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☆ West Ham players clash with AZ Alkmaar fans in bid to protect families inside stadium
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Ben Church | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —West Ham players confronted a group of AZ Alkmaar fans at the end of the teams’ match on Thursday after the section of the stadium containing the Premier League side’s friends and families came under attack. Videos also showed a number of West Ham players leaping over the hoardings in an attempt to intervene before security arrived to calm the situation. “I was really concerned about how the family of my teammates and the West Ham family are,” he told Sky Sports. CNN has reached out to West Ham and AZ Alkmaar for comment but had not received a response at time of publication. According to Reuters, there was a similar incident after the first leg in London last week when AZ supporters were accosted by West Ham fans.

☆ FC Barcelona: How Xavi's defensive revolution brought La Liga title back to Catalunya
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Matias Grez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Such has been the Blaugrana’s dominance this season, Xavi’s side clinched the trophy with four games still remaining and his iteration will undoubtedly go down as one of the greatest defensive teams in La Liga history. With only 13 goals conceded so far this season, Xavi’s Barcelona is set to obliterate that record. “Not only for me, but for the club and for all Barcelona fans it’s very important to win La Liga,” Barça striker Robert Lewandowski told CNN Sport ahead of the match against Espanyol. I think the first round [of fixtures] was very important, we proved that we can think about winning La Liga. Barcelona fans celebrate Sunday's La Liga success -- the club's first league title since the 2018-19 season.

☆ Erling Haaland is on track to become 'the best striker ever' after record-breaking season
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( George Ramsay | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Would he adapt to life in the Premier League? Only Dixie Dean, who scored 63 in the 1927/28 season, has more goals in English football during a single top-flight campaign. Haaland’s Premier League tally, which includes four hat-tricks, is a league record for a single season, breaking the previous mark held jointly by Alan Shearer and Andy Cole. Haaland, Addo observes, has modified his game to devastating effect since arriving in the Premier League, taking his pace, power, and deadly finishing to another level. Mario Hommes/DeFodi Images/Getty ImagesAddo, a former Dortmund player and Ghanaian international, oversees the development of the Bundesliga club’s talented crop of young players.

☆ Sebastian Steudtner has turned to science as he chases the world’s biggest waves
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Matt Majendie | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +15 min

CNN —Sebastian Steudtner holds the world record for the biggest wave ever surfed. Steudtner holds the world record for the biggest wave ever surfed. Win, win, win or perform, perform, perform. How boring is it to win and win and win? If I want to catch waves, I don’t think about you because you’re in my way, so you’re naturally competitive.

☆ Brighton sign Brazilian striker Pedro from Watford
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 5 (Reuters) - Brighton & Hove Albion have signed Brazilian striker Joao Pedro from Watford on a five-year deal, with the 21-year-old set to join the club when the transfer window opens in the close season, the Premier League side on Friday. Finiancial details were not disclosed but British media reported that it was a record deal for Brighton worth 30 million pounds ($38 million). Pedro, who made his senior debut in 2019 for Brazilian side Fluminense, joined Watford in 2020 and has scored 24 goals in 80 appearances. Brighton are sixth in the standings and are on the verge of qualifying for European football for the first time in their history. ($1 = 0.7909 pounds)Reporting by Pearl Josephine Nazare in Bengaluru; Editing by Hugh LawsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ How Tottenham Hotspur fell into disrepair
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Matias Grez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN —Four years ago, on a warm Spanish summer’s evening in Madrid, Tottenham Hostpur was just 90 minutes away from reaching the pinnacle of European football. Win or lose against Liverpool in the 2019 Champions League final, Spurs could be excited about the future of their club. Tottenham was 5-0 down after 21 minutes against Newcastle. Tottenham players offered to reimburse their fans after the Newcastle defeat. “Unfortunately, the mismanagement of Tottenham off the pitch has now transcended to on the pitch to a point where Tottenham are in the biggest mess I’ve known in my lifetime.”Bleak future?

☆ Leaders Dortmund ready to open up gap with win over Bochum
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

With second-placed Bayern Munich, a point behind on 59, in action at home to Hertha Berlin on Sunday, victory over Bochum would pile more pressure on Dortmund's embattled title rivals. Their last league title dates back to 2012. Dortmund coach Edin Terzic could be without defender Nico Schlotterbeck against Bochum while Raphael Guerreiro trained alone earlier this week. They are in 15th place on 27 points, just two points above the relegation playoff spot. Hertha are without a win in their last seven games and are anchored in last place on 22 points points.

☆ Aston Villa go fifth in Premier League with 1-0 win over Fulham
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BIRMINGHAM, England, April 25 (Reuters) - Defender Tyrone Mings scored a brilliant header from a set piece as Aston Villa beat Fulham 1-0 at Villa Park on Tuesday to lift them to fifth in the Premier League table, a step closer to ensuring European football next season. Villa are on 54 points after 33 games, one ahead of Tottenham Hotspur and five behind fourth-placed Manchester United. Fulham, whose European dreams were derailed by a run of four defeats in March and April, are ninth on 45 points. Fulham suffered a blow when midfielder Willian was injured in the warm-up and was unable to play, with Manor Solomon taking his place. Fulham found their feet in the second half but once again their attack failed to fire and, despite enjoying more possession, they did little to threaten Emiliano Martinez in the Villa goal.

☆ Newcastle vs Tottenham Hotspur: Magpies hammer closest top 4 rival 6-1 with five goals in opening 21 minutes
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( Issy Ronald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Joelinton scored Newcastle's second goal. Alex Dodd/CameraSport/Getty ImagesEvery attack seemed to yield a corner, an opportunity, a shot on goal and Newcastle continued to press while Tottenham’s defense continued to buckle. And then, barely two minutes after kickoff, there was another for Isak who made it five goals for the Tyneside club in 21 minutes. “It’s very embarrassing,” Lloris told Sky Sports afterwards. We didn’t show a good face and we could not match the performance of the Newcastle players.”

☆ Vinícius Jr. is being racially abused during LaLiga matches. Why is nobody being punished?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Matias Grez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +17 min

It has been updated to reflect the persistent racist abuse that Vinicius Jr. was subjected to during Real Madrid’s 1-0 defeat by Valencia on May 21, 2023. ‘Racist campaign against Vinícius’Incidents of players being racially abused by fans have tarred numerous LaLiga matches this season. On May 21, Vinícius was again subjected to racist abuse from the stands, this time during Real’s match against Valencia at the Mestalla stadium. Most cases of racist abuse which LaLiga has referred to local prosecutors have involved Vinícius. The local prosecutor in Mallorca said it is investigating a number of cases of racist abuse at matches.

☆ Brentford beat Fulham to fuel European dream
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, March 6 (Reuters) - Brentford fuelled their ambition of playing European football with a 3-2 home victory over fellow hopefuls Fulham to extend their unbeaten run in the Premier League to 12 games on Monday. Ivan Toney's second-half penalty and a late effort by Mathias Jensen sealed the points for ninth-placed Brentford against their west London rivals to edge them closer to the European qualification places. Brentford had taken an early lead with a deflected shot by Ethan Pinnock but Fulham hit back shortly before halftime when Manor Solomon scored for the fourth successive league match. The hosts were rampant and Bryan Mbeumo grazed the upright with a free kick before Toney also saw a free kick bounce back off the woodwork. Fulham levelled in the 39th minute when another free kick hit the frame of the goal but this time Andreas Pereira's superb effort bounced down for Israeli Solomon to nod home.

Although Polish teams have struggled to make a mark in European competitions and the country's coefficient places them 27th in the UEFA standings, there has been steady improvement in the last five seasons. In terms of value, we have a competitive structure similar to the Premier League, even though we have no government sponsorship or oligarch investment," Mioduski said. "So now we are at a point where our clubs are well-managed and run with a talent pool where private investment, like private equity, can take the clubs and the league to the next level." Mioduski said they have reached a point where they would welcome external investment both in the league and its clubs. "The Polish league as a whole has been developing more slowly but in a much more competitive fashion, with teams... maximising their limited resources," he added.

☆ Van Dijk, Salah steer Liverpool to 2-0 win over Wolves
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LIVERPOOL, England, March 1 (Reuters) - Virgil van Dijk and forward Mohamed Salah scored second-half goals as Liverpool battled to a 2-0 Premier League home win over Wolverhampton Wanderers on Wednesday to boost their hopes of European football next season. Liverpool climbed into sixth spot in the table on 39 points, ahead of Fulham on goal difference and with a game in hand, but the home side were forced to work hard on a rainy night at Anfield. Van Dijk finally broke the deadlock in the 73rd minute, forcing a save with his initial header from a set-piece, before Jota put the rebound back across the goal for the Dutchman to head home from close range. Four minutes later Salah used his right thigh to steer home a cross from Kostas Tsimikas to double his side's advantage and take the wind out of the visitors' sails as Liverpool made it three wins in their last four Premier League games. Reporting by Philip O'Connor, Editing by Toby Davis and Ed OsmondOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ PREVIEW-Soccer-Bayern's bogeyman Gladbach ready for another upset
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BERLIN, Feb 16 (Reuters) - There is no team in the Bundesliga that can boast of having a better record against the mighty Bayern Munich than Borussia Moenchengladbach. Gladbach, in 10th place, are unbeaten against Bayern in their last four encounters across all competitions and another match without defeat would set a new unbeaten club record against the Bavarians. "We will have to see for both of them how it develops over the next few days," said Farke. While Bayern started the year with three straight draws, Julian Nagelmann's team has since bounced back and won their last two league games. "Bayern are in good form and will be highly motivated to deliver against us," said Farke.

☆ Referees body admit 'human error' in VAR process in Arsenal, Brighton games
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 12 (Reuters) - Video Assistant Referee (VAR) decisions that went against Arsenal and Brighton & Hove Albion in Saturday's Premier League matches were down to "human error", the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) said on Sunday. Across London, Brighton & Hove Albion saw their quest for European football hit a speed bump at Crystal Palace when they were held to a 1-1 draw but Pervis Estupinan's goal was wrongly chalked off for offside. "PGMOL can confirm its Chief Refereeing Officer Howard Webb has contacted both Arsenal and Brighton & Hove Albion to acknowledge and explain the significant errors in the VAR process in their respective Premier League fixtures on Saturday," it said on Sunday. "Both incidents, which were due to human error and related to the analysis of offside situations, are being thoroughly reviewed by PGMOL." Webb, a former Premier League referee, became the Chief Refereeing Officer at the PGMOL this season.

☆ A future European Super League could have 80 clubs - A22 CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/IllustrationBERLIN, Feb 9 (Reuters) - A future European Super League could include as many as 80 teams, Bernd Reichart, the chief executive of A22 Sports Management, a company formed to sponsor and assist in the creation of a breakaway soccer league, said on Thursday. "The vast majority of them share the assessment that the very foundation of European football is under threat, and it is time for change," A22 said. "Feedback suggests a European football league that is open, based solely on sporting merit, multidivisional with 60 to 80 clubs and a minimum of 14 guaranteed European matches per club." Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus were among 12 clubs to announce a breakaway Super League in April 2021. "The walking corpse that is the European Super League twitches again with all the self-awareness one associates with a zombie," said FSA chief executive Kevin Miles in a statement.

☆ Soccer’s Premier League accuses Manchester City of breaching financial rules
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Jenni Reid | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

A general view of Etihad Stadium, home of Manchester City, on September 14, 2022 in Manchester, United Kingdom. The Premier League has referred the club to an enquiry over an alleged breach of financial rules. LONDON — The English Premier League on Monday announced it has referred soccer club Manchester City to an independent commission over alleged breaches of its financial rules. A commission will be held in private, with members appointed by the chair of the Premier League Judicial Panel. A spokesperson for Manchester City was not immediately available for comment when contacted by CNBC.

☆ Chelsea shrugs off cost-of-living crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Feb 1 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The cost-of-living crisis has yet to reach soccer players. Chelsea Football Club, owned by a consortium led by American businessman Todd Boehly, spent a record 330 million euros in the January player transfer window, according to Transfermarkt. It brings total spending on footballers since the Los Angeles Dodgers owner acquired the club last May to over 600 million euros. It also brings total spending by Premier League clubs this season to a record 2.8 billion pounds, beating the 1.86 billion pounds spent in the 2017/18 season. The Boehly-led consortium bought Chelsea from Roman Abramovich for 2.5 billion pounds, equivalent to a toppy 5.7 times trailing sales.

☆ Premier League talking points
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Jan 15 (Reuters) - Talking points from the latest round of Premier League games:RAMSDALE PROVES HIS WORTH TO KEEP GUNNERS ON TRACKGoalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale has had his critics at Arsenal but the 24-year-old proved his worth in the league leaders' 2-0 victory at rivals Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, making a string of fine saves to keep Spurs at bay. "We showed the other face when we had to dig in, we needed some big moments from Aaron," coach Mikel Arteta said. Manchester United's dramatic 2-1 comeback victory over rivals Manchester City on Saturday was not without its fair share of controversy. Rashford was deemed not to have interfered and the goal stood, before the in-form England forward went on to score the winner. "I understand he (Rashford) doesn't touch the ball but he's running for 30 metres until the last second.

☆ FIFA and UEFA did not breach EU laws in blocking European Super League, but proponents aren’t for giving up
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Sammy Mngqosini | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —The decisions taken by soccer bodies FIFA and UEFA to block the European Super League (ESL) are in line with European Union (EU) competition laws, according to an EU Opinion issued on Thursday. “The FIFA-UEFA rules under which any new competition is subject to prior approval are compatible with EU competition law,” Advocate General Athanasios Rantos at the EU Court of Justice (CJEU) said. The ESL was set up in 2021 by 12 European clubs with the intention to break away from European football governing body UEFA to create their very own competition. FIFA also welcomes the Advocate General’s recognition of FIFA’s exclusive rights to market international competitions organized by FIFA. Fans of Chelsea Football Club protest against the European Super League outside Stamford Bridge on April 20, 2021.

☆ Grant Wahl: A charming, kind and talented journalist
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( Don Riddell | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The American soccer journalist Grant Wahl, who’d also been covering the game at Lusail, had died. The LED board shows a photo of Grant Wahl prior to the quarterfinal match between England and France. Wahl pictured at an awards ceremony in Doha during the World Cup. Grant Wahl (left) being interviewed by CNN's Don Riddel in Qatar. He was charming, kind and just so happy to be covering his eighth men’s World Cup and the game he loved.

☆ I'm a barber at the World Cup. Superstitious players think a haircut gives them good luck for a game.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Jack Needham | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

He's become a favorite of soccer players and has traveled with clients to the World Cup. Edwards is cutting hair for multiple teams, including players who are about to clash on the pitch. The team's players all became my clients. Some players think if I cut their hair before a match, they'll do wellThey're superstitious. This is the wild thing, though — I'm going to be cutting the France players and the England players before the quarterfinal match between them.

☆ World Cup 2022: how many migrant workers have died in Qatar?
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Dec 9 (Reuters) - Here is a look at migrant workers' rights issues in Qatar, which is hosting the 2022 World Cup from Nov. 20-Dec. 18:WHAT IS QATAR'S RECORD ON MIGRANT WORKERS' RIGHTS? * Britain's Guardian reported last year that at least 6,500 migrant workers -- many of them working on World Cup projects -- had died in Qatar since it won the right to stage the World Cup, according to the paper's calculations from official records. * Qatari World Cup organisers, the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, said that there have been three work-related fatalities and 37 non-work-related deaths among workers at World Cup 2022 sites. * In September, England's FA said families of migrant workers in Qatar who were injured or killed while constructing the infrastructure for this year's World Cup should be compensated. * The shirts worn by the Netherlands team during the World Cup will be auctioned to support migrant workers in Qatar, the Dutch Football Association (KNVB) said this month.

☆ Why are there so many shock results at this World Cup?
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( Ben Morse | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

We’ve seen plenty of World Cup shocks over the years, but this year’s edition has seen more than most. Lionel Hahn/Getty ImagesA World Cup like no otherThis World Cup is a first for many reasons. The World Cup’s natureGiven the nature of the World Cup – teams thrown together in a tournament setting from across the globe – fans often see clashes which they’re not accustomed to. This concoction has, over the 90 years of the World Cup, regularly led to shock results. From the US beating England in 1950 and North Korea upsetting Italy in 1966 to Senegal beating defending champion France in 2002 and Algeria – in its World Cup debut – beating West Germany in 1982, World Cup history is littered with surprises.

☆ World Cup 2022 - Germany 1-2 Japan: Late Ritsu Doan and Takuma Asano goals earn shock victory
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Charlotte Marsh | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

Japan celebrates during a FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Group E match against Germany at Khalifa International Stadium on Nov. 23, 2022 in Doha, Qatar. Marc Atkins | Getty Images Sport | Getty ImagesEach Japan goal was greeted with a team bundle at the corner flag, and there were joyous celebrations at full-time. For Germany, their poor World Cup form continues, having finished bottom of their group at the 2018 tournament. After having two earlier efforts blocked, Gundogan stepped up and expertly dispatched his spot-kick to see the four-time World Cup winners in front. We made mistakes that we should never commit especially in a World Cup and those are the things that we need to improve on."

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