Football

Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus have defended their plans for a European Super League in the face of what they call "threats" from Uefa. They are the only clubs from the initial 12 yet to withdraw from the proposed ESL, and face disciplinary action from Europe's governing body. The nine other clubs involved, including six Premier League sides, have been given a financial punishment. "The founding clubs have suffered," a Real, Barca and Juve statement said. The three clubs say they have faced "unacceptable

A marquee English Premier League game was postponed on Sunday after hundreds of Manchester United fans, protesting against the club's US owners, invaded the pitch at its Old Trafford stadium ahead of the match against Liverpool. "Following the security breach at Old Trafford, the Manchester United vs. Liverpool game has been postponed," said the Premier League in A statement. "This is a collective decision from the police, both clubs, the Premier League and local authorities." Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said over 1,000 protestors

Chelsea held their own away to Real Madrid but had to settle for a 1-1 draw in Tuesday's Champions League semi-final first leg after Karim Benzema scored an acrobatic goal to cancel out an early strike from Christian Pulisic. Chelsea made a bright start in heavy rain at the Alfredo di Stefano Stadium and deservedly went ahead when U.S. forward Pulisic rounded Thibaut Courtois to score in the 14th minute. Thirteen times European Cup winners Real looked ragged and short on ideas but

Inigo Martinez's late header threw La Liga's title race even further open as leaders Atletico Madrid lost at Athletic Bilbao. Alex Berenguer scored early for the hosts but Stefan Savic looked to have rescued a point until Martinez struck. Atletico remain two points above both Real Madrid and Barcelona, with Sevilla a point further back in fourth. But Barca, winners earlier on Sunday at Villarreal, have a game in hand and can go top by beating Granada on Thursday. Atletico paid the price for a

The Champions League semi-finals next week are expected to go ahead, UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin said, after a plan by some top clubs to create a Super League caused chaos. "There is relatively little chance that next week's matches will not be played..," Ceferin told Slovenian television Pop TV late Wednesday. "The key thing is that the season has already started. If we cancelled the matches, television stations would have compensation demands," added Ceferin, who is Slovenian. Football's most powerful clubs faced mounting calls on Thursday for reprisals

PARIS: Football's most powerful clubs faced mounting calls for reprisals over the European Super League fiasco on Thursday (Apr 22), although UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin said next week's Champions League semi-finals were unlikely to be affected. Super League chief Florentino Perez, president of Real Madrid, had insisted Wednesday the rebel competition was merely "on standby" despite nine teams pulling out. Manchester City, Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea withdrew on Tuesday, followed by Atletico Madrid, Inter Milan and AC Milan 24

Napoli and Inter Milan locked horns in Serie A on Sunday. The Nerazzurri were looking to go 11 points clear at the top of the league table, while the Partenopei were aiming to secure a Champions League spot. Both teams came into this game on the back of important wins against Sampdoria and Cagliari, respectively. Napoli have hit top form since the turn of the year as they aim to beat Juventus and Atalanta to a top-four spot. Genaro Gattuso's men dominated the majority of the game against

Real Madrid's La Liga title ambitions took a major hit as they settled for a goalless draw away to Getafe on Sunday. The defending champions have been decimated by injuries in recent months and have key games coming up in two different competitions. Zinedine Zidane took the opportunity to rest ever-presents like Toni Kroos and Karim Benzema, while Casemiro was suspended for the red card picked up against Barcelona last week. A bright start to the game saw Getafe create two chances early on. Real Madrid even had

Bayern Munich responded to their Champions League exit by beating Wolfsburg, but after the match head coach Hansi Flick said he has asked to leave the club in the summer. The win moved Bayern seven points clear at the top of the Bundesliga table. Jamal Musiala and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting put Bayern 2-0 up early on. Wout Weghorst pulled a goal back only for Musiala to net again, and Bayern held on despite Maximilian Philipp's sweet second-half half-volley. After second-placed RB Leipzig drew 0-0 with Hoffenheim

Juventus have suffered a fresh injury blow as Andrea Pirlo has revealed Cristiano Ronaldo will not be in the squad for their Serie A clash with Atalanta on Sunday. The Juventus head coach claimed Cristiano Ronaldo picked up a thigh flexor problem in the 3-1 win over Genoa last time out and had been unable to train normally since then. In a bid to avoid the injury from becoming severe, Juventus have now opted to play safe by resting the 36-year-old superstar. Speaking in a pre-game interview, Pirlo

Real Madrid climbed to the top of La Liga on Saturday after Karim Benzema's flicked finish helped them claim a thrilling 2-1 victory over Barcelona in a wild Clasico at Valdebebas. Benzema's superb piece of skill and a deflected Toni Kroos free-kick put Madrid in charge and while Oscar Mingueza pulled one back for Barca, they fell to defeat in what could be Lionel Messi's final appearance in this fixture. Victory means Real Madrid go level on points with Atletico, with the top

Manchester City suffered just a fourth Premier League defeat of the season as 10-man Leeds United shocked the runaway leaders thanks to Stuart Dallas' double in a 2-1 win at the Etihad on Saturday. Dallas opened the scoring three minutes before half-time, but hope of a famous win for Marcelo Bielsa's men seemed to have disappeared when captain Liam Cooper was shown a straight red card in first-half stoppage time. The visitors withstood a City bombardment until Ferran Torres equalised 14 minutes from time. But Leeds still

Roma Khanna on Saturday stepped down as the tournament director of the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup and AFC Women's Asian Cup, to be held in India in 2022, citing personal reasons. Khanna had spearheaded the bid for the U-17 World Cup back in 2019, and was later appointed as the tournament director for the local organising committee. She also successfully led the bid for AFC Women's Asian Cup, which India is set to host next year in January. "I would like to thank AIFF

SINGAPORE: Starting this weekend, up to 250 fans will be allowed into stadiums to watch Singapore Premier League games, said the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) on Wednesday (Apr 7). “Following discussions with the relevant regulatory agencies, a maximum of 250 fans will be admitted inside match venues from 10 April,” said FAS. The move will begin with game week six of the league, which will be held this Saturday and Sunday. To gain entry at any match venue, fans will have to

Neymar was sent off late on as a limping Jonathan David scored the only goal to give Lille a 1-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain in their Ligue 1 title showdown on Saturday, a result that moves them three points clear at the top of the table. Canadian striker David was struggling with an ankle injury when he fired home in the 20th minute. He was forced off soon after and came out on crutches to watch the second half with heavy strapping where

Marco Verratti will miss the first leg of Paris Saint-Germain's Champions League quarter-final against Bayern Munich next week after the French champions announced on Friday that he had tested positive for Covid-19. "After the latest PCR Sars-Cov2 test, Marco Verratti is confirmed positive. He will isolate and be subject to appropriate health protocol," PSG said in a statement. Italy midfielder Verratti, 28, will also miss PSG's top-of-the-table clash with Lille on Saturday, with the teams in first and second place and locked on

Cristiano Ronaldo had gone from savoring a last-gasp winner for his country to protesting what he considered a clear refereeing oversight with no video review available. Cristiano Ronaldo ripped off his captain’s armband and tossed it onto the field as he stomped off in disgust after Portugal’s 2-2 draw at Serbia in World Cup qualifying on Saturday. In a split second, Ronaldo had gone from savoring a last-gasp winner for his country to protesting what he considered a clear refereeing oversight with no

The Manchester United women’s team made its Old Trafford debut on Saturday with a 2-0 victory over West Ham. The team normally plays its Women’s Super League home matches at Leigh Sports Village but switched to Old Trafford during the international break in the men’s game. Teenage forward Lauren James headed the ball into the net from close range four minutes after the break, and American international Christen Press doubled the lead six minutes later with a left-footed strike from 12 yards out.

Liverpool will use the international break and will instead use the opportunity to scout one of the most promising goalkeepers to come out of Turkey in recent times. According to Sport Witness via Asist Analiz, the Reds will have scouts in the stadium when Turkey face Norway to watch Ugurcan Cakir, the Trabzonspor goalkeeper. Liverpool have been tracking the player for some time now and could step up their efforts to sign him in the summer. Cakir joined the Turkish side in 2012 as a

Lionel Messi broke the club's appearance record on Sunday as the Argentine featured in his 768th game for the Catalan giants. Messi celebrated in style, working his now famous magic in Barcelona's 6-1 victory over Real Sociedad, as he superseded the landmark set by former teammate and club legend Xavi Hernandez, who appeared 767 times for the club. Barcelonaa's official Twitter account dubbed the Argentine an "otherworldly player" and called his record-breaking appearance figure a "stratospheric number." Messi's eighth assist of the season