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Leaked Conversation Lands Eto’o In Messy Scandal 

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This week a scandal has shaken the Cameroonian Football Federation (CFF) and more specifically its president, Samuel Eto’o, after the publication of a conversation he had at the beginning of the year with the head of the Victoria United club, a club that then played in the second category and that a few weeks ago achieved promotion to the top division. In the talk you can see how the former Barcelona and Inter Milan striker promises the manager that his team would rise to the first.

 

 

The texts were published by the Camfoot portal and in just hours an earthquake has been unleashed in football in that country. To understand the context, the dialogue took place between January 2 and 3 and one of the protagonists Valentine Gwain, president of Victoria United, who on December 30 had interrupted a match that his team lost 1-0 by invading the pitch in the 86th minute angry at the referee’s performance.

 

The talk begins when Gwain calls Eto’o, president of the federation, to express his frustration that his team, which was struggling to promote, had been harmed by the judge’s work. Faced with this, he receives the immediate response of the former Cameroonian striker: “There are things we can do, but you have to be very discreet brother.” And at the insistence, he explains that at that moment he was going home, after having celebrated New Year, so he would soon get to work on it: “I haven’t even had time to get home yet. I’m out, brother. I haven’t even had time to go home and work with the president (of the referees association) because I can’t call the referees directly and tell them to be careful. But I can work with the president.”

 

On several occasions, Eto’o recalls a conversation the two had in Qatar during the World Cup, although he makes no reference to the content of it. The portal assures that it is a talk in which he promised the promotion of his team, Victoria United, since Gwain had supported him in his project to the presidency.

 

“You stay calm, we give you your three points and we suspend the referee. But let me at least go back to Cameroon,” the former footballer promises him then. “I arrive on the 3rd (of January) at night. So see you in the office on the 4th. But I’m going to rule this referee out anyway. I am disqualifying this referee. On the 4th we will see you in the office, and so I will summon the president of the referees.”

 

During the dialogue, the former footballer is always insistent that the meeting be kept away from the focus of the press and the public: “It is better that we see each other discreetly. You even organize two days, invite your women to Yaoundé, meet discreetly, talk and leave.” In addition, he explains that the key is to have a good relationship with the president of the league: “He has the power … And from there, he with his commissions, will be able to suspend even the president of the referees.

 

Precisely, Gwain is annoyed with Fokoule, leader of the refereeing, whom he accuses of having placed a referee to harm him in the last game: “It is something planned to destroy me.”

 

Faced with that comment, Eto’o is blunt in his response: “No, no, no, no. Our club, Opopo (nickname by which Victoria United is known), must go up to the first division. That’s our goal.” Then, he promises that he will meet with the head of the arbitration and the president of the league to talk about it: “We are going to meet the three of us, and we are going to talk discreetly and we are going to fix all that.”

 

In April, Victoria United were crowned champions of the second division and thus achieved promotion to the top flight. Interestingly, since Eto’o won the election, it is the second promotion he achieves, since in 2020 he was in the third. In addition, in the middle of the season, goalkeeper Idris Youssouf was separated from the squad after an audio of him sent to a friend went viral in which he confessed that the club was fixing matches to get the title.

 

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Iraola: My Fight With Isak Has Never Been About Goals

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Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola says Alexander Isak is a “massive” player for him – but adds he “fights” with the player about needing to do more for the “collective”.

 

Isak scored twice in the opening nine minutes in the 2-0 win over Ipswich to take his tally to three for the season – but Iraola hinted the player needs to do more off the ball for the team.

“He’s a massive player for us,” he told Sky Sports. “My demands will not be about the goals: he’s fit, in a good shape and he will produce the numbers.

“But my fights with him are more about other stuff, how to help the team in other situations. But it’s good he has played two full games and today a good amount of minutes, scoring the goals.”

Iraola did not reveal which specific areas Isak needs to improve, but it could be interpreted that Iraola wants his striker to do more in the pressing.

“I will demand other things so we can play well,” he said in his post-match press conference about those demands to Isak. “And if we play well, we are in good positions, the goals will come.

“He has to contribute to the collective and when everyone helps, after the goals and results will come.”

Iraola also said to Sky: “Today we were much, much better in our press. We were recovering very high and then we can contact him in good positions.

“If we recover the ball lower, it will be more difficult to find him to have less spaces. So we need more quality effort to put our No 9 in situations like he had today.”

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‘It’s So Strong’ – Sabalenka Halts Play Over Cannabis Smell

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Aryna Sabalenka briefly halted her US Open match against Kamilla Rakhimova because of a strong smell of cannabis before cruising into the fourth round in New York.

 

Top seed Sabalenka raised the issue after going 3-0 up in the first set against Uzbekistan’s Rakhimova, telling umpire Eva Asderaki-Moore that “someone is smoking weed”.

The Belarusian asked the umpire to intervene “because it’s so strong”.

Asderaki-Moore spoke to an official on her radio and made a smoking gesture to someone behind her, before play continued.

Two-time defending champion Sabalenka went on to secure a confident 6-3 6-4 victory on Louis Armstrong Stadium as she chases a fifth Grand Slam singles title.

Sabalenka said afterwards she was not sure where the smell of cannabis was coming from but asked fans to be more mindful.

Smoking is not permitted on site at Flushing Meadows but the smell of cannabis sometimes wafts on to court from the nearby Corona Park.

It is legal to smoke it in New York for adults aged 21 and over.

“It’s a bit tricky to handle that smell while you’re trying to compete at your best,” Sabalenka said.

“I don’t know if it was coming from the crowd or was from the outside because the wind blows it into the stadium.

“I just hope they’re going to be a bit more aware of that stuff.”

Sabalenka is not the first player at this year’s US Open to complain about the smell of cannabis at Flushing Meadows.

Britain’s Katie Boulter previously said it was distracting, while Harriet Dart and Francesca Jones also noticed the smell.

In past years players including Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev have also complained.

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Onana Gets Twins As Salah Welcomes First Son Weeks After Joining Turkish Team

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Egyptian football star Mohamed Salah has welcomed his third child and first son, named Lail, Trabzonspor President Ertuğrul Doğan said after the Turkish club’s third-round league match against Amedspor.

 

Doğan said Salah and his Cameroonian teammate André Onana travelled outside Turkey following the match as their wives were due to give birth.

“After the Amed match, we travelled abroad with Onana and Salah. Onana welcomed twins, while Salah welcomed a baby boy. I congratulate their families and wives,” Doğan was quoted as telling Turkish media.

Salah’s sister, Rabab Salah, later revealed the baby’s name on Instagram, posting a photograph of a baby hat and congratulating her brother on the birth of Lail.

The child is Salah’s first son. The Egyptian star and his wife, Magi, already have two daughters, Makka and Kayan.

Doğan’s comments came after a photograph of Salah and Onana aboard a private jet circulated online, prompting questions among Trabzonspor supporters and local media about the reason for their trip.

The club president said both players had travelled for family reasons following the match.

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