Mata trolls Matic over training regime during lockdown

London (AFP) – Juan Mata has trolled his Manchester United team-mate Nemanja Matic by jokingly saying the Serbia midfielder is only claiming to be doing his training regime during the coronavirus lockdown.

With the Premier League suspended until at least April 30 and Britain effectively shuttered by the pandemic, United’s players have been forced to keep in shape from home after their training ground was closed.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team have been given personalised regimes to keep fit in case the season resumes.

Matic has made a series of Instagram posts showing his training routine.

“Every day is a gym day,” read the caption on one of Matic’s latest posts.

Spanish midfielder Mata responded by poking fun at Matic’s posts by claiming the former Chelsea star is only pretending to work.

“Get dressed and go to the gym to take the photo then all day in the sofa. Old trick Nema”, Mata wrote with a laughing emoji.

Marcus Rashford replied to Mata’s comment, calling him an “Insta bully” before Matic wrote: “True, we don’t need to train, we are the maestros.”

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UEFA postpone June internationals in hope club football can return

Paris (AFP) – UEFA have made a move towards clearing the decks for the return of club football by announcing on Wednesday that all international matches that had been pushed back to June have now been postponed until further notice.

“This includes the play-off matches for UEFA Euro 2020 and qualifying matches for UEFA Women’s Euro 2021,” said European football’s governing body in a statement.

“All other UEFA competition matches, including the centralised international friendly matches, remain postponed until further notice.”

The decision followed a videoconference with Europe’s 55 member federations as part of discussions on how to adapt the fixture calendar in the face of the ongoing coronavirus crisis.

The play-off semi-finals and finals that are supposed to decide the last four qualifying berths for the next European Championship were initially postponed at the end of March and pencilled in provisionally for June.

That was “subject to a review of the situation” amid uncertainty over how the pandemic will develop and whether many European countries currently in lockdown will be able to return to some kind of normality.

Friendlies that will not now go ahead include England’s matches in Austria and at home to Romania in early June.

– Finishing season is ‘priority’ –

However, UEFA have also stated a determination to finish all domestic and club competitions by June 30.

While that currently looks ambitious, clearing the international fixtures from the same month does buy some more time as they aim to complete the Champions League and Europa League competitions as well as domestic leagues.

“The federations agreed to hand over the international window in June (two dates) to the leagues so they can complete domestic competitions. Finishing the current season is a priority for UEFA as much as it is for the federations,” said the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) in a statement.

Carrying the season on beyond June 30 runs the risk of clubs losing their out-of-contract players before matches have been completed, unless a solution can be found.

“There is a very strong case to be made that it should be in everybody’s interests to as much as possible extend those,” said Jonas Baer-Hoffmann, the general secretary of global players’ union FIFPro, when asked about the issue of expiring player contracts in a conference call on Tuesday.

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin told Italian daily La Repubblica at the weekend that football “could start again in mid-May, in June or even late June” but that any time after that and “the season will probably be lost.”

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De Bruyne vows to play two extra years after virus lockdown

London (AFP) – Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne has vowed to play for an extra two years at the end of his career to make up for the time lost due to the coronavirus.

The Premier League is postponed until at least April 30 because of the pandemic and is likely to be delayed even longer when the English game’s stakeholders meet on Friday.

De Bruyne has not played since March 1 because of the health crisis and the miserable experience has underlined to the Belgian star just how much he loves the game.

The 28-year-old’s desire to prolong his career comes after he enjoyed a superb personal season with City after missing most of their treble-winning campaign last term due to injury.

“I told my wife I’m going to play a little longer,” De Bruyne said in an Instagram Live video Q&A with Belgium team-mates Romelu Lukaku and Axel Witsel.

“After this lockdown, I cannot stay at home. I told her I’m going to take two years more.

“It’s time to play football again. I miss it and it’s difficult. But we are not important, football is not important. People love football, but you need to stay safe.”

De Bruyne revealed his family, including his two children, had been ill during the virus lockdown, but he said they are better now.

“I’ve been at home now for two weeks,” he said.

“At the beginning, my family and my kids were a little bit sick so that was a little bit worrying but they are alright now.

“It took eight or nine days, we don’t know, but now they are better luckily as you never know what is going to happen.

“People ask why I’m not in Belgium. It’s because I’m self-isolating in England. I live here so I’m here with my kids and wife.”

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Bournemouth’s Howe first Premier League boss to take pay cut over virus

London (AFP) – Bournemouth’s Eddie Howe became the first Premier League manager to take a voluntary pay cut due to the coronavirus on Wednesday.

Cherries boss Howe, 42, agreed to take a “significant” cut to his reported £4 million-per-year ($4.9 million) contract to help offset the financial damage caused by the pandemic.

The League Managers Association, the Professional Footballers Association, the Premier League and the Football League are in talks with a view to reaching a united agreement over pay reductions for players and managers.

But Howe, chief executive Neill Blake, first team technical director Richard Hughes and assistant boss Jason Tindall have rubber stamped significant pay cuts for the period of time football is delayed by the health crisis.

The Premier League has been postponed until at least April 30 and, with the pandemic spread yet to be solved, it appears the top-flight season will be pushed back again when the English game’s major stakeholders meet on Friday.

“As the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic continues to gather pace, there are far more questions than answers regarding its effects,” a Bournemouth statement read.

“There is no script for moments like this. But as a board we are continually looking at ways to ensure the future of the club and our employees are protected when the season returns.

“With that in mind, chief executive Neill Blake, first team technical director Richard Hughes, manager Eddie Howe and assistant manager Jason Tindall have all taken significant, voluntary pay cuts for the entirety of this uncertain time.”

Bournemouth have also followed in the footsteps of fellow Premier League clubs Tottenham, Newcastle and Norwich by furloughing a number of non-playing staff.

“These measures have been taken to safeguard the financial stability of the club during what is such an uncertain period, not only in football but for businesses in all industries across the world,” the statement said.

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UEFA postpone all international matches scheduled for June

Paris (AFP) – UEFA have made a move towards clearing the decks for the return of club football by announcing on Wednesday that all international matches that had been pushed back to June have now been postponed until further notice.

“This includes the play-off matches for UEFA EURO 2020 and qualifying matches for UEFA Women’s EURO 2021,” said European football’s governing body in a statement.

“All other UEFA competition matches, including the centralised international friendly matches, remain postponed until further notice.”

The decision followed a videoconference with Europe’s 55 member federations as part of discussions on how to adapt the fixture calendar in the face of the ongoing coronavirus crisis.

The play-off semi-finals and finals that are supposed to decide the last four qualifying berths for the next European Championship were initially postponed at the end of March and pencilled in provisionally for June.

That was “subject to a review of the situation” amid uncertainty over how the pandemic will develop and whether many European countries currently in lockdown will be able to return to some kind of normality.

However, UEFA has also stated a determination to finish all domestic and club competitions by June 30.

While that currently looks ambitious at the very least, clearing the international fixtures from the same month does buy some more time as they aim to complete the Champions League and Europa League competitions as well as domestic leagues.

Carrying the season on beyond that date runs the risk of clubs losing their out-of-contract players before matches have been completed, unless a solution can be found.

The impact of the pandemic on Europe has already forced UEFA to put Euro 2020 back 12 months.

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Premier League accused of ‘moral vacuum’ as clubs cut staff wages

London (AFP) – Premier League clubs have been accused of living in a “moral vacuum”, with players urged to take their share of the financial hit from the coronavirus pandemic as non-playing staff begin to feel the pinch.

Last year’s Champions League finalists Tottenham as well as Newcastle and Norwich have faced a backlash for using the British government’s furlough scheme, which will guarantee 80 percent of employees’ income up to a maximum of £2,500 ($3,000) a month.

“It sticks in the throat,” said lawmaker Julian Knight, who chairs the Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, referring to the use of public funds to prop up wage bills.

“This exposes the crazy economics in English football and the moral vacuum at its centre.”

The Times said the elite should not be a “drain on the exchequer”.

“(The) furlough scheme.is for clubs lower down the pyramid enduring the cash-flow crisis without gate receipts, not by the likes of Spurs and Newcastle United,” the paper said in a comment piece.

That £2,500 sum would be a drop in the ocean for many Premier League stars, yet there has so far been no agreement on wage cuts or deferrals for players, unlike the situation at other top European clubs such as Juventus and Barcelona.

Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy said he hoped discussions between the Premier League and players’ and managers’ representatives would “result in players and coaches doing their bit for the football eco-system”.

Levy is in the firing line despite taking a 20 percent cut in salary for the next two months.

On Tuesday he announced a 20 percent cut for 550 non-playing staff on the same day it was revealed he was paid £7 million last season, including a £3 million bonus for the completion of the club’s new stadium, which ran well over time and budget.

Players at Barcelona have taken a 70 percent pay cut during Spain’s state of emergency and will make additional contributions to ensure other employees receive full wages.

The squad of Italian champions Juventus, including Cristiano Ronaldo, have agreed to have their wages stopped for four months while players at German giants Bayern Munich accepted a 20 percent pay cut.

“Clearly, when players at Barcelona, or Juventus voluntarily, or some German clubs voluntarily enter into these agreements with their clubs, then good on them,” said FIFPro general secretary Jonas Baer-Hoffmann.

“Where the players have the means and they step forward I think that shows very much that they understand what is happening right now and frankly we will be seeing more of that.”

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Tributes paid to ex-Olympique Marseille president Diouf

Marseille (AFP) – Tributes poured in Wednesday for former Marseille president Pape Diouf, who has died aged 68 after contracting the coronavirus.

Diouf, who became the first ever black president of a top European football club, died on Tuesday in Dakar, his family told AFP.

The former journalist and football agent led the club between 2005-2009 and helped build the side that lifted the Ligue 1 title in 2010.

“He was a man of conviction, a man of wit and passion for the game and all those involved in it,” said French World Cup-winning national coach Didier Deschamps, who was recruited as Marseille coach by Diouf in 2009. “His sudden and brutal passing saddens me deeply.”

Diouf was hospitalised in Senegal after contracting the virus there and became the country’s first COVID-19 fatality.

He had been due to leave for Nice earlier on Tuesday to be treated in France, but a sharp deterioration in his health — which saw him placed on a respirator — prevented him from boarding the plane.

Moving to Marseille from Senegal aged 18, he was set to follow in the footsteps of his father, a World War II veteran, by embarking on a career in the military. But he soon switched paths.

After dropping out of university he worked at the La Marseillaise newspaper before changing careers to become a football agent, handling some of Africa’s top talent including Didier Drogba, who enthralled Marseille’s Stade Velodrome in 2003-04.

He was brought on to the club’s payroll as general manager in 2004 and a year later rose to become president, “a difficult post, where there were very few men from diverse backgrounds,” said Jacques-Henri Eyraud, the club’s current president.

– Painful –

“But he fought tooth and nail, and won the hearts of thousands of supporters.”

Diouf was acutely aware of the lack of diversity in the boardrooms of European clubs, telling an interviewer in 2008 that it was painful to him that he was the only black president of a European club.

“I am the only black president of a European club. It’s a painful observation” but one that “fits the image of a European society, especially French society, that excludes ethnic minorities,” he said.

Nevertheless fans at the Velodrome embraced the ever popular figure who was eventually forced out by internal differences in the boardroom in 2009.

“Pape will remain in the hearts of the Marseillais forever, as one of the great architects in the club’s history,” Marseille said in a statement.

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