Sports News

The top European leagues, including the Premier League, and global players' union Fifpro will launch legal action against world governing body Fifa over its "abuse of dominance" in the game. The European Leagues, which represents 39 leagues and 1,130 clubs in 33 countries, says it is filing a complaint to the European Commission to protect the welfare of players. It comes following growing pressure from leagues and player unions, including the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA), over the number of games added to the calendar and the impact on players. A Fifpro statement said the international calendar is "now beyond saturation", "unsustainable for national leagues" and a "risk for the health of players". It added: "Fifa's decisions over the last years have repeatedly favoured its own competitions and commercial interests, neglected its responsibilities as a governing body, and harmed the economic interests of national le

England manager Gareth Southgate has resigned two days after defeat by Spain in the 2024 European Championship final. The Three Lions lost 2-1 in Berlin on Sunday, their second consecutive Euros final defeat, having been beaten on penalties by Italy at Wembley three years ago. The 53-year-old managed his country for 102 games in eight years in charge. His contract was set to expire later this year. "As a proud Englishman, it has been the honour of my life to play for England and to manage England," said Southgate. "It has meant everything to me, and I have given it my all. "But it’s time for change, and for a new chapter." Football Association chief executive Mark Bullingham said the process to appoint Southgate's successor has started and "we aim to have our new manager confirmed as soon as possible". He added the FA "have an interim solution in place if it is needed" and will not comment further on the process until a new boss is appoi

Real Madrid have announced that Kylian Mbappe will wear the No 9 shirt in his first season with the club. The European champions have also revealed that Mbappe will be officially presented to fans at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium next Tuesday at noon (11am UK time). Mbappe wore No 7 for the majority of his Paris Saint-Germain career but that jersey currently belongs to Vinicius Junior at Madrid. Meanwhile, Mbappe was France's No 10 at Euro 2024 - a number that has been Luka Modric's at the Bernabeu since 2017. France were eliminated from Euro 2024 by Spain at the semi-final stage on Tuesday night. Madrid had been waiting until Mbappe's Euros participation was over before announcing their plans to officially unveil him.  A club statement published on Wednesday afternoon read: 'Real Madrid C. F. is pleased to announce that Kylian Mbappe will be presented at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium on Tuesday 16 July at noon.' The statement continued: 'President of Real Madri

Juventus are prepared to offer Federico Chiesa to Manchester United as part of their efforts to sign Jadon Sancho. Sancho’s time at United is set to come to an end this summer following last year’s dramatic falling out with Erik ten Hag. The winger has not played for the club since last August, exiled by the Dutchman before spending the second-half of last season on loan back at Borussia Dortmund. United’s decision to extend ten Hag’s contract ended any slim hopes of the Londoner being integrated back into the side. Needing to bolster their modest transfer budget through player sales, Sancho is among those United hope to fetch a decent fee for in the coming weeks. Juventus are eager to bring the former Dortmund star to Turin with the Bianconeri reportedly Sancho’s favoured destination. United are thought to be looking for a fee of around £40million, a figure that would represent a sizable loss having paid £72m to bring him to Manchester three years ago. Juve have their own dilemma with

Alvaro Morata has sparked a storm in Spain's camp at Euro 2024 after threatening to quit the national team after the tournament over 'nonsense' criticism. Morata, who has captained his country in Germany this summer, previously admitted it would be 'easiest' for him to move abroad because of the poor treatment and laid bare the effect on his family, including his wife and four young children. He also floated the idea of leaving Atletico Madrid just a week on from seemingly pledging his future to the club, raging that 'in Spain, there's no respect for anyone'. Ahead of his likely next appearance against France in the first semi-final tomorrow, an explosive interview with El Mundo has caused uproar in his homeland. 'It could be [my last tournament with Spain],' Morata told the outlet. 'It's a possibility that I don't want to talk about too much, but it's probable.' Visit

Spain and France meet in the semifinals of the European Championship on Tuesday. The match pits one of the highest-scoring teams at the tournament against one of the lowest as France's star forward Kylian Mbappe has struggled to get to grips with his mask. Kickoff is at 9 p.m. local time (1900 GMT) in Munich. Spain and France's quarterfinals both went to extra time. Substitute Mikel Merino's game-winning goal in the last minute of extra time handed Spain a 2-1 victory over host nation Germany, while France needed penalties to see off Portugal after the match ended goalless. - No France player has scored from open play at Euro 2024. The French have only scored through two own goals and a penalty from Mbappe. Spain has netted 11 times. - Mbappe, who will be facing several of his new Real Madrid teammates, will again be wearing a protective mask after sustaining a broken nose in France's group opener against Austria. - Spain, which is chasing a record fourth European Champ

The referee of England’s Euro 2024 semi-final is a convicted match fixer who was slated by Jude Bellingham after taking control a controversial Bundesliga match. Felix Zwayer, who will oversee Wednesday’s Three Lions’ fixture with the Netherlands, was banned for six months after being found to have accepted a €300 (£253.82) bribe from fellow referee Robert Hoyzer in a 2005 scandal.  And, after he oversaw Borussia Dortmund’s contentious 3-2 defeat to Bayern Munich in 2021 then Dortmund star Bellingham, who will play on Wednesday night, hit out at his appointment and was subsequently fined. ‘You can look at a lot of the decisions in the game,’ Bellingham said in a post-match TV interview.  ‘You give a referee, that has match-fixed before, the biggest game in Germany. What do you expect?’ Bellingham was subsequently fined €40,000 (£33,843) and even investigated by German police, while Zwayer took a two-month break from officiating.  Mail Sport has contacted UEFA for comment and asked how,

  Brighton technical director David Weir is hoping further major tournament success for the club's players will help showcase them as a destination for young players. The Seagulls have been outstanding in their recruitment over the past few years. Alexis Mac Allister's World Cup win with Argentina provided a major boost in showing Brighton could be a pathway to success for players all over the world, some of whom might not have heard of the Premier League club. Mac Allister might have moved on but Brighton could still find itself with a major tournament winner among their squad this summer. England's Lewis Dunk and Germany's Pascal Gross might not be pivotal figures, but they could be part of a winning team, while 21-year-old Bart Verbruggen has become the Netherlands goalkeeper just 12 months after joining Brighton from Anderlecht for £16.3m. "Identifying players is relatively easy," said Weir. "The hard part is bringing them to your club. "What we

  Manchester United’s hopes of landing Joshua Zirkzee have been boosted as transfer rivals AC Milan are reportedly interested in signing Spanish striker Alvaro Morata. The Red Devils need support in their striking department as 21 year old Rasmus Hojlund was left to do the majority of the heavy lifting last season, despite also having to adapt to life in the English Premier League. This naturally had mixed results and United have made signing a striker one of their top summer objectives, and despite interest in forwards like Ivan Toney and Jonathan David, Bologna’s Zirkzee has come out as the “top target” for Erik ten Hag’s side. The Red Devils are reportedly fine with paying the striker’s release clause and personal terms will also not be a problem. It has been reported in some corners that Zirkzee is now “ready to accept” United’s offer after calls with Erik ten Hag who has assured him over his potential role in the team. The striker was said to favour a move to Milan but the Italian