Diego Costa suspended for eight matches for insulting referee

Atletico Madrid striker Diego Costa will miss the rest of the season after being handed an eight-match suspension by the Spanish Football Federation on Thursday.
Costa was sent off in the first half of Atletico’s 2-0 defeat to Barcelona on Saturday for directing a crude insult towards referee Gil Manzano. Manzano also reported that Costa had “grabbed” him by the arms during the incident.
The lengthy ban means Costa will not play again this season as Atletico have seven games left in La Liga, having been knocked out of the Champions League and Copa del Rey.
According to the match report submitted by Manzano, Costa insulted his mother in a foul-mouthed outburst before “grabbing me by the arms to prevent me showing cards to numbers 24 and 2 respectively”.

CAF postpones African Cup club match due to Sudan crisis

The fall of Sudan’s longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir and the turbulent political aftermath has delayed an African Confederation Cup tie for the country’s top-flight club Al Hilal.
“Due to the current security situation in Sudan, the second leg between Al Hilal and Etoile du Sahel (Tunisia) has been postponed indefinitely,” the Confederation of African Football said in a statement.
The match was due to take place on Sunday at the Al Hilal Stadium in Omdurman, near the Sudanese capital Khartoum.

Man Utd ‘nullified’ Barca despite defeat, claims Smalling

Manchester United defender Chris Smalling believes Barcelona were nullified at Old Trafford despite emerging 1-0 victors from their Champions League quarter-final, first leg on Wednesday.
Luke Shaw’s 12th-minute own goal means United have another Champions League mountain to climb on the road, after overturning a 2-0 first-leg deficit to eliminate Paris Saint-Germain on away goals in the last 16.
“We pressed them high and made it difficult. It’s a shame we couldn’t get the goal,” Smalling told BT Sport.

Rising star Nelson hopes to emulate Henry after Hoffenheim success

English teenager Reiss Nelson remembers driving up the leafy road towards the training ground of Bundesliga club Hoffenheim for the first time and thinking: “Where am I going?”

The 19-year-old English winger has made quite an impact since arriving at the club on a year-long loan from Arsenal, becoming the latest English youngster after Jadon Sancho to shine in Germany.

Now he feels ready to return to North London and walk in the footsteps of his boyhood idol Thierry Henry.
Yet for a young man who grew up on the gritty estates of South London, it was something of a culture shock to land in the idyllic, green surroundings of Hoffenheim after his loan deal was signed last August.

Actors lead fake lives on social media –Belinda Effah

Actress, Belinda Effah, has said she is not comfortable with the lifestyle that a lot of her colleagues portray on social media. Effah told Sunday Scoop that many of them portrayed an image that was a façade.
She said, “The things I see posted on social media by my colleagues are appalling. It is sad because they are not representing the industry well to the society. I know how much some people make, yet the lifestyle they portray is way above their means. For those people, I’ll like to know how they made it so that others can learn from them. But if you cannot explain your source of income, you shouldn’t mislead others. If you’re portraying a lavish lifestyle on social media, people would naturally believe that you are okay. And when issues such as health crisis occur, they would be reluctant to come to your aid.

I used to be “queen” of auditions and “wakapass” roles –Funke Akindele-Bello

Nollywood star and producer, Funke Akindele-Bello, has revealed how she struggled in the early years of her acting career.
Speaking about how she almost gave up acting, Akindele-Bello noted that her mother was among those, who encouraged her not to quit the industry.
The talented actor made the revelation recently on her YouTube channel when she talked about how she used to attend several auditions, hoping to get a prominent role. According to her, she often ended up being disappointed until she got her big break in a soap opera titled ‘I need to know’.

No artiste can reign forever – Ruggedman

When rapper, Ruggedman, released the song, Ehen, in 2003, it revolutionised the Nigerian music industry. With his scathing lyrics, the rapper whipped those he considered ‘wack’ artistes into line. However, about 16 years later, the rapper isn’t as ‘hot’ as he used to be, and in a chat with Sunday Scoop, he said there was nothing unusual about that. “Everybody has his or her time. If people say I have not been ‘buzzing’ like I used to when I first came out, I would tell them that it is almost impossible for anybody to stay on top of the industry for such a long time. We all have our times to shine and it’s important to use it well. It is wrong for anybody to say I have not been consistent. I’m doing music and working with trending artistes; that is consistency. I have had songs with top artistes such as Wande Coal over the years,” he stated.

OAP Ark has apologised for claiming Chidinma sleeps around – Manager

It came as a shock when a Lagos-based broadcaster, Benny Ark, alleged that Kizz Daniel’s hit song, Fvck You, was a dig at Kedike singer, Chidinma.
Although neither Chidinma nor Kizz Daniel confirmed the story, it was alleged that the two musicians were in a romantic relationship last year.
Benny Ark had said on air that Kizz Daniel made the song for Chidinma, adding that she was notorious for ‘hopping’ around in the music industry. The OAP later tendered an apology after Chidinma’s lawyers threatened to take legal action against him.

Radio presenter was arrested for trying to rape me but released – Naomi Branch

Budding singer, model and photographer, Naomi Branch, obviously knows what she wants and she is not afraid to go after it with tenacity and focus. However, it hasn’t been a bed of roses as the prolific entertainer once escaped being raped in the course of advancing her career.

Ace Gospel Music Akpororo Sets To perform

Top gospel artiste, Sammie Okposo, has explained why he lambasted comedian, Akpororo, when he took off his shirt while performing at a street praise event in Lagos last year.
Speaking with Sunday Scoop, Okposo said there were rules guiding gospel music and Akpororo crossed the line. He stated, “I really don’t want to go into that any longer. In the kingdom of God, there are certain things you cannot do, notwithstanding the swagger you want to adopt. Have you ever been to a church and the person leading praise and worship or the choir members were dressed inappropriately? I was hard on Akpororo because of the relationship that I share with him. I have always supported him; so, it was my duty to say that he went too far. There is a way I will dress and it will send a wrong message to people. Even before I start to minister, those people would be put off already because of my appearance. Also, we should not forget that we have elderly people in the church who don’t tolerate certain things.”

Sudan Army Removes Bashir —Defence minister

 

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has been removed from power and detained by the army, Defence Minister Awad Ibnouf announced on state television on Thursday.
“I announce as minister of defence the toppling of the regime and detaining its chief in a secure place,” Ibnouf said.

Nigeria's Senate Confirms new Ambassadorial Nominees

The Senate on Thursday confirmed three new ambassadorial nominees recommended to it by President Muhammadu Buhari early this year.
The confirmation followed the consideration of the report of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs chaired by Senator Monsurat Sunmonu, which had earlier screened the nominees.
The nominees who were confirmed are: Mr. Christopher C. Chejina from Delta State; Mr. Bukar Kolo, Yobe State; and Mr. M. A. Mabdul from Benue State, respectively.