Football rumours: Everton considering bid for Harry Maguire
What the papers say A player swap between Manchester United and Everton could see Harry Maguire leave the club that signed him from Leicester for £80million in 2019. The Independent reports Everton are considering the move for the 30-year-old while The Daily Mail says United are interested in Everton midfielder Amadou Onana. United are also willing to open contract talks with Aaron Wan-Bissaka after the transfer window closes, according to the Daily Mail. The Times says if Tottenham captain Harry Kane leaves the club, they will look towards Gent’s 21-year-old Nigerian striker Gift Orban. Arsenal left-back Kieran Tierney could leave the club on loan to Real Sociedad who are interested in his services, the Telegraph says. Social media round-up Players to watch Douglas Luiz: The North London rivalry is moving into the transfer market this summer as Arsenal and Tottenham fight for Aston Villa’s 25-year-old midfielder, Football Insider said. Neymar: Multiple reports suggest the superstar could leave Paris St Germain and move to Saudi Pro League team Al-Hilal but only if he was able to spend a season at Real Madrid on loan. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live
1970-01-01 08:00
China Sprints Ahead in Race to Modernize Global Money Flows
A new platform to expand the reach of China’s digital yuan and other central bank digital currencies is
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Women’s World Cup LIVE: Latest news as England await Lauren James decision ahead of Colombia quarter-final
The quarter-finals of the Women’s World Cup are set as England continue their preparations for Saturday’s clash with Colombia in Sydney. After a group stage of shocks and surprises, the tournament has reached its business end with several big names still standing. The Lionesses survived a scare to defeat Nigeria on penalties as Sarina Wiegman’s side reached the last eight, and are now awaiting news from Fifa’s disciplinary panel as star forward Lauren James faces being ruled out of the rest of her tournament after her red card. The next two days are rest days for the teams left standing, with the action continuing on Friday with a blockbuster pair of matches. First Spain will play Netherlands in an all-European clash, before Sweden face Japan, who have been the standout team at the World Cup so far. It’s England’s turn on Saturday as they face Colombia, after co-hosts Australia play France on what is set to be an electric night in Brisbane. Follow all the latest news from the Women’s World Cup in our live blog, below: Read More Women’s World Cup TV schedule: How to watch every match today How many games will Lauren James miss at Women’s World Cup after red card? Who and when do England play next? Lionesses route to the World Cup final
1970-01-01 08:00
Alabama football recruiting: Nick Saban sends message to Georgia, Kirby Smart
Nick Saban and the Alabama football sent a message to Kirby Smart and Georgia by flipping a big-time 4-star recruit.The No. 1-ranked 2024 college football recruiting class for the Georgia Bulldogs just got a bit weaker. And that blow came courtesy of arguably their biggest rival in the current l...
1970-01-01 08:00
Wolves part ways with head coach Julen Lopetegui after ‘differences of opinion’
Julen Lopetegui’s nine-month spell as Wolves head coach has ended after reaching an “agreement to part ways” on the eve of the new Premier League season. The former Spain and Real Madrid boss arrived in November after the club were successful in their second attempt in recruiting him to replace Bruno Lage. Lopetegui guided the side away from the bottom of the table to a 13th-placed finish but apparent disagreement over the club’s recruitment policy over the summer has resulted in the 56-year-old departing. “The head coach and club acknowledged and accepted their differences of opinion on certain issues and agreed that an amicable end to his contract was the best solution for all parties,” said a statement from the club. “Talks have been ongoing in recent weeks, held with the utmost respect and cordiality, affording the club time and space to begin work on finding a successor, while also ensuring that Julen and his backroom staff could continue their planned preparation to ensure the playing squad would be in the best possible condition for the start of the Premier League season.” In his own statement Lopetegui said: “I wish Wolves and everybody at the club the very best of luck for the future, and thank them for the opportunity granted at the time to take charge of this wonderful club. “It has been an honour to enjoy this adventure. Also, of course, I want to thank the players, who have always given the maximum to achieve our objectives, and especially the fans that made me feel like one of them from the very first moment and have always been amazing to me, my staff and my family.” It has been an honour to enjoy this adventure Departing head coach Julen Lopetegui Lopetegui, whose backroom staff of Pablo Sanz, Juan Peinado, Oscar Caro, Edu Rubio, Borja De Alba Alonso and Daniel Lopetegui will also leave, took over with the club bottom of the Premier League. He won nine league games from that point, beating Liverpool and Tottenham at Molineux, as the club finished safely in mid-table to extend their top-flight stay into a sixth season. “On behalf of everyone at the club I’d like to thank Julen and his staff for their dedication and hard work during their time at the football club,” said sporting director Matt Hobbs. “They were brought in with the primary aim of keeping the club in the Premier League last season, an objective which they achieved with games to spare. “While our ambition had been to move into the new season together, it is public knowledge that there were differences of opinion on some key topics, and it was agreed by all parties that it would be best to part ways ahead of the new campaign. “After a successful pre-season, full of hard work and good performances, Julen and his staff leave the squad in great shape ahead of the season opener next week, which will give his successor the best possible platform for success. “We wish Julen and his team the very best of luck for the future, and they will always be welcome at Wolves.” Former Bournemouth head coach Gary O’Neil, sacked this summer after steering the Cherries to top-flight safety, is reported to be in line to replace Lopetegui. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live The key questions behind Julen Lopetegui’s Wolves departure Ollie Wood and Mark Stewart claim Madison silver in thrilling Glasgow finale Chelsea face Premier League probe over alleged financial breaches – reports
1970-01-01 08:00
The key questions behind Julen Lopetegui’s Wolves departure
Julen Lopetegui has parted company with Wolves just days before the start of the new Premier League season. Here, the PA news agency looks at what went wrong for the Spaniard. Wasn’t the appointment of Lopetegui considered a coup and wasn’t he doing well? Yes, when Wolves brought in the former Spain and Real Madrid manager last November, with the team in the relegation zone, it seemed the club had made a smart appointment. Given that Lopetegui had initially turned them down too, they had shown great determination to recruit him. He repaid them by comfortably guiding the club to survival. It was not spectacular but he steadied the ship and form in the spring was a clear uplift on the football of his predecessor Bruno Lage. So, the foundations were there to build on. Where did it start to go wrong? At the end of last season there were rumblings that the club would need to match Lopetegui’s ambition in order for him to stay on, despite having signed a three-year contract when he arrived. That meant strengthening a squad that fell short in many areas last term, particularly in the goal-scoring department. Yet, with the club also concerned about balancing the books, it appears they were unable to satisfy him and relations soured. What have been the problems with the squad? Wolves signed 10 senior players last season and brought in a further two on loan. Having posted a loss of £41.6million in their last set of financial results, this obviously suggested some sales would be required to prevent further deficit and to comply with Financial Fair Play regulations. Subsequently captain Ruben Neves left for Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal for a club record £47million and Raul Jimenez also moved on, with Matt Doherty the only notable arrival on a free transfer. What was said about the situation? Lopetegui voiced his frustration over the summer, saying that transfer activity had been a “big disappointment” and he was unable to enact his ideas. “We were excited by this new plan, but now we don’t have this plan because we don’t have any new players,” he said. Wolves chairman Jeff Shi put out his side of the story in an open letter to supporters last week. “We are also working hard to make sure the club have a long-term robustness and sustainability,” he wrote, adding that it was important to “maintain a sustainable balance of both sporting performance and financial strength”. It seems this only succeeded in bringing matters with Lopetegui to a head. What happens next? Given his track record and reputation, Lopetegui is not likely to have trouble finding his next job. Clubs will need to be wary his services come with high demands, however. Wolves are reportedly lining up former Bournemouth manager Gary O’Neil as his replacement. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live
1970-01-01 08:00
Chelsea face Premier League probe over alleged financial breaches – reports
Chelsea are reportedly the subject of a Premier League investigation for alleged breaches of financial regulations during Roman Abramovich’s time at the club. It has been reported current owners Todd Boehly and the Clearlake Capital Consortium, who took over last summer after Abramovich was forced to sell following sanctions as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, flagged the potential issue to the Premier League and Football Association themselves. UEFA announced last month it had been approached “proactively” by the club, who agreed to pay 10million euros (£8.57million) to Europe’s governing body after owning up to “incomplete financial reporting” between 2012 and 2019. Chelsea said in a statement at the time their new owners became aware of potential impropriety when carrying out a “thorough due diligence process” prior to the purchase. According to reports, no charges have yet been brought by the Premier League but, even though the allegations relate to a previous ownership, possible sanctions could include a fine or points deduction if the club are found guilty of any wrongdoing. The PA news agency has contacted Chelsea and the Premier League for comment. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live
1970-01-01 08:00
3 ways the Pistons should have Cade Cunningham mimic Luka Doncic
Cade Cunningham impressed at Team USA scrimmages. Can he use his size, strength, and pace to his advantage similar to Luka Doncic?Team USA prepared for the FIBA World Cup with a scrimmage against the Select Team. Something Team USA coach Steve Kerr called, "a time-honored tradition in USA B...
1970-01-01 08:00
Bans for racism should match those for betting offences – Anton Ferdinand
Bans for discriminatory abuse should at least match the sanctions imposed for betting offences, Anton Ferdinand has said. The former QPR and West Ham defender, who was racially abused by Chelsea captain John Terry during a Premier League match in 2011, challenged the game’s authorities to act tougher on discrimination, not just talk tougher. He also said the game’s executives should be the ones to instigate player walk-offs where there are instances of racism, rather than leave it to the players themselves. Ferdinand, who was speaking at an event at Wembley to mark the 30th anniversary since the launch of anti-discrimination group Kick It Out, said: “Football as a whole is very good at saying ‘all forms of discrimination are top of our list to eradicate’. But the actions don’t match the words. “How can it be at the top of the list to eradicate, but you can get an 18-month ban for betting and a four-match ban for racism or other forms of discrimination?” Four matches was the length of the ban Terry served in 2012 after the Football Association found he had abused Ferdinand, even though a criminal court had cleared Terry of the same offence. In contrast, Brentford forward Ivan Toney was banned for eight months in May for breaches of FA betting rules. Asked whether racism bans should be at least that long, Ferdinand said: “It should be around that. On the simple basis that if it’s the number one thing to eradicate, how do you eradicate things? There has to be a strong deterrent. “Right now there’s no accountability. A fan got banned for a long time (referring to a three-year ban issued to a Chelsea supporter for racially abusing Tottenham forward Son Heung-min). Is three years going to stop someone doing it? It might make them think, but is it going to stop them? No, I don’t think it will. If all of a sudden they can’t go and watch their beloved team again, they’re going to do more than think.” Asked if he meant life bans for fans, Ferdinand added: “If it’s the top of your list (to eradicate), why wouldn’t it be?” He also called for greater leadership from football authority executives when it comes to taking a stand against discrimination. Ferdinand said he had met with FA chief executive Mark Bullingham to discuss the issue. “As a player, if someone racially abuses us we’re not walking off the pitch. It’s not in us to do that,” he said. “We’re paid competitors. The thought process is: ‘If I walk off, they’ve won. This is what they want. They want me to walk off’. “I’m not saying it’s right, I’m just saying it’s the way we’re wired as footballers. To take that away, it can’t be just the player’s decision to walk off the pitch. “You can’t abuse the frameworks of an organisation, but you can abuse a player. I’m telling you now, if I’m in that changing room here at Wembley and Gareth Southgate’s going ‘Who wants to walk off?’ I’m not putting my hand up because I know what’s coming. “(The media) are going to find out who said they didn’t want to go out on the pitch, and what’s going to happen to that person? They’re going to get abused. Fact. “Whereas if Mark Bullingham goes in the dressing room and goes ‘Gareth, the players aren’t going on and we as the FA are going to make a statement that says we drew the players off, it was nothing to do with the players’ – that’s when we’ll start to see change.” Kick It Out published an Impact Report to mark its anniversary, which highlighted both the improvements over the last three decades and the challenges that still lie ahead. While 73 per cent of the more than 2,500 football fans surveyed for the report felt football was now more inclusive, even higher numbers remain concerned about the impact of online abuse on inclusivity and say more needs to be done to tackle discriminatory abuse in stadiums towards players and fans. Kick It Out chief executive Tony Burnett said the organisation is determined to tackle under-representation issues in the game, which first requires football to commit to providing transparent workforce data. Burnett said it was a “comforting lie” that society and football told itself that it was a meritocracy. Burnett and Kick It Out chair Sanjay Bhandari both spoke too about the importance of simplifying the process for reporting discrimination. Bhandari said there are currently more than 200 ways in which an incident of discrimination could be reported, and the Impact Report found only 18 per cent of fans who witnessed discrimination reported it. Despite the positive findings on inclusivity, Burnett said far more needs to be done to improve the culture. “It means having robust systems in place within football so that victims of discrimination are able to speak up and to feel supported appropriately,” he told delegates at Wembley. “It means having robust processes in place to ensure perpetrators are dealt with and not simply moved aside to continue spreading hate, no matter their status or their track record of success. A bully is a bully. A homophobe is a homophobe. And they should have no place in our game.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live We are sleepwalking into a disaster – PFA chief worried about demands on players Arsenal agree deal to sign Brentford goalkeeper David Raya Jack Conan remains injury concern before World Cup after missing Portugal camp
1970-01-01 08:00
We are sleepwalking into a disaster – PFA chief worried about demands on players
Football is “sleepwalking into a disaster” by adding ever more demands on players and forcing them to make drastic decisions about their careers, Professional Footballers’ Association chief executive Maheta Molango has said. Premier League matches are set to last comfortably longer than 100 minutes on average in the season ahead after referees in competitions worldwide were instructed by the game’s lawmakers to more accurately measure time lost to stoppages. The approach was first adopted at the World Cup in Qatar last year where it was largely positively received, but Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne and Manchester United defender Raphael Varane have already highlighted the impact of such a move across a long domestic season. Varane retired from international football at the age of 29 earlier this year, likening the demands of the top-level game to being in a washing machine, and said the new measure was “damaging” alongside an already-packed schedule of matches. Molango believes other players will feel they have no option but to follow Varane’s lead, and fears matters will get even worse when European club competitions expand from 2024-25 and the 32-team FIFA Club World Cup kicks off at the end of the same campaign. “What (Varane) is saying is, ‘this is not sustainable’. And it’s only the start of the problem because by next year, when we open the new cycle, it’s going to be absolutely crazy. We are sleepwalking into a disaster,” he said. “It’s getting to a stage where it’s not about us telling them to take action. It is that they want to take it themselves. So what we’re saying to the authorities is that you’re bringing this to an extreme. “It’s not going to be a question of the union saying, ‘do this or that’. It’s players themselves who are saying to us, ‘let’s do something’. “It’s not sustainable, it’s not manageable and if you don’t do something we’re going to be in trouble.” Figures released on Twitter by the EFL indicated that the average ball-in-play time for the weekend’s matches was 58 minutes, up from 50 last season, while added time signalled by the fourth official increased by 5.9 minutes on average. Molango was asked whether he thought the length of matches would gradually return to normal as players became used to the new approach. “We need to reflect on how we got to this point,” he said. “That’s why we said we need to have these discussions with the authorities. “Until you see how certain changes play out, then it’s difficult to assess. I don’t think a measure that was applied for a tournament that lasts for a month can just be extrapolated immediately to an entire season.” It's not sustainable, it's not manageable and if you don't do something we’re going to be in trouble PFA chief executive Maheta Molango Molango said a “significant number” of players had raised concerns over the change in approach on added time when taken together with the congested calendar, and added: “After this weekend’s Shield (I had players) contacting me within hours of the end of the game. “And again, not about, ‘we’ve lost the game because of this’ and finding excuses. It was about the issue. That’s how smart they are. They’re seeing the bigger picture. They are saying, ‘if we, as two teams who love playing and don’t want interruption, don’t waste time, have eight minutes added at the end of the game, I don’t want to think what will happen to the teams that actually do waste time’. “And if you add those minutes, then by Christmas you have played five more games on top of the 70 you already play.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Bans for racism should match those for betting offences – Anton Ferdinand Arsenal agree deal to sign Brentford goalkeeper David Raya Jack Conan remains injury concern before World Cup after missing Portugal camp
1970-01-01 08:00
'The Herd' Featured Unfortunate Dwayne Haskins Conversation
Colin Cowherd listed Dwayne Haskins among quarterbacks who can't win a Super Bowl.
1970-01-01 08:00
Arsenal agree deal to sign Brentford goalkeeper David Raya
Arsenal have agreed a deal to sign Brentford goalkeeper David Raya. The PA news agency understands a fee of £30million has been agreed for the 27-year-old Spaniard, who is reported to be signing a five-year contract. Raya will provide competition for established number one Aaron Ramsdale and the England international welcomes it. “Bring it on. Nothing comes easy in football. At the same time you need to move along and adapt as well,” Ramsdale told ITV Sport. “I’ve done it to other people when I’ve moved clubs so I’m not going to be thinking that it’s never going to happen to me. “If it happens, it happens and then we’ll fight and we’ll make each other the best version of ourselves because that’s what the manager is telling us as well. “And I’m sure whoever plays, me or whoever comes in, the goalkeeping union – people laugh at it but it’s a real thing – (means) your individual disappointment will go away. “You will put the team first and you’ll put that goalkeeper first as well.” Raya’s arrival will also signal the departure of United States goalkeeper Matt Turner to Nottingham Forest in a deal which could be worth up to £10m.
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