Skip to main content

FIFA warn Liverpool over Matip selection

FIFA warned Liverpool on Monday they cannot play Joel Matip unless Africa Cup of Nations participants Cameroon give the Premier League title-chasers permission.

The key central defender missed Liverpool’s 1-1 draw with Manchester United on Sunday amid a disagreement over his international status and he could be unavailable for the next month.
Matip last year announced he no longer wished to be considered for selection by Cameroon and was not named in their Africa Cup of Nations squad.
But the 25-year-old, who last played for Cameroon in September 2015, did figure in a preliminary squad list.
In a statement a FIFA spokesperson told AFP that Liverpool had been directed to study article five of its rules. 
It states that “a player who has been called up by his association for one of its representative teams is, unless otherwise agreed, not entitled to play for his club during the period for which he has been released, plus an additional period of five days”.
That means Liverpool could be without Matip until they play Tottenham Hotspur on February 11 should Cameroon reach the Nations Cup final in Libreville, Gabon.
In a statement on Sunday Liverpool said it was their view “that the player should be available for club football during the period of the competition and will continue to work for a speedy and unambiguous resolution”.
But the FIFA official warned: “FIFA also indicated that any potential violation of the relevant rules would be the subject of an investigation by its disciplinary commission.”
Matip has returned to fitness after an ankle problem.


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Return Nigeria’s Stolen Assets, SERAP Urges Trump

Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged the President of the United States of America (USA), Donald Trump, to attach and release to Nigeria, some $500 million worth of US-based proceeds of corruption traced to former Nigerian dictator, late General Sani Abacha. SERAP, which made this request in an open letter it send to the US President, also urged President Trump to initiate discussions with the Nigerian government to fulfill these objectives within an agreed framework and timeline. The organisation in the letter dated 3 February 2017 and signed by the organization’s US Volunteer Counsel Professor Alexander W. Sierck and executive director Adetokunbo Mumuni, also wants the Trump’s Administration to instruct the Justice Department to initiate civil asset forfeiture proceedings in regard to the $500 million in assets. SERAP further stated, “these proceeds are separate from the $480 million of Abacha-origin funds that have been forfeited to the US...
Post a Comment
Read more

Record signing, Oscar lands in Shanghai to join SIPG

 Brazilian midfielder Oscar landed in Shanghai on Monday where the 25-year-old was set to smash the Asian transfer record with a reported 60 million euros ($63 million) deal with Shanghai SIPG. Dozens of supporters chanting club songs swarmed the former Chelsea player at the city’s Pudong airport. Oscar’s arrival in the Chinese Super League comes ahead of that of Argentina’s former Manchester United striker Carlos Tevez, who signed for Shanghai Shenhua in another big-money deal last week.  Tevez’s transfer fee was 10.5 million euros, according to the website transfermarkt.com, which tracks dealings in the sport, though the reported two-year contract of 38 million euros per season ($40 million) makes him the world’s highest salaried footballer. SIPG’s general manager on Monday dismissed concerns raised by state media of a market bubble in the super-rich Chinese league, arguing prices have to be higher to attract players away from big European leagues. “The leagu...
Post a Comment
Read more

Ancient crocodile bones discovered in Xi'an

Ancient bones unearthed in Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi province, have led archaeologists to suggest that the area may have been home to wild crocodiles thousands of years ago. Experts have been excavating the Haojing site since the 1930s, with the latest dig running from 2012 to last year. The site was once the capital of the Western Zhou Dynasty (c.11th century-771 BC), with countless relics having been discovered there over the years. However, the ancient crocodile bones took archaeologists by surprise. The bones were discovered in an ash pit late last year, according to the Shaanxi Archaeology Institute, which is leading the excavation in Xi'an's southwestern Chang'an district. "The archaeologists were surprised because it's the first time crocodile bones have been unearthed near the city," it said. An ash pit is a general term used by experts to describe an ancient cave or cellar. The one in which the bones were found was of an irregular sh...
Post a Comment
Read more