Barcelona have cancelled a pre-season friendly in Morocco amid and the ongoing migration crisis in Ceuta. The LaLiga champions were due to face a local team on August 15 in Tangier as part of their pre-season preparations. The Spanish government deployed armed forces to Ceuta, its territory on the north African coast, after thousands of migrants arrived by sea in a matter of hours on Thursday and Friday last week.…
Assistant referee Sian Massey-Ellis is to retire from officiating after a career which she says was “beyond anything I could ever have imagined.” Massey-Ellis will start work with the Football Association as senior manager for women referees having called time on a Premier League career that began in 2010 and has seen her officiate in more than 150 matches. At the time, she was just the second female official to…
Jamie Carragher has said playing for Trabzonspor in Türkiye “feels a level too low” for Mohamed Salah, adding he was “convinced” he would sign for a top European club after leaving Liverpool in the summer. Salah’s storied Liverpool career came to an end at the end of last season after he reached an agreement to leave the team a year before his contract was due to expire. During nine years…
Argentina‘s Football Association has thrown its full support behind Gianni Infantino while praising FIFA for owning up to the mistakes made in the Forward Enterprise case. Infantino has faced backlash over his now-abandoned $20 billion proposal to sell off some of the commercial rights to the World Cup through a subsidiary called FIFA Forward Enterprise. An open letter from Argentina Football Association (AFA) president Claudio Tapia to Infantino said: “On…
Vinícius Júnior has accepted Real Madrid‘s latest contract offer, ending months of speculation by agreeing a new deal at the club until 2032, the Spanish giants confirmed on Thursday. It came a day after the star forward’s representatives held talks with club executives in a meeting that left his camp feeling optimistic about reaching an agreement, after Madrid offered improved terms. – Diomande joins Madrid in deal worth up to…
FIFA chief Gianni Infantino has been accused of a “profound abuse of presidential power” by the world players’ union over his plan to sell stakes in a World Cup company to private investors. FIFPro, which is comprised of over 70 player unions worldwide, said footballers’ confidence in FIFA had been “fundamentally broken” by the conduct of Infantino, the global governing body’s president. FIFA issued a statement saying “mistakes” had been…
UEFA has said its participating members could still boycott FIFA competitions including the World Cup despite Gianni Infantino’s apology statement. On Wednesday, FIFA apologised for its plans to sell off stakes of the World Cup, acknowleding that “mistakes were made.” Following a meeting in Rabat, Morocco of senior FIFA leadership, the governing body said it had “reaffirmed their full support” for Infantino’s presidency. UEFA’s member nations had announced their decision…
The Football Association continues to believe Gianni Infantino is no longer the right man to lead FIFA despite his own organisation throwing its “full support” behind him on Wednesday night. FA sources had indicated earlier this week it was sending a letter to FIFA confirming it no longer supports his candidacy for re-election at next year’s Congress. That position is understood not to have been altered by the apology offered…
Yan Diomande left RB Leipzig’s preseason camp on Thursday to undergo a medical in Spain ahead of his move to Real Madrid, sources told ESPN. The Ivorian winger is on the verge of completing a deal worth up to €140 million ($188m). Madrid will pay a €125 million fee, plus €15 million in potential add-ons. ESPN revealed back in May that Leipzig would only agree to a move if the…
Talks between Real Madrid and Rodri have stalled in recent days, multiple sources have told ESPN, with Barcelona monitoring the situation as they consider a move if negotiations break down. ESPN reported last month that Madrid were considering signing the Manchester City star — who has a year left on his contract at City — having previously ruled out a bid. However, Madrid’s interest has not developed into an agreement…