Former Portsmouth chairman Milan Mandaric has insisted that he and Harry Redknapp are not guilty of cheating the public revenue.
The pair are up in front of Southwark Crown Court over claims that the executive paid the now-Tottenham boss £189,000 into a foreign bank account in illicit fashion, but Mandaric has restated that the payment was above board.
“I wanted to do something special for Harry because he means more to me than a football manager. This was something as a friend,” he told the court, as reported by Sky Sports.
“If this was something to do with employment, I would have done something entirely different.
“The payments were something special for my friend … That’s all I wanted to do.
“I want to make it absolutely clear that it was completely away from his duties, his bonuses, his salaries … It has nothing to do with it. It is an entirely different subject,” he concluded.
The jury had been previously told last week that Redknapp’s off-shore bank account had been bolstered by payments following the sale of Peter Crouch, but both the coach and Mandaric have claimed their innocence.
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UEFA president Michel Platini has admitted making a mistake by setting a high price for tickets for the Champions League final.Tickets for Wembley’s showpiece event on May 28 start at 176 pounds, and many fans feel they have been marginalised by UEFA’s decision.
Speaking at a trophy handover ceremony on Wednesday, Platini admitted the price may have been too high, but said it was tough to please everyone with such high demand.
“I already responded that it was a mistake,” Platini said.
“It was not good but take care, it is not easy to decide the price of the ticket in the final of the Champions League because now we have received 200,000 requests for this price of ticket.”
“Now, if you want to buy this ticket off the black market, it is 10 times the price that we decided.”
“So, it is not so easy. Perhaps in the future we will have a new category for families that are less expensive, but if they put that on the black market….that is not easy.”
The Champions League trophy will be on display at 13 sites across London between now and May 21, including Fulham’s Craven Cottage, Trafalgar Square and Heathrow airport.
There is still a chance the trophy could remain in England after the final, with Premier League club Manchester United one of four teams still alive in the competition.
Birmingham City have abandoned their interest in Charles N’Zogbia after failing to agree personal terms with the French winger.
The Blues were given permission to hold talks with N’Zogbia on Friday after Wigan Athletic accepted an improved offer from the St Andrew’s club.
However, manager Alex McLeish revealed the deal quickly broke down following talks with the 24-year-old recently capped France international’s advisors.
“We did everything that was asked of us and then the goalposts were moved at the last minute,” McLeish told the club’s official website.
“It was very important to us as a club to stick to our principals and look after the long-term interests of Birmingham City as we are custodians of the club.
“We remain ambitious and committed to adding extra quality to the playing squad but this deal became one that was not in the interests of the club.
“The board worked with me extremely hard to try and get this one over the line and I thank them for their support.”
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N’Zogbia, who joined Wigan from Newcastle in January 2009, has been linked with a move away from the DW Stadium throughout the summer.
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Liverpool climbed to within two points of the Premier League top four after Craig Bellamy scored and created another to inspire his side to an easy win over Aston Villa.
The Reds struck twice in the space of four first half minutes to see off Alex McLeish’s men and win for the sixth time in their last 11 games to put themselves in with a chance of moving into the Champions League places over Christmas. Kenny Dalglish’s side were rarely troubled by the home side and had the game sown up within the first 15 minutes with Bellamy having a hand in both. The Welshman scored the first before setting up Martin Skrtel for the second to underline his status as one of the seasons transfer bargains. Villa will be disappointed that they didn’t test Pepe Reina on a more regular basis and McLeish will be unhappy with his players after another limp display although. Their cause wasn’t helped after key striking duo Gabriel Agbonlahor and Darren Bent picked up injuries and missed the game at Villa Park with Emile Heskey struggling up front against his former club. Dalglish on the other hand will be feeling the polar opposite after his side turned in a confident performance whilst his decision to play young Jonjo Shelvey from the off ultimately paid off.
Having spent most of the season on loan at Blackpool it was surprising to see the 19-year-old thrown straight into the mix by his boss but didn’t disappoint slotting in alongside his more experienced colleagues with ease. He played a key role in the opening goal on 11 minutes flicking Stewart Downing’s corner into the path of Bellamy who made no mistake turning the ball past Brad Guzan to make it 1-0. Four minutes later the lead was doubled with Bellamy turning provider whipping in a corner that was met by Skrtel with a superb glancing header. The Reds continued to dominate in the first forty five minutes but failed to increase their advantage as they pegged Villa back into their own half. Charles N’Zogbia did prove to be the home side’s brightest player and he was the architect of their best chance of the first half firing an effort over on the half hour mark before slamming the ball into the side netting of Reina’s goal minutes later.
However it was the visitors who looked more likely to score with Bellamy proving a nuisance throughout with his cross finding the unmarked Daniel Agger at the back post only for the Dane to head the ball wide. Villa offered little in terms of an attacking threat without Bent and Agbonlahor and were lucky not to concede again with Luis Suarez uncharacteristically squandering two chances. After a relatively quiet first half the Uruguayan sparked into life scampering into a through ball before beating Richard Dunne and James Collins only to see his stinging strike crash back off the cross bar. The wood work would deny him again soon after with the striker’s deft chip from the edge of the area beating Guzan but once again agonisingly clipping the bar for the 17th time this season.
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For football fans, there are few experiences that match that of watching a live match from the stands. For followers of Premier League teams especially, there is now the opportunity to watch an abundance of football on TV, whether you’re at home or at the pub. However, no matter whether you support a Premiership or Championship club or a team from the rest of the Football League, being in the stands and part of the atmosphere is a crucial part of the match experience.
The increase in the amount of footy on TV and the rising price of football tickets has led to many fans having to think twice about putting their hands in their pockets, though. Supporting your football team is becoming an increasingly expensive activity and you cannot blame fans who stay at home to save money, especially when vast travel distances are involved. However, attendances across English football would seem to suggest that fans are still making the effort to watch live matches when they can.
Here on FootballFanCast.com we are running a survey to find out just how many of you watch live football matches and how many you take in each season. So, let us know how often you’re in the stands below…
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Birmingham City manager Alex McLeish has admitted defeat in his attempts to sign both AZ Alkmaar striker Moussa Dembele and Juventus winger Mauro Camoranesi.
McLeish had hoped to add the duo to his St Andrew’s squad ahead of the new Premier League season, as he sought to add further quality to a squad who exceeded expectations last term.
“Dembele has got other options and he is choosing another option,” McLeish admitted. “It is a blow because we have worked hard on that one, but that’s life.”
Dembele had previously told the Birmingham Mail: “A second team from the Premier League has made contact. I’ll make a decision in the following days as I don’t want the case to trail too long.”
Of Italy international Camoranesi, McLeish added:“I have always been a big admirer, but negotiations became protracted and I had a further think.
“I decided it was not quite the way forward for Birmingham at this particular time.”
Camoranesi’s agent, Sergio Fortunato, had earlier told Calciomercato.it:“At the moment we are not talking to Birmingham.
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“It’s an issue of taxes. You’re offered a figure and it turns out to be half that.”
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Everton fans are absolutely loving the form of Cenk Tosun, after their new star striker grabbed a brace in Turkey’s 2-1 win over Iran.
Everton fans haven’t had much to cheer about this season, but the arrival and form of Cenk Tosun was certainly a silver lining.
The Turkish striker did struggle for form towards the end of the season, but through no fault of his own, as he barely got a sniff due to the negative brand of football instilled by Sam Allardyce.
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The 26 year-old still managed five Premier League goals with the Toffees though, after finding the net 14 times in the first half of the season with Besiktas.
The big striker scored a wonderful brace as his side warmed up for the World Cup with a 2-1 friendly win over Iran on Monday, and fans are heaping praise on their new front man.
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If the Toffees are to satisfy their fans with attacking football next season, one would have to think Tosun will flourish in a team creating more chances, and he showed exactly why on Monday night.
You can find some of the best Twitter reactions to Tosun’s brace below…
For months it was widely thought that Arsenal star Alexis Sanchez would join Pep Guardiola’s high-flying Manchester City team.
In the last few weeks, though, the tables turned and City’s arch rivals Manchester United emerged as the Chile international’s preferred destination.
The 29-year-old secured a straight swap with Henrikh Mkhitaryan as his contract at the Emirates was due to expire at the end of the season.
United have now been significantly strengthened, but City remain in the driving seat as far as the Premier League title race is concerned.
The blue half of Manchester have a 12-point lead after 24 games, but they recently suffered a slight wobble when their unbeaten run was ended by Liverpool in a 4-3 loss at Anfield.
Kevin De Bruyne has arguably been City’s player of the season so far as he has been instrumental in guiding the team to the top of the table.
There is no doubt that the North-West outfit would have been boosted by Sanchez’s arrival, but De Bruyne has insisted that City have not been affected by his snub.
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According to the Metro, the Belgian said:
“If it doesn’t go, it doesn’t matter, we will still do what we need to do, with or without him. And he chose United. There are a lot of good players. If they want to come, they want to come, and otherwise we will do it with our team.”
You can be forgiven for thinking all is rosy on the blue side of Manchester. At the top end of the Premier League table, through to the Champions League knockouts for the first time and a place booked in the League cup final to boot, all is well at Manchester City surely?
The club have today though been rocked by the news that their star midfielder Yaya Toure has openly admitted considering a move across the pond to PSG. Asked about a move to Paris by French radio station RMC, he said:
“Why not? Everything’s going well with City at the moment, but you never know. When you have big teams like that, who already have big players, it’s obviously attractive. Being part of an adventure like that, a squad like that is exceptional.”
“My objective is always to work with big players. It helps you to get better and to learn many things. You never stop learning in football. For me PSG are a big club. They’re a big team, full of history, with all the great players they have at the moment.”
The question for City fans is whether this is simply a statement of his admiration for a club like PSG, or a genuine flirtation with a potential move? It does seem a little bizarre that a man playing for one of the best footballing sides in the world at the moment would even for a moment consider a move elsewhere.
City do though have a reason to be concerned, Toure is possibly the best midfielder in the league and a player central to their attacking menace. Whilst the club has the financial power to replace anyone, there just aren’t that many players comparable to the Ivorian in world football. Toure’s importance this term is underlined by his return of 14 goals so far, and he looks still to have been a relative bargain. A midfielder who is rare in his all round completeness, he has the physical presence to break up play and the swiftness of mind to engineer incisive attacks for his club.
The sense from Toure’s comments are that he really buys into the project at PSG and that isn’t at all surprising given the ambition being shown, but in my opinion he has unfinished business. Manchester City may be playing the best football in the league, but they are yet to dominate the country domestically on a regular basis, add to that failure in Europe and you can see a way to go before Toure’s work in England is done.
I personally don’t see a move away as being at all imminent, he has just signed a lucrative new £11m a year deal until 2017 and the club don’t appear to have any urge to sell. At the age of 30 Toure has one big move left in him, and it isn’t surprising that he has eyes to the future. However, given what he has left to achieve and contribute to his current employers I’d suggest his overtures are a little bit premature.
If this was any other club the Parisians would blow them out of the water, but City’s backers are unlikely to flinch regardless of how high PSG want to bid.
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PSG may be a pre-retirement dream for Toure, but don’t expect it to be realised any time soon.
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Getafe midfielder Abdelaziz Barrada has admitted to seeing clubs linked with him in the papers but he is just trying to keep head in the game after an impressive start to the season according to talkSPORT.
Barrada has been linked with Manchester City along with Barcelona, Real Madrid and his former club PSG, but despite already scoring three goals this season and featuring for Morocco at the Olympics, Barrada wants to focus on Getafe.
“I know the news from the newspaper, but now I prefer to just focus on my work on the pitch,” he is quoted as saying in French magazine France Football.
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“It would be tempting (to rejoin PSG) because I’ve worked there for a small period of time and I have kept good contact with the people of the reserves I met in my time there. PSG’s project is fine but I have not spoken to anyone about my possible return.”