Record signing Miguel Almiron impressed on his full debut as yer actual Keith Telly Topping's beloved (though unsellable) Newcastle United eased past ten-man Huddersfield Town to move four points clear of the Premier League relegation zone. After The Magpies missed several chances in the first half, striker Salomon Rondon swept in the opener fifty nine seconds into the second period. Ayoze Perez drilled in the second ten minutes later although Paraguay forward Almiron could not add the goal that his display deserved. Huddersfield, who stay marooned at the bottom of the table, had skipper Tommy Smith sent off after twenty minutes for a high tackle on Almiron. Newcastle recorded their third successive Premier League win at St James' Park - for the first time since last April - to move up to fourteenth place in the Premier League. United boss Rafael Benitez's only gripe may be that they should have won by a more convincing margin against a Huddersfield side which managed but one shot on target in the ninety minutes. Newcastle's Kenedy and Sean Longstaff both hit the woodwork in the final half-hour, while Huddersfield goalkeeper Jonas Lossl produced some superb saves as the home side peppered the away goal with twenty nine shots. Town have lost all four of their matches under new manager Jan Siewert and remain fourteen points adrift of safety.
John Motson has personally apologised to the Millwall striker Tom Elliott after describing him as 'big, black and brave' on TalkSport. All of which are, one could suggest, factually accurate statements so it's difficult to see what Motty has actually felt he needed to apologise for. The seventy three-year-old broadcaster, who came out of retirement last summer to join TalkSport after fifty years with the BBC, made his remarks before Millwall’s FA Cup fifth-round win at AFC Wimbledon on Saturday. TalkSport has said it has treated the incident 'very seriously' and has removed the broadcast from its website. Elliott is according to some smear of no importance at the Gruniad Morning Star, 'understood to have acknowledged the private apology from Motson and to be keen to draw a line under the matter.' Unlikely, seemingly, the Gruniad Morning Star itself. TalkSport, responding to a story first reported by the Daily Scum Mail, said: 'We reviewed a live commentary by John Motson and decided to remove it from replay. TalkSport and all of its broadcasters take such matters very seriously and would never wish to offend.' Though they still haven't actually explained exactly who was,allegedly, offended by these comments and, indeed, why.
Championship promotion hopefuls Dirty Leeds have been fined two hundred thousand smackers by the English Football League for watching opponents train before matches. A member of Leeds' staff was nabbed 'acting suspiciously' outside Derby's training ground before the fixture between the two sides on 10 January. Dirty Leeds manager, Marcelo Bielsa, said that he had sent a member of staff to watch every team they have played this season train. The EFL found Dirty Leeds had breached rules over 'treating teams with good faith.' Whatever the Hell that means. Dirty Leeds have also received a formal reprimand from the EFL, which is bringing in a rule to prohibit clubs from viewing their opposition training in the seventy two hours preceding a game 'unless invited to do so.' The EFL said in a statement that Dirty Leeds' conduct 'fell significantly short of the standards expected' and it 'must not be repeated.' EFL chief executive Shaun Harvey added: 'The sanctions imposed highlight how actions such as this cannot be condoned and act as a clear deterrent should any club seek to undertake poor conduct in the future. We will now look to move on from this incident and commence the discussions about introducing a specific regulation at a meeting with all clubs later this month.' The Football Association has also issued a formal warning to Dirty Leeds, Bielsa and a club video analyst. 'The FA will take appropriate action should further evidence of this nature come to light in the future,' a spokesman said. In an extraordinary news conference in the week after Dirty Leeds' match against Derby, Bielsa proudly claimed that he had 'observed all the rivals we played against and watched the training sessions of all opponents.' That led to widespread criticism, though there is no specific rule stopping teams from observing opponents training. Yet. During Bielsa's briefing, he showed journalists how much preparation and analysis he and his staff carry out on each opponent before every game. Dirty Leeds said in a statement: 'We accept that whilst we have not broken any specific rule, we have fallen short of the standard expected by the EFL. We apologise for acting in a way that has been judged culturally unacceptable in the English game and would like to thank Shaun Harvey and the EFL for the manner in which they conducted their investigations. Our focus can now return to matters on the field.' Dirty Leeds beat Derby two-nil in their match last month and Rams boss Frank Lampard described Dirty Leeds's conduct in the build-up to the game as unethical. 'I've never heard of going to a training ground on your hands and knees with pliers trying to break into private land to watch,' he added in a geet huffy strop after the match. Swansea City manager Graham Potter said that he had 'no problem with it' but Ipswich Town manager Paul Lambert said the incident was 'not right.'
Liverpool Alabama Yee-Haws forward Sadio Mane's house was burgled while he was playing in the Champions League last-sixteen tie against Fußball-Club Bayern München on Tuesday. Items including watches, mobile phones and car keys were stolen. The incident happened at Mane's house in Allerton while the twenty six-year-old was at Anfield. No-one was in the property at the time. Forensic examinations are under way and a police investigation is ongoing. They say they have narrowed a list of suspects down to 'everyone on Merseyside.' Detective Inspector Phil Mahon said: 'We are appealing for anyone with information in relation to this burglary to please come forward and assist our inquiries. While the occupants were not present at the time of the incident this will no doubt be a distressing experience for them and I would ask the offenders to do the right thing and return the stolen items to the owner in any way possible. We know the watches in particular are of significant monetary value and I would also like to appeal to anyone who might have been offered the items for sale since the burglary to contact police.' Senegal international Mane was previously burgled in November 2017 while he was at Anfield for a Champions League game against Maribor. A gang was thought to have broken into his home first before smashing a patio door at the nearby address of team-mate Dejan Lovren before they fled when a woman shouted she was calling the police.
Cardiff City manager Neil Warnock admits the fifteen million knicker transfer of Emiliano Sala 'could have been better conducted,' but insists chairman Mehmet Dalman 'will do things in the right way.' Sala was Cardiff's record signing but never played for the club. He died when a plane piloted by David Ibbotson, who remains missing, crashed. The Bluebirds were due to make the first payment to Nantes on 20 February, but the clubs have agreed a delay of one week. 'Certain things were done that in reflection should not have been done. That stirred everyone up,' said Warnock. 'But I have complete faith in Mehmet that things will come to a conclusion in the future. I don't really want to go into detail on that, but it created stories that shouldn't have been there. The matter should have been kept between the two clubs really [Cardiff and Nantes]. I have every confidence in Mehmet. I know a lot has been written, people surmising things, but I've known Mehmet since I arrived here and I'm quite confident he'll deal with it in the right way. They've asked for an extension and I think Nantes have agreed with that.' Sala died when a plane taking him from Nantes to Cardiff crashed into the English Channel on 21 January. The twenty eight-year-old's body was recovered from the crash site and his funeral took place in Argentina on 16 February, with Warnock and Cardiff chief executive Ken Choo attending. Nantes wrote to Cardiff on 5 February with a request for the first of three instalments to be paid. Cardiff said that they were withholding payment while 'seeking clarification' on 'details' of the accident and want to wait until crash investigations are complete. They are also querying 'anomalies' in contract details, but claim they will be 'honourable' with Nantes over the transfer fee if they are 'contractually obliged' to pay. All of which does beg the obvious question; if there are 'anomalies' over the contract and Sala had not been killed and had by now made his debut for Cardiff, would the club be quite so keen to highlight these alleged 'anomalies.' Warnock says 'certain issues' should not have become public and also walked back on comments he made that 'certain journalists' covering the story have 'a vendetta against him.' The Cardiff boss also defended his son, James, an agent, whose involvement in certain Cardiff transfers has led to accusations of a conflict of interest. 'I feel sorry for James if I am honest,' said Warnock. '[Cardiff captain Sean] Morrison was mentioned as one of his players. We turned down five million pounds from Sheffield Wednesday for him, so it was sensible to put him on a longer contract. Rhys Healey was mentioned, an up-and-coming player and all the other players were already here before I joined the club. Vendetta was probably the wrong word for me to use really. I just think a couple of journalists in particular, over the last fifteen years, when I look at the columns they have written ... It's not just journalism really. All I can talk about is the football side. The board deal with the financial side. But Mehmet will bring it to a conclusion in the next I don't know how many days.' Warnock would not comment on remarks from agent Willie McKay, who said last week that Cardiff 'had hung him out to dry.' Football agent McKay says that he arranged the flight which Sala took from Nantes, but was not involved in selecting the plane or pilot. When asked about McKay's comments, Warnock said: 'I think everything has been said. If you keep talking about it, they'll keep writing about it.'
Fulham's Ben Davis has reportedly missed his mandatory national service in Singapore and could face a spell in The Slammer according to the country's Ministry of Defence. The eighteen-year-old signed for the Premier League club on a two-year deal in July but his government denied his application to defer his military duties. All men from Singapore over eighteen must serve in the armed forces, police or civil defence force for two years. If Davis evades service for two years he may face up to four months in jail. That's if the Singapore authorities can catch him, of course. The sentence rises in accordance with the length of time service is avoided, with a maximum of three years in The Joint for those who evade duty for seventeen to twenty three years or more. Davis could be fined ten thousand bucks instead of, or in addition to, time in The Pokey. 'Mister Benjamin Davis is a national service defaulter,' a Ministry of Defence spokesperson said. 'He failed to report for national service as required. He is also staying overseas without a valid Exit Permit.' Deferments for sportspeople are rarely granted by Singapore's Ministry of Defence who sound like a right barrel of laughs. It said in July that such deferments are only given 'to those who represent Singapore in international competitions like the Olympic Games and are potential medal winners for Singapore.' The midfielder became the first player from Singapore to sign a professional contract at a Premier League club when he joined last summer. He has featured for Fulham's Under-eighteen side ten times and has been called up by the Singapore team but is yet to make an appearance.
Fußball-Club Bayern München's Bundesliga game against FC Augsburg was reportedly due to be shown on Iranian TV but the broadcast was cancelled ... because the referee for the match, Bibiana Steinhaus, was a woman. And, that sort of thing is not allowed in Iran. Oh no, very hot water. IRIB are said to have cancelled their scheduled coverage because Iran, specifically its Islamic laws, 'do not approve' of showing images of women wearing clothes that reveal large amounts of skin. Iran regularly censors movie scenes where actresses' clothing is considered to be revealing and it appears as though there was an issue with Steinhaus wearing football shorts. Natalie Amiri, the Iran correspondent for German public broadcaster ARD, tweeted to say that the broadcast in Iran was 'scrapped' due to the fact there was a female official in charge. This is not the first time that such disgraceful malarkey has occurred; a game between FC Köln and Fußball-Club Bayern München that Steinhaus took charge of in May 2018 was broadcast in Iran but, there were reportedly 'a load of random shots of supporters in the stands whenever the camera was on her.' Such nonsense, of course, takes the gloss off Steinhaus and her unprecedented achievements in the game. She enrolled on a referees course aged fifteen and, after leaving school, initially juggled being a career as a police officer alongside her refereeing career and still works twenty five hours a week in the local department. From 2007 onwards, 'Bibi' officiated games in the German second tier and then experienced career highlights when she was assigned to the 2011 women's World Cup final, the 2012 Olympic women's final and then the 2017 women's Champions League final. In September of that year, she made history by becoming the first woman to referee a Bundesliga game, inspiring many young girls in the process. 'It has always been my dream to be a Bundesliga referee,' she told the official DFB website. 'That this dream will come true naturally fills me with joy. On one hand it is confirmation of my hard work, and on the other hand it is a great incentive to continue to work hard.'
If you think your team was on the receiving end of a right hammering last weekend dear blog reader, then spare a thought for Italian minnows Pro Piacenza. The Serie C Group A strugglers were beaten twenty-nil at league rivals Cuneo on Sunday afternoon. They were trailing sixteen-nil at half-time, with Cuneo's Hicham Kanis scoring six goals before the interval and fellow striker Edoardo Defendi getting five. In Pro Piacenza's defence, there were some mitigating factors. Currently bottom of Italy's third tier, the Northern club are in serious financial trouble. They were deducted eight points earlier in the campaign and have reportedly failed to pay their players since August - resulting in the resignation of the majority of their first-team squad. They had failed to play any of their past three fixtures prior to Sunday's defeat and another no-show at Cuneo would likely have resulted in their disqualification from Serie C. The visitors managed to field enough players for the game to go ahead. Unfortunately for them, that meant starting the match with a seven-man team that included six teenagers. And only four of them had shorts. With no coaching staff available, eighteen-year-old captain Nicola Cirigliano also had to take on the role of manager. They finished the match with an extra player after one of the younger members of their squad was able to locate his identity papers after the game had kicked-off. Cuneo had only scored eighteen goals in their twenty four league matches before Sunday's game, but managed to double their tally for the season in ninety extraordinary minutes. With severe financial difficulties confronting them, Pro Piacenza are set to face an Italian Football Federation hearing to decide their fate on 11 March. Gabriele Gravina, president of the Italian Football Federation, described Sunday's result as 'an insult to sport. In this surreal situation, the FIGC had a duty to enforce all the rules,' he said. 'Our responsibility is to protect the passion of the fans, healthy entrepreneurs and the credibility of our championships. The one we unfortunately witnessed will be the last farce.'
