Madrid (AFP) – Cristiano Ronaldo's final route of appeal against his five-match ban for pushing a referee after being sent off in the Spanish Super Cup was rejected by Spain's administrative sports court (TAD) on Tuesday. "TAD has rejected the appeal presented by Real Madrid against the five-match ban," a TAD spokesperson confirmed to AFP. […]

Barcelona (AFP) – Barcelona are seeking at least 8.5 million euros ($10 million) in compensation from Neymar for breach of contract, the club said on Tuesday as the bitter fallout rumbles on from his world record 222 million-euro move to Paris Saint-Germain. The move comes after Barcelona refused to pay a separate 26 million-euro bonus […]

Berlin (AFP) – Bayern Munich received a timely boost on Tuesday when Thiago Alcantara, Arjen Robben and Javi Martinez all returned to training ahead of Saturday's Bundesliga match at Werder Bremen. The trio sat out last Friday's opening match of the season when the defending champions eased to a 3-1 win at home to Bayer […]

Barcelona (AFP) – Barcelona are seeking at least 8.5 million euros ($10 million) from Neymar for breach of contract, the club said on Tuesday as the bitter fallout rumbles on from his world record 222-million-euro move to Paris Saint-Germain. "In this lawsuit, the club demands the amount already paid as a bonus for the renewal […]

Rome (AFP) – Croatian international striker Nikola Kalinic has completed a move to AC Milan from Fiorentina, both clubs announced on Tuesday. The 29-year-old joins Milan on a season-long loan in a deal that will eventually become permanent and has signed a contract with the club until 2021. Italian daily Gazzetta dello Sport reported the […]

Shanghai (AFP) – Brazilian international Hulk scored one and made another as Shanghai SIPG all but sealed their spot in the AFC Champions League semi-finals with a 4-0 first-leg rout of Guangzhou Evergrande on Tuesday. Luiz Felipe Scolari's Evergrande are on course to retain the Chinese Super League (CSL) title but barring a miracle they […]

London (AFP) – English football's ruling body the Football Association on Tuesday came under increasing pressure to hold another enquiry over allegations made by women's football star Eniola Aluko against England head coach Mark Sampson. The FA through an independent enquiry cleared Sampson, who recently guided England to the Euro 2017 semi-finals which included a […]

Monaco (AFP) – Monaco's unsettled striker Kylian Mbappe came under fire on Tuesday from hardcore supporters of the French champions. Ultras Monaco 1994 took to Twitter to claim that the reported P aris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid target had "proved nothing special in his few dozen matches as a professional". Mbappe was left out of […]

London (AFP) – Argentinian defender Marcos Rojo gave another boost to early Premier League leaders Manchester United by returning to training with the first team on Tuesday. The 27-year-old — a member of the Argentinian side that lost to Germany in the 2014 World Cup final — is recovering from a knee ligament injury suffered […]

Vienna (AFP) – An Austrian football fan has been given an 18-month prison sentence for a Hitler salute during a match, falling foul of the country's tough laws against Nazi glorification. The unemployed 39-year-old from top-flight Rapid Vienna's "ultra" wing was spotted performing the banned gesture during a match in August 2016 and sentenced in […]

Berlin (AFP) – Hoffenheim head to Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool bidding to make history by overturning a 2-1 deficit in Wednesday's Champions League play-off second leg to become the first German club to win at Anfield. Liverpool looked to have planted one foot in the group phase after going 2-0 up in last week's first leg […]

London (AFP) – Wayne Rooney labelled his 200th Premier League goal in Everton's 1-1 draw with Manchester City a "sweet moment" and had the British media purring and suggesting Tuesday he be recalled to the England squad. "Blue Roon" was the Daily Mirror's headline while the Sun went with "Long May He Wayne" after Rooney […]

Montevideo (AFP) – Uruguay and Argentina will officially launch their joint bid for the 2030 World Cup next week at a ceremony involving the country's two leaders, Uruguay President Tabare Vazquez said Monday. Vazquez said the formal announcement of the bid would take place during a visit to Uruguay by Argentine counterpart Mauricio Macri on […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Everton star Wayne Rooney said becoming only the second person to score 200 Premier League goals when he netted in the 1-1 draw with Manchester City on Monday was a sweet moment. The 31-year-old, who joined former England and Newcastle United great Alan Shearer in reaching the 200-goal landmark, added […]

Barcelona (AFP) – French international Lucas Digne helped the injured in the aftermath of last week's van attack in Barcelona that killed 13 people and injured over 100 others, Spanish media reported Monday. The 24-year-old Barcelona defender, who lives near the central Las Ramblas boulevard where the attack took place, raced to the scene with […]