Premier League
EMILIANO SALA: PROBE BEGINS INTO MISSING FOOTBALLER’S FLIGHT
Even as the Guernsey Police on Thursday announced the end of the rescue operation to find Emiliano Sala, an investigation into the missing will look at “all operational aspects” including licensing and flight plans.
The Police had on Thursday explained that unless there was a significant development, there would be no further update on the missing plane and the two occupants.
According to a message posted by the Harbour Master, Captain David Barker, the search team had exhausted all necessary efforts, combing a combined area of 1,700 square miles of areas the plane could have fallen to.
The Piper PA-46 Malibu disappeared on Monday with Cardiff City’s new signing and pilot Dave Ibbotson on board.
A search near Guernsey was called off on Thursday afternoon despite pleas from Sala’s sister, Romina Sala.
She said she feels her brother is still alive and pleaded with rescuers not to give up hope.
According to a BBC report, the Air Accident Investigation Branch said it had launched a probe.
Ibbotson, 59, of Crowle, Lincolnshire, held a private pilot’s licence and passed a medical exam as recently as November, according to Federal Aviation Administration records.
The Civil Aviation Authority said the aircraft was registered in the US, so fell under its regulations.
US law states private pilots cannot make a profit by carrying passengers.
There were “alarm bells all around” the incident, aviation consultant Alastair Rosenchein told BBC Radio Wales’ Good Morning Wales programme.
He said: “The one issue is whether a single-engine air craft should be flying at night, in winter, over water and with passengers.
“This is the real issue – it is a really bad combination.”
Mr Rosenchein explained that if the engine failed, the pilot would need to land – and at night he would not have visual cues to rely on.
He said despite only 1,400 of the planes being built there was a “quite significant” number of deaths and injuries from flights involving them.
It has also been confirmed that “a moment of silent reflection” for the player and pilot will take place at the next round of Premier League fixtures on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Argentine striker Sala, 28, signed for Cardiff from Nantes last weekend and was travelling between the cities on Monday night.
At 19:15 GMT, Mr Ibbotson made a request to descend, before losing contact with Jersey air traffic control.
An extensive search took place, but Guernsey’s harbour master explained a “difficult” decision was made to call it off, saying the chances of survival were “extremely remote”.
Barker acknowledged the family were “not content” with the decision to stop actively searching but said he was “absolutely confident” no more could have been done.
He insisted UK coastguard protocols were followed and said he hoped the families of the missing pair found some comfort in the incident remaining open, despite searches ceasing.
Thomas Partey, who formerly played for English Premier League soccer club Arsenal, has been charged with rape and sexual assault, London’s Metropolitan Police said on Friday.
Partey, a Ghana international, was charged with five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault, with the charges relating to three women and the offences reported to have taken place between 2021 and 2022, the statement said.
Partey’s management did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
He is due to appear at London’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Aug. 5.
Partey, 32, was signed by Arsenal from Atletico Madrid for 50 million euros ($59 million) in October 2020 and became a key member of Arsenal’s first team.
He was first arrested in July 2022, though he was not named at the time and continued to play for Arsenal while investigations were ongoing.
-Reuters
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Five players including England forward Marcus Rashford and Argentina winger Alejandro Garnacho have informed Manchester United that they wish to explore a future away from the Premier League side, a club source said on Friday.
Brazilian midfielder Antony, Dutch defender Tyrell Malacia and England international Jadon Sancho are also looking to leave the club, the source added.
Rashford, who has made more than 400 senior appearances for United, has fallen out of favour with manager Ruben Amorim, played for Aston Villa on loan while United had their worst-ever Premier League campaign, finishing 15th in the standings.
Amorim had called Rashford’s work rate into question, saying he would rather put a goalkeeper coach on the bench than a player not giving their all.
Rashford said he was feeling fitter and better since joining Villa, where he scored two goals in 10 league appearances.
United also failed to qualify for the Champions League as they lost the Europa League final 1-0 to Tottenham Hotspur. Garnacho, who was a late substitute in the final, voiced his displeasure on social media after the loss.
“Up until the final, I played every round helping the team, and today I play 20 minutes, I don’t know,” he wrote in a post . “The final will influence (my decision), but the whole season, the situation of the club.”
Sancho was on loan at Chelsea, where he made 31 league appearances last season. Antony, who joined United from Ajax Amsterdam in 2022 for a reported initial transfer fee of more than $100 million, scored five goals in 17 LaLiga appearances on loan at Real Betis.
Malacia joined Dutch side PSV Eindhoven on loan in February.
-Reuters
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Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes turned down the opportunity to join Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal in order to keep playing “at the highest level”, he said on Tuesday.
The Portuguese midfielder admitted that he had considered the move, which media reports said was worth four times his current salary, after being contacted by Al-Hilal’s president.
“There was that possibility, the president of Al-Hilal called me a month ago to ask me about it,” Fernandes, who is preparing to face Germany with Portugal, told reporters on Tuesday.
“It was a big offer, very ambitious. There was a waiting period for me to think about the future.”
Fernandes ultimately decided to stay at United and said he was motivated by his desire to continue playing at the top level and encouraged by his family and the club’s coach Ruben Amorim.
“I would be willing to do it if Manchester United thought so,” Fernandes added. “I spoke to the coach Ruben Amorim who really tried to talk me out of it. The club said they would not be willing to sell me, only if I wanted to leave.
“I spoke to my wife and family, and she asked me what my personal goals were in my career.
“It would have been easy to move there but I want to keep myself at the highest level, playing in the big competitions and I feel capable of it. I am happy with my decision.”
The 30-year-old Fernandes scored 19 goals and provided 19 assists in 57 appearances across all competitions for United last season, winning the club’s Player of the Year award for the fourth time.
However, it was a season to forget for the team, as they finished 15th in the Premier League, their lowest league finish in half a century, and lost the Europa League final to Tottenham Hotspur.
-Reuters
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