Cavani sent off after gun celebration

 

 

Paris St-Germain striker Edinson Cavani was sent off for his trademark gun celebration and subsequent protest as the French champions beat Lens.

 

The Uruguayan was booked after bending on one knee and firing an imaginary shot during a 3-1 victory.

He reacted by touching referee Nicolas Rainville’s arm, with the official then showing him a red card.
PSG president Nasser Al Khelafi backed Cavani and said the 27-year-old “did not deserve” to be dismissed.

He told Canal Plus television: “Why did he get the yellow card before? He always celebrates the same way.”
Cavani, a keen hunter, performed his usual celebration after scoring a 55th-minute penalty to give PSG a 3-1 lead.

The striker, signed from Napoli for £55m in July 2013, is yet to respond to the dismissal on social media.
Goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu told the PSG website: “Cavani? I still don’t know why he was sent off. I feel really bad for him.”

PSG coach Laurent Blanc said: “I’m not going to make any comment about the refereeing. It’s a difficult game to analyse.”

Adama Coulibaly’s 20-yard shot had put Lens ahead but former Newcastle midfielder Yohan Cabaye equalised.

Maxwell gave PSG the lead with a lob before Jean-Philippe Gbamin was sent off for shoving Cavani in the area.

Jerome Le Moigne was dismissed for the newly-promoted hosts just before the hour in a game played at the Stade de France because Lens’s Bollaert stadium is being renovated.

Victory moved PSG above Bordeaux into second in Ligue 1, four points behind Marseille, who have a game in hand.

Chelsea unsure on Diego Costa return

Manager Jose Mourinho is unsure when Diego Costa will be fit again for Chelsea – but sarcastically said he would play for Spain within a month.

Costa, 26, has scored nine goals in seven league games since his £32m move from Atletico Madrid, but missed the 2-1 win at Crystal Palace through injury.

Mourinho said: “He will be in great condition in mid-November to be back for the national team. That’s for sure.

“He will play for me when he has free time from the national team.”

Mourinho has previously expressed his concerns over Costa’s selection for Spain – claiming he was “doing almost nothing in training” between matches and would benefit from treatment rather than more games.

Costa, who has been regularly rested by Mourinho since his arrival in England because of a long-standing hamstring injury, scored his first goal for Spain in last weekend’s 4-0 win in Luxembourg.

He played 82 minutes of that match but arrived back in London injured, according to Mourinho.

He said: “After we beat Arsenal, Costa went to the national team, he played two big matches against Slovakia and Luxembourg, and he came back in conditions where he’s not available to play for his club.

“Our medical department will take great care of him and in mid-November he will be in perfect condition.”
Mourinho ruled Costa out of Tuesday’s Champions League clash with Maribor and would not comment on the prospect of a return at Manchester United next Sunday.

In Costa’s absence, Loic Remy started at Selhurst Park, with veteran Didier Drogba coming off the bench.
Spain play Belarus in a Euro 2016 qualifier on 15 November before facing World Cup winners Germany in a friendly two days later.

Messi edges closer to record in Barca

Lionel Messi moved to within two goals of becoming the all-time La Liga record goalscorer after he netted in Barcelona’s victory over Eibar.

After a goalless first half, Messi’s through-ball found Xavi, who chipped keeper Xabi Iruretagoiena to put the league leaders ahead after an hour.

Brazil striker Neymar volleyed in Dani Alves’s chip to double their advantage.

Messi made it 3-0 in the 74th minute after racing through the Eibar defence for his 250th La Liga goal.

The 27-year-old is one behind Telmo Zarra’s record for Athletic Bilbao in the 1940s and 1950s.

Messi will break the record if he scores two goals or more in next Saturday’s game against arch-rivals Real Madrid, the first El Clasico of the season.

That match is expected to mark Luis Suarez’s first competitive game in a Barcelona shirt after serving a ban for biting Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini during Uruguay’s 2014 World Cup group match in Brazil in June.

Rio Ferdinand charged by FA with misconduct over Twitter comment

QPR defender Rio Ferdinand has been charged with misconduct by the Football Association for a social media comment.

“It is alleged the comment posted on his Twitter account was abusive and/or indecent and/or insulting and/or improper,” an FA statement read.

The charge is believed to relate to Ferdinand’s use of the word ‘sket’, “a promiscuous girl or woman” according to Collins English Dictionary.

The former England international, 35, has until 21 October to respond.

Ferdinand wrote the tweet thought to have led to the charge on 1 September in reply to a message sent to him suggesting his team needed a new centre-half.

He was tagged in a message that read: “Maybe QPR will sign a good CB (centre back) they need one” and wrote back: “get ya mum in, plays the field well son! #sket” – a Jamaican slang word.

Ferdinand, who made the last of his 81 appearances for England in June 2011, is a member of FA chairman Greg Dyke’s commission looking at how to improve English football.

The ex-Manchester United centre-back has sent more than 14,000 tweets since joining the social networking site in 2010.

O’Shea secures dramatic draw in Germany

 

John O’Shea’s injury-time equaliser earned Republic of Ireland a point with world champions Germany in a dramatic Euro 2016 qualifier. 

 

Germany were aiming to bounce back from the shock defeat by Poland but were frustrated until Toni Kroos fired in on 71 minutes.

However, O’Shea, winning his 100th cap, flicked into the bottom corner in the final seconds of added time.
The Republic are second in Group D, level on points with leaders Poland.

Poland, who drew 2-2 with Scotland, have a goal difference one better than the Irish. On seven points, Poland and the Republic are three points ahead of Scotland and Germany.

Jon Walters, Stephen Quinn and Glenn Whelan came into the Republic side as boss Martin O’Neill added muscle and discipline following the 7-0 hammering of Gibraltar on Saturday.

Eric Durm rattled the bar from 35 yards and Antonio Rudiger headed wide as the hosts pressed early at the Stadion Gelsenkirchen.

The Irish were wasteful in possession, while Aiden McGeady, handed a free hole behind lone striker Robbie Keane, was unable to influence affairs.

However, the Germans were also toothless in attack, failing to penetrate a hard-working and organised Republic defence.

Matthias Ginter headed over, while David Forde saved an angled Julien Draxler drive just before the break, but this was a tame German response to Saturday’s 2-0 defeat in Warsaw.

Forde kept out strikes from substitute Lukas Podolski, Karim Bellarabi and Kroos early in the second half as the World Cup winners upped the tempo.

A moment of class from Kroos finally breached Irish resistance, with the Real Madrid midfielder allowed space to fire low off the post and in.

O’Neill brought on Wes Hoolahan and the Norwich playmaker gave a much-needed spark to the Republic attack.

Forde denied Mario Gotze and Durm blocked Hoolahan’s low shot before O’Shea provided the thrilling finale.

The Sunderland defender, who had pushed up as the Irish chased a late leveller, connected with Jeff Hendrick’s pull-back to send the ball beyond Manuel Neuer in the fourth and final minute of injury time.

                 Tue 14 Oct 2014 – European Championship Qualifying Results

 

Germany 1 – 1 R. of Ireland FT

 Gibraltar 0 – 3 Georgia FT

Poland 2 – 2 Scotland FT

San Marino 0 – 4 Switzerland FT

Faroe Islands 0 – 1 Hungary FT

Finland 0 – 2 Romania FT

Greece 0 – 2 Northern Ireland FT

Denmark 0 – 1 Portugal FT

Serbia 0 – 0 Albania

Awesome Neymar scores all four goals

Neymar scored all four goals as Brazil eased to a 4-0 friendly win over Japan in Singapore.

The 22-year-old has now taken his tally to 40 in 58 internationals.

He rounded Japan goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima and slotted in for the first, before adding a second from a pass by Liverpool’s Philippe Coutinho.

The Barcelona forward, who helped Brazil to victory against Argentina on Saturday, swept in to make it 3-0 and headed the fourth from Kaka’s cross.

Neymar also went close with a free-kick that hit the post, while Kaka’s header was pushed on to the bar by Kawashima.

Japan forward Shinji Okazaki also struck the woodwork with a fierce right-foot drive.

Messi double as Argentina put seven past Hong Kong

Lionel Messi scored twice as Argentina beat Hong Kong 7-0 in a friendly.

The Barcelona forward came on in the second half and grabbed Argentina’s fifth and seventh goals, first clipping home and then rifling in a low effort.

Sevilla’s Ever Banega had drilled in the opener before a Gonzalo Higuain header and Nicolas Gaitan drive gave the away side a 3-0 half-time lead.

Higuain got his second after the break, while Gaitan also tapped in for a brace in-between Messi’s goals.

Argentina were playing their second game in the Far East, having lost 2-0 to rivals Brazil in the Superclasico de las Americas in Beijing on Saturday.

Coach Gerardo Martino opted to leave most of his first-choice players out of the starting line-up for the game at the Hong Kong Stadium.

Messi, Manchester United’s Angel Di Maria and Sergio Aguero of Manchester City all started on the bench.