Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

FOOTBALL

Ashley Cole welcomed by Roma after Chelsea exit

Roma on Monday welcomed former Chelsea and England defender Ashley Cole before his proposed move to the Serie A runners-up.

Published: 7 July 2014 14:07 CEST
Ashley Cole welcomed by Roma after Chelsea exit
Ashley Cole earned 107 England caps. Photo: Ben Stansall/AFP

Cole has travelled to the Italian capital, with Roma posting a photo on their official Twitter feed, with the message: "Welcome to Rome, Ashley!"

The 33-year-old is a free agent following his release by Chelsea in May and had been linked with a number of teams in both the Premier League and Europe.

Cole, long a lynchpin of the Chelsea and England teams, had become a fringe player in Jose Mourinho's squad last season.

The Portuguese coach preferred Cesar Azpilicueta at left back for much of the season in which Chelsea finished third behind champions Manchester City and Liverpool.

Cole made just 17 Premier League appearances, his lowest total in a single campaign for the club.

Since his move from Arsenal in 2006, he won one league title, four FA Cups, the Europa League and, the Champions League.

Cole earned 107 England caps, but announced his retirement from international football before the World Cup after he was left out of Roy Hodgson's squad for Brazil.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

RACISM

VIDEO: Spain’s La Liga reviews video of boy racially abusing Vinicius

Spain's La Liga on Monday said it was reviewing a video of a child making racist insults towards Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior during the 2-2 draw with Valencia at the weekend.

Published: 4 March 2024 13:41 CET
VIDEO: Spain's La Liga reviews video of boy racially abusing Vinicius

“We’re in the process of studying and analysing the facts from a legal standpoint to see what we can and should do,” La Liga sources said.

In a video published by a journalist for ESPN Brasil, and picked up by Spanish media, a boy sitting in a woman’s lap can be heard calling Vinicius a “monkey”.

The Brazilian scored twice for Madrid as his team recovered from two goals down at Mestalla on Saturday.

Vinicius raised his fist in a “Black Power” salute after the first of his two goals at a ground where he was racially abused last season. Valencia subsequently banned three people from the stadium for life.

The 23-year-old has become a symbol of the fight against discrimination in Spanish football after suffering racist abuse on many occasions, and he was jeered repeatedly by home supporters on Saturday.

Jude Bellingham was sent off after the final whistle against Valencia for protesting after the referee blew the final whistle right before the England midfielder headed home what he thought was the winning goal.

READ ALSO: Football star Vinicius highlights racist behaviour from Spanish fans

SHOW COMMENTS