Daily Mail - 21.08.2019

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QQQ Daily Mail, Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Football

United executives are keen to go a step

further and meet their counterparts at

Twitter to discuss their concerns.

Twitter are already taking an active

role in combating racial abuse suffered

by footballers and Sportsmail can reveal

they will present their blueprint to

Kick It Out next week. Plans to meet

representatives from the anti-racism

group have been fast-tracked due to

the amount of abuse aimed at players

this season. Pogba, Chelsea’s Tammy

Abraham and Reading’s Yakou Meite

have been targeted over the past week.

United said in a statement: ‘The indi-

viduals who expressed these views do

not represent the values of our great

club and it is encouraging to see the

vast majority of our fans condemn

this. We will work to identify the

few involved in these incidents

and take the strongest course of

action available to us. We also

encourage social media compa-

nies to take action.’

Pogba’s team-mates Harry

Maguire and Marcus Rashford

called for punishment yesterday.

Maguire tweeted: ‘Disgusting.

Social media need to do some-

thing about it... Every account

that is opened should be

verified by a passport/­

driving licence. Stop these

pathetic trolls making

numerous accounts to

abuse people.’

Rashford said: ‘Manchester

United is a family. Paul Pogba is a

huge part of that family. You attack

him, you attack us all.’

England women’s manager Phil

Neville called for a boycott. ‘I’ve lost

faith in whoever runs these social media

departments,’ said Neville. ‘I wonder

whether now as a football community,

in terms of really sending a powerful

message: six months — let’s come off

social media. Let’s see the effect it has

on these social media companies,

whether they’re really going to do

something about it.’

The Professional Footballers’

Association are set to meet Face-

book, who also own Instagram. The

players’ union has called on social

media networks to take stronger action

to stop racist abuse. A spokesperson for

Twitter said they were ‘fully aware’ of

the abuse, ‘strongly condemned’ it and

had permanently suspended accounts

for violating its hateful-conduct policy.

They added: ‘This is a societal issue

and requires a societal response. This is

why we maintain a dialogue with the

PFA and Kick It Out and are committed

to working together to address abusive

and racist behaviour.’

Additional reporting: Sami Mokbel

and Adrian Kajumba

Maguire hits out

at ‘pathetic trolls’

From Back Page

NEWCASTLE defender Paul

Dummett revealed yesterday

that he had concerns during the

warm-up ahead of Saturday’s

3-1 defeat at Norwich — while

former striker Michael Chopra

claims some players have

criticised Steve Bruce.

It adds up to a difficult start for

Bruce, who has lost his first two

matches. On top of that, striker

Yosinori Muto has questioned

the tactics which left him feeling

‘isolated’ after coming on at

Carrow Road.

But it is the comments of

Dummett, a respected figure in

the dressing room, which will be

of chief concern for Bruce.

Wales international Dummett

said: ‘From the start, in the

warm-up, it wasn’t right. Then,

in the first five minutes, Norwich

were on top of us and we didn’t

From Back Page

CHELSEA duo Callum

Hudson-Odoi and Antonio

Rudiger are closing in on

long-awaited returns.

England international

Hudson-Odoi, who ruptured

an achilles tendon in April,

has resumed full first-team

training. It is understood that

Chelsea manager Frank

Lampard will not consider

the winger for selection until

after the international break,

given his long-lay off.

The 18-year-old’s imminent return

comes as a major boost to Lampard,

particularly after Eden Hazard’s exit

to Real Madrid earlier this summer.

Hudson-Odoi, who has agreed a new

long-term contract, is viewed as a key

player by Lampard.

Hudson-Odoi’s comeback is also good

news for England manager Gareth

Southgate, who believes he will be an

important player at Euro 2020.

Southgate would have selected

Hudson-Odoi for the UEFA Nations

League finals in June had he not

suffered the injury.

Rudiger is also ready to declare

himself fit to return to first-team

action ahead of schedule.

The Germany international played the

full 90 minutes for the Under 23s

against Liverpool on Monday night,

despite being scheduled to come off

after an hour.

The central defender is ready to tell

Lampard he is available to face

Norwich on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Davide Zappacosta is set

to complete a loan move to Roma,

which opens the door for 19-year-old

academy graduate Reece James to

play a bigger role this season and

compete for the right back position

with Cesar Azpilicueta.

Dortmund to pay Sancho £10m a year

Callum’s

back in

training

Dummett

slams Toon

warm-up!

Worries: Dummett GETTY IMAGES

By CRAIG HOPE

By SAMI MOKBEL

Up to speed:

Hudson-Odoi

sprints in

training

yesterday

GETTY IMAGES

Football Observatory.

His status as one of the

hottest prospects in

world football has

now been

acknowledged by

Dortmund, who have

handed the teenager

a lucrative extension

to his previous deal,

which was due to run until

2022 and was worth around

£75,000 per week. Sancho scored 13

goals and made 15 assists for

Dortmund last season,

earning him a

breakthrough into the

England senior set-up

as he emerged as one

of Europe’s most

influential attackers.

Sancho’s suitors will

now have to break the

bank on wages as well as

a transfer fee to lure him

away next summer.

Dortmund were bracing

themselves for a battle to hang on

to Sancho next summer, but

they are now hopeful they

can retain him a while

longer following his decision

to commit to the club.

Sancho (right) quit

Manchester City in

August 2017 in order to

join Dortmund and further

his career.

City and Manchester United

are expected to be in the

group of Europe’s biggest clubs who

will test Dortmund’s resolve to hang

on to Sancho.

until

ound

goals

Dor

ea

b

E

S

n

ba

a tr

away

Dt d

15

SANCHO has 15 assists

in the league since the

start of last season —

no player has more

in Europe’s top

five leagues

I MIGHT RETIRE AT END OF

REDS DEAL, SAYS KLOPP

JURGEN KLOPP has revealed he

may retire when his Liverpool

contract expires.

The manager, 52, will have

been in charge at Anfield for

seven years by 2022 and said:

‘I hope to continue like this,

but in two, three years I don’t

know what may happen.

Maybe I’ll retire.

‘It doesn’t mean it will happen,

but if that were the case, you

wouldn’t be surprised.’

seem to get going. They were too

good for us all game. Everyone

was disappointed with the

performance from start to finish.

We never started right. We didn’t

get close to them. They passed

the ball around us like we weren’t

there. It’s a big wake-up call but

we have to stick together.’

Bruce cancelled the team’s day

off on Sunday, as revealed by

Sportsmail. That decision raised

eyebrows in the camp, as it was

seen as a punishment just two

games into the season.

Former Newcastle forward

Chopra has revealed there is

concern among the squad about

the work being done on the

training ground.

He told talkSPORT: ‘Bruce has

come in and some of the players

don’t know their jobs. They are

not really working on their

shape. At Newcastle, for two or

three years those players have

overachieved under Benitez but

I don’t think some of the players

are good enough for the Premier

League, so they need coaching.’