Chelsea has vowed to vigorously contest FIFA sanctions that would prevent the London club from signing any new players until January 2011.
World football s governing body announced the ban on Thursday after its Dispute Resolution Chamber (DRC) concluded that the Premier League club had induced promising French youngster Gael Kakuta to break his contract with his first club Lens.
FIFA s DRC said Chelsea would not be allowed to register players in the next two transfer windows January 2010 and the period between the end of the current season and the end of August 2010.
Kakuta was banned from playing for four months and ordered to pay Lens 780,000 euros compensation. Chelsea will be liable for that amount and a further compensation payment of 130,000 euros to the …
Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard grabbed two goals each as England booked their place in next year s World Cup in style with a convincing 5-1 win over Croatia at Wembley on Wednesday.
Wayne Rooney s ninth goal of the qualifying campaign completed the humiliation of a Croatian side that was a pale shadow of the one that had denied England a place at Euro 2008 with a famous victory here two years ago.
Ukraine s goalless draw in Belarus earlier in the evening had ensured Fabio Capello s men kicked off knowing a draw would be enough to send them to South Africa.
Deprived by injury of both their principal playmaker, Luka Modric, and their main defensive organiser, Vedran Corluka, Croatia would probably have been glad to settle for such an outcome.
That was qu…
Jose Mourinho has revealed his previous differences with Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich are long behind him and they now enjoy a harmonious relationship.
The Chelsea boss was sacked by Abramovich in 2007 despite claiming two titles in his first three seasons at Stamford Bridge, Mourinho departing after an indifferent start to the 2007-08.
Trophy-laden spells with Inter and Real Madrid followed before the 52-year-old was lured back to the Premier League by Chelsea in 2013, Mourinho winning his third English title in his second campaign back at the club.
As Chelsea prepare to begin their latest title defence against Swansea City this weekend, Mourinho is delighted with his working environment.
In my first period, my personal relationship [with Abramovich] …
Hull City manager Steve Bruce has confirmed he wants to sign Chicago Fire midfielder Shaun Maloney.
In his maiden season with the Fire, Maloney has scored three goals and set up another two in 13 appearances in MLS after his move from Wigan Athletic in January.
But the 32-year-old could be on his way back to England and the Championship, with Bruce keen to bring in the former Celtic man who played his part in Wigan s FA Cup triumph in 2013.
He [Maloney] is another one that we hope that we can get that over the line. It s difficult, he s only been there six months but we re trying. He s somebody I have liked for a long time, Bruce told The Herald.
We know we re thin on the ground but I m still confident that by the end of the window we ll have enough…
After more than a decade since its latest release, EA’s college football video game series is back this week in the form of EA Sports College Football 25. The game officially launches on July 19, but there are multiple ways to play the game early–and although July 16 has been referred to as the early access date, you can actually start playing early today, July 15.
How to get early access Come from Sports betting site VPbet
Everyone who buys the game’s deluxe edition ($100) can start playing the full game on July 16. This is pretty standard stuff for EA, as it often opens its games up multiple days early to people who pay extra. The deluxe edition also comes with 4,600 points for the Ultimate Team mode, alo…
Barcelona winger Malcom missed training on Thursday in order to finalise a move away from the club, with Zenit his expected destination.
The 22-year-old is reportedly due to be in St Petersburg on Friday to complete a medical after Barca accepted an offer in the region of €40million.
In a short message published on Twitter, Barca said: Malcom is not training with permission of the club in order to resolve his future.
The Brazilian joined the Catalans from Bordeaux last year in a deal rising to €42m, after making a late decision to head to Camp Nou rather than Roma in Serie A.
However, he managed just six starts in LaLiga under Ernesto Valverde in 2018-19 and scored only four goals in 25 appearances in total in all competitions.
Barca are beli…
Ahmed Musa would love a permanent return to CSKA Moscow, but will put off a decision on his Leicester City future until after the World Cup.
Musa stole the show in Volgograd on Friday, netting two stunning goals as Nigeria overcame Iceland 2-0 in Group D to set up a all-or-nothing clash with Argentina.
The 25-year-old joined Leicester from CSKA in 2016 but failed to settle in the Premier League and returned to the Moscow club on loan in January, scoring seven goals in all competitions.
Although he revealed a return to CSKA would be ideal, Musa has not ruled out staying at Leicester for the 2018-19 season.
4 has scored four World Cup goals for Nigeria; only (6) and Roger Milla (5) have scored more goals amongst African players. Stars.
— Op…
World football s governing body FIFA on Friday announced its decision to suspend the Iraqi Football Association (IFA) until further notice because of government interference .
In accordance with FIFA statutes, the clubs and representative teams of Iraq are no longer permitted to take part in international matches, whether friendly or competitive, read a statement on the FIFA website.
Furthermore, the IFA is deprived of its right to vote at any congresses held by international bodies and is no longer entitled to receive financial assistance.
Despite the decision, Iraq s women s under-16 team will be allowed to compete in a youth tournament organised by the Norwegian football federation that is due to take place in Jordan from November 22-29.
On Tuesday…
Ronald Koeman was on Saturday sacked as manager of Dutch champions AZ Alkmaar just six months after his appointment as successor to Louis van Gaal.
Alkmaar under Koeman have failed to impress.
The club are fourth and last in their Champions League group ahead of next week s trip to Belgian side Standard Liege.
And on the domestic front Friday s 2-1 loss to Vitesse Arnhem left them in sixth place, 16 points adrift of Dutch first division leaders FC Twente.
A statement on the club s website confirming Koeman s departure said: The management no longer see on what sporting basis our relationship with Koeman can continue.
The statement added that they hoped to announce a replacement as quickly as possible .
I m disappointed with this decisio…
Rafa Benitez was left cursing the Premier League fixture computer after Liverpool were handed a Champions League headache by the schedule for the 2009-10 English season.
Benitez s side face a series of three tough away fixtures and two testing home matches immediately after each of the Champions League group stage matches, while their Premier League rivals have several more low-key fixtures.
The possibility of travelling across Europe for a crucial fixture in the continent s top club competition and then returning to England for another daunting domestic game will infuriate Benitez.
The Liverpool boss was embroiled in a row with Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson last season, during which he claimed Liverpool were handicapped by the timings of matches.<…