Sport
Striker Luis Suarez in a cheating scandal
Former Barcelona striker Luis Suarez in a cheating scandal. The Barcelona outcast, 33, was seemingly on the brink of a move to the Serie A champions but, first, he needed to pass a language test. Italian police are investigating claims Luis Suarez cheated when he took his Italian exam to gain a passport for his failed move to Serie A giants Juventus.
It’s been a tough few days for football with Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich facing questions over his involvement in a third-party ownership scheme, following an investigation by the BBC’s Panorama program.
The probe, part of the FinCEN Files leak, links the Russian billionaire, who bought Chelsea in 2003, to a company called Leiston Holdings, which held stakes in the future sales of players, until third-party ownership was banned by FIFA in 2015. The report claims one of the players Abramovich held an economic interest in was Sporting Lisbon’s Andre Carrillo, who played against Chelsea, in the Champions League in 2014.
A spokesperson for Abramovich denied any wrongdoing, saying: “The fact that transactions may have been confidential does not mean that they were unlawful or otherwise in breach of then-applicable rules or regulations. “(The transactions) relate to the period before FIFA changed their rules.
“The fact that we are not aware of this issue confirms that there has been no wrongdoing, as no action was taken.” The practice was outlawed under Premier League guidelines in 2008, following West Ham’s loan deals for Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano.
It’s also been a rocky period for Suarez who was eligible to apply for an Italian passport, as his wife, Sofia Balbi, has Italian ancestors. But rules dictate he needed to pass his language test. Suarez passed his exam, but — soon after, Juve pulled the plug on the deal.
Director Fabio Paratici claimed the club wouldn’t have time to sort his passport before having to register him into their squad. But now, multiple reports in Italy are claiming Suarez actually cheated and “knew the test questions” in advance.
There is nothing to suggest Juventus knew about the “cheating” and the University of Perugia are said to be the focus of the investigation, not Suarez himself. Yesterday, the Perugia Prosecutor’s Office released a statement regarding the investigation.
It read: “During the investigations, some irregularities have emerged in the exam of Certification of Italian, sat on September 17 by Uruguayan football player Luis Alberto Suarez Diaz, needed to obtain the Italian citizenship. “From the investigation, it emerged the topics in the exam had been agreed in advance with the applicant.
“The relative mark had been attributed even before carrying out the exam, regardless of the fact an elementary proficiency of the Italian language has been verified during remote classes carried out by lecturers.
“Today, the Italian financial police are moving forward to capture the documents at the university offices . . . “(They will) verify the actions described beforehand and notify the information assurances for the crimes of the revelation of professional secrecy, false representation committed by public officials in official documents and other.”
It is not yet clear what punishment Suarez could face if found guilty of cheating. Earlier this month, Barcelona revealed they were so keen to offload Suarez’s wages, they would pay to get him off the books.
New boss Ronald Koeman told Suarez he was not in his plans for the season. After Juventus pulled out of a deal, Atletico Madrid became the new favourites to sign the Uruguayan, beating Ajax to the move.
Atletico have already offloaded Alvaro Morata — who only joined on a permanent deal this summer — Juventus to make room. They are also set to give Diego Costa the boot. Suarez has been involved in controversy before:
BITING
Suarez has been caught biting opponents three times during his career. The Uruguayan was caught munching on PSV star Otman Bakkal during his time at Ajax and was banned for seven games.
He was later banned for ten games after he bit then-Chelsea ace Branislav Ivanovic in 2013, before sinking his teeth into Giorgio Chiellini during the 2014 World Cup. The latter saw him suspended from all footballing activity for four months.
RACE ROW
Suarez was also banned for eight matches and fined £40 000 after being accused of racially abusing Man Utd’s Patrice Evra.
GHANA DRAMA
Suarez was sent-off during the 2010 World Cup quarter-finals against Ghana for an outrageous, deliberate handball preventing Dominic Adiyiah from scoring in the final minute with the scores level at 1-1. A penalty was awarded and subsequently missed — with Uruguay ultimately progressing on penalties.
PUNCH DRUNK
Suarez somehow escaped FIFA punishment after being caught punching Gonzalo Jara during Uruguay’s clash with Chile in 2013.
Source – The Herald
In other news – Shiri yabvuta Rekeni: Police officers forced off a kombi by Mahwindi: Video
Shiri yabvuta Rekeni: Police officers forced off a kombi by Mahwindi: Video. There was free drama at a Kombi rank station when police officers were denied access to board a Kombi by touts popularly know as Mahwindi.
The drama was even more exciting as the policemen were even shoved off the Kombi and had their baton stick taken away from them. The group of…Learn more.
Soccer fans in Nigeria have expressed their confidence that the Super Eagles will win the Africa Cup of Nations tournament.
The Nigerian team qualified for the finals after defeating South Africa in the semi-final round of the competition. They face hosts Ivory Coast for the last game of the tournament today.
This will be the second match between both teams. The elephants of Ivory Coast suffered a 1- 0 defeat in their encounter with the Super Eagles at the group stage. Nigerian soccer fans say they are confident that the team will also win the final game.
Moshood Olatunji says, “We’re taking the cup. We’re not bragging and we’re not being pretentious and we’re not underestimating any group. But I think the Nigerian team started slow and they really worked as a team. The thing they had that I could see was the teamwork. They play for each other, they’re not playing for the coach, they’re actually playing for each other as a team. And I think if they carry that attitude into the finals, there’s no stopping us.”
Maxwell Ogbaje says, “I’m not surprised that we got to where we are today. We actually have a strong team. We have been at our best. It’s not just by chance, people see it that the one zero, one zero has always been a lucky thing, but it’s not. There’s actually good effort from the team that has brought that success.”
“Let them keep doing what they are doing especially the back 5. It’s a fantastic tactic that the coach Peseiro has been able to knock the boys with, so they should do what they do. They should be tight behind and they should take their chances. They should hit them on the counter and I believe if they are able to do that and they stay together, then Nigeria will be able to carry the day,” says Sam Maimagani.
It’s the eighth time Nigeria has made it to the finals in the Africa Cup of Nations and the 4th for Ivory Coast.
Nigeria is already a three-time winner of the Africa Cup of Nations and a triumph in today’s encounter will make it the 4th in 10 years.
A win for Ivory Coast will make them a three-time champion of the AFCON. Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu is expected to be at the game today to cheer the Super Eagles to victory.
Source: SABC
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His death was announced by his stepson and musician Loyiso Bala on Saturday, 10 February on his social media platforms. Jafta died this morning in the hospital.
The Bala Family is deeply saddened to announce the passing of our beloved father, Sebenzile Jafta. He departed this morning. Read more
Bayern Munich leapfrogged rivals Borussia Dortmund to clinch their 11th consecutive Bundesliga title in a last-day drama in German football on Saturday, May 27.
In a climactic season finale, Bayern Munich ended up celebrating an unexpected title win while Dortmund’s dream of their first league trophy since 2012 was left in tatters following a 2-2 draw with Mainz.
Dortmund were leading by two points before their last match for the season but were held to a 2-2 draw at home by Mainz on Saturday, allowing Bayern to finish in first place with a goal difference.
RB Leipzig and sensational Union Berlin are third and fourth respectively and will also compete in the Champions League next season.
Hertha Berlin and Schalke 04 have been relegated, while VfB Stuttgart will go into the relegation playoff.
In other news – Celine Dion cancels 2023-2024 shows over health
Last year Celine Dion revealed that she was suffering from a rare neurological disorder. The Pop icon on Friday canceled all her remaining shows scheduled for 2023-2024, saying she was not strong enough to tour as she battles a rare neurological disorder.
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India is looking to a new generation of talented young cricketers led by teenage batter Shafali Verma to propel them to a first Women’s T20 World Cup title this month. Long-serving skipper Mithali Raj and record-breaking fast bowler Jhulan Goswami, trailblazers for women’s cricket in India, both retired last year.
New captain Harmanpreet Kaur said both players are still on hand to give advice, but it is time to look forward. Whenever we need they are always available to us, that’s what you expect from senior players,” the 33-year-old told a recent press conference.
“Nobody can fill their places, but the young girls who are getting the chances are doing well. One of the players who has grabbed her chance is Verma, an attacking opening batter who led India to victory in the inaugural U19 T20 World Cup in South Africa last month.
The 19-year-old will be back on familiar ground for the T20 World Cup, which is again in South Africa. It starts on February 10 and India are chasing a breakthrough first title, having been runners-up behind hosts Australia in the last edition, in 2020. Their first match is against arch-rivals Pakistan on February 12 in Cape Town.
Verma made her international debut at the age of just 15 and was in the team that reached the T20 World Cup final in 2020.
She also played in the one-day World Cup and was a member of the Indian side which took silver at last year’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
The youngster looks up to big-hitting England batsman Liam Livingstone for inspiration and considers Indian great Sachin Tendulkar a role model. After captaining India to victory in the U19 World Cup, Verma said: “This is just the beginning.”
“When I entered the Under-19s, I only focused on winning the Under-19 Cup and we have won that today,” ESPNCricinfo quoted her as saying. I will look to take this winning confidence with me and win the senior World Cup.”
Besides Verma, the India team also includes Smriti Mandhana, Richa Ghosh, Deepti Sharma and Renuka Singh. The women’s game is making inroads in the cricket-mad country, with the inaugural Women’s Premier League set for March, ahead of the men’s IPL.
Last month, India’s cricket board auctioned off five women’s IPL teams for $572.5 million. The new generation “are ready to be the representatives of the modern generation of women’s cricketers”, cricket journalist Sharda Ugra told AFP.
“The women’s IPL is going to start and they are the perfect representation of the kind of Indian women cricketers that belong to the T20 generation. They have the right mindset and they are very, very talented.
Source: eNCA
In other news – Idols SA canceled after 21 years
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After 21 years, #IdolsSA will be bowing out of our screens. The show has been renewed for a 19th season, which will be the show’s final season,” he wrote. Learn more