Sports

Ugandan police arrests Arsenal fans celebrating victory over Man United

Published

1 year ago

January 24, 2023

Eight fans of Arsenal Football Club were on Monday, arrested by the police in the Ugandan city of Jinja while celebrating the club’s 3-2 win over Manchester Unitedl in the English Premier League.

According to the police, the jubilant fans wearing the club’s red jersey and carrying a symbolic trophy, had engaged in an illegal procession which is a public order offence.

Arsenal fans in the country had broken into uncontrollable celebrations after the Gunners scored a dramatic last-minute goal through Ghana-born striker, Eddie Nketiah to win 3-2 in the match against its fiercest rivals on Sunday.

The two clubs are the most popular European clubs and matches involving Arsenal and Manchester United always draw huge support with makeshift video halls always packed to the rafters.

The jubilant Arsenal fans, according to local media, were travelling in a convoy of five vehicles on Monday morning when they were intercepted by police.

A senior regional police officer
James Mubi, himself a self-declared Arsenal fan who spoke with journalists on the arrest, said he had not reviewed the fans’ charges but wondered why they were celebrating when only half of the matches in the season had been played.

“What would happen if an altercation with rival fans broke out? They did not inform police to provide security for their procession,” Mubi, who dismissed suggestions that the arrest was linked to the frequent arrest of members of an opposition party who also wear red, said.

But human rights groups have condemned the arrest, saying the Public Order Management Act has given police discretionary powers that have been used to stifle citizens’ rights.

Agather Atuhaire, a lawyer and rights activist, said the Ugandan police has continued “to be high-handed even after the Constitutional Court nullified all the draconian provisions that gave them unfettered powers to restrict the constitutionally guaranteed freedom of association and assembly.”

Related Topics:Arsenal Celebration EPL Featured Manchester United Uganda Victory

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Sports

Chelsea offers Lukaku plus cash to Napoli for Osimhen

Published

5 hours ago

May 6, 2024

Akanimoh Etim

English Premier League club, Chelsea, is said to be willing to offer Belgium striker, Romelu Lukaku, as well as fork out £77 million to Napoli in a bid to lure Nigerian forward, Victor Osimhen, to the club this summer.

Multiple reports in the Italian sporting media reveal that the Blues are willing to use forgotten man Lukaku and unnamed player to sweeten the deal to bring in Osimhen.

The Belgian striker who is on loan at Roma, is set to depart the Italian capital at the end of the season and make his return to Stamford Bridge where Chelsea are already planning ways to get rid of him on a permanent basis.

According to Gianluca Di Marzio of Sky Sport, the latest development in the Lukaku’s saga with the Blues is that Chelsea have gone as far as offering the 30-year-old attacker to Napoli.

“The Blues are aiming to sign Victor Osimhen this coming summer and are aiming to include Lukaku in a deal for the Nigerian international,” Marzio said.

“Newly appointed Napoli sporting director, Manna, is said to be very keen on Lukaku after having tried to bring him to Juventus and Napoli are currently considering the offer with Roma slipping away from the race for Big Rom.”

The 30-year-old Belgian rejoined the Blues in a disastrous £97.5m deal in 2021 and has spent the last two seasons out on loan, firstly at Inter Milan then this time around at Roma.

With two years still remaining on his deal, the Blues will look to get his salary off their wage bill for good this summer.

Osimhen on the other hand, helped Napoli to a historic Serie A title victory last season, scoring 26. This season, he has scored 14 goals in 22 appearances, having missed chunks of the campaign due to a hamstring injury and Afcon.

Lukaku, meanwhile, has netted 11 goals in 29 Serie A appearances for Roma, with 19 in all competitions.

Sports

Nigeria’s 4x400m mixed relay, 4×400 teams qualify for Olympics

Published

1 day ago

May 5, 2024

Akanimoh Etim

Team Nigeria on Sunday morning booked two places at the upcoming Paris Olympics Games in the Mixed 4x400m relay and 4X400m men’s events with automatic qualification spots at the ongoing World Relays in the Bahamas.

The mixed 4x400m relay team which had the quartet of Samuel Ogazi, Ella Onojuvwevwo, Chidi Okezie, and Esther Elo Joseph, picked the slot after finishing second behind the USA in their heat with a time of 3:13.79, to ensured Nigeria’s presence on the Olympic stage.

Both Nigeria and the US were a distance ahead of other in the heat and it was obvious as at the third leg that the race was between the two countries.

According to reports on the race, Okezie ran an impressive third leg in 44.78 to handover his baton first, but a US Olympics gold-medalist, Kendall Ellis, was too much for Esther Elo Joseph in the anchor leg as she led the United States to the finish line first.