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Football Club Barcelona Has Been Charged With Corruption

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The football team Barcelona was accused of corruption by Spanish authorities on Friday as a result of payments the team made to the firm of a former refereeing chief.

Fidel Info reports that José Maria Enriquez Negreira, Sandro Rosell, and Josep Maria Bartomeu, two former club presidents, are all charged with the same crime.

The accusation focuses on purported payments Barcelona allegedly made to Negreira, the former vice-president of the refereeing technical committee, in exchange for his verbal counsel on referee-related issues provided to the club.

The charges come just days afer current Barca boss Joan Laporta insisted his club had never “bought referees.”

Reports claim the Catalan side allegedly paid 6.5 million euros ($6.9 million) between 2001and 2018 to Negreira’s firm.

“Let it be clear Barca have never bought referees and Barca have never had the intention of buying referees, absolutely never,” said Laporta on Tuesday.

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Ten Hag blasts ‘inconsistent’ Man Utd after Bournemouth misery

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Erik ten Hag blasted his “inconsistent” Manchester United charges after Bournemouth made history with their first ever victory at Old Trafford on Saturday.

Ten Hag’s side slumped to an embarrassing 3-0 defeat that underlined the array of problems threatening to ruin United’s season.

Just three days after beating Chelsea to revive their bid for a top four finish in the Premier League, United reverted to the sloppy form that has plagued them for much of the campaign.

Goals from Dominic Solanke, Philip Billing and Marcos Senesi handed Bournemouth a memorable win as Ten Hag and his players were booed off at full-time.

With the pressure mounting on Ten Hag with each defeat in his troubled second season as United boss, the Dutchman slammed his team’s lacklustre performance.

“Of course, annoyed and disappointed, definitely. I expected something different,” Ten Hag said.

“I hoped before the game you can build on the performance and result from Chelsea, so then it’s very disappointing.

“That (consistency) is of course the question, but I think we have to always be ready for the game, so I have to take the responsibility for that.

“I have to prepare my team so that they are ready for the game, so from my point of view I’m very disappointed the way we started so I have to do the things better.”

United have now lost 35 home league games since Alex Ferguson retired at the end of the 2012-13 title-winning season.

During the iconic 26-year reign of the Scottish manager, United were only beaten in the league at Old Trafford 34 times

Ten Hag shouldered much of the responsibility for United’s 11th defeat in all competitions this term.

But alarmingly for United fans, the former Ajax boss conceded he did not believe his squad were consistent enough to thrive at the highest level.

“We are really inconsistent. We have the abilities to do it, but you have to do it every game and every third day,” he said.

“I think as a squad we are not good enough to be consistent and we have to work as a squad to improve that.”

It was an eye-catching remark at the end of a week that began with reports that some United players had grown unhappy with the manager.

Ten Hag denied those claims but, with his team mired in sixth place, he desperately needs some positive results quickly.

United host Bayern Munich in the Champions League next week knowing they must win to have any chance of progressing to the last 16.

A trip to in-form Liverpool in the Premier League follows the Bayern clash.

“As a group, we have to improve,” Ten Hag said. “That’s a fact. We have to get tougher, that we are ready for the game and from the start.

“I said on Friday, it can’t be in this league that you are not playing on the highest levels because you get killed.

“That’s what happened in the five minutes and then you are following facts and especially against them, such a good transition team, you make life easy for them. They have the perfect conditions to play in.

“Then you see the team fighting, battling, put a lot of effort in for a long period to return in the game, but it can’t happen that you so easily concede a goal.”

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‘I need to rest, enjoy my family,’ Luis Suarez drops retirement hint

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Former Liverpool and Barcelona striker Luis Suarez has dropped a hint that he may be considering retirement from professional football.

The Uruguayan recently played his final game for Brazilian club Grêmio, fueling speculations about his future plans.

After scoring the only goal in a 1-0 victory against Vasco da Gama, Suarez suggested that his body is speaking to him and that he wants to take some time to rest and enjoy his family before making a decision about his future.

“I can feel pain, my body is speaking for me. I want to enjoy and then decide for myself after a long career. I need to rest, enjoy my family… then the destiny will know where I’ll be in the future,” Suarez said.

Suárez’s career has been filled with success and goal-scoring achievements. He first made his mark in Europe with Ajax, scoring 111 goals in 159 appearances and winning the Dutch league title. His move to Liverpool in 2010 propelled him to new heights, as he scored 82 goals in just 132 appearances and played a crucial role in Liverpool’s title challenge in the 2013-2014 season.

After joining Barcelona in 2014, Luis Suarez formed a formidable attacking trio with Messi and Neymar, winning numerous domestic and European titles. He continued his goal-scoring exploits at Atlético Madrid before returning to South America to play for Nacional and Grêmio. Throughout his career, Suárez has scored an impressive 487 goals in 799 appearances

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Haaland faces FA charge over referee criticism after Spurs draw

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Erling Haaland could face the English Football Association’s sanctions after his reaction to a ‘controversial’ refereeing decision during Manchester City’s 3-3 home Premier League draw with Tottenham on Sunday.

The prolific striker vented frustration on social media after the referee halted play as teammate Jack Grealish raced towards goal late on. Haaland had been fouled earlier but regained possession to tee up Grealish before the whistle.

Initially, referee Simon Hooper signalled he was playing the advantage, but then blew his whistle when Grealish looked set to race clear on goal.

Reacting, Haaland posted “Wtf” on X regarding the pivotal call, which prompted a furious touchline outburst and earned him a yellow card. ESPN reports that per the governing body’s rules against improper comments about match officials, the post risks FA sanctions.

Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou conceded afterward that his team “got away with one” from the pivotal call. But Guardiola said the incident wasn’t decisive, despite defending his angry striker’s response.

“It’s normal. His reaction was the same for 10 players. The rules are you cannot talk with the referees,” the manager noted.

He argued that, by the letter of the law, many more City players should have been dismissed for their reactions. “I make mistakes, players make mistakes. When Erling goes down, the ref said play on and after making the pass, he stopped the game,” Guardiola added.

The Premier League champions dropped points at home for only the second time this season

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