Electric Arsenal kick off 2022-23 season with deserved win over bogey team Crystal Palace
Gabriel Martinelli scored the first goal of the 2022-23 campaign as the Gunners made an electric start in south London and threatened to blow away their London rivals. Patrick Vieira’s Palace improved after the break and threatened to mount a comeback but Arsenal’s victory was sealed when Marc Guehi diverted...
Football law: Amended rules now permit keepers’ feet to be behind the goal line for penalties
A relatively minor change, this, but a change nevertheless. In 2019, a rule change stipulated that goalkeepers must have at least one foot on the goal line when facing a penalty kick, but IFAB have now amended this rule to read that goalkeepers will now be allowed to have one...
Premier League clubs can now make five substitutions rather than three during matches
The new English Premier League season that gets underway this Friday comes with a few alterations to the rules of the game. Of interest and appeal to the managers will be the number of substitutions they can now make. It was said at the time when five substitutes were first...
Sadio Mane brand is what German football needed to turn on African interest in Bayern Munich
Senegal’s Sadio Mane has become Africa’s Bundesliga poster boy after his move from the Premier League. Broadcasters across the African continent are looking to him to help boost the popularity of German football. When Bayern Munich unveiled Sadio Mane at the Allianz Arena on May 17, an unusual sound reverberated...
When I got off the blokes, I knew it was going to be gold – Kenyan C’wealth 100m winner Omanyala
Ferdinand Omanyala of Kenya has taken the gold medal in the men’s 100metre final at the Commonwealth Games on Friday night. Omanyala knew he had bagged the gold 20 metres to the finish line when he broke into a smile and about seven metres to the tape he threw up...
Man City will win Premier League, it’s also proved a good shop for gifted players after netting $213 million
Manchester City will start the season as favourites to win the Premier League, but this doesn’t necessarily make them the ‘value bet’. Such is the nature of modern football that the reaction was always going to be distinctly binary, but there was little positive that supporters could take from Erling...
Chelsea centreback Kalidou Koulibaly tells racist Napoli president Laurentiis to respect African players
Kalidou Koulibaly has issued a firm response to Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis following his comments about the reliability of African players. Without holding back, Koulibaly told De Laurentiis to respect African players and did not regret representing Senegal in the Africa Cup of Nations. The Chelsea defender, who joined...
With hair-trigger nature of EPL hiring and firing Arsenal manager is now sitting on time bomb
For all that is said of the grumpiness (and, increasingly, rage) of the football supporter, there is much to be said for optimism. It’s a fleeting feeling, but for a couple of weeks during the summer anything and everything is on the table, although it does usually come crashing back...
Hamstrung Chelsea make $51 million bid for Brighton’s left-back Cucurella and the deal is close
Chelsea have made an offer worth over £50 million ($61 million) for Brighton left wing-back Marc Cucurella as they look to close a deal for the Spaniard in the coming days, reports claim. The Blues are now in the ascendancy for the dynamic, curly-haired defender and there’s a belief Manchester...
Petrodollar lure for sulking Ronaldo to join Saudi Arabia club to remain ‘active’ until after World Cup
Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo will be the subject of a second approach from Saudi Arabia if his future remains unresolved, reports say. The Portuguese is thought to be keen on joining a Champions League club this summer, but with virtually no takers remaining, he could be forced to reconsider...
