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Sakho doping judgement soon: Uefa
PARIS: Liverpool and France defender Mamadou Sakho goes before a Uefa disciplinary panel here on Thursday and will learn his fate for a doping infringement within
PARIS: Liverpool and France defender Mamadou Sakho goes before a Uefa disciplinary panel here on Thursday and will learn his fate for a doping infringement within a few days, the European game’s governing body told AFP. Sakho tested positive after a Europa League tie with Manchester United (1-1) March 17 after taking a product to reduce body fat. The 26-year-old centre-back is said not to have known the composition of the weight-loss supplement and informed Uefa he acted in good faith. “Some products entail an automatic ban and others not. In this case the player himself wanted the provisional ban and Uefa agreed to impose a 30-day ban,” Uefa medical officer Marc Vouillamoz told AFP. The player was eventually technically available for International duty at Euro 2016 and despite playing a key role for France these last two seasons Didier Deschamps left him out of the finals squad.
ROMANIA APPOINT DAUM AS NEW HEAD COACH
PARIS: Romania has turned to a German coach after being eliminated from the European Championship without winning a game. The Romanian football federation says it appointed Christoph Daum to coach the national team. Daum replaces former Romania playing great Anghel Iordanescu, who completed his third stint as coach after his team’s exit from Euro 2016. Romania placed last in a group that included France, Switzerland and Albania. The 62-year-old Daum has coached club teams to national league titles in Germany, Turkey and Austria. He was widely expected to be appointed Germany coach after the team’s disappointing Euro 2000, until he subsequently admitted to cocaine use in the past.
FERGUSON BACKS ALLARDYCE AS NEXT ENGLAND COACH
MANCHESTER: Sam Allardyce is the obvious candidate to replace Roy Hodgson as England manager if the FA decide to go with a home-grown candidate for the job, former Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson has said. A three-man panel of the Football Association (FA) has been tasked with finding a successor for Hodgson, who resigned following England’s humiliating defeat to Iceland in the 2016 European Championship. “Sam’s the best English candidate because he’s in the Premier League,” the 74-year-old said.
