Berlin (AFP) – German Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich have handed coach Hansi Flick a new contract keeping him at the club until 2023, the club announced Friday. "Bayern are very happy with Hansi Flick's work. The team has developed well under him and are playing attractive football," said club CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge in a statement. […]

Berlin (AFP) – Germany's biggest football stadium, Borussia Dortmund's Signal-Iduna-Park, is to be partially transformed into a medical centre to help treat patients during the coronavirus pandemic, the German Bundesliga club announced Friday. "Our stadium is a symbol of the city... its technical, infrastructural and spatial set-up make it the ideal place to help people […]

London (AFP) – Crystal Palace's Andros Townsend has accused the British government's Health Secretary of "deflecting blame" onto footballers after Matt Hancock said they should take a pay cut during the coronavirus crisis. Tottenham, Newcastle, Norwich and Bournemouth have said they will use a government scheme to guarantee 80 percent of salaries for non-playing staff […]

Paris (AFP) – Before the Premier League starts up it must ensure all clubs resume training on the same day, Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti, told a French magazine in an interview published on Friday. The Premier League is on hold because of the coronavirus pandemic and is scheduled to resume on May 3. But Ancelotti […]

Paris (AFP) – UEFA and Europe's top clubs have stated their determination that the current football season should be played to a conclusion and threatened that teams may be excluded from the next Champions League if their domestic competitions are ended prematurely. In a joint letter released late on Thursday, UEFA, the European Club Association […]

London (AFP) – Highly-paid Premier League players are coming under pressure to follow the example of some of their fellow professionals at the biggest clubs in Europe and take a cut in salary during the coronavirus pandemic. Leading politicians have weighed in while discussions are ongoing between the Premier League, Football League and the players' […]

Shanghai (AFP) – Roberto Donadoni should be in the thick of China's football season but his thoughts are consumed by the suffering that the coronavirus has brought to his hometown in northern Italy. Nearly 14,000 people have died in Italy since the pandemic struck, more than any other country, and the region where the AC […]

Berlin (AFP) – When their side played promotion rivals Arminia Bielefeld in the German second division on March 9, Stuttgart fans did not realise that it would be the last game before the coronavirus lockdown. A week later, football was suspended in Germany and Stuttgart's "ultras" were focusing instead on helping the elderly and vulnerable […]

Montevideo (AFP) – Uruguay star Luis Suarez complained on Thursday that he has been "hurt" by criticism of him and fellow millionaire Barcelona players for the time it took to agree to pay cuts to help out other club employees. Argentine superstar Lionel Messi announced on Monday that Barca's players had agreed to a 70 […]

London (AFP) – The Professional Footballers' Association insist they are aware players must "share the financial burden" during the coronavirus as the row over wage cuts for Premier League stars mounted on Thursday. The British Government's Health Secretary Matt Hancock called on top-flight players to take a pay cut after several clubs placed non-playing staff […]

London (AFP) – The British government on Thursday said English Premier League footballers should take a pay cut, amid outrage at top flight clubs using a furlough scheme for non-playing staff. Tottenham, Newcastle and Norwich have said they will use a government scheme to guarantee 80 percent of salaries for staff up to a maximum […]

London (AFP) – Chelsea have partnered with domestic abuse charity Refuge to raise awareness and funds in support of women and children who suffer from the issue during the coronavirus lockdown. Experts have warned that the virus outbreak will lead to a "domestic abuse pandemic". Self-isolation has the potential to aggravate pre-existing abusive behaviours by […]

London (AFP) – Tottenham Hotspur's decision to furlough 550 of their non-playingstaff due to the economic fall-out from the coronavirus pandemic has been sharply criticised by former Spurs and England great Gary Lineker. Spurs are one of four Premier League clubs to implement this measure which involves a reduction in the staff members salaries to […]

London (AFP) – Premier League clubs that use government money for the salaries of non-playing staff, while continuing to pay players their full wage could be hit by a new tax. Julian Knight, who chairs the British government's Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, expressed his "dismay" at clubs using the government's furlough scheme which […]

Paris (AFP) – The Belgian football league has recommended that the current season be declared finished early due to the coronavirus pandemic with the present table accepted as final, it said on Thursday, becoming the first European league to take such a measure. The decision is set to be formally validated at a General Assembly […]