Sports
Blackout de la Coupe du monde féminine en Europe: le patron de la Fifa, Infantino, veut plus d’argent pour les droits
Le président de la Fifa, Gianni Infantino, a déclaré qu’il serait “dommageable” s’ils devaient imposer une interdiction de diffusion dans les cinq meilleures nations européennes du football pour la Coupe du monde féminine de cette année. Infantino dit qu’ils “ne vendront pas ces droits à des prix sous-évalués” et souhaite que les diffuseurs – y compris ceux qui sont financés par l’État – offrent plus d’argent.
Sports
Premier League apologises as Tottenham v Nottingham Forest is moved at short notice
The Premier League has apologised after Nottingham Forest’s trip to Tottenham in less than two weeks’ time was brought forward by 24 hours.
The fixture, due to take place on Monday, 8 April, will now be at 18:00 GMT on Sunday, 7 April because of London Underground and train strikes.
The local authority’s Safety Advisory Group deemed the required level of safety for fans was not possible as a result of the action.
The league apologised “unreservedly”.
Tottenham said only one of the six stations that serve the stadium will run as normally on 8 April.
“All tickets will remain valid for the new date – we shall shortly be contacting all ticket holders to outline options if they are no longer able to attend,” they said.
A Premier League statement said: “The change has been made due to matters beyond the League’s control, namely the decision to implement rail and tube strikes on Monday, 8 April and the subsequent reduction in available travel services.
“This has resulted in the local authority’s Safety Advisory Group determining that it is not possible to stage the match with the required levels of safety for attending fans.”
Sports
Friday’s gossip: Dani Olmo, Joselu, Todibo, Marmoush, Lukaku, Raphinha, Bremer
Manchester United have entered the race to sign Spain international Dani Olmo, who has a £52m release clause to leave RB Leipzig this summer. The 25-year-old winger is also interesting Real Madrid, Manchester City, Chelsea and Tottenham. (Daily Mail)
Manchester United representatives have been to Spain to identify potential transfer targets and 34-year-old Spain striker Joselu, who is on loan at Real Madrid from Espanyol, is one of the names on their list. (Relevo – in Spanish)
United will have to pay at least 60m euros (£51.3m) for Brazil international Gleison Bremer, 27, who plays for Juventus, and the Red Devils’ striker Mason Greenwood, 22, could be included in the deal. (Gazetta dello Sport – in Italian)
Manchester City and Newcastle United will rival Manchester United for the signing of Everton and England Under-21 centre-back Jarrad Brathwaite, 21. (Football Transfers)
Italian club Genoa are expecting to receive bids in the summer for 26-year-old Iceland forward Albert Gudmundsson, who has been linked with Tottenham and West Ham. (Fabrizio Romano)
Newcastle United ran the rule over several Brazil players during their friendly against England last week, with Barcelona winger Raphinha, 27, and Juventus defender Gleison Bremer, 27, thought to be on their radar. (Newcastle Chronicle)
Manchester United and Tottenham target Jean-Clair Todibo, the 24-year-old France international centre-back, could be available for £40m from Nice this summer. (Talksport)
Crystal Palace want to sign 19-year-old Valencia defender Cristhian Mosquera in the summer but face competition for the Spain Under-21 international from Atletico Madrid. (Evening Standard)
Chelsea will replace Todd Boehly as chairman in 2027. (Mail)
There is a strong temptation for Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku, 30, currently on loan at Roma from Chelsea, to move to Saudi Arabia. (Calcio Mercato – in Italian)
Sports
Paris St-Germain 3-0 Hacken (agg 5-1): PSG to face Lyon in Champions League semi-final
Paris St-Germain will face French rivals Lyon in the semi-finals of the Women’s Champions League after beating Hacken to reach the final four.
PSG were dominant in the second leg, opening the scoring when Tabitha Chawinga fired into the bottom corner.
United States midfielder Korbin Albert extended their lead when she sent a long-range drive past Jennifer Falk.
Marie-Antoinette Katoto then headed home Sakina Karchaoui’s cross to seal victory.
PSG led 2-1 on aggregate going into the second leg and never looked like letting their lead slide.
It took them until the 70th minute to follow up Chawinga’s opener, but they troubled Hacken throughout with Katoto having an earlier header cleared off the line.
Hacken were unable to make any real impression at Parc des Princes as the Swedish side were forced to sit back without the ball.
PSG were beaten on penalties by Lyon in the 2016-17 Champions League final and are currently seven points behind them in Division 1 Feminine.
Sports
Barcelona 3-1 Brann (agg 5-2): Barca set up Champions League semi-final against Chelsea
Holders Barcelona beat Brann to set up a Women’s Champions League semi-final against Chelsea.
Barcelona won the first leg 2-1 and extended their aggregate lead when Aitana Bonmati hooked an effort past Aurora Mikalsen in the 23rd minute.
They netted again through Fridolina Rolfo, who bundled home when Mikalsen failed to clear a goalmouth scramble.
Tomine Svendheim pulled one back for Brann, but Patri Guijarro scored an 88th-minute tap-in to seal Barca’s win.
With England internationals Lucy Bronze and Keira Walsh in their line-up, Barcelona dominated the second leg at Estadi Johan Cruyff as they managed 26 shots to seven from their Norwegian visitors.
Beating Brann sets up a repeat of last year’s semi-final, when Barcelona beat Chelsea 2-1 on aggregate before going on to win the competition.
They will host the first leg in Barcelona on 20-21 April, with the second leg being played at Stamford Bridge on 27-28 April.
The Catalan giants also thrashed Chelsea 4-0 in the 2020-21 final when they won the competition for the first time.
Sports
Leicester City: Willie Kirk sacked after allegation of relationship with player
Leicester City have sacked manager Willie Kirk following an investigation into an allegation he had a relationship with a player.
Kirk, 45, was suspended by the Women’s Super League club earlier this month to “assist with an internal process”.
The Scottish boss has not been on the touchline for the past three games.
“Willie was determined to have breached the team’s code of conduct to a degree that makes his position untenable,” Leicester said in a statement.
Following Kirk’s suspension, assistant manager Jennifer Foster and first-team coach Stephen Kirby took charge for the Women’s FA Cup quarter-final at Liverpool on 9 March.
The Foxes won 2-0 to reach the last four of the competition for the first time.
Leicester have lost the two matches they have played since, being beaten by Tottenham and Brighton in the WSL.
Foster and Kirby will continue to lead the team while Leicester begin the search for a new permanent manager.
Former Everton manager Kirk joined the Women’s Super League club in the summer of 2022, initially as a director of football before succeeding Lydia Bedford as boss that November.
Last season he guided Leicester from the bottom of the WSL to safety and they were seventh in the table this season when he was suspended.
Leicester said the code of conduct which Kirk breached was “established and implemented” before the 2023-24 season.
“The code forms part of the club’s ongoing commitment to professionalising the women’s game since the takeover of LCFC Women in 2020, promoting a performance-led culture among players, coaches and technical staff,” Leicester added.
Their decision, announced on Thursday, comes amid scrutiny of player-coach relationships in women’s football.
In February, former Leicester manager Jonathan Morgan was sacked by Sheffield United after “new information came to light about his conduct” before he joined the club.
Morgan’s former management agency ended their relationship with him and said in a statement it had “learnt new information regarding Jonathan Morgan and a relationship with a player”.
More to follow.
Sports
Xabi Alonso: Bayern Munich chief Uli Hoeness says appointing Spaniard is ‘probably impossible’
Bringing Xabi Alonso to Bayern Munich this summer is “probably impossible”, says the club’s honorary president Uli Hoeness.
Bayer Leverkusen manager Alonso, 42, is a target of Bayern’s to replace Thomas Tuchel when he leaves in the summer.
The Spaniard has also been strongly linked with replacing Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool but Hoeness says he will likely stay at Leverkusen.
“We’ll have to see if we can do it this year,” he said.
“It will be difficult, if not probably impossible.”
In his second year as a manager, Alonso is on the brink of leading Leverkusen to their first German Bundesliga title.
They are 10 points clear of champions Bayern with eight games remaining and have not lost in all competitions.
As well Liverpool and Bayern, Alonso has also been linked with Real Madrid, another of his former clubs from his playing career.
“[Alonso] is more inclined to stay at Bayer Leverkusen in view of their current successes, because he would not want to leave them behind,” Hoeness said.
“Let’s say if he had two or three more years of success, it would probably be easier to bring him out of there.”
Sports
Crawford Allan: Livingston’s David Martindale says abuse of referee chief ‘despicable’
Outgoing Scottish FA head of referees Crawford Allan has endured “despicable” levels of abuse, according to Livingston manager David Martindale.
Allan has borne the brunt of the criticism following a string of controversies amid the implementation of VAR over the past 18 months.
And the 56-year-old is stepping down at the end of this season to “pursue new opportunities”.
“I think Crawford’s a really good guy,” Martindale said.
“I think the way the game’s going, the abuse that players, officials, myself take – there’s a tipping point.
“I think the abuse Crawford has received for doing his job is despicable, I don’t agree with it.
“Social media is taking over the world. Every decision that happens on a Saturday or a midweek deflects on to Crawford and for me that’s really unfair.”
SFA chief executive Ian Maxwell alluded to “unsustainable pressure on match officials and VAR operators” and a “convenient blame culture” when Allan’s departure was announced.
Martindale believes the backlash against Allan during the rollout of VAR “played a part in Crawford’s decision”.
“Am I surprised he’s leaving the position? No,” said the Livi boss. “I think it’s an extremely difficult job to do with the scrutiny around social media on every single decision and then the pressure cooker that is Scottish football.
“It’s become a very difficult job and I said the same about the compliance officer role. I think you’ve got to be a wee bit sadistic to take a job like that because you’re in a no-win situation really.
“You’re never pleasing the masses, so it’s very difficult. I don’t know where it’s going to end with social media, the abuse, the scrutiny it brings on people doing their jobs – and I include Crawford in that.”
Sports
Katrina Gorry: West Ham midfielder out for season with ankle injury
West Ham United midfielder Katrina Gorry will miss the remainder of the Women’s Super League season with an ankle injury.
Gorry sustained the injury in the 2-0 defeat by Chelsea last Sunday and left the stadium on crutches.
The 31-year-old requires surgery for the issue and her place in Australia’s Olympic squad is now in doubt.
Gorry, who has 105 caps for her country, says her rehabilitation is her “next challenge”.
The women’s football tournament at the Paris Olympics begins on 24 August.
Australia are already likely to be without captain Sam Kerr for the tournament after the Chelsea forward ruptured her anterior cruciate ligament in January.
“Unfortunately my season with @Westhamwomen has been cut short,” Gorry wrote on Instagram.”I’ve spent the last few days sitting with my emotions and now it’s time to face this next challenge and trust in my body to come back stronger and more in love with the game.”
West Ham are 11th in the WSL and have picked up just four points from their past five matches.
Sports
Nottingham Forest: Forget Premier League points deduction, says Nuno Espirito Santo
Nuno Espirito Santo has told his Nottingham Forest players to “forget about” the club’s points deduction for breaking financial rules and focus on their battle to avoid relegation.
They are now 18th, one point behind 17th-placed Luton, but have appealed against the decision.
“Who are we to say that is fair or unfair?” manager Nuno said.
“We have to focus on what we have to do, and what we have to do is on the pitch. This is the message: forget about everything and focus on our tasks so we get out of this situation.”
Forest play Crystal Palace at home on Saturday in their first match since the points deduction.
They are the second top-flight team to be punished for PSR breaches after Everton were penalised 10 points in November, which was reduced to six on appeal.
The Toffees, who are 16th and four points clear of Forest, are still awaiting the verdict on a second alleged breach of rules.
Luton winger Andros Townsend said uncertainty created by the points deductions “makes a mockery” of the top flight.
Nuno remains full of belief that his side will still stay up.
“The way we work, the way we play, the togetherness, the commitment of the players – I see it every day and that’s why I’m so confident,” Nuno said.
“It’s in our hands, it’s up to us to reverse the situation and that is to get points on the pitch and this is what we’re going to try on Saturday.
“What we have to do is stick together, everyone at the club, stick together – the back-up of our fans is going to be huge for us – and starting on Saturday at the City Ground, play football and win games.”
Sports
Celtic’s Brendan Rodgers to sit out one game but can return for Rangers derby after ban
Celtic’s Brendan Rodgers has been given a one-match touchline ban with another suspended, which means he will not miss the forthcoming Old Firm derby.
The Celtic manager complained of “incompetence” and “really poor officiating” in a 2-0 loss away to Hearts earlier this month.
Reviews led to Yang Hyun-jun’s yellow card being upgraded to red and Tomoki Iwata conceding a penalty.
Celtic later had their appeal against Yang’s dismissal rejected.
Rodgers has five days to decide whether to appeal against his own punishment.
During his BBC interview at Tynecastle, Rodgers twice mentioned video assistant referee John Beaton by name, saying VAR interventions meant the game was “refereed outside the field”.
The ruling means the Northern Irishman will be banned from the dugout for Sunday’s trip to Livingston but will be able to return as the defending Scottish champions visit Ibrox for their 7 April city derby against title rivals Rangers.
As well as being missing from dugout against the side sitting bottom of the Premiership, Rodgers will not be allowed access to the dressing room an hour prior to kick-off, or at half-time, and will only be given access 15 minutes after full-time.
The further one-match ban will only come into play should he further breach Scottish FA rules on making comments about the performance of match officials during games.
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