Shanghai (AFP) – Chinese champions Guangzhou Evergrande on Thursday began building a new stadium costing 12 billion yuan ($1.7 billion) and boasting a 100,000 capacity — one of the world's largest arenas. The stadium, which will be marginally bigger than Barcelona's famous Camp Nou, is scheduled to be ready by the end of 2022, Xinhua […]

Shanghai (AFP) – China's record goalscorer jumped to the defence Thursday of Yu Hanchao after champions Guangzhou Evergrande sacked the international winger for altering his Mercedes number plate. Hao Haidong, who hit 40 goals in 106 games for China, accused Evergrande Group's billionaire chairman Xu Jiayin of "treating players like tools". Yu is at the […]

Shanghai (AFP) – Fan Zhiyi says he turned down a Liverpool offer made by Gerard Houllier in a pub and also rejected Newcastle United, while a trial at Tottenham Hotspur was torpedoed by injury. But does the 50-year-old known as "General Fan" in China have any regrets? Not for a second, because he became a […]

London (AFP) – Newcastle United fans have long dreamed of ridding the club from owner Mike Ashley, but a potential £300 million ($377 million) takeover backed by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund presents fans on Tyneside with a different dilemma. Retail tycoon Ashley has been deeply unpopular in his 13 years in charge of Newcastle, […]

Nancy (France) (AFP) – Sevilla have been ordered by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to pay Nancy 3.7 million euros ($4.04 million) from the transfer of Clement Lenglet to Barcelona, the French club said on Wednesday. The Ligue 2 club released a statement saying on April 14, CAS upheld a decision by FIFA […]

Berlin (AFP) – Large-scale public events such as football matches will remain banned in Germany until August 31 due to the coronavirus crisis, Berlin said on Wednesday, though it did not rule out allowing Bundesliga games to continue behind closed doors. "Big events play a large role in the infection dynamic, and will therefore remain […]

Doha (AFP) – Qatar reported on Wednesday that five coronavirus cases have been detected in workers at three World Cup stadiums, the first confirmed instances among those involved in 2022 tournament projects. The Gulf nation has reported a total of seven deaths, 3,711 COVID-19 infections and 406 recoveries since March 6 but had not previously […]

Marseille (AFP) – Two Russians will face trial in France over a vicious assault that left an English fan partially paralysed during Euro 2016, a judicial source said on Wednesday. Mikhail Ivkine, 34, and Pavel Kosov, 33, risk up to 15 years behind bars if found guilty of the attack on Andrew Bache. The trial […]

London (AFP) – Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp and captain Jordan Henderson have delivered messages of support to the families of the 96 supporters killed in the Hillsborough disaster 31 years ago. A final memorial service for the victims was due to take place at Anfield on Wednesday, but has been postponed due to coronavirus guidelines […]

London (AFP) – Arsenal's executive team have agreed to cut more than a third of their salary as the club warned it is facing "one of the most challenging periods" in its history on Wednesday. The Premier League has been suspended indefinitely due to strict government guidelines to control the spread of coronavirus. Arsenal posted a […]

Berlin (AFP) – Leroy Sane's new agent says the Manchester City winger is still in the running for a transfer to Bayern Munich, after a potential switch was put on hold due to a serious knee injury. "FC Bayern is the only club in Germany that Leroy can see as the next step in his […]

Kuala Lumpur (AFP) – Asia's top football competitions will go ahead this year despite the coronavirus pandemic, a senior official told AFP, although games may have to be played behind closed doors. Windsor John, general secretary of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), said he was confident that the AFC Champions League and AFC Cup would […]

Shanghai (AFP) – Chinese Super League champions Guangzhou Evergrande sacked Yu Hanchao and the international winger faces 15 days in police custody after he was spotted altering the licence plate on his Mercedes 4×4. Guangzhou, who are managed by Italian World Cup winner Fabio Cannavaro, said that the 33-year-old had "severely violated" the club's strict […]

London (AFP) – West Ham manager David Moyes fears a rash of injuries to players should there be a desperate rush to complete the Premier League season if the coronavirus relents sufficiently to allow the resumption of football. The Premier League has now ditched plans to get back underway at the start of May […]

London (AFP) – A potential takeover of English Premiership side Newcastle by a Saudi Arabian-backed group appeared to move closer on Tuesday after legal documents were lodged with the UK's regulator of companies. But several other proposed bids to buy the club from Mike Ashley have all come to nothing during the controversial British businessman's […]