Houston (AFP) – Jose Mourinho urged Manchester United bosses to wrap up the club's transfer business as quickly as possible after watching new signing Romelu Lukaku find the net once more in a 2-0 win over Manchester City on Thursday. Lukaku, who joined United last week from Everton in a British record transfer, bagged his […]

Singapore (AFP) – Football mega-star Cristiano Ronaldo jetted into Singapore for a flying visit to Valencia owner Peter Lim and his family Friday on his way to a media event in China. Dozens of fans and journalists swarmed the Real Madrid forward but were held back by security as the world footballer of the year […]

Houston (AFP) – Romelu Lukaku and Marcus Rashford were on target as Manchester United defeated Premier League rivals Manchester City 2-0 in their International Champions Cup pre-season clash on Thursday. Belgian international Lukaku grabbed his second goal in his second start for United as the Red Devils eased past a disjointed City at Houston's NRG […]

Shanghai (AFP) – There was the infamous Hong Kong "killer pitch", an 11th-hour cancellation of a Manchester derby in Beijing and now Arsenal players struck down with food poisoning in Shanghai. Add to that searing heat, tropical downpours and long-haul flights, and it is easy to see why Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was left wondering […]

Los Angeles (AFP) – Jamaica defeated Canada 2-1 to advance to the semi-finals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup on Thursday. Goals in each half from Shaun Francis and Romario Williams secured victory for the 'Reggae Boyz', who will play Mexico or Honduras in the last four. Jamaica, the beaten finalists in the 2015 Gold Cup, […]

New York (AFP) – Major League Soccer will implement the video assistant referee (VAR) system league-wide in August, making it among the first domestic leagues to use the video review system hailed by FIFA president Gianni Infantino at the Confederations Cup in June. "The introduction of Video Review into MLS league matches is the culmination […]

Breda (Netherlands) (AFP) – Elke Van Gorp and Janice Cayman gave Belgium their first-ever win at the women's Euros as the Red Flames stunned 2013 runners-up Norway 2-0 in Breda on Thursday. In the day's other Group A game in Rotterdam, Sherida Spitse's penalty gave the Netherlands a 1-0 win over Denmark. The Dutch top […]

London (AFP) – Veteran Congo international defender Christopher Samba penned a one-year deal with English second-tier side Aston Villa on Thursday after impressing coach Steve Bruce on a trial. The 33-year-old was a free agent after leaving Greek club Panathinaikos in January and will bring with him a wealth of experience of English football having […]

London (AFP) – Chelsea's 80-million-euro new boy Alvaro Morata hailed the English champions as "the best club" and manager Antonio Conte as "one of the world's best coaches" as the striker arrived in London to complete his transfer Thursday. The 24-year-old is expected to sign a five-year deal at Stamford Bridge after a deal reported […]

Rabat (AFP) – The 2019 Africa Cup of Nations will expand from 16 to 24 teams and be staged in June and July, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) announced on Thursday. The tournament has traditionally been held in January and February, with the timing of the tournament a source of frustration to European clubs […]

Madrid (AFP) – A Madrid court on Thursday ordered Spanish football federation president Angel Maria Villar and his son Gorka to be held in custody without bail following his arrest on corruption charges. High Court judge Santiago Pedraz ordered the two men detained because he said there was a significant flight risk given their "huge […]

Breda (Netherlands) (AFP) – Elke Van Gorp and Janice Cayman gave Belgium their first-ever win at the women's Euro as the Red Flames stunned 2013 runners-up Norway 2-0 in Breda on Thursday. Van Gorp slammed in a rebound in the 59th minute past Norway keeper Ingrid Hjelmseth who had cleared Tessa Wullaert's header following a […]

Glasgow (AFP) – Celtic striker Leigh Griffiths has been banned by UEFA for his side's Champions League third round first-leg qualifier against Rosenborg next week. The Scotland international was issued with a one-match European ban on Thursday for "provoking spectators" at the end of Celtic's 2-0 second round first-leg win over Linfield last Friday. The […]

London (AFP) – West Ham United confirmed on Thursday that they've reached an agreement with Bayer Leverkusen to sign former Manchester United striker Javier Hernandez. The Premier League side have been chasing the 29-year-old throughout the summer, and they've now agreed a fee of around £16 million ($20.8 million, 17.9 million euros) with the Bundesliga […]

Monaco (AFP) – Monaco want European rivals sanctioned if they don't stop making illegal approaches to their teenage striker Kylian Mbappé, the French champions threatened Thursday. "Top European football clubs made contact with Kylian Mbappé and his entourage without our authorisation," Monaco said on their website. The 18-year-old scored six goals in ten Champions League outings […]