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European football leagues (La Liga, Ligue 1, Bundesliga, Serie A, etc.) 2023-24 Discussion Thread

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Turkey referee punch: Turkish FA say referee is not going to quit​

There is "no possibility" referee Halil Umut Meler will quit after being punched in a Turkish top-flight match, says the country's football federation chief Mehmet Buyukeksi.

Ankaragucu president Faruk Koca was arrested on Tuesday after he ran on to the pitch and struck Meler following Monday's 1-1 draw with Caykur Rizespor.

All leagues were suspended but the TFF say they will resume on 19 December.

Meler was released from hospital on Wednesday with a swollen eye.

The 37-year-old is one of Turkey's top referees and officiates international games for Fifa.

He is also on Uefa's elite referee list and Buyukeksi said in a news conference on Wednesday that he still expects Meler to officiate at Euro 2024 in Germany.

"We expect Halil Umut Meler to take part in Euro 2024. There is no possibility of him quitting refereeing right now," said Buyukeksi.

Turkish football bosses suspended all leagues following the incident but Buyukeksi added: "We had decided to postpone the matches in all leagues indefinitely. With the decision we took today, all leagues will restart on Tuesday, December 19."

This week's postponed games will be played on 10 January.

After Koca punched Meler to the ground, he received several blows from others as he lay on the turf, and suffered injuries including a minor fracture.

The incident sparked chaotic scenes involving players and club officials.

Mehmet Yorubulut, chief of medicine at Acibadem Hospital, said Meler has a swollen eye but is in "good condition".

Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said Koca and two others had been arrested after prosecutors took statements and a judicial control decision had been imposed on three other suspects.

Koca later issued a statement via Ankaragucu saying he had resigned as club president and apologising for his actions, saying he felt "great embarrassment" for the "grave incident" he caused.

Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke to Meler in hospital and said the incident had "saddened and disturbed" him.

The TFF said Ankaragucu, its chairman, club officials and all those guilty of attacking the referee will be "punished in the strongest terms possible".

Fifa president Gianni Infantino said the incident was "totally unacceptable" and violence has "no place in our sport or society".

Source: BBC
Click to expand...
Turkish referee Halil Umut Meler 'won't forgive' after being punched by club president

Referee Halil Umut Meler says he "won't forgive" MKE Ankaragucu president Faruk Koca after he was punched at the end of a match on 11 December.

Koca ran on to the field and attacked Meler after his team conceded a 97th-minute equaliser in a 1-1 Super Lig draw with Caykur Rizespor in Turkey.

Meler, who suffered injuries including a minor fracture, left hospital on Wednesday with a swollen eye.

"No, I did not forgive [Koca], I will not forgive," he told Turkish media.

Speaking about the incident for the first time to Hurriyet, Meler added: "The person who did this punched me, I collapsed and fell to the ground. But the actual kicking while I was on the ground will be something I will never forget for the rest of my life.

"That's why, in conscience, I will never forgive. I will not forgive in any way, I will never forgive those who did it or those who provoked it. I am saying this specifically, I will not forgive those who provoked it or those who did it."

Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said Koca and two others had been arrested after prosecutors took statements and a judicial control decision had been imposed on three other suspects.

Koca also received a permanent ban from the Turkish Football Federation (TFF), while Ankaragucu were fined two million lira (£54,000) and ordered to play five home games without any fans.

He later issued a statement via Ankaragucu saying he had resigned as club president and apologised for his actions, saying he felt "great embarrassment" for the "grave incident" he caused.

All leagues were suspended by the TFF the aftermath and the top-flight resumed on Tuesday. But one of the three games scheduled was abandoned when Istanbulspor's president withdrew his team from the pitch in protest at a refereeing decision in their game against Trabzonspor.

Meler has been officiating in the Turkish Super Lig since 2015 and officiates international games for Fifa.

"I think this was a milestone," Meler said.

"No one should provoke [referees].Everyone does their job."

"It is said that the problem is lack of education. No, there is training in refereeing that is not available in corporate companies. That's why I think referees should be encouraged. I think they are also tired of some things. We always say, pressure, pressure. Not only me, they also have a family."

Source: BBC

www.bbc.com

Turkish referee Meler 'won't forgive' attacker Koca

Referee Halil Umut Meler says he "won't forgive" MKE Ankaragucu president Faruk Koca after he was punched at the end of a match on 11 December.
www.bbc.com www.bbc.com
 
Bundesliga Full Time Scores (20-12-2023)

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Harry Kane stayed on course to break the record for Bundesliga goals in a season with his 21st strike as Bayern Munich beat Wolfsburg 2-1.

Kylian Mbappe marked his 25th birthday with two goals as Paris St-Germain beat Metz 3-1 - with his 16-year-old brother Ethan making his debut late on.

Captain Sergi Roberto scored twice as Barcelona held off bottom club Almeria 3-2 to claim three valuable points in the La Liga title race.
 
Harry Kane on course to beat Robert Lewandowski record that took 49 years to break and teammates are stunned

Muller and Lewandowski are first and second respectively in goals for both Bayern Munich and the Bundesliga, with scoring figures that have etched their names into German football’s folklore.


The pinnacle for each, outside of their combined 12 league titles trophies, was the single-season scoring record, one Muller set in 1972 with 40 in 34 games, and it looked like it would never be broken.

Lewandowski came close in the 2019/20 campaign with 34, but a year later was when he finally made history and the celebratory T-shirts came out following his 41st goal that took the 49-year record.

Leaving in the summer of 2022 to join Barcelona for £35million, Lewadowski’s replacement, Sadio Mane, faltered, while the Pole went and won LaLiga, seemingly cementing his legacy. However, it’s not often that Bayern miss, and with Kane, they certainly haven’t.

Harry Kane jokes he doesn't want to 'embarrass' himself after Laura Woods question
Making up for their Mane mistake a summer later, the England captain took no time at all to get off the mark, and impressed so much that even Lewandowski had to comment.

“When I think about my record and the 41 goals in just 29 games, I still find it incredible,” he said.

“That was crazy. 'The Hurricane' is a great player, but the Bundesliga is not an easy league either. I think he needs a bit of time and you can't tell yet.

“I myself would never have thought that Gerd Muller's record could be broken after 40 years. I can't explain today how I did it either. Every piece of the puzzle has to be perfect.”

Source : Talk Sports
 
Carlo Ancelotti Agrees New Real Madrid Contract To 2026

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti is close to confirming that his future will lie at the Spanish club after agreeing an extension to his contract, which will now run to 2026 with an additional two years.

Relevo reported on Friday morning that the Italian has committed to the deal, with his existing contract set to expire in the summer of 2024, and the news was confirmed by the club shortly after. The agreement was reached before the team went on vacation for a short winter break, with only the official announcement pending.

While Real Madrid have long maintained that Ancelotti was their top priority for the future of the dugout, their decision was to wait for the first few months of the period to pass by to ensure that the ex-Chelsea coach would be the best man for the job of seeing in a new era following the exit of Karim Benzema in the summer.

Ancelotti has surpassed expectations, with the team top of LALIGA and winning all six group stage games in the UEFA Champions League. What's more, the incredible form of Jude Bellingham, the star summer signing, has only helped to back Ancelotti further.

"I put in my efforts and a fierce commitment to excel at work, but the credit goes to Mr. Ancelotti who found the right position for me and gave me more freedom on the field. So now I'm flying on the field,” Bellingham said after being crowned Golden Boy earlier this month.

Los Blancos insist that they require a coach for the long-term to continue to give chances and opportunities to young players looking to break into the first team, as has been the case with the likes of Nico Paz and Gonzalo García making first team debuts in recent weeks.

The club has also been pleased by Ancelotti's handling of the team's ongoing injury crisis which has deprived the coach of several of his key players. Despite that, he has not demanded signings or insisted upon investment in the squad and has instead found tactical solutions and turned to young players where possible.

Source: Forbes
 

Eric Bailly: Villarreal re-sign former Man Utd defender following release by Besiktas​

Villarreal have re-signed former Manchester United defender Eric Bailly on an 18-month contract following his release by Besiktas.

The Ivory Coast centre-back, 29, left the Turkish club on Friday, just three months after moving from Old Trafford.

He played only eight times for Besiktas and was one of five players excluded from the first-team squad this month.

Bailly played for Villarreal during the 2015-16 season before joining Manchester United for £30m.

His final appearance for Besiktas was against Fenerbahce on 9 December.

Two days later the defender - along with team-mates Vincent Aboubakar, Rachid Ghezzal, Jean Onana and Valentin Rosier - was dropped for what the Turkish club described as "poor performance" and "incompatibilities within the team".

Bailly's agent Rafaela Pimenta responded by saying the player "had done nothing wrong" and that his "rights are being violated and we will make sure to protect him".

The centre-back spent seven seasons at Old Trafford after becoming Jose Mourinho's first signing, but a combination of injury and lack of form restricted him to only 113 appearances.

Source: BBC
 
Wishing him a better stint with his former club than he had with Besiktas.
 
Juventus beat Roma to close gap on leaders Inter

Adrien Rabiot's second-half goal earned Juventus a 1-0 home win against Roma on Saturday as they moved within two points of Serie A leaders Inter Milan.

Rabiot latched onto a flick from Dusan Vlahovic inside the box and calmly slotted home.

Juve finish the year in second place with 43 points from 18 games behind Inter, who drew 1-1 at Genoa on Friday, while Jose Mourinho's Roma are seventh.

Third-placed AC Milan beat Sassuolo 1-0 earlier in the day.

Federico Chiesa thought he had extended Juve's lead just before the final whistle, receiving a deflected ball inside the box and turning it in, but was flagged offside.

 
Real Madrid beat Atletico Madrid in extra time in a Spanish Super Cup semi-final thriller in Saudi Arabia.

Atletico's Mario Hermoso and Real's Antonio Rudiger scored headers before Ferland Mendy flicked in Dani Carvajal's cross to put Real ahead.

Antoine Griezmann scored a club record-breaking 174th goal for Atletico and Rudiger netted an own goal before Carvajal forced extra time.

A late Stefan Savic own goal and Brahim Diaz strike won the game for Real.

Atletico keeper Jan Oblak had gone forward in injury time with Diaz beating him in a race starting in his own half before slotting into an empty net from 40 yards.

Real Madrid play either Barcelona or Osasuna - who meet in the other semi-final on Thursday - in Sunday's final.

If Barca win their semi it would mean a second El Clasico final in a row, with Barcelona winning 3-1 last year.

Griezmann made history with his excellent strike from the edge of the area after beating two defenders, overtaking legendary Luis Aragones as Atletico's all-time leading scorer.

But it was not enough for Diego Simeone's side, who were five minutes from the final before Carvajal's strike and four minutes from a shootout before Savic deflected the ball into his own net.

Atletico's next game is also against Real Madrid, with the capital rivals meeting in the Copa del Rey last 16 next Thursday.
 
Barcelona beat Osasuna in Saudi Arabia to set up a Spanish Super Cup final on Sunday with Real Madrid.

After a goalless first half, Robert Lewandowski put Barca ahead in the 59th minute when he scored with a low shot after collecting Ilkay Gundogan's pass.

Andreas Christensen and Lewandowski had earlier had shots saved by Sergio Herrera, with Ante Budimir missing a good opportunity for Osasuna.

Lamine Yamal scored Barca's second goal in the third minute of added time.

Barca have won the Spanish Super Cup a record 14 times and take on current La Liga leaders Real as they seek a 15th triumph.

The competition features the top three sides from last season's La Liga - champions Barcelona, runners-up Real and third-placed Atletico Madrid, as well as Osasuna, who lost to Real in the Copa del Rey final.

All the matches are taking place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and this was the second of three games.

On Wednesday, Atletico were five minutes away from moving into the final before Real's Dani Carvajal scored to make it 3-3 and take it to extra time, with goals from Joselu and Brahim Diaz giving them a 5-3 victory.
 
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Barcelona edged into the Copa del Rey quarter-finals with an unconvincing 3-1 win at third-tier Unionistas de Salamanca.

Alvaro Gomez brilliantly volleyed the hosts in front to stun their La Liga visitors.

Barcelona levelled through Ferran Torres' cool finish just before the break.

Jules Kounde's 25-yard strike and Alejandro Balde's solo effort won the tie in the second half.

Hoping to bounce back from a painful thrashing by Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup final last Sunday in Saudi Arabia, boss Xavi made numerous changes.

He rested striker Robert Lewandowski and put youngster Marc Guiu in to lead the line, along with Joao Felix.

But, for large periods, Barca were frustrated by the side who had knocked Villarreal out in the previous round, in front of a capacity 6,000 home crowd.
 
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Antoine Griezmann scored a brilliant extra-time goal as Atletico Madrid beat Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey.

Samuel Lino pounced from close range to put Atletico ahead but keeper Jan Oblak knocked Luka Modric's free-kick into his own net to hand Real a leveller.

Alvaro Morata put Atleti ahead again before Joselu headed in Jude Bellingham's 82nd-minute cross.

Griezmann cut in before firing home from a tight angle in the 100th minute and Rodrigo Riquelme netted the fourth.

Those goals took Diego Simeone's side into the Copa del Rey quarter-finals.

It was the second thrilling cup tie between the pair in the space of eight days. Real beat Atletico 5-3 after extra time in the Spanish Super Cup semi-final in Saudi Arabia last week.

In that game Griezmann scored a club-record 174th goal and the 32-year-old's solo strike at the Civitas Metropolitano was number 175.

The clubs are back in league action this weekend. Real - who host Almeria on Sunday - are one point behind surprise leaders Girona, with Atletico, who visit Granada on Monday, down in fifth.
 
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Sixth-placed Real Sociedad ended a four-match winless run in La Liga with their fifth successive H2H away victory over Celta Vigo, beating Rafael Benítez’s men 1-0 at Estadio Abanca Balaídos.

Imanol Alguacil named a much-altered visiting line-up from the one that lost 2-1 in the Basque derby at Athletic Bilbao in their last league fixture, with only Robin Le Normand, Igor Zubeldia and Brais Méndez keeping their places in the starting line-up from that day. And it was the latter of those three who haunted his former club with a sumptuous strike on 11 minutes, receiving Beñat Turrientes’ pass and fashioning space before letting fly spectacularly from 30 yards out to leave Vicente Guaita grasping at thin air.

Midway through the first half, Umar Sadiq should really have doubled his side’s advantage, but having brought down Méndez’s clipped ball brilliantly to evade two defenders, the Nigerian’s effort was straight at Guaita. Alguacil was then forced into an early substitution, as Aihen Muñoz was stretchered off with a knee injury, to be replaced by Arsenal loanee Kieran Tierney.

But that didn’t disrupt the flow of proceedings, and Celta – who went behind even earlier in their last home outing against Real Betis – headed into the second period having not registered a single shot on target. The visitors’ momentum was not impeded by the break, as Méndez almost found the net for a second time not long after the break, hitting the woodwork from a free-kick. And Jon Magunazelaia skewed wide from close range shortly afterwards, although Le Normand should have turned the effort home at the near post.

Just shy of the hour mark, Benítez made a triple change – introducing attackers Carles Pérez, Tasos Douvikas and Hugo Álvarez – and Alguacil soon responded, throwing on talismen Mikel Merino and Mikel Oyarzabal. Álex Remiro was then seriously tested for the first time in the evening, but still managed to comfortably hold Luca de la Torre’s flick, as Benítez sent on Williot Swedberg and new signing Jailson.

In truth however, Celta rarely looked threatening and could have conceded late on when Oyarzabal looked to stride clear, only to be thwarted by Carlos Domínguez. The hosts’ defeat means they missed out on a third successive home league win for the first time in two years. Celta do have the opportunity to exact immediate revenge though, as they welcome their opponents here back to Galicia for a Copa del Rey quarter-final on Tuesday.

Flashscore
 
Barcelona knocked out of the Copa del Rey by Athletic Bilbao after losing their quarter-final 4-2 at San Mames.

Defeat means Barcelona and Real Madrid - who have won 10 of the past 15 Copas del Rey - are both out of the competition.

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Serie A: Italian clubs vote to maintain 20-team division​

Serie A will stick with 20 teams after 16 of its current clubs voted against reducing the division to 18 sides.

Only Juventus, Inter Milan, AC Milan and Roma voted for the proposal to cut the number of Italian top-flight sides at a shareholders' meeting in Milan.

The current format of 20 teams was introduced in 2004-05.

A proposal for reforms was also approved as the Italian league pushes for more autonomy, similar to the Premier League in England.

Those reforms will be presented at the extraordinary general assembly of the Italian football federation (FIGC) in March.

"Currently, the system does not give Serie A the autonomy and decision-making weight it should have with respect to economic weight," Serie A President Lorenzo Casini said.

Source: BBC
 
Bayern Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso is preferred target to succeed Thomas Tuchel if Bayern Munich make a change this summer, according to Sky Germany
 

Marseille have sacked Gennaro Gattuso as their manager and replaced him with Jean-Louis Gasset.​

Gattuso took over at the French club in late September and leaves with them ninth in Ligue 1.

The Italian claimed just nine wins from his 24 matches as manager, losing six times.

Source: BBC
 
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