Leicester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Jamie Vardy scored twice as a revitalised Leicester City started life without sacked manager Claudio Ranieri by sinking Liverpool 3-1 on Monday to spark their Premier League survival hopes. Ranieri, 65, was dismissed last Thursday, nine months on from Leicester's fairytale title win, and fans honoured him with banners, masks […]

Milan (AFP) – Coaches fired in quick succession at Palermo could become a thing of the past after trigger-happy president Maurizio Zamparini announced his resignation Monday amid plans to bring in "Anglo-American" investors. Zamparini, who is notorious for hiring and firing managers at the Serie A club, has seen no less than 28 — many […]

Lyon (AFP) – Lyon's new Chinese stakeholder on Monday completed a promised 100-million-euro investment, as the French Ligue 1 club attempts to rediscover its glory years. Chinese investment fund IDG Capital Partners injected 30 million euros into the multiple French champions in December, with the remaining 70 million euros ($75 million) arriving on Monday. IDG […]

Abuja (AFP) – The head of Nigerian football's governing body is at loggerheads with his executive committee after he endorsed Madagascar's Ahmad Ahmad to be president of the Confederation of African Football. The Nigerian Football Federation said it had called a meeting on Tuesday to distance itself from Amaju Pinnick's position and instead throw its […]

Nyon (Switzerland) (AFP) – UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin warned the United States that President Donald Trump's controversial travel restrictions could torpedo any hopes of hosting the 2026 World Cup. Measures that prevent players, fans or journalists from entering the US would count against a bid to host football's showpiece, The New York Times quoted Ceferin […]

The soccer world reacted with a combination of shock, sarcasm and guarded optimism on Friday afternoon when World Soccer Talk broke the news that Turner Sports — who has not broadcast soccer on TV since the folding of the WUSA in 2003 (which aired on TNT and the now-defunct CNNSI) and has not shown men’s […]

Berlin (AFP) – Arsenal youth academy boss Andries Jonker was on Monday named head coach at struggling Bundesliga club VfL Wolfsburg and revealed that ex-Gunners star Freddie Ljungberg will be his assistant. This is the first time Jonker has been appointed head coach at a top club after previous stints on the staff at Bayern […]

London (AFP) – Zlatan Ibrahimovic thanked his children and Jose Mourinho for getting him to sign for Manchester United but refused to commit his future to the club after his goals helped them win the League Cup. Ibrahimovic scored United's first and their winner in a 3-2 victory over Premier League rivals Southampton at Wembley […]

Berlin (AFP) – Rising star Timo Werner, currently the Bundesliga's best homegrown striker, is in line for a senior call-up for next month's internationals against England and Azerbaijan after praise from Germany coach Joachim Loew. With 13 league goals for second-placed RB Leipzig, Werner — who only turns 21 next Monday — is the top-scoring […]

Leicester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Leicester's underachieving stars will be in the spotlight when the crisis-torn champions start life without Claudio Ranieri in a crucial home clash against Liverpool on Monday. Ranieri was ruthlessly sacked by Leicester's Thai owners on Thursday amid reports several of the team's senior players had lost faith with the Italian. […]

Madrid (AFP) – Atletico Madrid's French defender Lucas Hernandez and his girlfriend were on Monday ordered to serve 31 days of community service and to not see each other for six months after a violent altercation. Hernandez, 21, was arrested after his girlfriend was taken to hospital with minor injuries following a fight between the […]

Bastia (France) (AFP) – Rui Almeida has replaced Francois Ciccolini as coach of struggling Ligue 1 club Bastia. Portuguese Almeida, sacked by Ligue 2's Red Star in December, takes over a club which lies second from bottom of France's first division, just one point off bottom team Lorient. His first match in charge will be at […]

Milan (AFP) – Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri has warned against complacency when the Turin giants host 'angry' Napoli in the first leg of their Italian Cup semi-final on Tuesday. Napoli's hopes of staying in the title hunt were dented by a humiliating 2-0 home defeat to 10-man Atalanta on Saturday which left them 12 points […]

London (AFP) – Tony Bloom deserves promotion to the Premier League as a return on the £200 million (234m euros, $248m) he has invested in Championship side Brighton, says club chief executive Paul Barber. Chairman since 2009, Bloom — a hometown boy and successful property developer, as well as a renowned poker player — has […]

Saint Petersburg (AFP) – FIFA on Monday said it was confident problems plaguing the pitch at the new Saint Petersburg stadium will be fixed in time for the Confederations Cup in June. Last year inspectors said the retractable pitch at the 68,000-seater Saint Petersburg Arena — which is set to hold the opening and final […]