New video puts ref Coote under fresh scrutiny

by | Nov 14, 2024 | Sports

PGMOL, the refereeing body for English football, has confirmed that it is aware of a new video published by The Sun in which suspended Premier League referee David Coote is allegedly seen snorting a white powder. PGMOL, the refereeing body for English football, has confirmed that it is aware of a new video published by The Sun in which suspended Premier League referee David Coote is allegedly seen snorting a white powder.

Coote, 42, was stood down from duty pending the result of an investigation after a first video was posted to X on Monday which showed him making disparaging remarks about Liverpool and their former manager Jürgen Klopp.

The Sun claims the new video, which has not been verified by ESPN, was filmed by Coote and shared to a friend on WhatsApp. It was taken at a UEFA-appointed hotel on July 6 when he was on duty at Euro 2024, the day after his final appointment as support VAR for the Portugal vs. France quarterfinal.

A PGMOL spokesperson said: “We aware of the allegations and are taking them very seriously. David Coote remains suspended pending a full investigation. David’s welfare continues to be of utmost importance to us and we are committed to providing him with the ongoing necessary support he needs through this period. We are not in a position to comment further at this stage.”

Coote was due to act as a VAR for UEFA Nations League fixtures over the next week, but was immediately suspended by UEFA following the action taken by PGMOL. UEFA would not confirm which games Coote was due to work on.

In a statement issued after the latest video emerged on Wednesday evening, UEFA confirmed that Coote had been made ineligible for selection but made no comment about its contents or the allegation that it happened in a UEFA-appointed hotel.

A UEFA spokesperson told ESPN: “The UEFA Referees Committee immediately suspended David Coote until further notice on 11 November — in advance of the upcoming round of UEFA matches — when it became aware of his inappropriate behaviour.”

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Sources: Olof Mellberg to become St.Louis boss

by | Nov 24, 2024 | Sports

Sources: Olof Mellberg to become St.Louis boss

Former Aston Villa and Sweden defender Olof Mellberg has signed a multi-year deal with St. Louis City SC to be the team’s next manager, sources tell ESPN.

Former Aston Villa and Sweden defender Olof Mellberg has signed a multi-year deal with St. Louis City SC to be the team’s next manager, sources tell ESPN. Former Aston Villa and Sweden defender Olof Mellberg has signed a multi-year deal with St. Louis City SC to be the team’s next manager, sources tell ESPN.

Former Aston Villa and Sweden defender Olof Mellberg has signed a multi-year deal with St. Louis City SC to be the team’s next manager, sources tell ESPN.

Swedish outlet Aftonbladet was first to report the news.

Mellberg replaces Bradley Carnell, who was fired in July with the team struggling to get results. St. Louis were managed on an interim basis by John Hackworth, who will remain in his previous role as an assistant and director of coaching.

Mellberg is the manager of IF Brommapojkarna, but his contract is set to expire on Dec. 1, making him available to take the St. Louis job.

The 47-year-old led Brommapojkarna to a 10th place finish in the recently concluded season in Sweden’s top flight. This marked a period of consolidation for the Stockholm-based club after surviving a relegation playoff the previous campaign.

Mellberg had previously managed Brommapojkarna from 2015-17, a period when he led the club to successive promotions into Sweden’s top tier. He also managed Danish side Fremad Amager in 2019 as well as Swedish side Helsingborgs from 2019-20.

As a player, Mellberg enjoyed a distinguished career for both club and country. After making his professional debut with Degerfors in 1996, he moved to AIK where he won a league title. Following a three-year spell with Racing Santander, he moved to Villa, where he made over 260 league and cup appearances. He later played for Juventus, Olympiacos, Villarreal and FC Copenhagen.

Mellberg came close to joining MLS side Toronto FC back in 2013, only for the MLS league office to block the deal. At the time, MLS commissioner Don Garber told ESPN, “Our view on Mellberg was that it was just not a decision that would be smart for TFC, or smart for the league as a whole.”

At international level, Mellberg made 117 appearances for Sweden, a run that included a spell as the team’s captain, scoring eight goals.

He was part of two World Cup sides in 2006 and 2010 and has represented Sweden at four European Championships.

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Former Aston Villa and Sweden defender Olof Mellberg has signed a multi-year deal with St. Louis City SC to be the team’s next manager, sources tell ESPN.

10-man Barça surrender late 2-goal lead at Celta

by | Nov 24, 2024 | Sports

10-man Barça surrender late 2-goal lead at Celta

Celta Vigo fought back with two late goals in quick succession to hold LaLiga leaders Barcelona to a highly entertaining 2-2 draw on Saturday.

Celta Vigo fought back with two late goals in quick succession to hold LaLiga leaders Barcelona to a highly entertaining 2-2 draw on Saturday. Celta Vigo fought back with two late goals in quick succession to hold LaLiga leaders Barcelona to a highly entertaining 2-2 draw on Saturday.

ByReuters

Celta Vigo fought back with two late goals in quick succession to hold LaLiga leaders Barcelona to a highly entertaining 2-2 draw on Saturday.

It looked like Barça were cruising towards victory after they opened a two-goal lead thanks to strikes by captain Raphinha in the 15th minute and by Robert Lewandowski in the 61st, but the script changed after their midfielder Marc Casadó was sent off due to a second-yellow card for a foul in the 82nd minute.

With Barca down to 10-men, the home side piled on the pressure and managed to score twice with strikes by substitute Alfonso González and Hugo Álvarez in the 84th and 86th minutes respectively.

Barça top the LaLiga standings with 34 points, five ahead of Atletico Madrid in second and seven ahead of third-placed Real Madrid, who have two games in hand.

www.espn.com – SOCCER

Celta Vigo fought back with two late goals in quick succession to hold LaLiga leaders Barcelona to a highly entertaining 2-2 draw on Saturday.

Amorim: Pep’s new deal ‘a problem for everybody’

by | Nov 24, 2024 | Sports

Amorim: Pep’s new deal ‘a problem for everybody’

Manchester United boss Rúben Amorim has admitted Pep Guardiola’s new contract at Manchester City is “a problem for everybody.”

Manchester United boss Rúben Amorim has admitted Pep Guardiola’s new contract at Manchester City is “a problem for everybody.” Manchester United boss Rúben Amorim has admitted Pep Guardiola’s new contract at Manchester City is “a problem for everybody.”

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Amorim believes he’s ‘the right guy’ for the Manchester United job (0:57)Ruben Amorim expresses belief in himself and his squad to turn Manchester United’s season around. (0:57)

Manchester United boss Rúben Amorim has admitted Pep Guardiola’s new contract at Manchester City is “a problem for everybody.”

Amorim has been tasked with bringing the Premier League title back to Old Trafford after succeeding Erik ten Hag as head coach.

The 39-year-old’s arrival has coincided with Guardiola’s decision to sign a new two-year contract, which will keep him at the Etihad Stadium until 2027.

Given his ambitions with United, Amorim said it is not ideal that Guardiola, who has won the league title in six of the last seven seasons, is sticking around.

“I think it’s a problem for everybody but we have so much to do we cannot focus on anybody,” Amorim said. “We just have to focus on improving our club and not focus on the other clubs. It’s amazing, if you can beat that team it’s a good sign but we are focused on Manchester United.”

Amorim, who will take charge of his first game against Ipswich on Sunday, is looking to become the first United manager to win the title since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.

Still only two weeks into the job, he said he is “not yet had the opportunity” to meet Ferguson. Despite the Scot’s unbelievable success at the club, Amorim said he is not in Manchester “to copy” the legendary manager.

“It’s not to copy someone, so I have to be me,” he said. “We have to be very demanding. This is a club that has to win things, we have to show that to our players. But it’s a different time. I cannot be the same guy that Alex Ferguson was. It’s a different time and I need to have a different approach but I can also be demanding with that different approach.”

Amorim has been parachuted into the United job following a miserable start to the season under Ten Hag.

The former Sporting CP coach, who hinted that he would have preferred to stay in Portugal until the end of the season before moving on, admitted that trying to implement his methods halfway through the campaign will be tough.

“It’s so much harder to come to the team in the middle of the season because you have to get to know the players during the games,” Amorim said.

“You are talking about no national team periods to work with the players, it’s just games. It depends. If you are winning it’s a lot of fun, having a lot of games, trying to make changes tactically and winning games.

“But if you are losing you don’t have time in training to work out everything you want to work on. To improve a team, training is the most important aspect.

“Players can recover very fast but if you don’t do any exercise with that it’s really hard to do that in video or recovery training sessions. It’s really hard but we’ll try to find ways to cope with that.”

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Manchester United boss Rúben Amorim has admitted Pep Guardiola’s new contract at Manchester City is “a problem for everybody.”

Arteta backs Saka amid Kane drop-outs comment

by | Nov 24, 2024 | Sports

Arteta backs Saka amid Kane drop-outs comment

Mikel Arteta has hit back at anyone questioning Bukayo Saka’s commitment to England by insisting he would “send an MRI scan” to prove the winger was injured during this month’s international break. Mikel Arteta has hit back at anyone questioning Bukayo Saka’s commitment to England by insisting he would “send an MRI scan” to prove the winger was injured during this month’s international break.

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Burley slams Kane for England squad dropout comments: ‘Zip it’ (1:11)Craig Burley criticises Harry Kane’s comments after the recent England squad withdrawals. (1:11)

Mikel Arteta has hit back at anyone questioning Bukayo Saka‘s commitment to England by insisting he would “send an MRI scan” to prove the winger was injured during this month’s international break.

Saka was one of 10 withdrawals during England’s recent UEFA Nations League double header against Greece and Republic of Ireland, a situation which captain Harry Kane described as “disappointing” before suggesting that “it’s a tough period of the season and maybe that’s been taken advantage of a little bit.”

Saka was unable to complete Arsenal‘s 1-1 draw at Chelsea prior to the international break due to a thigh problem but capped a fine individual performance as he opened the scoring in Saturday’s 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest at Emirates Stadium.

After Thomas Partey and teenager Ethan Nwaneri — with his first Premier League goal — completed the scoring in a comfortable win, Arteta defended the contrast in Saka’s absence for England and fine form for Arsenal.

“Well, we can send an MRI scan, it’s very simple,” Arteta said. “That’s a communication that was very clear between the medical staff of Arsenal and the England national team.

“He hasn’t done anything, he was away and needed time to heal. He’s done one training session.”

Arsenal secured their first league win since Oct. 5 to generate some positive momentum ahead of a difficult week which continues with Tuesday’s Champions League trip to Sporting CP.

“I sensed a great energy in the last 48 hours,” Arteta said. “The way everybody came back, I sensed a great togetherness and desire to change the situation and what has been a different period for us with all the situations that we had to come across. And the team is there straight away from the beginning. It was a flow, it was a dominance, there was an enthusiasm about it. That is what I demanded.”

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Pep: Losing at Anfield could end Man City title push

by | Nov 24, 2024 | Sports

Pep: Losing at Anfield could end Man City title push

Pep Guardiola has suggested that if Liverpool beat Manchester City at Anfield next weekend his team could already be out of the Premier League title race.

Pep Guardiola has suggested that if Liverpool beat Manchester City at Anfield next weekend his team could already be out of the Premier League title race. Pep Guardiola has suggested that if Liverpool beat Manchester City at Anfield next weekend his team could already be out of the Premier League title race.

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Guardiola: It’s wrong to say we’re going to be champions (2:21)Pep Guardiola and Ange Postecoglou give their immediate reaction after Tottenham’s emphatic 4-0 win over Manchester City. (2:21)

Pep Guardiola has suggested that if Liverpool beat Manchester City at Anfield next weekend his team could already be out of the Premier League title race.

City lost their fifth consecutive game in all competitions and third straight league game with a heavy 4-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.

Guardiola’s side face Feyenoord in the Champions League on Tuesday before travelling to Anfield five days later.

Liverpool can move eight points clear if they beat Southampton on Sunday and Guardiola was asked after losing to Spurs whether an 11-point gap — if City lose to Arne Slot’s team — would be too much to overhaul even at this stage of the season.

“Yeah, it’s true,” he said. “We’re not thinking about winning or losing [the title], we are not in the situation to think about what is going to happen at the end of the season.

“If in the end we don’t win it’s because we don’t deserve it. We won it in the past because we deserved it.

“What we have to do now is [beat] Feyenoord. That is the most important thing — first for the qualification for the CL [Champions League] — and step by step the players will be better.”

Not only have City lost five consecutive games for the first time in 18 years, they’ve also conceded 14 goals during the run. Defensive injuries haven’t helped and there were more problems against Spurs when John Stones was forced off at half-time.

“We are a bit fragile right now, that is obvious,” Guardiola said.

“We have to break the results because the victories help us to be more positive and confident and we have to do it. But after eight years here I knew sooner or later we would drop. I never expected to lose three Premier League games in a row but we have been incredibly consistent again and again and again and now we cannot deny the reality that sometimes happens in football and life is here.”

Meanwhile, Tottenham are up to sixth after a blistering display of counter-attacking football. James Maddison scored twice on his 28th birthday before second half goals from Pedro Porro and substitute Brennan Johnson.

“You don’t come to a place like this expecting it is going to be as convincing as it was for us,” Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou said.

“City test you in every football way possible.

“After a really disappointing game last game [against Ipswich] we got back to our core beliefs. Credit to the lads, they were outstanding. We had to weather a storm and then grew into a game. I’m so pleased for the players. It furthers our progression.”

www.espn.com – SOCCER

Pep Guardiola has suggested that if Liverpool beat Manchester City at Anfield next weekend his team could already be out of the Premier League title race.

New video puts ref Coote under fresh scrutiny​​

Sources: Olof Mellberg to become St.Louis boss​​

10-man Barça surrender late 2-goal lead at Celta​​

Amorim: Pep’s new deal ‘a problem for everybody’​​

Arteta backs Saka amid Kane drop-outs comment​​

Pep: Losing at Anfield could end Man City title push​​

New video puts ref Coote under fresh scrutiny

Sources: Olof Mellberg to become St.Louis boss

10-man Barça surrender late 2-goal lead at Celta

Amorim: Pep’s new deal ‘a problem for everybody’

Arteta backs Saka amid Kane drop-outs comment

Pep: Losing at Anfield could end Man City title push