Category Archives: Football

Ruthless USA break World Cup record as they hit 13 past hapless Thailand

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It was clear what kind of match this would be a few seconds before the whistle blew. The US put seven attacking players on the halfway line while just three defenders hung back with the goalkeeper. Once the game started, those seven US players sprinted past the Thailand midfield toward the goal. The game largely continued like that, with proceedings taking place almost exclusively in the Thailand half.

Related: Sweden strike late against Chile after torrential rain stops play

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Women’s World Cup fever yet to take hold in Paris as tournament nears

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The biggest Women’s World Cup in history is kicking off at the Parc des Princes on Friday but in the city there is not the air of anticipation you would expect

With the biggest Women’s World Cup in history kicking off at the Parc des Princes in Paris on Friday, the head of the local organising committee was bullish in his response to criticism over the lack of atmosphere and marketing in the French capital.

“Depends what you’re expecting from posters and setting up an event in the city?” shot back Erwin Le Prevost. “The means we have available to us are becoming bigger in every competition thanks to Fifa support. It’s a Women’s World Cup by Fifa, the main aim is to fill the stadiums and to have the biggest TV audience possible.”

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England extra-time misery after John Stones’ blunder lets in Netherlands

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It was an ignominious way for England to lose and, ultimately, their collapse in extra time was probably best summed up by the image of Ross Barkley with his face down in the turf, not wanting to look up and survey the damage after his mistake for the third Dutch goal.

Barkley was not the only player wandering round the pitch with the look of a zombie. For John Stones, this was a personal ordeal in keeping with a bittersweet season on the fringes of Manchester city’s success. The records will show it was Kyle Walker’s own-goal that gave the Netherlands their second goal. In reality, it was a fairly dreadful error from Stones that put England in danger, dilly-dalling on the ball with Memphis Depay in close proximity.

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Violent England fans an embarrassment to the team and not welcome, says FA

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• Fans cause mayhem in Porto before Nations League game
• Police baton-charge supporters after bottles are hurled

The Football Association has condemned the England supporters who caused mayhem on the streets of Porto on Wednesday night as “an embarrassment to the team” – and says they are not welcome in football.

Two England fans were arrested after being baton-charged by police after hurling bottles at local supporters and police in a packed fan zone in Liberdade Square, and another was later arrested as more violence broke out.

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Brazilian football star Neymar accused of raping woman in Paris hotel

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The Paris Saint-Germain star denies claims in a police document that he assaulted a woman last month

The Brazilian footballer Neymar has been accused of raping a woman in a hotel in Paris last month, according to a police document in Brazil.

The player’s father called the accusation by the unidentified woman “a setup” against his son.

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Liverpool win Champions League after Salah and Origi sink Tottenham

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Presumably, none of the Liverpool supporters will care too greatly that the kaleidoscope of banners they had unfurled in Madrid suddenly look so out of date. Liverpool had their sixth star and when we see them again next season we can be sure they will have added “Madrid, 2019” to the red, yellow and white flags that have been fluttering from Spanish balconies, hotel windows and lampposts in memory of Istanbul, 2005, as well as Rome, 1977 and 1984, plus Wembley, 1978, and Paris, 1981.

Related: Tottenham Hotspur v Liverpool: Champions League final – live!

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‘You get used to the gunfire’ – filming the Libyan women’s football team

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Denounced on TV, they train at secret locations watched by armed guards. We meet the woman from Hastings who made a fascinating film about Libya’s guttsiest football squad

‘Just what our country needs!” rails the imam sarcastically on Libyan TV. “A women’s football team! And what’s more, they chose tall, young beautiful girls for the team – and for months their legs will be exposed.”

Women’s football may be getting its moment in the spotlight with the World Cup about to kick off. But, as the absorbing new documentary Freedom Fields reveals, the Libyan women’s national team has some way to go. As well as that imam, the film also features this statement from extremist group Ansar al-Sharia: “We strongly refute what the supporters of immoral westernisation are doing under the pretext of women’s freedom. This might lead to other sports with even more nudity, such as swimming and running.”

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Spanish footballers arrested over La Liga match-fixing claims

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Players and officials from top two divisions reportedly held over La Liga 2 game in May 2018

Police investigating an alleged match-fixing ring targeting Spain’s top three football leagues have arrested several people, including current and former players and senior club figures.

The country’s national police force said on Tuesday that its officers had carried out nine searches across Spain in connection with match-fixing, money laundering and criminal gangs.

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Footballer Héctor Bellerín calls on sport to oppose Alabama abortion ban

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Arsenal defender says ban also an issue for men, and garners support from Ian Wright

Héctor Bellerín, the Arsenal and Spain defender, has challenged fellow football professionals to speak out against the abortion bill passed this week in Alabama, in the US, which would make it a crime to perform a termination at any stage of pregnancy, even in cases of rape and incest.

Bellerín, 24, tweeted: “I wanted to see if anyone from our industry would speak out about the abortion bill, but I guess people are too scared. This isn’t just an issue for women, it’s one for every human being. We fight for equality and this is something men should fight for and not hide away from.”

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Tottenham comeback stuns Ajax and sets up final against Liverpool

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When everything changed, there were suddenly seven, eight, maybe even nine Ajax players flat out on the pitch, their faces buried into the turf, not wanting to see any more. Somehow, Spurs had done it and in those moments we were reminded, once again, about the glories of this sport, about how brutal football can be and how, every once in a while, there is a story that can make your bones vibrate.

We have had two of them in quick succession bearing in mind Liverpool’s destruction of Barcelona the previous night. It will be an all-Premier League final in Madrid on 1 June and when Lucas Moura completed his hat-trick, five minutes into stoppage time, it was one of those rare occasions for every single member of the Spurs travelling party when it must have felt like the blood in their veins had been converted into the finest of red wine.

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Barcelona v Manchester United: Champions League quarter-final – live!

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23 min “The most remarkable thing about Larsson’s spellat Man United,” emails Simon McMahon, is that it was IN 2007!!! Time really does speed up the older you get. Soon I’ll be eating breakfast every five minutes.”

This sounds like an excellent ruse, and well worth wearing a suit to go to the newsagent.

22 min “The ‘Walking’ in ‘Walking to Glory’ sounds like a schoolchild’s go at translating ‘Caminando’,” advises Charles Antaki, “but to be fair, caminar can mean to walk, but also, presumably more appropriately, moving or, better marching. Here endeth the evening class Spanish lesson, misremembered from a very long time ago.”

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Manchester United v Barcelona: Champions League quarter-final, first leg – live!

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“We need to improve on the first leg [of the PSG tie]. We know we need to play better at home. It’s down to us to try to dominant the game. If we let them dominate, we’re in for a hard game. So that’s part of the battle, to maybe take control of the ball.”

He’s unsure how long Rashford will be able to last because he’s just recovered his fitness. “But you know Rash, he lives for these games.”.

The teams are on the pitch at Old Trafford going through their pre-game stretches and what not. “Lionel Messi warms exactly how he wants to warm up,” announces Steve McManaman, almost swooning. That warm-up, by the way, seems to involve some gentle stroking the ball about and the occasional caress of a baroque tattoo on his left leg (the tattoo appears to feature a ball and a hand, no doubt Messi’s own tribute to Diego Maradona).

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Pope Francis on Lionel Messi: ‘He’s great, but he is not God’ – video

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The five-times Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi has earned the nickname 'D10S', a combination of his shirt number and the Spanish word for God - Dios - but Pope Francis has said 'it is a sacrilege' to give the Barcelona captain that title.

In an interview with La Sexta, the leader of the Catholic Church, praised his Argentinian compatriot saying: 'He's great to watch - but he's not God.'

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From Nazi to football hero: the incredible story of Man City’s Bert Trautmann

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Famous for playing the 1956 FA cup final with a broken neck, Trautmann went from Nazi soldier to goalkeeping legend and symbol of truth and reconciliation. Now, his life is the subject of a new film

Film director Marcus H Rosenmüller looks out of the car window, a little spooked. “It is only one kilometre from the concentration camp,” he says. We are in a quiet, pretty, well-heeled town, a short drive from Munich. It is called Dachau.

“It’s quite shocking to be coming to Dachau, isn’t it?” says the British producer Chris Curling. Both men agree there is something eerily appropriate about filming here. They are making a movie about the life of the legendary German Manchester City goalkeeper Bert Trautmann, who is still best known for his part in the 1956 FA Cup Final against Birmingham City. With 17 minutes of the match left, he dived at the feet of Birmingham City’s Peter Murphy, and sustained a nasty neck injury. But he continued to play, making two crucial saves as Manchester City won 3-1. Trautmann was a hero, particularly when, three days later, it was discovered that he had actually broken his neck.

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Serena Williams backs US women’s soccer team’s discrimination case

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Tennis champion describes pay discrepancy between male and female squads as ‘ludicrous’

Serena Williams and other prominent past and present American tennis players have expressed their support for a lawsuit filed by the US women’s national soccer team against their federation alleging gender discrimination in wages and conditions.

All 28 members of the US squad were named as plaintiffs in a federal court in Los Angeles on Friday, International Women’s Day.

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Manchester United fan stabbed in Paris after PSG defeat

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Man, 44, reportedly undergoes emergency operation after attack with ‘large blade’

A Manchester United fan is being treated in hospital in France for a stabbing injury shortly after the English side knocked Paris Saint-Germain out of the Champions League on Wednesday evening.

The Foreign Office said it was in touch with the French authorities over the incident, with reports suggesting the man is undergoing emergency surgery.

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Hakeem al-Araibi: thank you Australia for bringing me home – but my fight is not over

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Bahrain will do anything to hunt down dissident athletes and their families. International sporting bodies must step up to protect the helpless

I can never truly express my gratitude to you all, the Australian people, for bringing me home. There were countless dark moments over the 76 days of my detention, when my future looked nothing but bleak. The prospect of never seeing my wife, family or friends again became too close to reality.

The moment I was reunited with my loved ones, hundreds of supporters made it to the airport to give me a warm welcome that went far beyond my imagination. It is something I will never forget for the rest of my life.

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Hakeem al-Araibi on flight to Australia after release in Thailand

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Refugee Bahraini footballer returning to Melbourne after extradition case dropped

The refugee Bahraini footballer Hakeem al-Araibi has boarded a flight to Australia after Thai authorities withdrew an extradition case against him.

Thai authorities said the Bahraini government had decided to end its pursuit of Al-Araibi, who fled Bahrain in 2014 before being granted permanent residence in Australia, where he has lived since.

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Revealed: Lynton Crosby’s £5.5m offer to undermine 2022 Qatar World Cup

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Tory strategist’s pitch detailed how CTF Partners would spread negative stories and press Fifa to ‘restart bidding process’

Sir Lynton Crosby offered to work on a campaign to cancel the 2022 Qatar World Cup and get it awarded to another country in return for £5.5m, according to a leaked plan that gives a rare insight into the activities of one of the world’s best-known political operatives.

The detailed pitch document – “a proposal for a campaign to expose the truth of the Qatar regime and bring about the termination of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar” – was written in April last year and personally signed by Crosby.

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Sunderland: where the terraces are a refuge from the uncertainties of Brexit

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Nissan’s bombshell for the city has dented confidence, but citizens draw strength from their football team

Andrew Cammiss got up at four yesterday morning to set off on a 250-mile trip to Oxford for a third division football match. “I took my lad Niall who’s named after my favourite player,” he reveals. Along with other club legends Peter Reid and Kevin Phillips, an image of Niall Quinn is inked on the 39-year-old superfan’s body. “It takes my mind off things. Tattoos show my love for the lads.”

By “things” he means the latest kick in the teeth to his home city. Nissan has scrapped plans to manufacture the X-Trail sport-utility vehicle there. Despite reassurances that the cancellation does not imperil the plant, which employs about 7,000 people, Cammiss fears the worst. “I’ve a cousin and uncle who work there. Everyone knows someone who works there. If Nissan goes we’ll be gutted for a bit, but we’ll get used to it. There’s always the football.”

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