Buenos Aires (AFP) – Vandals in Buenos Aires destroyed a statue of Argentine superstar Lionel Messi, leaving the sculpture of the five-time Ballon d'Or winner without its head or torso on Tuesday. "The statue of Lionel Messi fell victim to an act of vandalism that left it without its top half," the Buenos Aires city […]

London (AFP) – Chelsea captain John Terry will serve a one-match suspension after the Football Association on Tuesday thwarted his attempt to overturn his FA Cup dismissal against Peterborough United. Terry was shown a straight red card in the 67th minute of Sunday's third-round tie at Stamford Bridge, which Chelsea won 4-1, for a last-man […]

Milan (AFP) – Roma pair Daniele De Rossi and Antonio Rudiger are set to miss this weekend's trip to Udinese after receiving one-match suspensions triggered by recent yellow cards. De Rossi was one booking away from a suspension when he launched a verbal volley to protest a decision by the referee in a 1-0 win […]

Milan (AFP) – Former Manchester City forward Stevan Jovetic has joined La Liga high-flyers Sevilla on a six-month loan deal from Inter Milan, the Serie A club confirmed on Tuesday. Montenegran Jovetic, who spent two seasons in the Premier League, has fallen out of favour at Inter and flew to Spain on Tuesday morning hoping […]

Major League Soccer has announced new broadcast agreements in Canada, including a five-year media rights extension with TSN, Canada’s most-watched specialty network, as well as a new five-year agreement with TVA Sports as an official broadcaster, which will see the network provide French-language broadcasts in Canada. These broadcast agreements will bring unprecedented live coverage of […]

London (AFP) – The Football Association (FA), English football's governing body, wants a full consultation to take place before the allocated increase in finalists from each confederation are decided for the expanded 2026 World Cup. FIFA's ruling council voted unanimously on Tuesday to expand the present 32-member World Cup finals to 48 teams for the […]

Doha (AFP) – Schalke 04 beat off reported interest from Manchester City and Swansea City to land Bayern Munich centre-back Holger Badstuber on loan on Tuesday for the rest of the season. It comes after Bayern coach Carlo Ancelotti ruled out a permanent move for the out-of-favour German international, 27, with ex-Bayern boss Pep Guardiola […]

Zurich (AFP) – FIFA voted to expand the World Cup to 48 teams from 2026 in a victory on Tuesday for its president Gianni Infantino but derided by critics as driven by money and politics. In a deeply divisive move which will enrich scandal-tainted FIFA's coffers, its ruling council unanimously adopted an expanded format with 16 […]

Zurich (AFP) – Critics of FIFA's decision Tuesday to expand the World Cup to 48 teams were quick to blast it as a politically and money-driven ploy that will be detrimental to football's showpiece tournament. But there was support — particularly in Asia and Africa — for FIFA president Gianni Infantino's expansion plan, unanimously approved […]

London (AFP) – Cohen Bramall signed for Premier League giants Arsenal on Tuesday just a week after being made redundant from his factory job with luxury carmakers Bentley. The 20-year-old defender — who had previously failed to convince Crystal Palace and Sheffield Wednesday to take him on after trials with them — signed for a […]

When it comes to polarizing players in the Premier League, Arsenal’s Olivier Giroud may just be at the top of the list. The Frenchman has scored is fair share of goals since making the switch from Montpellier to north London in the summer of 2012; however, many Gooners (as well as other fans around the […]

Doha (AFP) – China's big spending football revolution poses little threat to Europe because the world's top players want to play in the best competitions, Bayern Munich boss Carlo Ancelotti insisted on Tuesday. The Italian, who has played for and managed some of Europe's biggest clubs, said modern-day players still chased glory as much as […]

Madrid (AFP) – Barcelona need a quick turnaround to get their start to 2017 back on track when Athletic Bilbao travel to the Camp Nou on Wednesday for the second leg of their Copa del Rey last 16 tie defending a 2-1 lead. The Cup holders are yet to taste victory this year following up […]

London (AFP) – Damian Collins, co-founder of the campaign group for FIFA reform, New FIFA Now, criticised Tuesday's decision to expand the World Cup to 48 teams, telling AFP it was taken for financial and not sporting reasons. The 42-year-old — who is also a lawmaker for the ruling British Conservative Party — said football's […]

Zurich (AFP) – FIFA's decision Tuesday to expand the World Cup to 48 teams in 2026 will allow more countries to "dream" of qualifying for the globe's top sporting event, FIFA president Gianni Infantino said. "We have to shape the World Cup of the 21st Century... football is more than Europe and South America," Infantino […]