Nigeria Content Online

The
management of Plateau United has dispelled allegations from some of its
sacked players, that they were unjustly ousted from the team.

Spokesperson for
the team, Goteng Tongshinung, said the sacking was done in accordance
with an extensive technical report carried out by the club management.

“That would be
unfair of them to say so, the sacking was done in accordance to the
technical evaluation we carried out. We are currently battling
relegation in the league so we would not have sacked players that would
help us out. We have to get rid of players that cannot help our cause,
the sacking is good for Plateau United” he affirmed.

The management of
the bottom-placed Premier League outfit sacked nine of its players on
Monday. The players affected include Abdullahi Isa, Ajibade Omolade,
Saleh Mohammed, Shedrack Monaya, and Daniel Njoku.

Others are Waziri Kabiru, Chorbe Godwin, Uche Ilo and Eze Nwabike.

Reasons for sack

General manager of
the club, Bitrus Bewarang, explained that the sacking of the players
had become necessary to “save the team from relegation”.

According to him
the players were sacked for reasons ranging from indolence, truancy,
absenteeism, indiscipline, poor performance and poor commitment.

“A good player must exhibit qualities of good discipline, punctuality, commitment to the team and must be ready to deliver.

“But where these
qualities are lacking, such a player does not deserve to be kept in a
team because he has the tendency to corrupt other players in the team.

“We have taken these measures to ensure that those that not ready, do not affect others’ interest,” he added.

Bewerang said that
the club is already making moves at finding capable replacements for
the sacked players “The screening is ongoing and we hope that those,
who prove themselves, can join us and be part of the crucial second
round.”

The Nigeria Premier League is currently on break and should resume next month.

Muhammadu
Babaganaru, chief coach of Kano Pillars Football Club, has blamed the
early exit of his team from the 15th edition of the CAF Champions
League on bad officiating of the Guinean centre referee, Bangoura Mario
and his assistants.

Babaganaru who
spoke to NEXT in Kano, after the match between his team and visiting
Wydad Athletic Football Club of Morocco, said that the centre referee
took sides with the Moroccans from the blast of the whistle.

He particularly
frowned at the decision of the referee to he send off Pillars’
defender, Maurice Chigozie in the 25th minute, an action, which he said
demoralized his team adding that the referee faulted almost every move
made by his players.

“We are astonished
at the attitude of the centre referee and his assistant referee, Diane
Alhassane who blatantly showed partiality.

“We would have won the match, were it not for the unprofessional manner in which they handled the match.”

Meanwhile, the
chief coach Wydad Athletic, Rajhy Fakhreddine, has said that his boys
worked hard and got the desired result, which has passed them through
to the next round.

He stated that they
will now go back home to prepare for their next opponent, noting that
his team will excel in its quest to clinch the highly coveted trophy.

He described
Pillars as a good team with promising players, but said the only
problem is that they are yet to blend, as their attack lacks the
required spark.

The match played in the Sani Abacha Stadium on Sunday ended
goalless, giving the Moroccans the overall win 2-0 on aggregate having
won the first leg by the same margin.

Mohammed
Bin Hammam will be the only challenger for the FIFA presidency when
incumbent Sepp Blatter stands for re-election on June 1, soccer’s world
governing body confirmed Monday.

FIFA said that
Swiss Blatter, who has been president since 1998 and will be trying for
a fourth term, and Qatari multi-millionaire businessman, Bin Hammam
were the only candidates to register by the April 1 deadline.

The election will
be held on June 1 at the FIFA Congress in Zurich where each one of the
208 member national associations holds a vote, provided they are not
suspended at the time.

There had been two
other possible candidates but US journalist, Grant Wahl, said he failed
to get the written support of one national football association, which
candidates must have, and former Chile captain, Elias Figueroa, pulled
out last Thursday.

Figueroa, one of
South America’s most respected footballers, was representing a group
called Change FIFA but said he did not have enough time from which to
launch a creditable platform.

Humble beginning

Blatter, FIFA’s
eighth president since the organisation was founded in 1904, joined as
a technical officer in 1975 and was general secretary from 1981 to 1998
under the presidency of Joao Havelange.

In 1998 he swept to
a 111-80 victory over Swede, Lennart Johansson, then UEFA president,
who conceded defeat, forgoing a second ballot.

Four years later,
Blatter took a landslide 139-56 vote victory over Cameroon’s Issa
Hayatou, the president of the African confederation, and if anything,
his grip on FIFA has tightened since then.

There were no opponents when he was re-elected in 2007.

Under Blatter’s
leadership, FIFA took the World Cup to Africa for the first time,
holding what was widely seen as a successful tournament in South Africa.

Bin Hammam, 61, is also a candidate from within FIFA, having been a member of the powerful executive committee since 1996.

Although he was not
part of the bidding team, he played a huge role in securing Qatar the
rights to stage the 2022 World Cup finals in December.

A former Blatter
ally, he helped the Swiss win the elections in 1998 and 2002 but has
been increasingly critical of Blatter’s leadership, saying that change
is needed at the top and FIFA needs a new figurehead.

FIFA have confirmed that Bosnia and Brunei are the only two associations currently suspended.

The
management of English Premier League side, West Ham United are
investigating claims by the family of their Nigerian forward, Obinna
Nsofor, that they were racially abused by spectators during last
weekend’s game against Manchester United.

A similar
allegation was also levelled by the family of the club’s French
forward, Frederic Piquionne, against a section of the home fans during
Saturday’s 4-2 defeat at Upton Park.

And the London
based club’s co-chairman, David Sullivan, says he is “appalled” by
allegations that racial abuse was directed towards the families of both
players.

A statement on the
club’s website read that the club is searching for more evidence, after
a small group of supporters allegedly racially abused the families of
both players, who were sitting in the corporate box in the West Stand
during the loss to Manchester United.

CCTV footage is being studied and stewards are being interviewed but Sullivan has already spoken out on the matter.

“If these
allegations are found to be true, then it appals me,” he told the
Evening Standard. “I believe all human beings are equal. We are all
born with different physical attributes.”

He added: “I happen
to be small and I’ve been the subject to many years of ‘heightism’ -a
word I invented -so I know how people feel when they are subject to
this sort of abuse.

“We will be
monitoring CCTV, interviewing stewards and taking strong action against
offenders if these allegations are proved to be correct.

“It is particularly
sad that the families of our players were so treated.” At least one of
the family members left the box to confront the fans and it is believed
an argument broke out.

West Ham launched a
new campaign in their matchday programme on Saturday urging fans to
respect each other. But reports in the British media suggest that the
families of both players are considering making an official complaint
to the club while West Ham officials say that they are investigating
the accusations.

A club spokesman said: “We take these allegations very seriously and
are looking into them. If there is found to be any wrongdoing, then we
will take appropriate action.”

When Jose Mourinho and his boys file
out at the Santiago Bernabeu today, the players may still be thinking
about their 0-1 loss to Sporting Gijon on Saturday. Victory and not
conceding a crucial away goal to Tottenham will also be one of the
challenges facing Real Madrid, including the loss of top goal scorer,
Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese captain may miss the game because of
a thigh problem even though Mourinho has said the Portuguese star could
be risked if the player agrees to play.

Mourinho also just lost his record of
not losing a league match at home for nine years to Gijon -so will the
Real players be motivated to win this tie that could see them meeting
their fiercest rivals, Barcelona in the semi finals? But that is
jumping the gun.

Karim Benzema and Marcelo could also
miss out, which means that Mourinho must exact the best from his
threadbare squad. The good news is that Gonzalo Higuain is back even
though he showed signs of rustiness in the match against Gijon.

Tottenham as always will be expected be
at their exuberant best in this their first foray into the Champions
League quarter finals. They have already beaten AC Milan and Inter
Milan but today’s match is against the grand heavyweight of the
tournament -nine-time winners at one of the hallowed grounds of
football – Santiago Bernebeu. Will the players be frightened unto
submission or will the atmosphere lift their game?

Left to Harry Redknapp, their manager,
this tie holds no fear, apart from the raft of injuries that Spurs are
suffering from presently.

Defenders Ledley King, Jonathan
Woodgate and Younes Kaboul were joined by Alan Hutton, who needs
surgery for a knee injury on the treatment table. There are also doubts
over the fitness of William Gallas but Tom Huddlestone and Gareth Bale
should be fit.

Inter have to be careful

Still with a shout
to reclaim the treble won last season but with the bad result of
Saturday still ringing in their ears, the defending champions have the
onerous task of facing the competition’s remaining under-dog, Schalke
04.

And in Schalke 04
boss Ralf Rangnick, we have a greenhorn, having never coached any team
in the knockout stages of the Champions League.

Though they might
be high on confidence having beaten Spanish club Valencia 4-2 on
aggregate in the round of 16, they have some injury problems, as do
Inter, especially in defence. Christoph Metzelder is likely to miss out
for Schalke with a broken nose. Mario Gavranovic has an ankle complaint
and Peer Kluge picked up an injury in Friday’s league match against St
Pauli, abandoned after the assistant referee was hit by a cup of beer
thrown from the stands.

Brazilian defender Lucio will sit out
the match due to suspension and should be replaced by Ivan Cordoba.
Andrea Ranocchia, his partner has been showing his inexperience in
recent times so it is left to old warhorse – Raul and the speedy
Jefferson Farfan to find the gaps.</

Chelsea must avenge their 2008 Champions League final defeat by Manchester United or face a trophyless season if they lose the all-English quarter-final which starts at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday (1845 GMT).

Defeat for Chelsea, 11 points behind United in the Premier League title race with eight games to play, would put manager Carlo Ancelotti under huge pressure less than a year after he led the team to a league and FA Cup double.

The Italian knows his future is on a knife-edge after an uneven season and recent history between the two clubs suggests that the Champions League tie, which concludes at Old Trafford next Tuesday, will be decided by the slimmest of margins.

Only two of their last 11 competitive matches have been settled by more than one goal, while their most famous meeting, the Champions League final in Moscow, went to penalties.

Chelsea go into the match with a good record at home against United. They are unbeaten in their last 10 matches against Alex Ferguson’s men, including last month’s Premier League game when they came from behind to win 2-1 with a goal from David Luiz and a Frank Lampard penalty.

Chelsea’s front men, however, have been lacklustre with Didier Drogba, Nicolas Anelka, Salomon Kalou and Fernando Torres scoring just three goals in their last nine matches.

NO GOALS

Torres, two months after his 50 million-pound move from Liverpool, is still looking for his first goal for Chelsea after eight appearances, and might start on the bench.

Chelsea drew 1-1 at Stoke City on Saturday, though they played better than the result suggested, and Ancelotti is looking forward to Wednesday’s game.

“The condition of the players is good psychologically and physically. We don’t have any problems and we are ready to play United. We have the confidence to do our best and win,” he said.

“We know that United have the same opinion. It will be a very exciting game, a very tough game. We know everything about Manchester United and they know everything about us. Whoever deserves to win, will win.”

United recovered from trailing 2-0 to win 4-2 at West Ham United where Wayne Rooney scored a hat-trick and Javier Hernandez the other goal.

Rooney blotted his performance by a foul-mouthed rant live on television, for which he has been charged by the FA, but he will play on Wednesday and look to repeat the goal he scored in the league match at Chelsea last month.

Saturday’s victory at West Ham left United seven points clear of Arsenal at the top of the table.

Defender Chris Smalling, whose trip on Yuri Zhirkov led to the penalty that cost United the league game at Stamford Bridge, said the mood in Manchester was confident.

“Those things happen in your career…and it’s important how you react, and we’ve kicked on with our performances. We’re now going into Wednesday’s game with a lot of confidence — and so we should.”

Teams (possible):

Chelsea: 1-Petr Cech; 3-Ashley Cole, 26-John Terry, 33-Alex, 17-Jose Bosingwa; 7-Ramires, 8-Frank Lampard, 5-Michael Essien, 15-Florent Malouda; 11-Didier Drogba, 39-Nicolas Anelka

Manchester United: 1-Edwin Van der Sar; 2-Fabio da Silva, 15-Nemanja Vidic, 12-Chris Smalling, 3-Patrice Evra, 25-Antonio Valencia, 16-Michael Carrick, 18-Paul Scholes, 11-Ryan Giggs, 17-Nani 10-Wayne Rooney

Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco (Spain)

REUTERS

Holders Inter Milan collapsed to a stunning 5-2 home defeat by a makeshift
Schalke 04 team in their Champions League quarter-final first leg at the San
Siro Tuesday and face almost certain elimination.

Inter failed to build on a first-minute lead
and lost their shape completely as Schalke ran riot before the home side
finished with 10 men after defender Cristian Chivu was sent off.

Inter were handed the perfect start when
Schalke goalkeeper Manuel Neuer ran out to head the ball clear and Dejan
Stankovic volleyed the ball into the net from just inside his own half.

But the Germans struck back through Joel
Matip and, although Diego Milito briefly restored Inter’s lead, two goals from Edu,
one from Raul and an own goal by Andrea Ranocchia put Schalke in complete
control of the tie before next week’s second leg.

“It could have been 10-5 or 8-4,”
said Schalke 04 coach Ralf Rangnick. “Our attacking policy paid off. We
looked dangerous with every attack, we always looked as if we were going to get
a shot on goal.”

Inter coach Leonardo, already smarting after
a 3-0 defeat by rivals AC Milan in Serie A Saturday, added: “We have to
change this situation, we lost two important games, we must stay together and
we must try to forget these two heavy defeats.

“I have to be realistic but we are going
to do our best and try and get the result we need (in the second leg) even if
it’s a very difficult one.

“Anything is possible in football, we
will do our best to the results.”

The match had an extraordinary start when
Neuer rushed out of his area to head away Esteban Cambiasso’s long ball
forward.

His clearance landed at the feet of Stankovic
who calmly produced an exquisite volley that flew over the bemused Schalke
keeper and into the goal.

The visitors levelled in the 17th minute
when Kyriakos Papadopoulos’s effort was saved by Julio Cesar but Matip followed
up to bury the rebound.

Inter regained the lead in the 34th when
Wesley Sneijder picked out Cambiasso at the far post and he headed the ball
into the path of fellow Argentine Milito, who sidefooted his first Champions
League goal of the season.

Second
attempt

It took only six minutes for Schalke to
level again when Alexander Baumjohann sent Edu free down the right and he
scored at the second attempt after Julio Cesar again saved in vain.

Inter made an electric start to the second
half, Milito failing to put away a clear chance after he scuttled clear of the
Schalke defence and Neuer atoning for his earlier eccentricity with a superb
save to deny Samuel Eto’o.

Schalke made the most of their let-off when Spanish striker Raul
scored with a trademark finish in the 53rd to extend his record as the
competition’s leading scorer to 70 goals.

Four minutes later, disaster struck for the
Italians when Jose Manuel Jurado broke down the right and his low cross was
turned into his own net by Ranocchia.

Inter’s night got even worse when Chivu was
sent off for his second yellow card just past the hour. Jurado then struck a
post before Edu added another, sparking a mass exodus of home fans.

REUTERS

Mohammed Bin Hammam received a boost to his campaign to become
FIFA president when he was backed by his former foe and ex-FIFA executive
committee member Chung Mong-joon Tuesday.

The 61-year-old faces a tough ask in ousting incumbent Sepp
Blatter, as head of soccer’s world governing body in the June election, with
the Swiss having held the position for 13 years.

Bin Hammam sat alongside as Dr Chung, who famously questioned
the Qatari’s mental health two years ago at the Asian Football Confederation
congress, said he was the right man for the job.

“We welcome the candidacy of Asian Football Confederation
president Mohammed Bin Hammam,” Chung told reporters at a media conference in
Seoul.

“Blatter has served as FIFA secretary general and president for
30 years. Now it’s time for him to give way to a new person.” Chung, who
surprisingly lost his FIFA vice-president seat to Prince Ali of Jordan at the
AFC Congress in January, remains an influential figure in world soccer having
been part of the FIFA executive committee since 1994 and his family owning the
giant Hyundai conglomerate.

The Korean, honorary chairman of the Korean Football Association
(KFA), was once considered a possible challenger to Blatter at the June 1 FIFA
congress in Zurich and his presence in Bin Hammam’s campaign could help sway
votes.

Bin Hammam, who is touring the world canvassing support,
launched his bid to become the first Asian president of FIFA two weeks ago in
Kuala Lumpur, when he revealed a manifesto based on making the organisation
more open to the public.

Chung questioned Blatter’s popularity.

“In terms of finances, FIFA is more successful than the
(International Olympic Committee) IOC and the president should be admired,
beloved and respected but Blatter is not.

“I can’t say Bin Hammam is perfect but he is the right candidate to bring
change and revolution to FIFA.”

In the last 10 meetings between Chelsea and Manchester United,
only once has the team that scored first, gone on to lose the game and that
happened very recently on March 1, 2011.

So if this skirmish results to time-tested variables between
these two club sides, then expect a very cagey affair and a score-line that
will likely read 2-1, 1-0 or 0-0 at the end of the first 90 minutes at Stamford
Bridge.

At the time that United beat Chelsea in that 2008 Moscow final,
the Red Devils were coasting home with the league title and were nine points
ahead of Chelsea, who had a game in hand. This season, United are 11 points
from Chelsea with a game in hand so do the omens favour a United win?

Also while Alex Ferguson’s men could still win the treble,
Chelsea can only realistically aim for the Champions League. Chelsea though,
boasts of a fine record against United, they are undefeated in their last nine
Premier League games with six of them being victories.

United have more
experience

All these matches are always hard fought and as Nemanja Vidic
said on United’s website, maybe United’s luck at the Bridge will change today.
“I think our performances in the last two or three years away were really good.
Now I’m thinking maybe we should play badly and win the game!

Maybe that’s the name of the game now!”

“Obviously, we’ve been unlucky in a few games and I hope this
time we have that luck and come back with a good result.”

Manchester United boasts the best defence in Europe this season,
having conceded only two goals but have been low scorers too with only nine
goals scored.

Also, the Red Devils can say that out of 16 quarterfinal
matches, they have won 11 and lost five, though Chelsea boasts of a good record
on the continent in the last five years -making the semi-final on four
occasions out of five. But Carlo Ancelotti believes it may be their destiny
that 2011 could finally be the year that Chelsea triumphs in Europe considering
the failure or ill-luck of Moscow.

Ancelotti said in today’s pre-match press conference, “John
Terry is not happy about what he lost in that game and that could be a good
motivation because this could be a destiny.” Enough has been said, let the
fireworks be lit.

Charles Okwandu has
won an NCAA winners medal after his team, the University of Connecticut
Huskies defeated the Butler Bulldogs in the final of this year’s NCAA
National Men’s Division One Championship.

The match which
came up on Monday night (early hours of Tuesday morning in Nigeria) at
the Reliant Stadium, in Houston, Texas, saw the Huskies running out
with a 53-41 victory. It is their NCCA title in 12 years.

It was a game of
contrasting fortunes, that saw the presence of the 7-feet-tall Okwandu,
who featured for 13 minutes and finished the game with two points,
along with five rebounds, four of which were offensive rebounds, after
the Bulldogs over and over again failed in their bid to box him out of
the paint.

The former Dodan
Warriors of Lagos player, also finished with a block and with his
success with the Huskies, becomes the first player from the Nigerian
Premier Basketball League to win an NCAA Championship ring.

Okwandu, was
discovered by Dodan Warriors president, Sam Ahmedu, a retired Army
colonel, and the late basketball coach, Emmanuel Chagu in Satellite
Town, a suburb of Lagos, from where he was drafted as a tall skinny
high school prospect.

He participated in
the Radar Hoops/Nestle Milo Top 50 Camp and the NBA-organized
Basketball Without Borders Camp in South Africa and then played for the
Lagos-based Warriors in the Premier Basketball League in 2005.

Thereafter, he
featured for the Warriors in the finals of the 2006 African Champions
Cup for Men hosted in Lagos where the Warriors finished in third place.

And Ahmedu can’t but heap accolades on the 25-year-old and his team for winning the 2011 title.

“We give glory to
God that the shy, skinny kid of yesterday has grown up to be a man
influencing an event of such magnitude on the world stage,” said Ahmedu.

“The entire Dodan
Warriors programme, and I believe all well-meaning basketball lovers in
Nigeria and beyond, are proud of this remarkable achievement which has
never been attained by any player from the Nigerian league.

He added: “This is
an indication that the Nigerian league will produce world beaters any
day, if properly harnessed and managed.”

Okwandu wasn’t
however the only Nigerian player in the Huskies line-up, as they also
paraded Alex Oriakhi who, although born in the United States, has
Nigerian parents.

The 20-year-old Oriakhi featured for 25 minutes and finished the game with 11 points and 11 rebounds.

“We’ve been down that road before throughout the whole tournament,”
Oriakhi said in a statement posted on his school’s website. “We just
keep playing basketball and we stick together, and I think that’s
what’s most important.”