Sports

Ronaldo! All Hail Mr. Consistency

Published

8 years ago

August 25, 2018

Eric

By Timothy Edaki

Call him a goal scoring machine and you have not erred from the truth. Refer to him as a football god and you have just put it mildly. Arguably the best football currently, Cristina Ronaldo is one player to envy. Everything about this 33 year old Portuguese star is totally on point. On pitch, his tactical and mouth-watering dribbles, his sleek passes and crosses, and of course his signature shots that sends goalkeepers diving but always too late to stop the ball from its predestined course for the back of the net.

One must congratulate the man for his consistency in the Balloon d’Or nomination list. Since his first entry in 2011, Ronaldo has shown that he is a force to be reckoned with. Having won it five times, the new Juventus signing would be looking to succeed his rival, Lionel Messi with his sixth win s3ei they both have five apiece.

As much as we wish Ronaldo well, one must not forget that there are other gladiators in the list. The young but striking Mbappe. The dazzling Modric and of course one of Africa’s shining stars, Salah.

Who would take home the crown?

As Salah Makes Balloon d’Or List…

… Messi Losses Out

Tongues are wagging, social media is buzzing and faces are lit with questions. Everyone is wondering why the world’s supposed G. O. A. T, Lionel Messi has failed to make the shortlist for the 2018 Balloon D’or. Interestingly, there’s a new entrant to the list, Egypt’s starman and Liverpool playmaker, Mohammed Sallah. The question however is: Was Salah a better player than Messi in the previous year? What criterias were uses to determine those who made the list and those who didn’t? How effective was Salah in the games he played?

One must however not forget to congratulate the latest signing into Juventus, Cristiano Ronaldo for his consistency in making the list since 2011. A brilliant player, the Portuguese star is making incredible feats in the footballing world.

While most Messi fans are of the opinion that Salah doesn’t deserve to be on the list, it is pertinent to expose and explain the reason why the Balloon D’or committee decide to favor a Salah over a Messi.

First, there is the need for a new face at the awards and while one might argue that this reason isn’t solid enough because Ronaldo who has been a nominee for the award for such a long time made the list. It is however obvious that Ronaldo had a better and more intresting season than Messi, winning the UEFA Champions League, bagging the highest goal scorer award in the tournament and having his country go ahead of Messi’s Argentina before finally crashing out.

Salah made the list because he had the highest number of goals in the English premier league, a feat Messi tied with Ronaldo. Salah was instrumental in the Jurgen Klopp’s side meteoric rise to the UEFA Champions League final. Barcelona had crashed out after a stunning 3-0 defeat by Roma in the Round of 16.

Again, Salah made the list because it was necessary to include a player from the English Premier League following reports that the awards had been biased against players from the league.

Moreover, as earlier hinted, Argentina failed to make an interesting mark in the 2018 World Cup, barely managing to lead his team to the Round of 16 before losing to France.

A Salah or a Messi? The Ballon D’Or committee has chosen and we can only keep our hands crossed to see who finally takes home the award. Cristiano Ronaldo? Mohammed Salah? Kylian Mbappe? Lukas Modric? The world is waiting!

Sports

FIFA Lists Six Females Among 52 Referees for 2026 World Cup

Published

3 weeks ago

April 10, 2026

Eric

FIFA on Thursday unveiled its list of match officials for the June 11-July 19 World Cup, including 52 referees, six of whom are women.

Football’s governing body will also take 88 assistant referees and 30 video match officials, who hail from all six confederations and 50 member associations.

“The selected match officials are the very best in the world,” said Pierluigi Collina, FIFA’s chief refereeing officer.

“They were part of a wider pool of officials that was identified and monitored over the past three years. They have attended seminars and officiated at FIFA tournaments.

“In addition, their performances in domestic and international matches were regularly assessed.”

The World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico will be the biggest in history, with a 48-team line-up and 104 matches to be played.

There are 41 more match officials than at Qatar four years ago, where 32 teams played 64 matches.

“The fact that six women match officials have been selected continues a trend that was started four years ago in Qatar as we aim to further develop women’s refereeing,” Collina said, with six women having already refereed in 2022.

AFP

Sports

AFCON 2025: CAS Overturns CAF Verdict

Published

1 month ago

March 25, 2026

Eric

African football has been plunged into fresh uncertainty after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) provisionally suspended a controversial ruling that stripped Senegal of their Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title and awarded it to Morocco.

In an interim decision issued on Monday, CAS accepted Senegal’s appeal against the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Appeals Board and ordered a “freeze” on the implementation of its verdict.

The move effectively places the 2025 AFCON title in legal limbo pending a full hearing.

The dispute stems from a chaotic final played in January 2026, where the Teranga Lions of Senegal defeated the hosts, the Atlas Lions of Morocco, 1–0 after extra time. The match took a dramatic turn late on when a contentious penalty was awarded to Morocco.

Although the spot kick was missed, Senegal’s players briefly walked off the pitch in protest, prompting confusion before play eventually resumed, and the match was concluded. Weeks later, Morocco’s federation challenged the outcome, citing provisions within AFCON regulations relating to match forfeiture.

On March 17, CAF’s Appeals Board ruled in Morocco’s favour, declaring that Senegal’s walk-off constituted a breach severe enough to forfeit the match. The result was overturned to a 3–0 victory for Morocco, with Senegal stripped of the title.

Senegal swiftly condemned the decision as unjust and escalated the matter to CAS, arguing that the sanction was disproportionate and undermined the integrity of the on-field result.

CAS has now sided, at least temporarily, with Senegal’s request for urgent intervention.

By granting provisional measures, the tribunal signalled that enforcing CAF’s ruling before a full hearing could cause irreparable harm, particularly in a case involving the revocation of a major continental title.

The immediate consequence is that AFCON 2025 currently has no officially recognised champion. The trophy remains unassigned while legal proceedings continue.

Sports

AFCON 2025: George Weah Urges CAS to Overrule CAF’s Verdict

Published

1 month ago

March 21, 2026

Eric

African football legend George Weah has criticised the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for stripping Senegal of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title and awarding it to Morocco.

CAF’s Appeal Board overturned Senegal’s 1–0 victory in the Rabat final after ruling that the team’s walk-off during a late penalty incident constituted a forfeit. The result was subsequently recorded as a 3–0 win in favour of Morocco, crowning the hosts as champions.

Reacting to the decision, Weah, a former Ballon d’Or winner and three-time African Player of the Year, argued that match outcomes should be determined on the pitch, not in post-match rulings.

“In football, the referee on the pitch is the final authority. Once a match is completed, the result obtained on the field must stand,” he said.

Weah warned that overturning completed matches sets a dangerous precedent for the sport.

“There is no sporting justification to nullify a match completed under the referee’s authority.

Otherwise, we risk a slippery slope where committee decisions override on-field calls,” he added.

The former AC Milan forward further stated that the ruling undermines the integrity and credibility of African football, raising concerns over fairness and consistency.