It is “frankly not comprehendible” that professional football is continuing in Belarus amid the coronavirus pandemic, says world players’ union Fifpro.

Fans at a Belarus Premier League match between FC Dinamo and Minsk which was played on Saturday

It is the only country in Europe where top-level football is being played.

Eight fixtures are scheduled in the Belarusian Premier League this weekend.

“We’re appealing for it to be taken with the same cautionary measures that have been taken in the rest of football,” Fifpro general secretary Jonas Baer-Hoffmann said.

“It is frankly not comprehendible how this could be going on.

“Why those standards there would be looking so much different from just across the border, I don’t think anybody can explain. So everything in common sense tells you that they need to apply the same standards and we will be lobbying to that effect.

“Yes, there are players who are reaching out who are concerned.”

The league has seen a surge in popularity with the Belarus Football Federation securing broadcasting deals with sports networks in 10 countries, including Russia, Israel and India.

Fifpro does not have a member union in Belarus but said it will lobby world governing body Fifa and European counterpart Uefa on the matter.

On Saturday, the derby between FC Minsk and Dinamo Minsk was watched by a capacity crowd of 3,000 people in Belarus’ capital.

Source – BBC News

Football’s world governing body, FIFA, is setting up a fund to assist competitions and players which have run into financial difficulty because of the coronavirus pandemic.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has previously said he wants football to consider reforms, including reducing squad sizes

A number of clubs are feeling the bite of the financial crisis brought on by the pandemic, with Premier League sides Newcastle and Tottenham placing some staff on furlough – a scheme in which an employee does not work but gets 80 per cent of their salary paid for the next two months by the government.

In Spain, La Liga giants Barcelona have agreed a 70 per cent wage cut for their players, while in Scotland, Hearts have also asked their players to take a 50 per cent salary cut.

Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy is among the non-playing staff taking a pay cut at the club

FIFA is now set to dip into its reserves to help those competitions and clubs most affected.

“The football community around the world is experiencing, to a greater or lesser extent, serious financial problems on account of the coronavirus outbreak,” a FIFA spokesperson said.

“This threatens to disrupt and impair the ability of FIFA’s member associations and other football organisations such as leagues and clubs to develop, finance and run football activities at all levels of the game, including professional, non-professional, youth and grassroots.

“It is foreseen that in many parts of the world a considerable number of persons involved in football including both men and women players will be left in extremely difficult economic conditions.

“FIFA is in a strong financial situation and it’s our duty to do the utmost to help them in their hour of need.

“Therefore, we confirm FIFA is working on possibilities to provide assistance to the football community around the world after making a comprehensive assessment of the financial impact this pandemic will have on football.

“The exact format and details of this assistance are currently being considered and discussed in consultation with FIFA’s member associations, the confederations and other stakeholders, having in mind that a decision needs to be agreed and announced in the near future.”

Source – Sky Sports

The Brazilian says his failure to get the two men to play together up front was a source of major frustration during his time in west London.

Photo by Getty

Former Chelsea head coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has opened up on his ill-fated reign at Stamford Bridge, admitting that he failed to see eye to eye with Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka.

Scolari was brought in to succeed Avram Grant as the Blues’ new permanent manager in the summer of 2008, becoming the first World Cup-winning boss to manage in the Premier League.

The 71-year-old – who became a world champion with Brazil in 2002 before taking up a role with Portugal the following year – masterminded a 12-match unbeaten run at the start of his Chelsea career, but results began to turn sour over the Christmas period.

He ended up being dismissed after just seven months in the role, following a poor run of form which culminated in a disappointing 0-0 draw at home to Hull City.

Scolari has now offered an insight into the “problems” he faced on a daily basis at the Bridge, including a number of injuries to key players and his fractious relationship with some of the club’s main stars.

“Chelsea had some problems with injuries, some problems in the team. I had a form of leadership that clashed with one or two players,” he told Yellow and Green Football.

When asked which players he had issues with, Scolari responded: “Anelka and Drogba.”

The former Brazil tactician went on to detail how he disagreed with the club’s medical department over Drogba’s recovery from a knee issue which saw him miss the start of the 2008-09 season, before revealing that Anelka refused to play alongside the Ivorian in a front two.

“Our medical department thought that we should let Drogba go and recover [from surgery] in Cannes, in the middle of summer,” Scolari added.

“I thought he should stay in London. I’d also like to go to Cannes in the middle of summer. I’d stay there for a month, two months, enjoying myself.

“When he came back, I tried to adapt so that Drogba and Anelka could play together. Anelka was the top scorer in the league. We had a meeting and Anelka said: ‘I only play in one position’.

“So, there was a bit of a lack of friendship, of respect, of trying to play together with Drogba. They were both great, but someone had to do something different, to get back to help when we lost the ball.

“That was when it changed a bit. But we’ve met since then, me and Drogba. The last time was in Russia in 2018. We spoke openly about it.

“There wasn’t any ill intention from him or Anelka. But it happened and I lost out on one of the great chances of my life.”

Source – Goal.com

The Spaniard believes the duo are the best ever but struggled when asked to pick between them.

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Real Madrid winger Lucas Vazquez has chosen Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi as the greatest footballers of all time.

Having spent his entire senior career with Los Blancos, Vazquez play alongside Ronaldo for many years, while he has come up against Messi numerous times in El Clasicos.

In a question and answer session with Bleacher Report, the Spaniard named the duo as the greatest, but couldn’t pick between them when pressed.

“I think it is between Messi and Cristiano,” Vazquez said when asked for the greatest of all time.

“Both are incredible players that are making history. Many, many years will have to pass to see two players like them.”

Having worked more closely with Ronaldo, Vazquez revealed how the Portuguese star’s demanding nature brings the best out of those around him.

“He is an incredible professional and he demanded the most out of himself and his teammates, so he made everybody do their best,” he said.

On Ronaldo’s overhead kick against Juventus in 2018, Vazquez added: “I saw a centre from Carvajal, and the ball was coming to the zone I was in, and suddenly some legs appeared…I saw it was Cristiano and he scored such a great goal. And I thought it’s best that those legs appeared.”

While in no doubt over the quality of Messi and Ronaldo, Vazquez grew up idolising Luis Figo and continues to study the former Real Madrid player to this day.

“I grew up watching him play in Real Madrid, he plays in my position and I’ve always watched [him] and still do watch videos of him to improve my game through his,” he said.

In terms of the most challenging player to face, Vazquez couldn’t go past his captain, Sergio Ramos.

“Because of his competitive character, and because he is the best of the world in his position,” he said.

“He is very intense in the day to day. He is an example for all the players and he is the captain he always shows.”

Though still in his prime at 28, the attacker admitted a future move to MLS is firmly on his radar.

“It would be incredible, I’d love to play in the MLS some day,” Vazquez said.

Source – Goal.com

The 45-year-old was given a ticking off by the authorities and offered his apologies after the incident.

Photo by Getty Images

Ex-Newcastle star Nolberto Solano was arrested in Peru after failing to abide by a curfew put in place in a bid to stop the spread of coronavirus.

COVID-19 has not taken hold in the South American nation as it has in some countries, though with a sharp rise in new cases in recent days, taking the nation’s infected to 635, there are concerns that it could become more widespread.

In a bid to halt the progress of the virus, which has infected close to 600,000 people worldwide, killing nearly 27.000, Peru has put in place a strict 8pm curfew.

Solano fell foul of the law on Thursday when he was caught out when enjoying a meal that went on longer than anticipated.

“I obviously regret this very much and I ask for forgiveness,” Solano told the radio station RPP Noticias. “I am not going to justify it. It’s very tough for everyone but the most important thing is our health, without that we can’t do anything.”

He was taken to a police station in the capital of Lima after a neighbour had spotted him and complained to the authorities. His stay was short-lived, according to local media, who reported that the assistant manager of the national team was allowed out after his misdemeanour was recorded.

There have been more than 18,000 people arrested for breaking the curfew, with Peruvian president reporting that on Wednesday 2,568 were caught out later than they should have been.

Solano is a notable figure in English football thanks largely to a spell at Newcastle, where he played with distinction in two spells. He made 230 Premier League appearances for the St James’ Park side over the course of eight years with the club, including stints from 1998-2004 and 2005-2007.

In between, he played for Aston Villa and on leaving the Geordies he joined up with West Ham.

Although the 45-year-old returned to his homeland for a period, he finished his career in England, playing short spells with Leicester, Hull and Hartlepool before finally hanging up his boots in 2012 to take up a career in coaching.

Source – Goal.com

“Difficult decisions will have to be taken” to counter the financial impact of coronavirus on English football, say the Premier League, EFL and Professional Footballers’ Association.

Leicester beat Aston Villa 4-0 on 9 March – the last Premier League action

All games have been postponed until at least 30 April and will only resume “when it is safe and conditions allow”.

A Premier League, EFL and PFA statement said their thoughts “continue to be with everyone affected by the virus”.

Further meetings were set for next week “with a view to formulating a joint plan to deal with the difficult circumstances facing the leagues, their clubs, players, staff and fans”.

Premier League clubs were already due to meet again on 3 April, when it is almost certain the current postponement of all matches until 30 April will be extended again.

That could take it past the official end of the EFL league season and towards the last round of Premier League fixtures, which was supposed to be on 17 May.

Players at some clubs across Europe – including Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund – have agreed to take temporary pay cuts.

While the fate of the Premier League and EFL seasons remains unclear, the FA has already cancelled all non-league campaigns in steps three to seven in the pyramid.

More than 30 clubs are willing to challenge that decision – meaning no promotion or relegation – which is yet to be ratified by the FA council.

Source – BBC News

A former Old Trafford midfielder says that the France international should not be cast aside.

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Manchester United must combine Paul Pogba and Bruno Fernandes in the same midfield, ex-Old Trafford youngster Jonathan Greening has said.

Fernandes has proven a revelation since arriving at the club in January from Sporting CP, while World Cup winner Pogba has served to frustrate for much of his second stint with the Red Devils.

As such, there has been much speculation that the 25-year-old could be a replacement for the France international star in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s plans, yet Greening, who played 14 times under Sir Alex Ferguson during a stint that ran from 1998 until 2001, believes that should not be the case.

“They need to sort out the Paul Pogba situation, because he’s such a good player, and when he’s on his game he’s unreal,” he told Grand National.

“I’d like to see him back fit playing with Bruno Fernandes, leaving Scott McTominay or Fred sitting in. Let those two [Pogba and Fernandes] play together, and they’ll bounce off each other really well.

“If Paul Pogba stays, commits himself, he’s happy and fit and wants to play there (at United) it will be immense for the team and a massive boost.”

Although United are fifth in the Premier League standings, 37 points behind league leaders Manchester City, they had been in the midst of an improved run of form before the suspension of play due to coronavirus, with an 11-match undefeated run representing a significant improvement upon their previous unpredictable fortunes.

Greening believes that they are not far off challenging for trophies once more.

“They definitely need another striker, maybe another centre half and then another player like a Jack Grealish or a James Maddison who can play in wide areas as well as centrally. Then they’ve got a good chance of being title contenders again, without a shadow of a doubt,” he stated.

Should play resume at the beginning of May, which is the earliest possible point that there may be action again, United would face Crystal Palace followed by a home match against West Ham a week later, though it is widely predicted that the delay will last longer.

Source – Goal.com

The four Bundesliga clubs in this season’s Champions League have pledged 20m euros (£18.3m) to support fellow German teams during the coronavirus.

Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich are two of the biggest clubs in Germany

Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig and Bayer Leverkusen will forego their share of the national media revenue and donate the remainder from their own funds.

The German Football League (DFL) will decide how the money will be distributed.

“We want to send a signal of solidarity to all clubs in the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2,” Bayern chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said.

The last Bundesliga fixture was played on 11 March and football in Germany’s top divisions was suspended with immediate effect on 13 March because of Covid-19.

Former West Germany striker Rummenigge added: “In these difficult times, it’s important that the stronger shoulders support the weaker shoulders. With this, we also want to show that football is standing together right now.”

Dortmund chief executive officer Hans-Joachim Watzke said: “We have always said that we would show solidarity if clubs, through no fault of their own, should run into difficulties that they can no longer overcome themselves.

“Borussia Dortmund is currently having a major impact on society through a wide range of initiatives. And naturally we are prepared to help out other professional football clubs if it is ultimately a matter of cushioning the financial effects of the pandemic.”

Christian Seifert, a spokesman for the DFL executive committee said: “The initiative shows that solidarity is more than just lip service in the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2.”

Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski and his wife Anna have contributed one million euros (£923,900) to fight the virus, team-mates Leon Goretzka and Joshua Kimmich set up a fund called We Kick Corona and contributed one million euros between them, while Manchester City’s German winger Leroy Sane has also made a considerable financial donation.

On Wednesday, players and directors at Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund agreed to take temporary pay cuts.

Source – BBC News

Belarusian football is not something even the most fanatical game lovers across the globe have been following over the years. Belarus is ranked 32nd out of 56 UEFA member associations, between Liechtenstein and Israel, while the national team — ranked 87th, between Haiti and Zambia, in the FIFA World Ranking — has never qualified for any major tournaments. (The best effort: finishing third in their World Cup qualifying group, two points shy of reaching the playoffs… in 2002.)

The Belarusian Premier League kicked off the 2020 season defiantly last weekend, earning the dubious honor of being one of just five leagues in action across the globe. Natalia Fedosenko\TASS via Getty Images

Yet it does get into the world’s news feed from time to time, albeit for different reasons. Like, in 2012, when Brendan Rodgers’ Liverpool travelled to play a Europa League tie against FC Gomel, the players, staff and traveling fans were advised to abstain from drinking tap water, as the city of Gomel is 70 miles north of Chernobyl and certain actions could still have consequences. Or, in 2018, when Diego Maradona was paraded in a huge military vehicle at the stadium before being unveiled as the new Dinamo Brest chairman.

These days, Belarus has centre stage, drawing the attention of any football fan from all over the world. The reason is simple: Belarus is the only country on the European continent that continues to play football during the coronavirus crisis. Why? Because Aleksandr Lukashenko, the president of the country and a man often referred to as the “last dictator in Europe,” said so. (The other leagues still in action, for now, are Nicaragua, Turkmenistan, Burundi and Myanmar.)

“[Coronavirus] is just another psychosis, which will benefit some people and harm others,” he said last week. “The civilised world is going nuts. It is absolute stupidity to close state borders. The panic can hurt us more than the virus itself.”

To add to that, he suggested that instead of panicking “like those in Western Europe,” one should have 40-50 grams of vodka daily, go to a banya [Russian sauna] two to three times a week and keep working on a farm, as “tough work and a tractor can cure anything.”

There was not much doubt that in a country where people follow the president’s instructions — they have little choice — everything went on as usual and the 2020 Belarusian Premier League season began last Thursday as planned, with Energetik-BGU defeating BATE Borisov 3-1 in the highlight of the round.

“On the one hand, of course, we are all wary of this, seeing what is happening in the world,” FC Isloch head coach Vitaly Zhukovsky told ESPN. “But on the other hand, in our country of 10 million people, during all this time there have only been 86 infected and not a single fatal outcome. You have to agree that these figures are pretty impressive and cannot be compared to other countries.”

“I do trust our health care system,” Valery Isaev, one of the top football agents in the country, told ESPN. “I trust it way more than those of neighbouring countries, including Russia and Ukraine. Of course, I do worry about my family, my players [15 in the Belarusian Premier League] and their families, but we’ve been assured there is no critical situation and no state of emergency in Belarus, and I trust this information.”

Among the players, however, the attitude is slightly different from the one mentioned above.

“There is no panic in the team, but surely all of us hear and see what’s happening in the world and it does get in our heads,” said Isloch midfielder Sandro Tsveiba, son of the former Soviet star Akhrik Tsveiba, the only person who played for four different national teams (USSR, CIS, Ukraine and Russia). “Not much has changed on the pitch, but we no longer shake hands, just fist bump each other. Oh, and we cough and sneeze in the dressing room, just for fun.”

Attendances are usually sparse in Belarus league play, but the fans have been showing up and cheering on their sides. Natalia Fedosenko\TASS via Getty Images

Meanwhile, Belarusian football has seen an enormous rise in interest, not just in the country but also from abroad. Russia’s Match and Ukraine’s Futbol 1 TV companies have acquired the rights to broadcast the Belarusian Premier League until the end of the season, the first time in history anyone from outside Belarus has done so.

“It is indeed a nice feeling that the whole world is watching,” Tsveiba said. “All of us can benefit from it, not just the players but Belarusian football as a whole. I’m happy to be playing while most of my colleagues around the world are killing time sitting at home. But once again, our health and the health of our families and loved ones is still above everything.”

“The funny thing about it all is that Belarusian fans have started to watch our football,” Yuri Dovnar, head of Pressball and one of the top journalists in the country, told ESPN. “Of course, everyone was watching English Premier League or Spain’s La Liga, which you can do for free in Belarus, and didn’t pay much attention to the local game, especially when kick-off times clashed. Now it’s all changed and our football surely benefits from it.”

According to FC Ruh head coach Andrey Ferapontov, who spoke to sports.kz, continuing to play has become a political battle between Belarus as a country and its European peers, including UEFA.

“There are many reasons [why the Belarusian league hasn’t been suspended], and one of the main ones is the political will of our leaders,” he said. “Our league has started to be broadcast on many popular sports TV channels in neighboring countries, and that gives [them] an excuse to continue holding games. The tournament attracts increased attention, bookmakers are happy, and in general this situation popularises Belarusian football.

“I still think there is a possibility of the league being suspended, though. The Football Federation and the Ministry of Sport are facing a lot of pressure from UEFA and other countries’ football federations, and it could be vital.”

There is still a firm belief that everything will stay as it is and it won’t really do much harm to anyone.

“You have to understand how strict everything is here,” Dovnar said. “Last week, my colleague had a call in the office. It was from police. Apparently, his son’s classmate had just returned from abroad and had to get quarantined, so every single person who contacted with the boy in school and those who contacted with those contacted had to go to hospital for a test. ‘I can’t right now, I’m heading to the stadium,’ my colleague replied. ‘Either you come yourself, or you will be delivered here in handcuffs,’ he heard in response.

“I want to believe that this approach is good in this case. Our medical department is indeed among the best, we have the most number of hospital beds per capita in Europe, and the quality of health care is really high. So we can only hope that Belarus will not just keep on living its normal life, but also stays as the only European country [unscathed].”

In the meantime, the Premier League is set for more action this weekend, starting on Friday with Torpedo-Belaz Zhodino vs. Belshina and Ruh Brest vs. Energetik-BGU, followed by the Minsk Derby (FK vs. Dinamo) on Saturday morning.

Source – ESPN