Milan (AFP) – Inter Milan eased past Napoli 2-0 to hold on to second place in Serie A on Tuesday ahead of Atalanta who earlier fought back to beat Parma. Juventus have already sealed their ninth straight league title, but three teams are fighting for second spot — Inter Milan, Atalanta and Lazio — going […]

London (AFP) – Manchester City showed a "blatant disregard" for UEFA's investigation into alleged Financial Fair Play (FFP) breaches, according to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, (CAS) but European football's governing body failed to prove City had disguised funding from the club's owners as sponsorship income. Earlier this month, CAS overturned a two-year ban […]

Milan (AFP) – Atalanta moved second in Serie A on Tuesday with Ruslan Malinovskyi and Papu Gomez's second-half goals sealing a 2-1 comeback win over Parma. Swedish midfielder Dejan Kulusevski had scored for midtable Parma against his former club just before the break. But Malinovskyi sent in a freekick with 20 minutes to go, and […]

Barcelona (AFP) – Brazilian midfielder Arthur Melo could face sanctions for failing to turn up at training with Barcelona, who concluded a deal to sell him to Juventus a month ago. The Catalan club say the player is under contract until the end of the season and have demanded he return, with the local press […]

London (AFP) – Timo Werner revealed Chelsea manager Frank Lampard was the main factor in his choice to join the Blues for next season despite interest from a host of other top European clubs. Werner, 24, scored 34 goals for RB Leipzig in the 2019/20 season but will not be part of the German side's […]

Barcelona (AFP) – Barcelona welcomed back three injured French players, Ousmane Dembele, Antoine Griezmann and Clement Lenglet, as they resumed training ahead of their Champions League match against Napoli. The club did not give any indication that the trio would be fit for the second-leg match against Napoli on August 8. "The good news of […]

London (AFP) – Neil Warnock has agreed to remain Middlesbrough manager next season after helping the Championship club win their battle to avoid relegation. Warnock took over from the sacked Jonathan Woodgate in June with Middlesbrough in danger of slipping into League One. But the 71-year-old won four of his eight games in charge to […]

Johannesburg (AFP) – Globe-trotting Burkina Faso star Aristide Bance, who announced his retirement from international football last week, has quit CAF club title contenders Horoya of Guinea. "I spoke to the club president (Soufiane Souare) and signified my intention to leave the club," the 35-year-old forward said on his Instagram account. "I expressed my […]

Madrid (AFP) – Real Madrid forward Mariano has tested positive for coronavirus, the La Liga champions announced on Tuesday. "After the COVID-19 tests carried out yesterday on our first team footballers by the Real Madrid Medical Services, our player Mariano, tested positive," Real said in a statement. "The player is in perfect health and is […]

Johannesburg (AFP) – Morocco has become the first major African football nation to resume league football with two matches late Monday ending a four-month suspension due to the coronavirus pandemic. Three-time African champions Raja Casablanca drew 0-0 away to Difaa el Jadidi while hosts Hassania Agadir edged Raja Beni Mellal 1-0 with Mehdi Oubila scoring. […]

Paris (AFP) – The French government, the first in Europe's leading football nations to allow spectators back into grounds, said on Tuesday that the attendance cap would stay at 5,000 until the end of August, but local officials would be able to grant exemptions. Local authorities would be granted flexibility "according to the seating capacity of […]

London (AFP) – English Football Association chairman Greg Clarke has accused professional game representatives on the governing body's board of blocking a diversity review of its members. The FA have been keen to promote former Chelsea and Aston Villa defender Paul Elliott, who is chair of the organisation's inclusion advisory board, to their full board. […]

Madrid (AFP) – Xavi Hernandez, who is coaching Al-Sadd in Qatar, says his "primary goal" is to coach Barcelona where he won a host of trophies, but he is focused on his current job. Xavi also said he was "fine" after testing positive for coronavirus. "I do not hide, and I have always said, that […]

Los Angeles (AFP) – Diego Rossi scored twice in a 4-1 rout of champions Seattle Sounders as Los Angeles FC secured a quarter-final place in the MLS is Back Tournament on Monday. Rossi scored an early penalty and then snaked through the defence for a second eight minutes from time in the battle between the […]

Shanghai (AFP) – China's football squad will be limited to "three or four" Brazil-born players, a senior official told AFP, as ex-Chelsea star Oscar expressed an interest in becoming the latest Brazilian to represent the world's most populous country. Unless there is a radical policy change by FIFA, the Shanghai SIPG attacking midfielder will not […]