"I am nothing close to the roles I play in movies"

Yvonne Nelson is a household name in the entertainment Industry. Popular for her roles in movies like 'Heart of Men', 'Forbidden Fruit', 'House of Gold' and her award winning self produced 'Single and married', the Ghanaian actress has carved a niche for herself.

In an interview with Vanguard, Yvonne addresses the misconception people have about her, her bad girl girl roles in movies, and lesbian rumours surrounding her name.

Read excerpts;

On bad girl roles and misconceptions.

“I am nothing close to the roles I play in movies. People should understand that I am an actresses and I get scripts that expect me to act in a certain manner. As a consummate professional, I am not going to turn down those scripts because I was expected to act in a certain manner,”.

 “I am aware that some people took exception to the role I played in the movie “Heart of Men” where there appeared to be some form of frontal nudity, but the truth of the matter is that there was no such overt display of nudity. But let’s even for the sake of argument say there was some nudity, why are we so judgmental and somewhat hypocritical?

The same people who took issues with that movie watch Hollywood movies where sexually graphic scenes are shown in a most morally appalling manner. We don’t condemn such roles; we, as a matter of fact, celebrate such roles. I am not an advocate of nudity or sexually graphic images in our movies. I have actually spoken against some of those tendencies; I will never appear frontally nude in any movie no matter the fees promised.

“I have morals and my morals are held closely to my chest. As you may recall, I was not the only person in that scene; there were others, and I am always at a loss when my role appeared to have been the one that garnered the most reaction. If you have been following the industry, which I believe you do, overt resort to nudity has been greatly reduced.

It was a phase-one that was experimented by some producers and realizing that it ran counter to the values that Nollywood or Gallywood espoused, the producers went back to doing stories that are heavy on family values.”

On lesbian rumours.

“look at me….what do you think? Of course, I am not a lesbian.

Lesbianism is against my religious beliefs, it’s against my cultural norms and I think it was very mischievous for people to insinuate such about someone they hardly knew. The rumor was started by a notorious website in Ghana last year when they reported that they had never seen me with a man. In their warped and twisted calculation, I was thus a lesbian. Can you imagine such crass reasoning?

That they had not seen me with a man, and may have seen me with my girlfriends going out to have fun, and then automatically I was a lesbian. It was a hatchet job – an attempt to discredit me, but they all failed. I am heterosexual and would remain one till the end. When you are in the public light as I have been blessed and privileged to being, your life becomes a public property and some mischievous people will say all manner of things about you. It comes with the territory, so I forgive them.”

"It's unfair Jose Mourinho looks good, wins like a king"

Former Manchester United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson was high in praises for Jose Mourinho in a TV interview with BT Sport aired on Boxing Day

Chelsea added three more points on Monday night in the win over Stoke City to stay top of the EPL over the Christmas break and Sir Alex says it’s a bit tardy and unfair that the Portuguese manager has got the looks, speaks five languages and wins without stress – something he thinks is rare for a manager who never really hard a playing career.

‘’It is unfair really. He’s good looking, he’s got that sort of George Clooney bit in his hair now,'' Ferguson commented. ''But I think he is a great example, he can speak five languages or whatever he can.

‘’He goes and becomes an interpreter for Bobby Robson, follows him to Barcelona, works under Louis Van Gaal; he is learning all the time.

‘’He (Mourinho) has got a determination, he wants to be a coach.

‘’He never played the game, by the way – you tell me how many presidents would give a manager a job who has never played the game? None. But he has done it.

‘’Then he goes and manages a small team in Portugal, then goes to Porto and wins the league, wins the UEFA Cup, wins the European Cup, goes to Chelsea and wins the league. Goes to Inter Milan.

‘’That is an example to anyone who wants to do well, you shouldn’t let the barriers get in your way if you want to get there.’’

Mourinho and Sir Ferguson were entangled in many battles as managers but the pair appear to have buried the hatchet ever since.

Mourinho made it 14 wins in 18 games so far in the EPL this season with the 2-0 win over West Ham with goals from John Terry and Diego Costa.

Mourinho has 'planted a seed' with Chelsea diving rant - Gary Neville

The Portuguese took exception to Anthony Taylor's decision to book Cesc Fabregas for simulation on Sunday, after the midfielder appeared to have been tripped by Matt Targett
Jose Mourinho's allegations of a "campaign" against Chelsea over diving were designed to make officials think twice before making big calls against his team in the future, according to Gary Neville.

Mourinho took exception to referee Anthony Taylor's decision to book Cesc Fabregas for simulation during Chelsea's 1-1 draw with Southampton at St Mary's on Sunday and suggested a wider pattern with several other incidents that have cost the Premier League leaders bookings or points this season.

And Neville, who played his entire career under Sir Alex Ferguson - another manager who made a habit of talking about referees - believes the Chelsea boss knows exactly what he hopes to achieve with his comments.

"He has planted a seed for the rest of the season," Neville said on Sky Sports. "He'll probably take a fine for that.

"What Mourinho has done today has said he's drawing a line in the sand and said 'I'm not accepting this any more', letting the referees know this is unacceptable for the rest of the season.

"The campaign bit is him saying he's not having this anymore.

"It's what teams that are going for the title do. Historically, you put pressure on, you plant seeds, he won't think for one minute there's a campaign against Chelsea." 

Commission rejects FFP challenge

Belgian agent Daniel Striani has lost his legal challenge against UEFA's Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules.

The rules - aimed at encouraging Europe's top clubs to break even - were challenged by Striani last year, but the European Commission (EC) informed him of its intention to reject the appeal in May.

A letter sent to Striani, who argued that the regulations would restrict investment in clubs and limit players’ wage and transfer fee inflation, pointed out that the regulations applied to clubs rather than agents and that he had no legitimate interest in challenging them.

UEFA president called for the European Union to back the FFP regulations in an October speech.

And though Striani has made a number of submissions to the Commission with a view to getting FFP rules changes, he has been unsuccessful once again.

In its conclusion, the EC said: "The Commission, in its discretion to set priorities... concludes that there are insufficient grounds for carrying out a further investigation into the alleged infringement(s) and consequently rejects your complaint.

"Regarding your claim that the break-even requirement infringes Articles 45 TFEU (free movement of workers), 56 TFEU (free movement of services) and 63 TFEU (free movement of capital), the Commission does not intend to investigate these further.

Striani is permitted to challenge the decision at the General Court of the European Union.

The Best African Nations of 2014

Goal Nigeria celebrate the continent's most impressive quartet of national sides over the last 12 months

While Nigeria endured a year to forget in 2014, various other African nations have enjoyed successes that they can look back on with pride.

In this feature, we celebrate the performances and the progression of four of the continent’s most impressive national teams, and explore how and why things have gone right for them this year.

The changing reaction to Cape Verde’s successes is testament to how quickly and convincingly they’ve improved.

Back in 2012, when the Tubaroes Azuis secured their first Cup of Nations qualification by beating Cameroon, it was celebrated as one of the greatest giant killings in the history of the African game.

In 2014, however, when they advanced to the tournament proper after cruising through qualification Group F, few people batted an eyelid.

Such is the conviction of their togetherness and the pride in their identity, that Cape Verde have transformed from being rank outsiders to ‘belonging’ at the continental top table.

The islanders were the first nation to confirm their presence at the Afcon (even ahead of hosts Equatorial Guinea) and will travel to the tournament confident of escaping from Group B.

Rui Aguas is so secure in his options that he can afford to travel to the Cup of Nations without players such as Braga’s Ze Luis and Dordrecht’s Josimar Lima.

No one will be welcoming Cape Verde with the ‘minnows’ tag any longer!

Gordon Igesund’s unhappy time in charge of the national side came to an end in the middle of 2014 when the South African federation opted not to renew the coach’s contract.

I believe that the former Moroka Swallows boss didn’t do as badly as some like to make out, but it’s fair to say that he left Bafana in a fairly muddled state.

There were few guarantees that incoming boss Shakes Mashaba would be able to pull the disparate threads of the national side together and ensure that the former African champions qualified for the 2015 Cup of Nations.

Gordon Igesund’s unhappy time in charge of the national side came to an end in the middle of 2014 when the South African federation opted not to renew the coach’s contract.

I believe that the former Moroka Swallows boss didn’t do as badly as some like to make out, but it’s fair to say that he left Bafana in a fairly muddled state.

There were few guarantees that incoming boss Shakes Mashaba would be able to pull the disparate threads of the national side together and ensure that the former African champions qualified for the 2015 Cup of Nations.

Financial Fair Play prevents new investment in football - AC Milan sporting director Gandini

The Italian discussed the impact of the regulation on the game and stressed that the current rules are prohibitive for prospective new owners

AC Milan sporting director Umberto Gandini believes that current Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations prevent new investment in football clubs.

Speaking at the International Sports Conference in Dubai, the Italian stated his belief that FFP maintains the status quo of the established European sides and doesn’t provide equal conditions of competition. 

Gandini is also the vice-chairman of the European Club Association (ECA), an independent body that represents the interests of teams in European competitions, one that is also heavily involved in the decision-making process when implementing new directives.

FFP has been the subject of intense scrutiny recently, with Jose Mourinho branding the current set-up a "contradiction", and Gandini feels that the situation requires reassessment.

The Italian said: "Financial Fair Play has brought some control and common sense into the administration of football clubs in Europe.

"It has been a success in terms of producing a reduction in the overall losses in European football.

"On the other hand, there is a crystallisation [of the top clubs] and we now have significant investors waiting to come into the game but they are prevented from doing so by FFP.

"There are currently five or six major clubs in Europe but what Uefa should be aiming for is to have 20 major clubs."

Also speaking at the conference, Uefa General Secretary Gianni Infantino defended FFP, countering: "It is important to look to the future. What FFP has done is make sure that when you manage a club you have to do so in a certain way. 

"There was a period of austerity and now we should look to the next stage - and that is growth. There can still be 20 major clubs and not just in England but major European clubs too. We just have to be brave."  

Infantino also showed frustration when asked to comment on the ongoing controversy surrounding the decision to award Qatar the 2022 World Cup, stating his desire for clarity on the subject of Michael Garcia's report on corruption within Fifa.

He added: “The vote [to award Qatar the tournament] took place four years ago, and people are still talking about it. Either there is something in it, or there is nothing. The sooner everything is out and everything is clear, it will be better.

Keshi should hide his face in shame — Prince Oduah

A former member of the board of the Nigeria Football Association (now Federation), Prince Isidore Oduah has reiterated his call on out-of-contract Super Eagles coach, Stephen Keshi to l forget about returning as national team coach.

Keshi

In a chat with Sports Vanguard Sunday, Oduah insisted that Keshi had no business going to the NFF secretariat for the same job he failed in. For failing to qualify the country for the 2015 Afcon, the veteran sports administrator quipped, “he has only succeeded in destroying whatever reputation he had.

“Keshi should hide his face in shame and leave because even those who are close to him are asking him not to return. I’m happy people like his former boss, Shaibu Amodu and Christian Chukwu are beginning to tell him the truth.”

Oduah said, “Keshi has abused the privileges he enjoys from high places. He has embarrassed his benefactors by failing to qualify Nigeria for the Nations Cup. He should just go.”

He therefore called on the NFF to move ahead and appoint a new coach who will help reposition Nigerian football. “I don’t think there is anybody who will blame them if, at this stage, they ignore Keshi and appoint another coach for the national team. No individual is bigger than the country.”