London (AFP) – Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta says Bukayo Saka's "strong character" will help him ignore the racist abuse he suffered after England's Euro 2020 final defeat. Saka endured vile racist taunts on social media after missing the penalty that sealed Italy's 3-2 shoot-out victory against England in Sunday's final at Wembley. Marcus Rashford and […]

Milan (AFP) – Portugal international goalkeeper Rui Patricio has signed a three-year contract with Serie A club Roma from Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers, the Italian club announced. The 33-year-old becomes new Portuguese coach Jose Mourinho's first signing in a deal which runs until June 2024 and is worth an initial 11.5 million euros ($13.5 […]

London (AFP) – Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford could be sidelined for up to three months after deciding to have surgery on a shoulder issue following Euro 2020, according to reports on Tuesday. Rashford, 23, had a scan earlier in the day on the issue which has hampered the England striker since the end of […]

Sunday’s UEFA EURO 2020 Final on ESPN set a record as the most-watched European Football Championship match ever in the United States with an average audience of 6,488,000 viewers. The audience for the Final increased 43 percent over the 2016 Final and surpassed the previous viewership high of 4,567,000 for the EURO 2012 Final (Spain […]

West Didsbury (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Anti-racism demonstrators gathered on Tuesday at a mural of striker Marcus Rashford after it was vandalised amid a deluge of abuse against England players. Throughout the day, hundreds gathered at the mural to the England player in the Withington area of Manchester which had been defaced with racist abuse […]

Paris (AFP) – Proclaiming himself "full of hope and desire" for fresh glory Spanish veteran Sergio Ramos insisted on Tuesday he has joined Paris Saint-Germain in the twilight of his career with the intention of winning a fifth Champions League. "Why PSG? Because it's a pleasure to be here. The priority was a big sporting […]

Yongin (South Korea) (AFP) – The South Korean Olympic football squad drew 2-2 against Argentina on Tuesday after they netted an injury-time equaliser in a friendly match in front of empty seats. The match held in Yongin, south of Seoul, was one of two tune-up matches this week ahead of the Tokyo Olympics set to […]

Lisbon (AFP) – Joao Mario has signed a five-year contract with Benfica the Lisbon club announced on Tuesday, a day after Inter Milan terminated the Portugal midfielder's contract. The 28-year-old has won 45 caps for Portugal and started in the final as the country won the 2016 Euros but he was not part of the […]

London (AFP) – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government Tuesday denied charges of hypocrisy over racism in football as he readied to meet social media executives following a deluge of abuse against England players. In an emotional statement, striker Marcus Rashford said he will "never apologise for who I am", after he was one of […]

London (AFP) – England's Marcus Rashford said he will "never apologise for who I am" in an emotional statement after receiving racist abuse over the Euro 2020 final defeat. The Manchester United forward was one of three players, along with Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka, who were attacked by racist trolls after missing penalties in […]

Los Angeles (AFP) – Shamar Nicholson and Bobby Reid powered Jamaica past Suriname and Costa Rica downed Guadeloupe in the opening Gold Cup Group C games in Orlando on Monday. Nicholson scored in the sixth minute to put Jamaica ahead with his third career Gold Cup goal and first international strike in two years. Fulham […]

Los Angeles (AFP) – The bitter memory of defeat is driving Megan Rapinoe and the United States women's football team as they chase an unprecedented double at the Olympics. Five years ago, the US women were bundled out of the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in the quarter-finals, losing to Sweden on penalties in an upset […]

Bordeaux (AFP) – Bordeaux and Angers will both play in Ligue 1 next season after their appeals against relegation imposed by France's financial watchdog DNCG were successful, the clubs announced separately on Monday. Bordeaux were spared after the presentation of a recovery plan put together by businessman Gerard Lopez, who is set to take over […]

Rome (AFP) – Italy's players were feted as heroes on Monday with a day of celebrations culminating in an open top bus ride through Rome after beating England in a dramatic penalty shootout to win Euro 2020 at Wembley. Both Italy's prime minister and president hosted ceremonies for the Azzurri before the team boarded a […]

Madrid (AFP) – Rodrigo de Paul, who helped Argentina to win the Copa America at the weekend, has signed a five-year deal with Atletico Madrid, the Spanish champions announced on Monday. "Atletico Madrid have reached an agreement with Udinese for the transfer of Rodrigo de Paul" until June 2026, the La Liga winners said in […]