Milan (AFP) – Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon was on Tuesday handed a one-match ban for blasphemy which would rule him out of next weekend's Turin derby. The 43-year-old Italian World Cup winner had been fined 5,000 euros ($6,000) last month by the Italian Football Federation, but escaped a ban. However, the FIGC's Court of Appeal […]

Paris (AFP) – UEFA on Tuesday accepted coronavirus-hit Lyon's request to postpone their women's Champion League quarter-final second leg with Paris Saint-Germain scheduled for Wednesday. On Monday, the defending champions asked European football's governing body to delay the game. "We have six, maybe seven cases, and the whole women's team are contact cases," Aulas said. […]

Berlin (AFP) – Germany's women's announced on Tuesday they were postponing a tour to the US for the second consecutive year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Germany had planned two internationals against the World Cup holders in June. "There were simply too many issues outstanding and we couldn't ensure that we would actually be able […]

Chiba (Japan) (AFP) – Japan manager Hajime Moriyasu hailed his team's ruthless streak after thrashing Mongolia 14-0 on Tuesday for their biggest-ever World Cup qualifying win. Japan, who are looking to reach their seventh World Cup in a row at Qatar in 2022, scored five first-half goals to take complete control of the game against […]

Berlin (AFP) – Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer will sit out Wednesday's World Cup qualifier against North Macedonia with Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan set to take over as captain. "Manuel Neuer will stay with the team even though he's not playing. Ilkay Gundogan will be captain if he starts," Germany head coach Joachim Loew said […]

Lausanne (AFP) – An official announcement on planned radical changes to the format of the UEFA Champions League from 2024 onwards is set to be made on April 19, European football's governing body said on Tuesday. Last week European Leagues, a body representing the interests of clubs and leagues in 30 countries across the continent, […]

Belgrade (AFP) – The captain's armband that Cristiano Ronaldo flung to the ground in disgust after Portugal were controversially denied a late winner at the weekend in the World Cup qualifier against Serbia was put on auction on Tuesday in a bid to help a sick child. With the scores level at 2-2 in Belgrade, […]

Milan (AFP) – Atalanta boss Gian Piero Gasperini was on Tuesday voted Serie A coach of the year for the second consecutive season. Gasperini won the Panchina d'Oro (the Golden Bench) following a vote of his coaching colleagues in the Italian Coaches' Association. The 63-year-old led Atalanta to a third-place finish in Serie A last […]

Paris (AFP) – Both legs of the Champions League quarter-final between Portuguese club Porto and Premier League side Chelsea will be played in Seville, Spain, due to Covid-19 travel restrictions, UEFA confirmed on Tuesday. The matches will be played at Sevilla's Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan stadium, with the first leg on April 7 and the return […]

Berlin (AFP) – Ilkay Gundogan said on Tuesday he hopes Sergio Aguero will finish his time at Manchester City with titles after the Argentina striker confirmed he will leave the Premier League leaders at the end of the season. "He has done incredible things and contributed a lot to us being where we are now," […]

London (AFP) – Sergio Aguero, who will always be associated with a single gilded moment in Manchester City's history, is starting his long goodbye from the club with his position secure as one of the Premier League's all-time greats. Fans in the blue half of Manchester are coming to terms with the impending departure of […]

Berlin (AFP) – RB Leipzig say they will not take Bayern Munich lightly in Saturday's Bundesliga showdown despite the knee injury that threatens to sideline top-scoring striker Robert Lewandowski. "Bayern will have a strong team on the pitch – even without Lewandowski," Leipzig sports director Markus Kroesche told daily Bild. "Basically, you don't wish an […]

Versailles (France) (AFP) – Real Madrid star Karim Benzema's trial for "complicity in attempted blackmail" over a sex tape involving former France team-mate Mathieu Valbuena will be held in October, a court official told AFP on Tuesday. Benzema will be tried in Versailles from October 20-22, the court said. The 33-year-old striker faces up to […]

Kuala Lumpur (AFP) – A Myanmar footballer playing for a Malaysian club has been hit with a one-match ban for flashing the three-finger salute used by anti-coup protesters during a game, an official said Tuesday. Hein Htet Aung, who plays for second-division side Selangor FC II, made the political gesture during a match against PDRM […]

Sarajevo (AFP) – At 35, Edin Dzeko is both the star and old man of a Bosnia team he will lead against France in 2022 World Cup qualifying on Wednesday, but he owes his long career to the time his mother would not let him play football. One day, during the bloody siege of Sarajevo, […]