EUROPA League
ARSENAL SCOUT WHO DISCOVERED CESC FABREGAS TO BE FIRED!
UK newspaper, Mirror has dropped the hint that a certain Francis Cagigao is among the 35 staff to be fired.
He is reputed to have spotted former Gunners captain Fabregas as well as current stars Gabriel Martinelli and Hector Bellerin while playing a huge part in the club’s global recruitment for over a decade.
The Premier League giants are laying off people from their commercial department, administration and football operation, although it is unlikely to affect the first team set-up.
Most jobs are understood to be going from the commercial operation with Arsenal ’s scouting department – which has already made cut backs – also affected, particularly those on rolling contracts.
As well as the renowned Cagigao, recruitment specialist Brian McDermott and several youth scouts on 12 month contracts from their famed Hale End academy could all be affected.
But it comes despite Arsenal preparing to make big name signings with Chelsea’s Brazilian star Willian, who is 32 on Sunday, set to arrive on a three year contract worth £150,000-a-week.
They are also confident of tying down Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to a new deal worth £250,000-a-week and top earner Mesut Ozil has a year left of his £350,000-a-week contract.
It prompted a fierce backlash from fans on social media and the club knows it will face a difficult moral argument as to why they can make nearly ten per cent of its 590 staff redundant while still buying new players.
Tottenham and Liverpool both reversed decisions to furlough staff during the coronavirus lockdown after a public outcry and now Arsenal, who did not furlough staff, are facing the same angry response.
It is understood that head of football Raul Sanllehi and managing director Vinai Venkatesham addressed all of the club’s staff on Wednesday afternoon and those affected will now enter a 30-day consultation period.
Arsenal’s players were told shortly after the staff were addressed and just before the club made a public announcement. They hope to save huge sums and insist that it is still necessary to invest in the squad to ensure future success.
Billionaire owner Stan Kroenke has underwritten the club’s expenditure in the transfer market last summer and the crippling cost of the pandemic with Arsenal players taking a 12.5 per cent pay cut for a year, although 7.5 per cent of that is paid back after they got into the Europa League.
However, Arsenal have lost £2m in gate receipts for every game behind closed doors at the Emirates while the commercial costs and drop in TV revenue has hit even the biggest clubs hard. Some clubs have lost tens of millions.
Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv will not accept any away fan tickets for their Europa League match at Aston Villa next month, even if local authorities reverse the decision to ban their supporters, they said on Monday.
The ban followed safety concerns raised by British Police, who cited potential protests outside Villa Park, following demonstrations at Israel’s recent World Cup qualifiers in Oslo and Udine.
“From hard lessons learned we have taken the decision to decline any allocation offered on behalf of away fans and our decision should be understood in that context,” Maccabi said in a statement.
“We hope that circumstances will change and look forward to being able to play in Birmingham in a sporting environment in the near future.”
Aston Villa announced the decision last week, saying they were following instructions from the Safety Advisory Group (SAG), who are responsible for issuing safety certificates for games at Villa Park.
West Midlands Police described the match as high risk, past incidents, including violent confrontations and hate crime offences involving Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters ahead of a November 2024 game in Amsterdam.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar described the announcement as “shameful”.
Villa are third in the Europa League standings while Maccabi Tel Aviv are 30th after two rounds.
-Reuters
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Crystal Palace’s appeal against UEFA’s decision to drop them from the Europa League to the third-tier Conference League was dismissed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Monday.
UEFA demoted Palace while allowing Olympique Lyonnais to play in the Europa League as, at the time of assessment on March 1, the Eagle Football Group were majority owners of Lyon while their chairman, John Textor, owned a controlling stake in Palace.
Nottingham Forest, who finished seventh in the Premier League last season, will replace Palace in the Europa League.
“After considering the evidence, the panel found that John Textor, founder of Eagle Football Holdings, had shares in CPFC and OL and was a board member with decisive influence over both clubs at the time of UEFA’s assessment date,” the CAS said in a statement.
“The panel also dismissed the argument by CPFC that they received unfair treatment in comparison to Nottingham Forest and OL.”
Palace did not respond to a request for comment. Club chairman Steve Parish told reporters on Sunday that if Palace lost the appeal, they would “have to look if there’s any steps after that.”
The club, who qualified for the Europa League as FA Cup winners, appealed against UEFA’s decision last month.
The appeal came days before New York Jets co-owner Robert Wood “Woody” Johnson completed the purchase of Eagle Football Holdings’ stake in Palace.
Textor has also resigned from Lyon’s board of directors with Michele Kang appointed chairwoman and president.
As both Lyon and Palace had qualified for the Europa League, the French club were allowed to keep their place because they had finished higher in their respective league. Lyon finished sixth in Ligue 1 while Palace were 12th in the Premier League.
“Olympique Lyonnais welcomes today’s decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport confirming its participation in the Europa League,” Lyon said in a statement.
Palace, who won the Community Shield on Sunday , beating Liverpool in a penalty shootout, are set to play in the Conference League’s qualifying playoff round later this month.
-Reuters
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UEFA has decided to postpone its assessment of the multi-club ownership case involving Olympique Lyonnais and Crystal Palace until the French club’s relegation has been confirmed, European football’s governing body said on Monday.
The multi-club ownership regulations do not allow clubs under the same ownership compete in the same European competition, and American businessman John Textor holds a stake in both Palace and Lyon.
Palace qualified for the Europa League by winning the FA Cup last season while Lyon reached the competition by finishing sixth in Ligue 1 but have since been relegated to Ligue 2 by French football’s financial watchdog (DNCG).
Lyon are appealing the decision, which came following an audit of the club’s finances, and UEFA’s Club Financial Control Body will now await the outcome of the appeal before making its decision.
UEFA and Lyon reached a settlement agreement over the club’s breach of the financial sustainability requirements, and as part of the settlement, Lyon agreed to their exclusion from European competition should the DNCG confirm their relegation.
League of Ireland club Drogheda United lost an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport earlier this month over their exclusion from the Conference League, after falling foul of the multi-club ownership rules.
-Reuters
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