BARCELONA: Barcelona president Joan Laporta insisted Monday his club never tried to cheat amid investigations into payments made to a former refereeing chief. In a two-hour news conference, he said there was a smear campaign against Barcelona and the head of La Liga for backing the case against the Catalan club, who are top of […]
Sports
Martinez ruled out for rest of season
LONDON: Manchester United have been hit by a double defensive injury blow after Lisandro Martinez was ruled out for the rest of the season and Raphael Varane sidelined for the next few weeks. Both players were hurt in Thursday’s 2-2 draw against Sevilla in the Europa League quarter-final first leg at Old Trafford, in which […]
Medvedev happy with run in Monte Carlo
MONTE CARLO: Daniil Medvedev’s run at the Monte Carlo Masters came to an end in the quarter-finals on Friday but the world number five was happy with his performance at the event as he aims to improve his game on clay. Third seed Medvedev lost 6-3, 6-4 to Danish teenager Holger Rune at the ATP […]
Djokovic ‘motivated’ to hit clay running
MONTE CARLO: Novak Djokovic says he is “motivated” to make a better than usual start to the clay-court season in Monte Carlo as he tunes up for a 23rd Grand Slam bid at the French Open. The Serb is back on court after failing to get a waiver to enter the United States for last […]
Tuchel threatens Man City’s dream again
MANCHESTER: Manchester City and Pep Guardiola have a Champions League score to settle against Thomas Tuchel when the newly-appointed Bayern Munich boss visits the Etihad in Tuesday’s quarter-final, first leg. Tuchel emerged victorious as Chelsea manager in City’s first, and so far only, run to the Champions League final in 2021. That was also the […]
Van Aert and Van der Poel clash again in cobbled hell
PARIS: Belgian favourite Wout van Aert is banking on a collective challenge to bitter rival Mathieu van der Poel in Sunday’s Paris-Roubaix bike race, dubbed the “Hell of the North”, which could be raced in treacherous conditions. The gruelling 256.6km race features 29 sections of rough-hewn cobbled sections which are so notorious they are […]
French women win on Renard’s debut
PARIS: France’s women comfortably beat Colombia 5-2 on Friday in the first match for new coach Herve Renard. Renard, who led Saudi Arabia’s men at the World Cup in Qatar last year, took over from Corinne Diacre last month after she was forced out following a revolt from her players about her methods. Eugenie Le […]
Tuchel’s Bayern ‘back down to earth’ after Cup exit
MUNICH: Captain Thomas Mueller said Bayern Munich had “come back down to earth” after a 2-1 home loss against Freiburg on Tuesday saw them knocked out of the German Cup. Bayern beat Dortmund 4-2 on Saturday to return to the top of the Bundesliga as Thomas Tuchel made his bow as coach after replacing the […]
Shaw extends Man Utd contract
MANCHESTER: Luke Shaw said he wants to be part of “something special’ at Manchester United after signing a new contract until 2027 on Tuesday. The 27-year-old England international, who became the most expensive teenager in history when he moved to Old Trafford from Southampton in 2014, has been rewarded after becoming a key player for Erik […]
Amir Khan handed two-year ban for doping
LONDON: Former light-welterweight world champion Amir Khan has been handed a two-year ban from all sport after testing positive for a prohibited substance, UK Anti-Doping said on Tuesday. Khan, 36, returned a positive result for the anabolic agent ostarine following his loss to Kell Brook in Manchester in February 2022. Ostarine is a drug designed to […]