George Weahs son Timothy makes PSG debut
News & Trends •
afp25 timothy weah the son of current liberian president george weah made his professional debut in paris saint germaines 2-0 win over troyes on saturday1 timothys father had also played for paris saint-germain and ac milan1 the us youth international who only turned 18 last week replaced giovani lo celso for the final quarter hour after being named to the first-team squad for the first time1 my name pushes me a little bit more because my father did very good things here. i want to do the same thing said weah who nearly scored a debut goal in stoppage time1 everything is going to be fine soon i will start to score goals1 born in new york city the teenager signed a professional deal with psg last summer but has spent much of his time with the clubs reserve team in the fourth division1 hes a very young player but he works very hard. he played 15 minutes and had a good chance to score. he deserves it. its the first time he needs to keep on working psg coach unai emery said1 george weah spent three successful and prolific seasons at psg between 1992 and 1995 and remains the only african footballer to win the ballon dor award. he won it in 19951

How Davide Astori Fiorentina captain died
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afp25 davide astori italy international defender and captain of fiorentina died of natural causes after a cardiac circulatory collapse1 astori 31 years old died in his hotel room during the night of saturday to sunday his club fiorentina said1 the magistrate added that it was strange that such a thing happened without any warning symptoms in a profession which is so closely monitored1 astoris body was taken to a hospital in udine for an autopsy1 fiorentina are profoundly shocked to have to announce the death of captain davide astori after a sudden illness the serie a club said on twitter. the 31-year-old who leaves behind a two-year-old daughter was in udine to prepare for sundays match against udinese1 fiorentinas game was called off in the morning. the early kick off between genoa and cagliari one of astoris former clubs was abandoned when players learned the news while warming up on the pitch1 the italian league then postponed the other five serie a matches scheduled for sunday including the milan derby1 astori began his career at ac milan also playing for cagliari and roma before joining fiorentina in 2015. he played 14 times for italy1 former team-mates coaches and teams were amongst those taking to social media to express their grief1 gianluigi buffon the juventus captain called astori a great man1 antonio de nicolo a udine magistrate described the cause of death as a kind of heart attack in reports published by italian media1 buffon said he did not usually make a habit of expressing his feelings about others1 i want to make an exception to my rule because you have a young wife and others close to you who are suffering but mostly because your little girl deserves to know that her dad was a good man a great man buffon wrote1 meanwhile former italy manager antonio conte now in charge of chelsea was visibly upset as he paid tribute to astori ahead of the blues match with premier league leaders manchester city on sunday1 this is a tragedy and it really hurts me. its very difficult at this moment to find the right words for the family conte told sky sports1 i had him with the national team. he was a great player but especially a fantastic guy. i stay close to his wife parents and daughter. he was only 31 and its very difficult to explain this situation1 radja nainggolan a belgian international who played with astori at two clubs posted a photo of the two of them joyously celebrating a goal at cagliari1 a great player but an even bigger man so many battles fought together in cagliari before coming to rome i cannot believe it he wrote1 astoris formative club milan also expressed their condolences1 a man who loved football and who grew up with us. ac milan is shocked by the tragic death of davide astori the clubs official account tweeted in english1 matteo renzi a former mayor of florence and now leader of the democrat party in sundays italian election tweeted this seems to me impossible. i dont believe it and i cry with the family and everyone at fiorentina. ciao capitano1 farewell dear asto wrote buffon in a post on instagram accompanied by a photo of the two players exchanging pennants before a game between their clubs1

World football lawmakers approve VAR for Russia World Cup
News & Trends •
afp25 footballs lawmakers on saturday approved video assistant referee technology var for this summers world cup in one of the biggest changes to the sport in years1 we came to the conclusion that var is good for football infantino told reporters shortly after ifab announced the decision1 he added that the final decision to use the technology at the world cup in russia will be made when the fifa council world footballs top decision-making body meets in colombia later this month1 we will hope and encourage the council to take a favourable decision infantino said voicing confidence that var will secure final approval1 ifab said in a press release that the decision represents a new era for football with video assistance for referees helping to increase fairness in the game1 var can only be used when there is doubt surrounding any of four key game-changing situations goals penalty decisions straight red cards or mistaken identity1 it has already been implemented in top european leagues including the german bundesliga and italys serie a along with tests in multiple other leagues1 spains la liga on friday began training officials ahead of the technologys expected introduction next season1 opinion is still divided players and managers have complained of referees being too eager to defer to technology while fans in stadiums have been left in the dark as to why decisions are being made1 uefa president aleksander ceferin said this week that european footballs governing body would not introduce var in next seasons champions league due to ongoing confusion surrounding its use1 the international football association board ifab meeting in zurich rubber-stamped a move already backed by fifas top brass including president gianni infantino1 that is an issue confronting major north american sports like baseball and american football where different forms of video replay have been in use for several years leading to renewed calls to shorten the length of games1 some sceptics also have reservations about implementing such a significant change at the world cup before all the kinks have been resolved at lower-profile competition1 but the desire to avoid disputed calls especially in a competition with such a large global audience tipped international football officials to support using var at this summers tournament in russia1 one iconic example that var could theoretically have prevented is diego maradonas hand of god goal that saw argentina beat england in the 1986 world cup1 for infantino international football had to ensure world cup officials have access to the same images as fans1 in 2018 we cannot anymore afford that everyone in the stadium and everyone in front of a tv screen can see within a few minutes on his phone whether the referee has made a big mistake or not and the only one who cannot see it is the referee he said last month1 representatives of the 32 teams that have qualified for the world cup meeting in the black sea resort of sochi this week voiced confidence that the expected var rollout would be a positive for the tournament1 this is the new life. this is modern life said iran head coach carlos queiroz1 it is obvious that football cannot go on with its eyes closed to the modern world1 others have voiced concern about video assistance slowing down the game and possibly breaking a teams momentum1

Neymar begins race for World cup with surgery over
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afp25 neymar jr brazil and paris saint germains megastar has begun a race to recuperate before the world cup in russia next year moments after officials announced that the surgery on his broken right foot went successfully saturday1 just after midday 1500 gmt a spokesman from the brazilian football federation announced that the operation was over1 neymar is already in his room. it went well he said1 neymar broke his fifth metatarsal the bone leading to his small toe during a 3-0 drubbing of marseille on february 251 the striker whose transfer from barcelona cost psg a record 222 million euros 264 million last august has scored 28 goals in 30 appearances in all competitions for the club1 neymar will miss psgs make-or-break game against real madrid next tuesday. but with lasmar predicting a recovery period of two and a half to three months brazil is worried that neymar 26 may not be fit for the world cup in russia starting in june1 the operation performed by brazilian national team surgeon rodrigo lasmar began early on saturday morning in the mater dei hospital in belo horizonte1 the report said that neymar was initially found to have suffered a minor fracture and that psg was shocked to hear lasmar say thursday that it was a serious break requiring a longer than expected recuperation1 globoesporte.com reported that psg also insisted it control any future information on the players health1 staff at the hospital in belo horizonte were put on paparazzi lockdown with a ban on using cellphones anywhere near the star1 after a remarkable turnaround in fortunes since the shambolic exit in a 7-1 semifinal loss to germany in the 2014 world cup brazil are seen as top contenders in russia1 but a big part of that optimism depends on the talented neymar who missed that infamous semifinal four years ago and looks likely to miss two warm-up friendlies against russia and germany in march1 the rival demands from club and country appeared to erupt into tension just as he went under the knife with paris newspaper lequipe reporting saturday that psg believes lasmar lied about neymars condition1

Gattuso turns AC Milan around
Sports •
afp25 gennaro gattuso has sparked a fire in ac milan.unbeaten in 12 games with five wins in a row the italian coach has transformed the demoralised squad he took over three months ago from vincenzo montella1 gattusos side are just seven points adrift of the last spot for the elite european competition. when he took over fourth place was 11 points away1 at the end of the match i congratulated the group but i also said that we have to keep our feet on the ground said 2006 world cup winner gattuso whose appointment last november raised eyebrows1 in gattuso the chinese-owned club who spent 230 million euros 270 million in last summers transfer market turned to a member of one of their most successful sides but one with little coaching pedigree who was training milans youth team at the time of his appointment1 but the former defensive midfielder who also spent a season at scottish club rangers during his playing career has proved an astute choice and wants to seize his chance1 i need to thank directors marco fassone massimiliano mirabelli and owner mr li yonghong for the opportunity they gave me. i love milan and they are my priority. its like a family for me said the 40-year-old after sundays win1 a beautiful relationship was born between me and these guys1 the secret hard work1 but what is the secret that has got the seven-time european champions winning consistently again1 for the players the answer is simple hard work1 sundays 2-0 win against as roma in the stadio olympico was an important one against a direct european rival which allows ac milan to dream even of champions league qualification1 with montella we did very little work in training but its different with gattuso and you can see the results on the pitch1 its like a family here and the results are arriving1 patrick cutrone 20 who scored the opener on sunday for his 13th goal in all competitions his season added its an important win one that will make a difference1 the coach really cares about the squad and weve come together under him. we are really united now1 gattuso made us understand from the first day what it means to wear this jersey added left-back davide calabria who scored the second goal against roma1 the winning mentality that gattuso brings is incredible as he focuses on every detail. we are working with great intensity1 older players have benefited as giacomo bonaventura has scored five goals under gattuso. their defensive base is also strong with just four goals conceded in the last 12 games1 ac milan will play lazio in wednesdays italian cup semi-final back in the stadio olympico inter milan in next weekends derby clash and arsenal in the europa league round of 16 on march 81 from tomorrow the head goes to the lazio said gattuso. we are playing something important and we will think about the milan derby from thursday1 has arsenal lost today league cup final we are not manchester city we have to put on a helmet and go to battle1 gattuso is making us work harder especially on tactics explained ivorian midfielder franck kessie 211