London (AFP) – Liverpool travel to German champions Bayern Munich on Wednesday hoping to complete a clean sweep for Premier League sides in the Champions League last 16. But with the tie poised at 0-0 after a tense first-leg at Anfield three weeks ago, much will depend on Liverpool's front three of Mohamed Salah, Roberto […]

Sydney (AFP) – Struggling A-League side Central Coast Mariners on Tuesday appointed dumped national women's coach Alen Stajcic as caretaker manager after ditching Mike Mulvey. Stajcic had managed the Matildas since 2014 and is considering legal action against governing body Football Federation Australia after he was suddenly ousted in January. He will take charge of the […]

Rome (AFP) – Claudio Ranieri got off to a winning start as Roma coach with Stephan El Shaarawy and Patrik Schick's first-half goals enough to squeeze past lowly Empoli 2-1 on Monday to keep in touch with the Champions League places. Eusebio Di Francesco was sacked after the team's elimination in the Champions League last-16 […]

Doha (AFP) – Qatar’s Al Rayyan bounced back from their humiliating defeat to Saudi Arabia’s Al Ittihad last week to grab three points with a 2-1 win over Uzbekistan’s Lokomotiv Tashkent in the Asian Champions League on Monday. The Lions boast the largest fan following in Qatar but have fallen behind Al Duhail and Al […]

Los Angeles (AFP) – United States women's soccer stars Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe on Monday ruled out boycotting this year's World Cup as part of their fight for equal pay and conditions. Morgan and Rapinoe are among 28 members of the US women's national squad who on Friday filed a federal lawsuit in Los […]

Madrid (AFP) – Zinedine Zidane said he never had any doubts about returning to Real Madrid after he replaced the sacked Santiago Solari as coach on Monday. "When the president called me the first thing I thought was: go," Zidane said at a press conference at the Santiago Bernabeu. "I could not say no, I […]

Turin (Italy) (AFP) – Cristiano Ronaldo has scored so many goals he gives Juventus "a great advantage" insisted coach Massimiliano Allegri as the Italian side look to overturn a two-goal Champions League deficit against Atletico Madrid in their last 16, second leg tie in Turin on Tuesday. "Cristiano has a lot of goals in his […]

Lausanne (AFP) – Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter alleged Monday that ex-French president Nicolas Sarkozy had played a crucial role in helping Qatar win the right to host the 2022 World Cup. Blatter was speaking the day after FIFA was urged to launch an investigation into claims it was offered a secret television deal by […]

London (AFP) – Everton manager Marco Silva was charged with improper conduct by the Football Association on Monday following his rant at referee Lee Mason and his assistants. Silva stormed onto the pitch to confront Mason and his fellow officials after Everton blew a two-goal lead in their 3-2 defeat at Newcastle on Saturday. He […]

Madrid (AFP) – Two-hundred and eighty three days after resigning, Zinedine Zidane is back as coach of Real Madrid. Sitting alongside a shell-shocked Florentino Perez in May last year, Zidane said Madrid would have problems if he stayed. However, they've had problems without him too and now he has returned to fix them. Winner of […]

Turin (Italy) (AFP) – Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone warned on Monday that there was more to Juventus than striker Cristiano Ronaldo as the Spanish side look to "seize their opportunity" in Turin and maintain their push for a first Champions League title. Simeone's side take a 2-0 lead into the second leg of their […]

Paris (AFP) – Zinedine Zidane has returned as Real Madrid boss, just over nine months after walking out on the club following a third consecutive Champions League triumph. Here, AFP Sport takes a look at managers who returned to their former clubs: Zinedine Zidane (Real Madrid) 2016-18, 2019- Zidane enjoyed a remarkable start to top […]

Madrid (AFP) – Zinedine Zidane has made a sensational return as coach of Real Madrid after Santiago Solari's sacking was finally confirmed on Monday. Zidane has been given a contract until June 2022, just nine months after he resigned at the end of last season, having led Madrid to an historic third consecutive Champions League […]

London (AFP) – A Birmingham fan who punched Aston Villa's Jack Grealish after invading the pitch was jailed for 14 weeks on Monday as calls mounted for urgent action to prevent potentially life-threatening attacks. Grealish was attacked by a supporter during the Birmingham derby on Sunday, hours before Manchester United defender Chris Smalling was confronted […]

London (AFP) – A Birmingham fan who punched Aston Villa captain Jack Grealish during a highly-charged derby in the English Championship was jailed for 14 weeks and banned from football stadiums for 10 years on Monday. Grealish was attacked by Paul Mitchell in a shocking incident during Sunday's clash between the bitter local rivals at […]