Dortmund (Germany) (AFP) – A German man who launched a shrapnel bomb attack on the team bus of football club Borussia Dortmund in April 2017 to make money on the club's shares diving was on Tuesday sentenced to 14 years in jail. A court in Dortmund found Sergej Wenergold, 29, guilty of 28 counts of […]

Berlin (AFP) – Bayern Munich will be without Germany defender Mats Hummels for Tuesday's Champions League clash at home to Benfica, which could be Niko Kovac's last game in charge as head coach. According to Sky, magazine Kicker and Germany's top-selling daily Bild, Hummels has dropped out with a stomach bug, leaving head coach Kovac […]

London (AFP) – Jose Mourinho has told Manchester United's underachieving players to "stay at home" if they cannot handle the pressure to perform at Old Trafford as they seek to reach the Champions League last 16. Young Boys are the visitors on Tuesday as the Red Devils look to qualify for the knockout phase with a […]

Shanghai (AFP) – Spanish teams have generally reigned over English sides in European competition and now La Liga wants to harness that success to challenge the Premier League's supremacy in the lucrative China market. European football leagues are vying for popularity in China, the world's second biggest economy and home to a growing number of […]

Tokyo (AFP) – Attacking midfielder Shinji Kagawa, one of Japan's most successful footballing exports, on Tuesday made a passionate plea for a transfer to Spain as he struggles with German outfit Borussia Dortmund. Kagawa was a key part of the celebrated Dortmund side that won back-to-back Bundesliga titles at the start of the decade but […]

London (AFP) – Paris Saint-Germain's struggles to avoid an embarrassing group stage exit in the Champions League began when they fell victim to the aura of Anfield and Roberto Firmino's stoppage time winner for Liverpool in September. But with the roles reversed and the Premier League side headed to the Parc des Princes on Wednesday […]

London (AFP) – Tottenham's Harry Kane and Inter Milan's Mauro Icardi will stage a do-or-die duel as two of the most prolific strikers in the Champions League go head to head at Wembley on Wednesday. Both Kane and Icardi have humble origins after surviving rejection and self-doubt to reach the top. Now well established as […]

Paris (AFP) – It has been a month marred by off-field controversies for Paris Saint-Germain, but it is the fitness of Kylian Mbappe and Neymar that casts the longest shadow over the French club ahead of Wednesday's Champions League crunch clash against Liverpool. PSG go into the game at the Parc des Princes in third […]

Buenos Aires (AFP) – The embarrassing postponement of the Copa Libertadores final thrust Argentina's hooligan problem back into the spotlight, as well as society's acceptance that it is part of football fan culture, analysts say. Argentina President Mauricio Macri admitted there had been a "security failure" on Saturday when Boca Juniors' team bus came under attack […]

Dortmund (Germany) (AFP) – A Russian-born German man who launched a shrapnel bomb attack on the team bus of football club Borussia Dortmund last year, wounding two people, faces his verdict and sentence Tuesday. Sergej Wenergold, 29, had hoped to profit financially from the attack by betting on an anticipated plunge in the club's stock […]

Burnley (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Newcastle pulled further clear of the Premier League relegation zone with a third successive win and first at Turf Moor in over 40 years as they beat Burnley 2-1 on Monday. Federico Fernandez's fourth-minute shot, which took a huge deflection off Ben Mee, gave Rafael Benitez's Newcastle an early lead […]

Rome (AFP) – Real Madrid coach Santiago Solari defended captain Sergio Ramos on Monday after claims he gave an irregular doping sample after the Champions League final win over Juventus in 2017. According to German magazine Der Spiegel, Ramos failed to declare he had taken dexamethasone, a banned anti-inflammatory, ahead of the final at the […]

Turin (Italy) (AFP) – Juventus cannot afford to switch off against resurgent Spanish side Valencia in Tuesday's Champions League game in Turin as they did against Manchester United, coach Massimiliano Allegri cautioned on Monday. The Italian champions meet Valencia in a crunch Group H clash in Turin on Tuesday where a draw would be enough […]

Los Angeles (AFP) – Former England international Ashley Cole was among eight players released by the Los Angeles Galaxy on Monday, the club announced. The Major League Soccer club said in a statement it had declined to exercise an option to re-sign Cole for the 2019 season. Cole, 37, signed for the Galaxy in 2016 […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho wants his side to take the game to Young Boys straight from kick-off when they face the Swiss club in a Champions League tie at Old Trafford on Tuesday. Victory for Mourinho's men, allied to a Valencia failure to beat Juventus, would see United qualify […]