Paris (AFP) – Titleholders Real Madrid and English Premier League winners Leicester must both wait to take their place in the last 16 of the Champions League after they could only manage draws Wednesday on a night which saw just Dortmund advance. Leicester, who had previously rattled off three wins in this their debut season […]

London (AFP) – England's players will wear black armbands bearing the red poppy when they face Scotland in a World Cup qualifier on Armstice Day, despite the threat of sanctions from FIFA. The English and Scottish football associations had been negotiating with the world governing body, which bans political, commercial and religious symbols on team […]

Istanbul (AFP) – Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho on Wednesday said it was a "human decision" to end German star Bastian Schweinsteiger's exile from the first team squad. The 32-year-old Schweinsteiger has not featured since Mourinho's pre-season arrival and was written off as an asset in the club's financial results for the year ending June […]

US Soccer has announced the TV details for the USA vs. Mexico game scheduled for Friday, November 11. For the fifth time since Columbus has been the host of one of the biggest rivalries in international soccer, tickets for the USA-Mexico World Cup qualifier sold out very quickly. The match falls on Veterans Day and […]

Dortmund (Germany) (AFP) – Borussia Dortmund coach Thomas Tuchel on Wednesday suspended star striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for their Champions League game against Sporting Lisbon "for internal reasons". "The coach has taken the decision and it is absolutely correct," Dortmund's CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke told Sky. The 27-year-old Aubameyang, who has scored 10 goals already this season, […]

Warsaw (AFP) – Gareth Bale scored Real Madrid's fastest ever Champions League goal just 55 seconds into their trip to Legia Warsaw on Wednesday with a spectacular long-range volley into the top corner. Bale celebrated in style just days after signing one of the most lucrative deals in the history of football to tie his […]

Madrid (AFP) – The agent of Arsenal and Chile star Alexis Sanchez has insisted the forward has done nothing wrong after becoming the latest high-profile footballer to face accusations of tax fraud by the Spanish authorities. Spanish newspaper El Periodico reported on Wednesday that Sanchez is accused of defrauding the public purse of 983,443 euros […]

London (AFP) – Embattled Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho will serve a one match touchline ban and pay a £50,000 ($60,000, 55,000 euros) fine after being punished by the Football Association over two separate incidents on Wednesday. The 53-year-old Portuguese received the ban for his behaviour during the 0-0 draw with Burnley last weekend and […]

London (AFP) – British Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday branded as "outrageous" FIFA's opposition to England and Scotland players wearing poppies on their shirts for a World Cup qualifier on Armistice Day. While FIFA maintained its rejection, the prime minister said FIFA should sort its own affairs out rather than interfere in tributes to […]

Dublin (AFP) – Ireland manager Martin O'Neill dismissed Everton coach Ronald Koeman's complaints about his use of midfielder James McCarthy as "bleating" on Wednesday. Koeman blamed O'Neill for giving McCarthy too much game time in two 2018 World Cup qualifiers last month as he had just returned from a groin operation. O'Neill said the Dutchman's […]

Warsaw (AFP) – Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo was reunited with a 15-year-old Polish fan, who was awakened from a coma by listening to commentaries of the Portuguese's goals. David Pawlaczyc fell into a coma for three months after being hit by a car when riding his bike in 2013. However, using an experimental technique to […]

Glasgow (AFP) – Controversial midfielder Joey Barton can return to training with Rangers after a nearly two-month exile following a bust-up, the Scottish team said on Wednesday, but his short time with the club looks over. The 34-year-old Englishman, who has a woeful disciplinary record, was banished from Rangers after a training ground dispute in […]

Moscow (AFP) – Russian arch-rivals Spartak and CSKA were each fined nearly $8,000 on Wednesday over fan violence that halted their Moscow derby at the weekend and shone another damning spotlight on the World Cup host. The latest crowd trouble to tarnish Russian football erupted on Saturday when Spartak and CSKA supporters clashed at Spartak's […]

Zurich (AFP) – Leicester's Claudio Ranieri and Wales boss Chris Coleman are on a FIFA shortlist for coach of the year against the managers of Europe's major club and international sides. Fernando Santos, who guided Portugal to their upset victory over France in the Euro 2016 final, also makes the 10-man list released ahead of […]

The English FA Cup has been called the “Greatest Domestic Cup Competition in the World” for good reason. While casual fans usually don’t start paying attention until the 3rd Round when Championship and Premier League teams join the fray, die-hard fans recognize the excitement the early rounds can bring. This weekend, all the teams from […]