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Bayern Munich Apologise To PSG For Offensive Banners

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Bayern Munich apologised to Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday for the presence of banners with offensive messages aimed at the French club’s president Nasser al-Khelaifi during their Champions League clash.

PSG visited Bayern’s Allianz Arena on Tuesday and a section of the home support unveiled a banner with a profanity aimed at the “plutocratic Al-Khelaifi”.

A separate banner with a picture of Al-Khelaifi’s head crossed out was also displayed, as well as two banners reading “Minister, club owner, TV rights holder, UEFA EXCO member & ECA chairman all in one”.

Some Bayern fans also reportedly sang insulting chants about the French club itself after the match, which the hosts won 1-0.

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“FC Bayern would like to apologise when its opponents and their representatives in its stadium feel personally attacked in this manner and tone and are offended as a result,” read a statement on Bayern’s website.

“The club would like to make it clear that these banners were not authorised by FC Bayern and do not reflect its stance.”

“They are not in keeping with the good and long-standing relationship between the two clubs. The tone of these banners also goes against the style of FC Bayern and the respectful relationship the club has with its international partners,” the Bavarian club added.

Al-Khelaifi became president of PSG in 2011, following the acquisition of the club by Qatar Sports Investments (QSI).

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The 51-year-old has also been the president of the European Club Association since April 2021, and was reelected in September of last year on a four-year mandate.

In addition, Al-Khelaifi is the chair of beIN Media Group, which holds distribution rights for various football competitions, including France’s Ligue 1 and Germany’s Bundesliga.

QSI is a subsidiary of the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) — the country’s sovereign wealth fund which has assets worth hundreds of billions of dollars.

AFP

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CAF Confederation Cup: Enyimba fight back to draw against Zamalek

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Enyimba fought back from a 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with holders Zamalek of Egypt in their CAF Confederation Cup Group D clash in Uyo.

Seifeddine Jaziri put Zamalek ahead three minutes after the half-hour mark.

The visitors doubled their advantage through Omar Faraj four minutes before the break.

Enyimba showed their resilience by pulling a goal back in first-half stoppage time through Ifeanyi Ihemekwele before Ufere Chinedu equalised in the 57th minute.

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The People’s Elephant had chances to win the game but were let down by their poor finishing.

Daniel Olanrewaju’s side now have one point from two games.

The Aba giants will travel to Mozambique for their next game against Black Bulls.

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Osimhen scores 10th Galatasaray goal in Sivasspor thriller

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Nigerian international Victor Osimhen delivered an impressive performance, scoring his seventh goal of the season as 10-man Galatasaray secured a hard-fought 3-2 victory against Sivasspor in a dramatic match on Sunday.

The game started with Osimhen narrowly missing an early opportunity in the 8th minute, his powerful shot flashing just wide of the post.

However, the contest took a controversial turn in the 15th minute when Metehan Baltaci received a red card after a VAR review, leaving the visitors a man down.

Sivasspor capitalised on their numerical advantage in the 25th minute. Garry Rodrigues pounced on a rebound from goalkeeper Fernando Muslera to smash the ball into the roof of the net, putting the home side 1-0 ahead.

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Galatasaray responded swiftly, equalising in the 36th minute. Yunus Akgun’s shot benefitted from a goalkeeping error, bringing the score to 1-1.

Moments later, Osimhen came close again, his header in stoppage time denied by an excellent save.

Just before half-time, Galatasaray earned a penalty after Djordje Nikolic’s foul. Osimhen stepped up and confidently converted the kick, sending the ball into the top right corner to give Galatasaray a 2-1 lead.

The visitors extended their advantage early in the second half when Baris Alper Yilmaz scored in the 53rd minute, assisted by Yunus Akgun, making it 3-1.

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Sivasspor fought back, with Turac Boke reducing the deficit a minute into added time after connecting with Noah Sonko Sundberg’s cross.

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Man City’s Pep Guardiola Responds To José Mourinho Jibe

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Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said he was only joking when he referred to winning twice as many Premier League titles as José Mourinho, after the former Chelsea boss said that he had won his titles fairly.

The Spaniard also said City were innocent until proven guilty, responding to Mourinho’s allusions to their alleged violations of Premier League financial rules from 2009 to 2018, which the club has always denied.

Guardiola, who held up six fingers to Liverpool fans on Sunday, a gesture similar to Mourinho holding up three fingers in 2018 before getting sacked by Manchester United, had made the comment when asked if he could suffer a fate similar to the Portuguese.

“I hope not in my case … He won three, I won six … but we are the same like that,” Guardiola answered.

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Mourinho responded to Guardiola’s comment on Friday, ahead of his team Fenerbahce’s clash with Besiktas.

“I won fairly and cleanly … I don’t want to win by dealing with 150 court cases,” Turkish outlet Hurriyet quoted Mourinho as saying.

City did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Mourinho’s statement.

Guardiola, speaking to reporters later on Friday, said he had no bad intentions when making the comment about Mourinho.

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“If I have offended him, I am so sorry. But it was a joke. The fact is he has three and I have six, it is a fact. But the intention was completely fine,” he said.

“I think both with our teams – he with Chelsea, myself with Man City – we can sit in the table with Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsène Wenger right? For the many, many titles we’ve won. I’m pretty sure sooner or later they will congratulate us.”

Guardiola said there were many people around the world who wanted to see City at the bottom.

“We are innocent until proven as guilty. After that we’ll see what happens, but it is what it is,” he added.

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Mourinho has taken shots at City before, saying in October that he was hoping he could add a fourth Premier League medal to his cabinet if City are stripped of their titles and United, who finished second in 2017-18, are awarded the Premier League trophy.

Chelsea, where Mourinho won his three English top-flight titles in 2004-05, 2005-06 and 2014-15, are being investigated by the Premier League for potential financial rule breaches between 2012 and 2019.

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