Sports
Kano Pillars Risk LMC Sanction
The League organisers are set to make a announcement on the ugly scenes which marred the playoff tie between Sai Masu Gida and the Flying Antelopes
The League Management Company (LMC) has stated that it is still comparing the notes of the match officials and others in connection with the Enugu Rangers and Kano Pillars fixture in the Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL) Championship playoffs, which was marred by crowd violence on Monday.
The LMC opined that appropriate sanctions will be meted out to all those that directly or indirectly have a connection with the fracas at the Agege Stadium, Lagos shortly after the league encounter had ended in a 1-1 draw.
The matchday four Super Six game had ended peacefully, but fans allegedly loyal to Kano Pillars invaded the pitch at the end of game and hurled different types of objects towards the match officials and others in the stands.
The disgruntled fans are believed to have been protesting over the handling of the game by referee Adebimpe Quadri.
The problemw started when Quadri awarded a late penalty kick to the Flying Antelopes for the foul on Enugu Rangers’ Ifeanyi Egwin and a handball in the 18 yards box.
Rangers’ Godwin Aguda coolly slotted the spot kick in the 90th minute to cancel out the 58th-minute free-kick from Kano Pillars’ Rabiu Ali.
At the sound of the referee’s final whistle, Ali – who had earlier contested almost all of the referee’s calls which didn’t favour his team during the game – went straight to the referee and appeared to want to assault him, but he was repelled by some of his teammates who prevented him from getting closer to the official.
It was his continuous remonstration with the referee that irked the alleged Pillars fans, and they ran to the pitch in numbers in an attempt to accost the centre referee in solidarity with Ali, who they consider a cult hero.
The fans tore the dashboards at pitch-side into shreds and hurled them, and other objects, at the match officials and others in sight at the VIP section, and wanted to break through the barricade to gain entrance into the referees’ changing room.
The crowd was then overpowered by the security after some fans were injured.
A top official of the LMC, who craves anonymity, informed Tidesport source that the league body has begun an inquiry into the crowd violence and that the video and other evidence which could help the body in making an unbiased judgement are presently being studied, and that a pronouncement on it will be made very soon.
The official noted that Kano Pillars skipper Ali, and a few others in the club, have a case to answer for, but that they want to exhaust all the evidence before them before a decision is made to serve as a deterrent in future matches.
“We are going through the match report of all those that were involved in Monday’s game from the match commissioner to the referees and we are comparing that with the video footage available to us,” the official told Tidesports source.
Sports
Gyokeres Situation, Transfer Under Cloud At Sporting

Sporting have not received an offer for striker Viktor Gyokeres and there is no gentleman’s agreement for him to leave for £59million, says club president Frederico Varandas.
Sweden international Gyokeres, 27, has been heavily linked with Manchester United and Arsenal after scoring 97 goals in 102 matches during two seasons in Portugal.
He has a 100m euro (£85m) release clause in his contract.
It has been widely reported that, after staying at Sporting last summer, Gyokeres and Sporting agreed he could leave for 70m euros (£59m) this summer.
However, Varandas said the club’s only promise to Gyokeres was that they would not demand his full release clause.
“I can guarantee that Viktor Gyokeres will not leave for 60m euros plus 10m euros because I never promised that,” Varandas said.
“To this day Sporting has not had an offer for Gyokeres, neither today nor last season.”
Gyokeres spent three seasons with Coventry City in the Championship before joining Sporting under Ruben Amorim.
Manchester City director of football Hugo Viana was sporting director at Sporting last summer, when Gyokeres’ agent sought assurances about his leaving if a suitable offer arrived.
“One of the agent’s biggest concerns was whether we would demand the termination clause,” said Varandas.
“He wanted to guarantee certain things. And what was agreed? That Sporting would not demand a release clause now.
“For one reason: he was going to be 27 years old and no player leaves Portugal at 27 for 100m eurors or 90m euros.
“In that same meeting the agent wanted to anchor the exit to a value. I said this sentence: ‘It’s not worth us setting a value because I don’t know what will happen in a year’s time. I don’t know if it will be 40m euros, 60m euros or 80m euros. What I can guarantee is that I will not demand 100 million euros.’”
Sports
Concacaf Opposes 64-Team W’Cup Plans

Concacaf President Victor Montagliani has criticised a proposal to expand the 2030 men’s World Cup to 64 teams.
The plans, put forward by South American governing body Conmebol, have also drawn opposition from Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
The tournament will be hosted by Spain, Morocco and Portugal, after the opening matches are held in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.
The 2026 World Cup, which will take place across the United States, Mexico and Canada, has already been expanded from 32 to 48 teams.
But Conmebol said it wanted to add more participants to mark the competition’s 100-year anniversary.
“I don’t believe expanding the men’s World Cup to 64 teams is the right move for the tournament itself and the broader football ecosystem, from national teams to club competitions, leagues, and players,” Montagliani told Tidesports source
“We haven’t even kicked off the new 48-team World Cup yet, so personally, I don’t think that expanding to 64 teams should even be on the table.”
Concacaf is the governing body of football in North America, Central America and the Caribbean.
The decision to expand the 2026 World Cup to 48 teams was taken in 2017 following a unanimous vote at a Fifa congress.
Fifa’s 75th congress will be held in Paraguay on 15 May, when Conmebol’s proposal could be discussed.
If the proposal is accepted, the 2030 edition would consist of 128 matches, double the number played under the 64-game format used from 1998 and 2022.
In March, Ceferin described the proposal as a “bad idea” while AFC president Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al-Khalifa said it would cause “chaos”.
“If the issue remains open to change, then the door will not only be open to expanding the tournament to 64 teams,” said Salman.
“But someone might come along and demand raising the number to 132 teams. Where would we end up then? It would become chaos.”
Sports
Brazil Edge Paraguay, Book W’Cup Spot

Brazil qualified for the 2026 World Cup this week with a 1-0 win against Paraguay in South American qualifying to give Carlo Ancelotti his first win as manager.
Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jnr scored from close range in the second half, finishing after fine work from Manchester United-bound playmaker Matheus Cunha.
The victory, Ancelotti’s first after a 0-0 draw against Ecuador on his debut last week, means Brazil has now qualified for every edition of the World Cup.
“We needed to win and qualify for the World Cup,” said Vinicius Jr.
“Now the coach will have more time to work. Of course today wasn’t one of our best performances, but the important thing is always to win.
“Now it’s time to celebrate qualifying.”
Elsewhere, World Cup holders Argentina played out an entertaining 1-1 draw with Colombia in Buenos Aires.
Liverpool winger Luis Diaz opened the scoring with a fine individual goal, dancing through three defenders before finishing past Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.
Argentina was reduced to 10 men with 20 minutes remaining when Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez was sent off for a high-boot challenge on Colombia’s Kevin Castano.
But Lionel Messi’s side found an equaliser nine minutes from the end through Lyon’s Thiago Almada, leaving Colombia four points clear of seventh-placed Venezuela.
Ecuador, Argentina’s nearest challengers, booked their spot at next summer’s tournament in Canada, Mexico and the United States after a 0-0 draw away at Peru.
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