Football
Curitiba stadium is ‘emergency situation’
FIFA has told officials in Curitiba they have until Feb. 18 to prove they can get their stadium ready for the World Cup or risk exclusion from the tournament. The 43,000-seater Arena da Baixada is so behind schedule that FIFA does not know when it...
Juve accuse Inter of lack of respect over Guarin swap deal
Juventus accused Inter of lacking respect yesterday after an agreement to swap players was called off by their bitter rivals 24 hours earlier. Juventus had agreed to exchange striker Mirko Vucinic for Inter midfielder Fredy Guarin when the deal was...
Neymar transfer probe goes to court
The transfer of Neymar to Barcelona is to be investigated by a Spanish court over claims of misappropriation of funds and club president Sandro Rosell may be called to give evidence. The Brazilian was paraded as a €57.1m signing by Barcelona from...
Milan suffer shock cup exit
Milan suffered a shock exit from the Coppa Italia when they lost 2-1 at home to Serie A strugglers Udinese in Clarence Seedorf’s second match in charge last night. An individual goal by 20-year-old Uruguayan Nicolas Lopez, only two minutes after coming...
A dream come true for Melita FC
In 1933, Ġianni Bencini, in a famous speech made on the occasion of the founding of Melita FC, solemnly promised his audience that one day he would lead the new club to the top division of Maltese football. Bencini’s dream came true in 1937-38 when...
Football news
Cellino eyes Leeds takeover
Stadium hosting opener almost ready – officials
The venue that will stage the opening World Cup game in Brazil in June is almost complete, officials said this week, even though work has not restarted on the collapsed roof that killed two workers in November. “The stadium is 97 per cent ready,” said...
Barca boss offers to testify in Neymar contract case
Barcelona president Sandro Rosell has offered to testify before a judge to try and resolve a legal challenge filed by a club member over the signing of Brazil forward Neymar. Neymar was paraded as the Spanish champions’ marquee signing when they beat...
Man. City complete rout to reach final
Manchester City completed a resounding demolition of West Ham United by winning the second leg of their League Cup semi-final 3-0 last night to book their place in the final at Wembley 9-0 on aggregate. With the tie effectively over after West Ham’s...
Roma send Juventus crashing out
Roma gained revenge for their recent crushing defeat at the hands of Juventus by knocking the Serie A leaders out of the Coppa Italia at the quarter-final stage. The Turin club were 3-0 winners when the two sides met in the league earlier this month,...
Governments must do more to fight fixing
Footballers who take part in match-manipulation risk losing their careers if caught but those who induce the players and set up the fix do so at almost no risk to themselves, according to FIFA’s head of security Ralf Mutschke. In the last few years,...
Football news
Bologna served suspended ban
Champagne says he can’t beat Blatter in FIFA fight
Jerome Champagne launched his bid to stand for the FIFA presidency yesterday but immediately undermined his campaign by saying he did not think he could beat Sepp Blatter should the Swiss incumbent stand for re-election. Frenchman Champagne, 55, a...
City’s Zabaleta taking nothing for granted
Pablo Zabaleta insists Manchester City will not be going through the motions as they look to rubber-stamp their place in the League Cup final tonight. City are all but guaranteed to be playing at Wembley after thrashing West Ham 6-0 in the first leg of...
Zoopla ends West Brom deal after Anelka row
Property website Zoopla is ending its sponsorship of English Premier League soccer club West Bromwich Albion following a row over an alleged anti-Semitic gesture made by striker Nicolas Anelka, the company said yesterday. Frenchman Anelka made the...
Seedorf dedicates win to Milan fans
Clarence Seedorf was all smiles after enjoying a winning debut as Milan coach on Sunday, a victory he dedicated to the club’s supporters. A late Mario Balotelli penalty earned a 1-0 triumph over Verona at the San Siro as Milan recovered from their...
Garcia wants revenge on Juventus in Coppa clash
Roma coach Rudi Garcia is out for revenge against Juventus in Rome in today’s Coppa Italia quarter-final. The last time both sides met earlier this month in Serie A, Juve crushed Roma 3-0 in Turin to inflict the Giallorossi’s first loss of the...