Sports Briefs
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DIEGO Maradona, former Argentine football captain, has slammed Pepe, a Portuguese defender, as “foolish” and “unprofessional” for the red card the player received in a match which Portugal 4-0 lost to Germany in the World Cup opener.
A flailing arm from the Portuguese centre-back caught the face of Thomas Muller, a German player, with the score at 2-0 and, in a bout of anger the Real Madrid player gave the German striker head butt, resulting in a straight red card.
Blaming Pepe’s behaviour Maradona said his action ruined his side’s chances of getting anything from the game. “It was just ridiculous to see him act so foolishly,” the Argentine wrote in Times of India. “It’s true Muller played his role to perfection in the act but there was absolutely no need for Pepe to do what he did. His unprofessionalism snuffed out any hopes his team may have had of coming back in the game.”
He was not convinced about the penalty that gave Germany the lead either. “The penalty through which Germany broke the deadlock was really soft. Joao Pereira did foul Mario Gotze but the Bayern Munich midfielder made the most of it and the Serbian referee obliged,” he said.
“But take nothing away from the Germans. They were superb as always.”
Germany had already moved into a two-goal lead prior to Pepe’s red thanks to Muller’s penalty and a Mats Hummels header. Muller went on to complete his hat-trick in the German’s comfortable win.
The 1986 World Cup winner praised Joachim Low’s side for the way it handled Cristiano Ronaldo, who was obviously critical to his country’s chances in the competition.
Premier League Starts August 16
THE timetable for the Premier League of England is out. Manchester United under Louis van Gaal will play its competitive match against Swansea on August 16. The fixture gives the United, as the team is fondly called, a home advantage on the opening day of the season.
The fixture is the same as the one which greeted David Moyes a year ago, when he played against the same team in Wales. Dutchman van Gaal, given the challenge of improving the fortunes of a team which finished seventh last season, will thereafter take the United team to Sunderland and Burnley, before a home game against newly-promoted Queens Park Rangers, QPR.
Manchester City, last season’s champion, will begin the defence of its title against Newcastle in London. Manuel Pellegrini’s men, who won the league by two points from Liverpool, will travel to St James’ Park, London before facing Brendan Rodgers’ Liverpool at home the following weekend. The first Manchester derby of the season is scheduled for November 1 at the Etihad Stadium, with the reverse slated for April 11.
Liverpool starts with a home game against Southampton – Ronald Koeman’s first game in charge – while Chelsea, who finished third in 2013-14, travel to Burnley. The Clarets, who secured promotion back to the top flight under Sean Dyche, then travel to Swansea before facing United at Turf Moor.
Championship-winning Leicester faces a challenging start. A home match against Everton is followed by games against Chelsea and Arsenal. The Gunners start at home to Crystal Palace, while the north London rival, Tottenham, managed now by Mauricio Pochettino, will face West Ham at Upton Park. The third match in London on the opening weekend of the season sees QPR takes on Hull, the FA Cup finalist. Alan Irvine’s first Premier League match as West Brom manager is a home contest against Sunderland, which secured Premier League survival thanks to a stirring revival under the leadership of Gus Poyet. The other match pairs Stoke and Aston Villa at the Britannia Stadium.
There are some appealing Boxing Day fixtures, including two London derbies. Arsenal is at home to QPR, while Chelsea hosts West Ham. Elsewhere on December 26, Burnley tackles Liverpool at Turf Moor, Manchester City will battle West Brom on its home ground, while United is at home to Newcastle. Tottenham heads to Leicester, Sunderland hosts Hull, Crystal Palace takes on Southampton, Everton meets Stoke City and Aston Villa go to Swansea.
Stoke is Liverpool’s destination on the final week of the season, when City are at home to Southampton and United travel to Hull. The final round of games, taking place on Sunday, May 24, also include Everton against Tottenham, while Leicester and QPR is set to meet in a game which could be significant at the bottom end of the table. Arsenal wraps up the season against West Brom, Burnley goes to Villa, Chelsea meets Sunderland, Palace meets Swansea and Newcastle takes on West Ham.
The full Premier League fixtures for opening weekend of August 15-16 are:
Arsenal v Crystal Palace
Burnley v Chelsea
Leicester City v Everton
Liverpool v Southampton
Manchester United v Swansea City
Newcastle United v Manchester City
Queens Park Rangers v Hull City
Stoke City v Aston Villa
West Bromwich Albion v Sunderland
West Ham United v Tottenham Hotspur
Waiting for Oboabona
Nigeria awaits scan results to determine if defender Godfrey Oboabona will still able to play in the World Cup matches. The 23-year-old had an injury on his foot when an Iranian opponent stamped on him during Monday, June 16’s goalless draw in Curitiba. He was replaced in the 29th minute by Joseph Yobo, captain of the team.
The Caykur Rizespor man failed to train with the team on Tuesday night in Campinas where they are based, thereby giving credence to speculations he could miss the rest of the tournament. “We are waiting for scan results on Wednesday to determine the state of the injury,” Ben Alaiya, media officer to the team, said in a newspaper interview.
Regarded as the backbone of the Super Eagles backline, Oboabona’s loss would be a great blow to the national team’s World Cup campaign.
Nigeria will play Bosnia-Herzegovina in their second match in Cuiaba on Friday, June 20. It is a game both sides need to win in order to stand a chance of reaching the second round.
— Jun. 30, 2014 @ 01:00 GMT
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