Two brothers accused of being hired “muscle” in the kidnapping of former Test cricketer Stuart MacGill have been granted bail while they await trial.
Richard and Frederick Schaaf are charged with abducting Mr MacGill from outside his home on Sydney’s lower north shore last year.
The pair pleaded not guilty to charges of take/detain in company with intent to obtain advantage, with the matter expected to go to trial mid next year.
On Thursday, they watched remotely from Bathurst Correctional Center as they were granted bail by Justice Richard Button under “strict” conditions.
The Schaaf brothers heard they will be not required to undergo electronic monitoring when they are released from jail sometime in the near future.
They were arrested along with four other men, including Mr MacGill’s de facto brother-in-law Marino Sotiropoulos, over an alleged cocaine deal gone wrong.
The court was told that Mr MacGill introduced Mr Sotiropoulos – who is the brother of his partner Maria O’Meagher – to a cocaine dealer, with the cricketer claiming that it was the extent of his involvement.
Mr Sotiropoulos has since been charged with a supply of a large commercial quantity of a prohibited drug and will stand trial alongside the Schaaf brothers.
Mr MacGill alleges that a group of men forced him into a car outside his home and confronted him after the drug deal ended in a “rip off”.
The former Test spinner claimed that he was taken to a Bringelly property where he was threatened with a gun, assaulted and demands were made for money.
Earlier this month, Schaafs’ lawyer Avni Djemal argued that the evidence against the brothers supported them being released on bail.
He argued that Mr MacGill had gone willingly with the group of men to an abandoned house in southwestern Sydney and said there was no physical evidence that he had been brutally assaulted.
“The evidence implies Mr MacGill to a high level. I’m surprised he’s not charged with the actual drug transaction that he says, in his evidence, ‘I had nothing more to do with it, I just introduced the brother-in-law, Mr Sotiropoulos, to a person who I knew used to sell drugs’,” Mr Djemal said.
Mr Djemal added there was no evidence to support Mr MacGill’s assertions that he had been punched to the front and back of his head, knocked to the ground and suffered a concussion.
Mr Djemal said the only evidence of any injuries was Ms O’Meagher saying she felt a lump on Mr MacGill’s head.
“He doesn’t have one visible injury after those events,” Mr Djemal said.
“If the hits to the front of your face have produced no lumps and you say the onslaught was to the front, the side, knocked you to the ground, how could that be?
“How could his word be that there was a kidnapping? What if he went, saw photos and got brought back?”
The Suzuki star had an excellent chance of adding to his memorable 2019 Silverstone win as he continued at the head of the field up to and past the midway stage of the 20 laps.
But despite running the hardest rear tire compound, Rins began to suffer unexpected grip issues and couldn’t hide his disappointment after slipping all the way back to seventh place (albeit just +3.021s) at the finish.
“I was destroyed,” admitted to downbeat Rins. “Not because of the [physical effort] on my body, but because I gave it my maximum today.
“When I was in P1, I was riding so smooth, controlling the throttle and the rear slide, but at a certain point in the race I was struggling a lot to keep the rear traction.
“I don’t know why, we need to check with Michelin, because it was not normal. I was suffering a lot to keep a 2’00 lap time. In the last 5 or 6 laps, I was riding in 2’01.”
“It was frustrating, because I did a really good start,” the Spaniard added. “When I was up there in third, then second, I said to myself, ‘wow Alex, you’re riding so smooth!’ Then I overtook Pecco for first… but after the tire [performance] went down so fast, and I was a little bit in a panic, because I was struggling to hold the position.
“Usually, we are the ones that take care of the tire a lot and in the race we have a good margin. But I don’t know what happened.
“When Miller overtook me [for second], I was already struggling to follow him. And then lap by lap, it was even worse until the end.”
Team manager Livio Suppo also thought Rins was on course for Suzuki’s first win since 2020, until the grip issue struck.
“When he was leading, we really thought he’d be able to win, because he looked very comfortable and smooth,” Suppo said. “Unfortunately, he then started to lose grip on the rear tire.
“This is something we have to analyze with Michelin – we have seen the data but we need to understand why this happened. “
Rins’ team-mate Joan Mir didn’t even reach the checkered flag, crashing out of seventh place in the closing stages after losing the front.
“The temperatures were higher than the previous days and maybe being behind the group for a lot of laps meant I overheated the front more than I wanted,” he said. “I think the crash was due to this problem.
“I was trying to manage and take a bit of fresh air, but it was difficult. Especially because I was there in the group.
“I think that we could have gone forward a bit in the next laps, because I was feeling fine, but we’ll never know.”
Mir, yet to confirm his future but expected to join Repsol Honda, has now dropped to twelfth in the world championship, with future LCR Honda rider Rins in eighth.
All Blacks’ first five-eighths Beauden Barrett was relieved to be able to move his fingers and toes while lying on the ground at Mbombela Stadium after a fearful mid-air collision in Saturday’s first Lipovitan-D Rugby Championship Test.
Springbok wing Kurt-Lee Arendse upended Barrett in an illegal charge that resulted in a four-week ban in the 10-26 loss for the All Blacks.
Barrett told All Blacks TV he immediately feared the worst in the collision.
After landing on the ground, All Blacks support staff were quick to his side.
“I can’t remember who told me to stay still.
“It wasn’t until Doc came on and asked me, ‘could I move my fingers and toes?’
“I was relieved I passed all those tests and eventually sat up and was able to walk off.
“There was a fearful period there for a minute or so when you think of the worst.
“It’s quite scary when you go over backwards and find yourself come down on your head and shoulders.
“It’s part of the game and, every time we go up for the high ball we’ve got to be courageous,” he said.
Chasers of the ball sometimes made errors in judgments.
“They have intentions to get up but find themselves running into the person, which happened at the weekend.
“As escorts, the players in front of me are doing their best to protect me, but it’s not always the case.”
Barrett said the high-ball collisions and contests were not unexpected when playing South Africa. In those 50-50 situations, South African players would look to make a contest, and it was up to the All Blacks to continue to compete.
“Our escorts have to do a job to legally stop that chaser from running a good line and allowing that mid-air collision.”
Barrett had previously suffered in such a collision against France in 2018 at Wellington. On that occasion, he landed on his shoulder and escaped serious injury.
“It’s high-speed, split-second stuff which can be quite dangerous.
“I was lucky on that occasion and was lucky at the weekend.”
He hoped his luck could hold in the future because it was a tactic South Africa would continue to employ.
“It’s a strength of South Africa’s because they cause carnage up in the air and they like to play off the spills,” he said.
The 105-Test veteran has been able to train with the side and is expected to be available for the second Test at Johannesburg on Saturday.
Barrett said there was no lack of motivation among the All Blacks.
“We believe in what we’re doing and where we’re heading. Winning is a habit, but losing can be too.
“We’ve just got to remember how well we can do the simple things, why we play the game, and what got us here in the first place,” he said.
It was about not over-complicating things, shutting out external noise and playing rugby.
Forward Will Snelling has been ruled out of Essendon’s clash with Port Adelaide after suffering a low-end hamstring strain.
Snelling presented with ‘awareness’ in his hamstring post round 21, with scans revealing the 25-year-old had suffered a strain.
Head of high performance Sean Murphy said there’s still a possibility for Snelling to return to the Dons lineup for round 23.
“Snelling’s unfortunately got a low-grade hamstring strain,” Murphy told Essendon FC’s Liberty Financial Performance Update.
“He got through the game no issues and then presented the day after with a bit of awareness, and unfortunately on scanning (the hamstring) it showed the low-grade strain.
“He’ll miss this week and we’ll test it the following week.”
midfielder Jye Caldwell may make a return after missing round 21 with a calf strain.
Murphy said the 21-year-old is making positive strides, but an assessment will come later in the week in terms of his availability.
“’Calders’ is going well,” he said.
“He’s still got a bit to get through this week, but things are looking pretty positive for Jye and the plan will be to train across this week and we’ll assess his availability after the main session this week.”
Dylan Shiel is a strong chance to return to Essendon’s side after completing a thorough weekend session.
Dylan Shiel contests a ball with Zach Merrett on Wednesday. (Photos: AFL Photos)
Murphy said Shiel will have to get through Friday’s main session unabated to then be available for selection.
“Shiel’s probably a step ahead of Jye,” Murphy said.
“He completed a really solid session over the weekend, ticked off a lot of things we wanted to see and he’s going to train fully across the week, get through main training and he’ll be up for availability (for selection).”
Port Adelaide president David Koch confirmed the club’s position on Thursday evening amidst plenty of speculation.
Hinkley is contracted for 2023 but is currently coaching his worst-ever season at Alberton. Port will miss finals this season after playing in a home preliminary final in 2022.
On Monday Koch put the football department on alert when saying: “turn it around or watch out”.
However, just days later, he’s now guaranteed Hinkley his position for next year.
“The club has maintained all year Ken Hinkley is contracted and will be our coach in 2023,” Koch told 7 News Adelaide.
Hinkley has coached 211 games for a win percentage of 58.77 per cent at Port Adelaide. Koch’s statement backs up Hinkley’s account earlier in the week when the Power coach said conversations behind the scenes he has assured him his job for next year.
Port Adelaide plays Essendon on Sunday evening in Round 22.
Regardless of where Daniel Ricciardo’s Formula 1 future lies given McLaren’s attempt to drop him for 2023, he needs a stronger second half of the season after a difficult 18 months. But it will take more than the “natural reset” offered by the August break that he talked about after the Hungarian Grand Prix to make that happen.
Ricciardo will certainly benefit from the break given the frenetic pace of the first 13 races of the season. And he deserves time off as, for all his struggles and amid uncertainty about his future, he has remained ultra-professional on and off track and tackled his struggles with dignity and honesty.
But any expectation that the August shutdown will automatically lead to a revival in form would be naive given the depth of those struggles. That’s something Ricciardo himself will be well aware of.
“Switching off normally gives me a natural reset to the point where I imagine 10 days/two weeks into the break, I would have got a holiday out of my system, then I’ll build that hunger back again,” said Ricciardo after his run to 15th in Hungary.
“I naturally think about it after getting time off, that’s normally how it works for me. Again, go out, be with friends, drink some beers, have fun, and then I’ll get to the point where I start to feel not guilty, but just like, ‘All right, time to turn it on again’.
“Then it’s a natural switch that will probably come back in after 14 days.”
Ricciardo might find it a little more difficult to disconnect than he usually would given the question marks over his future. We do n’t know where he sees his future from him and whether what he described last month as “the feeling in my gut” that represents his competitive fire from him really is still there. Perhaps that’s something he is asking himself right now as he considers his options from him?
If it is, then surely he will pursue the chance to return to Alpine. A different car and a new team – albeit one he knows of old – will at least allow him to test whether his struggles were McLaren-specific. If that is his course of him then a stronger second half of 2022 will be the ideal springboard.
If not and Ricciardo is set to walk away from F1 – something he has said he’s not ready to do but has to be taken seriously as a possibility – then he will be determined to go out on something approximating a high over the final nine races. That’s only befitting a driver who has had such a successful grand prix career and it’s hard to see him abandoning his constructive approach just because he knows McLaren no longer wants his services from him.
“Start that second half of the season with a positive bang” and “set some strong intentions” were phrases Ricciardo used about the upcoming post-break restart at Spa. He also admitted that it was “easier said than done”, which is a wise position to take.
After all, last year the August break did appear to have changed things. Ricciardo produced his two best finishes of the season in the post-shutdown triple-header – fourth in the farcical Belgian GP after a strong wet qualifying performance and that famous win at Monza. But the struggles continued thereafter.
The break last year perhaps helped Ricciardo have the fortitude to produce those performances, and he said at Monza that “having some time off in August helped”. But nothing really changed as he struggled for the rest of the season. The break, at best, helped him to rebuild energy levels but didn’t change the story.
So there’s no reason to expect a few August weeks off to change things for Ricciardo this year. What will make the difference is continuing to battle to improve. It’s clear there are characteristics of the McLaren that he does not get on with, but what’s unarguable is that Norris consistently extracts more from the car – one that he also says does not suit his default style.
Ricciardo has long complained about the inconsistency of the car, which not only lacks the turn-in characteristics he requires to achieve the necessary rotation but also appears to catch him out too often.
“There are some lapses that I’ll put together and it kind of makes sense and I’m like, ‘That was sweet’,” said Ricciardo. “But then a couple of lapses later, I might drop four tenths or something.
“It’s still sometimes not [the case that you] start at one, go to two, get to two, you know what I mean? It’s not as simple as a dot-to-dot. There are some hurdles before getting to the next dot, so that’s a little complicated.”
“Today [race day in Hungary] with the wind, these cars are so sensitive that probably does make it more hard to find that consistency.
“When it’s on more of a knife-edge, when there’s more variables, that’s where it starts to become that step more difficult.”
The ‘joining the dots’ analogy is apposite because Ricciardo has looked disjointed as a driver for the past 18 months. At his best, he’s smooth and committed and capable of carrying tremendous speed into corners. But to meet the requirements of the car he’s deconstructed that technique and struggled for pace having done so. He’s learned a huge amount about his strengths and weaknesses from him as a driver but that’s never translated into the moment when everything clicks and he’s back to his best from him.
And while last year’s struggles were primarily down to what he called a “peculiar” McLaren – and that’s a view shared by Norris and predecessor Carlos Sainz – this year Ricciardo’s difficulties are down to a combination of McLaren’s weaknesses and aero inconsistency through the speed range and the generic characteristics of the 2022 cars.
“Certainly one of the most,” said Ricciardo, when asked by The Race if the McLaren-Mercedes MCL36 is the most difficult car he’s driven in F1.
“In a race stint [in the past]you could stay within three tenths probably for a 20-lap stint at time and be very in control, whereas I feel like stint variation is a lot bigger this year.
“Maybe it’s just me, or maybe it’s the whole field. But I’d be surprised if you see someone doing 0.1s, 0.1s, 0.2s etc, so I think they’re just more difficult this year.”
None of these problems are going to vanish in the second half of the year, although McLaren can perhaps make a little progress in ameliorating them.
So Ricciardo faces a long run-in that’s likely to seem very similar to the first 13 races, during which he’s managed only four points finishes, with the August break nothing more than a much-needed temporary respite.
Flamboyant Group 1-winning jockey Noel Callow has been hit with a string of betting charges.
As first revealed by Racenet on Thursday afternoon, Callow has been served with seven charges by Racing Victoria stewards after a historical investigation into betting.
In the charge sheet, it will be alleged Callow placed 24 bets adding up to almost $4000 in total when he was riding in Victoria in 2013.
Bets were allegedly placed on races at Moonee Valley, Traralgon, Flemington, Randwick and Cranbourne.
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There is no suggestion that Callow placed bets on horses he was riding, or in races he was riding in.
One charge has been laid under Australian Racing Rule 229 which the stewards’ charge sheet says allegedly refers to “corruption, dishonesty and misleading behaviour.”
The particulars of that charge are that stewards allege Callow made false or misleading statements regarding an unspecified number of alleged “transactions” through his TAB account between November 2018 and March 2019.
Jockey Noel Callow. Picture: Greg Irvine-Magic Millions
There are other steward charges dating back to 2017 in regards to allegedly making false or misleading statements to steward.
In total there are seven charges that five-time Australian Group 1 winner Callow, who has ridden at the elite level all around the world and is currently riding in Queensland, faces from Racing Victoria stewards.
The charges have come after a steward’s investigation alleging Callow “placed, facilitated and/or had an interest in bets on thoroughbred racing and failed to declare betting accounts.”
Contacted by Racenet, Callow point-blank refused to comment.
The Victorian Racing Tribunal has been advised of the matter and will notify Callow of a hearing date.
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News Corp can reveal specifics of the charges as follows:
* Charge 1: AR 83(c) The Stewards charge you with breaching AR 83(c) which reads as follows. AR 83, Every jockey or apprentice may be penalized– (c) If he bet or have any interest in a bet or facilitates a bet on any race, or if he be present in the betting ring during any race meeting. The particulars of the charge You were, at all relevant times, a jockey licensed by Racing Victoria. 2. On 30 April 2013, you opened an account with Sportsbet (the Account). 3. On 6 December 2013, you made and/or facilitated the making of eleven (11) bets on Australian thoroughbred horse races through the Account. 4. Your conduct, as set out in particular 3, constitutes a breach of AR 83(c).
Jockey Noel Callow winning on the Gold Coast.
* Charge 2: Charge 2: AR 83(c) The Stewards charge you with breaching AR 83(c) which reads as follows: AR 83 Every jockey or apprentice may be penalized (c) If he bet or have any interest in a bet or facilitates a bet on any race, or if he be present in the betting ring during any race meeting. The particulars of the charge: You were, at all relevant times, a jockey licensed by Racing Victoria. On 30 April 2013, you opened an account with Sportsbet (the Account). On 8 December 2013, you made and/or facilitated the making of one (1) bet on Australian thoroughbred horse races through the Account. Your conduct, as set out in particular 3, constitutes a breach of AR 83(c)
* Charge 3: AR 83(c) The Stewards charge you with breaching AR 83(c) which reads as follows: AR 83 Every jockey or apprentice may be penalized (c) If he bet or have any interest in a bet or facilitates a bet on any race, or if he be present in the betting ring during a race meeting. The particulars of the charge You were, at all relevant times, a jockey licensed by Racing Victoria. On 30 April 2013, you opened an account with Sportsbet. On 14 December 2013, you made and/or facilitated the making or twelve (12) bets or Australian thoroughbred horse races through the Account. Your conduct as set out in particular 3 constitutes a breach of AR 83(6)
Jockey Noel Callow in action.
* Charge 4: AR 175(gg) The Stewards charge you with breaching AR 175(gg) which reads as follows: AR 175 A person must not: The Principal Racing Authority (or the Stewards exercising powers delegated to them) may penalize. (gg) Any person who makes any false or misleading statement or declaration in respect of any matter in connection with the administration or control or racing. The particulars of the charge you were, at all relevant times, a jockey licensed by Racing Victoria On 18 May 2017, you opened a betting account with Bookmaker (the Account). On 18 July 2017, you submitted a Jockey Betting Account Declaration form (the Form) and failed to declare the Account on the Form Your conduct as set out in particular 3 constituted a breach of AR 175(ag)
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* Charge 5. AR 175(k) (Alternative to Charge Four) The Stewards charge you with breaching AR 175(k) which reads as follows: AR 175 The Principal Racing Authority (or the Stewards exercising powers delegated to them ) may penalize: (k) Any person who has committed any breach of the Rules, or whose conduct or negligence has led or could have led to a breach of the Rules. The particulars or the charge You were, at all relevant times, a jockey licensed by Racing Victoria. On 18 May 2017, you opened a betting account with Bookmaker (the Account), On 18 July 2017, you submitted a Jockey Betting Account Declaration form (the Form) and failed to declare the Account on the Form. Your conduct, as set out in particular 3, constituted a breach of AR 175(k).
Noel Callow is a popular jockey with punters.
* Charge 6: AR 175(gg) The Stewards charge you with breaching AR 175(gg) which reads as follows: AR 175 A person must not: The Principal Racing Authority (or the Stewards exercising powers delegated to them) may penalize. (gg) Any person who makes any false or misleading statement or declaration in respect of any matter in connection with the administration or control or racing. The Particulars of the charge: You were, at all relevant times, a jockey licensed by Racing Victoria. On 28 May 2018, you submitted a Jockey Betting Account Declaration form (the Form). On the Form you failed to declare your betting accounts, being Bookmaker and Ladbrokes. Your conduct, as set out in particular 3, constituted a breach of AR 175(gg).
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* Charge 7: 229(1)(h) AR 229 Corruption, dishonesty and misleading behavior (1) A person must not: (n) make a false or misleading statement or declaration in relation to a matter in connection with the administration or control or racing: Particulars of charge: You were, at all relevant times, a jockey licensed by Racing Victoria. Between 20 November 2018 and 24 March 2019, you made transactions through your TAB betting account (the Account). On 15 June 2019, you submitted a Jockey Betting Account Declaration form (the Form) and failed to declare the Account. Your conduct, as set out in particular 3, constituted a breach or AR 1/5(aa).
Jason Horne-Francis has been dropped by North Melbourne for Round 22.
The 19-year-old No.1 draft pick has collected 13, 21, 11 and 12 disposals in his last four games after returning from hamstring issues and suspension.
It is the first time he’s been omitted from the senior side.
The call to drop him ahead of the upcoming game against Adelaide comes as a shock to the footy community, with David King one who questioned the decision when the news dropped.
“Wow, gee, that’s interesting,” the dual-premiership Kangaroo said on SEN’s The Picks.
“Why would you drop Horne-Francis? He’s going back to Adelaide to play in front of family and friends, why wouldn’t you give him that opportunity? I don’t understand that.
“Just put him there in front of his friends and family because he’ll want to perform.”
Horne-Francis, a South Australian, will now miss out on all three games against SA sides after not playing the Crows and Port Adelaide earlier in the year.
1988 Brownlow Medalist Gerard Healy also weighed in on sports day.
“A big omission, Jason Horne-Francis – the number one pick – has been dropped, which really puts a bookend to a pretty disappointing season,” he said upon learning the news.
North Melbourne recalled Ben Cunnington following a battle with testicular cancer for the weekend’s game at Adelaide Oval, with Ben McKay and Jackson Archer also on the list of ins.
Flynn Perez, Hugh Greenwood and Josh Walker join Horne-Francis going out of the side, with the latter two also axings.
Horne-Francis has averaged 16.3 disposals, 3.6 clearances and 2.4 inside 50s a game in 16 games 2022.
North interim coach Leigh Adams confirmed earlier on Friday that while he was happy with the youngster’s development, the club hadn’t helped Horne-Francis by where he’s played in his debut season.
New signings Andreas Christensen and Franck Kessie could both leave Barcelona for free if they are not registered before Saturday’s LaLiga opener against Rayo Vallecano, various sources have confirmed to ESPN.
Christensen and Kessie both joined Barca on free transfers earlier this summer from Chelsea and AC Milan respectively. With three days to go until the new campaign starts, however, neither has been registered with the Spanish league.
– Why can’t Barca register summer signings yet? – The impact of Messi’s exit, one year on – Don’t have ESPN? Get instant access
Sources have told ESPN that if they are not registered before Barca’s opening fixture against Rayo, both players could choose to execute a clause that allows them to leave for free.
Fellow summer arrivals Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha and Jules Kounde are also yet to be inscribed with LaLiga, while the contract renewals signed by Sergi Roberto and Ousmane Dembele have not been registered either.
ESPN understands Christensen and Kessie’s situations are slightly different, though, given they joined Barca for free. Therefore, if they so choose, they would be entitled to leave for free before the transfer window closes.
Sources say at this stage there is no indication it will come to that and president Joan Laporta continues to transmit optimism that all seven players will be registered in time, but Barca are cutting it fine before the start of the season.
In the worst case scenario, sources told ESPN Barcelona would seek to speak with the players’ agents to avoid such an extreme outcome because they have until the end of the month to register signings.
Barca have spent over €150 million this summer and have raised over €600m by selling 25% of their domestic television rights for 25 years and a 24.5% stake in Barca Studios.
A league source has told ESPN that it is still not enough incoming cash for Barca to be able to register all of their signings and contract renewals, although some could be registered now. This would depend on the cost and combination of the deals.
Therefore, Barca are looking to sell a further 24.5% stake in Barca Studios and continue to negotiate wage adjustments with other players, including Sergio Busquets and Gerard Pique.
It was Pique’s wage cut last summer which allowed Memphis Depay and Eric Garcia to be registered on the eve of last season, while similar actions from Busquets and Alba permitted Sergio Aguero to be signed up with the league before the transfer window closed.
Barca’s LaLiga-imposed spending cap was -€144m at the end of last season, the only negative limit in the league, and will have to be increased substantially to register all their summer activity.
The Catalan club hope that the sale of club assets, coupled with a sponsorship deal signed with Spotify earlier this year, will eventually increase their cap to allow them to register everyone.
Frenkie de Jong’s agents have arrived in Barcelona amid continued uncertainty over the midfielder’s future at the club, with Manchester United and Chelsea still pursuing his signing.
Ali Dursun and Hasan Cetinkaya, who also represent Barcelona striker Martin Braithwaite, flew into the city on Wednesday and are expected to hold talks with the Catalan club in the coming days over both of their clients.
– Why can’t Barca register summer signings yet? – The impact of Messi’s exit a year on – Don’t have ESPN? Get instant access
De Jong’s future has been the subject of much attention throughout the summer. ESPN revealed in July that Barca had agreed to a fee of around €85 million with United, including add-ons, while Chelsea are also interested.
However, the player has so far preferred to remain at Camp Nou.
Barca, meanwhile, have told De Jong that if he wants to stay, he must reduce his salary, although sources have told ESPN he is reluctant to do so at this stage.
Sources confirmed to ESPN earlier this week that Barca sent a letter to De Jong’s camp in July warning that the contract renewal he signed in 2020 under the previous board had alleged irregularities.
Sources close to the player said the contract is legal and claim the letter that Barca sent was intended to put pressure on De Jong to either accept a move away or agree to a wage reduction.
Barca’s board believe there were possible irregularities in other renewals signed at the same time by Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Gerard Pique and Clement Lenglet.
However, the timing of Barca’s tactics has drawn questions as they try to raise funds and reduce their wage bill to be able to register their summer signings.
Despite that, De Jong remains happy in Barcelona with his girlfriend and scored in Sunday’s 6-0 friendly win over Mexican side Pumas UNAM at Camp Nou.
Still, the uneasy situation was highlighted when De Jong arrived at training on Wednesday and was subjected to shouted abuse by some Barcelona fans, who called on him to accept a reduced salary.
Dursun and Cetinkaya also represent Braithwaite, who has been told by Barca to find a new club. The Denmark striker was left out of the squad for the tour of the United States last month and has not featured in preseason.
Braithwaite, 31, was even jeered by Barca supporters before Sunday’s game against Pumas. Sources have told ESPN he is open to leaving the club, who has joined as an emergency signing from Leganes for €20m in 2020, but only if the offer is right for him.
Meanwhile, Barca continue to negotiate further wage adjustments with Pique and Sergio Busquets. Sources have said talks have gone well so far.
Both players, along with Jordi Alba, agreed to pay cuts last summer to enable Memphis Depay, Eric Garcia and Sergio Aguero to be registered, and they may have to do the same this year.
With Barca set to kick off the new LaLiga season on Saturday against Rayo Vallecano, none of their five signings have been registered with the Spanish league, nor have the new contracts signed by Ousmane Dembele and Sergi Roberto.
The club have so far sold assets worth over €600m and are now in a position to register some of their signings. However, a league source told ESPN more money must be raised — or wages cut — before Saturday to register everyone.
