STOKE CITY MANAGER Mark Hughes is furious with the “unfair” rules over which players are released, and when, for the Africa Cup of Nations.
Several players have pulled out of the tournament, while Stoke will be without three Hughes wanted for the FA Cup clash against Wolves on Saturday.
Mame Diouf (Senegal), Wilfried Bony (Ivory Coast) and Ramadan Sobhi (Egypt) will miss the outing.
“It just smacks of being a bit unfair and not consistent and it allows clubs in our league to gain an advantage,” Hughes said.
“It should be one rule across all the associations then there wouldn’t be anybody going away from that.
“Some associations are more receptive to requests and the ones we’ve dealt with were OK with Mame Diouf but less so with other players.
“It seems to be dependent on who you’re talking to.”
Stoke host Wolves this weekend in the FA Cup before league meetings with Sunderland, Manchester United and Everton.
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Mike Ditka is an idiot. His response was entirely predictable.
Unsure where this protest is going. Aside from anything else, it’s been fun to see the likes of Ditka, Jerry Jones etc. get their knickers in a twist.
It really is quite scary how jingoistic some old people in America are. It’s a feckin national anthem lads, get over yourselves. There are things bigger than you or it.
Kapernick is fast turning into an absolute hero. There’s nothing wrong with being proud of your country and it’s military, but putting a flag and some quaint old song ahead of people’s lives has no place in today’s society.
Think the whole thing a class issue rather than a racial issue. The entire protest is a load of codswallop.
@ET PHONE HOME: Class and race go hand in hand in America
Facts please Stephen.
Not your opinion!
It’s marked as an opinion piece…
Hi Eddie,
A) It’s an opinion piece as Redzone has been for five years now.
B) It’s clearly marked as opinion piece.
C) As for facts, Keith Lamont Scott was shot dead by a Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer, Mike Ditka is an idiot and Colin Kaepernick has right on his side. Not sure what more ‘facts’ you need.
D) Have a nice evening.
Oooooo, that’s a deep burn Eddie….
Are those Eddie’s options? I would go with E. Read the piece first before commenting! I ain’t no journalist writer type person but it’s always best to leave out such things as calling someone ‘an idiot’, regardless of how true it may be, it just stoops to a level it doesn’t need to go. ‘The moral high ground to which you aspire could turn into into a slippery slope.’ As for my option… I’m gonna pick D.
Another fact might be that he had a gun and disobeyed both the police officer and his relative who were shouting at him to stop multiple times. Another fact might be that 5 white men were also shot dead by police the same day. Another fact might be that not one of those shootings resulted in race riots where black people were getting attacked by vicious mobs of whites, looting stores, destroying public and private property. A reactive opinion on those facts might be that were such riots were to take place the people perpetrating them would not be mollycoddled by the media and referred to as “protesters”. There are 2 sides to every story. I respect your opinions and thank you for writing the article but my personal assessment of the facts leads me to a conclusion different to yours. Which I am sure you will respect also.
What the some of the cops have been doing is totally wrong but there are 30 shootings plus a week in Chicago black/black crime and there has never been any protests about it.
They are all on the bandwagon at this stage. CK tryna be relevant because he hasn’t been that on a football field in almost 3 years
Colin Keapernick is performing a peace civil protest designed to engage. It’s worked, it seems blacks aren’t allowed to protest peacefully or with violence without criticism. Fyi, there have been many many protests about crime in Chicago and beyond. You just don’t hear about it, why? Because their black and Noone gives a chit….. until those protests are about the white establishment.
I think one thing everyone can probably agree on is that the race issue and trouble at the moment in the US is one hell of a complex , emotive and deeply polarising subject. Rights , wrongs , double standards and hypocrisy on both sides.
YouTube Shannon Sharpe he’s brilliant at explaining. You will understand it after.