Top Stories

Friday Kickoff: French FA suspends Nasri, Menez; Hoilett joins QPR and more

NasriMenez (Reuters Pictures)

It will be at least three international matches before Samir Nasri represents France again.

The Manchester City star was suspended there games, and French teammate Jeremey Menez was suspended one for their conduct at Euro 2012. Nasri was punished for his comments made after the team's ouster at the hands of Spain, going into a curse-laden tirade at journalists. He will miss a friendly against Uruguay in addition to World Cup qualifiers against Finland and Belarus.

Menez, currently in the United States with Paris-St. Germain, will also miss the Uruguay friendly, as he was disciplined for getting into a verbal altercation with goalkeeper Hugo Lloris. Yann M'Vila and Hatem Ben Arfa, who were also facing discipline, were cleared and not suspended for their misconduct at Euro 2012.

Here are a few more stories from around the soccer world:

HOILETT JOINS QPR

Potential Canadian international Junior Hoilett agreed to a four-year deal with Queens Park Rangers Friday, ensuring his place in the Premier League after leaving relegated Blackburn, where he was brought up in the youth academy before debuting for the club in 2009.

Hoilett, 22, has Canadian and Jamaican eligibility and has yet to commit internationally. He scored 12 goals in the last two seasons for Blackburn, including this cracker against Norwich City last season. The move reunites Hoilett with QPR manager Mark Hughes, who was manager at Blackburn when Hoilett was being brought up the youth ranks.

VAN DER WIEL CRITICIZES ROBBEN

Euro 2012 was forgettable for the entire Netherlands national team, and one player with big expectations who struggled mightily was winger Arjen Robben. Teammate Gregory Van der Wiel expressed some of his frustrations at Robben, insinuating that his selfish play was a factor in the Dutch demise.

"If you give Arjen the ball and he has two opponents in front of him, he'll still try and get past them," Van der Wiel reportedly told Dutch outlet NUsport. "He's not the type of player to sacrifice himself for the wing-back and cut inside to create space for me, or tracks back to help me out when I'm dealing with two opponents. I was the one sacrificing myself for Arjen, and that's not something I'm used to. I prefer to do things together, both defending and attacking. It was a bit frustrating how things went."

MASCHERANO EXTENDS BARCELONA CONTRACT

Argentina international Javier Mascherano has extended his stay at Barcelona, signing a new contract that will keep him at Camp Nou through 2016.

Mascherano, a defensive midfielder by trade, has filled in admirably at centerback for Barcelona with the club having captain Carles Puyol go through injury woes that have forced him to miss substantial playing time. Mascherano joined Barcelona in 2010 after a standout stint at Liverpool.

———–

What do you think of the French suspensions? Were they deserved punishments? Do you like Hoilett's move to QPR? Think he is in for a bigger season in the Premier League? What do you make of Van der Wiel's comments? How would you rate Mascherano's time at Barcelona?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Canada keeps losing their talented players. Heck even Jamaica/Trinidad ago and Tobago have better players and federation. what’s going on with them? They need to shape up

    Reply
  2. what exactly happened in the Dutch camp? I read some site that said Huntelaar was told to shut up or he would be stuck at the hotel. It sounds so outlandish. The Irish and Swedes did bad at the EURO’s but the Dutch flat out flopped.

    Reply
  3. Dear,
    How are you?
    Im so happy today because just received my laptop from aeasaey.com the with such low price of the quality goods , you can have a look if you need any electronic products , There are many famous brand of electronic products with original quality and international warranty. Hope it is valuable to you soon!
    God bless you !

    Reply
  4. Hit them where it really counts….in the pocketbook. Have him forfeit a game’s pay, but have him play nonetheless. I think suspensions should be for on-the-field play, not for expressing opinions no matter how bone-headed or expletives laden they are.

    Reply
  5. That’s a shame about Junior Hoilett.
    Could you imagine how dangerous Canada would be internationally if they had Hoilett and Jonathan de Guzman causing havoc on the wings with DeRo controlling distrubuting and finishing?

    Reply
  6. If QPR doesn’t implode this year they should be a top ten side. With the players on the team and the overlapping personalities in certain positions the implosion is probably a more likely scenario.

    Reply
  7. Are you proposing a bonus for the first player to cuss someone out at the next tournament France participates in? If they all are over the top obnoxious are thinking that is the best way to build team a stronger cohesive team? Maybe before each match they should head butt or drop kick their opposition in honor of their greats of the past?

    Reply

Leave a Comment