International Football
Osimhen’s brace keeps Napoli back to Serie A contention
Super Eagles forward, Victor Osimhen, on Sunday ensured that Napoli stayed on the heels of Serie A leaders AC Milan as he scored both goals in an eventful 2-1 win at Verona.
The win moves Napoli up the ladder to the second position. The Nigerian striker, who is expected to lead Super Eagles’ attack in the World Cup play-off matches against Ghana later this month, struck in each half as Luciano Spalletti’s team ensured they would be three points behind Milan come the end of the weekend, with Inter five points back in third ahead of their trip to Torino.
He gave the away side a deserved 14th-minute lead by thumping home a perfect header from Matteo Politano’s cross on a busy day in which he also forgot his protective face mask when coming out for the second half.
At one point it looked as though Napoli would have to do without Osimhen for the best part of half an hour when the 23-year-old was down with a left shoulder problem following a clash with Koray Gunter.
Osimhen was on the floor for two minutes and then treated pitch side while Spalletti was also deciding what to do with goalkeeper David Ospina, who just moments earlier had Federico Ceccherini land on his hand during a goalmouth scramble and looked in serious pain.
That created a real problem for Spalletti who was also without Alex Meret with a fractured vertebra and on the bench only had young stoppers Davide Marfella and Hubert Idasiak, neither of whom have ever played a Serie A match.
Both carried on however and Osimhen doubled Napoli’s lead in the 71st minute, meeting Giovanni Di Lorenzo’s low pull back with a neat first-time finish which left Lorenzo Montipo with no chance.
The match looked done and dusted but there was still time for more drama as Marco Faraoni headed the hosts back into the game six minutes later following a delightful move and a pinpoint Adrien Tameze cross.
However just as Igor Tudor’s team pushed for the draw Ceccherini was sent off for a second bookable offense which allowed a ruffled Napoli to close out the match.
Ceccherini’s sending off infuriated Verona and captain Faraoni was also shown a red card after the final whistle following livid protests directed at referee Daniele Doveri.
The Nigerian has now scored nine goals in 19 matches but 13 goals across all competitions in the on-going season.
Representatives from four national players’ unions on Thursday launched a new global organisation in Madrid, which they say will strengthen footballers’ rights and improve dialogue with governing bodies.
Opening a new front in the battle over who speaks for players, the International Footballers’ Association (AIF) was unveiled, with David Aganzo, president of Spain’s Association of Footballers (AFE) and a former head of the global union FIFPRO, appointed to lead the organisation.
Players’ unions from Brazil, Mexico and Switzerland were also represented.
The initiative drew a swift rebuke from FIFPRO, which said in a statement that Aganzo was acting out of self-interest and aligning himself with organisations linked to football governing bodies, as well as groups expelled from FIFPRO over alleged mismanagement.
Aganzo rejected the criticism, saying he “will not seek confrontation with FIFPRO”.
The launch comes amid strained relations between players’ unions and football authorities, particularly over the expanding international match calendar.
Relations between FIFA and FIFPRO deteriorated in 2024 after the union lodged a complaint with the European Commission, arguing that the global governing body was abusing its dominant position by adding competitions without sufficient consultation.
Aganzo denied suggestions that the new initiative was backed by FIFA president Gianni Infantino, but said “direct dialogue with FIFA” was essential.
AFE’s Extraordinary General Assembly approved the initiative in February with 99.8% of votes cast in favour of spearheading the creation of the AIF.
The same assembly also backed AFE’s withdrawal from FIFPRO, citing what it described as a “complete lack of transparency, as well as its total lack of dialogue with international bodies.”
“We represent over 30,000 footballers, and we come here with a new model aimed at safeguarding players’ rights and facilitating direct communication with all international bodies,” Aganzo told reporters.
“We are in contact with 15 to 20 unions already who were very aware of this moment and waiting for this announcement to make their move and join our initiative.”
He declined to identify any unions beyond those present.
Asked about a report that a senior envoy to U.S. President Donald Trump had urged FIFA to replace Iran with Italy at the upcoming World Cup, Aganzo urged caution.
“These are more political issues; on April 30th, I’ll be speaking to Gianni (Infantino) at the FIFA Congress, and we will discuss those things,” Aganzo said.
“People who want to go to the World Cup have to earn their place on sporting merit.”
-Reuters
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A new trial over the death of Argentine soccer legend Diego Maradona will begin on Tuesday, with seven members of his medical team charged with negligent homicide nearly a year after a previous case collapsed in a mistrial.
An enduring presence in Argentina – from towering murals to tattoos, opens new tab – Maradona died on November 25, 2020, at 60, after a heart attack while he was recuperating from brain surgery to remove a blood clot.
A court in San Isidro, near Buenos Aires, will hear testimony from just under 100 witnesses as it tries Maradona’s medical team over alleged negligence in the death of the 1986 World Cup champion.
His medical team has denied wrongdoing. The defendants are psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov, neurosurgeon Leopoldo Luque, psychologist Carlos Angel Diaz, physician Nancy Edith Forlini, nurse Ricardo Almiron, head nurse Mariano Ariel Perroni, and physician Pedro Pablo Di Spagna. An eighth defendant, nurse Dahiana Madrid, will be tried in a separate jury trial, with no date yet set.
Two months into the first trial, which started last March, a mistrial was declared when one of three judges, Julieta Makintach, resigned after video surfaced showing her being interviewed by a camera crew in the corridors of the courthouse and in her office as part of a documentary, in breach of judicial rules.
The retrial will require both prosecutors and defense lawyers to reassess their strategies after the first trial aired photographs, videos, audio recordings and forensic evidence. Many witnesses, including Maradona’s children and his former wife, Claudia Villafane, have already testified.
Prosecutors argued in the initial trial that medical professionals broke treatment protocols and that the home where Maradona was recovering from surgery amounted to a “theatre of horror,” where necessary care was not provided.
The defense countered that his death was inevitable given his longstanding health problems. Maradona struggled for decades with cocaine and alcohol addiction.
The negligence charges emerged in 2021 after prosecutors appointed a medical board to investigate Maradona’s death. The panel concluded his medical team acted in an “inappropriate, deficient and reckless” manner.
-Reuters
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Aliou Cisse has been named coach of the Angola national team, the country’s football federation (FAF) announced on Thursday, 24 hours after the Senegalese left his post in Libya.
The 50-year-old coach, who led Senegal to their maiden Africa Cup of Nations title in 2022, ended his short stint with the Libyan national team on Wednesday, after taking charge in March 2025.
“Welcome, Aliou Cisse, head coach of the Angola national team,” the FAF said on Facebook. Angola, which failed to reach this year’s World Cup, will start their 2027 AFCON qualifying campaign in September.
-Reuters
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