Twelve of Europe’s biggest clubs on Monday said they planned to launch a breakaway Super League, despite the threat of an international ban for them and their players.

The move sets up a rival to UEFA’s established Champions League competition and was condemned by football authorities and political leaders.

Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus are among the leading members of the new league but UEFA has threatened to ban them from domestic and international competition and vowed to fight the move.

French President Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson both issued statements condemning a breakaway and supporting UEFA’s position.

As well as United, Premier League clubs Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur have signed up to the plans.

Barcelona and Atletico Madrid from Spain join Real. AC Milan and Inter Milan make up the trio from Italy along with Juventus.

The Super League said that they aimed to have 15 founding members and a 20-team league with five other clubs qualifying each season.

The clubs would share a fund of €3.5 billion to spend on infrastructure projects and to deal with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The money would not be available to spend on players.

The League said they will make ‘solidarity payments’ to the rest of European football which will exceed those currently offered by UEFA and which “are expected to be in excess of €10 billion” over the 23-year commitment period the clubs have entered into.

“We will help football at every level and take it to its rightful place in the world. Football is the only global sport in the world with more than four billion fans and our responsibility as big clubs is to respond to their desires,” said Real Madrid president Florentino Perez, the first chairman of the Super League.

No German or French clubs have yet to be associated with the breakaway.

World soccer’s governing body FIFA expressed its “disapproval to a ‘closed European breakaway league’ outside of the international football structures”.

But noticeably there was no mention of a previous threat from FIFA to ban any players taking part in a breakaway from participating in World Cups.

The announcement came just hours before UEFA is due to sign off on its own plans for an expanded and restructured 36-team Champions League on Monday.

UEFA issued a strong statement jointly with English, Spanish and Italian leagues and football federations, saying they were ready to use “all measures” to confront any breakaway and saying any participating clubs would be banned from domestic leagues, such as the Premier League.

“The clubs concerned will be banned from playing in any other competition at domestic, European or world level, and their players could be denied the opportunity to represent their national teams,” UEFA said.

“We thank those clubs in other countries, especially the French and German clubs, who have refused to sign up to this. We call on all lovers of football, supporters and politicians, to join us in fighting against such a project if it were to be announced. This persistent self-interest of a few has been going on for too long. Enough is enough.”

‘Absolute disgrace’

The moves were condemned by football authorities across Europe and former players such as Manchester United’s ex-captain Gary Neville who called it “an absolute disgrace” and said the club owners were motivated by “pure greed”.

Reacting to an official Arsenal tweet saying: “We are one of 12 founding clubs of the European Super League,” Arsenal Supporters’ Trust wrote on Twitter: “The death of Arsenal as a sporting institution.”

Top French club PSG have not been reported to have signed up to the plan and Macron also raised his voice against the breakaway.

“The President of the Republic welcomes the position of French clubs to refuse to participate in a European football Super League project threatening the principle of solidarity and sporting merit,” the Élysée Palace said in a statement sent to Reuters.

“The French state will support all the steps taken by the LFP, FFF, UEFA and FIFA to protect the integrity of federal competitions, whether national or European,” the Élysée added, citing the national, European and global football governing bodies.

UK PM Johnson also opposed the move.

“Plans for a European Super League would be very damaging for football and we support football authorities in taking action,” Johnson tweeted.

“They would strike at the heart of the domestic game, and will concern fans across the country. The clubs involved must answer to their fans and the wider footballing community before taking any further steps.”

There have been reports of a breakaway for a number of years and they returned in January with several media reporting a document had been produced outlining the plans.

In October, then Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu said the club had accepted a proposal to join a breakaway league.

Those reports led FIFA and UEFA to warn that they would ban any players involved in a breakaway from playing in the World Cup or European Championship.

UEFA has proposed major changes to its Champions League which had received support from many clubs and organisations.

The changes would see the competition increase to 36 from 32 teams, and an overhaul of the group stage into a single table rather than the current groups of four clubs.

Teams would play 10 matches each in the group stage rather than the six they currently play and a playoff round would also be introduced before the last 16.

But while there has been a broad consensus about those reforms, the big clubs made a late push to have changes to the governance and control of the competition before making Sunday’s dramatic move.

(FRANCE 24 with REUTERS)

Lionel Messi scored twice, including a stunning solo goal, as Barcelona blew away Athletic Bilbao to win the Copa del Rey on Saturday, consigning their opponents to a second final defeat in two weeks.

The cup was won and lost in a whirlwind 12 minutes in Seville, which saw Barca score four times to clinch an emphatic 4-0 victory, with Messi at his devastating best.

It remains to be seen if his seventh Copa del Rey triumph is the last trophy Messi lifts in Barcelona colours but if this was to be a final flourish, the 33-year-old crafted a fitting farewell.

“It’s very special to be captain of this team where I have spent my whole life and very special to be able to lift this cup,” Messi said.

His first goal, and Barca’s third, started with the Argentinian in his own half before a charging run down the right and a surge forward into the penalty area gave him the chance for a simple finish.

With the club’s new president Joan Laporta in the crowd, Ronald Koeman’s first title as Barcelona coach should also significantly boost his chances of remaining in charge beyond the summer.

“To win a title is important for me,” Koeman admitted afterwards.

Yet Laporta was noticeably evasive when asked about Koeman’s future.

“He is doing well,” he said.

Koeman took over a team at rock bottom, humiliated by an historic loss to Bayern Munich and wounded by the attempts of Messi to leave the club for free.

But this 31st Copa del Rey success for the club is a testament to progress made and Koeman will hope it not only helps convince Messi to stay but gives Barca momentum now in a neck-and-neck title race in La Liga.

“Despite the changes at the club and the young players, at Barca you have to always fight for trophies,” Koeman said.

“We have the first one and now we are going to fight to the last game in La Liga.”

‘Turned it around’

Gerard Pique said it felt like the club had been “reset”.

“Sometimes you fall down and you have to get up,” Pique said. “It has been a difficult year but the team has turned it around.”

Messi was sent off when Athletic Bilbao beat Barcelona, also at the La Cartuja, in January to win the Spanish Super Cup but they never looked like pulling off a repeat.

After Athletic lost to their Basque rivals Real Sociedad in last year’s postponed final only two weeks ago, lifting themselves for another showpiece in the same stadium and against a tougher opponent was always going to be a big ask.

“In both finals we played well below the level that we’re capable of,” said Athletic coach Marcelino Garcia Toral.

Barcelona were almost ahead after four minutes as Sergio Busquets played in Messi, who rolled back for Frenkie de Jong but his sidefooted finish came back off the far post.

Sergino Dest dragged wide while Inigo Martinez had Athletic’s best chance but as he stretched for the bouncing ball, he could only poke over.

Athletic seemed to have played their way into the match before half-time but Barcelona came out with renewed vigour, with Unai Simon making two brilliant saves to deny Antoine Griezmann and then Busquets, both from close range.

But when the resistance gave way, it became a collapse, with goals scored in the 60th, 63rd, 68th and 72nd minutes to leave Athletic’s hopes in tatters.

First, Messi slipped in Dest down the right and his cross was diverted in by Griezmann before the second came from the opposite flank, Jordi Alba curled in a cross for De Jong to nod in.

The third was a spectacular from Messi, who started the move in his own half, leaping over one challenge and dodging another.

He took the ball back from Dest and drove down the right wing, away from three opponents and inside.

Messi twice played off De Jong, the second time after motoring forward into the penalty area, where he darted between two last Athletic defenders and slid the finish into the far corner.

His second, and Barca’s fourth, was more straight-forward, Alba pulling a cross back for the Argentinian to tuck under a weak right hand from Simon and inside the post. For Athletic, there was no way back.

(AFP)

With their season on the line, Arsenal’s players produced a devastating first-half performance Thursday to beat Slavia Prague and reach the Europa League semifinals.

They’ll meet a familiar face there.

Arsenal’s 4-0 win in the Czech capital—secured courtesy of a three-goal burst in six minutes from the 18th—clinched a 5-1 aggregate victory and set up a last-four match against Villarreal, which is managed by Unai Emery.

The Spanish coach spent an underwhelming 18 months at Arsenal as Arsene Wenger’s replacement in 2018-19 and is rebuilding his managerial career at Villarreal, which beat Dinamo Zagreb 2-1 and advanced 3-1 on aggregate.

Manchester United and Roma complete the semifinal lineup.

United is back in the last four for a second straight season after beating Spanish team Granada 2-0 for a 4-0 aggregate win.

Roma drew 1-1 with Ajax to squeeze through 3-2 on aggregate.

Arsenal and Roma were under pressure to advance because the Europa League represents their only chance of winning a trophy this season and their only realistic route into next season’s Champions League, owing to their lowly current placing in their domestic leagues.

Arsenal is ninth in the Premier League and Roma seventh in Serie A.

The winner of the Europa League earns an automatic spot in the far more lucrative Champions League.

Sending a message

Arsenal sent a message before and during the win over Slavia.

The hosts learned the day before the game that their defender, Ondrej Kudela, had been banned for 10 games for racially abusing Rangers’ Glen Kamara during a round-of-16 game last month.

Before kickoff, as Slavia’s players stood in a line at the center circle, Arsenal’s players took a knee in a symbolic gesture in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, with Alexandre Lacazette doing so right in front of the Slavia team and staring at the players.

Arsenal responded to having an early goal by Emile Smith Rowe ruled out for offside by VAR by scoring three times in quick succession, first though Nicolas Pepe in the 18th and then Lacazette—from the penalty spot—and Bukayo Saka.

That meant Slavia, the runaway leader of the Czech league which hadn’t lost at home in nearly 18 months, needed to score four goals to qualify. By halftime, the hosts had essentially given up as they removed some of their key players to preserve their condition for the league.

Lacazette, continuing as striker with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang sidelined after contracting malaria, added a fourth in the 77th minute.

“The boys were really at it from the start,” Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said. “It is a really important win in a crucial moment. We won in a convincing way.”

Arsenal lost to Chelsea in the Europa League final in 2019.

Villarreal’s goals were scored by Paco Alcacer and Gerard Moreno at the end of the first half, with Zagreb — the last-16 conqueror of Tottenham — grabbing a consolation through Mislav Orsic.

Villarreal is in the semifinals of the Europa League for the first time since 2016.

Cavani milestone

Edinson Cavani scored his 50th goal in European competition to lead United to victory over Granada at Old Trafford.

The 34-year-old Uruguay striker met a flicked header back into the middle of the area by Paul Pogba with a left-foot volley into the bottom corner in the sixth minute.

A 90th-minute own-goal by Jesus Vallejo completed a second straight 2-0 win over Granada.

United lost in the semifinals to Sevilla last season and has been defeated at that stage three other times — twice in the English League Cup and again in the FA Cup — under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Roma will look to inflict another last-four loss on United after surviving a scare against Ajax, which took the lead through Brian Brobbey’s lobbed finish in the 49th to tie the score on aggregate at 2-2.

Edin Dzeko equalized in the 72nd and Ajax couldn’t find the goal that would have taken the match to extra time.

Solskjaer was part of the United side that beat Roma 7-1 at Old Trafford in the Champions League quarterfinals in 2007.

Source: AP

Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos, who was already out of this week’s Champions League meeting with Liverpool because of a calf injury, has tested positive for Covid-19, the club announced on Tuesday.

“Our player Sergio Ramos tested positive in the last Covid-19 test he performed,” Real Madrid said in a statement.

Ramos is the second case of coronavirus detected in the Real Madrid squad in a week. French defender Raphael Varane tested positive last Tuesday.

Varane has not yet been given the green light to rejoin his teammates.

Ramos injured his left calf while with Spain during the international window but he has been a vocal presence on the sidelines since.

The positive test means he has to stay away from his teammates until he tests negative.

The 35-year-old defender is going through one of the most difficult seasons of his career — he underwent knee surgery in February and, after returning in mid-March, missed the Liga game against Celta Vigo on March 20 because of a shin injury.

Ramos has still revealed his plans once his contract with Real Madrid expires on June 30.

Source: AFP

Real Madrid beat rivals Barcelona 2-1 at home in an entertaining, rain-soaked ‘Clasico’ on Saturday to go top of La Liga.

Karim Benzema put the champions in charge at a soggy Alfredo di Stefano stadium with a delightful backheel in the 14th minute while a deflected Toni Kroos free kick doubled their lead in the 28th.

Barca hit back on the hour mark through Oscar Mingueza and the defender almost found the equaliser later on, while the Catalans had a huge penalty appeal waved away when Martin Braithwaite fell following a challenge by Ferland Mendy.

Real midfielder Casemiro was sent off in stoppage time for picking up two yellow cards in the space of a minute while Barca substitute Ilaix Moriba hit the crossbar in the fourth minute of added time.

The hosts survived the nail-biting finish to complete a sensational week after beating Liverpool 3-1 in a Champions League quarter-final first leg on Tuesday.

Zinedine Zidane’s side joined Atletico Madrid on 66 points and moved top of the table, although Atletico can reclaim first place when they visit Real Betis on Sunday. Barca dropped to third on 65.

(REUTERS)

Liverpool clicked back into form to thrash Arsenal 3-0 at the Emirates on Saturday and rekindle their chances of a top-four finish in the Premier League.

Diogo Jota came off the bench to score twice either side of Mohamed Salah’s 26th goal of the season as Jurgen Klopp’s men closed to within two points of fourth-placed Chelsea.

The manner of the victory will be just as pleasing as the scoreline for Klopp as Liverpool looked far more like their old selves ahead of a trip to Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie on Tuesday.

Chelsea’s shock 5-2 defeat at home to West Brom earlier on Saturday opened the door for both sides to close in on their target of a top-four finish.

However, it was only Liverpool who showed any ambition as Arsenal were thoroughly outplayed.

The visitors pressed the Gunners high and quickly recovered possession, but lacked the killer edge up front to turn their dominance into goals until Jota was introduced on the hour mark.

Roberto Firmino flashed a shot just wide from outside the box before James Milner also failed to hit the target with the best chance of the first period.

Arsenal got to half-time without any damage done on the scoreboard, but suffered a major injury blow as Kieran Tierney limped off just before the break.

Tierney’s outstanding form for club and country has seen calls for Liverpool’s Andy Robertson to be dropped by Scotland to allow the former Celtic left-back to play in his favoured role.

With success for Arsenal this season now dependent on winning the Europa League, Tierney would be a big miss for Thursday’s quarter-final, first leg against Slavia Prague.

Like Robertson, Trent Alexander-Arnold has failed to hit the heights of his stunning season as Liverpool romped to the title last year.

On Friday, Klopp expressed his shock that Alexander-Arnold had been dropped from the England squad by Gareth Southgate and the right-back showed his international manager what he is missing by creating the opener on 64 minutes.

Jota had only been on the field three minutes when he met Alexander-Arnold’s cross with a powerful header at the back post.

Four minutes later, Salah wrapped up the three points as the Egyptian outmuscled Gabriel Magalhaes before coolly slotting underneath the advancing Bernd Leno.

The loss of centre-backs Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip to injury has been attributed as the principal reason for Liverpool’s slide down the Premier League table this season.

However, Jota’s absence for three months due to a knee injury between December and March also played a major part.

The Portuguese pounced again at the back post for his sixth goal in four games for club and country to round off a miserable night for the Gunners eight minutes from the end.

Arsenal remain in ninth, nine points adrift of the top four.

Source: AFP

In-form Nigeria striker Kelechi Iheanacho has signed a new contract with Leicester that will keep him at the Premier League club until 2024.

Iheanacho has scored nine times in his last nine appearances in all competitions as Leicester cemented their grip on third place in the Premier League and reached the FA Cup semi-finals.

The 24-year-old, who arrived at Leicester from Manchester City in 2017, scored five goals in three Premier League matches in March, earning him the top-flight Player of the Month prize.

“I can’t express how I’m feeling. I’m excited, I’m happy, I’m overwhelmed! It’s a great moment and I’m happy that Leicester City gave me a new contract,” Iheanacho told Leicester’s website.

“It’s been a great time here. It’s not been easy, but there’s a lot of people here that are good people, great people to work with. They are nice people and they make me feel comfortable and welcome since I came in.

“It’s been really great being here. It’s like a family. I’m happy being here and hopefully I can stay here many more years.”

Iheanacho’s tally this season of 12 has taken him to 32 goals for Leicester in 117 games in all competitions.

“I think you see a young player playing at the top of his game,” Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers said.

“I can only speak for the two years I’ve been here but his work, his ambition to become a better player was always there.

“He’s a wonderful character within the squad, constantly smiling, and whatever role he’s been asked to play he’s played it very well.”

Source:  AFP

Manchester United have set up an online system encouraging supporters to report incidents of racism and other hate crimes.

United’s “See Red” campaign follows Arsenal’s launch earlier this week of an action plan called #StopOnlineAbuse.

United stars Antony Martial, Marcus Rashford and Fred have all been subjected to racist abuse this season.

Fred hit back saying “we cannot feed that culture” of racism after he was racially abused following his side’s FA Cup quarter-final defeat by Leicester.

Former Arsenal star Thierry Henry recently quit all his social media platforms in protest at the rise in internet abuse.

“We challenge our fans, and indeed fans of every club, to watch this and think about their own favourite memories, their top teams and their most celebrated players,” United group managing director Richard Arnold said.

“How different would those memories be without the diversity of some of the best players in the world who have graced our game and our club?

“Sadly, footballers across the country continue to receive abuse online, seemingly without fear of censure.

“It is not good enough for us all to sit silently on the sidelines when we see or read racist remarks or behaviour.

“Inaction has a consequence. We must call it out. We must not tolerate it. If you see it or read it — report it.”

United will collaborate with the Premier League “to escalate any complaints received to the social media platforms and the relevant authorities.”

The club also urged social media platforms to punish the “online racists” with “tough action”.

Source: AFP

Four-time World Cup winners Germany’s defeat to North Macedonia sparked calls on Thursday for coach Joachim Loew to stand down instead of waiting till after this summer’s European Championship.

Goran Pandev had put North Macedonia ahead in Wednesday’s 2022 World Cup qualifier just before half-time and although Ilkay Gundogan equalised from the penalty spot early in the second half, the minnows snatched victory when Eljif Elmas scored a late winner in Duisburg.

Loew, who led Germany to glory at the 2014 World Cup but has suffered a string of poor results almost ever since, had announced last month that he will stand down after Euro 2020.

Bild, Germany’s most-read newspaper, said that decision should be reversed after the loss to the world’s 65th-ranked team.

“It’s over Jogi,” it said in its headline. “The magic that Loew conjured up during the World Cup (in 2014) has unfortunately disappeared. His achievements for German football cannot be questioned but his time has gone,” the paper said.

Loew has tried to forge a young new team without veteran stars such as Thomas Mueller and Jerome Boateng that he discarded after early Germany’s early elimination from the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

Kicker magazine said the rebuilding project was not working.

“This newly formed German national team is still looking for direction and trying to find its way… both in the players’ legs and heads,” it said.

Kicker said Loew’s explanation that his players were “tired” simply “does not stand up… against opponents of that level”.

And Sport1 website said the team had “dishonoured itself”, and was particularly critical of Chelsea forward Timo Werner who missed an open goal.

“Some players are not reaching their usual level,” the website said.

The performance will only add fuel to the argument that 31-year-old Mueller, who is again in good form this season after leading Bayern Munich to victory in the 2020 Champions League, be recalled for the Euro finals this summer when Germany face a tough first-round group of reigning champions Portugal, World Cup holders France and Hungary.

The loudest calls came from Uli Hoeness, Bayern’s honorary president.

“Mueller should be in the team, he can still score goals and he can help any team in the world to get out of difficult situations,” Hoeness said.

Loew meanwhile insisted he had not lost faith in his team for the Euro — and he urged Germans not to either. “We must not lose belief,” Loew said. “In the coming days and weeks we will check over everything once again.”

Source: AFP