Villarreal beats Osasuna 2-0 end winless Liga streak
MADRID, Oct 18: Villarreal defeated Osasuna 2-0 with a pair of goals by Arnaut Danjuma to end a four-match winless streak in the Spanish league on Monday. Danjuma scored with a neat backheel flick in the first half and from a penalty kick in the second to give the hosts their first league victory since early September. The result moved Villarreal to seventh place. Osasuna dropped to ninth place. It is winless in three straight league games. Osasuna next hosts Espanyol on Thursday, while Villarreal visits second-placed Barcelona. (AP)
Neymar set to testify in Barça transfer fraud trial
BARCELONA, Oct 18: Neymar arrived in court on Tuesday to testify in a fraud and corruption trial over his transfer from Brazilian club Santos to Barcelona nearly a decade ago. Neymar and his father, who acts as his agent, were among those accused of concealing the real amount of the transfer from an investment group involved in the negotiations. Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez was called to testify by the plaintiffs on Tuesday and said via video conference he didn’t know Neymar personally but admitted his club was interested in signing the player before he joined Barcelona. He said Madrid made a couple of offers for Neymar. Neymar’s move from Santos in 2013 got Barcelona in trouble with Spain’s tax office a few years ago. Investment group DIS was entitled to 40% of Neymar’s transfer but said it received a smaller compensation because part of the transfer fee was concealed. (AP)
Ligue 1 club Montpellier sack coach Olivier Dall’Oglio
MONTPELLIER, Oct 18: French league club Montpellier fired coach Olivier Dall’Oglio on Monday following its seventh defeat this season. Montpellier lost to Lens 1-0 on Saturday to lag 17 points behind leader Paris Saint-Germain after four wins in 11 league matches. Montpellier said deputy coach Romain Piteau will serve as caretaker at least until the international break starting on Nov. 14 because of the World Cup in Qatar. Dall’Oglio joined Montpellier in 2021 as a replacement for Michel der Zakarian. He enjoyed a good start with the southern club but results nosedived in the second half of the season. Dall’Oglio became the fifth French league coach to be fired this season after Reims’ Oscar Garcia, Lyon’s Peter Bosz, Brest’s Der Zakarian and Auxerre’s Jean-Marc Furlan. (AP)
FIFA World Cup teams to start arriving in Doha from Nov 7
Doha, Oct 18: With a month to kick-off, Qatar has added 30,000 rooms to house visitors to the country during the FIFA World Cup 2022 that begins on November 20, organisers said on Monday. The addition of new rooms comes on top of the two million room-nights that will be used by visitors during the month-long tournament being organised for the first time in the Middle East, said Yasir Al Jamal, Director General, Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, the organiser of the event. The Japanese squad will be the first to arrive in Doha on November 7. (IANS)
Portugal’s Diogo Jota ruled out of WC with calf injury
London, Oct 18: Diogo Jota will miss the 2022 World Cup with Portugal due to a ‘calf muscle issue’, Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp confirmed on Tuesday. The forward was carried from the pitch in stoppage time of the 1-0 win at Anfield and will miss Liverpool’s remaining eight fixtures prior to the international break in November, as well as his country’s participation in the FIFA World Cup. During a press conference, Klopp confirmed, “It’s really not good news about Diogo. Yes, he will miss the World Cup. (It’s a) pretty serious injury in the calf muscle and now the recovery process starts. That’s it pretty much. “That is the first diagnosis, which was pretty clear, and all the rest will follow in the next few days. It is very sad news for the boy, and for us as well of course [and] for Portugal.” (IANS)
Antwerp player suspended for smoking on bench before game
BRUSSELS, Oct 18: Former Belgium international Radja Nainggolan has been suspended until further notice by Royal Antwerp after he was caught smoking an electronic cigarette on the bench. The Belgian club also cited Nainggolan’s performances and how his behavior can negatively affect the squad. Nainggolan was caught smoking over the weekend before a match against Standard Liege despite a ban in Belgium’s stadiums. “I just want to say that I think what I have done is bad,” Nainggolan said on social media. “This is totally wrong but I had not thought about it at the time. The club took a decision that I can only accept even if I find it a bit too harsh.” (AP)