Players from FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Atletico, as well as most of the clubs in the Spanish football league, were tested for the new coronavirus this Wednesday. This is the first step of the protocol for the return of the teams to training. The tests are mandatory, by the …
Read More »German health minister endorses Bundesliga restart plans
Germany’s health minister has expressed his support for the Bundesliga’s plan to resume play behind closed doors later this month. “The (football league’s) basic plan makes sense and could serve as a model for other professional sports,” Jens Spahn told public broadcaster Deutschlandfunk on Tuesday. “But we’ll have to see how …
Read More »Saudi Arabia and Qatar look set to battle over English Premier League football rights
Saudi Arabia has its eyes on claiming a greater slice of the English Premier League once its takeover of Newcastle United Football Club is approved. Riyadh is determined to get even more lucrative TV rights to air Premier League matches. All the paperwork for the takeover of Newcastle United is …
Read More »‘Everything clouds over and goes dark’ – Iniesta on depression at Barcelona
Andres Iniesta has described his struggle with depression while playing for Barcelona, which his mother says was a “bottomless pit” that caused her 25-year-old son to ask to sleep with his parents. Iniesta recalls his experience with the illness in a Rakuten TV documentary, ‘Andres Iniesta – The Unexpected Hero’, …
Read More »Bin Salman fails English football ownership test: Rights group
A major human rights group has urged authorities in the English Premier League to dismiss a bid by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and allies to take over the ownership of a club, saying the controversial figure fails the very basic tests of ownership rules in the competition. The …
Read More »UEFA warns major European leagues: Restart by June, or finish the season with PLAYOFFS
If the big European football leagues can’t get their league back up and running by June, they could be forced to finish the season using PLAYOFFS, according to reports. UK newspaper the Daily Mail reports that UEFA has issued guidelines to clubs and leagues across the continent in a bid …
Read More »Spain set to finish soccer season without fans in stadiums
Soccer matches and other sports events in Spain will take place in empty venues at least until the end of the summer, the mayor of Madrid said Saturday. José Luis Martínez-Almeida told the Onda Cero radio station that the coronavirus pandemic likely “won’t be under control” by then for events …
Read More »Bayern Munich to resume training despite pandemic
Bayern Munich has confirmed that players will return to training on Monday for the 1st time since the Bundesliga was suspended due to the coronavirus. The Bavarians said in a statement that the training session will be held in coordination with government policy and the relevant authorities. It added that …
Read More »UEFA postpones European club finals
UEFA has decided to postpone the Champions League and the Europa League finals due to the ongoing health crisis across the continent. The European Football governing body said in a statement that it has formally taken the decision to postpone the club finals, originally scheduled for May 2020. It added …
Read More »Video: Real Madrid win ‘Clasico’ to reclaim La Liga lead from Barcelona
Real Madrid has ended a seven-game winless run in El Clásico with a deserved 2-nil victory over Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabeu, a crucial win that sends Madrid back to the top of La Liga. Barca threatened their hosts on some occasions in the first half, but could not find …
Read More »Manchester City banned from upcoming UEFA competitions
Manchester City has been banned from UEFA club competitions for the next two seasons — beginning in 2020/21 — and handed a $32.5 million fine by European football’s governing body. The organization’s Adjudicatory Chamber of the Club Financial Control Body found that the English Premier League team had “committed serious …
Read More »Ronaldo returns to form helps Juventus rise to the top again
Cristiano Ronaldo’s return to form has coincided with Juventus taking a firm grip on Serie A. Ronaldo did not score at all in November, but he scored twice as Juventus beat Parma 2-1 on Sunday to take his tally to 11 in his last seven league matches. The win also …
Read More »Premier League tells referees to use VAR for red cards
The Premier League has advised its referees to use sideline monitors to make a final ruling on red card decisions. Through 22 rounds of the first Premier League season with video review, referees have not gone over to the screens at any point to watching replays after being told to …
Read More »Real Madrid wins Super Cup with help from Valverde.
Real Madrid star Federico Valverde has apologized for a shocking tackle which saw him sent off in his side’s Spanish Super Cup triumph against Atletico Madrid Sunday. The Uruguayan was shown a red card with just five minutes remaining of extra-time for cynically hacking down Alvaro Morata as the Atletico …
Read More »Is Premier League race already over?
Last season, the title race in the English Premier League went down to the final day, with Manchester City edging Liverpool by one point. But is the title race this season over already — and this time in Liverpool’s favor — while things are much closer in the three other …
Read More »UK minister: Soccer racism is ‘depressing’
The British government is ready to intervene if soccer authorities fail to stamp out “vile” racist behavior at matches, a spokesman for the UK Prime Minister said Monday. Sports authorities needed to crack down harder on the issue, Downing Street said, a day after Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger indicated he …
Read More »Lionel Messi hits 50 goals for the 9th time in 10 years.
Lionel Messi may have turned 32 in 2019 but he shows no signs of slowing down. On Saturday afternoon, the Ballon d’Or winner scored his 50th goal for club and country in the calendar year during Barcelona’s 4-1 win against Alaves at the Camp Nou. Ernesto Valverde’s side was stuttering …
Read More »Younis Mahmoud at the head of 5 Arab ambassadors of the World Cup Qatar 2022
The 2022 Qatar Organizing Committee decided to select Younis Mohammed as the committee’s ambassador. Qatar is hosting the first World Cup in the Middle East by the winter of 2022. Younis Mahmoud is an Iraqi former professional footballer who played as a striker for the Iraq national football team. One …
Read More »Mourinho takes over at Spurs.
Jose Mourinho is returning to football as he takes over from the sacked Mauricio Pochettino at Tottenham – despite vowing back in 2015 that he would NEVER manage Spurs because he loves Chelsea fans too much. Mourinho stepped into the Spurs hot seat less than 24 hours after Argentine Pochettino …
Read More »Neymar out for four weeks says PSG.
Paris Saint-Germain striker Neymar will be out for four weeks with a hamstring injury he suffered playing for Brazil, the French club said on Monday. Neymar limped off in the 12th minute on Sunday as Brazil drew 1-1 against Nigeria in a friendly in Singapore. PSG said that an MRI …
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