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Wolverhampton Wanderers have been handed a major boost regarding Raul Jimenez’s future availability.

What’s the latest?

According to a report by Birmingham Live, the government’s recent decision to take all countries off of the UK’s red list for foreign travel has handed Bruno Lage’s side a significant boost regarding the centre-forward’s availability, as the 30-year-old will no longer be required to quarantine upon his return from international duty with Mexico.

Gerardo Martino’s side are due to face Panama in World Cup Qualifying next February, a fixture which, prior to the recent changes, would have resulted in Jimenez having to quarantine for 10 days upon his return to the UK. Mexico are also set to take part in a number of international friendlies in the coming months, which could also have seen the striker ruled out of a number of Premier League fixtures due to the previous red list rules.

Lage will be buzzing

Considering just how important a part of the Wolves first team Jimenez has proven himself to be in recent seasons, with returns of 17 and 27 goals in his first two campaigns at Molineux, the news that he will be free to travel to and from international duty with Mexico without restriction is sure to have left Lage buzzing.

Indeed, while the forward has not exactly been in the best goalscoring form of his career in the current campaign, the £25.2m-rated marksman has nevertheless impressed over his nine Premier League appearances, scoring one goal, registering two assists and creating three big chances for his teammates, as well as taking 2.1 shots and making 2.2 key passes per game.

These returns have seen the player who Nuno Espirito Santo dubbed a “special” talent average a SofaScore match rating of 6.94, ranking him as the club’s joint fifth-best performer in the league.

As such, the fact that Lage will no longer have to worry about the striker being unavailable due to travel restriction rules will certainly come as a major boost for the 45-year-old, who will undoubtedly be hoping that the £41k-per-week Jimenez can fire his side to a top-half finish this season.

In other news: Lage must unleash £40k-p/w Wolves “outstanding talent” who could become “a top player”

Bangladesh’s chaotic batting incensed Jamie Siddons who was withering in his assessment of the effort, calling the performance a “ridiculous” effort

George Binoy at Trent Bridge08-Jun-2009Ireland did not come to Trent Bridge hoping to cause an upset against Bangladesh. Despite being an Associate member, they believed they were the better side and fully expected to win. They duly executed their skills, ousted Bangladesh, a Full Member country, from the competition and secured a place in the Super Eights.Ireland had beaten Bangladesh during the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean, and although Mohammad Ashraful said his players were not as anxious now as they were before that match, there was a remarkable difference in how both teams approached the game. While Bangladesh’s batsmen forgot their batting plan, falling to shots that angered their coach Jamie Siddons, Ireland showed calm even when their chase got off to a less than ideal start. It appeared as though Bangladesh were playing nervously, to avoid errors on the field, while Ireland were having fun but always kept their eye on the ball.Their success was heartening, for the struggles a cricket team like Ireland faces are different from those faced by the major nations. For instance, Ireland have only two centrally-contracted professional cricketers – Trent Johnston, who came out of retirement, and Alex Cusack – and only a handful of others that play county cricket.”We don’t have the funds to get the lads on full time contracts,” said captain William Porterfield. “It’s crucial for Ireland cricket to move forward that we get more lads on professional contracts, playing against better opposition, training day in and day out.” And now that they’ve qualified for the next round, several members of their squad might have to organise more leave from their regular jobs, something that Porterfield said the players hadn’t thought about yet.The O’Brien brothers – Kevin and Niall – played a significant part in Ireland’s success. While Kevin started the day poorly, dropping Mohammad Ashraful at first slip, Niall was excellent behind the stumps. His speed in getting to the ball forced indecision between the Bangladesh batsmen and led to the run out of the well-set Tamim Iqbal but it was his lightning stumping to dismiss Mahmudullah that left watchers gasping.Niall O’Brien was standing up to the medium-pacer Alex Cusack when Mahmudullah was beaten by a full ball. The batsmen’s back foot was always behind the line but he raised it for the briefest of moments. And during that smallest of openings, he whipped off the bails. He later revealed it was part luck but there was no denying the speed of his reflexes.”I was happy enough just to catch it and I thought I might as well take the bails off for good measure,” O’Brien said. “Nigel Llong and I, we just said ‘not out’. I was pretty surprised when it was given out. It just shows that you never quite know, do you.”He made an even more important contribution to Ireland’s victory with the bat. The innings had failed to pick up momentum after the early dismissal of Jeremy Bray and Ireland were 18 for 1 after four overs, chasing 138. O’Brien, who was struggling with an injury, attacked Mortaza, hitting the fast bowler for three leg-side sixes in an over. He scored 40 off 25 balls despite taking painkillers after hurting his ankle – Niall said he “heard a crack” – in the final over of Bangladesh’s innings. It put Ireland’s chase on track and they never lost course.”In Twenty20 cricket you’ve got to take a bit of a gamble every now and then,” he said. “Hitting towards that part of the ground, it was the shorter boundary for me. I hit him with the swing. It was a calculated risk, sometimes it got goes straight up in the air, fortunately for me today it went straight over the boundary.”O’Brien, however, only provided the acceleration. He didn’t finish the job, falling in the 10th over with the score on 61. That responsibility was left to his brother Kevin, whom Niall described as one of the best hitters in the game. Kevin O’Brien lived up to that billing, scoring a 17-ball 39 and finishing the game with ten balls to spare.”He [Kevin] came up to me yesterday and said, ‘I’m playing really badly’. I said there’s no point in worrying about how you are playing before the tournament started,” he said. “Once the game starts and you cross the pitch, that’s what counts. He’s done it for us again today. He’s as big a hitter as any.”Ireland’s next match, against the world champions India, counts for little since the two sides have already made it past the first round. Ireland, however, are determined to enjoy every match on the world’s biggest stage. “If you can’t get up and enjoy a game against the World Champions, there’s no point coming here. If you can’t enjoy 20 overs in the field and hitting sixes while batting, what are you going to enjoy? We’ll give it everything we’ve got on Wednesday.”Ireland may not be as skilled as the more reputed sides, as Bangladesh claim to be, but they’ve got belief. And sometimes that can make up for a lack of ability.

A round-up of matches from the third day of the World Cup Qualifiers tournament in South Africa

Cricinfo staff04-Apr-2009Group ANavdeep Poonia contributed 79 to a third-wicket stand of 136 that was the core of Scotland’s innings•Cricinfo/Ian JacobsJohn Davison repeated his heroics from the 2003 World Cup, smashing a blistering 131 off just 99 balls to help Canada inflict a massive 141-run defeat over Namibia in Pretoria and qualify for the Super Eights. Davison made Namibia regret their decision to field, attacking from the outset and received excellent support from Geoff Barnett and Ian Billcliff, who contributed 46 and 61 respectively to bat the opposition out of the match. The Canada bowlers didn’t take too long to make inroads into the Namibian batting, leaving them tottering at 85 for 8 before a 70-run stand between Sarel Burger and Ian van Zyl helped salvage a better, yet disappointing, score. Four Canadian bowlers bagged two wickets each, with Umar Bhatti proving the most economical with 2 for 22.Davison, after his blazing innings, stressed the need to play in a similar manner against tougher opposition. “The goal was to get through to the next round, which we have done now, but it would be great to knock off both Ireland and Scotland. I fully believe we can do that if we play this sort of cricket. I think we can go all the way,” Davison said. “It was a great place to bat out there. The ball was hitting the middle of the bat quite regularly. I played with a bit of restraint early and then it went pretty well after that.”Up to now in the tournament I’ve probably been going a bit hard too early, which is easy to do when you’re batting with (Rizwan) Cheema because he likes to have a go. I just need to play my own game, I think, and not get caught up in what he’s doing.”Oman came excruciatingly close to pulling off a major upset against Scotland in Johannesburg . Chasing a stiff target of 275, Oman were given a rousing start from Maqsood Hussain (70 from 30 balls) but lost steam in the middle order. Zeeshan Siddiqui (50) and Nileshkumar Parmar (37) waged a brave resistance but Scotland’s bowlers regrouped, led by four-wicket man Jan Stander, and pipped a dramatic nine-run win. Stander stuck to tight lines and picked up 4 for 41. Scotland’s total owed to Kyle Coetzer’s 127 from 141 balls and 79 to Navdeep Poonia, who steadied the ship after a wobble. Their third-wicket stand of 136 was the core of the Scotland innings. The victory was Scotland’s second from their three group matches and kept them well on target to progress to the Super Eights.Ireland won their third consecutive game of the competition and confirmed their progression to the next round, beating Uganda convincingly by six wickets in Krugersdorp. Only three of Uganda’s batsmen managed to reach double-figures as the Ireland bowlers, led by Andrew White’s 4 for 22, tore through the batting line-up. Only the captain Junior Kewbiha, who made 51, and Joel Olwenyi putting up any resistance. Ireland made easy work of their target of 157 with the captain William Porterfield (44) and Gary Wilson (61) scoring runs freely to help their team achieve its target in just the 31st over.Group BAfghanistan, perhaps the most closely-followed team in this tournament, were stopped short for the first time by Kenya in Potchefstroom, as they faltered in pursuit of a challenging target of 283 to be bowled out for 175. Kenya put in a collective bowling display with Thomas Odoyo, who picked 3 for 29, backed by the rest of the attack. Six out of seven bowlers managed to pick at least a wicket each. Mohammad Nabi made a defiant 56 but received little help from the other end. Kenya’s imposing total was largely a result of an unbeaten 109 by opener Kennedy Otieno, who struck 11 fours and a six in his 136-ball knock. Alex Obanda made 60, and the rest of the middle-order chipped in with useful contributions in the death overs to make Afghanistan’s task all the more difficult.A four-wicket haul by offspinner Rodney Trott and an unbeaten 76 from opener David Hemp helped Bermuda register their first win of the tournament, as they beat Denmark comfortably by nine wickets in Vanderbijlpark. Denmark, after being asked to bat, started off soundly with the openers adding 33, but the seamers Janeiro Tucker and Jacobi Robinson triggered a collapse as the next five wickets fell for 35 runs. The sixth-wicket pair of Bobby Chawla and Thomas Hansen did show some resistance but Trott ran through the tail to skittle Denmark out for a paltry 157. The foundation for an easy run-chase was laid by an opening stand of 82 between Fiqre Crockwell and Hemp, who added a further 78 with Steven Outerbridge to seal victory with almost 12 overs to spare.United Arab Emirates edged past Netherlands, beating them by two wickets in a thrilling encounter at Senwes Park. Chasing a testing target of 266, the UAE innings was given impetus by a third-wicket stand of 94 between Nithin Gopal (51) and Saqib Ali (78). Though they lost a couple of quick wickets after that, their lower order chipped in with useful contributions, especially Fayyaz Ahmed who remained unbeaten on 25 and Zahid Shah, who made 21 off as many balls. Netherlands will be ruing the fact that they conceded 28 extras, eventually proving decisive in the outcome. Their innings was boosted by half-centuries from Bas Zuiderant and Eric Szwarczynski, and a quickfire 32 from Edgar Schiferli. Though Zahid Shah took 4 for 53, Netherlands had posted a sizable score. However, a determined run-chase, thanks to some lower-order spunk from UAE, stopped them in their tracks in the last over.

Group A Team Mat Won Lost Tied N/R Pts Net RR For Against

Ireland 3 3 00 0 6 +2.007 678/118.4 556/150.0 Canada 3 3 0 00 6 +1.742 798/147.0 553/150.0Scotland 3 2 1 0 04 +0.127 773/150.0 692/137.4 Uganda 3 1 2 0 0 2-0.710 620/150.0 620/128.0 Namibia 30 3 0 0 0 -1.467600/150.0 820/150.0 Oman 3 03 0 0 0 -1.520 578/150.0806/150.0

Group B Team Mat Won Lost Tied N/R Pts Net RR For Against

Kenya 3 21 0 0 4 +1.991 609/112.2502/146.2 Netherlands 3 2 10 0 4 +0.352 759/139.2 760/149.1 Afghanistan 3 2 1 00 4 -0.203 619/146.2 665/150.0U.A.E. 3 2 1 0 04 -1.066 537/146.2 532/112.2 Bermuda 3 1 2 0 0 2-0.175 526/138.1 586/147.1 Denmark 30 3 0 0 0 -0.752606/150.0 611/127.3

Football Insider pundit Paul Robinson has been reacting to an update on Celtic defender Christopher Jullien.

The Lowdown: Jullien update

Within Football Insider’s Tuesday story, they were informed by a Parkhead source that Jullien is making a good recovery from his injury but is not expected to be fully fir until October at the earliest.

The 28-year-old hasn’t featured in 2021 after suffering a knee injury against Dundee United last December.

Ange Postecoglou made four centre-back acquisitions over the summer, but it seems as if the Frenchman will be back before the end of the year.

The Latest: Robinson reacts

Robinson was asked for his thoughts on the news regarding Jullien by Football Insider.

Here’s what he had to say, describing Jullien’s eventual return as ‘big’.

“He has been out for a long time and defensively they have struggled without him. It is only in recent weeks that they have improved.

“He will be like a new signing for Celtic. Obviously the manager will not know an awful lot about him but when he finally gets out on the training field, some point before Christmas, it will be a big lift for everyone.

“To have that experience on the pitch and in the dressing room will be vital.”

The Verdict: Timely return

Should Jullien reach full fitness in October, it could be a brilliant piece of news for Postecoglou.

The Hoops have six fixtures next month in what will be a busy period, so being able to call upon Jullien for a few of those games could be crucial.

That would give Postecoglou the chance to rotate the likes of Stephen Welsh, Carl Starfelt, Cameron Carter-Vickers or possibly look at the use of a back three.

The more options the better for Postecoglou, and it seems as if Jullien is on the right track.

In other news: ‘Could be huge’ – McAvennie ecstatic at what he’s ‘heard’ from ‘a few Celtic people’. 

Former England coach Peter Moores has said he has no regrets regarding his tenure with the England team

Cricinfo staff12-Feb-2009
Peter Moores has called for a stronger team structure and coaching setup © Getty Images
Former England coach Peter Moores has said he has no regrets regarding his tenure with the England team. Moores was sacked as coach following his rift with then captain Kevin Pietersen, and on Wednesday appointed Lancashire coach.”I would be wrong to say I was not disappointed about losing the job because I am a passionate Englishman and I love cricket and coaching cricket,” he said. “I have no regrets but I look forward now to what is a great challenge for Lancashire – one of the biggest clubs in the country – and that is my focus totally.”The fallout with Pietersen marked a crisis in English cricket, following which Andrew Strauss took over the reins as captain and Andy Flower as an interim coach. Moores stressed the need to have a strong team structure and coaching setup to ensure such an incident wasn’t repeated. “There has been lots said about that and England have got a massive Test match coming up – it is not my responsibility any more but over the last 18-20 months cricket has changed a tremendous amount and I think the key for every country is they have got to settle down very quickly and sort themselves out in that structure,” he said.However, he looked forward to his new assignment. “I had to think about it after losing the England job but it wasn’t that big a decision for me. Of all the jobs apart from England I would want, in county cricket, it would be Lancashire. I was brought up around here, watched them as a child, so there is quite a strong connection.”It is a massive club with a great history, so from that point of view it was easy.”

Tottenham Hotspur have made an approach for Cagliari midfielder Natihan Nandez, as per transfer guru Fabrizio Romano on Twitter.

The Lowdown: Spurs look to strengthen as 2021/22 gets underway

Looking to build a Spurs side capable of challenging on European and domestic fronts in 2021/22, Nuno Espirito Santo will no doubt consult all avenues in order to increase competition and depth within his squad.

Recruiting intelligently ahead of the transfer window closure in two weeks time, the Portuguese coach has made three additions so far in the form of Bryan Gil, Pierluigi Gollini and Cristian Romero [Transfermarkt].

Now, the North London outfit look set to make progress in another pursuit following recent developments.

The Latest: Tottenham make Nandez approach as Romano reveals all

Speaking to his 4.3 million followers on Twitter, the well-respected journalist claims that ‘Tottenham have approached’ Cagliari for the Uruguayan enforcer.

Nandez is on a formalised ‘list’ of potential targets for the Lilywhites, however no official bid has come to fruition as of yet.

Spurs will decide soon on whether to sign the 25-year-old or not, with a fee of around €25-30 million rumoured to be enough to secure his services.

The Verdict: Nandez would be an exciting signing for Tottenham Hotspur

Needing to fill the void left by the departed Erik Lamela in midfield, we feel Nandez would be an astute addition who would excite the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and perhaps take a similar cult hero status to the departed winger.

Performing admirably in the 2020/21 campaign, he registered five goal contributions in 34 appearances for his current employers; two goals and three assists [Transfermarkt].

His feistiness in the heart of midfield is always on show, racking up 16 yellow cards in his last 63 Serie A starts, and while he is a more defensive minded player and not a like-for-like swap with Lamela, he could bring that extra bit of bite to the side.

Furthermore, his ability to control the flow of the game in the middle of the park stood out last term, claiming five man of the match awards [WhoScored].

Once labelled as a ‘great player’ by his agent Pablo Bentacur, Spurs should look to firm up their interest with an official offer for his signature [Football Fancast].

In other news, Tottenham Hotspur have been linked with a Premier League talisman. Read all about it here.

MatériaMais Notícias

Copa do Brasil de 2007: o Botafogo se despedia mesmo com uma vitória por 3 a 1 sobre o Figueirense e saía de campo no Maracanã com muita bronca da assistente Ana Paula Oliveira, responsável por anular dois gols legítimos. Passados dez anos, novamente uma bandeirinha causou polêmica em jogo do Glorioso na atual edição do torneio Copa do Brasil, mas com ferimentos leves para a equipe e sem margens para comparações. Afinal, no empate em 1 a 1 com o Sport, o gol de Rodrigo Pimpão mal anulado por Tatiane Sacilotti dos Santos Camargo não impediu que a equipe seguisse no torneio.

Formada em Educação Física em 2004, Tatiane Camargo ingressou na Federação Paulista de Futebol (FPF) em 2015, e deu seus primeiros passos na Copa São Paulo de Futebol Júnior.Sua atuação no Paulistão chamou atenção a ponto de ser designada para estar no quadro do Sul-Americano Feminino e, aqui no Brasil, estar presente em jogos de várias divisões nacionais.

Considerada uma das melhores assistentes de São Paulo, a assistente em 2016 já entrou para o quadro da Fifa e encarou desafios maiores: além do Paulistão, atuou em jogos envolvendo clubes de ponta da Copa do Brasil e no Brasileirão, dentre eles, os clássicos Palmeiras e Santos, e Internacional e Grêmio.

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Na atual temporada, Tatiane Camargo também esteve presente em jogos para lá de decisivos: semifinal da Copa São Paulo de Futebol Júnior e, entre as partidas no Paulistão, em jogos da semifinal e na final da competição, entre Corinthians e Ponte Preta. Diante do histórico da assistente nos gramados, os ex-árbitros rechaçam a hipótese de que ela tenha sua carreira comprometida:

– O desempenho da Tatiane Camargo é muito bom! No Campeonato Paulista, ela mostra um nível acima da média de acerto, tanto que já foi considerada a melhor assistente por várias vezes. Erros acontecem mas, para sorte dela, o que houve na Ilha do Retiro não afetou a classificação do Botafogo. Ela está longe de ter risco de ver sua carreira comprometida – disse o ex-árbitro e comentarista da Rede Globo, Leonardo Gaciba, ao LANCE!.

Sálvio Spinola, ex-árbitro e comentarista da ESPN, crê que a falha é atípica para Tatiane Camargo, mas confia em uma superação:

– Ela já teve grandes acertos, mas esse na Ilha do Retiro é inaceitável para quem é nível Fifa e quem tem grandes jogos. Foi um erro na corrida e no seu posicionamento estava. Um erro inaceitável, mas que ela, sem dúvida, tem condições de superar – declarou, ao L!.

Carlos Eugênio Simon, ex-árbitro e comentarista da Fox Sports, também lamenta o erro da assistente, mas enaltece as qualidades dela em campo:

– Tatiane Camargo é uma assistente qualificada e competente. Recentemente, conseguiu ser aprovada nos testes da Fifa com exigências de categoria de tempo “masculina”. É verdade que ela cometeu um erro grotesco ao anular o que seria o segundo gol do Botafogo diante do Sport. Mas erros acontecem.

Arsenal could sign their new Cesc Fabregas in Lyon star Houssem Aouar amid Fabrizio Romano’s exciting transfer claim.

What’s the story?

Reports last summer suggested that Mikel Arteta’s side were very much interested in signing the France under-21 international, but a deal failed to materialise before the end of the transfer window.

Romano has now delivered an update on where things stand with Aouar and Arsenal with just a couple of weeks remaining in the summer window.

He said (via Football.London): “It is a complicated situation on agent’s side because as they say from France, it’s true that there is some situation from agent’s side, and that’s why I would keep an eye on Aouar till the last day of the window because now still some rumours we have with Tottenham and with Arsenal.

“These two clubs are really interested in Aouar. Fabio Paratici wanted him one year ago when he was at Juventus. He had to make a decision between Aouar and Chiesa, they decided to go for Federico Chiesa.”

Arsenal’s new Fabregas

The £26m-rated Aouar, who has been lauded as an “exceptional talent” and “special” in the past, has the kind of midfield characteristics which make him very similar to a certain Fabregas.

In the 2019/2020 campaign, the Frenchman bagged nine goals and provided another ten assists, setting up a couple of goals in the Champions League quarter-finals against Manchester City.

That level of goal-scoring and creativity is what Fabregas brought to the table in his heyday, with the Spaniard scoring 15 goals and providing another 15 assists in the Premier League alone during the 2009/10 season at the Emirates Stadium.

When you look at their underlying stats over their careers, they are remarkably similar. As per WhoScored, Aouar averages 1.8 shots per game to Fabregas’ 1.4, provides 1.2 key passes to the Spaniard’s 2.1, and is fouled 1.4 times per match compared to the former Arsenal man’s 1.1.

Just like Fabregas, the 23-year-old has also had experience of being a captain at a young age, having already worn the armband for Lyon on numerous occasions over the years.

While Martin Odegaard may have arrived from Real Madrid to fill that creative berth at the Emirates, Aouar could bring an added dose of creativity and goal threat from midfield too.

Meanwhile, Arsenal could sign their new Sol Campbell in this ace…

Sachin Tendulkar has said the India-Australia series is about more than just how the Indian seniors play

Sidharth Monga in Bangalore29-Sep-2008
Sachin Tendulkar: “It’s India versus Australia, it’s not certain individuals versus certain individuals in their team” © AFP
Sachin Tendulkar has said the India-Australia series is about more than just how the Indian seniors play. “It’s India versus Australia, it’s not certain individuals versus certain individuals in their team,” he said, responding to a question whether the seniors were under extra pressure, especially after Sourav Ganguly was not picked for the Irani Cup.”It’s about performing, and that is what the whole team should concentrate on doing,” Tendulkar said. “We would just like to focus on our performance. It is both the countries competing against each other, so every little thing matters.”Tendulkar, however, avoided commenting on the Ganguly issue. “I would leave that to the captain, the coach, and the selectors. They have certain ideas in their minds and we have to abide by that.”Tendulkar, and the rest of the middle order, had an ordinary series in Sri Lanka, creating a debate over whether, and when, to phase out the Fab Four. Tendulkar started the Sri Lanka series needing 172 to become the world’s leading run-getter in Tests, and three matches later he still needed 77.”I just have to go and play my best,” Tendulkar said. “Records will come if you keep playing well, and the focus will be on playing well. My mind is not on 76 runs, and it’s not as if I can relax after getting 76 runs. For the four Tests, the team has some targets, and I am more focused on those.”The good news for India is that he is back to full fitness – he had injured his elbow in the last Test in Sri Lanka and missed the Irani Cup – and is feeling good about it. “Obviously coming back to the team you feel an energy like no other,” Tendulkar said. “I have been working with our trainer, and it has worked out very well. Last two-three weeks have been quite good and I have been pleased with the way things have gone.”Tendulkar was speaking after India’s first training session at the pre-series camp in Bangalore. “The first session we had has been very good. It was mainly a fitness-targeted session. We enjoyed it quite a bit.”The session went for over two hours, and focused on fielding and fitness. The team will go through more specific sessions – nets, open-wicket practice, and match simulations – in the coming days. The first day of the camp was attended by most of the Test squad that played in Sri Lanka. The players missing from those 16 were Ganguly, the wicketkeepers Dinesh Karthik and Parthiv Patel – since Mahendra Singh Dhoni is back – Rohit Sharma and Pragyan Ojha, who will play for Board President’s XI against the Australians. The additions at the camp were Mohammad Kaif, who took Ganguly’s place in the Rest of India team for the Irani Cup, and Dhoni.The squad for the Tests is yet to be announced, and the players present at the camp are believed to have been called by the captain and the coach. India’s new selection committee will meet on October 1 to pick the team for the first two Tests, which means the tour game in Hyderabad will have no bearing on the team for the first Test in Bangalore.

Many Glasgow Rangers fans were far from happy with a letter sent out by SPFL chairman Murdoch MacLennan as the club’s stand-off with Cinch continues.

The Gers’ Premiership title defence has been mixed so far. They kicked off with a 3-0 victory over Livingston but they were then defeated by Dundee United 1-0, a result which brought an end to their 40-game unbeaten run in the top flight (Sky Sports).

In both of those matches, the Gers refused to feature the SPFL’s title sponsor Cinch either on their matchday shirts or, in the case of the Livingston game, on the advertising boards around the side of the pitch at Ibrox, as they believe there are gaps in the contract (The Daily Record). MacLennan has now written to the other 41 league clubs to explain the stand-off, and has revealed that the SPFL have asked the SFA to step in.

The letter in question was shared on Twitter by @Beatthatbeat, and it attracted plenty of attention from Gers supporters. These fans took to the social media platform to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what these fans had to say about the letter

““If you would like to discuss these issues please don’t hesitate to call me”….. I have two opinions on that line 1. He doesn’t want a paper trail 2. We wouldn’t want any emails getting “lost” would we. Either way, shambles of an organisation. Utter shambles.”

Credit: @StubbsDamien

“Appallingly worded letter! So petulant, to actually refuse to refer to Rangers in name: very small-minded! Then to repeatedly refer to “..your board..” is divisive, confrontational and escalatory. This shows all the parochial behaviour that led to such a bad deal being signed.”

Credit: @B0mberHarris

“The conflict issue was raised by Rangers and ignored by the SPFL who proceeded to sign the contract without doing any due diligence on the Rangers’ contract. No mention of ‘Rule 17’ (our get-out), or of the agency involved, who will take £500,00 from the Scottish game. Shambles.”

Credit: @HamptonCaught

“SPFL never did due diligence on the cinch contract, as we know. Rangers have a conflicting contract. M Mc is trying, yet again to blame our club for his incompetence. He knows there’s political hatred for us out there, and is trying to divide and conquer.”

Credit: @RWM2021

“Said it all along. As much I 100% back the club’s stance on this, why haven’t we dropped multiple copies of our evidence at the SPFL’s door & gave them the ultimate GIRUY. Not doing so has allowed them to call our bluff & makes us look weak again”

Credit: @RabWhite

“I really hope our lawyers are on the ball with this 1.”

Credit: @dave_n84

In other news, Alex Rae has slammed this Gers player.