Seoul (AFP) – North and South Korea played out a surreal 0-0 draw in front of an empty stadium and with no TV coverage as Australia smashed seven past Taiwan in Asian World Cup qualifying on Tuesday. Tottenham Hotspur star Son Heung-min captained South Korea for their first competitive men's match in Pyongyang, but it […]

Istanbul (AFP) – Turkey's sports minister voiced support on Tuesday for national team players who saluted the country's soldiers during their Euro 2020 match with France. Sports Minister Mehmet Muharrem Kasapoglu described the controversial goal celebration — in which players were seen as supporting Turkey's current military operation in Syria — as a "nice salute". […]

Taipei (AFP) – Australia ran riot in a 7-1 demolition of Taiwan on Tuesday to continue their runaway start to qualifying for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Adam Taggart, Jackson Irvine and defender Harry Souttar all scored twice along with Jamie Maclaren's solitary strike as the Socceroos solidified their lead of Asia's Group B. […]

Sofia (AFP) – Bulgaria's football chief resigned on Tuesday after racist chanting marred England's Euro 2020 qualifier in Sofia, as UEFA chief Aleksander Ceferin said the sport needed to "wage war" on abusers. England eased to a 6-0 victory over their hosts in the Bulgarian capital on Monday but the game was blighted by offensive […]

Milan (AFP) – Inter Milan on Tuesday said Chile forward Alexis Sanchez will see a specialist in Barcelona to determine if he needs surgery for a serious ankle injury sustained on international duty. Sanchez hobbled off in the 88th minute of a goalless draw in the friendly against Colombia in Alicante on Saturday. He underwent medical […]

Sofia (AFP) – Bulgaria's football union chief resigned Tuesday, a day after a match against England was twice halted because of racist abuse. Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov had urged Borislav Mihaylov, the president of the Bulgarian Football Union (BFU), to immediately step down following Monday's Euro 2020 qualifier in Sofia. The match, which England […]

Paris (AFP) – The 2020 Tour de France route unveiled in Paris on Tuesday set pulses racing with a host of mouth-watering stages in prospect, here AFP looks at five of them: Stage 2: Nice-Nice – 187km Seeking to emulate the thrill of the 2019 Tour organisers have lit the fuse of the 2020 route […]

London (AFP) – Derby players Tom Lawrence and Mason Bennett avoided prison after they admitted drink-driving over a crash that left their club captain seriously injured. Wales international Lawrence and Bennett were detained by police after the incident shortly before midnight on September 24, which followed a team-building dinner. Both players admitted drink-driving and failing […]

Milan (AFP) – Claudio Ranieri said Tuesday he had come to rescue demoralised Italian basement club Sampdoria, who are reeling at the foot of Serie A after a disastrous start to the season. The Genoa club are last in the table — 16 points behind leaders Juventus — with just one win in seven games. […]

London (AFP) – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday condemned the "vile" racist chanting directed at England players during their Euro 2020 qualifier against Bulgaria in Sofia. England recorded a 6-0 victory over their hosts in on Monday but the game was overshadowed by offensive chanting from the stands, forcing the match to be […]

London (AFP) – Liverpool chief executive Peter Moore says a long-overdue Premier League title would sit alongside their Champions League triumph as a "barometer of success" for the club. Jurgen Klopp's side won a sixth European Cup in June, less than a month after they were pipped by Manchester City to the league title by […]

London (AFP) – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday condemned the "vile" racist chanting during England's Euro 2020 qualifier in Sofia as his Bulgarian counterpart urged the country's football chief to resign. England eased to a 6-0 victory over their hosts on Monday but the game was overshadowed by offensive chanting from the stands, […]

London (AFP) – British lawmakers called Tuesday for tough action from UEFA after England players were subjected to repeated racist chanting during a Euro 2020 qualifier as Bulgaria's prime minister urged the country's football chief to resign. England recorded a 6-0 victory over their hosts in Sofia on Monday but the game was overshadowed by […]

Seoul (AFP) – North and South Korea drew 0-0 in a historic but surreal World Cup qualifier on Tuesday, played in front of an empty stadium and almost completely blocked off from the outside world. The showdown between the two sides — whose countries are still technically at war — took place at Pyongyang's Kim […]

Seoul (AFP) – A World Cup qualifier like no other kicks off in Pyongyang on Tuesday, with pretty much the entire world shut out of the event. North and South Korea — two countries technically at war — will step onto the Kim Il Sung stadium turf for a match with no live broadcast, no […]