Glasgow (AFP) – Rangers manager Steven Gerrard said the Glasgow giants have contacted UEFA after midfielder Glen Kamara was targeted by Sparta Prague fans just months after being racially abused by Slavia Prague defender Ondrej Kudela. Kamara was sent off for two bookable offences in Rangers' 1-0 defeat in the Czech capital on Thursday. The […]

Paris (AFP) – French Football Federation president Noel Le Graet says he is "not opposed" to the highly controversial idea of staging a World Cup every two years, after FIFA held an online summit to discuss the project. "It would be a mistake not to look into this," the veteran Le Graet, 79, told Friday's […]

Madrid (AFP) – A revival is surely beyond Ronald Koeman even if Barcelona beat Atletico Madrid on Saturday but Antoine Griezmann will hope his own resurgence is just beginning. Only the schedule is on Koeman's side now, with the international break next week dictating that it makes more sense for Barca to change coach after […]

Paris (AFP) – Paris Saint-Germain are already surging clear towards the Ligue 1 title in France even as Lionel Messi has so far been held back for the Champions League, in which he got his first goal for his new club in midweek. Messi's majestic strike sealed a 2-0 win over Pep Guardiola's Manchester City […]

Berlin (AFP) – Florian Wirtz is a rising star in the Bundesliga with the 18-year-old already a full Germany international on the back of superb performances for Bayer Leverkusen as the in-house replacement for Kai Havertz. "Florian has everything you need for an outstanding career," Leverkusen sports director Simon Rolfes told AFP subsidiary SID. "He […]

Marseille (AFP) – Three police officers were injured after smokebombs and firecrackers were thrown at Thursday's Europa League game between Marseille and Galatasary in France. The match was delayed by eight minutes late in the first half as projectiles were lobbed from the end of the Stade Velodrome where fans of the Turkish club were […]

Sao Paulo (AFP) – Brazilian football legend Pele was released from a month-long hospital stay Thursday after having surgery for a colon tumor, but will continue undergoing chemotherapy, his medical team said. Pele, 80, had been receiving treatment at Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo since August 31, after a suspected tumor was detected during […]

London (AFP) – Leicester and Napoli face an uphill task to reach the Europa League knockout stages after both fell to shock defeats on Thursday, while Rangers' 1-0 loss to Sparta Prague was overshadowed by another race row involving Glen Kamara. A much-changed Leicester went down 1-0 to Legia Warsaw in Poland, while Napoli's unbeaten […]

Prague (AFP) – Glen Kamara was sent off as Rangers lost 1-0 at Sparta Prague in the Europa League on Thursday, just over six months after he was embroiled in a racism row in a game against Sparta's great rivals, Slavia. Finnish international Kamara received a second yellow card with 15 minutes to go after […]

Paris (AFP) – Harry Kane scored a hat-trick after coming off the bench to seal a 5-1 win for Tottenham Hotspur over Slovenian champions Mura in the Europa Conference League group stage on Thursday. Dele Alli's penalty and a goal from Giovani Lo Celso put Spurs in control after just eight minutes in north London, […]

London (AFP) – Leicester and Napoli face an uphill task to qualify from Europa League Group C after both fell to shock defeats on Thursday. A much-changed Leicester went down 1-0 to Legia Warsaw in Poland, while Napoli's unbeaten record this season was ended by Quincy Promes' double for Spartak Moscow in a thrilling 3-2 […]

Prague (AFP) – Glen Kamara was sent off as Rangers lost 1-0 at Sparta Prague in the Europa League on Thursday, just over six months after he was embroiled in a racism row in a game against Sparta's great rivals, Slavia. Finnish international Kamara received a second yellow card with 15 minutes to go after […]

Lausanne (AFP) – FIFA on Thursday held a summit with all 211 national football federations as it seeks to gather support for plans to stage the World Cup every two years despite muscular opposition from Europe. Officially the summit, which was held online, is to discuss the international calendar for both men's and women's football […]

London (AFP) – Mikel Arteta says it is right that every Arsenal defeat should be viewed as a crisis as he targets a fourth straight Premier League win against high-flying Brighton. The Gunners beat Tottenham 3-1 on Sunday to lift themselves to 10th in the table, one place above their north London rivals. It marks […]

London (AFP) – Stoke City midfielder Romaine Sawyers on Thursday welcomed an eight-week prison sentence given to a West Brom fan for racially abusing him online while he was playing for the club. Simon Silwood, 50, was jailed over a "grossly offensive" Facebook post in which he said Sawyers should win the "Baboon d'Or", a […]