Barcelona in dock on allegations of referee bribery, breach of trust and false business records
Barcelona have been charged with corruption over payments made to a former referee official. The Spanish giants face charges of corruption unexplained payments to the head of Spain’s refereeing committee for 17 years. The Catalans are said to have syphoned more than £6 million to a company owned by Jose...
BBC’s push for neutrality turns into unscheduled Match of the Day as pundits support legend Gary Lineker
The Match of the Day controversy unravelled so quickly on Friday night that its presence on television screens this weekend is a long way from certain. It was last removed from them 30 years ago because of a strike by technical staff, though this is something more visceral and elemental,...
Ivory Coast defender: It takes sacrifice and strong mentality to get results in football, fend for family
“My brother was murdered but two days later I played for Tottenham before flying home to comfort my grieving mother,” are words that provide a peek into Nottingham Forest’s right wingback Serge Aurier’s strong mentality and filial connection. Never more so than when he put his own personal pain and...
Chelsea consider beefing up security for under-pressure manager Potter after death threats
Graham Potter has revealed he and his family have received vile death threats as a result of Chelsea’s miserable form. The Chelsea gaffer on Friday that he has been a target of vicious abuse wishing him and his family dead because of the Blues’ poor form. The struggling Blues boss...
Potter’s Blues: ‘Burning it all down and starting again makes sense if you’re Everton, but this is Chelsea’
Two wins in 14 matches across all competitions for Chelsea since the first week of November. A run of form even bleaker than the final weeks of Jose Mourinho’s second spell at the club in 2015-16, when a Premier League title defence came to resemble an unthinkable relegation battle amid...
Victor Osimhen: Lethal Serie A top scorer’s heroics divides Napoli fans who wore black face masks
Italy manager Roberto Mancini has defended children ‘blacking up’ as Serie A top scorer Victor Osimhen during carnival week in Naples. Sporting costumes, masks and capes, both adults and children traditionally attend the carnival dressed as one of their heroes – and this year several children chose to embody Osimhen,...
Man United shares plunge on New York Stock Exchange following fears Glazers are just playing games
Manchester United’s share price plummeted over nine per cent on Tuesday amid fears the Glazer family won’t sell the club after all. Shares valued at $25.55 on the New York Stock Exchange at the opening of Tuesday’s trading had slumped to $24.27 within 30 minutes. A slight rebound...
Body of Ghanaian football star Christian Atsu killed in Turkey earthquake arrives home
The remains of Ghanaian football star Christian Atsu arrived home Sunday following his death in Turkey’s devastating earthquake. Atsu’s coffin, draped in Ghana’s flag, arrived by plane in Accra and was received by his family and with military honours. The 31-year-old athlete was discovered dead on Saturday following the 7.8-magnitude...
NBA giant LeBron James erases basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s points record, vows to carry on
NBA superstar, LeBron James has vowed to keep playing after surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the NBA’s all-time leading points scorer. The Lakers forward, 38, went into the match-up with Oklahoma City needing 36 points to take the scoring record, and he finished with 38 points in a 133-130 loss....
Man City loss to Spurs exposes deep fissures in relationship between striker Haaland and manager Guardiola
Erling Haaland is reportedly ready to ‘divorce’ Manchester City as he has a ‘very distant’ relationship with Pep Guardiola, who has created a ‘bad atmosphere’. The prolific striker only joined Manchester City last summer. They activated his £51 million release clause to recruit him from Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund. Haaland...