With an exciting end to the 2016/17 Spanish season, Real Madrid won the title in La Liga while Barcelona defeated Alaves to win the Copa del Rey trophy. After a brief break, both the Spanish giants will be heading to the United States to play a series of friendly games. Plus, Valencia will be heading […]

Madrid (AFP) – The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) launched a formal investigation on Wednesday over suspicions of match-fixing in third division side Eldense's 12-0 defeat to Barcelona B on Saturday. "This disciplinary body considers the initiation of disciplinary actions pertinent to discover the nature and scope of the events and, if necessary, the corresponding sanctions […]

Madrid (AFP) – Police investigating suspicions of match-fixing arrested the coach and two players of third division Spanish side Eldense after their 12-0 defeat to Barcelona's B team, a police source told AFP on Tuesday. As well as Italian coach Filippo Di Pierro, two unnamed players and the head of an Italian investment fund running […]

Madrid (AFP) – Real Madrid moved five points clear of Barcelona at the top of La Liga despite a lacklustre performance as goals from Karim Benzema, Isco and Nacho secured a 3-0 win over Alaves on Sunday. Benzema volleyed home Dani Carvajal's cutback for the opening goal just after the half hour mark. However, the […]

Madrid (AFP) – Ahead of a huge round of La Liga action at both ends of the table, AFP Sports looks at five things to watch out for this weekend: Valverde's Barca audition Real Madrid's trip north to the Basque country to face Athletic Bilbao is always a fixture laced with tension based on decades […]

Madrid (AFP) – The World Anti-Doping Agency expressed "alarm" on Friday after it emerged no binding drug testing has taken place in football by Spanish anti-doping authorities for nearly a year. Spanish anti-doping agency AEPSAD has been declared non-compliant with the WADA code since March 2016. A delay in updating Spain's anti-doping law has been […]

Madrid (AFP) – Spain's anti-doping body on Thursday claimed that 57 top-flight footballers have been drug-tested since the start of the season as they hit back at allegations that not one player had undergone a test in the last year. The El Confidencial newspaper claimed that no first division footballer had been tested since March […]

Madrid (AFP) – The Spanish football league on Thursday said they were pursuing legal action against 10 fans of Rayo Vallecano who accused Ukrainian international Roman Zozulia of having "neo-Nazi" sympathies. Zozulia, 27, spent just 24 hours on loan at the club from Spanish rivals Real Betis before being recalled following Vallecano fans greeting his […]

Tokyo (AFP) – Japan midfielder Gaku Shibasaki has signed for Spanish second division side Tenerife after his move to La Liga's Las Palmas collapsed, local media said on Wednesday. The 24-year-old, who announced himself on the international stage with two goals for Kashima Antlers in a losing effort against Real Madrid in December's Club World […]

“The best in the world.” For any sportsperson or any team from any discipline, is there a more satisfying moniker? It’s a tag Japanese champions Kashima Antlers and European champions Real Madrid will both be looking to secure on Sunday, when they meet in the final of the FIFA Club World Cup. Granted, in football […]

Madrid (AFP) – Spain's tax office has ordered daily newspaper El Mundo to hand over documents related to its probe into alleged massive football fraud involving top players, the paper said Tuesday. The paper is part of a group of 12 European news outlets that began publishing on December 2 the results of months of […]

Madrid (AFP) – A Spanish judge is seeking a gag order on 12 European media outlets that leaked documents alleging football stars like Cristiano Ronaldo could have been involved in a multimillion-euro tax evasion system. The injunction, seen by AFP on Monday, claims that the so-called "Football Leaks" published last week could constitute an offence […]

Madrid (AFP) – Lionel Messi took just three minutes to score on his return from injury as Barcelona thrashed Deportivo la Coruna 4-0 on Saturday, but Barca remain two points adrift of free-scoring Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid. Yannick Carrasco's hat-trick and Nicolas Gaitan's first two goals for Atletico inspired a storming fightback by Diego […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – La Liga may be the dominant championship on the field but now the Spanish top flight is aiming to wrest off-field supremacy from the English Premier League in the battle for TV revenue. Adolfo Bara, managing director of Sales and Marketing of La Liga, said a new three year television […]

Barcelona (AFP) – Lionel Messi will miss the next three weeks after suffering the recurrence of a groin injury as Atletico Madrid came from behind to hold Barcelona 1-1 at the Camp Nou on Wednesday. Ivan Rakitic headed Barca into the lead just before half-time, but Angel Correa slotted home on the hour mark just […]