Football

FIFA appealed on Monday for "tolerance, mutual respect and common sense" after U.S. President Donald Trump denounced the annulment of a policy that required football players to stand during the national anthem. "I won't be watching much anymore!" Trump tweeted on Saturday. Trump retweeted a tweet by Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz, who wrote: "I'd rather the US not have a soccer team than have a soccer team that won't stand for the National Anthem." United States captain Megan Rapinoe kneeling in support

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer knows more than most what is expected from a Manchester United striker. The Norwegian made his name as English football’s definitive impact player, scoring 28 of his 126 United goals from the bench and becoming the man Sir Alex Ferguson would turn towards in the eleventh hour. And he is hoping his newly adopted centre forward can deliver in United’s crucial short burst of games before the end of the season. Anthony Martial has been entrusted to play his desired

As 2022 FIFA World Cup hosts Qatar officialy launched the third venue -- the Education City Stadium -- the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) was in focus, with the chief organisers admitting that were consulting with the Premier League and Bundesliga to learn about how they are dealing with the pandemic. The 40,000-capacity Education City stadium is the third venue to be completed after the redevelopment of Khalifa International Stadium in 2017 and last year's opening of Al Janoub. COVID-19 restrictions meant the third stadium

National team head coach Igor Stimac on Sunday hailed Sunil Chhetri, saying the talismanic captain was one of those who “glorified” Indian football with his dedication in the 15 years of his illustrious career. The 35-year-old Chhetri on Friday became only the second Indian after legendary Bhaichung Bhutia to complete 15 years in Indian jersey. He made his debut in 2005 against Pakistan in Quetta in a friendly match. He had scored in the 1-1 drawn game. According to Stimac, Chhetri is someone

Marcelo celebrated by taking a knee as Real Madrid returned from three months away following the coronavirus suspension by beating Eibar 3-1 on Sunday. After scoring Madrid's third goal in the 37th minute, Marcelo dropped onto his left knee and raised his clinched right fist into the air, apparently in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. Madrid's win may have come at a cost as Eden Hazard and Sergio Ramos were both substituted early in the second half and were seen with

Donald Trump has taken a shot at U.S. Soccer, claiming he won't be watching the game anymore following a decision not to force players to stand for the national anthem. America has been rocked by protests after the death of George Floyd with footballers around the world adding their voices to the Black Lives Matter movement. U.S. Soccer themselves have taken a surprisingly strong stance and announced earlier this week that players would no longer be forced to stand for the national anthem.

Juventus had a man advantage for much of the game but failed to make it count, despite qualifying on away goals with Cristiano Ronaldo missing a penalty on the night. Juventus Player Ratings Buffon: He might as well have stayed at home in the first half, a spectator for 45 minutes, even more so when Rebic got himself send off for a ridiculous ‘tackle’. Tested very little in the second ’45 without a single save to make. 6.0/10 Danilo: Surprisingly sharp, even whipped

Lutz Pfannenstiel, who worked with the highly-rated coach at Hoffenheim, has hailed the 32-year-old’s qualities and compared him to Man City's boss Julian Nagelsmann is the “most exciting coaching talent in Europe”, according to Lutz Pfannenstiel, with the RB Leipzig boss considered to be more tactically adept than Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola. At 32 years of age, a meteoric rise to prominence has been enjoyed by one of the youngest and most highly-rated tacticians in the business. Nagelsmann was given his big

Jersey Swap: David Abraham & Danny Da Costa Da Costa is on specifically because his second-half goal made it a relatively competitive game at 1-1. David Abraham, however, was an absolute rock for Eintracht Frankfurt all night. Always at the right place at the right time, he consistently interrupted the play of Bayern and had himself an absolute stalwart of a match. The best player in a lacking Frankfurt squad. Tip of the Cap: David Alaba He was everywhere he needed to be

Former Juventus goalkeeper Marco Storari is set to return to the club in a managerial role this summer. The 43-year-old veteran retired from the game after spells at Cagliari, Milan and Juventus and has always kept close ties with the Bianconeri. Tuttomercatoweb’s journalist Giovanni Albanese reports that Storari is expected to return to Turin to work back of house with an announcement expected very soon. Storari spent five years at Juventus, filling in for his close friend Gigi Buffon, winning four Serie A

Barcelona return to football this weekend as they take on Mallorca, as La Liga starts up once again following an extended break due to the coronavirus pandemic. Eleven more matches are left in which the Catalans will try to defend their two point lead over Real Madrid atop the league table. Five are at home and six are away, although it is to be seen how a lack of fans in the stands changes the dynamics of that. After Mallorca away on Saturday,

Football is coming back very soon. And that means the Leo Messi show will be back too! He and Barça will primarily have their hearts set on winning the Liga and Champions League titles, but the first team captain also has individual targets to aim for. Two legendary records, for Telmo Zarra and Pelé, could be about to fall. Pichichi number seven? Messi is currently the top goalscorer in the competition with 19, five more than Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema. That means he’s

The Portuguese superstar could depart Turin at the end of the season Cristiano Ronaldo and Juventus could part ways at the end of the season, according to Italy's Radio Rossonera. Rumours began to emerge in May that the 35-year-old was contemplating leaving the club, and those rumours have continued heading into the summer. Ronaldo has scored 53 goals in 75 appearances for Juventus since joining the Serie A giants from Real Madrid in 2018. Source: Goal

Former Netherlands international Wesley Sneijder has tipped Frenkie de Jong to become Barcelona’s leader after Lionel Messi retires. The 35-year-old thinks De Jong made the right choice swapping Ajax for Barcelona last summer and thinks he can go on to have a big role at the Camp Nou. “De Jong made the best choice because he understood that his football is perfect for Spain and Barcelona. “De Ligt chose differently but Frenkie made the perfect decision for his life. De Ligt a different

According to German newspaper BILD, the Champions League final will be played in Lisbon this year, along with the quarter and semi-finals. BILD report that Lisbon has beaten competition from Frankfurt and Moscow and the decision will be made official by UEFA on June 17. UEFA’s plan is to begin playing again in August and completing the remaining games of the last 16: Barcelona-Napoli, Manchester City-Real Madrid, Bayern-Chelsea and Juve-Lyon. The remaining eight teams will then play the quarterfinals, semi-finals and final in

As he waits for an extension at Juve, the Argentine says it would be nice to play for the Blaugrana. Paulo Dybala admitted it would be "very nice" to play for Barcelona as the star attacker said he was still waiting for a contract renewal at Juventus. Dybala, 26, was enjoying a fine season before it was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic, having been linked with a move from Turin last year. The Argentina international is reportedly set to extend his stay

The transfer market is nearing closer and Barcelona by hook or by crook need to make amends this summers through a few needed departures and a few needed world-class arrivals at the Camp Nou. In fact, Quique Setien finds himself in a position he’s never been before in his managerial career, since the Blaugrana need reinforcements in all three departments, from the defence to the midfield to the final attacking third. The midfield, however, seems to be a very unstable position in Setien’s

Football is a sport that is followed with passionate fervour in India. In every street, there are kids who are trying to be the next Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi. And in a video shared by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), you can definitely get a glimpse of the next David Beckham. The former England captain was famous for his curling free-kicks that would leave opposition goalkeepers stranded. The video features an incredibly accurate free-kick that would surely impress even Beckham himself. The

Serie A is set to allow five substitutions per team when it resumes on June 20 following the novel coronavirus stoppage after the temporary rule change was approved by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) on Friday. The FIGC said in a statement that its decision-making council had agreed "to allow a maximum number of five substitutions to be made for each team in the scheduled competitions up to the end of the 2019/2020 season." The change was approved by soccer's rule-making body IFAB

Sport is reporting that Barcelona want to start the process of negotiating a new contract with Lionel Messi. Or more correctly, Barcelona want to start the process of letting Lionel Messi negotiate a new contract with them. The current contract that Messi plays under expires in 2021 and you’d hate for the deal to get anywhere close to being done without a new deal being in place. At the start of the January transfer window in 2021, Messi will be able to start