England intend to use the World Cup in Qatar to highlight concerns around the host country, but Gareth Southgate says they must be realistic as any demonstration will be complicated and different to taking the knee .
Qatar s poor human rights record has been a concern during the build-up to the 2022 finals.
The nation s stance towards women and the LGBTQ+ community was widely raised as an issue before FIFA awarded it the 2022 tournament. Since then, during preparation for the finals, the deaths of thousands of migrant workers have been reported, although Qatar s organising committee disputed what it called inaccurate claims around the number of fatalities.
England – semi-finalists in Russia in 2018 – have qualified for the World Cup and plan to make the most …
Nabil Fekir claims lies told about his knee gave Liverpool an excuse to abort his expected transfer from Lyon last year.
France international Fekir appeared certain to join the Premier League club ahead of the 2018 World Cup.
The attacker underwent a medical but Liverpool backed out at the last moment, reportedly due to concerns over knee problems dating back to 2015.
Fekir s former agent, Jean-Pierre Bernes, described the knee issue as part of the reason the move collapsed.
The pair ended their professional relationship in April.
Lots of lies were told and that affected me, Fekir told L Equipe.
Especially those claimed about my family. It hurt both them and me. Especially when you know that what s being said is false.
When you …
Talksport understand that Celtic are interested in signing Phil Jagielka.
The former England international is set to leave Everton after a twelve-year spell and is not yet ready to hang up his boots, despite him turning thirty-seven in August.
During his time at Goodison Park, the centre-back racked up three hundred and eighty-five appearances in all competitions scoring nineteen goals – a haul which includes a memorable equaliser against Liverpool during the 2014/15 campaign.
He was twice named the club’s Player of the Year while internationally he was capped a total of forty times for his country, scoring three goals.
He was part of the squad that attended the 2012 European Championships in Ukraine and Poland and was part of the 23-man party th…
Best odds: 29/10
Bookmaker:
It s the big one. The two clubs with the biggest numbers of major trophies in English football will face each other on Sunday at Anfield, in the 18th round of the 2020-21 season in the Premier League.
The rivalry between Liverpool and Manchester United is huge, and irrespective of their table positions, the games between them are always eagerly awaited and preceded by loads of tension among both sets of fans. Now, however, even their table positions add to the flammability of the contest.
Liverpool
Liverpool are, of course, the reigning Premier League champions. They ve now won the crown in English football 19 times and are certainly looking to make it an even 20 a significant number on several levels. At the moment, they are…
The curse of the fifth game will rear its ugly head once again for Mexico fans on Monday when they meet Brazil in the last 16 of the World Cup.
Juan Carlos Osorio s side paid the price for a sloppy end to their Group F campaign, a surprise 3-0 defeat to Sweden relegating them to second place when just a point would have been enough to top the table and set up a more favourable second-round meeting with Switzerland.
Instead they must face the five-time champions, who qualified as Group E winners and are being touted as favourites to claim a record sixth crown in Russia.
And on top of the considerable challenges posed by the likes of Neymar, Philippe Coutinho and Gabriel Jesus, the clash in Samara represents a significant psychological hurdle for Mexico, who have b…
Paul Pogba s impending move to Manchester United is likely to mean Real Madrid cannot afford to sign him, according to the club s former president Ramon Calderon.
The Juventus midfielder, 23, is reportedly on the brink of re-joining United – who he left in 2012 – for a world-record transfer fee.
Real Madrid were believed to be the other candidates for Pogba s signature and Calderon claimed they have either been priced out or rejected by the France international.
It looks like he will end up at Manchester United, Calderon told Omnisport.
If we bear in mind how Real s president usually does things and the fact Zinedine Zidane wanted this player in his squad well, either Real don t have enough money to pay or the player doesn t want to go there and pre…
Chelsea head coach Frank Lampard applauded his former Blues team-mate Mohamed Salah for putting his Stamford Bridge disappointment behind him and becoming a superstar .
Salah signed for Chelsea in January 2014 after emerging as a fine prospect at Basel, playing and training alongside Lampard for a few months before the latter left for Manchester City.
Liverpool attacker Salah struggled to make an impact in his year at Chelsea, playing just 13 Premier League matches.
He was allowed to join Fiorentina and then Roma on loan and the latter made his stay permanent after a brilliant 2015-16 campaign.
Liverpool were compelled to complete a deal that could cost them £44million and he has taken the Premier League by storm with 58 top-flight goals in a little over…
Megan Rapinoe has won The Best FIFA Women s Player award for the first time in her career, securing the prize ahead of fellow finalists Lucy Bronze and Alex Morgan.
Rapinoe receives the individual honour after playing a starring role in the United States’ triumph at the 2019 Women’s World Cup.
The 34-year-old scooped the Golden Boot after scoring six goals, while she was also lifted the Golden Ball after being judged the best player at the tournament.
Morgan also finished with the same number of goals in France, though missed out on the scoring crown by virtue of playing more minutes than her compatriot.
The 30-year-old striker – who has surpassed a century of goals in her illustrious international career – was the only one of the trio to pre…
England goalkeeper Mary Earps has expressed her dismay over the “very hurtful” decision not to put her replica shirt on sale ahead of the World Cup.
The Manchester United star was named the world’s best goalkeeper in women’s football by FIFA in February, and was also appointed vice-captain by England boss Sarina Wiegman for this global showpiece.
Earps claimed she only realised her shirt would not be made available by manufacturer Nike in April, and said she has since been “fighting behind closed doors” to find a solution before England open their campaign on Saturday against Haiti but to no avail.
The Euro 2022 champion said: “I can’t really sugar-coat this in any way, so I am not going to try. It is hugely disappointing and very hurtful.
Pep Guardiola has paid tribute to the victims of the Barcelona attacks and says he is very affected by the events in his home city on Thursday.
Thirteen people died and more than 100 were injured when a van drove into pedestrians on the crowded Las Ramblas street, in an incident that local police are treating as an act of terrorism.
Five terror suspects were later killed in a police operation in Cambrils, a resort town roughly 100 kilometres from Barcelona, in a second veh
000005F2
icle attack in which one woman died.
Guardiola came through Barcelona s youth system to star in Johan Cruyff s feted Dream Team before returning as head coach to lead an unprecedented spell of success at home and abroad between 2008 and 2012.
Now in charge of Manchester City…