Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers admits Israel international Liel Abada may leave on loan if he cannot get his mind refocused on playing for the club.
Abada will again sit out Celtic’s cinch Premiership encounter with Kilmarnock on Saturday after not being in the right frame of mind to face St Mirren last weekend.
The 22-year-old has faced pressure in his home country because of support for Palestine among Celtic fans.
The situation flared up the day after the October 7 Hamas attacks in Israel, which led to more than 1,100 deaths plus the taking of hostages, when two banners among Celtic fans at Parkhead read: “Free Palestine” and “Victory to the Resistance”.
Palestine flags have continued to be flown among Celtic supporters amid Israel’s ongoing military assault on Gaza. More than 28,000 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and more than 68,000 wounded, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
The Green Brigade ultras group have asked their fellow fans to join them in song ahead of the Kilmarnock match to pay tribute to the people of Palestine and Abada will not be present.
“It’s still the same situation,” Rodgers said. “I have had lots of conversations with Liel and I am really empathetic towards the issue he has. It’s more than football. It’s at a human level, so I have to respect that.
“He is training, he is working away, but this period is all about the mind and if you’re not quite right or ready, firstly I can’t take any risk with him, because we will always support the player, and obviously I also have to protect the squad as well.”
Rodgers took the then injured Abada out for dinner to discuss his situation in the wake of the October 7 attacks, and he is continuing to offer his support to the player, who did not rediscover his previous form after returning in December.
“I take a great responsibility, that’s why we are here,” the former Liverpool manager said. “My job isn’t just a football manager.
“This is a young guy, 22 years of age, far, far away from home. People can talk about what’s going on there and then they can forget about it. This is the reality for him, this is his life. Every single day, every night, families in a war.
“So it’s a really, really tough situation for him. On a human level, I have real, real empathy for him.
“There’s many situations I have had to deal with as a manager over time, and lots of them you don’t get on the coaching courses. You have to understand and sit in his shoes.
“It’s the sadness of it where he re-signed for us because he had great belief he could go on and develop, then he had a period out with injury and now coming back he has found it a real, real challenge. But I am here for him, to support him, and everything else is secondary to that.
“It’s my job and I will take the human aspect, like I have done with numbers of players before, and look after him.
“And when he’s ready, if he ever is ready, then he will be able to give us everything.”
That caveat opened up the prospect of Abada potentially negotiating a swift exit from Glasgow, perhaps on loan to a league with its transfer window open, before a more permanent parting of the ways in the summer.
When asked if a loan was now an option, Rodgers said: “It’s a possibility. But we’ll see. We will work together on it.”
Ancelotti demands greater intensity from Madrid ahead of Bayern clash
Carlo Ancelotti says Real Madrid must play with greater intensity if they are to keep their hopes of a record-extending 15th European title alive, with their Champions League semi-final tie against Bayern Munich in the balance ahead of Wednesday's second leg.
Madrid were crowned champions of LaLiga with four matches to spare on Saturday, beating Cadiz 3-0 before watching their closest rivals Barcelona slip to a 4-2 defeat against Girona.
However, that success has not stopped Ancelotti from being critical of Madrid's performance in last week's first leg against Bayern, a 2-2 draw at the Allianz Arena.
He has warned his players that they cannot afford another subpar performance if they want to contest the final at Wembley Stadium on June 1.
"We need a match with intensity, with pace... Looking at the first leg, defensively we could have done a lot more," Ancelotti said at Tuesday's pre-match press conference.
Bayer Leverkusen ended Bayern's 11-year Bundesliga reign by securing the league crown last month, but Ancelotti says that will only boost Bayern's motivation as they chase a seventh European title.
"We are similar clubs because they have a great history and a lot of success," Ancelotti said. "We have to respect our opponents because they did very well and were better than us in the first leg.
"We are very excited because it could be another magical night for us, but there is no optimism. We are aware of the difficulties that we are going to face."
Defender Dani Carvajal, who has already lifted the Champions League trophy five times with Los Blancos, believes the squad are brimming with confidence after going unbeaten through their last 42 games (excluding extra time).
He joked Ancelotti was "getting more and more fearful" each season but praised his coach's role in keeping the players focused on the task at hand.
"There is euphoria because we are having a great year," Carvajal said.
"We are all very excited about the European Cup. We know it in the dressing room. In the street the fans congratulate us and give us a lot of encouragement to dream of winning it again.
"We are two games away from winning the Champions League. Ancelotti has kept our eyes open and we have all added up. That's what counts for us to achieve our objectives."
Man Utd keen to sell Greenwood amid Barcelona interest, claims Getafe president
Manchester United are keen to sell Mason Greenwood in the upcoming transfer window and could field interest from Barcelona, according to Getafe president Angel Torres.
Greenwood joined Getafe on a season-long loan deal in September and has scored eight goals and added six assists in 29 appearances in LaLiga in 2023-24.
Greenwood was arrested in January 2022 and was later charged with attempted rape and assault, with all charges against him dropped in February 2023.
United then conducted a six-month internal investigation into his conduct and said they recognised "the difficulties with him recommencing his career" with the club.
In February, speculation that Greenwood could yet return to Old Trafford was heightened when new minority shareholder Jim Ratcliffe said a "fresh decision" would be made on his future at the end of the season.
However, Getafe chief Torres claims the Red Devils are now keen to cash in on a player he hopes to keep at the Estadio Coliseum.
"If it depended on the player, his parents and the club, I think he would continue for another year," Torres said of Greenwood in an interview with RadioMARCA on Tuesday.
"Manchester United's idea is to sell if there is a good offer, we will have to wait. I think he will stay."
Reports had suggested both Atletico Madrid and Barcelona were considering a move for Greenwood, who is about to enter the final 12 months of his contract with United.
Torres claims Barca president Joan Laporta and sporting director Deco have been in touch about the 22-year-old, adding: "No one from Atleti has asked me about Greenwood.
"I spoke with [Atleti president] Miguel Angel [Gil Marin], but about other things. The only one who asked me about the player was Joan Laporta.
"I spoke with him and Deco and they asked me what he was like to get a sense of the player, but first they have to sell to buy, this is the problem with Spanish football."
Jamaica, T&T drawn in Group B of League A for 2024/25 Concacaf Nations League
Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago are set to cross swords in the group stages of this year’s fourth edition of the Concacaf Nations League, as both were drawn in Group B of League A for the 2024/25 campaign which is scheduled to kick off in September.
This year’s Concacaf Nations League will again be contested in a three-league format –Leagues A, B and C –and will see the Confederation’s 41 senior men’s national teams doing battle during the FIFA match windows of September, October, and November 2024. The semi-finals and finals of the tournament, which serves as the qualifiers for next summer’s 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup, are scheduled for March 2025.
The teams have been grouped across the respective Leagues based on their results from the 2023/24 staging. The Reggae Boyz and their Soca Warriors counterparts, who contested the business end of the competition for the first time in that campaign, will be hoping to do so again on this occasion.
They are among 12 teams, split in two groups of six teams each to contest League A in a “Swiss style” league system, with each team playing a total of four games (two at home and two away).
Jamaica, last edition’s semi-finalist, and Trinidad and Tobago, who made the quarterfinals, are drawn alongside Honduras, Cuba, Nicaragua, and French Guiana, while Group A comprises, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Martinique, Guadeloupe, Suriname, and Guyana.
After group stage play in September and October, the first and second-place finishers of each group, will advance to the quarterfinals, where they will join the four top-ranked League A teams, Mexico, United States, Panama, and Canada. The quarterfinals will be played in a home-and-away format, with the winner of each fixture, on aggregate, set to secure a berth in next year’s Finals.
Meanwhile, League B will feature 16 teams divided into four groups of four teams. Each team will play every team in its group twice. The groups were drawn as follows:
Group A -El Salvador, Montserrat, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Bonaire
Group B -Curacao, Saint Lucia, Grenada, and Saint Martin
Group C -Haiti, Puerto Rico, Aruba, and St Maarten
Group D -Dominican Republic, Bermuda, Antigua and Barbuda, and Dominic
Matches in each group will be played at a centralized venue instead of the previous home-and-away format, to alleviate travel challenges that Member Associations face.
The third best-ranked teams in each group will host the September matches, the second best-ranked teams will host the October matches, and the best-ranked teams will host the decisive November matches.
Over in League C, which consists of nine teams, divided into three groups of three teams, the format takes a similar shape, where each team will play every team in its group twice.
Group A -Barbados, Bahamas, and US Virgin Islands
Group B -Belize, Turks and Caicos Islands, and Anguilla
Group C-Saint Kitts and Nevis, Cayman Islands, and British Virgin Islands
Where centralized venues are concerned, the second highest-ranked teams in each group will host the September matches, and the highest-ranked teams will host the October matches.
Schedule:
Group Stage: September 2-10, October 7-15, and November 11-19, 2024
Quarterfinals: November 11-19, 2024
Semifinals: March 20, 2025
Final and Third Place Match: March 23, 2025
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