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CAS Rejected La Liga’s Appeal Against Extended release Window, FIFA
Football’s ruling body FIFA announced on Sunday that an appeal by an affiliate of its Spanish member-association against an extension of the international window has been rejected.
The appeal was against an extension of the international window for the 2022 World Cup qualifiers in South America.
FIFA said the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) confirmed its decision to add two days to the September window.
Spain’s La Liga went to CAS claiming FIFA was violating its own statutes when it added the additional days.
The addition was in order to stage additional qualifiers cancelled earlier in the year owing to the coronavirus pandemic.
“Today’s CAS decision confirms the legality of FIFA’s decision and entirely rejects the arguments made by Spain’s La Liga,” FIFA said.
“We now expect the release of players for the upcoming FIFA World Cup qualifiers in South America to occur in accordance with the recent FIFA decision.”
FIFA President Gianni Infantino had earlier in the week called for a show of solidarity from all member-associations.
England’s Premier League also said its clubs would not allow nearly 60 players to be released for international matches played in red-list countries.
These players, if released, will require a 10-day quarantine period in a hotel on their return.
Spain did not want to release dozens of players because the extended window of Thursday to Sept. 10 would impact their next round of Sept. 11 to Sept. 12.
La Liga was not happy with the CAS ruling, saying it would continue to challenge the FIFA decision.
It labeled the decision “a clear declaration of intent to infringe on the autonomy of domestic leagues, in an abuse of rights.”
“Players will rejoin their club teams on Sept. 10 after having played three games, and many of them would play league matches on Saturday or Sunday, clearly not being in a position to compete under equal conditions with their clubs.”
La Liga said it has requested charter flights to bring home all the affected players and has requested a revision of the affected domestic round.
It also said the “senseless situation” would occur again in October, affecting another match day.(NAN)
By Torough David, Abuja
D’Tigers power forward Chima Moneke has joined Serbian franchise Crvena Zvezda on a two-year deal from Spanish outfit Saskia Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz ahead of the new season.
The 29-year-old Nigerian takes his trade to Serbia following his impressive outing for Baskonia where he became one of Euro League’s most sought-after forwards.
He enjoyed a fruitful 2024/25 season with Baskonia in the Euro League, where he averaged 14. 0 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game, while shooting 64.5 per cent from two-point range and 81.3 per cent from the free-throw line.His average minutes per game stands at 28.2, making an average of 0.
88 steals and 0.27 blocks per game, though his turnover rate was recorded at 1.85 per fixture.Moneke was the subject of interest from other franchises before agreeing to join Zvezda following several rounds of negotiations. He will reportedly earn an annual salary of €1.7m euros per season in the Eastern European country.
Zvezda are currently embarking on an ambitious summer rebuild, with the aim of dominating both in the country and on the continental stage. They recently tied down their Greek head coach Ioannis Sfairopoulos to a new two-year deal, which will run until the end of the 2026/27 season.
Moneke has been on a nomadic journey ever since his arrival on the European basketball scene, though his rise has been swift and impressive. He was named MVP of the Basketball Champions League in the 2021/22 season and had a short spell in the NBA with the Sacramento Kings in the 2022/23 campaign.
He returned to Europe where he had a short stint with AS Monaco in early 2023, before landing at Baskonia, where he built a reputation as one of the league’s elite players.
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By Torough David, Abuja
Champion jockey Oisin Murphy has been charged with drink driving and failing to co-operate with police after a car crash in April.
The 29-year-old was arrested after a grey Mercedes A Class crashed into a tree in Hermitage, Berkshire.
Thames Valley Police said he has been charged with one count of driving a motor vehicle while over the prescribed limit of alcohol and one count of failing to co-operate with a preliminary test at the roadside.
“The charge is in connection with a single vehicle road traffic collision around 12.05 BST on Sunday 27 April this year when a grey Mercedes A Class left the road and crashed into a tree,” police said in a statement.
Murphy, a four-time champion jockey, is due to appear at Reading Magistrates’ Court on 3 July.
He was charged on 19 June, the day he rode two winners at Royal Ascot.
A British Horseracing Authority statement read: “The BHA is aware of an update issued by Thames Valley Police this afternoon regarding Oisin Murphy.
“We are now seeking to gather as much information as possible in order to consider what, if any, implications there are as a result of this development.”
In October Murphy spoke about how he had been having counselling, saying it had helped him greatly.
He returned from a 14-month suspension in March 2023 having been banned for breaches of Covid-19 rules and twice failing racecourse breath tests for alcohol.
Former Nigerian international Sunday Oliseh has advised Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen to play in the Premier League if he wants to remain in the limelight.
The Galatasaray star has been a major transfer target for clubs in Europe and in the Saudi Football League this summer after his impressive display in the Turkish league.
Speaking with, the former Super Eagles head coach described Osimhen as a huge asset to Nigerian football.
“I think he (Osimhen) is a huge asset to Nigerian football. But like every top asset, we all have our shortcomings. We have to be able to find solutions and work around it,” Oliseh told Lagos Talks.
“This is a player that if he wants to continue to be in the limelight, he has to go to the Premier League.
“Nigerians want to see him there. He has been linked with Arsenal and Chelsea for a long time.
“But for him to play that way, for him to become that big, there are many things he has to change.”
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