Saint-Étienne (France) (AFP) – Marseille coach Rudi Garcia lashed out at his "unacceptable" side after they were embarrassingly dumped out of the French Cup 2-0 by fourth-tier Andrezieux on Sunday and plunged into crisis. Goals from Bryan-Clovis Ngwabije in the 17th minute and Florian Milla seven minutes from the end humiliated Marseille, who last season […]

London (AFP) – Premier League champions Manchester City began their FA Cup campaign with a 7-0 thrashing of Rotherham on Sunday but Fulham, battling to avoid relegation from the Premier League, were beaten 2-1 by fourth-tier Oldham. Barnet ensured there would be a non-league presence in the fourth round with a 1-0 win away to […]

Al-Ain (United Arab Emirates) (AFP) – Australia made a horror start to their title defence and unfancied India stunned Thailand on a day of upsets at the Asian Cup on Sunday. The Socceroos had expected to make short work of Jordan but Graham Arnold's men slumped 1-0 in their worst start in four visits to […]

Abu Dhabi (AFP) – Cricket-mad India stunned Thailand 4-1 at the Asian Cup football tournament on Sunday, veteran striker Sunil Chhetri scoring twice in their Group A opener. Watched by the 12 Thai schoolboys rescued from a flooded jungle cave last year after being trapped for more than two weeks, the War Elephants had little […]

Saint-Étienne (France) (AFP) – Marseille have been plunged deeper into crisis after they were embarrassingly dumped out of the French Cup 2-0 by fourth-division Andrezieux on Sunday. Goals from Bryan-Clovis Ngwabije in the 17th minute and Florian Milla seven minutes from the end humiliated Rudi Garcia's side, who last season reached the final of the […]

Abu Dhabi (AFP) – Cricket-mad India stunned Thailand 4-1 at the Asian Cup football tournament on Sunday, veteran striker Sunil Chhetri scoring twice in their Group A opener. Watched by the 12 Thai schoolboys rescued from a flooded jungle cave last year after being trapped for more than two weeks, the War Elephants had little […]

Al-Ain (United Arab Emirates) (AFP) – Australia's coach denied treating Jordan with "arrogance" on Sunday after the Asian Cup champions came unstuck 1-0 in a horror start to their title defence. Graham Arnold had bullishly predicted victory for the Socceroos in their Group B opener, but he said his comments shouldn't be interpreted as lacking […]

Berlin (AFP) – Bayern Munich on Sunday said it will impose "a heavy fine" on Franck Ribery over an obscenity-laced outburst on social media, after the French striker became embroiled in controversy for eating a gold-coated steak. The punishment comes after Ribery lashed out at critics in a string of angry posts on Twitter and […]

Al-Ain (United Arab Emirates) (AFP) – Defending champions Australia made their worst ever start to an Asian Cup on Sunday when they lost 1-0 to Jordan in front of a partisan crowd in Al Ain. Graham Arnold's youthful side had expected victory in their Group B opener but they were undone by Anas Bani-Yaseen's powerful […]

Berlin (AFP) – Bayern Munich will impose "a heavy fine" on Franck Ribery for his obscenity laced outburst on social media, the club's sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic said on Sunday. The French striker put a string of angry posts on Twitter and Instagram on Saturday aimed at those who had criticised him for eating a […]

Abu Dhabi (AFP) – Better known for horseback wrestling, eagle hunting and dead goat polo, Kyrgyzstan are hoping to turn heads at this month's Asian Cup football tournament. The former Soviet republic has made significant progress since joining the Asian Football Confederation in 1994 and the outsiders warned they will be no pushovers in their […]

Doha (AFP) – Qatar coach Felix Sanchez has vowed to "isolate" his players from politics at the Asian Cup, which is taking place in the United Arab Emirates during a diplomatic crisis between the countries. The tournament represents the first visit by the Qatari national side to the UAE since the beginning of a row that […]

Monaco (AFP) – Spanish midfielder Cesc Fabregas is expected in Monaco on Sunday to negotiate a transfer to the French Ligue 1 club from Chelsea, sports daily L'Equipe reported Saturday. Fabregas and his agent Darren Dein will meet Monaco vice-president Vadim Vasyliev although a source told AFP that the move has not yet been finalised. […]

Birkenhead (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Dele Alli has admitted his Tottenham Hotspur team were guilty of complacency in the shock defeat by Wolves that derailed their Premier League title bid. But the England midfielder has insisted there will be no repeat of that error as Mauricio Pochettino's team chase silverware on four fronts in 2019. […]

Berlin (AFP) – French football star Franck Ribery on Saturday launched a foul-mouthed response after he was criticised for eating a gold-coated steak, telling his critics: "I will spend my money how I like". On Thursday, the 35-year-old Bayern Munich player had posted a video on social media of a visit to a steak house […]