Berlin (AFP) – Former Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness said he was "shocked" after the Bundesliga leaders' Annual General Meeting descended into chaos as supporters rebelled against a Qatari sponsorhip deal. "This is the worst event I've ever seen at FC Bayern. I am ashamed," fumed Hoeness after Thursday night's five hour-long AGM turned heated. […]

Milan (AFP) – Napoli will pay tribute to Diego Maradona on Sunday when they host Lazio hoping to put two painful and costly consecutive defeats behind them. The football world honoured Maradona on the anniversary of his death on Thursday but Napoli are using this weekend's fixture to enable Neapolitans to finally say goodbye at […]

Berlin (AFP) – Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich must reshuffle their starting side – with five players in quarantine – before hosting struggling Arminia Bielefeld on Saturday in a final tune-up ahead of their top-of-the-table clash at Dortmund. Bielefeld earned a 3-3 draw when the clubs met in Munich last February and have picked up four […]

Madrid (AFP) – Real Madrid will need to capitalise on their excellent run of form to extend their lead at the top of La Liga when they face third-placed Sevilla on Sunday. Madrid have won seven and drawn one of their last eight games in all competitions and look by far the most reliable team […]

Buenos Aires (AFP) – A Diego Maradona fan who named his twin daughters Mara and Dona on Thursday welcomed to the world a baby boy named Diego, on the first anniversary of the Argentine football great's death. Walter Rotundo, 39, said he and his wife Victoria scheduled the caesarean delivery for this day. "Everything went […]

London (AFP) – Giovanni Van Bronckhorst got off to a perfect start as Rangers manager as a 2-0 win over Sparta Prague secured their place in the last 32 of the Europa League, while Leicester edged towards the knockout stages with a 3-1 win over Legia Warsaw. But Celtic's chances of progress were ended by […]

London (AFP) – Tottenham manager Antonio Conte said he has quickly realised the level of his squad is "not so high" after an embarrassing 2-1 loss to Slovenian minnows NS Mura in the Europa Conference League. Spurs will now likely have to beat Rennes at home in their final group game to avoid crashing out […]

London (AFP) – Tottenham suffered one of the most embarrassing results in their history as Antonio Conte's men were beaten 2-1 by Slovenian minnows NS Mura in the Europa Conference League on Thursday. Spurs will now likely have to beat Rennes at home in their final group game to avoid crashing out of Europe's third-tier […]

London (AFP) – Celtic's chances of progress in the Europa League were ended by a late Bayer Leverkusen rally to lose 3-2 in Germany on Thursday as Real Betis, Lazio and Galatasaray secured their places in the knockout stages. Leverkusen had already qualified but made sure of top spot in Group G and a place […]

Leverkusen (Germany) (AFP) – Moussa Diaby hit the late winner as Bayer Leverkusen punched their Europa League last 16 ticket with a dramatic 3-2 win at home to Celtic on Thursday. Goals by centre-back Robert Andrich, his second of the night, and winger Diaby in a five-minute burst late in the game swung the result […]

Sao Paulo (AFP) – Brazilian football great Pele paid tribute to his fellow legend Diego Maradona Thursday on the first anniversary of the Argentine's death at age 60. "One year without Diego. Friends forever," Pele wrote on Instagram, posting a picture of the two of them embracing with big grins. Pele and Maradona, who never […]

London (AFP) – Ralf Rangnick is close to finalising a deal to become Manchester United's interim manager as they seek a replacement for the sacked Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, it was widely reported on Thursday. The Premier League giants have identified the German, 63, who is currently head of sports and development at Russian club Lokomotiv […]

London (AFP) – Ministers on Thursday backed the creation of an independent regulator for English football after it was recommended by a fan-led review of governance but one Premier League chief warned of the dangers of too much meddling. The wide-ranging exercise, chaired by former sports minister Tracey Crouch, has called for changes to ensure […]

London (AFP) – Mikel Arteta hopes to bring former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger back to the Emirates in some capacity after revealing on Thursday that initial talks had taken place. The 72-year-old Frenchman won three Premier League titles and seven FA Cups during his 22-year spell in charge of the London club, which ended in […]

Nairobi (AFP) – A Kenyan court on Thursday dropped corruption charges against the suspended head of the national football body and declared the case closed after the state failed to provide any evidence against him. Nick Mwendwa was arrested on November 12, a day after Sports Minister Amina Mohamed set up a caretaker committee to […]