Controversial French star is Indian Super League's big catch just six months after antisemitism row

September 16, 2014

Mumbai,Sep 16: Former France and Chelsea player Nicolas Anelka was on Monday officially announced as the marquee player of Indian Super League (ISL) franchise Mumbai City FC, six months after the forward was sacked from English football after an antisemitic row.

The 35-year-old player, who also had stints at Arsenal, Real Madrid and Juventus, said he expects the October 12-December 20 ISL to be a thrilling experience.

Anelka Mumbai“I am pleased to join Mumbai City FC and through it participate in the exciting Indian Super League. Talented international players and top Indian talent will make the matches thrilling affairs. I look forward to using my ability to do well for my team in the matches we play,” he said.

The inaugural ISL also features other top players like Alessandro Del Piero (Delhi Dynamos FC), David Trezeguet (FC Pune City), Joan Capdevila (North-East United FC), Luis Garcia (Atletico de Kolkata), David James (Kerala Blasters FC) and Robert Pires (FC Goa). Chennai Titans are yet to announce their marquee player.

However, Anelka may have to wait before he can take the field for Mumbai City as he has a five-match ban imposed on him in England for a racially aggravated goal celebration that led to his departure from West Bromwich Albion in March.

FIFA was asked by the English Football Association to ensure Anelka’s ban was applied worldwide if he tried to sign for another club.

FIFA was unable to comment on Anelka’s playing status on Monday, which is a public holiday in Zurich where it is headquartered.

Anelka had a long career for France and played for several top clubs in a well-travelled career before his infamous “quenelle” gesture resulted in his departure from the Premier League.

Anelka later announced via Twitter that he was leaving West Brom, terminating his contract with immediate effect.

The club responded by saying the player’s statement was invalid and that it was firing him for “gross misconduct.”

Anelka was sent home from the 2010 World Cup after insulting France coach Raymond Domenech. Anelka refused to apologise and ended his international career with 14 goals in 69 appearances.

ZICO ARRIVES IN INDIA

Legendary Brazilian footballer Zico arrived in Panaji on Monday to take charge of FC Goa as its manager.

The 61-year-old Arthur Antunes Coimbra, nicknamed ‘White Pele’, reached Goa along with former Dempo midfielder Roberto Mendis Silva and was received at the airport by former All India Football Federation general secretary Alberto Colaco.

Zico will be assisted by Dempo Sports Club head coach Arthur Papas.

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Agencies
January 6,2020

Washington D.C., Jan 6: 'The Irishman,' and 'Two Popes' were shut out from the winners list despite getting multiple nominations, the movies didn't win a single award at the Golden Globes Award held on Sunday (local time). Other movies in the list include 'Bombshell,' 'Dolemite Is My Name,' 'Harriet,' 'Jojo Rabbit,' 'Knives Out' and 'Little Women.'

According to The Hollywood Reporter, 'The Irishman' may have gone into the 2020 Golden Globes with the second-highest number of film nominations, tied with 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood' with five nods, but Martin Scorsese's highly anticipated mob epic for Netflix was completely shut out at the award ceremony.

Netflix landed the most film nominations of any company with 17 mentions, but it won only one award which is the best-supporting actress for 'Marriage Story's' Laura Dern. Netflix's nominated films 'Dolemite Is My Name' and 'The Two Popes' was tied with 'Joker' with four mentions each and failed to grab any awards.

'Dolemite Is My Name' star Eddie Murphy was expected by a number of pundits to win for best actor in a motion picture, musical or comedy.

'Bombshell', 'Harriet',' Frozen 2', 'Jojo Rabbit', 'Knives Out', 'The Lion King', 'Little Women' and 'Pain and Glory' are among the other films that received multiple nominations but didn't win a single award.

On the TV side, Netflix's 'Unbelievable' tied in the race to most small-screen nominations with 'Chernobyl' and 'The Crown' with four nominations, and 'The Crown' won only one award, for star Olivia Colman.

The three-time nominees 'Barry', 'Big Little Lies', 'The Kominsky Method' and 'The Morning Show' also didn't grab any award. 'Catch-22', 'Killing Eve', 'The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel' and 'The Politician' who were two-time nominees that were also iced out.

'Hustlers' star Jennifer Lopez failed to take home the best-supporting actress award as she was predicted to win the award by a number of pundits. Billy porter also failed to make history with the best drama actor win for his role on 'Pose,' if he would've won the award, he reportedly would have been the first openly gay African-American to win that award.

'Chernobyl' won two of its four nominations. Despite that, star Jared Harris didn't win the best actor in a limited series Globe which was predicted by many prognosticators. The award was bagged by Russell Crowe for his portrayal of Roger Ailes in 'The Loudest Voice.' But the star was absent from the ceremony.

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News Network
July 14,2020

New Delhi, Jul 14: Indian bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who features in the list of A category players released by BCCI, has revealed his first-ever paycheck.

Bhuvneshwar was participating in a question and answer session on Twitter where he gave his take on fans' queries.

The 30-year-old bowler was asked about his first paycheck by a fan and Bhuvneshwar responded by saying, "It was for Rs 3000. I shopped and still managed to saved some."

During the question and answer session Bhuvneshwar picked Barcelona striker Lionel Messi over Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo.

The right-arm bowler also revealed that football and badminton are his favourite sports other than cricket.

Earlier this year, Bhuvneshwar was named in the list A category of players. BCCI had released the list of centrally contracted players for the period from October 2019 to September 2020. Annually, A category players get Rs 5 crore.

The right-arm bowler would have been in action for Sunrisers Hyderabad if the Indian Premier League (IPL) had commenced from March 29. However, the tournament was postponed indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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News Network
April 30,2020

New Delhi, Apr 30: Indian skipper Virat Kohli on Thursday mourned the demise of veteran Bollywood actor Rishi Kapoor, called his death 'unreal and unbelievable' loss.

"This is unreal and unbelievable. Yesterday Irrfan Khan and today Rishi Kapoor ji. It's hard to accept this as a legend passes away today. My condolences to the family and may his soul rest in peace," Kohli tweeted.

Opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan also expressed his heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of the deceased.
"It's shocking to hear about the sudden demise of #RishiKapoor ji. My heartfelt condolences to his family and friends. May his soul rest in peace," Dhawan tweeted.

Earlier today, actor Amitabh Bachchan confirmed the news of the demise of the 67-year-old Rishi Kapoor. Rishi Kapoor was admitted to the Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital in Mumbai on Wednesday.

In September 2019, the veteran actor returned to Mumbai after staying in New York for almost a year for cancer treatment.

He was last seen in the 2019 film 'The Body' alongside Emraan Hashmi and Shobita Sobhita Dhulipala.

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