QPR defender Rio Ferdinand has shown no sign of remorse according to the commission that penalised him over recent comments on Twitter.
The former England captain was banned for three matches and fined £25,000 due to his conduct on the social network, with the Football Association citing a potentially insulting reference to gender.
After being sent a message from another Twitter user, which read, Maybe QPR will sign a good CB they need one, Ferdinand replied using the derogatory slang term sket .
The Independent Regulatory Commission released its written reasons for the case on Wednesday and revealed Ferdinand through his solicitors had claimed his use of the word was not derogatory, an explanation that was rejected.
The commission s statement read: Unf…
West Ham winger Stewart Downing said he knew it was time to leave Liverpool when he was deployed as a left-back.
Downing in his second full season at Upton Park is preparing to represent England for the first time since 2012 following his brilliant run of form for West Ham.
But an England recall seemed like a distant dream for Downing at Liverpool, where he endured a torrid two-year spell that came to a head after he was told to play as a full-back by manager Brendan Rodgers.
While the 30-year-old was content to make the switch to defence in order to put together some much-needed game time, he revealed it was the lowest point of his career.
I was out of the team [at Liverpool] so for me just to play and get back in the team was a big thing, Downing said.…
It was little wonder Mikel Arteta had his head in his hands and that was before Chelsea grabbed a late winner in a 2-1 victory at Arsenal on Sunday.
The new Gunners head coach had seemingly produced a masterclass, outmanoeuvring Frank Lampard a week on from the Chelsea boss own breakout tactical display away at Tottenham.
But then Bernd Leno, one of Arsenal s more consistent performers in this miserable season, failed to intercept Mason Mount s deep 83rd-minute free-kick and instead left an open goal for Jorginho, who might have been sent off six minutes earlier and was fortunate to escape a second yellow card for wrestling Matteo Guendouzi to the ground.
As has so often been the case for Arsenal this term, worse was still to come.
Tammy Abraham led a c…
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola will target the Champions League as Liverpool run away with the Premier League title, according to Xavi.
City are eyeing a third consecutive Premier League crown under Guardiola, however, the defending champions are third and 14 points adrift of unbeaten rivals Liverpool – who have a game in hand – after 20 matches.
Amid doubts over Guardiola s long-term future in Manchester, former Barcelona star Xavi believes the Spaniard will prioritise the Champions League ahead of a blockbuster last-16 showdown against Real Madrid.
Pep is a born winner, Al Sadd head coach Xavi, who played under Guardiola at Camp Nou, told The Mirror. It will hurt him that Manchester City are so far behind Liverpool in the league and he won t give …
Carson Yeung has pledged 80 million pounds over the next ten months in a bid to turn Birmingham City into a more formidable Premier League force.
The new owner is clearly not short of ambition, but he ll be given an immediate indication of the scale of the task that lies before him when City travel to face Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium for their first game since the Hong Kong businessman formally completed the takeover of the Midlands club.
Yeung stated on Thursday that he was ready to make up to 40 million pounds available to City manager Alex McLeish in the forthcoming January transfer window to strengthen the squad.
And he subsequently revealed that a similar amount will also be allocated for trading in next summer s transfer market, providing McLeish with …
Market: Both teams to score
Odds: 4/6 @
Hoping to make an immediate return to winning ways this weekend, Stuttgart will travel to the Vonovia Ruhrstadion when they Meet Bochum on Saturday afternoon.
Starting with the hosts, while Bochum might open this weekend’s fixtures holding a commanding six-point buffer from slipping into the relegation play-off spot, Thomas Letsch’s side are seeking some welcomed stability in 2024. Missing out on what they had billed as a potential opportunity last weekend as they were forced to settle for a 1-1 stalemate at home against Werder Bremen, the Blues have recorded just a single win from their previous four Bundesliga appearances. Heading into Germany’s festive break with a routine 4-0 drumming at the hands of title conten…
The Africa Cup of Nations kicks off on Saturday, here we look at the 16 teams that will be competing for the title in Equatorial Guinea.
GROUP A
Equatorial Guinea
Coach: Esteban Becker
Star Man: Juvenal (Santa Coloma) The 35-year-old skipper s presence will be key as the hosts seek to emulate the heroics of 2012, when they reached the quarter-finals
How They Qualified: After being disqualified from the tournament for fielding an ineligible player, Equatorial Guinea were named as replacement hosts following the decision to strip Morocco of the right to stage the competition
Best Performance: Quarter-finals (2012)
Burkina Faso
Coach: Paul Put
Star Man: Jonathan Pitroipa (Al-Jazira) The winger was named play…
A quarter-final berth awaits the winner of Sunday s Africa Cup of Nations Group A clash between Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.
Equatorial Guinea and Gabon face off for the chance to make a rare foray into the Africa Cup of Nations knockout stages on Sunday.
Gabon have only made the last eight on two previous occasions, including in 2012 when co-hosts Equatorial Guinea also made their only appearance to date.
This year s hosts are yet to win a match, having been held by both Congo and Burkina Faso, while Gabon have one win and a defeat to their name.
Sunday s Group A fixture will be the first AFCON meeting between the sides, and Equatorial Guinea coach Esteban Becker believes his side can continue to make a mark at their home tournament.
Speakin…
New Hamburg head coach Markus Gisdol has backed Alen Halilovic to shine under his tutelage providing he is afforded the necessary time and space.
Halilovic – dubbed the Balkan Messi after coming through the ranks at Dinamo Zagreb and sealing a switch to Barca in 2014 – moved to Bundesliga club Hamburg after a fruitful loan spell at Sporting Gijon last term, but struggled for game-time under Gisdol s predecessor Bruno Labbadia.
But Gisdol, who oversaw the development of Roberto Firmino, Kevin Volland and Sebastian Rudy during his tenure at Hoffenheim, is confident he can get the best out of the 20-year-old.
We will all do incredibly well if we take the pressure off Halilovic. The expectations of him are totally inappropriate. He is now very specifically set u…
Napoli have released a statement denying striker Gonzalo Higuain made controversial comments about former Real Madrid team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo.
Quotes emerged on Sunday of Higuain reportedly branding three-time Ballon d Or winner Ronaldo over-rated and egotistical in an apparent interview with Spanish magazine Don Balon.
However, Napoli insisted the Argentina international never made those comments.
Napoli and Higuain categorically deny ever he has been granted an interview with Don Balon , the statement read.
Therefore the sentences attributed to Higuain are considered false and without any foundation.
Higuain, who played alongside Ronaldo at the Santiago Bernabeu before moving to Napoli in 2013, made headlines when he was quoted as saying…