Sport

The UK-based tennis tournament announced the ban in light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Tennis star Novak Djokovic has called a ban on Russian and Belarusian players competing at Wimbledon “crazy”. His critique on Thursday came a day after the oldest tennis tournament in the world announced the measure, …

Iran is planning to expand air and sea travel while relaxing visa rules to host hundreds of thousands of World Cup fans. Iran has reached a series of agreements with Qatar as it mobilises plans to host fans of the men’s football World Cup that will be held in its …

Police have launched an investigation after Cristiano Ronaldo allegedly “assaulted” a supporter by smashing a phone out of his hand following Manchester United’s defeat against Everton on Saturday. Merseyside Police on Sunday appealed for witnesses after footage on social media showed Ronaldo knocking the phone away from the Everton fan …

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has reportedly been offered the chance to take his ‘dream’ first step into international football, with Brazil willing to pay him £10million per year to become their new manager. They will face stiff competition as the Dutch FA are said to have also drawn up …

The International Football Association Board (FIFA) decided, on Wednesday, to transfer the match between Iraq and the UAE in the framework of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, to Jordan for “security reasons”. A member of the Iraqi Football Association, Ahmed Al-Moussawi, said that “the Iraqi Football Association received a letter …

The father of tennis star Novak Djokovic confirmed, on Thursday that his son has already become a prisoner of the Australian authorities. British news agency BA Media reported that Djokovic, 34, is being held at the Park Hotel, a state-run quarantine facility in Melbourne that also houses asylum seekers, pending the outcome of an …

Football violence has broken out for the second time this season in France. Crowd trouble forced the French Cup last-64 tie between Lyon and host Paris FC to be called off after half-time on Friday. During the break, flares were thrown back and forth between home and visiting fans in …

The Argentina striker Sergio Aguero, who starred at Manchester City for a decade, on Wednesday announced his retirement from football at an emotional press conference, just over a month after he was diagnosed with a heart problem. “I have decided to stop playing professional football. It is a very hard …

La Liga has won the latest battle after 37 of the league’s 42 clubs approved a €2bn partnership with the private equity fund CVC Capital Partners, but the war at the heart of Spanish football has deepened with Real Madrid, Barcelona and Athletic Club set to take legal action in …

America’s diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Games, though practically a virtually pointless protest, will only inspire China to make the 2022 Winter Olympics an even bigger success. To the surprise of very few people, the United States on Monday evening announced a “diplomatic boycott” of the upcoming 2022 Winter Olympics …

As the 2021 Arab Cup in Qatar spotlights football in the Arab World, Iraqis are taking the opportunity to pressure FIFA into lifting a decades-long ban on international football in their stadiums. Iraqi football fans are campaigning for football’s governing body FIFA to lift its decades-long ban on Iraqi stadiums, …

Italian authorities have launched an investigation into the Juventus football club for financial irregularity claims. “Since this afternoon, on the orders of this Public Prosecutor’s Office, soldiers of the Guardia di Finanza (financial police unit in Italy) have been carrying out local searches at the Turin and Milan offices of …

Manchester City playmaker Kevin De Bruyne has tested positive for COVID-19 on international duty with Belgium, manager Pep Guardiola said on Friday. De Bruyne, 30, played in Belgium’s 1-1 draw with Wales in Cardiff on Tuesday. He will miss City’s home matches against Everton in the Premier League on Sunday …

Argentina’s Lionel Messi has recovered from the knee and hamstring worries that kept him out of Paris St Germain’s last two games and are in line to start in their World Cup qualifier against Uruguay on Friday. Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said staff had worked separately with the 34-year-old Messi …

Premier League champions Manchester City cruised to a 2-0 win over struggling Manchester United in their derby at Old Trafford on Saturday. Gifted two goals by United in the first half, City were happy to control the game after the break, while their hosts failed to present any sort of …

Former Fifa officials Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini have been charged with fraud and other offenses in Switzerland. Swiss prosecutors say Mr. Blatter unlawfully arranged a transfer of two million Swiss francs ($2.19m; £1.6m) to Mr. Platini in 2011. Prosecutors say the payment “damaged Fifa’s assets and unlawfully enriched Platini”. …

An image of what is being claimed to be the final standings for this year’s Ballon d’Or has been leaked online, with Robert Lewandowski in the top spot. The picture is of a document supposedly from France Football, which is dated October 25 and shows the rankings of those in …

Brazilian forward Neymar will miss Paris St Germain’s Champions League group game against RB Leipzig after picking up an injury on international duty, manager Mauricio Pochettino said on Monday. The 29-year-old was among a number of players not involved in PSG’s 2-1 Ligue 1 win over Angers on Friday due …

A UK-based rights group has slammed the FIFA president for participating in a “political activity” in the occupied al-Quds, denouncing his suggestion to hold the 2030 World Cup in the Occupied Palestine. Gianni Infantino took part in the inauguration ceremony of “The Friedman Center for Peace through Strength” on October …

Human rights activists unfurled a banner reading “No Genocide Games”, waved a Tibetan flag and called for a boycott of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics during the torch-lighting ceremony on Monday. Two women and a man sneaked past a tight police cordon and entered the archaeological site of the ancient …