Lyon (AFP) – Goalkeeper Anthony Lopes was included in Lyon's starting line-up for Wednesday's crucial Champions League clash with Sevilla after recovering from being struck by a firecracker at the weekend. The Portugal international, 26, suffered "traumatic hearing loss" after Metz fans threw firecrackers onto the pitch during Saturday's French Ligue 1 fixture, which was […]

Lausanne (AFP) – FIFA president Gianni Infantino wants to expand the World Cup finals to 48 teams featuring 16 groups of three starting with the 2026 tournament, a source within world football's governing body told AFP on Wednesday. Infantino, who had until now proposed a 48-team event but with a traditional 32 countries advancing to […]

Buenos Aires (AFP) – The fierce Buenos Aires derby between River Plate and Boca Juniors is back on Sunday after Argentine referees scrapped a plan to strike over demands for protection from violence. The referees union (SADRA) had called the strike after a referee was attacked by players and supporters following a pitch invasion during […]

The second leg of the 2016 Liga MX Apertura Final between Club America and Tigres UANL will be played on Christmas Day, December 25, to determine who will be the Liguilla champions. The first leg of the final will be played on Thursday, December 22. The match will be televised live from Azteca Stadium to […]

Hanoi (AFP) – Vietnam and Indonesia drew 2-2 after extra time at the second leg of the Suzuki Cup semi-finals Wednesday, ensuring the Garuda a spot in the final after a hard-fought battle against the Golden Stars. Indonesia's top striker Stefano Lilipaly drew first blood in the 54th minute after a first half that saw […]

Madrid (AFP) – Spanish prosecutors have brought tax fraud charges against three former Real Madrid players, Xabi Alonso, Ricardo Carvalho and Angel di Maria and opened investigations into two other players, a prosecution source confirmed on Wednesday. None of the cases are related to the "Football Leaks" scandal, which has accused a host of Madrid […]

Milan (AFP) – The sale of Italian giants AC Milan has been pushed back three months to March after a request by the Chinese consortium which is taking over the seven-time European champions. Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi and Sino-Europe Sports (SES) had agreed a date of December 13 for the conclusion of a deal that […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola expressed admiration for Patrick Roberts after the loanee scored against his parent club for Celtic in a 1-1 Champions League draw. City signed Roberts, 19, from Fulham in 2015 for a reported fee of 12 million pounds ($15.2 million, 14.2 million euros), but he played […]

Leipzig (Germany) (AFP) – Neither Lionel Messi nor Cristiano Ronaldo would be considered fresh enough at youthful Bundesliga leaders RB Leipzig, says sports director Ralf Rangnick. Founded in 2009, Leipzig are bankrolled by energy drinks giants Red Bull and are currently top of the Bundesliga after four promotions in seven years. Impressively, they have done […]

Paris (AFP) – Jose Mourinho's Manchester United face Zorya Luhansk on Thursday knowing that a draw in the frigid Ukraine will propel them into the knockout stages of the Europa League. The Premier League side however will want to go through in style with victory, even if Europe's second-tier competition does not feature at the […]

Madrid (AFP) – Real Madrid launched a staunch defence of star forward Cristiano Ronaldo on Tuesday, demanding respect for the three-time World Player of the Year amid allegations he hid millions of euros earned from image rights in tax havens. "In light of the information published in recent days and the certificate released by the […]

Basel (Switzerland) (AFP) – Lucas Perez made the most of a rare start by scoring a hat-trick in Tuesday's 4-1 rout of Basel that sent Arsenal through to the Champions League last 16 as group winners. The Spaniard missed over a month with an ankle injury following his move from Deportivo la Coruna in August […]

Munich (Germany) (AFP) – A Robert Lewandowski free-kick sealed Bayern Munich's 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid on Tuesday in the Champions League with both teams already through to the knock-out stage. Despite the result at Munich's bitterly cold Allianz Arena, Atletico go into the draw for the last 16 as Group D winners with Bayern […]

Barcelona (AFP) – Arda Turan grabbed a hat-trick and Lionel Messi scores his 10th Champions League goal of the season as a much-changed Barcelona still cruised past Borussia Moenchengladbach 4-0 on Tuesday. Barca had already booked their place in the last 16 as Group C winners, but were looking for a morale boosting win after three […]

New York (AFP) – The fate of the New York Cosmos is hanging in the balance as the club seeks assurances about the future of the crisis-plagued North American Soccer League, sources confirmed to AFP on Tuesday. A club source with knowledge of the situation denied a report that the Cosmos had ceased operations and […]