Section:OBS 2S PaGe:6 Edition Date:190804 Edition:01 Zone: Sent at 3/8/2019 19:26 cYanmaGentaYellowblac
- The Observer
6 04.08.19 Football
Sky Bet EFL
Football
in brief
Sporting Lisbon midfi elder Bruno
Fernandes has told the club he wants
to quit this week, with Spurs and
Manchester United both ready to pay
£64m. Paulo Dybala’s representatives,
meanwhile, want United to hand
him a £350,000-a-week contract.
Barcelona are ready to release
ex-Liverpool playmaker Philippe
Coutinho on loan this week, with
Arsenal favourites to land him. Arsenal
are also set to lodge a third bid for
Celtic’s Kieran Tierney. Crystal
Palace are set to sign Gary Cahill and
are battling Brighton, Sheffi eld United
and Villa for £20m Brentford striker
Neal Maupay. West Ham are still
waiting on a work permit for New
York Red Bulls centre-back Aaron
Long. Sheffi eld United are eyeing
Leicester defender Daniel Amartey.
Norwich are set to approach
Sheffi eld Wednesday for striker Jordan
Rhodes. And Leeds want Newcastle
forward Dwight Gayle on loan.Rumour
mill
This is appropriate
dummy text that isTAug 3 (Reuters) - Argentina’s
Lionel Messi has been banned from
international duty for three months
and fi ned $50,000 after levelling
accusations of “corruption” at
South American soccer chiefs
during the Copa America.
Messi was sent off against in the
Copa America third-place playoff
and afterwards alleged that the
tournament had been fi xed in
favour of hosts Brazil, who beat
Argentina in a controversial semi-
fi nal on their way to the title.
The Argentina captain called
the South American Football
Confederation (CONMEBOL)
“corrupt” and did not attend the
ceremony to pick up his medal. He
was handed a one-match ban and a
$1,500 fi ne for his sending off last
month.
CONMEBOL had said that the
Barcelona forward’s comments
were “unacceptable“.
“The player is suspended to play
offi cial and friendly matches with
his national team in that period of
time,” the organisation said in a
statement on Friday.
The ban means Messi will miss
Argentina’s upcoming friendlies
against Chile and Mexico in the
United States in September and
another against Germany in
Dortmund on Oct. 9.
He can appeal against the latest
sanctions within seven days.(Reporting by Sudipto Ganguly;
editing by Nick Mulvenney)
dThis is appropriate
dummy text that isBrighton land Webster
as Dunk doubts growBrighton have signed defender
Adam Webster from Bristol City as
the possible domino effect of Harry
Maguire’s move to Manchester
United is felt. Brighton are
understood to have paid a club-
record £20m for the 24-year-old,
whose arrival comes as Lewis Dunk
is being widely linked with a move
to Leicester as a replacement for
Maguire. Webster spent one season
at Ashton Gate, having joined from
Ipswich last summer. PA MediaMessi banned and
fi ned over outburstLionel Messi has been banned from
playing for Argentina for three
months and fi ned $50,000 after
alleging that the Copa América was
fi xed in favour of Brazil. Messi was
sent off against in the third-place
playoff and later called Conmebol
“corrupt”. The ban means Messi
will miss Argentina’s friendlies
against Chile and Mexico in the US
next month and against Germany in
Dortmund in October. ReutersMbappé and Di María
give PSG Super Cup winParis Saint-Germain substitute
Ángel Di María scored the winner
with a spectacular free-kick and
Kylian Mbappé was also on target as
the Ligue 1 champions recovered to
beat Rennes 2-1 and lift the French
Super Cup in Shenzhen. For PSG,
who went behind to Adrien Hunou’s
fi rst half goal, it was a record
seventh successive Super Cup win –
eclipsing the six won by Lyon from
2002-07. ReutersBolton beaten but fans
given hope amid chaos
The coaches rolled out of Horwich
at 9.30am, beginning a 400-mile,
seven-hour round-trip to rural
Adams Park. They came by train and
car, too: an 1,800-strong army of
Bolton Wanderers fans, marching
south for the fi rst match of the
campaign. There was, however, little
in the way of opening-day optimism.
Instead, there was defi ance, pride
and anger. This summer Bolton
have been embroiled in a crisis, with
players unpaid for months, staff fed
by a food bank, training facilities
padlocked.
Relegated from the Championship
and in administration, Wanderers
had 12 points deduct ed before the
season had even begun. Founder
members of the Football League,
Bolton have spent only one season
in the bottom tier – in 1987-88– but
a second now looms. But at least the
EFL allowed them to play, unlike
similarly stricken neighbours Bury.
Once this fi xture was confi rmed,
the fans, despite having no idea who
would be in their team, bought every
ticket in two days. Their destination
was ironic: the Wanderers of
Wycombe have a far slighterheritage and more modest ambition,
but, being largely fan-owned, are
free from an individual’s vanity,
misjudgment and worse. Wycombe
have recognised that being owned
by the fans has its limitations and
are in the process of bringing in a
majority owner, but he has been
carefully selected and Wycombe
Wanderers Trust will retain Adams
Park. So while Bolton did not even
have a kit until a hastily arranged
one-match deal with Hummel,
Wycombe’s fan-fi rst model resulted
in a beer tent on site and Cajun-style
burgers.
Problems on the M40 resulting
in a winding diversion through
Northamptonshire countryside
meant many travelling fans were
unable to take advantage of the
fi rkins of beer in the away end, but
they were nevertheless in fi ne voice
as Bolton’s makeshift team emerged.
The manager, Phil Parkinson, has
overseen more than 750 matches
during 16 years of management butsaid none have been as challenging
to prepare for as this one. It had
been feared he would have to fi ll
the team with academy players,
especially after Northern Ireland
international Josh Magennis refused
to travel on Friday. However, at
11.30am the EFL gave permission
for Josh Earl, James Weir and
Harry Brock bank to be registered
and Parkinson was able to put
together a reasonably experienced
XI, albeit one with six debutants.
Though the fans regularly chanted
“Fuck the EFL”, Parkinson paidtribute to the help it had provided in
the run-up to the match.
The sight of the assistant
manager, Steve Parkin, drilling the
back four (average age: 21) on the
pitch before the game did not instil
confi dence. There was an element of
Sunday League about it: “My name’s
Yoan.” “Hi, I’m Liam and this is Josh.
He’s a left-back.”
But Sunday League teams do
not have 1,800 fans giving them
full-throated backing. Inspired by
this wall of sound behind Remi
Matthews’ goal, Wanderers were
little short of heroic. They chased
every ball and tackled like Furies.
Yoan Zouma, younger brother
of Chelsea’s Kurt, looks set to
become an instant cult hero for
his physicality. Even when Earl
departed injured after 15 minutes
and was replaced by 17-year-old
Joe White, Bolton’s young shavers
resisted.
Watching from the stands the
executives of the Football Ventures
consortium, who seem to have been
poised to complete their takeover for
weeks, would have been impressed
by the potential of both support and
team. Bolton made it to the break
without Matthews having to make a
serious save.
On a warm afternoon, with so
many young players, and with
others lacking a full pre-season, it
was inevitable the team’s energy
would fade. However, when the
56th- minute breakthrough came it
was the comparatively experienced
keeper Matthews who rushed from
his goal to present QPR-loanee Paul
Smyth with a simple chance. By
the time Fred Onyedinma added a
second in the 81st-minute, Bolton –
now with fi ve teenagers on the park- were running on empty.
The fans also ran out of puff but
had enough left for a fi nal rousing
chorus of “We love Bolton, we do”. Of
that there was no doubt. Now they
need owners who feel the same way.
League One
Club remains in
crisis but Wanderers’
makeshift XI showed
true grit in defeat,
writes Glenn Moore
Phil Parkinson
has overseen
750 matches ...
none have been
as challenging to
prepare for as this
A 1,800-strong
army of defi ant
Bolton fans
made a seven-
hour round-trip
to Adams Park
ANDREW KEARNS/
GETTY IMAGESLeague Two Salford off to a fl yer
Mani Dieseruvwe
celebrates scoring
his and Salford
City’s second against
Stevenage in the
club’s fi rst match as
an EFL club. Salford- who have won
four promotions in
fi ve seasons since
their 2014 takeover
by members of
Manchester United’s
Class of 92, were
comfortable winners,
Dieseruvwe scoring in
each half. Co-owner
Paul Scholes (below)
was in the crowd
at The Peninsula
Stadium to see their
winning debut.
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