Different strokes for Nigerians in Europe

It was an extremely emotional weekend for Nigeria international striker, Emmanuel Emenike.

The striker endured a torrid time on Sunday night as he was booed by his own fans in Fenerbahçe’s 1-0 victory over Besiktas at Sükrü Saracoglu Stadyumu.

He was almost in tears as he left the pitch, prematurely heading for the changing rooms, to a chorus but was persuaded by the Fenerbahçe coach Ismail Kartal to continue.

It remains unclear if Emenike will ever play for Fenerbahçe again.

It was a tale of injured players in England as Brown Ideye and Victor Moses both missed out on games for West Browmwich Albion and Stoke City respectively in the Barclays English Premier League.

Elsewhere, there was a happier tale for former Nigeria international striker, Bartholomew Ogbeche who broke his goals drought for Cambuur.

On a weekend of high drama where Nigerians grabbed the headlines for the right and wrong reasons, supersport.com now rounds up the best of the action.

England (Premier League)

Brown Ideye was ruled out of West Bromwich Albion’s 0-3 loss to champions, Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.

Victor Anichebe however made his return from a groin injury but was only deemed fit enough to play in the final two minutes of the Baggies’ loss to the Citizens.

Victor Moses was another Nigerian ruled out of his club’s game at the weekend as a result of injury.

Moses was not included in the Stoke City match day squad as the Potters lost 1-2 to Crystal Palace at the Britannia Stadium.

John Obi Mikel is still out injured and duly sat out Chelsea’s 3-2 victory over Hull City at the Kingston Communications Stadium.

Omatsone Aluko was drafted in as an 81st minute substitute for Andrew Robertson but failed to inspire the Tigers to success against the powerful leaders.

Germany (Bundesliga)

Anthony Ujah played from the start before making way for Bard Finne in the 82nd minute as FC Koln drew 1-1 with Werder Bremen at RheinEnergieStadion.

Italy (Serie A)

Ogenyi Onazi was an unused substitute for SS Lazio in the 2-0 win over Hellas Verona at the Stadio Olimpico.

Joel Obi was an unused substitute for Internazionale in the 0-1 defeat to Sampdoria at Stadio Comunale Luigi Ferraris.

Spain (Primera División)

Kalu Uche played all 90 minutes for Levante in the 0-1 loss to Celta Vigo at Ciudad de Valencia.

Ramon Azeez was an unused Almería substitute in the 1-2 loss at San Mamés Barria.

Ikechukwu Uche replaced Giovani Dos Santos in the 71st minute of Villarreal’s 0-2 loss to Sevilla at Camp El Madrigal.

France (Ligue 1)

Vincent Enyeama tasted the bitter pill of defeat in Lille OSC’s 0-2 defeat to Saint-Étienne at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard.

Elderson Echiejile was an unused substitute for AS Monaco in the club’s 3-1 victory over Reims at Stade Auguste-Delaune II.

The Netherlands

Bartholomew Ogbeche returned to goal scoring ways in Cambuur’s 1-2 defeat to AZ Alkmaar at AFAS Stadion.

Turkey (Süper Lig)

Emmanuel Emenike hogged the headlines for very unusual reasons.

The striker was substituted at half time in Fenerbahçe’s 1-0 victory over Besiktas at Sükrü Saracoglu Stadyumu.

That was however not before he walked off the pitch in protest to being consistently booed by his own supporters.

The striker was however restrained by the Fenerbahçe coach, Ismail Kartal who persuaded him to continue with the game.

Joseph Akpala was substituted after 72 minutes as Karabükspor lost 0-1 to Konyaspor at Dr. Necmettin Seyhoglu Stadi to deepen their relegation worries.

Promise Isaac scored twice in Balikesirspor’s 1-4 victory over Eskisehirspor at Balikesir Atatürk Stadyumu.

Godfrey Oboabona played all 90 minutes for Caykur Rizespor in the 3-0 win over Kayseri Erciyesspor at Kadir Has Sehir Stadi.

John Utaka played for 72 minutes in Sivasspor’s 4-1 win over Bursaspor at 4. Eylül Stadyumu.

Russia (Premier League)

Ahmed Musa played all 90 minutes for CSKA Moscow in the 4-1 win over Arsenal Tula at Malaya Sportivnaya Arena.

Fegor Ogude was on from start to finish for Amkar Perm’ in the 0-1 defeat to Ural at Futbol'nyj manezh Ural.

Portugal (Primeira Liga)

Obiora Nwankwo played all 90 minutes in Académica’s 0-0 draw with Sporting Braga at Estádio.

Michael Uchebo and Gabriel Rueben played from start to finish for Boavista in the 1-0 win over Belenenses at Tochukwu “Simi” Nwankwo played all 90 minutes in Gil Vicente’s 1-3 loss to Arouca at Estádio Municipal de Arouca.

SuperSport face Arrows, Downs get Aces

The Nedbank Cup quarterfinal draw threw up some interesting match-ups when it was held at Southgate Mall in Johannesburg on Monday.

SuperSport United, the most successful team in the competition's history still alive, were handed a home fixture against National First Division (NFD) leaders Lamontville Golden Arrows.

Matsatsantsa, who have won the tournament three times previously, dumped out the reigning champions Orlando Pirates 1-0 over the weekend, while Abafana Bes'thende ousted lower division side Natal United by the same scoreline.

Arrows were one of three NFD teams still standing after the last 16 and the other two, Black Leopards and Vasco Da Gama will meet in one of the other quarterfinals.

Lidoda Duvha famously beat Amakhosi 2-1 in their weekend fixture -- the biggest upset of the last round. Vasco, meanwhile, thumped Maluti FET College 3-0 in their all-NFD affair.

The remaining two fixtures involve just Absa Premiership clubs with Mamelodi Sundowns, arguably the biggest team still standing in the competition, drawn to face Mpumalanga Black Aces away from home.

The Brazilians, also three-time past winners, beat Platinum Stars 3-1 in the last round and AmaZayoni overcame Jomo Cosmos 1-0.

Finally, last season's runners-up Bidvest Wits will meet Ajax Cape Town in the last eight after crushing University of Pretoria 3-0 to seal their progress.

The Urban Warriors will be at home, though, just as they were for the 1-0 win over Bloemfontein Celtic in the last round.

The quarterfinal matches are scheduled to be played on April 11 and 12.

Suarez winner worth 'half the title'

Luis Suarez's sweetly struck winner to down Barcelona's eternal rivals Real Madrid was hailed as taking the Catalans to the brink of the La Liga title on Monday as they moved four points clear with 10 games to go.

"Suarez scored a goal worth half the title," Barcelona sports daily Sport splashed across its front page.

Barca have now won 18 of their last 19 games with Madrid's run of only one win in their last four league games contributing to an eight-point swing in the title race in just three weeks.

However, Real bossed the game for the first hour and were left to rue a missed opportunity to put themselves back in the driving seat at the top of the table.

Most alarmingly for Carlo Ancelotti's men they were not undone by Barca's traditional strengths of passing and movement as the hosts' goals came from a set-piece headed home by Jeremy Mathieu and a long ball over the top from Dani Alves which Suarez did brilliantly to control and finish on the turn.

"So many missed chances," lamented Madrid sports daily Marca.

"The whites played the better football and were more motivated, but Barca struck from a set-piece and on the counter-attack."

Inside there was praise for Suarez's run of seven goals in his last seven games, which have began to repay the faith Barca made in signing him for a club record fee from Liverpool in July just weeks after he was banned for four months for biting Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini at the World Cup.

"He has already justified the investment made in him," said Marca, highlighting his ability not just to score goals but also unsettle defenders which led to the free-kick for Barca's opener.

Sport hailed the Uruguayan as a "killer" in front of goal who dug his side out of a hole as Madrid were the team in the ascendency before he struck just before the hour mark.

Meanwhile, the other Catalan sport daily, Mundo Deportivo, named Suarez man of the match for playing "with the passion that the match required and, above all, being decisive in the most important thing, the scoreline."

However, there were also words of warning for Barcelona in their quest to seal a treble of La Liga, Copa del Rey and Champions League for just the second time in their history.

Luis Enrique's men have on paper the much tougher run in with away games at Sevilla, champions Atletico Madrid and local rivals Espanyol to come.

Indeed an unlikely title challenge from Valencia can't yet be ruled out as Nuno Espirito Santo's in-form side lie eight points off the top, but face both Barca and Madrid in the final weeks of the season and don't have the distraction of Champions League football like the top two.

Totti hails De Rossi in battling Roma win

AS Roma showed they still have an appetite for the fight in a hard-fought 1-0 win at Cesena, their first victory in over a month, in a match decided by a goal from "capitan futuro" Daniele De Rossi.

The club's "captain of the future" was praised by current skipper and Roma stalwart Francesco Totti.

"I'm proud of my team mates," Totti, who missed the game due to injury, wrote on his personal blog (http://www.francescototti.com).

"But I especially embrace Daniele. His goal allowed us to win at a difficult time for us and for him."

Roma have won only three games since the Christmas break and a one-point gap on leaders Juventus has turned into a 14-point deficit which, with 10 league games remaining, has all but ended any realistic title hopes for Rudy Garcia's men.

"Finishing in second place is our goal," midfielder Radja Nainggolan told reporters.

"We have 10 games left and we have to try to grab as many points as we can."

Holding on to second place, which guarantees a spot in next season's Champions League, will not be easy, however, with surging Lazio have narrowed the gap to one point after winning their sixth successive game against Verona.

The outcome could be decided in the second-last fixture of the season when the Roman sides meet in the most anticipated derby since the 2013 Coppa Italia final which Lazio won 1-0.

After being torn apart at home by Fiorentina in Thursday's Europa League game Garcia had promised that he would make changes and only use players who were ready to battle.

The French coach was true to his word against Cesena as 21-year old Salih Ucan was in the starting line-up for the first time this season and was replaced by youth-team midfielder Lorenzo Pellegrini.

"They (Ucan and Pellegrini) showed they're ready to lend us a hand," Garcia said. "I'm happy for them."

January transfer window signings Seydou Doumbia and Victor Ibarbo also played their parts and Roma now have almost two weeks to prepare for the next match against fifth-placed Napoli.

Cypriot referees want more protection

There are few more hazardous occupations in world sport at the moment than being a referee in the Cypriot soccer league with officials on the Mediterranean island having suffered six criminal attacks in a year.

"The police have told us flat out that they cannot protect us and that they are unable to make any arrests in connection with incidents against referees, so what can we do?," a Cyprus Referees' Association (CRA) representative told Reuters.

"We have asked the Justice Minister to take action but again he says he is doing all he can. If he can't help us who should we ask for help, the Minister of Agriculture?"

Referees have always been considered a soft target for Cypriot soccer hooligans seeking to vent their anger and the sport has been hit by allegations of corruption.

There has also been a worrying upsurge in violence.

A car used by top referee Leontios Trattos was set alight this month, the second incident involving him after his car was destroyed in a bombing attempt last year.

In February, a car belonging to the wife of a referee was torched.

Such incidents have occasionally led to referees boycotting games. But the CRA has this time refused to give in to intimidation and will not ask its members to go on strike in response to continued acts of violence.

"A necessary pre-requisite for the smooth running of league matches is to secure referee safety and that needs to be immediately comprehended by the football association, who we demand leads these attempts," a CRA statement said.

The CRA also believes clubs must act in a more responsible manner because they often stoke fires before big matches by inciting fans to intimidate referees. Incensed supporters often direct their anger over their team's failings at officials.

Referee Marios Panayi told Reuters the system needed a complete overhaul, from the implementation of stricter laws to the clearing out of high-ranking officials at the Cyprus Football Association (CFA) and CRA who have been around for far too long.

"To be fair to the CFA, they can't really do anything to prevent these so-called fanatics attacking referees but there are a number of high-ranking officials within the association who provoke certain feelings because various groups feel they are prejudiced against them," he said.

VESTED INTERESTS

Panayi, a former international referee, has withdrawn from refereeing this season, tired of Cypriot football which he believes has been plagued for years by vested interests.

The CFA said in a March 17 statement that the fact the police had made no arrests in connection to incidents against referees encouraged outraged fanatics to terrorise referees.

"The CFA would like to express its sorrow but also its indignation because there has not been until now an effective response to the continued attacks against referees," it said.

Referees make mistakes in Cyprus, which happens in all countries, the CFA said, adding it is impossible to prevent mistakes and calling on everyone to show understanding and be more tolerant of Cypriot referees.

"Those to blame for the hostile climate towards referees, even if it is involuntary, are those that defame them for mistakes that are often insignificant," the CFA said.

"We are all witness, after all, to serious refereeing mistakes made by international referees who take part in leagues around Europe".

The police say they are doing everything possible to solve the cases but the dearth of willing witnesses has hampered any investigations.

"People need to understand that the police cannot be everywhere on a 24-hour basis but we are available if any member of the public has information that can help prevent or solve a crime," the police said in a statement.

They are calling on anyone involved in football, even if they wish to remain anonymous, to come forward and help the police make arrests which would hopefully act as a deterrent against those targeting referees.

Justice Minister Ionas Nicolaou was quick to jump to the defence of the police force despite their having not made any arrests in cases where referees were targeted.

"The CFA should first reflect upon their share of the blame. Inflammatory statements made by team officials that incite violence are also to blame for these incidents," Nicolaou said.

'Europe deserves another World Cup spot'

Europe deserves at least one more place at the World Cup and is optimistic that will be granted for the 2018 tournament in Russia, European soccer's governing body Uefa said on Monday.

Uefa was allocated 13 slots at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil and wants a 14th next time around, in addition to Russia who qualify automatically as hosts.

"I think there is a big chance that we will have more than 13 because if you look at it objectively, based on facts, 19 of the top 32-ranked associations are European," Uefa secretary general Gianni Infantino told reporters.

"The winners of the last three World Cups were three (different) European teams, so I think it's absolutely objective and fair to be asking for one more place only."

"We could ask for more than one (extra), but one would already be a good sign that... at the end of the day, to crown the world champions you must have the best teams."

Fifa's executive committee will hold an extraordinary meeting on May 30 to decide how many places each continent will get at the World Cup.

South America currently has 4.5 places, Concacaf 3.5, Asia 4.5, Oceania 0.5 and Africa 5 while the hosts qualify automatically.

A half place means one of the region's teams must take part in a two-leg playoff with a side from another continent to qualify.

Infantino was not discouraged by Europe's performance at the 2014 World Cup where, although Germany won the tournament, eight of the continent's 13 representatives fell at the group stage.

"I think South America certainly also deserves the number of teams they have in the competition," he said.

"You can argue whatever way you want but then there are facts.

"It's not like the Olympic Games where the importance is to participate, in football the important thing is to win and the sporting results are clearly for Europe whichever you want to argue it.

"I don't know if Fifa is trying to reduce the places of the European countries, although I don't think so," he added.

"I cannot imagine a World Cup with less than 13 European teams... The absolute minimum is the status quo."

Infantino added that the Uefa executive committee had decided that for the 2018 World Cup, the European qualifiers would consist of seven groups of six teams and two of five.

Bony scores first goal for City

Ivory Coast star Wilfried Bony scored his first goal for Manchester City since a mid-season move from Swansea to trigger a 3-0 English Premier League win over West Bromwich.

Bony, who helped his country win the Africa Cup of Nations in February for the first time since 1992, pounced on a deflected pass at the weekend to score.

The 26-year-old joined defending champions City during January in a $43 million (37 million-euro) transfer.

ENGLAND

DIAFRA SAKHO (West Ham)

The Senegal forward netted the late goal that gave his side a much-needed 1-0 win over Sunderland at Upton Park. After seven games without a win, Sakho relieved the pressure on Hammers boss Sam Allardyce when he drove a clinical strike into the far corner in the 88th minute. It was his 12th goal of the season.

WILFRIED BONY (Man City)

The Ivory Coast striker was in the thick of the action as his team got back on track with a 3-0 win against 10-man West Bromwich Albion at Eastlands. Bony was fouled by Albion's Craig Dawson in the second minute, an offence that referee Neil Swarbrick punished by mistakenly sending off Gareth McAuley instead. Swarbrick later admitted he had dismissed the wrong player, but by then City had cruised to a victory that kept the pressure on Premier League leaders Chelsea. Bony delivered the most significant blow when he opened the scoring in the 27th minute, gathering a deflected pass from Fernando and hoisting a shot past West Brom goalkeeper Boaz Myhill to claim his first goal in City's colours.

MAME BIRAM DIOUF (Stoke)

The Senegal forward's goal was in vain as Crystal Palace hit back to win 2-1 at the Britannia Stadium. Diouf, a former Manchester United player, struck in the 14th minute when Charlie Adam's free-kick deflected into his path and he stabbed the ball past Palace goalkeeper Julian Speroni for his 10th goal of the season.

AROUNA KONE (Everton)

The Ivory Coast forward made just his fourth Premier League start of the season and helped his team to a much-needed 2-1 win at struggling QPR. After Everton bowed out of the Europa League with an embarrassing 5-2 defeat at Dynamo Kiev last Thursday, they returned to form to ease their relegation worries. Kone, who has only one goal to his name this season, delivered a solid display before coming off in the 79th minute.

DAME N'DOYE (Hull)

The Senegal striker played his part in a dramatic encounter as Chelsea won 3-2 at the KC Stadium. Jose Mourinho's league leaders roared into a two-goal lead inside nine minutes, but Hull hit back to equalise before half-time thanks to two goals in two minutes. N'Doye played the full 90 minutes, but couldn't add his fourth goal since his January move from Lokomotiv Moscow as Loic Remy's late winner for Chelsea left the Tigers mired in the relegation battle.

ITALY

MOLLA WAGUE (Udinese)

Malian international Wague pounced on a header back into play following a poor Fiorentina clearance from a corner to give Udinese a 15th-minute lead with his second Serie A goal in only six appearances. It was a deserved goal in a balanced game, but the northerners had to settle for a share of the points thanks to Panagiotis Kone's leveller on the hour after a Mario Gomez brace had given Fiorentina a 2-1 lead.

GERVINHO (Roma)

Gervinho has come in for particular criticism on what has been a fruitless search for goals since his return from a triumphant Africa Cup of Nations with Ivory Coast. Gervinho last hit the net in Serie A in November when he opened the scoring in a 4-2 win over Inter Milan. He showed glimpses of his best in a 1-0 win at Cesena, which ended their five-game winless run.

SAMUEL ETO'O (Sampdoria)

Eto'o may not be as fleet-footed as he used to be, but the well-travelled Cameroonian is adapting well to his position up front on the right alongside Luis Muriel and Eder. After Eder scored with a 65th minute free-kick, Eto'o launched a promising counter that saw Pedro Obiang’s effort being deflected over from six yards out. Sampdoria held on to seal a precious win that moved them up to surprise fourth, four points off third and the last Champions League qualifying place.

FRANCE

MAX-ALAIN GRADEL (Saint-Etienne)

The Ivory Coast winger was once again a pivotal influence for Saint-Etienne as they continued their push to qualify for a European place. As ever, the side's most consistent attacking threat, he took his tally to 10 goals for the season with a brace in the 63rd and 74th minutes of the 2-0 victory over Lille.

ANDRE AYEW/JORDAN AYEW (Marseille/Lorient)

Both of the Ghanaian brothers got on the scoresheet at the weekend, but with very different outcomes. Andre hit Marseille's third in the 4-0 away hammering of Lens, while Jordan equalised for Lorient midway through the second half at the Parc des Princes but ended up on the losing side as two late strikes, almost inevitably from Zlatan Ibrahimovic, to complete his hat-trick, saw Paris Saint-Germain run out 3-1 winners.

JEAN-ARMEL KANA-BIYIK (Toulouse)

The Cameroon defender was the toast of Toulouse as his 61st-minute winner gave the relegation-threatened club something to cheer about with a 2-1 victory over rivals Bordeaux in the south-west derby.

NABIL DIRAR (Monaco)

The Morocco midfielder rounded off an impressive week for Monaco as they picked up where they had left off against Arsenal in the Champions League when he knocked in Belgian winger Yannick Carrasco's cross 11 minutes from the end to complete a 3-1 win at struggling Reims.

GERMANY

PIERRE EMERICK-AUBAMEYANG (Borussia Dortmund)

The Gabon winger scored two of Borussia Dortmund's goals in their 3-2 win at Hanover, Dortmund's first in four games after goalless draws with Cologne and Hamburg before last Wednesday's 3-0 defeat at home to Juventus saw them bow out of the Champions League. Aubameyang has 12 goals in 25 league games as Dortmund's top scorer and his side are 10th in the table, but just five points from a top-six finish which carries a European place.

JOEL MATIP (Schalke 04)

The Cameroon centre-back went close with several chances in Schalke's 1-0 defeat at home to Bayer Leverkusen, which left them fifth in the table, but six points from a Champions League place. Matip squandered a clear second-half chance, but was powerless to prevent Leverkusen's Germany winger Karim Bellarabi scoring the 35th-minute winner.