Real wrestle Casemiro back from Porto

With Porto trying to excercise a purchase option on Brazilian midfielder Casemiro at the end of a successful one year loan, Real Madrid have scuppered them by buying him back.

"Real Madrid have exercised their option to buy back Casemiro's contract after FC Porto notified us they wished to purchase him outright," Real Madrid said.

Casemiro moved on a year's loan to Porto in July 2014 and the 23-year-old with seven Brazil caps racked up 41 appearances and rave reviews this season.

Spanish media sources say Madrid paid Porto €7.5 million to get their man back while Porto had been on the point of paying double that to unlock his full purchase option.

Nigerian Footballer Dies On The Pitch

A 16 year old Nigerian footballer, Shetemi Ayetigbo, died on the pitch during a league match on Sunday. 
Shetimi who plays as a midfielder for the U-16 team of Belvedere Football Club in Dublin, Ireland was reported by the Daily Mirror to have suddenly slumped on the pitch some 30mins into their teams match against St Kevin’s Boys.

Shetemi Ayetigbo

A witness at the match said “There was no incident, any attack. The young lad was playing, and he just dropped on the pitch. It was around 25 to 30 minutes into the game.”
“A number of people rushed to his side straight away to give him first aid, as there was a defibrillator at the grounds. An ambulance came, and paramedics tried to treat him there. But he couldn’t be saved.”

Shetimi was playing against St. kevin’s Boys Club

“They then took his body to the hospital. The match was cancelled. Everyone was in shock. The young players, staff, and supporters had never witnessed anything like that on a football pitch. There were a good few people watching the match because it was the last game of the season.”
Family members of the deceased were not present at the game but family friends who accompanied the ambulance to Beaumont Hospital were told the news of his death.

Medics claim that the footballer might Shetemi may have suffered from a form of the sudden death syndrome despite the medical examiners havingnot performed a post-motem on the young footballer.
Shetimi attended Donabate Community College and used to play for his school team and Home Farm FC before joining Belvedere FC. His teammates called him ‘Shay’

Gerrard set for emotional farewell

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard hopes to "keep it together" when he bids farewell to his beloved Anfield on Saturday.

This weekend's Premier League match at home to Crystal Palace will mark the 34-year-old midfielder's final match in front of the Kop before he joins LA Galaxy once the season ends.
"I don't know how emotional it will be," said former England captain Gerrard at a news conference on Thursday.
"I don't know what it's going to be like. I've been dreading it because I'm going to miss it so much," added the Liverpool-born star, for whom the Reds have been the only club of his professional career to date.
"The plan is to try and keep it together and avoid the tears.
"If someone had said when I was going to the academy at eight years old that you're going to play 708 games and win the trophies, along with the highs and lows, I'd have taken that.
"The supporters have been incredible since day one. I've had cruel lows and incredible highs. Their support has never changed in 17 years. That will be the most emotional goodbye."
Asked who had been his biggest influences at Liverpool, Gerrard replied: "I owe an awful lot to Gerard Houllier.
"He was a father figure and I won three trophies under him," he said of the French manager, in charge at Liverpool from 1998-2004.
"He gave me the captaincy at 23 and it was a brave thing to do. I owe an awful lot to him."
Turning to his current Liverpool boss, Gerrard said: "I wish I'd met him Brendan Rodgers earlier in my career. I know I'd be talking about trophies now."
Meanwhile Gerrard said he would like to return to Liverpool when his playing days were over.
"If there's a role I consider myself good enough for, then I'd like to come back. I do feel I can contribute in the future."

Bale boos sum up a lost season for Real

At the end of a difficult second season Gareth Bale had ample opportunity to prove himself Real Madrid's Champions League hero just as he had 12 month ago in winning a 10th European Cup in Lisbon.

This time, though, there was no moment of inspiration from the Welshman as Madrid relinquished their European crown meekly to a well-marshalled Juventus 3-2 on aggregate after a 1-1 draw on Wednesday night.
The boos and whistles that met every wayward Bale effort as Madrid chased the game in the second-half having conceded for the second time in the tie to a former Real academy graduate Alvaro Morata were born of the frustration of a season that looks set to end without a major trophy.
"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger," was Bale's message in a defiant post-match interview with Sky Sports in which he defended his sub-par performance this season.
The former Tottenham Hotspur winger has consistently and often justifiably been the scapegoat for Madrid's ills this season.
Despite scoring in three Cup finals in his two seasons with Real, the 25-year-old's failure to integrate himself into Spanish life off the field has contributed to a lack of form on it.
Bale's inability or unwillingness to speak Spanish has been routinely criticised in the local media, and his influence in decisive moments has waned in former Spurs teammate Luka Modric's absence through injury.
"There has been some ups and downs. I feel personally I've played well. I haven't scored as many important chances as I would like, but I think my general play has been good," added Bale.
"I think my finishing has been a bit rusty this season and that is something to build on for next year."
Whether Bale is given another season at the Bernabeu to prove himself remains to be seen with rumours about a return to the Premier League persistent.
Coach Carlo Ancelotti's future away from Madrid seems more certain. The Italian may have ended a 12-year wait for the club's 10th European Cup last year, but few managers survive a season having failed to win La Liga or the Champions League under Real president Florentino Perez.
Ancelotti does bear his brunt of blame for a season that promised so much in an autumn run of 22 straight wins and ultimately delivered very little.
His reluctance to rotate his star-studded squad against even the weakest of opponents with many players coming off a World Cup has left them short on gas when it mattered most, in the spring in the knock-out phase of the lucrative Champions League.
However, the Italian was also let down by bad planning in the boardroom that left him with a number of players he ultimately didn't trust.
Rarely for the world's richest club, Madrid barely spent a euro in net transfer fees last summer as the sales of Xabi Alonso, Angel di Maria and Morata balanced up the money spent on James Rodriguez, Toni Kroos and Keylor Navas.
The fact Ancelotti made just one substitution when Madrid badly needed fresh blood in the second-half on Wednesday spoke volumes of what he thought of the other six players left on the bench.
The one man called from the bench by the former Chelsea boss was Javier Hernandez, a last-minute loan recruitment in August in case Karim Benzema were to ever fall foul of injury.
There was a vacancy in the backup role for the French international because Morata had ultimately been deemed not good enough after two years with the first time.
That it was he who proved the decisive figure in the team summed up a miserable season of mis-management at the Bernabeu on every level.

Sports minister eulogises Attuquayefio

Ghana's sports minister has said the death of former Hearts boss Jones Attuquayefio is a huge national loss.

The African coaching legend died in Accra, Ghana's capital on Tuesday. Famously known for leading Ghanaian giants Hearts of Oak to Caf Champions League glory in 2000, the coach was also manager of the Benin national team when they qualified for the 2004 Africa Cup of Nations for the first time.
"He was dedicated to his passion and made sure he followed his principles to the very end," Dr Mustapha Ahmed noted.
"My fondest memory of the late coach is one of a true national hero. He did what he did for himself, his clubs and for Ghana," the minister went on.
Dr Ahmed said the government is in the process of sending a delegation to the residence of the late coach.
Attuquayefio is most celebrated for his leading role in coaching Hearts to their first ever continental triumph in 2000, in addition to dominating the local league with six straight titles.
The former Black Stars player battled for the last seven years of his life with throat cancer.

Peace Cup set for May 24

A total of 39 teams will compete in this year’s Peace Cup that is scheduled to commence on May 24.

A total of 39 teams will compete in this year’s Peace Cup that is scheduled to commence on May 24.
Fourteen teams will compete in the preliminary round, including the bottom seven sides in last year’s second division as well as the seven newcomers in this year’s second tier league.
The bottom seven from last year’s second division include Vision FC (20pts), Intare FC (19pts), United Stars (17pts), Aspor (17pts), Pepiniere (11pts), Gasabo (8pts) and Akagera FC (5pts).
They will face off against the newcomers in this year’s second division league including La Jeunesse, Golden Generation, Nyagatare, Giticy’inyoni, Hope FC, Mironko and Heroes.
The seven winners will join 25 sides in the round of 16, including the 14 in this year’s topflight league – the National Football League (NFL) as well as the top seven from last year’s second division league.
The topflight 14 sides include Peace Cup champions APR, runners-up Police FC, Rayon Sports, AS Kigali, Kiyovu Sports, Espoir, Musanze, Mukura VS, Gicumbi, Etincelles, Amagajuand Marines.
Others are Sunrise, Isonga as well as the top seven second division sides including Esperance, AS Muhanga, Bugesera, Sec, Unity SC, Interforce, Sorwathe, Vision JN, Rwamagana, Etoile de l’est and Kirehe.
The final will be played on July 4 as is the custom, a day celebrated in Rwanda as the Liberation Day. This year’s winner will represent Rwanda in the 2016 Caf Confederations Cup.
Fourteen teams will compete in the preliminary round, including the bottom seven sides in last year’s second division as well as the seven newcomers in this year’s second tier league.
The bottom seven from last year’s second division include Vision FC (20pts), Intare FC (19pts), United Stars (17pts), Aspor (17pts), Pepiniere (11pts), Gasabo (8pts) and Akagera FC (5pts).
They will face off against the newcomers in this year’s second division league including La Jeunesse, Golden Generation, Nyagatare, Giticy’inyoni, Hope FC, Mironko and Heroes.
The seven winners will join 25 sides in the round of 16, including the 14 in this year’s topflight league – the National Football League (NFL) as well as the top seven from last year’s second division league.
The topflight 14 sides include Peace Cup champions APR, runners-up Police FC, Rayon Sports, AS Kigali, Kiyovu Sports, Espoir, Musanze, Mukura VS, Gicumbi, Etincelles, Amagajuand Marines.
Others are Sunrise, Isonga as well as the top seven second division sides including Esperance, AS Muhanga, Bugesera, Sec, Unity SC, Interforce, Sorwathe, Vision JN, Rwamagana, Etoile de l’est and Kirehe.
The final will be played on July 4 as is the custom, a day celebrated in Rwanda as the Liberation Day. This year’s winner will represent Rwanda in the 2016 Caf Confederations Cup.

FA gives Satellites trophy target

Ghana's Under-20 must win the impending World Cup in New Zealand, an FA official says.

Expectations in the West African country of their Black Satellites before a World Cup have always been high following the win in the 2009 edition.
New Zealand will host the next edition in a few weeks and Ghana have a tough draw.
Ghana FA spokesman Ibrahim Sannie Daara says the association expects a win, though he acknowledges the toughness of the task.
"We expect the team to win. We have a track record of winning this competition so we can’t lower our expectations."
The Group B opponents of the side are Argentina, Panama and Austria, but the Satellites have been boosted with a fresh victory in a five-nation tournament.
"The team is having good preparations and we hope they come back victorious," said the FA official.
The Satellites scored 15 goals in three games in the prep tournament.

APR need point to retain league title

Table leaders APR need just one point to clinch the National Football League (NFL) title when they face bottom-placed Isonga on Friday evening at the Mumena Stadium in Kigali.

Against Isonga, they take on a team that have only managed two wins this season but APR head coach Dusan Suljagic is not taking anything for granted.
“Isonga might be at the bottom of the table but we respect every team and we shall be looking to finish the season on a high. We want maximum points and we have the quality to do so,” explained the confident Suljagic.
With two games to the end of the season, Isonga has already been relegated but head coach Innocent Seninga revealed that his youthful side will be playing for pride.
Seninga said: “It will be a tough game obviously because we are playing against the table leaders but we shall be looking to play for pride.”
Should APR register one point or victory, they will be crowned champions for a record 15th league title and will represent Rwanda in the 2016 Caf Champions League.

Rwanda cautious ahead of Uganda tie

Rwanda head coach Johnny McKinstry is wary of Uganda in the upcoming second round first leg tie of the Caf under-23 Championship qualifier scheduled for May 23 at Amahoro Stadium.

The Irish tactician has termed the encounter a ‘local rivalry’ that he believes will bring out the best in both sides but he admitted that it will be a tough face-off.
“We know it is going to be a difficult game because a local rivalry changes the psychology of the players with both sides up for the game.
However, the players have to make sure that this does not get in the way of their roles and responsibilities and they have to execute the game plan,” said McKinstry.
Rwanda were held to a 1-1 by Somalia in Djibouti on Sunday but the former progressed to the second round 3-1 on aggregate following a 2-0 win in Kigali with goals from Yannick Mukunzi and 16-year-old Kevin Muhire.
McKinstry was not entirely satisfied with the performance in Djibouti and rued several missed chances, including goalscorer Isaie Songa’s missed one-on-one attempts against Somalia’s goalkeeper Mustaf Khalib Hussein.
He said: “We need to correct a few things from the Somalia game. For example we created so many chances but we didn't take them.
If we don’t take them against Uganda, they can equally punish us. If we step up to our task in terms of finishing, we shall get a positive result.”
The winner of this tie meets Egypt in the final round of qualification and the victor from that tie will qualify for the Caf under-23 Championships scheduled for December 5-19 in Senegal. The top three sides will qualify for the Rio 2016 Olympics.

Chelsea seal swoop for Brazilian Nathan

Chelsea confirmed the signing of highly-rated Brazilian teenager Nathan from Atletico Paranaense on Thursday.

The newly crowned Premier League champions have moved quickly to bolster their squad for next season and the 19-year-old attacking midfielder will officially move to Stamford Bridge on July 1.
Nathan, who flew to England for his medical last month, is reported to have cost Jose Mourinho's side £4.5 million and he will join young fellow Brazilians Ramires, Willian, Oscar and Filipe Luis at the west London club.
The Blues also have young Brazilians Wallace and Lucas Piazon currently out on loan.
"I am very happy to be joining Chelsea, the champions of England, and I hope I will be able to learn a lot and develop my game," Nathan told Chelsea's website.
The teenager, whose full name is Nathan Allan de Souza, impressed Chelsea scouts while representing Brazil at under-17 and under-20 level and scored five goals in five games at the Under-17 World Cup in 2013.
In a message posted on his Instagram page, Nathan added: "A dream is coming true! Thank you Chelsea for trusting in me, I will do my best to support my team on reaching new achievements."

Suarez sustains hamstring strain

Barcelona forward Luis Suarez picked up a hamstring strain in Tuesday's Champions League match at Bayern Munich and will undergo a course of physiotherapy, the La Liga leaders said on Thursday.

The Uruguay striker, whose form since the turn of the year has helped propel Barca to the brink of a treble of Champions League and Spanish league and Cup titles, could miss Sunday's La Liga game at Atletico Madrid if he does not recover in time.
Barca, four points clear of second-placed Real Madrid with two matches left, can make sure of a fifth La Liga title in seven years with a win at last season's champions.
They went through to next month's Champions League final 5-3 on aggregate despite losing the semifinal, second leg 3-2 at Bayern and will play Athletic Bilbao in the King's Cup final at the end of this month.
"Luis Suarez, with a hamstring strain in his left leg, will have physiotherapy and the progress of his recovery will determine when he can train again," Barca said on their website (www.fcbarcelona.es).
Suarez, who joined from Liverpool in July, has scored 24 goals in all competitions since his ban for biting an opponent at last year's World Cup finals expired at the end of October and has also made 16 assists.

Fans Accuse Glazers Of 'Draining' £1bn

Manchester United © Gallo Images

A supporters' group has accused the Glazers of taking £1 billion out of Manchester United in the decade since the American family took over the English Premier League giants.
The Manchester United Supporters Trust launched its latest attack on the Glazer's stewardship of the club on Tuesday, the 10th anniversary of their controversial £790 million leveraged buyout of the side.
Now 10 years on, many fans are still unhappy with the way the Glazers borrowed against the club to finance the takeover.
"Not investing a single penny might be considered an 'ownership crime' by fans at most clubs but far worse than that they (the Glazers) have actually extracted colossal sums from Manchester United," MUST said in a press release.
"When all interest and charges on their leveraged buyout is added up, plus money they've paid themselves, plus related debt still on the club, they've taken more than £1 BILLION and it's still rising.
"No owner in the history of football in any country, ever, has taken so much money from a club."
Yet for all the controversy, United have been successful under the Glazers, winning the Premier League five time and the 2008 Champions League – the third time the club had been crowned champions of Europe.
But MUST added that had it not been for mismanagement by the Glazers, United would have eclipsed Liverpool's British record of five European Cups.
United refused to comment on MUST's statement.

Juve Ousts Madrid To Reach Champions League Final

Serie A Champions, Juventus, has qualified for the European Champions League Final billed for the city of Berlin in Germany.

Juventus goalkeeper, Gianlugi Buffon pumps his fists into the air to celebrate their victory. Photo: AFP

The Italian’s team victory came at the expense of defending champions, Real Madrid, in today’s semi-final clash between the two European giants.
Madrid had taken the lead with Cristiano Ronaldo delivering a superb penalty kick that saw one of the world’s best goalkeepers Gianlugi Buffon dive to his right, as Ronaldo side-foots the ball high down the middle with his right foot in the 23rd minute of the game.
As the match went on, Real Madrid began losing control of the game, and it became apparent when Andrea Pirlo whipped a free-kick into the six-yard box. Under pressure, Madrid Gol-keeper, Iker Casillas does well to punch the ball off Juve defender, Chiellini’s head.
But the ball found its way back to the danger area and  Pogba who was onside on the left heads the ball to an unmarked Morata. The madrid-trained striker chests the ball down and then hits a strong left-footer through Madrid defender, Varane’s legs and past Casillas from 12 yards!
As a sign of respect for his old club, the striker didn’t celebrate the goal like he did in the first leg of the match.

Juventus will now face Spanish giants, Barcelona, in the final of the champions league.

Barca dey go Final

Barcelona don grab dia place for de Champions League final for Tuesday, afta dem don beat Bayern Munich 5-3 for aggregate for dia semifinal no matta dia 3-2 loss for Tuesday nite to de Germans for de Allianz Arena. Pep Guardiola's Bayern side bin dey face sontin wey dey like mountain dem no fit climb afta dem don suffa 3-kondo defeat for lass week fess leg for Camp Nou, but dem kon get early hope for de return leg wen Medhi Benatia wey no body dey mark carry head wire goal for de seventh minite.
But as things kon be, de final result for de match kon show face wen Luis Suarez don set up Neymar two times to wire goal for de visitors bifor dem don play haf hour.
Bayern bin show plenty swagger for de secon-haf and goals wey come from Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Mueller allow dem to win de game for de nite, but Barcelona kon enta for de final wey go shele for Berlin for June 6.
Luis Enrique's side go face either strong face rivals Real Madrid or Juventus for de final as de Italians go defend dia 2-1 fess-leg lead for de return leg for Santiago Bernabeu for Wednesday.                

Personal row casts shadow over La Liga

A long-simmering squabble between Spain's most powerful football chiefs could bring the Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo show to a halt this weekend.

The feud between Angel Maria Villar, head of the Spanish football federation, the RFEF, and Javier Tebas, head of the professional league, is the real cause of a threatened strike by players from Saturday, observers say.
The strike call is to be discussed in court on Wednesday and a judge could order the action suspended while a solution is sought.
"This has never happened before. There have been a few day-long strikes but never an open-ended one," said Alberto Palomar, a sports law expert at Carlos III University.
Real Madrid and Barcelona players have joined the protests demanding a bigger share of broadcast revenue be channeled to smaller clubs.
The league has taken the AFE players' union to court in a bid to save the season finale.
If they fail, the clash between Atletico Madrid and Barcelona on Sunday which could seal the championship for Barca, would be a victim.
It could also disrupt the last league matches on May 23 and the Copa del Rey final on May 30 between Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao.
BAD BLOOD
The RFEF launched the stoppage threat last week. It controls the lower leagues and amateur football, as well as the referees for top-league games.
The AFE players' union jumped on board, with star players such as Real goalkeeper Iker Casillas and Barca midfielder Xavi Hernandez speaking in support.
They complained that a new law on redistributing broadcasting rights did not channel enough cash to lower and amateur leagues.
The fact that Tebas and Villar are not talking to each other makes a deal unlikely.
"The basic positions are not so entrenched. What is entrenched is the personal confrontation," said Palomar.
Tebas complained in a recent open letter that Villar had called him an "arsehole".
Villar, a vice-president of world football's governing body Fifa, has led the Spanish federation for 27 years.
"What's behind all this? Dreadful personal relations that could not be worse, as well as a very complex regulatory system," said Palomar.
The division of powers between the league and the federation has always been problematic and the increasing money in football has heightened their conflict, he said.
A law approved by the government last month obliges broadcasters to make a collective bid to the league for the right to screen La Liga matches.
Previously they negotiated individually with clubs – a system that disproportionately benefitted the likes of Real and Barca as the most powerful.
The league hopes the new negotiating deal could boost broadcasting revenues to one billion euros a season.
But they dispute who should control the money.
The federation complains it is being reduced to a messenger for redistributing payments to players while the league gets money to cover costs.
The players' union complains of not being consulted over the reforms and has demanded a bigger share of revenues for smaller clubs.
Top players such as Casillas and his Real teammate Sergio Ramos, who also backed the strike, earn millions of euros a year.
Real Madrid's annual wage bill is said to be more than €250 million a year. While that of bottom side Cordoba is less than a tenth of that sum.
"It seems that what the players want is a bigger share of the league's new revenues," said Javier Hervas, an expert at the ISDE law school.
If the court does not suspend the strike, the government may have to act to avert a stoppage that would infuriate football-mad Spaniards in an election year.
"The government will have a tough job enduring a two-week strike," Palomar said. "It will have to do something, or people will be on its case."

Benzema, Pogba start for Real, Juventus

Karim Benzema made his return to the Real Madrid starting line-up after missing the last seven games with a knee injury for his side's Champions League semifinal, second leg at home to Juventus on Wednesday.

The European champions need to turn around a 2-1 first leg deficit against the Italian champions, who are also boosted as Benzema's French international teammate Paul Pogba is fit to start.
Pogba made his return from a near two-month layoff and scored Juventus' goal in a 1-1 draw at home to Cagliari on Saturday.
Another French international Raphael Varane is preferred to Pepe alongside Sergio Ramos in the centre of the Madrid defence.
Gareth Bale is retained alongside Benzema and World Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo in attack despite his poor form of late.
Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri resists the temptation to switch to a five at the back as Andrea Barzagli is once again left out.
Indeed the only change from last week's first leg sees Pogba replace Stefano Sturaro in midfield.
Alvaro Morata, who scored the opener last week, starts on his return to the Bernabeu having come through the Real youth system before moving to Italy last summer.
Starting line-ups:
Real Madrid (4-3-3)
Iker Casillas (capt); Dani Carvajal, Raphael Varane, Sergio Ramos, Marcelo; Toni Kroos, Isco, James Rodriguez; Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo
Coach: Carlo Ancelotti (ITA)
Juventus (4-4-2)
Gianluigi Buffon (capt); Stephan Lichtsteiner, Leonardo Bonucci, Giorgio Chiellini, Patrice Evra; Claudio Marchisio, Andrea Pirlo, Paul Pogba, Arturo Vidal; Carlos Tevez, Alvaro Morata
Coach: Massimiliano Allegri (ITA)

Ancelotti handed two-game touchline ban

Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti is banned from sitting on the bench for the rest of the La Liga season after receiving a two-game touchline suspension by the Spanish Football Federation on Wednesday.

The Italian was reported by referee Carlos Clos Gomez for sarcastically applauding the officials at the end of Madrid's 2-2 draw with Valencia on Saturday which all but ended their title hopes.
Los Blancos trail Barcelona by four points with just two games away to Espanyol and home to Getafe left to play.

Spain court to rule on league strike

A Spanish court said it would rule on Thursday whether footballers can legally push ahead with a strike which threatens to shut down the country's top league this weekend.
The National Court in Madrid made the announcement Wednesday after hearing arguments by lawyers for the AFE players' union and the league, which alleges the threatened strike is illegal.
The AFE has joined the RFEF federation, which controls referees, in threatening a stoppage to demand a bigger share of television broadcast revenues for smaller clubs.
Top players from Real Madrid and Barcelona have joined the protests demanding a bigger share of broadcast revenue be channelled to smaller clubs.
If the stoppage goes ahead it will halt the clash between Atletico Madrid and Barcelona on Sunday which could seal the championship for Barca.
It could also disrupt the last league matches on May 23 and the Copa del Rey final on May 30 between Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao.
In Wednesday's open hearing, lawyers for the two sides argued over whether the players had the right to go on strike against a new law that redistributes broadcast revenues from the lucrative Liga.
The head of the AFE Luis Rubiales said after Wednesday's hearing that he was confident the court would not block the strike.
"I am convinced this strike is legal," he told reporters outside the court.
"Our lawyer dismantled one by one all the points raised by the other party."
The chairman of the league, Javier Tebas, retorted: "I have always said the strike is illegal. Now it is up to the court to decide."
Rubiales said the union was "reaching out to meet with anyone we need to in order to resolve a serious problem".

David Bechkam spotted hanging out with daughter

Beckham 40 and his 3 year old daughter, Harper were paying a visit to a local café, where they predictably caught the eye of star-struck patrons while purchasing some ice-cream.

Beckham looked typically stylish in a denim shirt and beanie hat as he guided his 3-year-old towards their car during a brief outing in the north London suburb.
More photos after the cut.


A review On this day in 2013: Fergie farewell

Sir Alex Ferguson took charge of his last Manchester United home match as his side collected the Barclays Premier League trophy for the 13th time.

Ferguson's 723rd match at Old Trafford ended in victory against Swansea City thanks to Rio Ferdinand's first goal for five years.

After the match the 71-year-old joined his players on the pitch and addressed the crowd, saying: "I have been very fortunate. I've been able to manage some of the greatest players in the country, let alone Manchester United.

"My retirement doesn't mean the end of my life with the club. I’ll be able to now enjoy watching them rather than suffer with them."

With the title already secured and Swansea comfortably in the top half of the table, there was a carnival atmosphere at Old Trafford with Ferguson firmly in the spotlight.

Both sets of players formed a guard of honour to welcome him out of the tunnel before kick-off and the scoreboard showed the figures 26:38 to mark his years in charge and number of trophies won.

Midfielder Paul Scholes was also bidding farewell to the home crowd in his 717th appearance for the club, having announced his retirement.

Javier Hernandez put United ahead in the 39th minute when he made the most of a misplaced clearance by Ashley Williams to fire home a low shot.

Four minutes after halftime Swansea were level when Michu superbly flicked in Nathan Dyer's cross for his 18th Barclays Premier League goal of the season.

Wayne Routledge missed a great chance to put the Swans ahead and David de Gea denied Pablo Hernandez.

But the final word went to Ferdinand who arrived at the far post to power the ball into the net and give Ferguson's big day a fitting send-off.

Story By: premierleague.com