Football Flash
The latest from football
Florin Orban, 08.03.2018, 13:32
The head coach of Romania’s national squad, Cosmin Contra, wants to bring more young players to the team. For the friendly matches this March he has summoned another two debutants, namely defender Ionut Nedelcearu, transferred to Russia’s Ufa from Dinamo Bucharest in February and midfielder Alexandru Cretu, transferred on the same month from Olimpija Ljubljana to Maribor. Contra’s lineup also includes Dorin Rotariu, from the Belgian team Mouscron and veteran Cristian Sapunaru, who plays for Turkey’s Kayserispor. Romania will play two friendly games in the upcoming period, against Israel on March 24th away from home and against Sweden, on March 27, at home in Craiova.
In another development, the chances of Romanian coach Razvan Lucescu to win the Greek Championship with PAOK Thessaloniki are on the decrease. The Greek Football League has decided to leave Lucescu’s team without three points, following events at the match against Olympiakos. We remind you that the derby between Greek league leaders PAOK and defending champions Olympiakos did not get underway on February 25th, as Olympiakos coach Oscar Garcia was sent to hospital after being hit in the face by a cash register paper roll.
Consequently, Olympiakos were awarded a 3-0 victory which for PAOK meant a three-point deduction and two matches to be played behind closed doors. This is a huge setback to PAOKs title hopes, as it means their six-point lead over third-placed Olympiakos was annulled. Moreover, some 40 PAOK Thessaloniki supporters invaded the studios of a state-run Greek television station and forced a sportscaster to read a five-minute protest message on the air. The supporters left peacefully after the announcement was read.
