Wigan Athletic courted controversy this week by hiring Malky Mackay, who is under investigation by the FA for assorted bigoted and offensive text messages that were sent more than a year ago but came to light over the summer. Wigan owner Dave Whelan spoke with the Guardian today, and offered a defense of, essentially, "Mackay was spot-on." I don't think anyone expected that! Let's take each in turn. Mackay, who was Cardiff City manager at the time he sent the texts, referred to agent Phil Smith with this: "Nothing like a Jew that sees money slipping through his fingers." So here's Whelan, today, basically going full Easterbrook: Asked whether he did not think what Mackay said was offensive, because the claim that Jews "love money" has been used as a negative stereotype, Whelan said: "Do you think Jewish people chase money a little bit more than we do? I think they are very shrewd people." Asked if he himself believed that, Whelan, the multimillionaire former owner of JJB Sports, said yes: "I think Jewish people do chase money more than everybody else. I don't think that's offensive at all." OK! But what about Mackay's text about the signing of South Korean Kim Bo-kyung: Fkn chinkys. Fk it. There's enough dogs in Cardiff for us all to go around. Or repeated texts referring to Cardiff's Malaysian owner Vicent Tan as "the chink?" Here's what Whelan thought would defuse the situation: [H]e said the word "chink" is not offensive, and that he used to say it of Chinese people when he was young. "If any Englishman said he has never called a Chinaman a chink he is lying," Whelan said. "There is nothing bad about doing that. It is like calling the British Brits, or the Irish paddies." Holy shit, man! Anyway, I don't think there's a more simpatico pairing of owner and manager than Dave Whelan and Malky Mackay, just toasting Thatcher and being racist and having a grand old time together. Wigan's Dave Whelan accused of antisemitism in new controversy [Guardian]
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Liverpool have rejected a bid from Manchester City for the services of young forward Raheem Sterling
The Raheem Sterling saga has gone on for a while now, ever since it emerged that the youngster was not going to sign a new deal with Liverpool.
There have been various reasons cited for his unwillingness to sign a new deal at Anfield, worth a reported £100,000 per-week.
The main reasons being suggest are that the clubs ambitions do not match his own, he is feeling bullied by the club or the main one he wants more money, which representative Aidy Ward has wholeheartedly denied.
Bid
It looks likely that Sterling will leave the Merseysider’s this summer. The first bid for Sterling of the summer has arrived. According to , that bid was £25million …
Newcastle United manager Alan Pardew wants to sign two new strikers in the transfer window.
Senegal international Papiss Cisse was often utilised as a lone striker last season after Demba Ba departed St James Park for UEFA Europa League winners Chelsea in January.
Yoan Gouffran, Shola Ameobi and youngster Adam Campbell all provide competition in Newcastle s forward line, but Pardew is keen to bolster his options with Aston Villa s Darren Bent and Loic Remy of QPR mooted as potential targets.
I think we might need two strikers, Pardew told the Shields Gazette.
I personally think, my competition in that area Cisse, Shola, Gouff (Gouffran) and Adam Campbell last season wasn t strong enough.
In the Premier League, that s not enough. I need more than that.
…
Napoli could incur a one-point deduction and a 100,000-euro fine for their alleged involvement in the Scommessopoli scandal.
An Italian Football Federation prosecutor has called for Paolo Cannavaro and Gianluca Grava to be suspended for nine months after they were asked to rig a Serie A match.
The accusations revolve around the fixture between Sampdoria and Napoli on May 16, 2010, which the former won 1-0 to seal their place in the following season s Champions League playoffs.
However, it is believed that former reserve goalkeeper Matteo Gianello had asked the pair of defenders to participate in an attempt to fix the match, only for the request to be turned down.
Gianello s proposal on Cannavaro and Grava refers to someone who reported, in confidence, a…
Diego Maradona is only considering victory for his Argentina side in next month s pivotal World Cup qualifier against continental arch rivals Brazil.
With four games to go in South American zonal qualifying, Argentina are lying fourth in the last automatic qualifying spot for South Africa, with 22 points, five behind leaders Brazil.
Chile and Paraguay are in second and third.
Despite that precarious position, Maradona was in positive mood Wednesday, telling a press conference in Rosario where the September 5 tie is being held: I m only thinking of victory, I m not considering defeat.
Honours were shared with a goalless draw in the two countries first meeting on the road to South Africa in Belo Horizonte in June last year.
But this time Maradona …
Melbourne Heart right-back Michael Marrone has departed for China to discuss terms with an unnamed club.
Marrone has made 70 appearances since joining the Heart for their inaugural 2010-11 season and has long been linked with a move overseas.
He was on the verge of a move to Serie A outfit Cagliari before the 2011-12 campaign before a change of coach scuppered the transfer, but it now appears he has gotten his wish.
Newly capped Australia international Marrone will miss Heart s Round 16 A-League match with Sydney on Sunday, with coach John Aloisi wishing the 25-year-old the best.
Michael has been a great servant of the club and has become a fan favourite, Aloisi said via statement.
During his time with the Heart he has become one of the competi…
Two first-half goals helped Oman to a 2-0 Asian Cup qualifying win over Singapore at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Wednesday.
Neither side featured in Qatar 2011 but Oman gave themselves a great opportunity to qualify for Australia 2015 by moving top of the group thanks to strikes from Qasim Said and Eid Mohammed.
Oman, who were without injured goalkeeper Ali Al-Habsi as well as vice-captain Ahmed Mubarak and striker Ahmed Hosni, got off to the better start and were rewarded for their efforts early on.
Good play on the right-hand side from Said saw him cut in and fire an effort into the far corner after 14 minutes to put his side on their way to their second win of qualification.
Singapore, who shipped four goals in their first group game against Jordan, produced …
The omission of Leroy Sane came as a major surprise when Joachim Low announced his final Germany squad for the World Cup on Monday.
The Manchester City winger was one of four names to be cut from the provisional group, along with Bernd Leno, Jonathan Tah and Nils Petersen.
Low explained it was a very close decision between Sane and Bayer Leverkusen s Julian Brant, who ultimately got the nod, adding that Sane, has not arrived in international matches yet .
The question of poor form on the part of the 22-year-old seems at odds with his performances in the Premier League, with Sane having won the PFA Young Player of the Year award for 2017-18 due to his form for champions Manchester City.
So, is Low s decision justified? With the help of Opta, we crunch the…
Ovie Ejaria has signed a new long-term Liverpool contract before heading to Rangers on a season-long loan to link up with Steven Gerrard.
Ejaria, a 20-year-old midfielder, spent the second half of the 2017-18 campaign on loan at Sunderland in the Championship.
It s a really great feeling. I ve been at Liverpool for four years now and I m just really happy to extend my stay here, Ejaria told Liverpool s website.
It s a massive club, the club s doing really well at the moment, so it wasn t a hard decision at all.
“It’s a really great feeling. I’ve been at Liverpool for four years now and I’m just really happy to extend my stay here ”
— Liverpool FC (@LFC)
Rangers have confirmed Gerrard s assistant manager will be Gary Mc…
Frank Lampard has vowed to not let anyone off the hook after Chelsea slipped out of the Champions League with another 2-0 loss to Real Madrid.
The Blues suffered their fourth successive defeat in as many games as a Rodrygo double condemned them to a 4-0 aggregate quarter-final defeat.
Chelsea s latest loss means Lampard has overseen the club s worst run across all competitions for close to three decades since his return as interim boss.
Though much-improved from Santiago Bernabeu last week, the former midfielder still needs to see standards rise, and says he will not let any player off lightly.
You re playing for Chelsea, he told BT Sport. Every game you play, you have to give everything. I won t let anyone off the hook and we have to show. That standard…
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Real Madrid are set to welcome Levante to the Alfredo Di Stefano stadium on Saturday afternoon, for a match belonging to round 21 of the 2020-21 La Liga season, though it will actually be match number 20 for both teams. Naturally, both teams will feel that winning points in this match is very important, especially the hosts as they strive to win the league for the second campaign in a row.
Real Madrid
At the moment, things aren t looking that well for Los Blancos on that front. They are in second place with 40 points, seven behind city rivals Atletico at the top, who play their game on Sunday away to Cadiz while already . The only consolation for Real, if consolation it is, is that arch-rivals Barcelona are still three points behind, …