Daily Mirror - 06.09.2019

DM1ST
mirror.co.uk/sport FRIDAY 06.09.2019 DAILY MIRROR^57

CHRISTIAN ERIKSEN looks set to leave Spurs on

a free transfer next summer – and that could rule

out a move to Real Madrid.

The Spanish giants rarely sign free transfers because

they do not believe in the system and always

look for spectacular signings.

They recruited Japanese teenager

Takefusa Kubo, 18, on a free this summer

and also got Hamit Altintop from Bayern

Munich in 2011, as well as Christoph

Metzelder, Jerzy Dudek and Javier Saviola in

the past. But Eriksen (right) was not near the top of

Real’s wish list this summer and there is a belief that

they will not pursue a free signing of the midfielder.

‘Too many games

are a health risk’

THERE is a growing crisis

within football over the

international calendar.

UEFA’s Professional

Football Strategy Council

met in Monaco last week

with the match calendar

and concerns over

players’ health high

on the agenda.

Vincent

Kompany was

one of a

number of

high-profile

figures to

speak up on

behalf of players’

union FIFPro over the

number of games stars

are playing. Tottenham

forward Heung-Min Son

(above) clocked up a

record 78 for both

club and country last

season.

The stand-off has

reached such a level that

FIFA could not confirm

the exact dates for the

next Africa Cup of

Nations in Ivory Coast in

the summer of 2021

when asked yesterday.

UEFA have also

effectively postponed

talks about a new-look

Champions League

set-up because that

could mean extra games,

although they want to

push it through by the

latest for 2024 and the

next but one TV deal.

With top professionals

like Kompany backing

the campaign, FIFPro

want to put in limits on

how many games players

can play in any season,

with a maximum of 60

the suggested figure.

They also want to

lock-in season breaks,

more rest after “long

haul” trips (with La Liga

keen to go abroad and

also the forthcoming

Club World Cup

in Qatar) and

a limit on

the number

of times

a player

can play

“back-to-back”

games in a season

with less than five days

in between.

It puts a further

spanner in the works into

UEFA’s grand plan for

new-look European club

tournaments and could

cause issues for FIFA and

plans to expand their

club tournaments.

JOHN CROSS

He’s got his ear to the ground and his finger on the pulse

h high

a.

ers’

also the

Club

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ys

in

NEW FEUD OWEN v SHEARER

betting firm and quickly

revealed as a spoof, with the

deal actually seeing the club

remove the sponsor from

the front of their kit.

The slogan broke an FA

regulation, which states

advertising should consist

of one single area on the

front of the shirt, not

exceeding 250 square

centimetres.

“failed to use all due

diligence” and ensure its

supporters refrained from

using racist language.

Huddersfield, relegated

from the Premier League

last season, were hit by the

FA after wearing a kit (right)

in a friendly that breached

advertising regulations.

It was worn as part of a

sponsorship deal with a

faces among the game’s

rulers. A section of about

200 Millwall fans chanted:

“I’d rather be a P**i than a

Scouse” during their FA Cup

fourth-round win over

Everton in January.

On August 1, they were

fined £10,000 and told to

“implement an action plan”.

The FA found that the

south London club had

FA TORN OFF A STRIP BY CAMPAIGNERS

BY DARREN LEWIS
THE FA stands accused of
not taking racism seriously
after fining Huddersfield
£50,000 for last month’s kit
stunt – compared to £10,000
for Millwall’s racist chanting.
It is being seen as the
latest example of a struggle
to prioritise the problem
and comes as players across
Europe call for more black

BURNLEY’S

players, including

Chris Wood, Jack

Cork and Nick Pope,

were nearly onto a

winner last weekend.

Cork came up with

the idea to buy

Breathalyze, who is

trained by Michael

Owen’s trainer Tom

Dascombe, and the

two-year-old finished

second at Chester

whilst wearing claret

and blue colours.

ARSENE WENGER

is finally set for a

return to football –

as a technical director

for FIFA.

Wenger, 69, could be

confirmed in the role this

month. The former

Arsenal manager has

decided not to return to

club management.

But he also revealed

in a TV interview he still

harbours an ambition of

managing a team at the

next World Cup.

WITH impeccable

timing, Manchester^

United legend Roy

Keane is part of ITV’s

team for their coverage

of England’s World Cup

qualifier against

Bulgaria tomorrow.

Keano’s latest blast

against former Red

Devils boss Sir Alex

Ferguson has reopened

old wounds.

Former Republic of

Ireland coach Keane will

be back in front of the

cameras at Wembley,

with fit-again Glenn

Hoddle also in the

ITV line-up.

I THOUGHT THAT AL

WAS STILL MY PAL

‘I don’t have a problem with Shearer.. but he’s changed’

from relegation. He told

friends Owen indicated he

would not bust a gut to be fit

for the run-in as he had not

been offered a new deal.

Owen does not believe he

can convince Shearer he got it

wrong. “He’s a strong personality

and so am I,” he said. “I’m not going

to change his mind.

“We were big, big mates, we

used to play golf every week. We

would fly off to Loch Lomond

occasionally, really good courses.

“If Alan Shearer has come to the

conclusion I didn’t fancy playing in

the last game against Villa because

I was worried about getting injured

and worried about my next move

then that’s fine in a way.

“I find it hard that he’s come to

the decision to blame me. I was

hardly fit in the period he took

over, then I actually put my body

on the line in the last game when

really I was a week or two away

from being fit from a groin injury.”

against him. That’s all it is – he’s

changed towards me, 100 per cent.

“I didn’t know and this is the

ironic thing. A year after I left

Newcastle, I was talking to a mate

who’s a friend to both of us and

said I should give Alan call about

that. He said, ‘I wouldn’t if I would

you mate’.

“I said, ‘What!’ That’s how I

found out. There was nothing, I

don’t dislike him. Unless I can’t

read people, I had no idea for

like a year or two after

Newcastle got relegated

that he had a gripe with

me. “I hadn’t any clue, I was

like, “Oh, you’re joking’.

“And then it all came out. I’ve

no problem with him, it’s just he

has an issue with what he thinks I

did wrong in that last game of the

season against Aston Villa.”

Shearer took charge of

Newcastle in 2009 (right) for the

final eight games of the season in

a doomed attempt to save them

MICHAEL OWEN has insisted

he has no problem with Alan

Shearer – and had no idea his

old team-mate held a grudge.

The former Newcastle striker

has opened up on the breakdown

of his relationship with Shearer,

who used to be one of his best

friends in football.

Owen has been taken

aback by the reaction to

his book, which was

published this week,

especially from the

To o n l e g e n d.

Reboot – My Life, My

Time, serialised in the

Mirror, sparked a Twitter spat

between the ex-Magpies strike

partners (above).

Asked if they had spoken since,

Owen replied: “No. Will I ever? I

don’t know. We both work on the

telly, we both work in the same

circles. Honestly, I’ve nothing

BY DAVID MADDOCK

@MaddockMirror

don

r

li

“A

en

y

he

OWEN IS

JUST TELLING

HIS TRUTH:

ANDY DUNN

PAGE 59