Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi was on Friday acquitted on appeal for a second time by a Swiss federal court of charges of corruption in the attribution of World Cup television rights.
Al-Khelaifi had been charged with inciting former FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke to commit aggravated criminal mismanagement.
Valcke was accused of wanting to transfer the Middle East and North Africa television rights for the 2026 and 2030 World Cups to a media company headed by Al-Khelaifi.
Al-Khelaifi allegedly offered Valcke, who is serving a 10-year ban from football that was handed down by the Fifa Ethics Committee in 2018, exclusive use of a luxury villa in Sardinia in exchange.
The PSG president has been cleared again of a charge of inc…
Didier Deschamps will lead France in their World Cup defence after committing to Les Bleus through to the end of their Qatar 2022 mission.
The new deal for the head coach, confirmed at a news conference in Paris, rewards the former midfielder for his ongoing success with the national team.
Deschamps was contracted until the end of Euro 2020 but has committed for a further two and a half years to take in another World Cup trophy quest.
The Qatar finals take place from November 21 until December 18, and if Deschamps sees out his contract he will complete a full decade in his post.
Les Bleus have been drawn alongside Portugal and Germany at Euro 2020 and French Football Federation president Noel Le Graet said of their aims: The final seems to me to be a …
When Pep Guardiola said he had a feeling Mikel Arteta was building something special at Arsenal, he might not have banked on being proved right so quickly and so emphatically.
Arsenal reached half-time in Saturday s FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City deservedly 1-0 ahead. It should have been more. The eventual 2-0 outcome did not flatter them in the slightest.
Arteta s three and a half years as Guardiola s assistant at City saw his reputation blossom rapidly. He had already been offered the top job at Emirates Stadium in 2018 before accepting his first senior coaching position last December.
It was easy to see almost everything Arsenal did in an accomplished showing as being informed and inspired by the Guardiola playbook.
Take Pierre-Emerick Aubam…
Real Madrid kept pace with Barcelona at the summit of LaLiga after coming from behind to beat Real Sociedad 3-1 at Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday.
Barca had edged past Leganes earlier in the day to open up a three-point lead over their bitter rivals but Zinedine Zidane s side registered a second consecutive league win to rejoin them on 28 points.
Willian Jose took advantage of a woeful mistake by Sergio Ramos to put Sociedad ahead in the second minute but Karim Benzema restored parity before half-time.
Federico Valverde – who opened his Madrid account in the 4-0 win over Eibar before the international break – completed the turnaround shortly after the restart before Luka Modric sealed all three points 16 minutes from time.
Gareth Bale was introduced a…
Luis Enrique says Spain will be treating Tuesday s Nations League group decider against Portugal as if it is a World Cup quarter-final.
La Roja lock horns with the Euro 2016 champions in the Group A2 finale in Braga, with the visitors needing to win to secure their place in next year s finals.
Spain s chances of finishing at the group summit were dented following a 2-1 defeat against Switzerland on Saturday, while Portugal leapfrogged them after running out 4-0 winners against the Czech Republic.
Nevertheless, Luis Enrique remains optimistic about his nation s scenario, which he likened to preparing for a World Cup knockout tie.
It s a final and we re thinking about it that way. It s positive to have reached matchday six with the possibility of being cha…
Harry Kane has no limits to what he can do and is still yet to reach his peak, according to former Tottenham team-mate Roberto Soldado.
Soldado joined Spurs from Valencia in 2013 but the striker – a regular scorer in LaLiga – found life tough in England, managing just seven goals in 52 league appearances over the course of two seasons before leaving for Villarreal.
However, Soldado believes he was not helped by the emergence of Kane, who quickly impressed his fellow frontman during their time working together in England.
I always say that if there is one period of my career I m not happy with, it s my time at Tottenham, Soldado, now at Granada, said in an interview with The Guardian.
I also had Harry Kane s boom to contend with, I understood per…
Chelsea left-back Ben Chilwell believes success can be just around the corner after securing a two-year contract extension at Stamford Bridge.
The 26-year-old England international s new terms tie him to the Blues until 2027, having initially joined in 2020 on a five-year deal from Leicester City.
Initially signed by Frank Lampard, Chilwell has transitioned through different eras at Stamford Bridge – working under Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter, before coming full circle with Lampard s recent return to the club on an interim basis.
Although Chelsea have struggled this season, sitting in the bottom half of the Premier League, Chilwell is delighted to secure his future with the west London side.
He had been linked with Manchester City but is going nowher…
Mohamed Salah has declared he wants to stay at Liverpool for the rest of his career.
The Egyptian forward is rated by his club boss Jurgen Klopp as the best player in the world currently, after scoring 12 goals in 11 games for the Reds this season.
His current deal runs through to the end of the 2022-23 season, but Liverpool are eager to secure his future as soon as possible.
It is clear that in-form Salah is happy at Anfield, but there is more to it than that, with the club needing to satisfy his financial demands.
He is putting all the onus on Liverpool to come up with the attractive offer that will persuade him to make a long-term commitment, knowing there would be clubs queueing up to offer him big-money deals should he leave.
At the age of 29…
Milan have renewed Olivier Giroud s contract, with the France international reportedly agreeing to stay at the club until the end of next season.
Giroud joined Milan from Chelsea in 2021, and has scored 27 goals across 76 appearances.
The 36-year-old has netted 13 times this season, having played as Milan s first-choice striker in the absence of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who has managed only four appearances this season following a long injury lay-off.
Giroud helped Milan progress to the Champions League semi-finals for the first time since 2007 when he scored their opener in Tuesday s clash with Serie A leaders Napoli.
Victor Osimhen scored late on for Napoli, but Milan held firm to progress with a 2-1 aggregate victory.
Milan, who are fourth in Serie …
Jamie Carragher is backing Liverpool to spend up to £200million to rejuvenate their midfield at the end of the season and believes Jude Bellingham is the perfect fit .
The 19-year-old England international has excelled with Borussia Dortmund since joining the Bundesliga side in 2019 from Birmingham City and has been touted for a lucrative return to the Premier League.
Liverpool have long been seen as contenders for his services, though recent reports indicate Manchester City are leading the chase. Real Madrid are also said to hold a firm interest.
Landing Bellingham will take a substantial fee, likely one that would exceed Liverpool s club-record of £75m spent on Virgil van Dijk in 2018, but Carragher believes that figure will be a bargain after he continues to…