PARAGUANA: South American football’s governing body, Conmebol, disqualified Argentine club Independiente on Thursday from the 2025 Copa Sudamericana competition over a bloody brawl during a game against Universidad de Chile last month. The Argentine side must also play its next 14 matches in Conmebol tournaments without its fans — seven at home and seven away…
MILAN: Gennaro Gattuso begins his reign as Italy coach on Friday with the visit of Estonia and a contested fixture with Israel as he bids to stop the Azzurri from missing out on a third consecutive World Cup. Italy are at risk of not qualifying for next year’s finals in in the United States, Canada…
BERLIN: Bayern Munich on Monday announced the signing of striker Nicolas Jackson on a season-long loan from Chelsea, days after it appeared that the Premier League club had cancelled the move. Initially a season-long loan with an option to buy, Bayern reportedly agreed to include a purchase obligation into the deal on Monday, having previously…
LONDON: The Premier League transfer window shut on Monday after a record-breaking summer of signings across the division. Liverpool led the way with blockbuster swoops for Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz, but Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea and Manchester United also spent big. AFP Sport looks at 10 of the most intriguing deals: Alexander Isak (Newcastle…
LONDON: Â Matthijs de Ligt insists Manchester United’s players “stand behind” beleaguered boss Ruben Amorim and deserve the blame for the club’s calamitous start to the season. Amorim’s side needed a last-gasp penalty from Bruno Fernandes to beat promoted Burnley 3-2 on Saturday after twice blowing the lead at Old Trafford. United’s first Premier League win…
PARIS: Moroccan striker Hamza Igamane scored twice on his debut as Lille shrugged off the absence of the injured Olivier Giroud to humiliate Lorient 7-1 away in Ligue 1 on Saturday. Igamane, 22, signed for Lille on Friday from Rangers for a reported 10 million euros ($11.7m) and wasted no time making an impact for…
MANCHESTER: A furious Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim said “something has to change” within the team after the pressure mounted on him following a humiliating League Cup loss to Grimsby. In arguably their worst result since legendary boss Alex Ferguson retired at the end of the 2012/13 season, United were knocked out of an English…
PARIS: Rangers bowed out of the Champions League play-offs on Wednesday with a humiliating 6-0 defeat at the hands of Club Brugge which piles further pressure on manager Russell Martin, while Benfica secured a place in the competition proper at the expense of Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce. The Glasgow giants travelled to Belgium right up against…
MIAMI: Lionel Messi’s status for Inter Miami’s Leagues Cup semi-final against Orlando City will be a game-day decision after the Argentine star trained with his teammates, the MLS squad announced Tuesday. Inter Miami assistant coach Javier Morales said the Herons will monitor both Messi and Jordi Alba before deciding whether they will be available for…
RIYADH: When Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodriguez announced their engagement this month, two things stood out: the outsized diamond ring, and their unmarried cohabitation in conservative Saudi Arabia. The celebrity couple and their blended brood of five children have been living in the birthplace of Islam for more than two years, untroubled by laws against…
