stars in Europe - Uche not angry at Nigeria World Cup snub

The Villarreal striker was not picked by Keshi, despite scoring 12 goals in the Spanish top flight this season. Uche has not played for his country since they won the Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa last year. The 30-year-old insists, however, that he holds no grudges against Keshi. "Of course as a professional footballer you'd love to represent your country, but I have never had bad words towards the national coach," Uche is widely regarded as one of Nigeria's most reliable strikers at international level and is one of his nation's all-time top scorers, with 18 goals in 45 appearances, behind Rashidi Yekini, Segun Odegbami and Yakubu Aiyegbeni. 

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2014 World Cup - squad - Shola Ameobi in provisional Nigeria squad

Stoke striker Peter Odemwingie and Newcastle forward Shola Ameobi are in Nigeria's provisional 30-man World Cup squad for Brazil 2014.

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stars in Europe - Wilfried Bony - Ivory Coast striker happy at Swansea City

The Ivorian has scored 24 goals in all competitions since joining the Swans from Vitesse Arnhem for a club-record fee of £12m last summer. Bony, 25, has been the bright spot in a disappointing Premier League season. 

4 May 2014
NATIONAL TEAM - MOROCCO - COACH - former player Badou Zaki confirmed as new coach

Zaki takes charge of the Atlas Lions for the second time in his career.

3 May 2014
club - coaches - Youssef resigns as Al Ahly coach

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2 May 2014
African Champions League 2014 - DR Congo rivals drawn together

TP Mazemebe, runners-up in last year's Confederation Cup, and AS Vita Club are fierce rivals

30 Apr 2014
African Confederation Cup 2014: play offs - 2nd leg - fixtures & results

Fixtures and results for the 2014 Confed Cup.
2013 champions: CS Sfaxien (Tunisia)

Winners advance to group stage

29 Apr 2014

STARS IN EUROPE - CONGO -TORPEDO MOSCOW GOT PARTIAL FAN BAN OVER RACISM AT SAMBA

‪FC DYNAMO MOSCOW

On Tuesday it was revealed that ex-Blackburn captain Christopher Samba, 30, asked not to play in the second half of Monday's Moscow derby because of the chants.

Russian Football Union (RFU) ruled on Thursday Torpedo must shut the 'fan's sector' for their next league match.

However, all other parts of the Saturn Stadium will remain open.

The 'fans' sector' is the part of the arena where the most active fans of the home team sit. 

There are no restrictions in place to prevent those supporters from buying tickets to sit elsewhere in the stadium.

Away fans will not be affected.

After the RFU's ruling, head of the disciplinary committee Artur Grigoryants said: 

"There was a note in the delegate's report that throughout the first half there were chants directed at FC Dynamo player Christopher Samba.

"The delegate has confirmed it once again at the meeting. 

The referee of the match has also informed the committee that Samba told him about chanting during the first corner kick.

"Samba has also sent a letter to the disciplinary committee where he confirmed the chanting and that he appealed to the referee during the game."

On Tuesday, Dynamo vice-president Gennady Soloviev revealed: "Samba felt offended with Torpedo fans and didn't want to go on the pitch for the second half... that's why he was replaced."

Dynamo won the game 3:1 and manager Stanislav Cherchesov said afterwards that Samba had been substituted because of a calf injury.

The defender spent six years at Blackburn, making 185 appearances between 2006 and 2012. 

The Congo international left for Anzhi Makhachkala but returned to England in January 2013 to play 10 games in a loan spell with QPR.

It is the second racist incident involving Samba after a fan in Moscow threw a banana at him in March 2012 while the defender was playing for Makhachkala. 

Samba picked up the banana and threw it back into the stands.

Russia, which will host the 2018 World Cup, has had several instances of racism in the sport in recent years.

Brazilian defender Roberto Carlos was racially abused twice in Russia while also playing for Anzhi. Both incidents happened in 2011 - in St Petersburg and Samara, which are World Cup host cities.

St Petersburg is also among the cities that have been selected to host Euro 2020 matches, including a quarter-final.

In October 2013 Russian champions CSKA Moscow were punished by European governing body Uefa with the partial closure of their stadium in a Champions League match, following racist chanting directed at Manchester City's Yaya Toure.

Russian president Vladimir Putin said at a handover ceremony in Rio de Janeiro, before the World Cup final in July, that he hoped the World Cup would help Russia in its fight against racism.

"Fifa President Sepp Blatter puts a lot of personal effort into addressing social issues, and we hope that the preparations for the World Cup in Russia will also contribute to tasks such as fighting drugs, racism and other challenges we face today," Putin said.

 

26 Sep 2014
(BBC Russian Service by Rafael Saakov)

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