Lausanne (AFP) – A five-year ban issued to ex-Thai football chief Worawi Makudi for "forgery and falsification" was cut by 18 months on appeal Wednesday, FIFA said. Worawi was suspended from all football-related activities in October 2016 following his conviction of forgery in a Thai court and for failing to cooperate with a FIFA investigation. […]

Berlin (AFP) – German Cup finalists Eintracht Frankfurt on Wednesday named Austrian Adi Huetter as their new coach for next season to replace Bayern Munich-bound Niko Kovac. The 48-year-old Huetter, who led Young Boys Bern to their first Swiss league title for 32 years this season, has signed a contract until 2021 with the Bundesliga […]

London (AFP) – Sam Allardyce was on Wednesday sacked as manager of Premier League side Everton after just six months and despite guiding them away from trouble to an eighth-placed finish, the club announced. The 63-year-old had come under fire from fans over the route one style of play and former England and Manchester United […]

Lausanne (AFP) – UEFA and other football power brokers on Wednesday joined forces to say they had "serious reservations" over FIFA president Gianni Infantino's plan to reformat the Club World Cup and create a Global Nations League. The Professional Football Strategic Council (PFSC) met in Lyon on Wednesday ahead of the Europa League final. In […]

London (AFP) – Chelsea have accepted a Football Association charge and been fined £20,000 ($27,000) after players and coaches surrounded the referee at half-time during last week's 1-1 Premier League draw with Huddersfield. The Blues were angered when Lee Mason awarded the hosts a corner but then blew for half-time before it was taken by […]

Paris (AFP) – Veteran French players Pauline Parmentier and Nicolas Mahut are among those who have received wild-card entries to the main draw at Roland Garros, the French Tennis Federation announced on Wednesday. Mahut, a 36-year-old veteran ranked 116th in the world, was a member of France's Davis Cup winning team in November and will […]

Rome (AFP) – Austrian Dominic Thiem, last week's Madrid finalist, crashed at the first hurdle at the ATP and WTA Italian Open Tuesday as top women's seed Simona Halep demolished Japan's Naomi Osaka. Sixth seed Thiem — who inflicted the first clay-court defeat in almost a year on Rafael Nadal last week in Madrid — […]

Shanghai (AFP) – Brazilian striker Hulk returned from injury to score twice for Shanghai SIPG but the Chinese side were dumped out of the Asian Champions League 4-3 on aggregate by Kashima Antlers on Wednesday. The Japanese became the last side to seal a spot in the quarter-finals, yet they did it the hard way, […]

Minsk (AFP) – Diego Maradona is coming to Belarus as chairman of a small top-flight club with big European ambitions. The Argentine legend posted a photo on Instagram late Tuesday of what Dinamo Brest said was a three-year contract to serve as chairman of the board. "Thanks for the trust and for thinking of me," […]

Shanghai (AFP) – Brazilian striker Hulk returned from injury to score twice for Shanghai SIPG but the Chinese side were dumped out of the Asian Champions League 4-3 on aggregate by Kashima Antlers on Wednesday. The Japanese became the last side to seal a spot in the quarter-finals, but they did it the hard way, […]

London (AFP) – Trent Alexander-Arnold has been included in England's squad for the World Cup as Joe Hart and Jack Wilshere were the big-name casualties of Gareth Southgate's youth revolution. The England manager confirmed on Wednesday that, as widely anticipated, he had omitted both on-loan West Ham goalkeeper Hart and Arsenal midfielder Wilshere were not […]

London (AFP) – England women's international Eni Aluko, who accused former national football coach Mark Sampson of discrimination, is to leave double winners Chelsea Ladies at the end of the season. The striker helped the Blues land this season's Women's FA Cup and Women's Super League titles but the 31-year-old has not been a consistent […]

London (AFP) – Ray Wilson, a member of the England team that beat West Germany in the 1966 World Cup final, has died aged 83, former club Everton announced. An outstanding left-back, Wilson won 63 caps with 1966 a memorable year for him as he won the FA Cup with Everton at Wembley and a […]

London (AFP) – Eden Hazard has warned Chelsea to sign players who will turn them into title contenders if they want him to commit his future to the club. Hazard has two years left on his present contract and is considering whether to sign a lucrative extension that would keep him at Stamford Bridge for […]

Lisbon (AFP) – A 50-strong gang of hooded men brutally attacked Sporting Lisbon players and officials at training on Tuesday leaving the club in shock and casting doubt over their participation in Sunday's Cup final. Wearing t-shirts bearing the club's logo the gang broke into Sporting's training ground and went on the rampage, terrorising players […]