London (AFP) – A friendly between Manchester United and Stoke was called off at the last minute after the manager of the Championship side, Michael O'Neill, was diagnosed with coronavirus. Stoke had arrived at United's Carrington training base on Tuesday and were in the academy building when they found out. "Stoke City can confirm that […]

Paris (AFP) – In different circumstances, the eyes of the football world would have been on Rome for the opening game of Euro 2020 this Friday, but instead the tournament was postponed by a year and UEFA are considering changes to the unprecedented format in a Europe shaken by the coronavirus pandemic. The competition will […]

Sao Paulo (AFP) – A Brazilian gay rights activist has filed a criminal complaint against Neymar for homophobia, after the football superstar called his mother's boyfriend an anti-gay slur in comments leaked to the media. The Sao Paulo prosecutor's office confirmed to AFP it had received the complaint, which it must now examine to decide […]

Washington (AFP) – Adidas said Tuesday that 30 percent of all its new hires in the US would be black or Latino people, amid anti-racism protests that have rocked the country for nearly two weeks. "The events of the past two weeks have caused all of us to reflect on what we can do to […]

Madrid (AFP) – "I am happy where I am, I feel loved," says Mikel Oyarzabal, Real Sociedad's captain and creator, often linked with Manchester City but whose best chance of playing in the Champions League next season might be to stay where he is. Real Sociedad are fourth in La Liga, one point ahead of […]

Madrid (AFP) – When La Liga stopped they were not expected to play any part in the rest of the title race but when the season resumes on Thursday, Eden Hazard and Luis Suarez could be set to decide it. Hazard was looking beyond Real Madrid to the Euros after undergoing surgery on his right […]

Berlin (AFP) – Saarbruecken's unprecedented German Cup run came to an end at the semi-finals on Tuesday after a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Bundesliga outfit Bayer Leverkusen. The fourth-tier side, whose last competitive match was in March, beat top-flight clubs Cologne and Fortuna Duesseldorf on their way to becoming the first team from […]

London (AFP) – Premier League clubs made a combined loss of £600 million in the 2018/19 season, even before suffering the financial pain of the coronavirus pandemic, a report revealed on Tuesday. Analysis from football finance experts Vysyble shows the 20 clubs in the English top-flight combined to post the huge loss despite record revenues […]

London (AFP) – Ben Foster has agreed a new two-year contract at Watford, the English Premier League club announced Tuesday. The former England goalkeeper is now set to stay at Vicarage Road until the age of at least 39. Foster has made 150 appearances across two spells for the Hornets, having first joined on loan […]

London (AFP) – Pep Guardiola's former manager Juanma Lillo has been reunited with the Catalan as Manchester City's new assistant boss, the club confirmed on Tuesday. Lillo, 54, left his post as coach of Qingdao Huanghai last week with the Chinese side claiming he was returning to Spain to look after his "seriously ill" mother. […]

Berlin (AFP) – Hoffenheim said on Tuesday they had parted company with coach Alfred Schreuder because of differing perspectives with the club two points away from the Europa League places. Schreuder, 47, joined the Bundesliga outfit last year from Ajax to succeed RB Leipzig-bound Julian Nagelsmann, and his contract was set to run until 2022. […]

Paris (AFP) – France's highest administrative court on Tuesday blocked the relegation of Amiens and Toulouse from Ligue 1 while rejecting Lyon's appeal against the decision to declare the season over. The judge in the Council of State "validates the end of the season and the standings but suspends relegation", read a statement summarising the […]

London (AFP) – Football clubs in the third and fourth tiers of English football voted on Tuesday to end the season and decide standings on a points-per-game basis, the English Football League announced. The cost of coronavirus testing and extending player contracts were major factors in the decision. The Premier League and second-tier Championship have […]

London (AFP) – Chelsea midfielder N'Golo Kante has returned to contact training ahead of the Premier League's comeback next week, the Blues confirmed on Tuesday. The French World Cup winner had been allowed to continue training at home when his teammates returned to training last month due to fears over coronavirus. "N'Golo Kante was back […]

Johannesburg (AFP) – This Thursday marks the 10th anniversary of South Africa hosting the World Cup, the first and only time Africa staged the biggest single-sport global tournament. A decade on, the report card about football in the republic is mixed with successes including a thriving national league and multi-sport use of virtually all the […]