Moscow (AFP) – A senior Russian Football Union official and ultra-nationalist politician said Monday that the country's fans were right to fight England supporters at Euro 2016. Igor Lebedev, who sits on the RFU executive committee and is also a deputy speaker in parliament, said on Twitter: "I don't see anything wrong with fans fighting." […]

Toulouse (France) (AFP) – Spain goalkeeper David de Gea, embroiled in sex scandal allegations, will start for Spain in their Euro 2016 opener against the Czech Republic on Monday. De Gea was in contention with legendary fellow shot-stopper Iker Casillas to start for the defending champions in Toulouse in their Group D match. However coach […]

ESPN kicked off its coverage of the Euro 2016 tournament this weekend. In all, the sports network televised all seven games from the opening 3 days. While the opening weekend coverage featured some blemishes, the fact that ESPN is covering a major soccer competition again — its first since World Cup 2014 — was a welcome return. Going […]

Marseille (AFP) – Ten men will be tried in France Monday over the violence between English and Russian football fans in Marseille, but prosecutors said 150 "extremely well-trained" Russian hooligans had evaded arrest. England captain Wayne Rooney and manager Roy Hodgson made a public appeal to England fans to behave after UEFA threatened the team […]

London (AFP) – English fans involved in bloody clashes before and during England's match with Russia at the weekend insisted Russian hooligans and French police were to blame, as fears mounted of fresh violence to come. As images of the unrest which marred Saturday's 1-1 draw between England and Russia continued to feature prominently in […]

Bangkok (AFP) – Thailand's health authorities have urged football fans to avoid getting overly excited while watching Euro 2016 lest those heart-stopping moments literally prove fatal. The Public Halth Ministry published advice calling on fans to ward off heart attacks by making sure they get enough rest and avoid long binges of football-fuelled excitement. "The […]

Shanghai (AFP) – Sven-Goran Eriksson shrugged off a penalty decision that sparked furious scenes as his Shanghai SIPG side slipped further behind in the Chinese title race with a 2-1 defeat to big-spending Jiangsu Suning. Eriksson preferred not to dwell on the crucial moment in the second half, when Yu Hai was harshly penalised for […]

London (AFP) – The head of Britain's Euro 2016 policing operation on Sunday said Russian football fans attacked their English rivals wearing gum shields, martial arts gloves and carrying knives. Assistant chief constable Mark Roberts told Britain's Guardian daily the clashes in Marseille were the most serious he had seen in 10 years of investigating […]

Lille (France) (AFP) – Germany stars Manuel Neuer and Toni Kroos warned the world champions will only improve after seeing off Ukraine 2-0 in Lille to make the perfect start to their Euro 2016 campaign. Kroos was named man of the match and goalkeeper Neuer made several key saves as Ukraine threatened to expose a […]

Foxborough (United States) (AFP) – Brazil were sent crashing out of the Copa America Centenario here Sunday after a hugely controversial goal handed Peru a 1-0 victory. The five-time world champions were eliminated from the tournament in the group stage for the first time since 1987 after Raul Ruidiaz bundled in a 75th-minute winner for […]

Saint-Étienne (France) (AFP) – Cristiano Ronaldo-led Portugal open their Euro 2016 campaign on Tuesday eager to avoid slipping-up against minnows Iceland and aiming to emulate their run to the European Championship semi-finals four years ago. Portugal lost to eventual winners Spain on penalties in the semi-finals of Euro 2012 and have arrived in France determined […]

Bordeaux (AFP) – Seen by many as dangerous dark horses at Euro 2016, Austria have an early chance to underline their credentials when they begin their Group F campaign against old rivals Hungary on Tuesday. The game in Bordeaux will be the 138th meeting of the two nations, but their first encounter in a decade […]

Paris (AFP) – Defending champions Spain kick off their Euro 2016 against the Czech Republic on Monday, bidding for a third straight European crown, under a sex scandal cloud. Accusations against Manchester United shot-stopper David De Gea have thrown Spain's preparations into turmoil as they prepare to face the Czechs in Toulouse in Group D. […]

East Rutherford (United States) (AFP) – Ecuador set up a Copa America Centenario quarter-final showdown with the United States after romping to a comfortable 4-0 win over Haiti. Goals from Enner Valencia, Jaime Ayovi, Christian Noboa and Antonio Valencia on Sunday completed a routine win for Ecuador who are now assured of finishing in second […]

Paris (AFP) – Bastian Schweinsteiger had time for three touches of the ball and scored with one as world champions Germany started their European Championship campaign with a 2-0 win over Ukraine. The 31-year-old Manchester United midfielder came on in the 90th minute and quickly put away a perfect pass from Mesut Ozil for the […]