Category Archives: Football

How will BBC revamp Match of the Day when Gary Lineker leaves?

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Plan is forming for digitally focused show to expand and grow the brand in a fractured media landscape

When the BBC confirmed the news this week that Gary Lineker was leaving Match of the Day at the end of this season, the presenter’s official reaction was limited to a terse 21-word statement that he was “delighted” at signing a new contract to cover the FA Cup and 2026 World Cup.

The former England striker was – unsurprisingly – more expansive about leaving the BBC’s flagship football programme after 25 years on his own podcast, the Rest is Football, on Thursday. “All things have to come to an end,” he mused. “I think the next contract, they’re looking to do Match of the Day slightly differently. So I think it makes sense for someone else to take the helm.”

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Fans clash at football match between France and Israel

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Skirmish quickly quashed by security guards at stadium as riot police is deployed at ‘high-risk’ game

A skirmish involving Israel fans broke out in the stands of the Stade de France during a tense match between Israel and France’s men’s football teams, but a heavy police presence ensured a repeat of the serious violence in Amsterdam was avoided.

The game had been designated as “high risk” after the hooliganism and antisemitism witnessed in the Netherlands before and after a Europa League match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv last week.

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BBC confirms Gary Lineker’s departure from Match of the Day

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Corporation says presenter will quit highlights programme at end of 2024-25 season but will cover 2026 World Cup

Gary Lineker is to step down as the presenter of Match of the Day at the end of the season, the BBC has said.

The BBC confirmed earlier reports that Lineker would stay with the broadcaster to cover the FA Cup in 2025-26 and the 2026 Fifa World Cup in the US, Canada and Mexico, but step back from its flagship highlights programme at the end of the 2024-25 season.

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Macron to attend ‘high-risk’ France-Israel football match

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French president offers ‘fraternity and solidarity’ as Israel discourages wearing of ‘Jewish symbols’ abroad

Emmanuel Macron will attend the France-Israel football match at the Stade de France on Thursday in a gesture of “fraternity and solidarity” after attacks on Jewish fans in Amsterdam last week.

Thousands of extra police will be on duty for the game taking place against a backdrop of high tension caused by the conflict in Gaza.

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First charges over violence linked to football match in Amsterdam

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City’s police chief says ‘incidents on both sides’ led to violent unrest as ‘around 40’ fined and released

Authorities have released details of the 62 people arrested after violent attacks took place around the football match between Amsterdam’s Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv on Thursday night.

Violence after the game – described by the Amsterdam mayor, Femke Halsema, as “hit and run attacks” on Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters by “boys on scooters” – provoked international horror.

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More arrests expected in Amsterdam over violence on Israeli football fans

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Four suspects still held on suspicion of violent acts and 50 people fined after attacks on football fans

Amsterdam police expect to make more arrests after what authorities called “hateful antisemitic violence” against Israeli football fans, prosecutors said on Saturday.

Four suspects remained detained on Saturday on suspicion of violent acts, including two minors, and 40 people had been fined for public disturbance and 10 for offences including vandalism, prosecutors said.

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Spurs fans to call for release of last British hostage held by Hamas

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  • Emily Damari, 28, was kidnapped during 7 October attack
  • Fans will gather before Sunday’s game against Ipswich

Tottenham fans will gather before their team’s game against Ipswich on Sunday to call for the release of Emily Damari, the last remaining British hostage held by Hamas in Gaza.

Damari, a Spurs supporter, has been in captivity for more than a year after being taken from her home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza during the 7 October attack on Israel by Hamas. Stop The Hate UK, an activist group based in London, has been raising awareness about the 28-year-old, who is one of about 100 hostages in Gaza, and about 70 campaigners held a rally for her outside the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium before Spurs faced Aston Villa last Sunday.

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Amsterdam police arrest more than 60 people after attacks on Israeli football fans

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Plane carrying fans home lands in Israel as Amsterdam mayor condemns ‘hit and run’ attacks on visiting supporters

Amsterdam police have made more than 60 arrests after what authorities called “hateful antisemitic violence” against Israeli football fans.

A plane carrying football supporters brought home from the Dutch capital by the Israeli government landed on Friday at Israel’s Ben Gurion airport after the clashes on Thursday, which took place after a Europa League match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv.

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Lightning strike kills football player during match in Peru

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  • 34-year-old Hugo De La Cruz dies on way to hospital
  • Other players treated in hospital after incident

Lightning has killed a 34-year-old player and injured five others during a football match in Peru.

Sunday’s game between Juventud Bellavista and Familia Chocca in Huancayo province, about 70km south-east of Lima, was halted when lightning first struck, but a second bolt hit players as they began leaving the field. Video footage shows eight of the players collapsing after a loud crack.

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‘It’s created an internal shitstorm’: turmoil at UK law firm accused of ‘whitewashing’ Saudi World Cup report

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Sources say key people at Clifford Chance were not consulted, as it emerges another company refused job due to reputational concerns

When the Saudi crown prince locked nearly 400 of his country’s most powerful people in a luxury hotel in 2017 and stripped them of their fortunes, a UK law firm allegedly played a significant role.

On the orders of Mohammed bin Salman, Clifford Chance - a “magic circle” legal giant with headquarters in London – was reported to have facilitated the forced transfer of assets from a Saudi TV station to the government.

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Saudi Arabia World Cup bid report accused of ‘whitewashing’ rights abuses

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Law firm AS&H Clifford Chance failed to include alleged abuse of migrant workers in assessment for Fifa 2034 bid, say rights groups

A report by the Saudi arm of a global law firm on Saudi Arabia’s 2034 Fifa World Cup bid has “whitewashed” the Gulf kingdom’s record of exploiting and suppressing the rights of migrant workers, rights groups have claimed.

AS&H Clifford Chance was commissioned to independently assess the human rights implications of the bid, but the report “contains no substantive discussion of extensive and relevant abuses in Saudi Arabia”, according to a statement released by 11 organisations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.

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FA apologises to female Muslim footballer over tracksuit bottoms ban

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Iqra Ismail, who does not wear shorts for religious reasons, was prevented from entering field of play during game

The Football Association has apologised to a Muslim footballer after she was barred from playing in a match for refusing to wear shorts due to her religious beliefs.

Iqra Ismail was meant to come on as a half-time substitute for United Dragons in a Greater London Women’s Football League fixture against Tower Hamlets on Sunday, but she was prevented from entering the field of play by the referee.

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Top female footballers urge Fifa to end deal with Saudi ‘nightmare sponsor’

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Letter to governing body accuses Saudis of using sports to ‘distract from the regime’s brutal human rights reputation’

More than 100 professional female footballers have signed a letter calling on Fifa to end its sponsorship deal with the state-owned Saudi Arabian oil company, Aramco, accusing Saudi authorities of “brutal human rights violations”.

A four-year deal signed in April will see Aramco, which is 98.5% state-owned, sponsor major tournaments including the men’s World Cup in 2026 and the Women’s World Cup in 2027.

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Spanish couple detained in Singapore over protest against Valencia owner

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Police say pair ‘assisting with investigations’ after Dani Cuesta posted photo of himself with ‘Lim go home’ sign

A Spanish couple have been detained after the man held a banner to protest against Peter Lim, the billionaire Singaporean owner of Valencia football club.

Dani Cuesta had shared photos on social media of himself holding a sign that said “Lim go home” at various locations in Singapore, including the residences where Lim reportedly lives and the tourist landmark Merlion Park.

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Jens Lehmann fined €135,000 for damaging neighbour’s garage with chainsaw

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  • Incident took place in German’s hometown of Starnberg
  • Lehmann also settles unpaid Munich airport parking fees

The former Arsenal and Germany goalkeeper Jens Lehmann has been fined €135,000 (£113,000) by a court in his hometown of Starnberg for damaging his neighbour’s garage with a chainsaw.

Lehmann, who was accused by the public prosecutor of sawing off a roof beam in the garage, was initially fined €420,000 (£351,000) over the July 2022 incident, which was reduced on appeal.

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Calls for regulation of gambling ads in football as number of promotions soars

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Premier League fans exposed to almost 30,000 messages in one weekend despite restrictions, research finds

Ministers have been urged to intervene to stop football clubs from setting their own rules on curbing gambling advertising, after research showed Premier League fans were bombarded with nearly 30,000 gambling messages on a single weekend.

Clubs in the top flight have so far avoided compulsory restrictions on gambling sponsorship, instead addressing public concern through voluntary measures such as a ban on front-of-shirt logos, starting in 2026.

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Football-mad Morocco dreams of a World Cup final in its own ark

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Buoyed by the team’s success in 2022, the kingdom is eyeing a bigger goal

The rendering is dramatic, a vast white stadium inspired by the design of a Maghrebi communal tent, known as a moussem.

The language used to describe it is no less flowery: think of it as “almost like a Noah’s Ark, a place for all nature and animals to come together”, says Tarik Oualalou, head of Paris architecture firm Oualalou + Choi, one of five teams in the design consortium.

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Starmer’s free tickets for Arsenal and Taylor Swift part of job, says minister

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Business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, defends PM over gifts he has received since becoming Labour leader

Keir Starmer’s attendance at Arsenal football matches and Taylor Swift concerts is “part of the job”, the business secretary has said.

Jonathan Reynolds described the occasions for which Starmer had accepted tickets, including a Coldplay gig and football matches, as “major cultural, sporting events”.

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Real Madrid pauses concerts after ‘torture-drome’ noise complaints

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Football club announces cancellation or rescheduling of gigs at refurbished Santiago Bernabéu stadium

Real Madrid has cancelled or rescheduled all concerts at its Santiago Bernabéu stadium and is working to comply with council noise regulations after local people complained that a series of loud, late gigs had turned the arena into a “torture-drome”.

Although best known as the home of one of Spain’s greatest football teams, the Bernabéu – which has just undergone a five-year, €900m (£760m) refurbishment – has hosted a string of high-profile concerts over the spring and summer. Recent headliners have included Taylor Swift, Luis Miguel and the Colombian star Karol G.

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David Beckham joins mourners at Sven-Göran Eriksson’s funeral in Sweden

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Tributes paid to ‘genuinely kind’ former England and Lazio football manager in his home town of Torsby

David Beckham joined mourners at the funeral of former England manager Sven-Göran Eriksson in his home town of Torsby in Sweden to hear tributes to a “genuinely kind” man who “loved good food and drink and travelling first-class”.

Addressing full pews in the Fryksände church, and hundreds more watching outside on a big screen, the priest, a close friend of Eriksson, Ingela Alvskog, spoke of a final months that had been “full of life” despite him being diagnosed with terminal cancer of the pancreas.

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