand were evacuated at around 2.40 p.m. after an announcement was made for security personnel to invoke “operation red code.”

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Fifa president to visit Nigeria

The Nigeria Football Federation on Sunday announced that President of Federation of International Football Associations, Gianni Infantino, will visit Nigeria in June.
A statement issued in Abuja on Sunday by NFF’s Assistant Director of Communications, Ademola Olajire, said that the visit was a fall-out of NFF President, Amaju Pinnick’s recent meeting with Infantino in Mexico.
The statement said that during the visit, the FIFA president would visit President Muhammadu Buhari and also attend the final of the NFF/ZENITH Bank Future Eagles Championship.

“He will also have an evening with Corporate Nigeria and as well as have an interactive session with a horde of African FA Presidents who will also be in Nigeria to receive him,’’ it said.
It added that Infantino believed that Nigeria was a big country and a massive football-playing nation that should help with the new FIFA leadership’s drive to truly develop the game.
Infantino assumed office as head of world’s football governing body after winning election at an extraordinary general congress in Zurich on Feb. 26, 2016.

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AC Milan Sack Sinisa Mihajlovic

Serie A club, AC Milan have sacked Sinisa Mihajlovic, replacing him with youth team coach Cristian Brocchi.
Mihajlovic took over from Filippo Inzaghi back in June and has not lasted 10 months on the job.
AC Milan currently sit sixth on the table and are in the Coppa Italia final, but a fifth consecutive loss sees them 15 points behind Roma.
A statement on the club’s official website read: “Sinisa Mihajlovic has been relieved of his role as AC Milan coach.
“The club would like to thank Mihajlovic for the dedication and hard work carried out this season.”
Mihajlovic’s replacement until the end of the campaign has been confirmed as Brocchi, who had two separate spells as a Rossoneri player from 1994-1998 and 2001-2008 and had been coaching the youth team since 2014.
Brocchi took over that position from Inzaghi, but will look to avoid his predecessor’s fate when in charge of the first team.
The 40-year-old becomes the fifth coach to take charge of Milan in the past three seasons.

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Arsenal will not stop Alex Iwobi from representing Nigeria in the Olympic games- Arsene Wenger

 

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger says the club will not stop its rising talent, Alex Iwobi, from representing Nigeria at the upcoming Olympic Games this summer. Iwobi has been in very good form for Arsenal, a club he has been with since the age of 7. Wenger unhappy that Iwobi didn’t choose to play for England, where he would have played less and traveled less has reiterated that the club won’t stop the Nigerian attacker from participating in the upcoming Olympics games in Rio, Brazil. FIFA stated in September 2015 that European clubs are not mandated to release players for the Olympic tournament in Rio since it is outside the calendar for international matches, but Arsenal will not stand in Iwobi’s way nonetheless according to Veteran manager Arsene Wenger. “We have to respect his choice. He had the choice between England and Nigeria and in the end he chose Nigeria,” Wenger told Arsenal.com at Thursday’s press conference. “We respect that, and also the possibility that he will go to the Olympic Games, that he will also go to the Africa Cup of Nations and travel a bit more than he would have done here. “We have to respect that.” Arsene also confirmed that the club are in talks to hand Jay Jay Okocha’s nephew a new contract. “We are discussing extending his contract at the moment,” he said. “He’s a real Arsenal person because he’s been here since the age of eight. “He has three years left at the end of the season anyway but we want to keep him here for longer. If there have been some positives in the last few months, it’s how well and how quickly he’s emerged as a player with a good impact.”

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Arsenal releases statement after signing another Nigerian player, Marc Bola

 


Arsenal has signed another Nigerian player, defender Marc Bola, to its team and have handed him a professional contract too. Bola, who is of dual nationalities- England and Nigeria, helped Arsenal’s under-18s to the FA Youth Cup semi-finals this season and is a regular for the club’s under-21s much to the delight of coach Arsene Wenger who gave the go ahead for the club to sign him. Arsenal said on it’s official website: “Everyone at Arsenal looks forward to Marc’s continued development at the club.” “Equally adept on the left or in the heart of defence, the powerful teenager was often called up to the under-21s as cover and he caught the eye with several encouraging performances for Steve Gatting’s side. “The lively defender has shown plenty of promise so far and will be hoping to continue his development by featuring for the under-21s on a more regular basis this term.” Marc Bola tweeted “Pleased on Signing My First Professional Contract At My Dream Club,” he said. Marc Bola joins a growing list of Nigerians already on the club’s chequebook. Alex Iwobi, Chuba Akpom, Kelechi Nwakali, Samuel Chukwueze, Asisat Oshoala, Chiori Johnson and Tolaji Bola are the Nigerians currently in Arsenal FC.

There is love in sharing

There is love in sharing

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Latest Five things Conte must do at Chelsea

 


Chelsea confirmed on Monday that Italy coach Antonio Conte will take charge at Stamford Bridge in time for next season. Here AFP Sports looks at five things the former Juventus boss must focus on to get the troubled Premier League club back on track: Resolve Terry’s future Antonio Conte Antonio Conte Hailed as “captain, leader, legend” on the banner hung by adoring fans at Stamford Bridge, John Terry’s credentials as a Chelsea icon and a major inspiration behind their success are well established, yet Conte will be faced with the thorny problem of potentially ending that two-decade love affair. The 35-year-old defender dropped a bombshell in January when he announced he would be leaving at the end of the season because the club had told him he wouldn’t be given a contract extension. But Chelsea have since insisted Terry’s fate will be decided solely by the new manager, leaving Conte to weigh up the benefits of keeping a figure of Terry’s experience and tenacity to create a smoother transition to the new era, while also pondering whether his fading form and declining influence in a dressing room now populated by younger and less deferential team-mates mean it would be wiser to sever ties with the polarising captain. Rebuild the Eden project Rewind 12 months and Eden Hazard appeared to have the world at his feet as he prepared to accept two Footballer of the Year awards and a Premier League winners’ medal while being feted by Jose Mourinho as the equal of superstars Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Yet less than a year later, Hazard’s form has mysteriously collapsed to such an extent that many Chelsea fans would gladly wave farewell to the 25-year-old Belgian if he is sold in the close-season. Hazard’s perceived sulkiness during this season’s collapse made him a target for Mourinho loyalists, who point out he has scored just twice for Chelsea this term, with his last Premier League goal coming in May 2015, but it is the lethargic nature of his performances that will be most alarming for Conte as he contemplates how to revitalise the talented playmaker. Deal with serial offender Costa Although Diego Costa’s goals fired Chelsea to the Premier League title in his debut season, he was already earning a reputation as the unapologetically snarling face of Jose Mourinho’s combative team and if anything he has become more moody in year two. While his predatory instincts are unquestionable, the Spain striker has lost his focus time and again as he finds himself embroiled in needless flashpoints and, with the arch provocateur Mourinho content to encourage those tendencies, there is a growing belief Costa was allowed to run wild to the detriment of himself and his team. Costa’s bear with a sore head impression has fuelled speculation that he is unhappy in England and would relish a move in the close-season so, with Paris Saint Germain and his old club Atletico Madrid said to be ready to offer him an escape route, Conte must decide whether to cut his losses or try to rehabilitate the serial offender. Change the mood music Regardless of who stays or goes, Conte should already know he must rebuild the squad’s shattered morale after what even the club were forced to admit was “palpable discord” between Mourinho and the players in the final months of his reign. Mourinho’s abrasive approach irritated too many players and their response was to down tools, leading to his sacking in December, but even the more mild mannered Guus Hiddink, installed as interim boss, has only been able to coax a small improvement in the quality of the team’s performances. It will be fascinating to see if Conte changes his own intense style to soothe the fragile Chelsea egos, especially since Andrea Pirlo, who played under him at Juventus, described his compatriot like this: “Even when we’re winning, Conte comes in and hurls (things) against the wall. His words assault you. They crash through the doors of your mind, often quite violently, and settle deep within you.” Make up for a misspent youth With owner Roman Abramovich reportedly unhappy with Chelsea’s failure to produce more homegrown talents despite his huge investment in the youth academy, Conte could earn some early praise from his employer by unearthing a gem or two among the youngsters learning their trade at the club’s leafy Cobham headquarters. Incredibly, John Terry remains the last product of Chelsea’s youth system to successfully establish himself as a first-team regular with the Blues. Conte would be wise to try to make the most of promising midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek, 20, and other more untested but highly-rated youngsters like Charly Musonda, Lewis Baker and Dom Solanke.

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Suarez opens up of battle to adapt to Messi game

Uruguayan star Luis Suarez believes his success in turning around Barcelona’s fortunes in the past two seasons has been thanks to adapting his game to strike partners Lionel Messi and Neymar.

Heading into Saturday’s Classico game against Real Madrid, Suarez is Barca’s top scorer with 43 goals in as many games this season. The Catalan giants remain on course to repeat the La Liga, Champions League and Copa del Rey triumph they won in Suarez’s debut campaign last season.
“La Liga is very different to the Premier League,” said the former Liverpool star who moved to Spain in 2014 in an 82 million euro ($93 million, £65 million) deal on the back of Barca’s first trophyless season for six years.
“Everyone knows that it’s completely different and what you need to do is always be yourself, don’t change, just adapt your movements and a few things FC Barcelona dictate, but the thing I cared about was being a good teammate,” he added.
“I think this is something I achieved from the beginning and one can see all the things we’ve achieved so far,” he declared at the launch of playful animations of Barcelona players, including himself, as part of an official partnership with the appliances company Beko.
Barca lead Real Madrid by 10 points with just eight games remaining ahead of Saturday’s clash, with a Champions League quarter-final against Atletico Madrid and Cup final versus Sevilla to come.
Barca head into El Clasico on a 39-game unbeaten run stretching back to October.
Turkish international Arda Turan has yet to taste defeat in a Barca jersey as he was only cleared to play in January after Barca had served a 12-month ban on registering new players.
And Turan has no doubt that Barca will wrap up a sixth La Liga title in eight seasons in the coming weeks.
“We feel great. We believe we’ll be the champions so we work harder every day; we fight more! I believe we’ll be the champions. We are the best team.”

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