LAGOS DECEMBER 15TH (NEWSRANGERS)-Morocco’s football federation (FMRF) has protested to world governing body Fifa about the refereeing during Wednesday’s World Cup semi-final defeat by defending champions France in Qatar. The FMRF is unhappy that Mexican referee Cesar Ramos failed to award a penalty in the first half to the North Africans when Theo Hernandez made…
LAGOS DECEMBER 15TH (NEWSRANGERS)-A cold virus is running through the France squad ahead of the World Cup final against Argentina on Sunday, affecting at least three players in the squad. Coach Didier Deschamps said two players with symptoms, defender Dayot Upamecano and midfielder Adrien Rabiot, were isolated earlier this week and didn’t play in France’s…
LAGOS DECEMBER 13TH (NEWSRANGERS)-Argentina will play either France or Morocco in the World Cup final after they beat Croatia 3-0 on Tuesday. Lionel Messi opened the scoring from the spot before Julian Alvarez grabbed another. Manchester City forward Alvarez then added the third after the half-time break, following a sensational solo run from Messi. France…
LAGOS DECEMBER 13TH (NEWSRANGERS)-Mateu Lohaz, the referee who issued 15 yellow cards in the World Cup quarter-final match between Argentina and Netherlands has been sent home by FIFA. Lohaz handed out an incredible 13 yellow cards in the 90 minutes of game time and three other yellow cards in extra-time up until the penalties that…
LAGOS DECEMBER 13TH (NEWSRANGERS)-An Iranian professional soccer player has been sentenced to death after protesting against the death of Mahsa Amini, according to Iran Wire. Amir Nasr-Azadani, 26, was arrested in November in relation to the killing of a police colonel and two volunteer militia members. He has been accused of “waging war against God” and…
LAGOS DECEMBER 12TH (NEWSRANGERS)-Morocco’s Royal Air Maroc will operate 30 special flights to carry soccer fans from Casablanca to Doha for the country’s Wednesday World Cup semifinal game against France, the airline said on Monday. The flights would depart on Tuesday and Wednesday, it said. To the delight of Moroccans, and not just soccer fans,…
LAGOS DECEMBER 12TH (NEWSRANGERS)-Cristiano Ronaldo said in a cryptic social media post that his dream of winning the World Cup with Portugal has ended, while stopping short of announcing his retirement from international duty. The 37-year-old Ronaldo left the field in tears after Portugal lost 1-0 to Morocco in the quarterfinals on Saturday. In his…
LAGOS DECEMBER 12TH (NEWSRANGERS)-Brazilian soccer great Pelé congratulated Neymar for matching his national team scoring record on Friday, and then commiserated with the player for his World Cup exit. Pelé, who has been hospitalized while being treated for a respiratory infection, posted his message on Instagram after Brazil lost to Croatia in the quarterfinals in…
