Day: March 22, 2025

Former Brazil World Cup winner Romario, now an anti-corruption lawmaker, called for an investigation into an alleged “cards for cash” scandal involving the uncle of West Ham’s Lucas Paqueta.

Romario is behind a parliamentary commission report examining betting patterns in football. The report claims Paqueta’s uncle, Bruno Tolentino, is listed as a suspicious gambler and is accused of profiting from bets on cards received by Paqueta and fellow Brazil player Luiz Henrique while at Real Betis.

The report also alleges Tolentino paid Henrique 30,000 reais (£4,000) in February 2023 to receive a yellow card in a match against Villarreal, on the same day Paqueta received a yellow card in a Premier League game against Aston Villa. Romario stated, “The eyes of our society can’t be turned away.

Como president Mirwan Suwarso has voiced his support for Dele Alli after the midfielder was sent off with a red card in their 2-1 Serie A loss to AC Milan on Saturday.

Suwarso defended the 28-year-old on Instagram, saying, “The fire still burns. After nearly two years, Dele Alli stepped back onto the battlefield. It takes courage to fight through doubt, silence the noise, and return to compete at the highest level.

He emphasized that despite the red card, they saw “hunger, resilience, and flashes of brilliance” from Alli. Suwarso added, “This is only the beginning.

The match marked Dele’s first senior appearance in two years, but he was sent off in less than 10 minutes after a VAR review. He will miss Como’s next three games, including their match against Empoli after the international break.

Kylian Mbappe expressed his joy to be back playing with his France teammates on Wednesday he prepares for his first international appearance in six months against Croatia in the Nations League quarter-finals.

The 26-year-old, who missed four matches due to injury and rest, said, “I feel good, I feel happy to be playing football, I feel happy to be here,”.

Ahead of Thursday’s first-leg clash in Croatia, Mbappe shared that he was “delighted to be back with the group”.

Adding, “Most of the teammates who are here, we talk pretty much all the time.

“The situation may have been unclear to people outside, but it’s always been clear internally,”.

Son Heung-min addressed concerns about his form and fitness on Wednesday, focusing on helping South Korea qualify for the World Cup.

The 32-year-old forward has had a tough season with Tottenham, struggling with both form and fitness, as Spurs sit 14th in the Premier League. After dealing with a hamstring issue last year, Son has faced criticism from fans, scoring just seven league goals and not completing a full 90 minutes in the last five matches.

Ahead of a home World Cup qualifier against Oman, Son acknowledged the “difficult and challenging” times at Tottenham but assured reporters, “My physical condition is perfectly fine.”
He expressed extra motivation to play in front of South Korean fans, saying, “Our fans always root hard for us, and we don’t want to let them down.” Son has earned 131 caps and scored 51 goals for his country.

Liverpool defender Andrew Robertson says he’s determined to break Kenny Dalglish’s appearance record for Scotland as they prepare to face Greece. 

The Scotland captain has been joking with Dalglish about surpassing his 102 caps. Robertson currently has 80 appearances and needs 23 more to break the record.

He is set to make his 81st appearance in the Nations League play-off in Greece on Thursday night and has been in touch with Dalglish recently.

Fulham manager Marco Silva says rumors linking him to the Tottenham job are expected when he has a successful season.

Silva has impressed again at Fulham, bringing them close to a European spot, which few anticipated at the start of the season.

The 47-year-old has been connected with the Spurs job as pressure grows on manager Ange Postecoglou, who is facing potential dismissal after Tottenham’s 2-0 loss to Fulham, leaving them 14th in the Premier League.

Sporting confirmed on Wednesday the transfers of Geovany Quenda and Dario Essugo to Chelsea.

In a statement to the CMVM, Sporting revealed that the deals will bring in 74.

Quenda’s transfer to London is valued at €52.136 million (£43.7m), with €50.777 million (£42.6m) as a fixed fee and €1.358 million (£1.1m) based on performance-related variables.

It was also confirmed that the Portuguese Under-21 international will remain at Alvalade for another season.