Thursday January 16
INDIA: India’s oldest team, Mohun
Bagan, will merge with another
Kolkata-based side, ATK, and play
in the Indian Super League next
season. Bagan are currently top of
the rival I-League, which they have
won four times, but club general
secretary Swapan Sadhan Bose
says: “As much as we want the
romance of the maroon-and-
green jersey and it’s 130-year-old
tradition to continue, there comes
a time when romance almost
invariably requires a partner named
practicality.” Officials reveal that the
name of the new merged club will
have elements of both sides when
launched in June.
Friday January 17
CYPRUS: All league games
are suspended this coming
weekend as referees protest at
bomb damage to an official’s carin Larnaca. The Cyprus Football
Association describe the attack on
Andreas Constantinou’s vehicle as
an “act of terrorism”.
PORTUGAL: Benfica beat Lisbon
rivals Sporting 2-0 to set a new
Primeira Liga record of 17 away
wins on the trot. Substitute Rafa
Silva gets both goals and now has
11 in his last 13 league games.
QATAR: Al Sadd win the Qatar
Cup for a seventh time, beating
Al Duhail 4-0 in the Final with
goals from Nam Tae-hee, Baghdad
Bounedjah (two) and Akram Afif.
UAE: Al Nasr beat holders and
city rivals Shabab Al Ahli 2-1 in
the UAE League Cup Final.
Saturday January 18
GERMANY: Signed from Red Bull
Salzburg for €20m, 19-year-old
Erling Haaland comes off the
bench with his new side trailing
3-1 at Augsburg and scores a hat-
trick in 23 minutes as BorussiaDortmund win 5-3. “I am pretty
relaxed about it, I don’t really
know why,” says Haaland. “I’m at
a fantastic club with great team-
mates and good people around
me. I came here to score goals
and it was a good debut for me.”
Sunday January 19
CYPRUS: Police arrest a 30-year-
old player in connection with a
probe into alleged match-fixing
in Cyprus’ second-tier league
and cup games.
FRANCE: Souleymane Camara sets
a new club record with his 430th
appearance for Montpellier when
he appears as sub in a 5-0 win
over Caen in the Coupe de France.
Monday January 20
BRAZIL: Real Madrid sign 18-year-
old Brazilian midfielder Reinier from
Flamengo for €30m.
ITALY: After being fined €20,000
and having a section of their StadioOlimpico stands closed after their
supporters made fascist salutes
during a Europa League game
against Rennes, Lazio contact
individual supporters demanding
that they pay the club €50,000
in damages. In a letter to those
the club has managed to identify,
Lazio president Claudio Lotito
writes: “Quite apart from the penal
aspects of your behaviour, this also
inflicted serious economic damage
on the club, which between missed
ticket sales and the fine, counts for
at least €50,000.” He went on to
add: “As only the fans identified are
responsible for the damage to the
club, we invite you to contact us so
that you can agree a method of
payment to reimburse Lazio.”
Tuesday January 21
RUSSIA: Alexander Kokorin,
who was released from jail in
September but has not played
since rejoining Zenit, signs for
relegation-threatened Sochi on
loan until the end of the season.
He served almost a year in prison
after he assaulted the chauffeur of
a TV presenter and two government
officials during a drunken night out.
SPAIN: Former Osasuna director
Angel Vizcay tells a judge the club
made payments to opposition
players to fix games in an attempt
to keep Osasuna in La Liga. They
escaped relegation in 2013 but
finally went down in 2014.
Wednesday January 22
FIFA: A record £5.6billion was
spent in 2019 on transfers in men’s
football according to a FIFA report,A comprehensive record of recent events around the world
Record breakers...Benfica (in red) beat Lisbon rivals Sporting to set a new Portuguese league best of 17 consecutive away winsJANUARY 16-FEBRUARY 13, 2020