Lausanne (AFP) – The Court of Arbitration for Sport on Friday refused to suspend FIFA's ban on Russia taking part in the playoffs for the 2022 World Cup finals that was imposed over the invasion of Ukraine. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) is still to rule on the legal basis of the ban, […]

Liverpool (AFP) – Liverpool's quest for a clean sweep of four major trophies this season has been dealt a blow with influential right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold set to be sidelined for weeks by a hamstring injury. Alexander-Arnold will definitely miss Sunday's FA Cup quarter-final at Nottingham Forest and England's upcoming friendlies against the Ivory Coast and […]

Sydney (AFP) – Australia suffered a major setback Friday ahead of their must-win World Cup qualifier against Japan next week with coach Graham Arnold testing positive for Covid-19. Australia were already missing star playmaker Aaron Mooy after he too tested positive and was ruled out of the clash in Sydney on March 24. Arnold took […]

Paris (AFP) – A season that started with such feverish excitement is turning out to be nothing short of a fiasco in Paris for Lionel Messi, who suffered the ignominy of being booed by his own supporters last weekend. Unhappy Paris Saint-Germain fans targeted the Argentine as well as Neymar during the 3-0 win over […]

León (Mexico) (AFP) – The Seattle Sounders guaranteed that a Major League Soccer club will contest the final of the CONCACAF Champions League after a 4-1 aggregate quarter-final victory over Mexico's Club Leon on Thursday. Seattle, leading 3-0 from last week's first leg at home, advanced to a semi-final meeting with fellow MLS side New […]

Liverpool (AFP) – Everton manager Frank Lampard broke his hand amidst wild celebrations of Alex Iwobi's 99th-minute strike to beat Newcastle 1-0 and lift the 10-man Toffees three points clear of the Premier League relegation zone. A second-half interruption caused by a protestor tying himself to a goal post and a VAR review which led […]

Liverpool (AFP) – Alex Iwobi's 99th-minute winner hauled Everton three points clear of the Premier League relegation zone after a dramatic 1-0 victory over Newcastle on Thursday. A second-half interruption caused by a protestor tying himself to a goal post and a VAR review which led to Allan seeing red meant there were 14 minutes […]

Liverpool (AFP) – Everton's crucial clash in the battle for Premier League survival against Newcastle was temporarily halted on Thursday by a protestor chaining himself to one of the goalposts by the neck. Campaign group "Just Stop Oil", which is lobbying to stop the exploration of fossil fuels in the UK, took responsibility for the […]

Paris (AFP) – Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored the winner as Barcelona fought back from a goal down to beat Galatasaray 2-1 on Thursday to book their spot in the Europa League quarter-finals. After a goalless first leg at the Camp Nou last week, Xavi Hernandez's Barca trailed on aggregate in the last 16 when Marcao headed […]

London (AFP) – Manchester United forwards Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho were left out Thursday of Gareth Southgate's England squad for next month's friendlies against Switzerland and Ivory Coast. Southgate also omitted Manchester City defender Kyle Walker from his 25-man squad for the games at Wembley on March 26 and March 29. Ben White is […]

Mexico City (AFP) – Mexican side Pumas UNAM sent the New England Revolution crashing out of the CONCACAF Champions League on Wednesday, overturning a 3-0 first-leg deficit before winning on penalties to book their place in the semi-finals of the regional club tournament. New England, bidding to join fellow Major League Soccer side New York […]

Sydney (AFP) – Depleted Australia called up veteran Uruguay-born striker Bruno Fornaroli on Thursday to potentially make a shock debut in their crunch World Cup qualifier against Japan — provided his paperwork is done in time. The 34-year-old was named in a 27-man Socceroos squad for their home clash against the four-time Asian champions in […]

London (AFP) – Jurgen Klopp warned his Liverpool stars that their momentum in the Premier League title race is a "fragile flower" following Wednesday's vital 2-0 win at Arsenal. Klopp's side closed the gap on leaders Manchester City to one point thanks to goals from Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino at the Emirates Stadium. Liverpool's […]

Lille (France) (AFP) – Chelsea coach Thomas Tuchel praised his players for remaining focused amid the uncertainty about the club's future after they progressed Wednesday to the Champions League quarter-finals, where he said they would be "the team nobody wants to play". The reigning European champions came from behind to beat Lille 2-1 in northern […]

London (AFP) – Jurgen Klopp urged Liverpool to finish the job as they moved within one point of Premier League leaders Manchester City after Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino inspired a crucial 2-0 win against Arsenal on Wednesday. Klopp's side took advantage of City's goalless draw against Crystal Palace on Monday thanks to their smash-and-grab […]