London (AFP) – Britain's Sun tabloid said on Friday it had suspended its columnist Kelvin MacKenzie over an article about footballer Ross Barkley that critics branded "racist". The article in Britain's best-selling newspaper was about the 23-year-old England midfielder getting into a fight in a nightclub in Liverpool this week. MacKenzie compared Barkley, whose grandfather […]

London (AFP) – Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho must rally a fatigued and foundering team this weekend as he rekindles an increasingly thorny rivalry with his former club Chelsea, the Premier League leaders. United have drawn five of their last six home games and go into Sunday's Old Trafford showdown on the back of a […]

London (AFP) – Arsenal should not change their wage policy in any new contract offer to Chilean star Alexis Sanchez, said beleaguered Gunners manager Arsene Wenger on Saturday. The 67-year-old Frenchman's remarks may further enrage Arsenal fans who are divided as to whether he should sign a new contract and extend his 21-year reign after […]

Paris (AFP) – Angel Di Maria scored a brace to keep Paris Saint-Germain hot on Ligue 1 leaders Monaco's heels with a 2-0 win at Angers on Friday. The Argentina international showed his class with one sublime and another clinical finish as PSG moved level on points at the top of the table. "We are […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Pep Guardiola has admitted Manchester City are "far away" from challenging for European club football's biggest prize. The manager of the world’s self-styled wealthiest football club has been in the unusual position of watching the Champions League quarter-finals from a distance this week. City’s exit against Monaco in the last […]

Madrid (AFP) – Jorge Sampaoli reacted angrily on Friday to Sevilla's decision to threaten the Argentine Football Association (AFA) with legal action over AFA's interest in hiring the Sevilla coach to rescue their floundering World Cup qualifying campaign. Sevilla issued a statement on Wednesday describing comments from new AFA president Claudio Tapia over his intentions […]

Madrid (AFP) – Gareth Bale will miss Real Madrid's trip to Sporting Gijon on Saturday and faces a race against time to be fit for Real's Champions League quarter-final second leg against Bayern Munich on Tuesday. Bale had to be replaced for the final half hour of Madrid's 2-1 win in Munich on Wednesday after aggravating […]

Marseille (AFP) – Patrice Evra may be 35 and struggling through a frustrating stop-start season, but the Marseille full-back insisted on Friday that his career is not yet ready for the "guillotine". Evra began the season at Juventus where he started most matches on the bench before moving to Marseille in January. But he missed […]

Décines-Charpieu (France) (AFP) – Lyon and Besiktas are braced for punishment by UEFA over Thursday's violence-marred European tie as both clubs blamed opposing fans for instigating much of the trouble. European football's governing body have opened an inquiry into the Europa League quarter-final first leg which was scarred by violence and a pitch invasion. Lyon […]

London (AFP) – Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho will hope no mishap befalls central defenders Eric Bailly and Marcos Rojo after announcing on Friday both Chris Smalling and Phil Jones will be out till "mid-May". Mourinho, speaking after United returned from Belgium where they drew 1-1 with Anderlecht in the first leg of their Europa […]

Barcelona (AFP) – Barcelona boss Luis Enrique insisted he made no tactical errors in his side's 3-0 defeat to Juventus and talked up Barca's chances of another stunning Champions League revival on Friday. The Spanish champions suffered back-to-back defeats at Malaga and Juventus in the past week to severely damage their hopes of winning La […]

London (AFP) – Jose Mourinho insists he won't be fuelled by revenge when Manchester United face Chelsea on Sunday because he regards the crucial clash against his old club as just another game. Mourinho, sacked by Chelsea last season, could be forgiven for doing everything in his power to beat Antonio Conte's side after suffering […]

Milan (AFP) – Yonghong Li was officially named AC Milan's new president on Friday, but reminded fans the Serie A club's new Chinese owners could "always count on" iconic former owner Silvio Berlusconi. A remarkable 31-year reign at the Italian giants ended for Berlusconi on Thursday when the 80-year-old media tycoon and former prime minister […]

Berlin (AFP) – Borussia Dortmund defender Marc Bartra, who was wounded when three bombs rocked his Bundesliga team's bus, described on Friday his ordeal as "the longest and hardest 15 minutes of my life". "The pain, the panic, the uncertainty of not knowing what was happening, or how long it would last... they were the […]

London (AFP) – Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has told Eden Hazard and N'Golo Kante to forget about individual awards and focus on ensuring the Premier League leaders are crowned champions. Chelsea stars Hazard and Kante were named this week on the six-man shortlist for the PFA Player of the Year award, along with Tottenham's Harry […]