Football

LONDON: Manchester United fans breached security at their club's training ground on Thursday (Apr 22) as they protested against the Glazer family for the owners' role in the failed European Super League plot. United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was forced to speak to around 20 supporters after they blocked both entrances to the Carrington headquarters. The protestors unfurled banners that read "51% MUFC 20", "We decide when you play" and "Glazer out". The 51 per cent is a reference to fans holding the

MANCHESTER, England: The European Super League collapsed on Wednesday (Apr 21) as eight of the 12 founding members from England, Italy and Spain abandoned the breakaway project under massive pressure from fans, politicians, soccer officials and even the British royals. Founder and Juventus chairman Andrea Agnelli told Reuters he was reluctantly calling time on the new league after six English clubs withdrew on Tuesday, with Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid following suit and AC Milan indicating they would too. "The voices and the

Frenchwoman Stephanie Frappart will become the first female official to be involved in European Championship matches after UEFA confirmed the list of referees for this year's tournament. In the past two years, Frappart became the first female to referee a men's Champions League match, a French Ligue 1 game and a men's World Cup qualifier. Frappart was not named among the 18 referees to take charge of the 51 Euro 2020 games but she will be involved as a support match official, working

MADRID: A first-half double from Karim Benzema helped Real Madrid cruise to a 3-0 victory away to Cadiz on Wednesday (Apr 21) that moved them top of La Liga. The Frenchman's brace came either side of a maiden senior league goal for defender Alvaro Odriozola, as Real moved onto 70 points, level with city rivals Atletico Madrid, who have a game in hand, but top due to their better head-to-head record. "We started the game really well, robbing the ball high, that was

PARIS: Striker Mauro Icardi scored a hat-trick as Paris St Germain eased into the French Cup semi-finals with an emphatic 5-0 victory over Angers and AS Monaco joined them with a 2-0 win over 10-man Olympique Lyonnais on Wednesday (Apr 21). Icardi’s early strike for PSG was followed by an own goal from Angers defender Vincent Manceau and a simple headed third from Neymar in the second half, before the Argentine striker added two more. The defending champions, who have appeared in the

BIRMINGHAM, England: Manchester City recovered from conceding a very early goal to win 2-1 at Aston Villa on Wednesday (Apr 21) and move a step closer to the Premier League title after a game in which both sides finished with 10 men. City, who are 11 points ahead of Manchester United with five games left, were caught napping early when Villa took a quick free kick. A pass from Ollie Watkins found John McGinn and he rifled the ball home with 20 seconds

Manchester United co-chairman Joel Glazer says the club "apologise unreservedly for the unrest" caused by the proposed European Super League. The rare public comment from the American came after Liverpool owner John W Henry apologised to supporters. United, Liverpool and four other Premier League sides withdrew from the ESL on Tuesday after a backlash. "We failed to show enough respect for its deep-rooted traditions," Glazer said in an open letter to fans. The 50-year-old admitted efforts "in seeking to create a more stable

SINGAPORE: From this weekend, COVID-19 testing will not be required for up to 250 fans attending Singapore Premier League (SPL) matches, said the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) on Wednesday (Apr 21). This comes after conditional entry was implemented on Apr 10, the first-time fans could watch live matches since the final day of the 2020 season in December. Explaining the ticketing process in a media release, FAS said fans will need to buy a physical ticket from dedicated booths at match venues,

Liverpool owner John Henry apologised to supporters and to manager Jurgen Klopp on Wednesday (Apr 21) for the "disruption" caused by the club's involvement in the breakaway European Super League project. Liverpool were among the six Premier League clubs who signed up for the Super League but withdrew on Tuesday amid a storm of protests from fans, players, managers and governments, alongside threats of bans and sanctions from the game's European and world governing bodies UEFA and FIFA "I want to apologise to

Breakaway Super League clubs Real Madrid, Manchester City and Chelsea could be banned from this season's Champions League semi-finals, UEFA executive committee member Jesper Moller said. The trio are part of the 12 clubs who announced on Sunday they were setting up a breakaway European Super League, a move which has drawn widespread criticism. Real Madrid are due to face Chelsea and Manchester City are drawn against Paris Saint-Germain - who have not agreed to join the breakaway league. Arsenal and Manchester United,

LONDON: Chelsea moved into the Premier League's top four after a 0-0 draw against Brighton on Tuesday (Apr 20), but the result was completely overshadowed by the club's role in derailing the controversial European Super League. Just before kick-off at Stamford Bridge, it was widely reported that Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich had decided to withdraw from the controversial breakaway plan. While there was no official confirmation from the club, the Blues are understood to be preparing documents to formally quit the tournament. Manchester

Manchester United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward will step down from his role at the end of 2021. The announcement came before Manchester United, along with the other five Premier League sides involved in the proposed European Super League (ESL), withdrew from the competition. The planned breakaway league has received widespread condemnation. Woodward, 49, joined United in 2005 and has been in his current role since 2012. He was set to leave at the end of the year but the decision to announce his

All six Premier League teams involved in the European Super League have now withdrawn from the competition. Manchester City were the first club to pull out after Chelsea had signalled their intent to do so by preparing documentation to withdraw. The other four sides - Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham - have all now followed suit. The Super League said it would reconsider "the most appropriate steps" to reshape the project. The 12-team Super League was announced on Sunday to widespread condemnation.

European soccer's governing body UEFA led a backlash against plans for a breakaway Super League on Monday, saying associated players and clubs could be banned from its competitions - including three of this season's Champions League semi-finalists. Addressing an emergency meeting the day after 12 of Europe's top clubs announced the new league, UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin described the Super League plan as a "spit in the face" of all football lovers. "As soon as possible they (the clubs) and the players have

LEEDS, England: An 87th-minute header from defender Diego Llorente gave Leeds United a 1-1 home draw with Liverpool in the Premier League on Monday (Apr 19) after the home side staged a protest against the breakaway Super League prior to the kickoff. Leeds players came out for their warm-up wearing shirts emblazoned with the slogan "Earn It" under the Champions League logo - a reference to the fact that the proposed 20-club Super League will have 15 permanent members with no relegation. A

LONDON: Tottenham Hotspur's decision to sack manager Jose Mourinho just days before their League Cup final against Manchester City is "crazy", former England skipper Wayne Rooney said. Rooney, who played under Mourinho when the Portuguese was in charge at Manchester United, said Spurs should have waited until after Sunday's (Apr 25) final to pull the plug on the 58-year-old's tenure. Spurs have endured a dismal run of form this season and fans are disgruntled by the team's style of play under the former

LONDON: Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp said he and his squad had found out about the club's involvement in plans for a breakaway Super League only on Sunday and urged angry fans not to blame the players. The German, who has spoken out in the past against a European Super League, told Sky Sports television that his opinion had not changed since 2019 when he said he hoped it never happened. "I heard first hand about it yesterday," he said ahead of Monday's Premier

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