Lausanne (AFP) – There was no place for experienced defender Philippe Senderos in the 23-man Swiss squad coach Vladimir Petkovic named Monday for the European championships that begin on June 10. Senderos, 31, is no longer a shoe-in as a starter for Switzerland, now plying his trade for Grasshopper Zurich after many seasons spent with […]

Mexico City (AFP) – Mexican football player Alan Pulido was rescued after he fought one of his kidnappers and took away his phone to call police hours after his abduction, authorities said Monday. Pulido, 25, cut his right wrist when he punched a glass pane on a door as he tried to flee before police […]

Berlin (AFP) – The German FA (DFB) on Monday fined VfL Wolfsburg a club record 90,000 euros ($100,210; £68,494) after a flare fired by one of their fans hit the Hanover bench during a Bundesliga match in March. The firework was one of several fired by visiting Wolfsburg fans from the away section at Hanover's […]

Madrid (AFP) – Real Madrid right-back Dani Carvajal is likely to miss out on Spain's Euro 2016 campaign with the hamstring injury that forced him off in Saturday's Champions League final. Carvajal was substituted in tears early in the second half of Saturday's game against Atletico Madrid in Milan, which Real won 5-3 on penalties […]

London (AFP) – The announcement of Pep Guardiola's appointment by Manchester City had a negative impact on the team's performances, outgoing manager Manuel Pellegrini said in an interview published on Monday. City were second in the Premier League when Pellegrini revealed on February 1 that Bayern Munich coach Guardiola would be succeeding him, but finished […]

Berlin (AFP) – Germany's Mats Hummels admits he is facing a race against time to be fit for the World Cup winners' first game of Euro 2016 in little over a fortnight. Germany open their European campaign against Ukraine in Lille on June 12, but centre-back Hummels is struggling with a torn calf muscle he […]

London (AFP) – Teenage breakthrough star Marcus Rashford has signed a new contract committing him to Manchester United until 2020 with an option for a further year, the club announced on Monday. In the first major squad announcement since Jose Mourinho was appointed manager last week, Rashford and fellow academy graduate Cameron Borthwick-Jackson have both […]

Paris (AFP) – France braced Monday for severe disruption to trains and flights less than two weeks before Euro 2016, as unions called fresh strikes in their battle to have labour reforms scrapped. The fresh industrial unrest which caused petrol shortages and travel delays across the country last week was set to hit transport just […]

Madrid (AFP) – Cristiano Ronaldo will not play in Portugal's pre-European Championship friendly against England on Thursday as he rests from his third Champions League triumph but he insists those who doubt his talents are "jealous". The 31-year-old, who looked jaded in Real Madrid's win over Atletico Madrid on Saturday even though he scored the […]

Watford (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge made a timely return to England training on Monday, the day before manager Roy Hodgson submits his final 23-man squad for Euro 2016. Sturridge missed England's 2-1 win over Australia in Sunderland on Friday after sustaining a calf strain during Liverpool's Europa League final defeat by […]

Moscow (AFP) – Twice-capped Germany international Roman Neustadter has received a Russian passport allowing the defender to play for the country at the Euro, a post on the national team's Twitter site announced on Monday. The Twitter site posted a picture of the 28-year-old Schalke player holding up his new Russian passport at Russia's Consulate […]

Barcelona (AFP) – Argentina star Lionel Messi, who is due to go on trial in Barcelona for alleged tax fraud, told a judge that he never looks at the contracts he signs, the El Periodico daily said Monday. The newspaper got access to Messi's September 2013 statement to a judge and published extracts just a […]

Shanghai (AFP) – Sven-Goran Eriksson's Shanghai SIPG ended Guangzhou Evergrande's run of nine straight Chinese Super League victories to cut their lead at the top of the table. The ex-England manager, who warmly greeted old sparring partner Luiz Felipe Scolari before the game, oversaw a 1-1 draw — Evergrande's first dropped points since March. The […]

Los Angeles (AFP) – Rising teenage star Gabriel scored on his international debut as Brazil warmed up for the Copa America Centenario with a 2-0 victory over Panama. Gabriel — affectionately known as "Gabigol" — underscored his precocious talent by calmly finishing Brazil's second goal on 73 minutes soon after replacing veteran striker Jonas as […]

Madrid (AFP) – Thousands of Real Madrid fans pilled into the streets of the Spanish capital and filled the club's 80,000 capacity Santiago Bernabeu stadium on Sunday to welcome home their heroes after an historic 11th European Cup win. An open top bus emblazoned with the word "Campeones" (Champions) carried the team, who showed off […]