Sports
Wayne Rooney Suffers First Defeat As Manager
Wayne Rooney suffered defeat in his first match in permanent charge of Derby as relegation rivals Rotherham won 1-0 at Pride Park and Norwich opened up a seven-point lead at the top of the Championship table.
The former Manchester United and England captain was officially confirmed as the Rams’ manager on Friday, having held the post on an interim basis since the departure of Phillip Cocu in November.
But his reign started inauspiciously as Jamie Lindsay’s late strike sent County second bottom of the table.
Norwich remain well on course for an immediate return to the Premier League thanks to a fast start away to Cardiff.
Grant Hanley put the leaders in front after just four minutes, nodding in at the far post after a flick on from a corner.
And it was 2-0 after 20 minutes as Todd Cantwell rounded off a slick counter-attack by slotting into an empty net following a smart save from Alex Smithies.
Joe Ralls gave Cardiff hope by thumping into the bottom corner from 12 yards after 65 minutes but the hosts were reduced to 10 men five minutes later when Marlon Pack was shown a second yellow card and slipped to a fourth successive defeat.
Second-placed Swansea can close the gap at the top back to four points with victory later at Barnsley.
Bournemouth missed the chance to go second after a 1-0 loss at home to Luton.
The Cherries’ task was made more difficult when Jefferson Lerma was shown a straight red card after 26 minutes for catching Tom Lockyer in the face with a stray arm while competing for a header.
Bournemouth pushed to overcome their numerical disadvantage but Luton capitalised as the hosts tired to take the lead after 67 minutes.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall curled the winner into the bottom corner from 15 yards.
Watford returned to the playoff places with a 2-0 win over Huddersfield.
Tom Cleverley gave Watford a 54th-minute lead by capitalising on indecisive defending from Huddersfield.
Alex Vallejo attempted to pass the ball back to Ryan Schofield, who hesitated as Cleverley closed in and beat the goalkeeper to the ball to slide in from six yards.
Joao Pedro made sure of the points 10 minutes later, tapping in at the far post from Kiko Femenia’s cross.
Sammy Ameobi struck twice as Nottingham Forest secured back-to-back wins for only the second time this season with a 3-1 victory against Millwall.
Birmingham manager Aitor Karanka enjoyed a successful return to the Riverside as Scott Hogan struck to earn the Blues a 1-0 win and prevent Middlesbrough from moving into the play-off places.
A 1-1 draw did little to aid Stoke and Blackburn’s playoff hopes.
AFP
Sports
Robinho To Serve A 9 Year Jail Term Over Gang Rape
Former Manchester City and Real Madrid striker Robinho will reportedly serve a nine-year jail sentence for gang rape – Imposed on him by an Italian court — in Brazil, judges in Brasilia has ruled.
The 40-year-old was found guilty in Italy in 2017 and according to Globo, Brazil’s Superior Court of Justice (BSCJ), made the ruling on Wednesday, March 20, 2024.
The former Premier League player, whose real name is Robson De Souza, was one of six men who were found guilty of a§§aulting an Albanian woman in an Italian nightclub in January 2013.
In January 2022, the Supreme Court in Rome dismissed his final appeal against the conviction, according to the report.
Robinho claims he is innocent and has been living in Brazil for the past seven years. It came after nine of the court’s 15 ministers had voted in favour of the decision to incarcerate the footballer in Brazil.
Globo also claims that the ex-footballer, who also spent time at AC Milan and Real Madrid, will now be arrested in Santos, where he currently resides.
Robinho, who was 28 and was playing for AC Milan at the time, admitted during his appeal to having ‘contact’ with the woman, but the Brazilian insisted it was consensual.
The Milan Court of Appeals found Robinho had ‘belittled’ and ‘br¥tally h¥miliated’ the victim as it upheld his original sentence in December 2020.
Intercepted phone calls between the Brazilian and those allegedly involved in the assault were used as key evidence in his initial conviction.
Sports
Former Tennis Champion, Tania Okpala Returns To Tennis After Rehabilitation
Anambra State Governor, Charles Soludo, has revealed that former tennis champion, Tania Okpala, has resumed playing on the courts.
This development follows Soludo’s assurance that she would undergo rehabilitation after a video surfaced online showing her in distress on the streets of Awka, pleading for assistance.
In an update on his social media handle on Thursday, Soludo expressed his satisfaction with Okpala’s return, stating, “Tania Okpala is back on the courts!
“A few months ago, social media was flooded with a viral video showing Ms. Tania in a distressing state on the streets of Awka. I am pleased to report that we have successfully restored Tania to her winning ways.”
Okpala, who hails from Anambra and has a Belarusian mother, represented Nigeria in the 1990s.
Here are pictures of her in the tennis court.
Sports
AFCON: Victor Osimhen Now Cleared To Join The Other Super Eagles Ahead Of Tomorrow’s Game
Good News has it that Victor Osimhen has finally joined the Super Eagles Nigeria team in Bouake, Ivory Coast.
He has been given the clear from the medical team on the abdominal discomfort issue. Earlier it was reported that the player could not join the rest of the team who flew to Ivory Coast ahead of Tomorrow’s football match against South Africa’s Bafana Bafana.
He’s fully fit and ready to play in the Semifinals against South Africa tomorrow.
-
Tech3 days ago
Anambra School Emerges Winner In National Girls In ICT Competition With Groundbreaking VR Technology
-
News3 days ago
Niger State Prisoners Run From Facility After Rainstorm Brings Down Part Of Fencing
-
Spotlight3 days ago
Nigerian Woman Breaks Guinness World Record With 55-Hour Interview Marathon
-
Politics3 days ago
Enugu State Government Flag Off Palliative Distribution In The State
-
Finance4 days ago
Godwin Emefiele Disobeyed Direction Of Law With Intent To Harm The Public, He Printed ₦684.5M Using ₦18.9B Says EFCC in fresh charge
-
News2 days ago
EFCC: New Documents Extracted Shows Yahaya Bello Allegedly Paid School Fees To The Tune Of $845,852,84 For His Family Members
-
News23 hours ago
King Charles Reportedly “Really Unwell” And Funeral Plans Are Currently Being Reviewed
-
News5 days ago
EFCC: Former Governor Of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello Fails To Show Up In Court, Says He Is Scared Of Arrest