France coach Laurent Blanc has called for Alou Diarra to be treated with leniency, as the Bordeaux captain awaits punishment for pushing a referee in a league game at the weekend.
I hope the punishment takes into account that Alou Diarra is really a good boy, Blanc told AFP on Tuesday.
It s very unfortunate for him. Knowing him, he must be massively angry with himself. He realised straight away that he d made a huge mistake.
Diarra was sent off in Bordeaux s 1-0 win at Auxerre on Saturday after reacting to a yellow card shown to him by referee Wilfried Bien by shoving the official in the chest.
Nancy striker Youssouf Hadji was handed a six-month ban, subsequently reduced, after committing a similar offence last season.
The disciplinary commiss…
Rodrigo Bentancur and Giorgio Chiellini were unlikely goalscorers with Cristiano Ronaldo also on target as Juventus won 3-0 at Fiorentina to move 11 points clear at the top of Serie A.
Juve were far from their brilliant best in Florence on Saturday but Bentancur s first-half strike set up a fifth straight league win for the defending champions that stretches their lead over Napoli.
Federico Chiesa was guilty of wasting Fiorentina s best opportunities, but Chiellini made no mistake when he was presented with a chance, the defender s header looping in despite Alban Lafont s best efforts.
After Ronaldo converted a late penalty, Juventus collected three points from a trip to Florence that saw vice-president Pavel Nedved condemn graffiti referring to the Heysel disast…
Manchester City forward Enes Unal has joined Villarreal, the LaLiga club confirmed.
On Wednesday, Villarreal announced the signing of Turkey international Unal on a five-year deal.
The 20-year-old spent last season on loan at FC Twente in Eredivisie, scoring 19 goals in 33 matches in all competitions.
He is a strong player of great stature, but also possesses great technical ability with the ball at his feet: dribbling, change of pace, a knack for getting in behind the defence and attacking the goal, Villarreal said in a statement.
Strong in the air, Unal also has a powerful shot and is dangerous on set plays, making him the complete footballer at just 20 years old.
| Os dejamos las imágenes de pasando la revisión con los servicios médic…
Brazil captain Casemiro suggested the entire Selecao squad are united against hosting the upcoming Copa America.
The 2021 Copa America is scheduled to take place in Brazil, starting June 13, following CONMEBOL s decision to relocate the event.
Postponed from 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Copa America had been due to be shared between Colombia and Argentina, though both countries were removed as co-hosts following respective political and COVID-19 issues.
Brazil have been awarded hosting rights in pursuit of back-to-back titles, despite being one of the country s worst hit by the COVID-19 health crisis.
Prior to Friday s 2-0 win over Ecuador in World Cup qualifying, Brazil head coach Tite could not guarantee the participation of his side at…
Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong conceded the LaLiga giants are in turmoil as superstar captain Lionel Messi looks to leave Camp Nou.
Messi did not feature in Barca s first day of pre-season training under new head coach Ronald Koeman on Monday after the six-time Ballon d Or winner handed in a transfer request, with Manchester City reportedly the frontrunners for his signature.
As with Sunday s coronavirus testing for members of Koeman s first-team squad, Messi did not attend because he believes a clause in his contract allowing him to leave on a free transfer is now active, meaning he is no longer a Barcelona player.
It comes after Barca were dethroned by bitter rivals Real Madrid in LaLiga and humiliated 8-2 by Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter…
Jurgen Klopp and Robert Lewandowski revelled in the standing ovation the latter received after his last home game for Borussia Dortmund.
The Poland international, who will join Bayern Munich at the end of the season, was presented with flowers and a giant poster of himself before Dortmund s 3-2 win over Hoffenheim on Saturday.
An emotional Lewandowski, who fired Dortmund to back-to-back Bundesliga titles after joining from Lech Poznan in 2010, then went off to a warm ovation in injury time.
Thank you to everyone who participated in that ovation, Dortmund coach Klopp told Sky afterwards. It was special.
He’s been a great player for Borussia Dortmund. He deserved that. It was incredible. Thank you to the whole stadium.
I m glad that after four years I can s…
Borussia Dortmund may be without first-choice goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller for Saturday s trip to defending champions Bayern Munich.
Weidenfeller was forced out of a training session on Tuesday after a collision with defender Mats Hummels and is believed to have suffered a knee injury.
If the 30-year-old fails to recover before the Bayern match, Australian youngster Mitchell Langerak could make his first-team debut in the Bundesliga showdown at the Allianz Arena.
I could hear a noisy crack around the knee, Weidenfeller was quoted as saying by newspaper Der Western.
Weidenfeller will undergo an examination by team doctor Markus Braun.
Some sources have suggested Dortmund s captain has only suffered a minor strain and will be fit to take his …
Mourinho needs to be active in the transfer market this summer Credit: Business Insider
Manchester United did not have a successful season by the club s standards. However, they took a few steps forward under Jose Mourinho s first year at the helm.
Coming off a few disappointing years during the David Moyes and Louis van Gaal eras, The Special One got off to a slow start but finished the year on a strong note winning the UEFA Europa League. That means United will return to the UEFA Champions League in the 2017-18 season, a competition they shouldn t have left in the first place.
However, and as the saying goes, with great power comes great responsibilities . Manchester United might have a lot of talent on their squad, but they need to get better. As it stands ri…
Roberto Stellone has left Frosinone by mutual consent in the wake of a campaign that ended with relegation from Serie A.
Stellone was the man behind Frosinone s meteoric rise from the third tier to the top flight, masterminding consecutive promotions in the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons.
He was unable to keep Frosinone among the elite, though, as they return to Serie B having managed just eight wins from 38 games.
The club confirmed Stellone s departure on their official website.
With the 2015-16 season ended, Frosinone would like to thank Roberto Stellone for the excellent work done in the last four years, the statement read.
The decision to end the partnership was taken jointly by both parties.
…
According to , Atletico Madrid will try and take advantage of the inflated transfer market in England to offload Thomas Lemar for as much money as possible, though they do admit Atletico paid AS Monaco €72 million for the player who has turned out a complete flop. Talk about an inflated market.
To that end, the wingers s agent, Jorge Mendes, will now be looking to sound out potential interest from the Premier League. Arsenal is mentioned in the report as a likely suitor, as they re not meeting their objectives at the moment, and they could need reinforcements in January.
Arsenal were indeed linked with Lemar prior to his arrival to Madrid back in the summer of 2018, as were Liverpool. However, Liverpool signed Xherdan Shaqiri in the same transfer window for around €…