Milan (AFP) – Former Inter Milan coach Luigi Simoni, who led the club to the UEFA Cup title in 1998 during the era of Brazilian star Ronaldo, died in Pisa on Friday at the age of 81 years. "Today, 22 May, he left us. Not just any date, the most Inter-related date of all," Inter […]

London (AFP) – Premier League chief executive Richard Masters is confident the top-flight season will resume in June as 'Project Restart' gathers pace. Clubs returned to socially distanced training in small groups this week and the league hope to begin playing the remaining 92 matches on June 12 or 19. Premier League players and staff […]

Johannesburg (AFP) – Burundi are the only African country to continue playing football during the coronavirus pandemic, with the league heading toward a potentially thrilling climax. Musongati FC drew 3-3 with Athletico Academy in midweek to close the gap behind leaders Le Messager Ngozi to three points with three rounds of the Primus Ligue remaining. […]

Johannesburg (AFP) – Former African champions Mamelodi Sundowns have extended the contract of coach Pitso Mosimane, who is commonly referred to as the 'Sir Alex Ferguson' of South Africa. While no salary was disclosed for the four-year deal, club owner Patrice Motsepe said it would make the former national team forward one of the best […]

New York (AFP) – Major League Soccer has outlined plans for a 26-team tournament in Orlando to resume matches after the coronavoirus pandemic halted its season in March, according to multiple reports. MLS would put its clubs into three groups of six teams and another of eight for the event at ESPN's Wide World of Sports […]

London (AFP) – Watford defender Christian Kabasele says restarting the Premier League on June 12 would be "impossible" because it would put players at risk of injury. Premier League chiefs have set their sights on a mid-June resumption and clubs went back to training in small groups this week. But Kabasele believes the timescale means […]

London (AFP) – Scottish Championship side Dunfermline released 17 out-of-contract players on Friday as a British lawmaker warned that up to 10 lower-league clubs in England could be weeks away from going into administration. The Scottish season is already over, with all four divisions decided on a points-per-game basis after the coronavirus pandemic stopped play […]

Munich (Germany) (AFP) – Bundesliga leaders Bayern continue their renewed season with only one injury doubt ahead of a home game against Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday. Coach Hansi Flick said in an on-line press conference on Friday that central midfielder Thiago was unlikely to play because of a hip muscle problem. "We'll have to wait," […]

Berlin (AFP) – Franz Beckenbauer has been invited to watch Bayern Munich's behind-closed-doors home match against Eintracht Frankfurt this weekend, he said on Friday. "I'm leaving my house for the first time in a long time," 74-year-old Beckenbauer told German daily Bild. Beckenbauer, whose trial on corruption charges linked to the 2006 World Cup ended […]

Milan (AFP) – Milan's San Siro stadium is closer to being demolished after Italy's heritage authority found that the iconic stadium cannot be protected for cultural or historic reasons. "The property named 'Giuseppe Meazza Stadium (San Siro) has no cultural interest and as such is excluded from the protection provisions," the Lombardy region of Italy's […]

Berlin (AFP) – Borussia Dortmund will again be without Belgium midfielder Axel Witsel when they travel to Wolfsburg on Saturday on the Bundesliga's second week of action since it restarted, coach Lucien Favre said. Witsel has not recovered from muscular problems he suffered trying to regain fitness before last weekend's resumption of matches. But former […]

London (AFP) – Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson insists he has felt "very safe" since his club returned to training amid the coronavirus crisis this week. Jurgen Klopp's side began socially-distanced training in small groups on Wednesday as the Premier League steps up its bid to resume the season in June. Although all players and staff […]

London (AFP) – The English Football League (EFL) reiterated on Thursday that promotion and relegation should be kept in place even if the season is ended prematurely by the coronavirus crisis. Clubs agreed to end the League Two campaign last week because of the pandemic and proposed no team should be relegated to the fifth-tier […]

Mönchengladbach (Germany) (AFP) – Nearly 13,000 cardboard cut-outs of Borussia Moenchengladbach supporters are set to welcome the team for Saturday's Bundesliga match against Bayer Leverkusen behind closed doors. Gladbach hosted the first Bundesliga game ever played without fans on March 11, shortly before the German season was put on hold because of the coronavirus outbreak. […]

Madrid (AFP) – World Cup finalist and Atletico Madrid defender Sime Vrsaljko went under the knife to remove surgical material left there in a previous operation, the Spanish club said Thursday. The 28-year-old right-back starred in Croatia's run to the World Cup final in 2018 but missed almost all of the following year through injury. […]