Sports
Fecafoot At Loss Over FIFA Ban
The Cameroon Football Federation (Fecafoot) says it does not understand why the country has been banned from all football activity by FIFA.
Recently, FIFA suspended Cameroon “on account of government interference” in the Fecafoot elections in June.
“It is a big surprise; I don’t see any government intervention in what happened,” Fecafoot vice president Essomba Eyenga told Tidesports source.
“We will make an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas).”
The results of the 19 June Fecafoot polls, which re-elected president Iya Mohammed, were cancelled by Fecafoot’s own appeals committee.
At that time Mohammed was being detained by the Cameroon authorities for alleged financial mismanagement of the state-owned cotton company, and he remains in custody.
After technical complaints from the losing candidates, the result was made void.
However, FIFA’s ruling relates to what followed once the result was cancelled, when Fecafoot vice president and former transport minister John Begheni Ndeh forcibly installed himself as president on 28 June.
Accompanied by gendarmes, some of whom were stationed at Fecafoot’s headquarters, Ndeh took over the federation and suspended the Secretary General Tombi A Roko after a meeting of the emergency committee.
That also led to the resignation of Fecafoot’s first vice president Seidou Mbombo Njoya , who had expected to step in as interim boss.
In a statement, FIFA stated, “The interference is linked to the occupation of the Fecafoot headquarters by security forces who unilaterally decided to install one of the parties involved in the contested electoral process.
“As such, the authorities are clearly interfering with the internal affairs of Fecafoot in contravention of articles 13 and 17 of the FIFA statutes, which oblige member associations to manage their affairs independently and with no influence of third parties.
“In addition, the occupation of the Fecafoot headquarters is yet another example of the long pattern of pressure applied by the authorities since the electoral process started in February 2013 and FIFA already sent in the recent months two correspondences related to interference.”
And while Eyenga insists the issue is “an internal affair”, there is an ongoing power struggle within Fecafoot, as his view is not shared by the federation’s spokesman, Junior Binyam.
“FIFA was involved in the meetings at the prime minister’s office, so for Fifa to come with this decision it must feel that some actions were authorised or accepted by the government,” Binyam told Tidesports source.
“Everything started on 26 March when the minister of sport asked the federation to stop the elections. Many actions have been taken, probably with good intentions by the government, but that is not allowed by FIFA regulations.”
Andrea Cambiaso scored at both ends during the first half of Saturday’s Derby d’Italia, before Pierre Kalulu’s red card forced Juventus to play the entire second half a man light.
Substitute Francesco Pio Esposito got Inter back in front with a bullet header, then Manuel Locatelli’s pinpoint finish looked to have salvaged a point for the Bianconeri, before Zielinski struck on the cusp of stoppage time.
Juventus made the brighter start, but they were masters of their own downfall in the 17th minute, when Cambiaso deflected Luis Henrique’s cross beyond Michele Di Gregorio.
Cambiaso atoned within nine minutes, catching Henrique on his heels when Weston McKennie’s cross squirmed through to the back post and applying a side-footed finish.
But after Bremer cleared Zielinski’s dinked effort off the line, Juve’s hopes were damaged when Kalulu received his second yellow card for a 42nd-minute pull on Alessandro Bastoni, though the Inter centre-back appeared to go down theatrically.
Di Gregorio made a remarkable stop to thwart Hakan Calhanoglu, but as Juventus dropped ever deeper, they were punished when substitute Esposito guided Federico Dimarco’s searching cross into the far corner with 76 minutes on the clock.
It looked like Inter would have to settle for a point when Locatelli whipped a wonderful finish into the bottom-left corner in the 83rd minute, but Zielinski had the final say as his 20-yard drive fizzed through Locatelli’s legs and beat Di Gregorio.
A cloud of uncertainty has settled over Liverpool after comments from Hungary head coach Marco Rossi reignited speculation about Dominik Szoboszlai and Real Madrid.
Rossi, who has worked closely with Szoboszlai since his teenage years, revealed that the midfielder’s lifelong ambition is to play for the Spanish giants.
“Because of the very close and direct relationship I’ve had with Dominik since he was a child, Real Madrid has always been his dream,” Rossi said.
For a Liverpool side building around Szoboszlai as a centerpiece of Arne Slot’s project, those words landed hard.
Within hours of Rossi’s remarks, Szoboszlai interacted on social media with two Real Madrid players, applauding posts from Vinicius Junior and Trent Alexander-Arnold following Madrid’s win over Real Sociedad.
His reaction to Vinicius’ post drew particular attention. The exchange with Alexander-Arnold, his former Liverpool teammate, was seen as less surprising.
Still, in the hyper-connected world of elite soccer, even a digital thumbs-up can carry weight. On Merseyside, fans and pundits quickly began dissecting the meaning behind the interactions.
Szoboszlai, Hungary’s captain, has become one of Liverpool’s most influential players. That status is precisely why Rossi’s comments triggered such an intense reaction in England.
The midfielder had just delivered on the field as well, scoring in Liverpool’s 3-0 FA Cup fourth-round victory over Brighton & Hove Albion at Anfield.
After the match, Mohamed Salah heaped praise on his teammate, calling Szoboszlai “the best player in the world.” Slot struck a slightly more measured tone but echoed the sentiment.
“I think there are many elite players in the world, but I definitely agree with Mo that he is one of them,” Slot said. “He is very important for us.”
Szoboszlai is under contract at Liverpool through 2028. However, the club is reportedly eager to open extension talks in the coming months to secure his long-term future.
The player himself addressed the situation recently with notable candor.
“There’s nothing yet, to be honest. Nothing from now on. It’s not in my hands. That’s how it works,” he said. “There’s no progress, but if the right offer comes, we’ll see.”
He was equally clear about his affection for Liverpool.
“We’ll see what happens. Hopefully everyone will be happy in the end. Of course I want to stay. I like the city, I like the club, I like playing with these guys. I love Anfield, I love the fans. Let’s see what the future brings. It’s not my fault. I’d love to stay. We’ll see.”
Inter’s dramatic victory boosted their lead over rivals AC Milan to eight points, ahead of the Rossoneri hosting Como on Wednesday. Juventus, meanwhile, could drop out of the top four as Roma visited Napoli last night.
The last four Serie A matches between Inter and Juventus have produced a total of 21 goals (an average of 5.25 per game), compared to just nine in the previous six (1.5 per game).
Cambiaso became the first player in Derby d’Italia history to score and put through his own net in the same match between these old rivals, but it was Zielinski’s fifth Serie A goal of the season that proved decisive.
Inter will argue they were deserved victors after amassing 21 shots and 1.88 expected goals (xG), while Luciano Spalletti’s visitors mustered 10 shots and 0.92 xG – though the Bianconeri actually attempted six of their shots while down a man in the second half.
Premier League strugglers Wolves overcame resolute Grimsby Town in challenging conditions at Blundell Park to reach the FA Cup fifth round at the expense of the side that eliminated Manchester United in the last round.
Santiago Bueno scored from Wolves’ only shot on target with an hour played, diverting Joao Gomes’ cross past goalkeeper Jackson Smith with his thigh to end the League Two club’s resistance.
Unrelenting rainfall caused heavy ground underfoot and one penalty area in particular- that of Grimsby’s Smith in the first half – was already a quagmire before kick-off.
Charles Vernam shot narrowly wide from the edge of the box with just 43 seconds on the clock as Grimsby sought to catch their top-flight visitors cold.
Wolves had to wait until the 17th minute for their first opportunity of note, forward Tolu Arokodare firing over with a first-time attempt.
The white paint of the pitch markings soon blended and blurred with the mud as the surface rapidly deteriorated, and both sides struggled to stitch together cohesive attacks as passes travelled unpredictably across the sodden ground.