London (AFP) – Tottenham Hotspur suffered a double injury blow ahead of a key week with goalkeeper Hugo Lloris and midfielder Dele Alli ruled out for Saturday's Premier League clash with Liverpool and a Champions League trip to Inter Milan on Tuesday. France's World Cup-winning captain Lloris is "expected to be out for several weeks" […]

Milan (AFP) – Serie A club Chievo have been deducted three points and fined 200,000 euros ($232,000) for false accounting, the Italian Football Association (FIGC) announced on Thursday. The FIGC's sports tribunal found Chievo guilty of adding around 27 million euros ($31 million) to the real transfers fees of promising young players from Italian lower-league […]

London (AFP) – England manager Gareth Southgate believes Marcus Rashford should be given time to flourish despite clamour for the Manchester United forward to be given more minutes at club level. Rashford was one of few bright sparks for Southgate, scoring both England's goals in a 2-1 defeat to Spain and 1-0 victory over Switzerland […]

Moscow (AFP) – An activist from the Russian protest group Pussy Riot who staged a pitch invasion during the 2018 football World Cup final in Moscow has been hospitalised with suspected poisoning, members of the punk collective said Thursday. Pyotr Verzilov was admitted to hospital following a court hearing on Tuesday, his girlfriend Veronika Nikulshina, […]

London (AFP) – Harry Kane and Mohamed Salah have the perfect stage to end their unexpected slumps when the superstar strikers go head to head at Wembley on Saturday. Just four months ago, Tottenham striker Kane and Liverpool forward Salah were being hailed as Europe's most feared marksmen after the pair tore through Premier League […]

The Hague (AFP) – Veteran journeyman coach Dick Advocaat has given a verbal agreement to join Dutch top-flight outfit Utrecht, the club said on Wednesday. The 70-year-old had success at Glasgow Rangers and led Zenith Saint Petersburg to the 2008 UEFA Cup and has also managed Belgium, the Netherlands, South Korea and Russia at the […]

London (AFP) – Former Chelsea and England star John Terry has rejected the chance to make a shock move to Russian club Spartak Moscow. Terry was reported to be on the verge of signing for Spartak after being flown by private jet to Rome on Friday for a medical. The 37-year-old defender was believed to […]

Paris (AFP) – Europe's big five leagues spent a record $4.21 billion (3.62 billion euros) in the summer transfer window, according to a study published on Wednesday by FIFA. The total amount of money spent by clubs in England, Spain, Germany, Italy and France was up 6.6 percent on the $3.95 billion spent in the […]

Madrid (AFP) – Spain's anti-doping agency said Wednesday it has opened an investigation into Valencia's Russian striker Denis Cheryshev, one of the revelations of the 2018 World Cup. The announcement comes after a Russian publication quoted the player's father, Dmitri, as saying in June 2017 that Cheryshev had received growth hormone injections when he played […]

London (AFP) – Nacho Monreal has opened talks with Arsenal over a new contract with the Premier League club. Monreal has one year left on his present deal and the Gunners are willing to extend the Spain defender's stay at the Emirates Stadium. The 32-year-old has made 165 Premier League appearances for Arsenal since joining […]

Johannesburg (AFP) – Liberia president and former world footballer of the year George Weah made a surprise return to international football Tuesday at the age of 51 in a 2-1 friendly defeat by Nigeria. The international match in Monrovia was organised to 'retire' the number 14 shirt worn by Weah, who was voted world, European […]

Paris (AFP) – After the first two rounds of fixtures in the UEFA Nations League concluded on Tuesday evening with Spain's stunning 6-0 win over Croatia, AFP Sports takes a look at some of the key talking points from the start of the brand new competition: – A breath of fresh air – Many fans were […]

Leicester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – England returned from Russia filled with hope after a World Cup that promised a brighter future with a run to the semi-finals for the first time in 28 years. However, that feel-good factor has given way to a reality check in the first two matches since the World Cup fever […]

Moscow (AFP) – Russia winger Denis Cheryshev, one of the standout performers at the World Cup, is under investigation for an alleged doping violation, local media reported Wednesday. "This case is currently being investigated by the Spanish Anti-Doping agency," the Russian daily Sport Express quoted a World Anti-Doping Agency press spokesperson as saying. "They will […]

London (AFP) – France's World Cup-winning captain Hugo Lloris avoided jail but received a 20-month driving ban and a £50,000 ($65,000) fine on Wednesday for drink-driving in central London. The Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper had earlier called his behaviour "unacceptable" and received a lighter sentence from a judge who could have locked up the star for […]