UEFA has defended its fair and transparent bidding process for the Europa League final and is working to find cheaper options for Arsenal and Chelsea fans travelling to Baku.
The build-up to the May 29 encounter has been mired in logistical and financial challenges for supporters hoping to reach the Azerbaijani capital.
The Premier League heavyweights have been allocated no more than 6,000 tickets each, a small fraction of the 68,700-capacity Olympic Stadium and a number ridiculed by supporter groups of both sides.
UEFA s move to alleviate the stress on local airports led a bitterly disappointed Arsenal to brand the awarding of hosting rights to a venue with such limited transport provision as quite simply not right .
Baku was selected ahead of Seville a…
England international Jude Bellingham scored on his LaLiga debut as Real Madrid began their league season with a 2-0 victory at Athletic Bilbao.
Bellingham, who joined Real from Borussia Dortmund earlier this summer, scored his team’s second goal eight minutes before half-time.
Rodrygo had opened the scoring nine minutes earlier, and it proved a dominant display by Real, with Bellingham at the heart of it.
Jude Victor William Bellingham, at your service.
— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadriden)
Saturday’s other two LaLiga games finished as draws, with Real Sociedad being held 1-1 at home by Girona and Real Mallorca claiming a point by the same scoreline at Las Palmas.
Takefusa Kubo put Socieded in front after just five minutes at the Re…
Chelsea manager Emma Hayes demanded more protection for players after Sam Kerr sensationally knocked over a pitch invader during the midweek Women s Champions League clash against Juventus.
After winning the FA Cup at Wembley on Sunday, high-flying Chelsea played out a goalless draw with Juventus at Kingsmeadow in London on Wednesday.
The result, which left Chelsea waiting until the final group game to secure a place in the Champions League knockout stage, was overshadowed by a pitch invader during the closing stages of the match.
An individual entered the field to take selfies, prompting Chelsea and Australia star Kerr – who scored twice in the FA Cup victory over Arsenal – to barge over the pitch invader with her shoulder, leading to a yellow card.
…
Mevlut Erding says Zlatan Ibrahimovic is one of the three best players in the world, alongside Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Swede grabbed all the headlines in the off-season after leaving AC Milan to join wealthy Paris Saint-Germain in a blockbuster 20 million-euro deal, and has made a stunning start to life at the Parc des Princes with five goals in his first four games.
Erding, who played for PSG between 2009 and 2012, was part of the exodus following the club s Qatari takeover last year, but he nonetheless proceeded to shower praise of the highest order on his fellow striker.
He is one of the three best players in the world, alongside Messi and Ronaldo, the Turkey international told France Football.
We are lucky to have him in Ligue 1. Wh…
Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema is keen to emulate his illustrious compatriot Zinedine Zidane.
The France international, who joined Madrid from Lyon in 2009, is determined to achieve similar success as Zidane, and often asks him for advice.
I liked meeting Zidane a lot, because it was a dream. I met him, I talked with him. I was very happy, Benzema told the official UEFA website.
I always ask him for advice, and he gives some to me.
I hope that I will have a different career to his, but similar success.
The France international also took the time to praise former Brazil star Ronaldo, who was one of his idols growing up.
It was my first season at Madrid, and I had the opportunity to meet Ronaldo. I followed him as a kid, and I was i…
New York Red Bulls have announced they will not be renewing the contract of coach Hans Backe, or that of assistant coach Jan Halvor Halvorsen.
The news came on Friday, less than 24 hours after the club were knocked out of the 2012 MLS Cup play-offs by archrival DC United.
During his time with the Red Bulls, the 60-year-old Swedish manager turned the side from the worst team in MLS in 2009 into the top seed in the Eastern Conference in 2010.
New York made the play-offs in all three seasons under Backe, but failed to win a trophy despite an array of high-priced talent.
We want to thank Hans for his work over the past three years and wish him the best of luck in the future, said Red Bulls global sporting director Gerard Houllier in a statement on club s w…
Former Barcelona president Joan Laporta claims that Pep Guardiola and PSG striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic have reconciled their differences.
The Swedish star played under Guardiola at Camp Nou between 2009 and 2010, but had a volatile relationship with the coach and was transferred to AC Milan after just one season.
It is true that there was a historical situation, but it happened. I think both have mended their relationship, Laporta told French TV program Telefoot.
Guardiola is now on a year-long sabbatical after leaving Barca last summer, and Laporta believes he will be hot property when he eventually decides to start coaching again.
All the big clubs would like to have Guardiola as a coach, he said.
Among the clubs said to be interested in the fo…
Schalke have completed the permanent signing of on-loan midfielder Nabil Bentaleb from Tottenham, with the player signing a four-year deal.
The 22-year-old joined Schalke on a season-long loan last August and has now sealed a full transfer, agreeing a contract to keep him with the Bundesliga club until 2021.
Reports earlier this month had suggested a £16million deal was close to fruition as Bentaleb neared an appearance clause under the terms of his loan that would trigger a permanent move.
Bentaleb has played in 20 of Schalke s 21 Bundesliga matches this season, scoring four times as his side sit 10th in the table.
OFFICIAL: signs with until 2021! More info to follow
— FC Schalke 04 (@s04_en)
Both Schalke and Tottenham confirmed th…
Quique Sanchez Flores has warned high-flying Manchester City that his Watford side are a different proposition to the team they beat earlier this season.
City defeated Watford 2-0 in August to set a new club record for consecutive wins with Raheem Sterling and Fernandinho on the scoresheet.
However, Watford have established themselves well in their first season back in the Premier League and they sit ninth with 29 points at the halfway stage of the campaign.
Watford boss Flores is well aware of the quality in City s ranks, but the Spaniard insists his side do not fear any opposition.
The difference [from the last time they played City] is that we have grown a lot in the last four months, he told Watford s official website ahead of Saturday s contest at …
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer suggested Jurgen Klopp may have been trying to influence referees by discussing the penalties awarded to Manchester United.
Klopp felt Liverpool should have been awarded a penalty during Monday s 1-0 loss to Southampton, while highlighting how many spot-kicks United were awarded.
Under Klopp, Liverpool have been awarded 46 penalties in all competitions, including 30 in the Premier League. In that same time frame, and under three different managers, United have won 67.
Since Solskjaer became United manager in December 2018, United have been given 42 – with 27 in the league. Liverpool have had just 19 spot-kicks in all competitions in that time.
But Solskjaer, whose side host Manchester City in the EFL Cup semi-finals on Wednesday, di…