Feyenoord coach Fred Rutten will leave the club at the end of the season, Dutch media reported yesterday a day after the club were eliminated from the Europa League.
Rutten has been at the club since the start of the season on a rolling one-year deal but Dutch media reported that during a meeting yesterday it was decided his contract would not be renewed by mutual agreement.
Rutten, 52, took over from Ronald Koeman but had been reported to be unhappy because the club had not replaced key players sold last year.
In the Dutch league, Feyenoord lie third, 20 points behind runaway leaders PSV Eindhoven.
Player threatened at gunpoint
A player with Serbian top flight club Novi Pazar was threatened by the team’s own fans at gunpoint after missing a penalty, the world players’ union FIFPro said.
Describing the incident as “a new low in Serbian professional football”, FIFPro said that Novi Pazar’s Zarko Udovicic sent his penalty over the crossbar in the 85th minute of last Saturday’s game against FK Rad.
Two days later, several hooligans burst into the dressing-room at the club’s training ground, drew a gun and held it in Udovicic’s face, FIFPro said. The player has since left the club.
Serie A games to delay kick-off
This weekend’s Serie A games will start 15 minutes late as the players show solidarity with financially-stricken Parma, the Italian Footballers Association (AIC) said.
“It is obvious there should be some serious reflection over the rules and on the financial resources of clubs to avoid re-peating similar situations,” the AIC added in a statement.
Parma are bottom with 10 points, the players have not been paid all season and the club, which has changed hands twice in two months, are in danger of not finishing the campaign.
Morgan: I am a proper Arsenal fan
Piers Morgan has declared himself “hurt” over former Arsenal goalkeeper Bob Wilson’s claims that he is not an authentic Gunners fan.
Morgan is a high-profile Arsenal follower, but his frequent sounding off against long-serving manager Arsene Wenger has left a bitter taste with Wilson.
The 73-year-old said: “Piers Morgan claims to be an Arsenal fan, but if you’re a supporter of a club you have to be through thick and thin. He has never been a proper fan.”
Morgan took to Twitter to keep his 4.38 million followers abreast of the spat.
He wrote: “The ‘not a proper fan’ charge annoys me. I heard 60,000 Arsenal fans booing the team off the pitch – are they ‘proper fans’?”
Rodgers defends Lovren miss
Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers leapt to the defence of Dejan Lovren after the centre-back’s failure from the spot proved crucial in their defeat to Besiktas on penalties at the Ataturk Stadium.
Rodgers refused to attach any blame on the Croatian, who has not enjoyed the best start to his career at Anfield after joining for £20 million from Southampton in the summer.
“Dejan was happy to take a penalty – you see the five penaltytakers were all confident,” said Rodgers.
“We are disappointed for him because he had played really well in the game but someone has to miss, and unfortunately it was us.”
Osvaldo hits winner on Boca debut
Daniel Osvaldo exceeded his wildest expectations by scoring the winner on his debut for Boca Juniors on Thursday as the Argentine side enjoyed a 2-1 home victory over Uruguay’s Wanderers in the Libertadores Cup.
Osvaldo, who joined Boca on loan from Southampton two weeks ago, headed home Nicolas Colazo’s cross two minutes before half-time, having earlier missed a chance with a spectacular scissors kick.
“Not even in a dream could it have been so perfect,” said Osvaldo, who grew up in Buenos Aires supporting Boca and had his heart set on making an impression in his first match at La Bombonera.
“I started nervously but thank God I was able to settle into the match and give Boca the goal for the three points,” he told Fox Sports after being voted man of the match.
Referee’s house in pipe bomb attack
A pipe bomb exploded outside the home of a Cypriot soccer referee yesterday, police said, the latest in a string of threats and attacks against referees and their families.
The explosion damaged a vehicle belonging to the wife of a 38-year-old first division referee.
The vehicle was parked outside their home close to the coastal town of Larnaca at the time and the improvised explosive device packed in a pipe was placed on the windshield, police added.
There was also slight damage to a neighbouring home.
Referees on the eastern Medi-terranean island have increasingly been targeted in recent years.