Lisbon (AFP) – Sporting have agreed to release coach Jorge Jesus, one of the staff attacked by fans in May, so he can take a position in Saudi Arabia. The Lisbon club's season ended in crisis after masked supporters attacked Jesus and several players at their training centre in suburban Lisbon. That was followed by […]

London (AFP) – Nothing less than winning the World Cup in Russia next month will be satisfactory despite England's failure to even progress to the later stages in recent tournaments, insist Three Lions' stars Raheem Sterling and Dele Alli. Gareth Southgate's men travel to their base in Repino, north-west of Saint Petersburg, next week looking […]

Moscow (AFP) – The recent performances of World Cup hosts Russia have left plenty of questions about their prospects at the tournament that opens next week. On Tuesday, Russia extended their winless streak to seven matches with a 1-1 home draw against Turkey — meaning they have not chalked up a single victory in eight […]

Kiev (AFP) – Ukraine has urged its citizens to refrain from travelling to Russia for the World Cup, citing "threats to personal safety", as thousands of Ukrainians plan to travel across the border to watch the tournament. In a statement on Tuesday, the Ukrainian foreign ministry warned its nationals of a "serious" risk to their […]

London (AFP) – England's Raheem Sterling insists nothing less than winning the World Cup in Russia next month will be satisfactory despite the Three Lions' failure to even progress to the later stages in recent tournaments. Gareth Southgate's men travel to their base in Repino, north-west of Saint Petersburg, next week looking to end 52 […]

Shanghai (AFP) – Egyptians branded him "Ramos the Dog" and now Chinese football fans have dubbed Sergio Ramos "a butcher" and "master of karate" for his roughhouse treatment of Mohamed Salah in the Champions League final. The 32-year-old central defender and captain of Real Madrid previously had more fetching nicknames in Chinese, including a popular […]

Shanghai (AFP) – Lukas Podolski rejected China because of "dark channels" and one prominent football agent warned that getting transfer deals done there was muddied by shadowy figures ramping up prices. Welcome to the murky business of the Chinese transfer window, which creaks open on June 18 for four weeks of wheeler-dealing while most people […]

Buenos Aires (AFP) – Argentina's upcoming friendly with Israel in Jerusalem has been cancelled, the Israeli embassy confirmed on Tuesday, citing unspecified threats against Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi. The World Cup warmup match had been scheduled to take place on Saturday. But its status had been placed in doubt earlier, following protests by Palestinian football […]

Mexico City (AFP) – Members of Mexico's national football squad held a farewell party with around 30 prostitutes before the team traveled to Europe ahead of the World Cup, reports said on Tuesday. According to the TVNotas gossip magazine, nine members of Mexico's World Cup squad partied with dozens of escorts at a private compound […]

Moscow (AFP) – Russia has said gay and lesbian fans should feel welcome at its World Cup this month but violent threats against LGBT people planning to travel to the event tell a different story. Other LGBT football fans who have attended international tournaments say they have no intention of visiting a country notorious for […]

Moscow (AFP) – An isolated Russia throws open its doors in a week for a World Cup full of glitz and glamour designed to bring in the hosts from the cold. The month-long celebration of the world's most popular sport has been haunted by fears over racism and violence as well as diplomatic spats. But […]

Belo Horizonte (Brazil) (AFP) – One of the goal nets used in Brazil's humiliating 7-1 defeat in the 2014 World Cup against Germany will be cut up and sold for charity. The Mineirao stadium in Belo Horizonte, where Brazil's footballing meltdown occurred on July 8 four years ago, announced the sale Tuesday. The net will […]

Paris (AFP) – Brazilian defender Dani Alves went under the knife Tuesday for the injured knee that ruled him out of the World Cup, his club Paris Saint-Germain announced. The 35-year-old former Barcelona star Alves suffered knee ligament injuries on May 8 during the French Cup final, meaning Brazil lost a senior player with 107 […]

Burton-on-Trent (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson believes a quick turnaround from defeat in the Champions League final to representing England at the World Cup can ease the pain of defeat to Real Madrid in Kiev. Two huge goalkeeping errors from Loris Karius and a spectacular overhead kick from Gareth Bale prevented Henderson […]

Moscow (AFP) – Russia's World Cup arena without a team will be getting a second division side with the help of a childhood friend of President Vladimir Putin. Fisht Stadium in the Black Sea resort of Sochi is one of the most celebrated and scenic venues in Russian sport. The 48,000-seater was built for the […]