Amiens have started legal proceedings for their “unjust” relegation after France’s Ligue 1 season was ended early because of the coronavirus crisis.

Amiens were four points adrift of safety when the season was ended

Paris St-Germain were awarded the title last month, with Amiens and Toulouse relegated, after the French government cancelled the 2019-20 sporting season.

Amiens were 19th in the table, four points behind Nimes and 10 points ahead of Toulouse, with 10 games to play.

Club president Bernard Joannin said they would fight the “unfair decision”.

He said in a news conference: “We find that this decision goes against sporting fairness. The decision is a punishment from the league. It is unjust.

“We have been forced into fighting, into going to court to try to overturn this unfair decision.”

Earlier this month, Amiens launched a petition asking that the league’s governing body, Ligue de Football Professionnel, reconsider its decision to relegate the two sides and instead have 22 teams instead of 20 in the top division in 2020-21.

This would include Lorient and Lens, who have been promoted from Ligue 2.

Club lawyer Christophe Bertrand said: “We are not contesting the decision to stop the season. That is not really the object of these proceedings. It would be a bit inappropriate.

“However, what we are contesting are the consequences of the decisions that were taken.”

Source – BBC News

While the Portugal international is close to perfection, the Reds manager prefers the Barcelona magician.

Photo by Getty composite

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp prefers Lionel Messi over Cristiano Ronaldo, even though he said the Juventus star was close to a “perfect player”.

Barcelona great Messi and Ronaldo are widely considered two of the greatest players of all-time, although just who is better continues to be debated .

While Klopp prefers Messi, the German paid tribute to both for their era of dominance, which has seen them win 11 of the past 12 Ballons d’Or.

Klopp lauded Ronaldo’s physical build, but said Messi was able to produce his magic while making it look so easy.

“For me Messi, but I couldn’t admire Ronaldo more than I do already,” Klopp told YouTube channel freekickerz.

“The explanation is the following. We’ve played against both already and both are almost impossible to defend.

“But Messi has much lower physical requirements from birth on. If you could paint yourself a perfect player, it would have Ronaldo’s height, he could jump and run as high or quick as Ronaldo can do. And what is then even added to that is his total attitude, it is absolutely perfect and professional, it couldn’t be any better.

“And on the other side there is the small Messi who makes everything look so simple. And therefore I like him maybe a little bit more as a player on the pitch. But Cristiano is also an absolutely incredible player.

“It’s really difficult therefore, but what both have in common is that both have left their footprints for such a long time.

“There are also some younger players who have a similar potential, but to do that over this time period is even more incredible.”

In an earlier interview, Klopp was asked which former Liverpool player he would sign if he could bring a legend back to the club in their peak.

The 52-year-old revealed that he would choose Steven Gerrard – but he jested the former skipper wouldn’t be an automatic selection.

“Stevie, that’s easy! But he’d have to fight for his place,” Klopp told BT Sport .

“The funny thing is we have lived for four-and-a-half years in the same town and I’ve never seen him before.

“Since the lockdown, I’ve seen him six or seven times. I go for a dog walk or a run or whatever, and he has a walk with the family, so we’ve seen each other more often than all the time together before!”

Source – Goal.com

UEFA has insisted it is not thinking about amending any qualification for the Champions League.

Europe’s football governing body says it is monitoring the situation, with the coronavirus pandemic having stopped football across the world.

“UEFA has never considered depriving domestic champions of their genuine right to try to achieve qualification through on-pitch performance for the UEFA Champions League Group Stage,” a statement read.

“UEFA wishes to clarify that it is currently simply monitoring the evolution of the situation and any potential impact on the format of qualifying rounds for next year’s club competitions.

“To date, no specific options have been developed for the format of qualification for European club competitions.”

The first qualifying match of next season’s Champions League was scheduled for June 23 but will be pushed back until after August 29 when UEFA plans for this year’s final to take place in Istanbul.

The 2020/21 domestic season will be expected to finish in the middle of May as normal next year with the 2020 European Championship beginning on June 11, 2021.

Source – Sky Sports

The 22-year-old endured a nightmare spell in Italy with Roma but has been a key performer for his side since returning to Brazil.

Photo by Getty Images

The 22-year-old endured a nightmare spell in Italy with Roma but has been a key performer for his side since returning to Brazil

Arsenal, Tottenham and Borussia Dortmund are interested in signing Flamengo midfielder Gerson, according to the player’s father.

Marcos Santos, who manages Gerson’s career, also explained the nightmare three-year spell the 22-year-old endured at Roma.

According to Santos, Gerson moved to Roma in 2016 ahead of Barcelona because former club Fluminense needed a bigger transfer fee – but things quickly went downhill from there.

“We had everything settled, signed,” he told Yahoo.

“But Barcelona only wanted to pay €8 million (£6m/$9m) to Fluminense, who really needed the money. So, we decided to go with Roma, who offered €16m (£12m/$17m).

“They [Roma] wanted me to sign with an agent. They screwed us there. They screwed us so much that we couldn’t rent a house; we had to stay in a hotel for three months.

“All the houses we tried to rent, I had to talk to this businessman, whose name I don’t even want to stay. We only solved this when Gerson talked to [Francesco] Totti. We moved to Totti’s apartment.

“It just didn’t work. I remember that Gerson scored two goals against Fiorentina and never played again.

“There was a time when he was put on the wing, without ever having trained there, to mark [Gonzalo] Higuain. But, anyway… thank God we managed to get out.”

In all, Gerson played 42 times for Roma, scoring two goals. Following a season on loan at Fiorentina, he returned to his home country with Flamengo in July 2019 as the most expensive Brazilian signed by a Brazilian club.

Santos says Palmeiras, Corinthians, Gremio and Atletico Mineiro all tried to sign Gerson on loan, but Roma only wanted to sell him.

Now, he claims Arsenal, Spurs and Dortmund are all interested.

“Nobody knew about Arsenal, but now that I’m telling you, everyone will know,” he said.

On the reported interest of Spurs and Dortmund, he added: “Everyone you hear there is true. But they have only enquired.”

Gerson has played 43 times for Flamengo since his return to Brazil, named in the Serie A team of the year as his side won the league title and Copa Libertadores double in 2019.

Source – Goal.com

The coronavirus crisis has caused major disruptions to the sporting calendar in recent months, but there could be light at the end of the tunnel.

Photo by Getty/Goal composite

The government have published a 50-page document for lifting the coronavirus-enforced lockdown in England which could see the Premier League restart on June 1.

A guide for exiting the lockdown was released on Monday afternoon, with social distancing measures to remain in place as various activities are resumed across the country.

Step two of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s “roadmap” clears the way for the current football season get back underway next month, with all remaining fixtures set to be played behind closed doors until public safety can be guaranteed.

The new document has been titled ‘Our Plan to Rebuild: The UK Government’s Covid-19 Recovery Strategy’, and the lifting of restrictions is conditional upon the continued adherence to protocols which have been put in place to contain the spread of coronavirus.

Whether or not supporters will be able to attend matches before the end of the campaign remains unclear, as step three proposes a reopening of venues such as cinemas and hairdressers in July.

However it also includes the following warning: “Some venues which are, by design, crowded and where it may prove difficult to enact distancing may still not be able to reopen safely at this point, or may be able to open safely only in part.

“Nevertheless, the Government will wish to open as many businesses and public places as the data and information at the time allows.

“In order to facilitate the fastest possible reopening of these types of higher-risk businesses and public places, the Government will carefully phase and pilot reopenings to test their ability to adopt the new Covid-19 secure guidelines.

“The Government will also monitor carefully the effects of reopening other similar establishments elsewhere in the world, as this happens.

“The Government will establish a series of task forces to work closely with stakeholders in these sectors to develop ways in which they can make these businesses and public places Covid-19 secure.”

The document continues by stating that fans being granted access to stadiums over the summer “may only be fully possible significantly later depending on the reduction in numbers of infections”.

Some Premier League clubs have already voiced their concerns over ‘Project Restart’, with Aston Villa, Watford and Brighton anxious over the prospect of home advantage being taken out of the equation.

A number of players have also publicly expressed doubts over returning to the pitch, including Manchester City star Sergio Aguero and Chelsea‘s Antonio Rudiger, amid the continued rise of coronavirus cases in England.

Three Brighton players have been placed in self-isolation over the last week after testing positive for the illness, with Spain and Germany having similar issues as they attempt to reopen doors in La Liga and the Bundesliga.

Source – Goal.com

Manchester City’s parent company has agreed a deal for Belgian second-tier outfit Lommel SK.

Lommel played in Belgium First Division B this season

The man who worked alongside the Spanish boss at the Allianz Arena has revealed that his system was questioned by the squad in the Champions League.

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Bayern players overruled Pep Guardiola’s tactics before a 4-0 defeat against Real Madrid in 2014, according to his former assistant Domenec Torrent.

The two teams met in the Champions League semi-finals six years ago, with Guardiola coming up against legendary Italian head coach Carlo Ancelotti in the dugout.

Madrid were on the verge of a first European Cup final in 12 years after winning the first leg 1-0 at Santiago Bernabeu, but Bayern were expected to provide a sterner challenge at Allianz Arena.

In the end, Guardiola’s men were no match for Ancelotti’s side, as Real raced into 3-0 lead at the interval thanks to a Sergio Ramos double and a Cristiano Ronaldo effort.

Ronaldo doubled his tally in the second half, and Madrid progressed to the showpiece event after a 5-0 aggregate triumph, dumping the reigning champions out of the competition in the process.

Torrent, who was sat on the bench next to Guardiola that night, has revealed that several Bayern stars ignored their manager’s instructions prior to the match.

The 57-year-old says the players took it upon themselves to go to toe to toe with Madrid, and he’s not sure whether there would have been a different outcome had they followed Guardiola’s blueprint.

“Pep’s idea would have been a more wait-and-see tactic, but essential players wanted to act more urgently, more stormily,” Torrent told Kicker. “There were errors in defensive behaviour when conceding goals, but there are such errors.

“Maybe with Pep’s idea of ​​more control we still would have lost 0-4, maybe even 0-5.”

Torrent went on to express his belief that Philipp Lahm was as important to Guardiola at Bayern as Xavi was to him at Barcelona, having also served as the current Manchester City boss’s number two at Camp Nou.

“Lahm was another Xavi for Pep at Bayern. Lahm could have played with us in Barca’s big phase thanks to his game intelligence,” said Torrent.

Guardiola was criticised for his failure to win the Champions League at Bayern, but he was still able to deliver unprecedented success on the domestic stage. The 49-year-old guided the German outfit to seven major trophies in total, including three successive Bundesliga titles and two DFB Cups.

Source – Goal.com

The veteran centre-forward has been training with the club since the postponement of the 2019-20 Serie A season.

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Hammarby sporting director Jesper Jansson says the club will “probably” be able to sign AC Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic this summer.

Ibrahimovic returned to Sweden at the end of March after the coronavirus outbreak in Italy, which called a temporary halt to the current Serie A campaign.

Since then, the 38-year-old has taken the opportunity to maintain his fitness levels with Hammarby, the club he invested in as a co-owner back in November.

The former LA Galaxy frontman rejoined Milan in January on a short-term deal after calling time on a successful spell in MLS and, as it stands, he will become a free agent again next month.

Ibrahimovic has admitted that he is not sure where he will be playing next season, and Jansson believes there is a good chance he could end up staying in his homeland.

When asked if Hammarby could bring in the ex-Sweden international this summer, the club’s head of transfers told Expressen: “Probably, I think so. But only Zlatan knows.

“At the moment he hasn’t said anything about it, and I certainly don’t have to tell him that we want him here.

“By now, I understand what he is made of, he won’t speak out on it when it is not 100 per cent certain, but obviously we would like this idea very much.”

Ibrahimovic had helped Milan climb back up towards the European places in Serie A before all fixtures were postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The former Manchester United and Barcelona superstar hit four goals in 10 outings across all competitions for the Rossoneri, endearing himself to head coach Stefano Pioli in the process.

The Milan boss compared Ibrahimovic to legendary tennis player Roger Federer on Instagram Live earlier this month, stating: “I think talent is an innate quality and it’s not difficult for me to spot it, but talent can be worked on and improved.

“I set the example of Roger Federer, as he was born with that talent, but worked constantly every day to become probably the greatest tennis player who ever lived.

“Even Ibra tells me his only objective every day is to improve his performance and that’s what it’s all about.”

Source – Goal.com