Milan (AFP) – Fabian Ruiz scored the only goal as Napoli shocked Inter Milan 1-0 in their Italian Cup semi-final, first leg tie in the San Siro on Wednesday. The Spanish midfielder broke through after 57 minutes to get Gennaro Gattuso's side back to winning ways after their 3-2 league defeat at home to lowly […]

Dijon (France) (AFP) – Paris Saint-Germain's Neymar is facing a fitness battle to feature in next week's Champions league last 16 first leg tie at Borussia Dortmund, coach Thomas Tuchel said on Wednesday. The world's most expensive player has missed three matches having been sidelined with a rib injury since the victory over Montpellier on […]

Washington (AFP) – The US men's national team blasted the US Soccer Federation on Wednesday in support of the equal pay fight by the American women's squad, the reigning World Cup champions. In a blistering statement released on the website of the US National Soccer Team Players Association, the US men's national team union, the […]

Paris (AFP) – Paris Saint-Germain cruised into the semi-finals of the French Cup on Wednesday after thumping Dijon 6-1 in a match that saw the French champions benefit again from comical own goals. PSG were ahead just 47 seconds after kick off thanks to Wesley Lautoa shanking Mitchel Bakker's low cross into his own net […]

London (AFP) – Ryan Giggs is concerned Liverpool's promising defender Neco Williams could snub Wales in favour of representing England. Williams has been capped by Wales at Under-19 level, but that does not rule out the Wrexham-born full-back from playing for England at senior level. The 18-year-old, who has English grand-parents, has broken into Liverpool's […]

Milan (AFP) – Italy's Post Office furiously hit back Wednesday at comments made by under-fire Juventus coach Maurizio Sarri that if he wanted to avoid pressure he would have taken a job there. Champions Juventus have been knocked off top spot in Serie A by Inter Milan on goal difference after two successive away defeats. […]

Cannes (France) (AFP) – A former player in the French lower divisions was found guilty on Wednesday of match-fixing while the case of team-mate, who has moved to Hollywood, was adjourned. Matar Fall, a defender, was fined 10,000 euros and banned for contributing to a loss by his team, Frejus-Saint-Raphael, in a French third-division match […]

Munich (Germany) (AFP) – Bayern Munich centre-back Jerome Boateng said that Germany has "taken a step back" after being left "shocked" by the racist abuse of Hertha Berlin defender Jordan Torunarigha during a game earlier this month. The 22-year-old Torunarigha was sent off during extra time of his club's German Cup defeat by Schalke on […]

The Hague (AFP) – Ajax attacking midfielder Hakim Ziyech is set to move to Chelsea in the summer after the clubs agreed a deal in principal, a Dutch newspaper reported Wednesday. The daily tabloid De Telegraaf said the Amsterdam powerhouse and the London club had agreed a fee believed to be around 45 million euros […]

Doha (AFP) – African football bosses will hope Friday's Super Cup clash between Tunisia's Esperance and Egypt's Zamalek in Doha overshadows the fiasco over the way Esperance qualified. Esperance won the AFC Champions League after opponents Wydad Casablanca abandoned the final in protest at the organisers' decision not to use VAR. Play was stopped for more than […]

Madrid (AFP) – Former Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas plans to run for the presidency of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), Spanish media reported on Wednesday. Casillas told the national sports council (CSD) of his intention to run in the upcoming RFEF elections, reported the Cadena Ser radio station early Wednesday. According to this media, Casillas […]

Kobe (Japan) (AFP) – Barcelona legend Andres Iniesta produced a magical display on his Asian Champions League debut Wednesday to inspire Japan's Vissel Kobe to a 5-1 thrashing of Malaysia's Johor Darul Ta'zim. The 35-year-old, who won four European Cups in a glittering career with the Spanish giants, set up the home side's opening goal […]

London (AFP) – Leeds United fans can be forgiven for feeling a horrible sense of deja vu as another season that promised so much under the mercurial Marcelo Bielsa has come off the rails in the new year. The visiting thousands crammed into one end of Brentford's rickety Griffin Park on Tuesday were serenaded with […]

Hung Yen (Vietnam) (AFP) – After a career that began in instant noodles, Vietnam's richest man knows all about long shots, and now he's taking another: trying to get the football-mad country's national team to their first World Cup. No Southeast Asian team has played on football's biggest stage, but Pham Nhat Vuong — CEO […]

Copenhagen (AFP) – With the aim of going carbon neutral by 2025, Copenhagen faces a challenge as it prepares to host Euro 2020 matches — with the accompanying excesses — while minimising the climate impact. This year's tournament will be spread over 12 European cities ranging from London to Rome to Baku, meaning fans will […]