Month: February 2021

Tomas Soucek will be available for West Ham’s match against Man Utd tomorrow after his red card was overturned by an independent panel.

The Czech midfielder was sent off during the Hammers’ 0-0 draw with Fulham on Saturday.

He came into contact with striker Aleksander Mitrovic during the buildup to a West Ham free kick.

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Referee Mike Dean was asked by VAR official Lee Mason to check the pitch side monitor during the game. He then decided to send Soucek off.

David Moyes’ side appealed the decision on Sunday. The manager said he was ’embarrassed’ for Dean in the aftermath.

On their website, West Ham revealed they were successful in the appeal.

A club statement said: ‘The appeal against Soucek’s red card was reviewed by an independent regulatory commission this morning at the Football Association and, following this process, the midfielder’s suspension has been rescinded and lifted with immediate effect.’

The 25-year-old was also set to miss Premier League matches against Sheff Utd and Spurs.

His return to the side is a big boost for West Ham. Soucek has scored an impressive eight league goals this term from 23 appearances.

The decision caused plenty of controversy amongst pundits and fans alike.

Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher said: “What is going on? That’s not a deliberate elbow!”

He also tweeted: “VAR has not helped officials, it’s making them look worse.”

Meanwhile, Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp said: “What is happening to our game? We all love football, but when you see decisions like that… you can blame Mike Dean, VAR, whoever you want. What is he seeing there? He goes over to the screen and still decides to give him a red card.

“He’s tried to get his arm out of the way. Mitrovic has tried to grab him, and he lifts his arm to get it out of the way, and completely by accident he catches him. What is football coming to when we give that as a red card? Even the players can’t believe it.”

Jordan Henderson thinks mistakes “cost” Liverpool against Manchester City and doesn’t think they deserved to lose against the Premier League leaders.

The Reds lost 4-1 to City on Sunday with two mistakes from goalkeeper Alisson costing them dearly as they remained on 40 points, only one ahead of fifth-placed Chelsea.

Mohamed Salah’s 63rd-minute penalty – ending a home goal drought nine minutes short of seven hours – had cancelled out the opener from Ilkay Gundogan, who redeemed himself after missing from the spot in the first half.

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OPINION: Premier League winners and big old Liverpool losers

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But with the match evenly-poised at 1-1 with 17 minutes remaining the Brazil international’s errant passing saw him give the ball first to Phil Foden and then Bernardo Silva, resulting in another goal for Gundogan and Raheem Sterling’s first at Anfield since leaving in 2015.

Foden blasted home a fourth late on to consign Liverpool, 10 points behind City at the top of the Premier League having played one match more, to a third successive home league defeat for the first time since 1963.

“Very disappointed with the result of course,” Henderson said after the match. “I don’t think the end result reflected the performance to be honest but we made mistakes and got punished.

“We competed well, this was more like the performance we are used to but like I say mistakes at the wrong moments cost us.

“It is hard to take now but in football you have to move on quickly. We need to use this week to prepare the best we can for a tough game with Leicester.

“Yes the result is very disappointing when you look at the scoreline but I felt large parts of the performance was more like us.

“I didn’t think we deserved to lose by that much but we made costly errors that cost us.

“We don’t look at the league table, just concentrate on the next game and try and win every game we can whether you are on top or fourth or fifth.”

 

Gary Neville thinks Mo Salah will be “frustrating” his Liverpool team-mates with how much he gives the ball away in the opponents half.

The Egyptian has contributed 22 goals and six assists in all competitions this season and bagged the Reds’ only goal of the game as they lost 4-1 to Manchester City on Sunday.

That result means Jurgen Klopp’s men are now 10 points behind leaders City, who also have a game in hand, while they now look in danger of slipping out of the top four.

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OPINION: Premier League winners and big old Liverpool losers

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Despite Salah converting a spot-kick to equalise for Liverpool, Neville thinks his team-mates must get frustrated by how much the 28-year-old gives the ball away,

“This is a place where they’ve been invincible for so long and you’ve just never seen Liverpool anything other than positive here,” the former Manchester United defender said on the Gary Neville Podcast. “They just are really tentative. They’re playing extra passes, they’re not being as direct in their attacking.

“That will point towards Thiago [Alcantara], naturally, I don’t think it’s just him, it’s just the fact that all across the team they’re being more safe. Liverpool’s team over the past three years have been breathtaking but they played with risk all the time.

“Salah. How many times does he give it away in the opposing half of the pitch where he tries to beat people? It’s frustrating. You see the rest of his team-mates frustrated. Mane as well, Firmino.

“The direct passes into them are not there. The risk is in their game isn’t there. The running in their game isn’t there. And things aren’t falling for them.

“They’ve had injuries. They’ve had a few years going for it at full pelt, the strange season that we’ve had, a number of things can actually just happen at once and it just feels like the perfect storm in terms of what’s happening at Liverpool.

“I don’t see it being a massive concern. There will be concern, you can go down the route of they’re one-season wonders, they were never that great. That’s not the right time to say these things. This Liverpool team have been great for three years, they need an opportunity to reset in this next few months, come back next season and go again.”

 

sources: 1Wrestling.com, PWInsider.com

It was reported last night that Nick “Eugene” Dinsmore was released by WWE.

Dinsmore was quite surprised by the release. Dinsmore was slated to take a more active role in Ohio Valley Wrestling working with some of the talent, so the release was said to have been a complete shock to him. He was at the building for the SmackDown taping and was in the talent meeting conducted by Stephanie McMahon. Following the meeting, he was notified of his release from the company and was promptly escorted out of the building.

Dinsmore was not among the names listed by media as being a client of Signature Pharmacy, but his release is said to have been due to a WWE Wellness Program violation. Dinsmore had been previously suspended after he was rushed to the hospital one night in November 2005 after passing out in a hotel lobby. He was suspended indefinitely and sent to rehab for two weeks. A further report days later announced that Dinsmore admitted to taking prescription drugs such as somas. This coincided with the announcement of WWE’s new drug policy following the death of Eddie Guerrero.

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