Sports
‘African basketball investor’ — America’s NBA mourns Herbert Wigwe
The American National Basketball Association (NBA) has paid tribute to Herbert Wigwe, the group chief executive officer (GCEO) of Access Holdings Plc.
On Saturday, around 7am Nigerian time, Wigwe, his wife, son and Abimbola Ogunbanjo, the former group chairman of Nigerian Exchange Group Plc (NGX Group), were involved in a helicopter crash in the United States.
There were six passengers onboard, but no survivors have been found so far.
The NBA in a post on Sunday on X sent its condolences to the family, friends and loved ones of Wigwe.
“The NBA family mourns the loss of NBA Africa investor Herbert Wigwe who tragically died in a helicopter crash on Friday,” the NBA’s post reads.
“We send our heartfelt condolences to his friends and loved ones during this difficult time.”
Sports
No talks with Peseiro over Eagles return, says sports minister
John Enoh, minister of sports development, says there is no ongoing negotiation to return Jose Peseiro as Super Eagles head coach.
On Thursday, there were reports that the minister had contacted Peseiro and was negotiating a potential return of the Portuguese to the helm of Nigeria’s men’s national team.
Reacting to the claims in a statement signed by Diana Mary-Nsan, his media aide, the minister described the reports as “entirely false” and “fabricated to create sensation”.
The statement added that Enoh “does not interfere or influence critical decisions of the federations” and “ensures that the federations meet the required expectations and standards in the discharge of their duties”.
Peseiro exited the Eagles role in February after leading the team to a silver medal-winning campaign at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Cote d’Ivoire.
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) is yet to announce a permanent replacement for the Portuguese since then.
The federation had called for public applications from interested and qualified candidates to fill the role, but little has been let out after.
On April 19, Enoh announced that a new coach would be named within the next two weeks.
Finidi George was the Eagles’ interim head coach for two international friendlies against Ghana and Mali in March.
Finidi led the Eagles to a 2-1 victory over Ghana in his first game at the helm but lost 2-0 to Mali in the second game.
Sports
Juventus ordered to pay Ronaldo €9.7m unpaid salaries
Juventus must pay Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo 9.7 million euros ($10.4 million) in back wages for the 2020-21 season, the Italian courts announced on Wednesday.
The Court of Arbitration, to which Ronaldo appealed, “orders Juventus Turin to pay the sum of 9,774,166.66 euros”, plus interest and procedural costs, it stated in its decision.
The sum equates to the difference between the salary actually received by Ronaldo and that which he should have received after tax and other deductions.
Ronaldo, who spent three seasons in Italy with Juventus (2018-21) before joining Manchester United (2021-22) and then the Saudi club Al Nassr, was claiming 19.5 million euros but the arbitration panel reduced that by 50 per cent.
Contacted by AFP, Juventus declined to comment, but said it would be issuing a statement “shortly”.
According to the rankings drawn up by the American business magazine Forbes, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner was the world’s highest-paid sportsman in 2023, with $136 million, including $46 million in wages.
Juventus, who are listed on the stock exchange, recorded losses of 123.7 million euros in the 2022-23 financial year, which ran to the end of June, it announced in October.
No provision has been made in the accounts of Italian football’s most successful club, currently third in Serie A, for the payment of this wages backlog.
Sports
EPL to adopt semi-automated offside technology next season
The English Premier League (EPL) says semi-automated offside technology will be used in matches from next season.
The league announced the decision in a statement on its website on Thursday.
The decision was made after a unanimous agreement by all the clubs at a Premier League Shareholders’ meeting.
The technology will be ready for use from the 2024/25 season after the autumn international breaks.
“The new system will be used for the first time in the Premier League next season, and it is anticipated the technology will be ready to be introduced after one of the autumn international breaks,” the statement reads.
“The technology will provide quicker and consistent placement of the virtual offside line, based on optical player tracking, and will produce high-quality broadcast graphics to ensure an enhanced in-stadium and broadcast experience for supporters.”
The first usage of the semi-automated offside technology in top-level football was at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
The offside rule has been subjected to change in recent years, with the video assistant referee (VAR) technology also deployed to assist the on-field officials in checking for offside calls leading to a goal.
The EPL further updated its offside rule in the summer of 2023 to include that “a player who is clearly offside should not become onside on every occasion when an opponent moves and touches the ball.”
-
News3 days ago
FAAN reopens Lagos airport runway after Dana Air incident
-
Celebrities1 week ago
‘Not see you for 6 months, impossible’ — Davido reacts to Cubana Chief Priest’s bail
-
Business1 week ago
Elon Musk threatens to suspend X accounts doing engagement farming
-
Celebrities1 week ago
Nickie Dabarbie calls out Skiibii for attempting to use her for money rituals (Video)
-
Entertainment1 week ago
Skiibii’s ex-lover DJ Dorcas Fapson reacts after Nickie DaBarbie accused singer of engaging in money rituals
-
Celebrities1 week ago
Rihanna seeks Ayra Starr collaboration — after working with Tems
-
World1 week ago
Israel launches counterattack on Iran
-
News3 days ago
Nigeria Air: EFCC vows to arraign Sirika over alleged contract fraud