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DONALD TRUMP AND US WOMEN’S FOOTBALL CAPTAIN, MEGAN RAPINOE IN TWEET WAR

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US Women National Team captain, Megan Rapinoe and President Donald Trump at war on Twitters.

Rapinoe has been having a protest in the past few years and had refused to sing the American national anthem during matches, saying it is owing to “inequality and injustice throughout the United States.”

As a step further she remarked that she would not follow the team to the White House should the team win the on-going Women World Cup.

This Wednesday morning, Trump fired back at Rapinoe for her comment about not wanting to visit the White House, using his very favorite social media platform, Twitter.

Eight by Eight magazine then released a months-old video of Rapinoe saying definitively, “I’m not going to the f—ing White House. … We’re not going to be invited. I doubt it.”

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Now that you’re all caught up, here’s what Trump tweeted on Wednesday morning.

As always, there’s a lot to unpack. Trump starts by talking about Rapinoe, but quickly pivots to the NBA, invoking the Golden State Warriors refusing to visit the White House after their NBA championship.

He then mentions NBA commissioner Adam Silver wanting team owners to be called “governors” due to the slavery connection of the word “owner,” and goes off on a tangent about “Criminal Justice Reform,” “Black unemployment,” and the poverty index. None of that is about Megan Rapinoe.

He comes back to the topic at hand by professing his fandom for the “American Team,” chastises Rapinoe for mentioning a White House visit before the USWNT wins the Women’s World Cup, then he throws all of that out the window and invites the USWNT to the White House, win or lose. Of course, he ends by scolding Rapinoe about being “disrespectful” through her protests, and telling her to “Be proud of the Flag that you wear.”

Of course, Rapinoe has already visited the White House, and been visibly proud of the flag that she wears. But things were a little different in 2015.

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Rapinoe has already made her feelings about visiting this current White House abundantly clear, and it doesn’t seem like an invitation from the man she’s called ““misogynistic,” “small-minded,” and “racist” will change her mind.

RELATED STORY:https://www.sportsvillagesquare.com/2019/06/14/france-2019-us-skipper-rapinoe-rebels-against-american-anthem/

And beyond all of that, that three-tweet thread was his second attempt. He had to delete them the first time around because he made a critical mistake in the first tweet, tagging a different Megan Rapino who is not the soccer player. (She even spells her name differently.) The mentions of this non-soccer Megan Rapino are likely a garbage fire now, but she was able to maintain her sense of humor and totally own the guy who made them that way.

Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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Portugal call up same player named in England Under-18 squad

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Mateus Mane in England's colour

Wolverhampton Wanderers forward Mateus Mane has become hot property after Portugal named the 17-year-old in their Under-18 squad on Friday, one day after England included him in their squad.

Mane was called up for a second successive England youth camp by coach Liam Bramley before the team travel to Marbella for a four-team tournament this month.

Mane is eligible for both teams having played for the Portugal Under-17 side last season. As the Under-18 team is a non-UEFA age group, both nations are entitled to call the player up.

He made his England international debut last month against the Portugal Under-18 side who have named Mane in their squad for a four-nation tournament this month.

With both tournaments running concurrently, Mane can only play for one team and Wolves and England confirmed he would feature in Bramley’s side.

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Reuters has contacted Portugal’s football association for clarification.

While players with multiple nationalities have played for more than one country if they are eligible, they are not allowed to switch allegiances at senior level – unless they have played only in friendly matches for the first country.

-Reuters

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Soon Cisse ceases to be Senegal’s Coach

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After 107 matches spanning nine years, Aliou Cisse will not have his contract renewed as Senegal coach, officials confirmed on Wednesday. Of the 107 matches, Cisse’s team won 70, drew 24 and lost 13.

But the impressive scorecard is not enough to impress his employers.

Thus, the end beckons for Cisse’s successful nine-year spell in charge of the side that included a first Africa Cup of Nations title and two World Cup qualifications.

He had been under increasing pressure after Senegal’s surprise last 16 exit at the 2023 Cup of Nations when they lost on penalties to hosts Cote d’Ivoire.

Senegal are unbeaten in six matches since then, but home draws with the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burkina Faso, and criticism from certain quarters over their style of play, made up the mind of the country’s sports ministry, who fund the salary of the national team coach, that a change was needed.

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“The FSF would like to thank Aliou Cisse for his good collaboration and his brilliant results at the head of the various national selections that he has managed since his arrival in 2011 and wish him every success for the future,” the Senegalese Football Federation (FSF) said in a statement.

FSF added Cisse’s exit stemmed from a failure to fulfil the targets in his last contract, which expired at the end of August, which included victory at the 2023 Cup of Nations and reaching the quarter-finals of the 2022 World Cup.

They also said the “regression of our national team in the FIFA rankings and the risk of disaffection between our national team and the Senegalese (public)” had played a role.

The FSF will appoint an interim technical team to lead the side in Cup of Nations qualifiers against Malawi at home on Oct. 11 and away four days later.

Cisse, 48, was captain of Senegal when they reached the quarter-finals of the 2002 World Cup with what is heralded as a golden generation of players.

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He briefly had a spell as caretaker coach of the national team in 2012, but took over full time three years later.

He led Senegal to 2018 and 2022 World Cup qualification, making the last 16 in the latter before losing to England. They were beaten in the final of the 2019 Cup of Nations by Algeria.

The side made up for that disappointment when they beat Egypt in the final two years later to be crowned African champions for the first time.

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Why  FIFA banned Samuel Eto’o

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Always in the news for bad reasons, Samuel Eto’o has again made global headlines. The FIFA Disciplinary Committee has banned the former striker and the current president of the Cameroon Football Federation.

He is banned from attending Cameroon’s matches for the next six months for violating conduct rules during the recent U-20 Women’s World Cup, where his national team faced Brazil in the round of 16.

According to FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee, Eto’o was found to have breached articles 13 (“Offensive behaviour and violations of fair play principles”) and 14 (“Misconduct of players and officials”) of FIFA’s Disciplinary Code.

The sanction stems specifically from the match between Brazil and Cameroon, held on September 11 in Bogotá, Colombia. As a result, Eto’o will be prohibited from attending any matches involving Cameroon’s national teams, both male and femaleacross all age groups.

“Mr Eto’o has been notified today, the date on which the sanction comes into force,” stated the FIFA press release.

This is not the first time Eto’o has faced controversy. He previously drew attention for his behavior towards players and national team coach Marc Brys, whom he allegedly threatened in front of cameras if his directives were not followed.

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During the Qatar World Cup, the former Real Madrid, Mallorca, and Barcelona player made headlines again after assaulting a fan who filmed him outside a stadium after a match.

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