Category Archives: Football

Ads for gambling company forced to leave Australia digitally imposed on overseas A-Leagues broadcasts

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Digital ads for 8XBet inserted into matches played by clubs that rejected money from gambling companies

An offshore gambling company that breached Australian law and was forced to withdraw from the country has paid the national football league to promote it overseas.

The Australian Professional Leagues has digitally imposed ads for the gambling company, 8XBet, on to international broadcasts of A-Leagues matches. The company’s logo can be seen in 10 locations simultaneously during some games.

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Sweden international Kristoffer Olsson in hospital after collapsing at home

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  • Midtjylland midfielder on ventilator at hospital in Aarhus
  • Olsson affected by ‘an acute disease related to the brain’

Sweden midfielder Kristoffer Olsson is on a ventilator in hospital after collapsing at home due to a brain condition, his club Midtjylland have announced.

The 28-year-old, who had a spell at Arsenal as a teenager, has not appeared for the Danish club since December and there had been mounting speculation over his absence.

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Rwanda’s sacking of footballer adds to fears over UK’s ‘immoral’ asylum seekers plan

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The suspension of a Congolese player for a gun gesture referring to conflict in DRC raises questions over goverment’s refugee policy

When a Congolese footballer made a brief gesture after scoring in an east African league match last weekend, it felt like little more than a talking point among the spectators.

Yet the gesture by midfielder Héritier Luvumbu at the game in Kigali has prompted a dramatic reaction from Rwanda that has renewed scrutiny of a regime accused of stoking the world’s deadliest conflict as it enters a volatile new phase.

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Lionel Messi: outcry in China and Hong Kong after star returns from injury in time for Japan match

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Hong Kong fans need answers over missed fixture, government says, amid online furore over Inter Miami tour

Chinese state media, Hong Kong politicians and fans have cried foul after Lionel Messi played in a match in Japan, just days after he stayed on the bench for a highly-anticipated match in Hong Kong.

Many in Hong Kong were dismayed on Sunday when the 36-year-old Argentinian player did not come on to the field during a much-hyped Inter Miami fixture to a sell-out crowd with fans demanding answers and a refund. Miami’s head coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino said Messi was deemed unfit to play in Sunday’s match in the Hong Kong friendly.

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Former Brazil footballer Dani Alves denies rape as Spain trial wraps

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Ex-Barcelona defender is accused of raping a woman in a nightclub in December 2022

The former Brazil international footballer Dani Alves has denied raping a young woman at a Barcelona nightclub as he took the stand on the last day of his trial in Spain.

“If she wanted to leave, she could have left, she was not obligated to be there,” the 40-year-old told the court in Barcelona on Wednesday, adding that the woman “at no time” asked to leave.

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New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium to host 2026 World Cup final as Azteca gets opener

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  • Canada’s first men’s World Cup match will be in Toronto
  • US will play group matches in Los Angeles and Seattle

New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium will host the final of the 2026 World Cup, which will take place across North America in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

The 82,500 capacity MetLife Stadium is in New Jersey but is five miles from New York City and is the home of the NFL’s New York Jets and Giants. It hosted the Super Bowl in February 2014 and the final of the Copa America Centenario in 2016.

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Former Barcelona footballer Dani Alves’s rape trial to begin on Monday

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Brazilian, 40, has been charged with the rape of a 23-year-old woman in a nightclub

The former Barcelona and Brazil footballer Dani Alves will appear in court on Monday charged with the rape of a 23-year-old woman in a Barcelona nightclub.

Alves, 40, faces damning scientific and video evidence, as well as witness accounts.

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Socceroos goalkeeper Joe Gauci joins Aston Villa in record-breaking Australian transfer deal

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  • Keeper leaves Adelaide United for record fee for A-League player
  • 23-year-old to be understudy to Argentina’s Emiliano Martinez

Australian goalkeeper Joe Gauci has sealed a dream move to Aston Villa, amid a rush of transfer activity in the Socceroos’ Asian Cup camp.

The Premier League side have reportedly broken the transfer fee record for an A-League Men player heading overseas to secure Adelaide United’s Gauci on a deal until 2028.

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The Gambia team make emergency landing on way to Africa Cup of Nations

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  • Loss of cabin pressure and oxygen to blame, says Gambian FA
  • Saidy Janko: ‘The consequences could have been a lot worse’

The Gambia’s coach, Tom Saintfiet, said he and his players feared for their lives after the plane taking them to the Africa Cup of Nations made an emergency landing, delaying their arrival at the tournament in the Ivory Coast.

The Gambia squad set off from Banjul on Wednesday for the short trip to Yamoussoukro, where they will play their opening two group games, but minutes after take-off they turned around because of a lack of oxygen inside the plane, he said, adding: “Luckily for us, the pilot recognised the problem and after nine minutes in the air turned around to land again. We all fell asleep.”

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Sven-Göran Eriksson reveals he has cancer and ‘at best’ about a year to live

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  • Former England manager will ‘fight it as long as possible’
  • He says he is determined to ‘see the positive sides of things’

The former England manager Sven-Göran Eriksson has revealed he has been diagnosed with terminal cancer and in a “best-case” scenario has about a year left to live.

Eriksson, who managed England for five years before leaving after the 2006 World Cup, stood down from his most recent role as the sporting director at the Swedish club Karlstad 11 months ago due to health issues.

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Hong Kong beat China at football for first time in 29 years

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‘I don’t have to motivate the team against China,’ says manager after 2-1 win in friendly played behind closed doors

Hong Kong have beaten China for the first time in 29 years in a friendly football match in Abu Dhabi.

Hong Kong’s 2-1 victory over China comes as the former British colony prepares to participate in the Asian Cup for the first time since 1968, when the territory was still under British rule.

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‘I can’t celebrate 2023 now’: Jack Grealish ‘devastated’ by burglary

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  • Manchester City midfielder says experience was ‘traumatic’
  • Robbers reportedly took £1m worth of jewellery and watches

Jack Grealish has spoken of his devastation and the “traumatic experience” of burglars targeting his home. Raiders struck at the England and Manchester City midfielder’s Cheshire mansion during his club’s Premier League match at Everton on Wednesday.

Members of Grealish’s family and his fiancee, Sasha Atwood, were reportedly watching the televised match at the property when they heard a disturbance. An alarm was raised and an emergency response was launched with a helicopter, police dogs and a number of officers sent to the property near Knutsford, but no suspects were detected.

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‘An outstanding person’: tributes paid to former Team GB footballer Gemma Wiseman

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Wiseman, who has died at the age of 33, represented England and Great Britain’s deaf women’s teams

Tributes have been paid to former Team GB footballer Gemma Wiseman after her death at the age of 33.

Wiseman represented England and Great Britain’s deaf women’s teams and helped guide GB to third place at the 2016 World Deaf Football Championships.

In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counsellor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org

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‘T-shirt row’ causes Saudi Arabia-based Turkish Super Cup final to be postponed

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  • Galatasaray and Fenerbahce were set to play in Riyadh on Friday
  • Tribute to founder of modern Turkey was reportedly rejected

The Turkish Super Cup final between Galatasaray and Fenerbahce scheduled to be played in Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh, on Friday was postponed over what the clubs have described as “some problems” in the event’s organisation.

At the heart of those issues, according to media reports, was the wish of the two teams to wear T-shirts featuring the founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, during the warm-up before the evening kick-off.

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British Asian man sues Liverpool FC over racial discrimination

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Asad Farooq, 25, claims club rejected his job application in favour of someone less experienced

A British Asian man is suing Liverpool Football Club, claiming it racially discriminated against him by rejecting his application for a job in favour of someone less experienced.

Asad Farooq, 25, has a degree in stadium and event management, and has worked for Tottenham Hotspur and at the Qatar World Cup, but was not invited for an interview when he applied to Liverpool in November last year for a job in administration.

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Blair was keen to relocate Wimbledon FC to Belfast in late 1990s, papers show

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Then PM thought move ‘would be excellent’ but Northern Ireland secretary Mo Mowlam was sceptical

Newly released state papers show that the former prime minister Tony Blair backed proposals for Wimbledon FC to move to Belfast but his Northern Ireland secretary Mo Mowlam was more sceptical.

Previously confidential state papers include a note from 1997 described as “following up earlier informal discussions about the possibility of an English Premier League football club relocating to Belfast”.

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Police investigating alleged racist remark aimed at Luton’s Carlton Morris

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  • Luton confirm South Yorkshire police are looking into incident
  • Morris spoke to officials during team’s win at Sheffield United

Luton Town have confirmed South Yorkshire police are investigating an alleged racist comment towards Carlton Morris in his side’s Boxing Day win at Sheffield United.

“We can confirm that Carlton Morris reported an alleged racist comment from the crowd during this afternoon’s Premier League fixture at Bramall Lane,” a club statement said.

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Businessman who tried to buy Sheffield United accused of ‘elaborate’ fraud

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US watchdog sues Dozy Mmobuosi for allegedly faking documents and making up companies out of ‘thin air’

A Nigerian businessman who appeared to be closing in on a takeover of the Premier League football club Sheffield United is being sued by the US financial watchdog for a fraud, in which he is alleged to have faked documents and made up companies out of “thin air”.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said on Monday it had filed charges against Dozy Mmobuosi, claiming he inflated his companies’ financial performance by hundreds of millions of dollars to defraud investors.

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Bournemouth v Luton abandoned after Tom Lockyer suffers cardiac arrest

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Premier League match halted and Luton Town captain was taken away on a stretcher, described as ‘alert and responsive’

Luton’s Premier League match at Bournemouth on Saturday was abandoned after their captain, Tom Lockyer, collapsed on the pitch after a cardiac arrest.

The match was stopped in the 59th minute as medics tended to Lockyer, who collapsed off the ball.

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‘I need mum and dad here’: the charity helping young Afghan footballers reunite with relatives

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The Refugee Council is welcoming those who fled the Taliban and providing legal advice on resettlement in the UK

• Donate to our charity appeal here

Two years on from their arrival in South Yorkshire, young footballers Elaha Safdari, Najma Arifi and Narges Mayeli are still baffled by the array of regional accents in the UK. “I’m always like, ‘Pardon? Can you please repeat? What did you say?’” laughs Arifi, now 20.

This barrier is only a minor hurdle for the trio, who were forced to flee for their lives when the west pulled out of Afghanistan and the Taliban seized power in August 2021.

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