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Iheanacho Glad to Open Goal Account at Sevilla 

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Super Eagles striker Kelechi Iheanacho has expressed delight after opening his goal-scoring account for Sevilla.

The Nigerian striker, Iheanacho, bagged a brace for the club in a dominant second-half display as Sevilla cruised to a 3-0 victory over Las Rozas in their Copa del Rey opener at Dehesa de Navalcarbón on Wednesday night.

Reflecting on his performance, Iheanacho expressed satisfaction with breaking his goal drought for Sevilla.

“I’m very happy to have scored my first goal for this club,” Iheanacho said via El Sevillista.

“It’s great for my confidence and that of the team, which hopefully will finish in the top six.”

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Speaking ahead of their La Liga clash against Real Sociedad, Iheanacho said: “I hope we win. We want to win at the Sanchez-Pizjuan, and the support of the fans will be important.”

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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La Liga

Fraudster dupes Barcelona of €1million!

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A conman, who pretended to be a lawyer working with Robert Lewandowski's agent, managed to convince Barcelona to transfer €1million into a Cypriot bank account Photo: Bagu Blanco. Source: UGC

Barcelona fell victim to a €1 million scam after being deceived by a fraudster posing as a representative of Robert Lewandowski’s agent.

Lewandowski, who joined the Catalan giants from Bayern Munich in the summer of 2022 for an initial fee of €45 million), has proven his value on the pitch, netting 71 goals in 106 appearances.

However, behind the scenes, the club faced a significant issue, as the fraudster exploited the high-profile transfer to swindle the Catalan giants.

Following the transfer deal, Barcelona were contacted by someone claiming to be working with Robert Lewandowski’s agent, Pini Zahavi, who demanded €1 million be sent to a Cypriot bank account.

The fraudster, using the false identity of “Michael Hermanus Gerardus Demon,” pretended to be Lewandowski’s lawyer and persistently pressured the club until they agreed to the payment.

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Barcelona wired the funds to an account at Banc de Xipre, but the bank’s compliance department flagged the transaction as suspicious.

According to an investigation by Cadena SER, the fraudster had no prior banking history with the institution and was asked to verify their identity.

When Barcelona reached out to Zahavi, Lewandowski’s agent he denied any knowledge of the fraudulent individual, leading the bank to freeze the funds.

The fraudster, ‘Mr. Demon’ later escalated the pressure on Barcelona, threatening to report them to UEFA if they didn’t pay and demanding an additional €250,000 for silence.

Fortunately, Barcelona managed to recover part of the money from the Cypriot bank, though no criminal investigation has been launched as the club has not filed a formal complaint.

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Barcelona confirmed to Cadena SER that they were the target of an attempted fraud, which has led them to strengthen their anti-fraud protocols.

-MSN

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La Liga

Atletico-Real Madrid derby suspended after fans throw objects onto the pitch

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Atletico Madrid v Real Madrid - Metropolitano, Madrid, Spain - September 29, 2024 Atletico Madrid fans in the stands as play is stopped due to crowd trouble REUTERS/Ana Beltran

Sunday’s LaLiga derby between Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid was temporarily suspended in the 69th minute due to fans hurling objects onto the pitch after defender Eder Militao scored the opener for the visitors.

While Real players celebrated the goal in the 64th minute, Atletico ultras Fondo Sur, who are located in the south lower stands, threw objects towards visiting keeper Thibaut Courtois, who alerted the referee and he decided to halt the match.

Atletico captain Koke and defender Jose Maria Gimenez went to the south stand to calm the fans down but the referee ordered the players to go to the dressing rooms as the announcer warned that if the behaviour continued the game would be abandoned.

After a delay of over 20 minutes the players returned to the pitch and the game resumed.

-Reuters

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Father of Spain soccer star Lamine Yamal stabbed

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Mounir Nasraoui, father of soccer player Lamine Yamal, smiles in Bar El Cordobes at Rocafonda neighbourhood in Mataro, north of Barcelona, Spain, July 11, 2024. REUTERS/ Albert Gea/File Photo

Mounir Nasraoui, the father of Barcelona and Spain star winger Lamine Yamal, was stabbed late on Wednesday at a parking lot in the northeastern Spanish town of Mataro, La Vanguardia newspaper reported, citing official sources familiar with the matter.

Reuters was not able to independently confirm the report. The regional Mossos d’Esquadra police force and a spokesperson for the Mataro local government did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

According to La Vanguardia report, Nasraoui was taken to the Can Ruti hospital in the nearby city of Badalona and his diagnosis was “serious”. It added that local and regional police had located several witnesses of the incident.

However, a later report by sports website Relevo, also citing official sources, said Nasraoui had been released from hospital and was back at his home.

Yamal, a soccer wonderkid who grew up in coastal Mataro – a working-class, multi-ethnic suburb of Barcelona – became the breakout star of the recent Euro 2024 held in Germany.

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Spain won the tournament, helped in part by the 17-year-old scoring against France in the semifinal on July 9.

-Reuters

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