London (AFP) – Former England defender Kenny Sansom, who played in the infamous 'Hand of God' World Cup quarter-final in 1986, was in hospital on Friday after suffering a serious head injury, British media claimed. A message on the 61-year-old former Arsenal player's Twitter account confirmed he was receiving treatment. However, his family did not […]

Milan (AFP) – Argentina striker Gonzalo Higuain became the final Juventus player to return to Italy on Friday as Serie A prepares to return to action on June 13. Higuain arrived in Turin by private jet on Friday afternoon after a stopover in Las Palmas and was driven away by a waiting car. The former […]

Paris (AFP) – As the German Bundesliga this weekend becomes the first major European league to resume following the two-month coronavirus shutdown, AFP Sport casts a glance at the situation in countries across the continent: – Leagues restarting – The German Bundesliga returns on Saturday with nine rounds of the season still to be played […]

Rome (AFP) – Uncertainty swirls as to whether Serie A can really return to action as Italian football bosses hope on June 13 after a two-month coronavirus suspension. Behind the united front, Italy's 20 top-flight clubs have very different interests while Sports Minister Vincenzo Spadafora has been blowing hot and cold. Meanwhile, the players may […]

Montpellier (France) (AFP) – Montpellier's veteran captain Vitorino Hilton has signed an extension to his contract which will keep him at the club for another season, the Ligue 1 outfit announced on Friday. The Brazilian centre-back, who turns 43 in September, was due to become a free agent in June and had talked of retiring […]

Port-au-Prince (AFP) – At a training facility outside the Haitian capital, where young female football players are living under a coronavirus lockdown, the atmosphere is heavy, following allegations that the head of the sport's national federation raped several teenage girls there. But at the academy — once a ranch owned by Haiti's former strongman Jean-Claude […]

Berlin (AFP) – Bayern Munich boss Hansi Flick admitted on Friday that he is unsure whether his players are match fit ahead of the Bundesliga restart this weekend. Defending champions Bayern hold a four-point lead ahead of Sunday's game at Union Berlin, as German football returns behind closed doors following a two-month suspension due to […]

Berlin (AFP) – The German Bundesliga takes the spotlight on Saturday as the first top European league to resume during the coronavirus pandemic, with one coach admitting it feels like "flying blind". After a two-month break, the German Football League (DFL) had to submit an extraordinarily detailed plan of measures to gain approval for the […]

London (AFP) – Charlton midfielder Darren Pratley says black and ethnic minority players have fears over restarting football because they are more at risk from coronavirus. English clubs, including Championship side Charlton, are working towards a resumption of the season in June. But Pratley, whose father is Jamaican, is concerned by statistics that show black […]

London (AFP) – Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has joked that his biggest lesson from the coronavirus lockdown is just how outspoken former Manchester United defender Gary Neville can be. In his role as a television pundit, Neville has vented on a range of issues related to the Premier League and the health crisis. The former […]

Berlin (AFP) – The German league takes the spotlight on Saturday as the first top European league to resume during the coronavirus pandemic, with one coach admitting it feels like "flying blind". After a two-month break, the German Football League (DFL) had to submit an extraordinarily detailed plan of measures to gain approval for the […]

London (AFP) – England captain Harry Kane says players are waiting for safety guidance from the Premier League after the government said it was "opening the door" for the return of football next month. Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said Thursday's meeting with the Football Association, Premier League and English Football League had "progressed plans for […]

Madrid (AFP) – Lionel Messi says he is comfortable with footballers returning to play again as La Liga prepares to restart the season in Spain next month. La Liga president Javier Tebas has circled June 12 as the ideal date for matches to resume. Barcelona sit top of the table, two points ahead of Real […]

Berlin (AFP) – Augsburg coach Heiko Herrlich will have to sit out the Bundesliga resumption this weekend after breaking quarantine rules to go and buy a tube of toothpaste. The 48-year-old Herrlich was to have made his debut as coach of the top flight strugglers in Saturday's game with Wolfsburg after a two-month wait when […]

Marseille (AFP) – The future of former Chelsea and Tottenham boss Andre Villas-Boas as coach of Marseille was on a knife-edge Thursday after the departure of his right-hand man Andoni Zubizarreta. The club's sporting director, a former Spanish international goalkeeper, still had a year on his contract to run at the French giants. "I ended […]