Lausanne (AFP) – Manchester City's appeal against a two-year ban from European competition opened before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Monday by videoconference, a court official told AFP. City are accused of overstating sponsorship revenue to hide their failure to comply with UEFA's financial fair-play (FFP) rules between 2012 and 2016. In […]

Tokyo (AFP) – Australia goalkeeper Mitchell Langerak has tested positive for coronavirus, his Japanese club Nagoya Grampus announced, becoming the second player infected at the J-League side. The 31-year-old, who won the last of his eight caps for the Socceroos in 2017 but is usually back-up to first-choice goalkeeper Matt Ryan, is showing no symptoms […]

Madrid (AFP) – "I've missed this place," Lionel Messi said after stepping onto the Camp Nou grass for the first time in three months but when Barcelona return to action he knows it will not be the same. Instead, La Liga's frenzied title race will take another step into the unknown as Barca run out […]

London (AFP) – Manchester City and England footballer Raheem Sterling on Sunday insisted that racism is "the only disease right now". The 25-year-old, who has often and powerfully spoken out on discrimination, admitted his remarks may appear ill-chosen as the globe fights the coronavirus pandemic. "I know this might sound a little bit cheesy but the […]

Madrid (AFP) – Lionel Messi will be fit to play in Barcelona's first game back against Real Mallorca, despite some "minor tightness" in his right thigh, coach Quique Setien said on Sunday. Messi trained alone on Saturday at Camp Nou after sitting out the team's previous two sessions, raising doubts over his involvement in the […]

Athens (AFP) – Olympiakos closed in on a 45th Greek league title on Sunday with a 1-0 win at closest rivals PAOK Salonika, even if fans had to climb onto nearby rooftops to watch the game. As the Greek Super League emerged from a three-month coronavirus shutdown, Olympiakos opened up a 17-point lead with nine games […]

Berlin (AFP) – Former Japan captain Makoto Hasebe said he was "proud" after setting the record for most Bundesliga appearances by an Asian player. Centre-back Hasebe, 36, played the full 90 minutes in Eintracht Frankfurt's 2-0 loss to Mainz on Saturday in what was his 309th German top-flight match to leapfrog ex-South Korea forward Cha […]

Berlin (AFP) – Werder Bremen's relegation fears increased on Sunday following a 1-0 home defeat to Wolfsburg that started with a renewed show of solidarity with the Black Lives Matter protests sparked by the death of George Floyd. Wout Weghorst headed home the decisive goal eight minutes before the end to push Wolfsburg back up […]

London (AFP) – Liverpool's potential title-winning clash against Everton should be played at Goodison Park instead of a neutral venue, according to the city's mayor Joe Anderson. The Merseyside derby will be the first match for Jurgen Klopp's side once the Premier League restarts following the coronavirus interruption. If second placed Manchester City lose at […]

Berlin (AFP) – Werder Bremen's relegation fears increased on Sunday following a 1-0 home defeat by Wolfsburg that saw a renewed show of solidarity with the Black Lives Matter protests sparked by the death of George Floyd. Wout Weghorst headed home the decisive goal eight minutes before the end to push Wolfsburg back up to […]

London (AFP) – Manchester City's appeal against a two-year ban from European competition will be heard by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) from Monday in a case of wide-reaching repercussions. City are accused of overstating sponsorship revenue to hide that they had not complied with UEFA's financial fair play (FFP) rules between 2012 […]

Berlin (AFP) – Bundesliga players wore black armbands and took the knee in displays of support for the Black Lives Matter protests on Saturday, as Bayern Munich kept title rivals Borussia Dortmund at bay with a ninth successive win. Bayern striker Robert Lewandowski scored his 30th league goal of the season as Bayern came from […]

Berlin (AFP) – Bayern Munich rumbled towards an eighth straight Bundesliga title on Saturday after their comfortable win at Bayer Leverkusen, while players throughout the league renewed support for the Black Lives Matters protests sparked by the death of George Floyd. AFP Sport looks at five key things from Saturday's action: Bayern unstoppable? You have […]

Berlin (AFP) – Borussia Dortmund midfielder Emre Can called on team mate Jadon Sancho to be "more grown up" on Saturday, after the England winger was involved in an off-field bust-up over a haircut. "Jadon is a great guy, but he needs to be a bit cleverer with certain things," Can told Sky after the […]

Berlin (AFP) – RB Leipzig on Saturday cast doubt on news that Germany striker Timo Werner was closing in on a move to Chelsea, saying that the widely reported transfer was far from a done deal. "Timo Werner hasn't triggered the (release) clause (in his contract), and we haven't received a transfer contract from any club," […]