Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – England manager Roy Hodgson defended his decision to deploy Jamie Vardy in a wide role after the Leicester City striker struck the winner in a 2-1 success against Turkey. Vardy scored 24 goals from a central role to fire Leicester to Premier League glory this season, only to find himself […]

Berlin (AFP) – Switzerland striker Haris Seferovic threw down a marker for Euro 2016 on Monday by scoring the crucial goal in Eintracht Frankfurt's 1-0 play-off win at Nuremberg to keep them in the German league. After last Thursday's relegation play-off first-leg in Frankfurt finished in a 1-1 draw, Seferovic netted at Nuremberg's sold-out Grundig […]

London (AFP) – Louis van Gaal's sacking as Manchester United manager was finally confirmed on Monday as Jose Mourinho prepared to take charge at Old Trafford. Van Gaal had appeared certain to lose his job since reports leaked out after United's FA Cup final victory against Crystal Palace on Saturday that former Chelsea boss Mourinho […]

London (AFP) – The realisation that Louis van Gaal was not the manager Manchester United had hoped for seemed to dawn on him at roughly the same time as it did the club's supporters. Defending his record after a 2-1 home defeat by Norwich City back in December that exposed him to the full venom […]

Lyon (AFP) – Former Lyon coach Gerard Houllier is set to rejoin the French Ligue 1 runners-up as general manager, club president Jean-Michel Aulas said on Monday. The return of the 68-year-old Houllier, who coached the Rhone club to two Ligue 1 titles during his previous spell from 2005-07, depends on him passing a medical. […]

Berlin (AFP) – Germany defender Mats Hummels has formally completed his transfer back to Bayern Munich from Borussia Dortmund by signing a five-year contract for the Bavarian giants on Monday. The 27-year-old Borussia Dortmund captain finally put pen to paper and his transfer has reportedly cost Bayern 38 million euros ($42.5m). Both clubs had confirmed […]

Lens (France) (AFP) – Champions League finalists Atletico Madrid on Monday completed the takeover of bankrupt French second division side Lens through a Luxembourg company. "We hope to bring in Atletico's expertise," said Ignacio Aguillo, a member of the Spanish side's board, told a press conference after a French commercial court approved the takeover. Atletico […]

Lisbon (AFP) – Portugal on Monday began preparations for Euro 2016 in Lisbon without talismanic captain Cristiano Ronaldo. The Real Madrid forward and club teammate Pepe will join the squad after the Champions League final against Atletico Madrid in Milan on Saturday. Fifteen of the 23 players named in Fernando Santos' squad were present at […]

Glasgow (AFP) – The Scottish Football Association announced on Monday it will set up an Independent Commission to investigate crowd trouble that marred Hibernian's Scottish Cup final win over Rangers. Thousands of Hibernian fans flooded onto the Hampden Park pitch to celebrate their side's dramatic 3-2 victory, but the party atmosphere quickly turned ugly. Rangers […]

Paris (AFP) – The French Football Federation (FFF) opened disciplinary proceedings against both Marseille and Paris Saint-Germain on Monday, after crowd disturbances in the French Cup final at the Stade de France at the weekend raised further concerns about security just weeks before Euro 2016. "The body condemns the unacceptable behaviour of some supporters of […]

Glasgow (AFP) – Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers claimed he has joined one of the world's biggest clubs after being officially unveiled by the Scottish champions on Monday. Rodgers' appointment on a 12-month rolling contract was announced last week and the former Liverpool boss got his first taste of the size of the Glasgow club when […]

Paris (AFP) – France's interior minister promised Monday that security "failures" at the Stade de France would be put right before Euro 2016, following problems at this weekend's national cup final. "Failures have been noted," Bernard Cazeneuve said after chaotic scenes before Saturday's match between Paris Saint-Germain and Marseille, which was effectively a test run […]

London (AFP) – Louis Van Gaal's time as manager of Manchester United appeared to be nearing its end on Monday, amid reports that agreement on a severance package was all that stood in the way of his exit from Old Trafford. Both Van Gaal and leading employment lawyer Paul Gilroy were seen entering United's Carrington […]

Madrid (AFP) – Two-time defending champions Spain kicked off preparations for Euro 2016 on Monday with a first gathering which included just eight of the 25 players called up by coach Vicente del Bosque for next month's tournament, with the others still tied by club commitments. Among those attending the session at the Spanish federation's […]

Milan (AFP) – Italy coach Antonio Conte cut several Euro 2016 hopefuls from a preliminary squad on Monday as he unveiled a 30-man group for the Azzurri's second pre-competition training camp. Italy will head to the June 10-July 10 tournament in France looking to reach a second successive final, but are facing a formidable challenge […]