SPORTS UPDATE WITH EMMAH ATAI: The Italian Football Association (FIGC) has ended doubts about the age of Lazios youth-team player Joseph Minala by confirming that he is 17 after all. Minala, the Cameroonian midfielder, hit the headlines in February after appearing on the bench for the derby clash with Roma after impressing in the youth team. Photos of the youngster went viral with suggestions he was closer to 40 than 17 and his club threatened legal action in a bid to stem the speculation. Mesut Ozil has been named the signing of the season – after cheeky Arsenal fans hijacked the vote. The official Premier League website published a poll this week asking for fans of all clubs to vote on who had been the bargain buy this term. Romelu Lukaku, Jason Puncheon and Wilfried Bony all picked up plenty of votes, but Arsenal star Ozil came from no where to scoop the prize. Ozil has largely been considered a flop since his arrival in north London for a club record £42.5million, but Gunners fans have had enough with people slagging off the German.They got together to push their man right to the top of the poll, which finished with Ozil claiming 49% of the total vote. Arsenal fans may have bid a fond farewell to Lukasz Fabianski after he completed his free transfer to Swansea, but stats show he was the Gunners’ least reliable pair of hands in the last ten years. The 29-year-old left the Emirates after failing to ever really establish himself during a seven-year spell at the club which was blighted by injuries. Yaya Toure has backtracked on comments he would welcome a move to Paris Saint-Germain, saying: Theres nothing planned. Man United and Liverpool have been warned Southampton will not be rushed into selling their star players while they look for a new manager. United were thought to be close to signing defender Luke Shaw and Brendan Rodgers hoped to complete a deal for midfielder Adam Lallana, with both looking to finalise transfers for the England players before the World Cup begins. WORLD CUP: Wayne Rooney has revealed his World Cup playlist ahead of this summer’s tournament in Brazil, and judging by some of his choices, he’s not expecting England to mount much of a challenge. The Manchester United striker has cobbled together a 42-track album to get him in the zone which includes titles such as ‘Broken’, ‘Maybe Tomorrow’, ‘Stuck In a Rut’, ‘Let Her Go’ and ‘Goodbye My Lover’. England defender Glen Johnson says Liverpool team-mate and Uruguay striker Luis Suarez has told him he will be fit for the World Cup game between their two countries on 19 June. Suarez, 27, is a doubt for the Group D match after undergoing a knee operation last Thursday, with his recovery expected to take 15 days to four weeks. GOLF: Tiger Woods has withdrawn from next months US Open at Pinehurst as he continues to recover from back surgery. The 38-year-old American, a 14-time major champion, has not played since the WGC-Cadillac Championship in March. The US Open in North Carolina, which runs from 12-15 June, will be the sixth major the American has missed through injury. LOCAL SCENE: The boxing friendly match between the Bombers of Uganda and Kenya has been rescheduled to a later date.The trial match which was earlier set to take place from 31st May to 1st June at the MTN Indoor arena in Lugogo will now be staged in mid June at same venue. The change in dates followed the current unavailability of the Kenyan team, who are participating in the 2nd edition of the African Youth Championships in Botswana that ends on Saturday 31st May.
Posted on: Thu, 29 May 2014 16:50:12 +0000
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