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Tag: fans

  • Fans’ exodus during World Cup opening match in Qatar raises eyebrows

    Fans’ exodus during World Cup opening match in Qatar raises eyebrows

    World Cup hosts Qatar were criticised on Sunday because the stadium was half empty by the closing stages of the tournament opening match between Qatar and Ecuador.

    Thousands of fans left Al Bayt Stadium during the second half as Qatar were unable to fight back from two goals down at intermission in their 2-0 defeat.

    Organisers had said that the arena was sold out with 67,372 fans for the opening ceremony and the game.

    But many of those seemingly did not even appear to return to their seats for the second half, with the exodus continuing until the end.

    Qatar became the first hosts in the 92-year World Cup history to suffer defeat in an opening match.

    They can now share the fate of South Africa who in 2010 became so far the only hosts who did not make it into the second round.

    German 2014 World Cup winner Christoph Kramer compared the two countries.

    “South Africa also had a tough time as World Cup hosts, but somehow you had the feeling that with the country behind you and with the spirit and fire of the people, you can somehow develop a force.

    “You didn’t have that feeling at all today,” he said.

    The exodus contributed to “a flat atmosphere both off and on the pitch”, but Qatar coach Felix Sanchez insisted that the atmosphere was “great” and they felt backed.

    “We felt supported and we hope for the next game that people will feel prouder. I am convinced they will keep supporting us to the end of the tournament,” Sanchez said.

    “We are sorry that we could not contribute to this great atmosphere and the party. But we knew this could happen.”

  • Lampard reacts after Iwobi clash with Everton fans

    Lampard reacts after Iwobi clash with Everton fans

    Everton manager Frank Lampard has reacted to a bust-up between away fans and Alex Iwobi at the end of defeat at Bournemouth.

    The Toffees were beaten 3-0 at the Vitality Stadium, with the way fans making their unhappiness with their side’s performance clear following the game. Lampard was forced to drag his players away from their own supporters as they angrily demonstrated with his team.

    Iwobi also saw his shirt thrown back at him after sending it into the stands, with a wall of security forming a barrier. Lampard has defended the Everton fans for their angry reaction and insisted that the incident with Iwobi was merely a “misunderstanding”.

    “I think there was a bit of a misunderstanding, Alex [Iwobi] had some friends that he was concerned about that were sort of at the front of the fans, there was nothing in that, and the players just have to accept the fans have a right to voice their opinions,” he said.

    “The fans have a right to be disappointed. They have come down here twice this week and seen poor performances. And before that we had been going OK and then they see performances they don’t like.

    “So when we are pleased they are happy after Palace, when we are pleased that they give us a welcome, we have to understand that they can voice their opinions and their opinions are right today.”

  • [Video] Popular music artist Rema, passes out on stage in the UK

    [Video] Popular music artist Rema, passes out on stage in the UK

    Popular Nigerian singer, Divine Ikubor, better known as Rema, passed out on stage during a concert in the United Kingdom.

    Although it was later found out that it was all a prank, it made his fans cry out for help as he was rushed out of the stage.

    A source at the venue said, “It was a prank. He pretended to had collapsed, then they dimmed the lights, and ran back on stage to end the show energetically.”

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  • Granit Xhaka discusses new relationship with Arsenal fans

    Granit Xhaka discusses new relationship with Arsenal fans

    Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka admits he’s thrilled to have repaired his relationship with the Gunners fans.

    Xhaka infamously fell out with Arsenal fans back in October 2019, leading to him being stripped of the captaincy, but he has now rebuilt that connection.

    “I’ve had much more good times than bad times at Arsenal,” Xhaka told Arsenal’s match-day programme. “The only real down moments I’ve had were the stuff with the fans three years ago, but everything else for me has been very positive, very happy, and there’s been a lot of respect between everyone.

    “It was funny because I was joking with Alex Zinchenko in the warm-up [before the Bournemouth game in August]. They were singing his name after just three weeks at Arsenal. I told him: ‘Alex, I’ve been here for six years and I don’t have a song and you have just got here and you do!’

    “So I was joking with him on the pitch beforehand, and then at the end of the game I could hear our supporters singing my name. Maybe they heard me chatting to Alex!

    “But seriously, it was an absolutely amazing, amazing feeling for me, because everybody knows what I went through with the fans. That’s in the past now.

    “To turn it round and be able to show them the Granit that I always wanted to show them, to feel connected and feel their love gave me much, much, much more self-belief, and also more desire to give them something back.

    “So hopefully we can stay with this connection now, not just with me, but with all the players, because it’s very important for us to feel the love from the fans.

    “I was a bit surprised when I heard it, I didn’t know what to do, but I want to say how much it meant to me and how much I appreciate it.”

  • I know I hurt many Bayern fans – Lewandowski reveals

    I know I hurt many Bayern fans – Lewandowski reveals

    Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski admits he has hurt Bayern Munich fans and hopes he can fix his relationship with them

    He is happy with his decision to sign for Barca, as he explained in a recent interview shortly after the 6-0 win over Pumas.

    Lewandowski is, however, slightly sad about the manner in which things ended with Bayern Munich.

    “I know that hurt a lot of fans,” he told Sport1. “I can understand that and now I just apologise for that. At that time it was important and necessary for me to make it clear that I was ready for a change.

    “At the end of the day, we are all human. After 12 years in Germany, it was clear to me that my time was over. I wanted to make that clear, and of course it was not easy for Bayern to accept a sale during this phase.

    “It was a difficult situation for everyone involved and we had to find the best solution. I needed this change, this move to another country, to another club. I feel like a child who has a new toy.”

    Some Bayern fans yelled pro-Real Madrid slogans like ‘Hala Madrid’ at the striker as he left the Bavarian’s training camp when he returned to collect his things.

    “Yes, I heard that, and I laughed,” he said. “But there were also some people shouting my name. That was really nice.

    “In the last few weeks I have also met some fans in the street who have expressed their understanding for my situation and wished me all the best.”

  • Portable warns fans to stop running after his car

    Nigerian fast-rising singer, Habeeb Okikiola, popularly known as Portable, has warned his fans to stop following his car whenever they see him because their actions have gotten out of hand.

     

    The singer revealed that he will rather give his money to grandmothers, widows, and orphans in the village than spray it on them from his car.

     

    Urging his fans to go and hustle, the singer in a video on his Instagram page, angrily declared that most of his fans are thieves and that the old women in the village need his money more than them.

     

    Captioning the video, he wrote: “It’s now getting of hand people running after my car always when passing by. No more spraying of money cause it’s turning to something else . If I want show love I’ll rather go to the village and help those grandmas and kids that really need support.”

     

    Portable, whom the street knows as son of “Shaku Shaku”, Street Problem and Wahala Musician, hails from Ogun State where he grew up with his parents and siblings.

     

    He has been into music for 10 years before his final break through, discovery and recognition from Baddo.

     

    Portable is the new wave in the Nigerian music industry with his new single Zazu Zeh featuring Olamide and Poco Lee.

     

    Portable came into spotlight after he released his debut single Zazu Zeh featuring Olamide and Poco Lee.

     

    He has been in the music industry for a couple of years before he came into prominence in December 2021 after Poco Lee introduced him to Olamide and they did a song together.

     

    The Zazu crooner was introduced to Olamide by Poco Lee and immediately, Olamide picked interest and called up to make a song the next day with him. Song titled “Zazu Zeh” currently street banger.

     

    Portable had uploaded a video of his beautiful wife, dancing to his new song, titled, “All Eyes on Me”. He captioned it, Iyawo Werey Olorin worldwide (meaning, the wife of Werey Olorin).

  • NPFL: Wikki Tourists fans go on rampage after Enyimba draw

    NPFL: Wikki Tourists fans go on rampage after Enyimba draw

    Fans of Wikki Tourists Football Club of Bauchi on Sunday went on rampage immediately after visiting Enyimba International FC of Aba drew goalless with the hosts.

    The 2021/2022 Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) matchday 19 fixture had left the fans dissatisfied.

    The Wikki Tourists fans then constituted themselves into a nuisance at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Stadium by throwing stones and other dangerous objects into the pitch immediately the match ended.

    The action meant both sets of players, referees and officials of the two teams were confined to the pitch as the situation worsened.

    Security personnel then engaged the rampaging fans in a mild battle before releasing teargas canisters in order to drive them away from the stadium.

    Afterwards, they evacuated the players and officials out of the pitch to the dressing rooms for safety.

    Some of the Wikki Tourists fans interviewed later by NAN accused the referees of badly officiating the match.

    One Aliyu Saleh alleged that the referee did not ensure that the normal 90 minutes of the game ran its full course.

    “The Enyimba goalkeeper wasted over seven minutes by always lying down on the pitch, and that means the referee should have given extra minutes for the match, but he refused.

    “So, bad officiating of matches is one of the problems facing Nigerian football league,”

    Another fan, Shehu Abbass, said: “We don’t trust the referee’s officiating. He sold out the match in favourites of Enyimba.

    However, another fan, Abubakar Danjuma, blamed the fans for reacting in such a manner.

    “What is the benefit of throwing stones at players and officials of the match?

    “With extra time or not, if the match is destined to end in a draw so shall it be. Besides, a match is a game of win or lose,” he said.

    All efforts to get any official of both clubs were unsuccessful

  • UK govt orders Chelsea fans to stop chanting Abramovich’s name

    UK govt orders Chelsea fans to stop chanting Abramovich’s name

    Chelsea fans must stop the “completely inappropriate” chanting of Russian owner Roman Abramovich’s name, the spokesman for the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday.

    Blues supporters again expressed their backing for Abramovich during Sunday’s home match against Newcastle United.

    This was after he was sanctioned by the British Government last week over his ties to Russian president Vladimir Putin.

    Abramovich’s assets were frozen, with Chelsea placed under a special licence which allows them to operate but unable to generate new revenue.

    The billionaire has brought unprecedented success to Chelsea since he bought the club in 2003.

    But Boris Johnson’s official spokesman insists supporters should not let that blind them to Abramovich’s association to the man leading the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

    “We recognise the strength of feeling around people’s clubs, but that does not excuse behaviour which is completely inappropriate at this time,” Janes Slack said.

    “I think people can show passion and support for their club without resorting to that sort of stuff.”

    The Government has said it is still “open” to Chelsea being sold but that a new application would be needed to enable a sale.

    So far, Slack said, the club had not applied for a variation to its strict special licence.

    “We are open to the sale of the club, we would consider an application for a licence to allow that to happen in the right circumstances,” the spokesman said.

    “But it is for Chelsea to determine the exact process. My understanding is potential buyers would approach the club, who would then need to apply for a further amended licence to facilitate the sale.

    “As far as I’m aware that hasn’t happened at this point.”

    Abramovich first put the club up for sale on March 2 and a number of interested parties are understood to remain in the frame in spite of the imposition of sanctions.

    These include British billionaire Nick Candy, a consortium featuring Los Angeles Dodgers part-owner Todd Boehly and Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss, plus interest from former Liverpool chairman Martin Broughton.

    The Government will oversee the sale process to ensure there is no benefit to Abramovich, with New York merchant bank the Raine Group handling the sale.

  • UCL: Davido, Ayra Star, others to perform during half-time at Heineken viewing centers

    UCL: Davido, Ayra Star, others to perform during half-time at Heineken viewing centers

    Dutch multinational brewing company, Heineken, has said it is set to provide premium viewing experiences for UEFA Champions League matches in Lagos, Abuja, Warri, Enugu and Port Harcourt, as fans will be treated to half-time entertainment from artistes like FireBoy DML, Davido and Ayra Star.

    Speaking on the announcement, Marketing Director, Nigerian Breweries Plc, Mr Emmanuel Oriakhi, said football fans in Nigeria will enjoy the best of UEFA Champions League action this season.”

    According to him, “viewing centers for live matches across five cities in Nigeria would be rolled out.

    “The live viewing experiences promise a lot more than enjoyable football moments, as there would also be numerous side attractions designed to give guests at the viewing centres an incredible experience.

    “As the world’s leading international premium beer brand and official partner of the world’s most prestigious club football competition, Heineken, is set to provide premium viewing experiences for UEFA Champions League matches across the country.

    “The UEFA Champions League is followed by more than a billion people and is one of the most-watched sporting competitions in the world. The business end of the 2021/2022 season resumes on Tuesday, 15th February 2022 with the first leg of the Rounds of 16 matches.

    “We recognise how passionate Nigerians are about football. We are equally as passionate about providing premium experiences for our customers, so in addition to being official sponsors of the UEFA Champions League, we are bringing the matches closer to Nigerians with these premium match viewing centres.

     

    “We have a lot of exciting things lined up for this season’s campaign and we can’t wait to really bring all of it to life.”

  • Ranieri apologises to fans after heavy Norwich defeat

    Ranieri apologises to fans after heavy Norwich defeat

    Watford boss Claudio Ranieri apologised to fans after they collapsed 3-0 at home to Norwich City on Friday night.

    Josh Sargent struck twice and Adam Idah also scored for the visitors, with Watford striker Emmanuel Dennis being sent off in the second-half.

    Ranieri later said: “Before I answer I want to say sorry to our fans because we wanted to do something better. We asked the players to light with fire and we can’t lose this match, but after the goal we disappeared.

    “Maybe we played better 10 v 11. It is very important the lesson Norwich gave us, they played as a team, we played as individuals. That is no good. Now I have to choose the players that want to fight hard for Watford. You have to play 11 v 11.

    “I believe in my reaction and the players’ reaction. It is not possible to continue in this way because this way we go straight into the Championship. I want the players with heart and mentality who play for the team.

    “I speak every day with the board and we are all together. I believe in these players, the players who want to believe. Who doesn’t want to believe – go home.

    “The new players played very well had understand my philosophy. Some players don’t want to understand my philosophy – I want to play straight away, no dribble dribble, shoot straight away.

    “We have to react immediately.”