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Tag Arsene Wenger

  • Feb, Wed, 2020
Sport

FIFA’s Wenger wants offside law changed to reduce VAR criticism

VAR 
Zurich, Feb. 19, 2020 (Reuters/NAN) FIFA’s head of global development Arsene Wenger says he will attempt to make a major change to the offside law.

He disclosed that it would be a change which could end a run of contentious decisions in the game since the introduction of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR).

Wenger wants a player to be deemed onside if any part of their body which can legitimately score a goal is level or behind the last defender.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Frenchman was manager of English Premier League club Arsenal for 22 years.

This will flip the current rule which states the player is in an offside position if any part of their body they can score with is beyond the line of the last defender.

Usage of video review has been a source of constant criticism since its recent introduction, including concern about the time to take decisions and the precision with which offsides are judged.

The system sparked another controversy last week in the Premier League when Wolverhampton Wanderers had a goal ruled out against Leicester City.

That was after Pedro Neto’s heel was adjudged to be fractionally offside in the build-up.

Wenger will recommend the change during the world football lawmaking body IFAB’s annual general meeting in Belfast on Feb. 29.

“You will be not offside if any part of the body that can score a goal is in line with the last defender, even if other parts of the attacker’s body are in front,” Wenger told the British media.

“That will sort it out and you will no longer have decisions about millimetres and a fraction of the attacker being in front of the defensive line.”

Each of the four Home Nations —- England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland —- has one of the eight votes, with FIFA holding the other four.

NAN reports that any law change needs six votes in favour to go through.

If Wenger gets his three-quarter majority, the new law could come into effect on June 1 —- 12 days before the start of the European Championship.(Reuters/NAN)
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(Edited by Joseph Edeh and Olawale Alabi)

Sport

Former Arsenal manager Wenger receives Liberia’s highest honour

Former Arsenal manager Wenger receives Liberia’s highest honour

Honour

Monrovia, Aug. 24, 2018 (Reuters/ANAN) Liberian President and former football star George Weah awarded ex-Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger with the country’s highest honour in a ceremony on Friday.

The award, it was disclosed, was for services to African football that included launching Weah’s own acclaimed career.

Wenger found Weah playing for Cameroon’s Tonnerre Yaounde and brought him to French side Monaco in 1988.

The move paved the way for the striker at some of Europe’s top clubs, including AC Milan, Paris St Germain and Chelsea.

In 1995 Weah was named World Footballer of the Year and won the Ballon d’Or, still the only African to win either award.

“You proved yourself as a teacher when you revolutionised forever the approach of scouting young talents all over the planet, particularly throughout Africa,” Weah said of Wenger during a ceremony in the capital Monrovia.

Wenger was named a Knight Grand High Commander of the Humane Order of African Redemption, the highest rank in Liberia’s Order of Distinction.

Fellow coach Claude Le Roy, who first told Wenger about Weah’s talent, also received the award on Friday.

Thousands of spectators clapped and cheered as Wenger received his medal in a hall at the national stadium adorned with the national red, white and blue.

Thousands more listened to the ceremony on the radio in the stadium, once a shelter for people displaced by a civil war that ended fifteen years ago.

Weah’s footballing successes helped launch his political career back home.

His unlikely rise, from kicking a ball on the dusty streets of a Monrovia slum to world fame, won him support in one of the world’s poorest countries.

Development in the West African country has been hobbled by the 14-year civil war that ended in 2003 and an Ebola outbreak which killed thousands from 2013-16.

He succeeded Nobel Peace Prize winner Ellen Johnson Sirleaf as president after a landslide election victory in December last year.

“I think Wenger deserves it. If he had not spotted ambassador Weah in those days, he would not have reached this level,” said university student Cynthia Kollie.

Some took issue with the awards, saying the president’s choice was based on personal ties rather than on what the recipients did for the country.

“President Weah is bestowing our nation’s highest honour on his two former football coaches who have made no direct impact or contributed to Liberia’s collective interest,” said Martin Kolle, a student. (Reuters/NAN)

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Edited by Salif Atojoko

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Sport

Arsene Wenger to get honour for helping George Weah’s career

Honour

Monrovia, Aug. 20, 2018 (Reuters/NAN)) Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is to travel to Liberia this week to receive the West African country’s highest honour.

The honour is in recognition of his role in the development of the football career of President George Weah.

Another of Weah’s coaches in his formative years, Claude Le Roy, is also to be awarded the country’s highest honour, the government said on Monday.

“They will be honoured by the government of Liberia on August 24, National Flag Day for their role in President George Weah’s footballing career,” a spokesman said.

“Both coaches will be awarded the honour at an investiture ceremony in Monrovia.”

It was Wenger who took Weah from Africa in 1988 to play for Ligue 1 side Monaco after a tip off from his compatriot Le Roy who first saw Weah playing in Cameroon.

The Frenchman was manager at the time.

Weah went on to play for AC Milan, Paris St Germain and Chelsea.

In 1995 he was named World Footballer of the Year and won the Ballon d’Or, still the only African to win either award.

Weah’s popularity from his footballing career saw him win a landslide run-off victory last December in Liberia’s presidential elections. (Reuters/NAN)

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Sport

Wenger predicts ‘inevitable’ European super league

Prediction

London, May 11, 2018 (Reuters/NAN) Outgoing Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger says a new European competition will revolutionise the sport in the next few years and force Premier League matches to be played midweek instead.

The Frenchman has guided Arsenal through a fair share of changes throughout his almost 22-years reign in north London and believes that a European super league will be the next major development.

“The next evolution… in a few years you will have a European league over the weekends,” Wenger told British media.

“A domestic league will play Tuesday-Wednesday. That is the next step.

“It will happen and it will be soon because it is a way for other clubs to fight against the Premier League.”

The 68-year-old said that a new elite competition was imminent as big clubs across Europe were unhappy with the current distribution of revenue from domestic TV income with their smaller counterparts.

“It is inevitable… Why? Because the big clubs will say that if two smaller clubs are playing each other nobody wants to watch it.

“People want to watch quality. So we have to share the money but nobody is interested in you,” Wenger added.

“If you want to make it (Premier League) more attractive you have to go down to 16 (teams) and make a real competition of it.

“It will be smaller if it (the big teams) goes to Europe.”

Wenger, a member of the UEFA Elite Coaches Forum, says the change will also help European football governing body tackle the issue of shrinking Champions League audiences.

“It will be soon because it is a way for other clubs to fight against the Premier League,” Wenger said.

“There’s a contrast there because if you look at the audiences of the Champions League it is not fantastic.

“But if you have Real Madrid v Barcelona, or Real Madrid v Arsenal, or Manchester United v Bayern Munich every week the audiences will be good.”

Wenger will lead Arsenal for the final time in Sunday’s league match against Huddersfield Town. (Reuters/NAN)

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Edited by Omolade Michael/Maharazu Ahmed

Sport

Wenger urges successor to ‘respect’ Arsenal values

Values
London, May 10, 2018 (Reuters/NAN) Arsene Wenger used his farewell news conference as Arsenal manager on Thursday to urge his successor to “respect the values of the club”.

The Frenchman departs after a final game at Huddersfield Town on Sunday and was in reflective mood as he contemplated his 22 years in charge.

Speculation is intensifying over who his successor will be with British media reporting that Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri and former Arsenal captains Mikel Arteta and Patrick Vieira among leading contenders.

Asked for his advice to the new man, Wenger said: “Respect the values of the club. I would like him to bring his own ideas.

“It’s a chance for the players to see something different. But, on the other hand, I will say respect what has been built here.”

In spite of his many achievements, Wenger will depart on a low with Arsenal losing a seventh consecutive away game on Wednesday, 3-1 at Leicester City

It was their worst run in more than half-a-century.

On Sunday, Arsenal are looking to end their embarrassing record of being the only side in the top four tiers of English football not to pick up an away point this year.

Wenger, however, still believes the club is in good shape for his successor.

“The players’ attitude was great last night,” said Wenger. “They were fantastic. There is a special bond in this team.

“There is something waiting to come out that is special. Hopefully that will come out next season.”

Wenger said he is unsure about his immediate plans, but has been linked with a position as general manager at Paris St Germain (PSG).

“When you stay for such a long period, you question if it is time to go now or not,” he said.

“We live in a society where people want big change always, you know. I don’t know what I will do. Maybe go to Russia.

“I have some work to do in France (next week) on Monday, Tuesday. On Thursday, I will come back and clear my office. After that, I don’t know.”

Wenger also used the occasion to look back, saying that while he considered his 2004 ‘Invincibles’ team the best of his reign, he was at his most productive between 2006-2015.

The ‘Invincibles’ went through the 2004-2005 season unbeaten. (Reuters/NAN)
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(Edited by Olawale Alabi)

Sport

Arsenal mark Wenger’s final home game with 5-0 thrashing of Burnley

Farewell

London, May 6, 2018 (Reuters/NAN) Arsenal thrashed Burnley 5-0 at the Emirates on Sunday to pay their manager Arsene Wenger the kind of tribute he would have wanted in his final home game after 22 years in charge.

Arsenal put their midweek exit from the Europa League – and any hope of Champions League football next season – behind them with a pair of goals from Gabon striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

Sead Kolasinac, Alexandre Lacazette and Alex Iwobi also found the net in what turned out to be a rare rout from the London club.

Wenger was given a guard of honour from both teams and the match officials before kickoff, and received roars of support throughout the match from the home fans.

Arsenal backroom staff and most of the fans donned their complementary red or white “Merci Arsene” T-shirts.

Burnley, who narrowly avoided relegation last season but are now preparing themselves for their first season of European football since 1967, had been hoping to pull level on points with Arsenal.

Instead the result means the Gunners will finish the season in sixth place, with Burnley one place behind them in seventh.

Wenger, with his own giant image paraded on a floating flag behind him, spoke quietly with genuine emotion, ending with the message: “I will miss you.”

With giant letters spelling out the day’s main message “Merci Arsene” behind him, he waved one final goodbye as he disappeared down the tunnel. (Reuters/NAN)

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Sport

Mourinho pays tribute to old rival Wenger

Tribute
Manchester (UK), April 20, 2018 (Reuters/NAN) Jose Mourinho once called Arsene Wenger a “specialist in failure’’ but, after the Arsenal manager announced he was stepping down at the end of the season, there was only respect.

Asked by reporters on Friday whether he regretted some of his behaviour towards the Frenchman over the years, the Manchester United boss suggested the question betrayed a lack of understanding.

“You are not a manager. You are not a player of course,” he said.

“You do not know the way we respect each other, even when sometimes it looks like in some moments we don’t.

“In the end, probably the ones that respect each other more are the ones that have the problems,” added the Portuguese.

“It is power against power, it is quality against quality, it is ambition against ambition.”

Wenger, 68, announced on Friday that he would end a near 22-year reign at the north London club, during which he has become Arsenal’s most successful manager.

Mourinho’s rivalry with Wenger dates from the younger manager’s arrival at Chelsea as a self-proclaimed “Special One’’ in 2004.

In 2005, the Portuguese famously labelled the Frenchman a “voyeur” after becoming annoyed at comments from him about his Chelsea team.

By 2014, when the “specialist in failure’’ comment was made, the rivalry had become so heated.

Wenger even pushed Mourinho as the pair clashed in the technical area during a 2-0 defeat to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

On Friday, Mourinho said he hoped Wenger did not retire from football.

“If he’s happy I’m happy. If he’s sad, I’m sad,” he declared. “I always wish the best for my opponents.

“Mr Wenger and Arsenal were for many, many years the biggest rivals of Sir Alex Ferguson’s era. I’m pretty sure that we as a club will show Mr Wenger the respect he deserves.”

Mourinho, an English Premier League title winner with Chelsea, recognised what Wenger had achieved.

“For us football people, the real football people, who are the ones inside the four lines, playing, or the managers… the football people don’t have short memories,” he said.

“I know what it means, three Premier League titles and seven FA Cups, what he did in Japan and France…

“What he brought to French football and what he gave to Arsenal in the period without Premier Leagues, the transition from stadium to stadium.

“We know what he did.”(Reuters/NAN)
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(Edited by Olawale Alabi)

 

Sport

Wenger to leave Arsenal after two decades in charge

Wenger

London, April 20, 2018 (Reuters/NAN) Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger is to leave at the end of the season after a reign of almost 22 years that made him the most successful boss in Arsenal’s history.

“After careful consideration and following discussions with the club, I feel it is the right time for me to step down at the end of the season,” the Frenchman said in a statement issued by the Gunners on Friday.

Wenger, 68, has been with the North Londoners since October 1996 and is by far the longest-serving current manager in English soccer.

Arsenal are currently a distant sixth in the league but are in the semi-finals of the Europa League, which represents their only realistic route to the Champions League next season.

“I am grateful for having had the privilege to serve the club for so many memorable years.

“I managed the club with full commitment and integrity,” said Wenger, who urged the fans to stand behind the team to end the season on a high.

Arsenal’s majority owner Stan Kroenke said it was “one of the most difficult days we have ever had in all our years in sport.

“One of the main reasons we got involved with Arsenal was because of what Arsene has brought to the club on and off the pitch,” he said.

“His longevity and consistency over such a sustained period at the highest level of the game will never be matched.”

Wenger won three Premier League titles, including going unbeaten for an entire season, seven FA Cups and took Arsenal into the Champions League for 20 years in a row.

They won the league and FA cup double in 1998 and 2002.

The club said a successor would be appointed as soon as possible with German Thomas Tuchel, out of work since leaving Borussia Dortmund almost a year ago, installed as the early bookmakers’ favourite. (Reuters/NAN)

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Edited by Muhyideen Jimoh/Maharazu Ahmed

Sport

Arsenal boss Wenger criticises Premier League’s VAR delay

VAR

London, April 16, 2018 (Reuters/NAN) Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has said the Premier League’s decision to delay the implementation of the video assistant referee (VAR) system means the English top flight is being left behind.

The 20 top-flight teams voted against introducing the system for the league’s 2018-19 season after trial runs in the cup competitions received mixed reviews.

“The Premier League has been created with people who had a progressive mind…,” Wenger told reporters after Arsenal’s 2-1 league defeat by Newcastle United on Sunday.

“Overall, I believe that with that decision we are behind the rest of the world.

“The young generation is used to (VAR) and worldwide they might move away from us because they see that in other countries they do it.

“Unfortunately the Premier League has again decided not to go for VAR and personally I believe that is a very, very bad decision,” Wenger added.

“Every big game this season has been decided by mistakes that could have been avoided with VAR, especially in the Champions League with Manchester City and Liverpool.”

Arsenal host West Ham United on Sunday. (Reuters/NAN)

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Edited by Omolade Michael/Maharazu Ahmed

Sport

Arsenal boss Wenger confident of seeing out contract

NAN-S-12
Confidence
London, Feb. 16, 2018 (Reuters/NAN) Long-serving Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is hopeful of seeing out his current two-year contract at the English Premier League club amid speculation about his future.

The Frenchman signed a new contract at Arsenal at the end of last season but the club have shown little progress this term.

They sit sixth in the league, knocked out of the English FA Cup and unsure of UEFA Champions League qualification for next season.

The club’s inconsistent performance has led to speculation that Wenger’s 22-year reign could come to an end after the current season.

“I have always respected my contracts,’’ Wenger, 68, said.

“I will like to recall that I said `no’ to all the biggest clubs in the world to respect my contract. So, that’s always what I try to do.

“After that, we have as well to accept in our job that the future is the future. But, for me, that’s to win the next game.

“We have to perform better in every single game and show until the end of the season a complete hunger to win every single game. That’s what it’s about for us.”

Arsenal’s best chances of winning a trophy remain in the English League Cup, as they face Manchester City in the final on Feb. 25.

They are also in the UEFA Europa League, where they recorded a 3-0 win over Ostersunds in the first leg of their last 32 tie on Thursday.

The Europa League is also Arsenal’s most viable option to qualify for the UEFA Champions League next season.

The eight-point gap to fourth-placed Chelsea in the league appears insurmountable with 11 games left to play.(Reuters/NAN)
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(Edited by Olawale Alabi)