List of All Articles with Tag 'al'

Lionel Messi says Argentina’s 1-0 victory over Brazil at the Maracana will be “marked by repression of Argentinians” after the game was delayed by crowd trouble. Kick-off was put back by half-an-hour in Rio de Janeiro as rival fans clashed with police, with both sets of players trying to calm the situation down before eventually returning to the dressing rooms before the game could get under way. The crowd trouble began during the national anthems as police charged at away supporters using batons, causing a mass brawl which led to some fans spilling on to the pitch to escape the trouble in the stands. Once the trouble had subsided, Nicolas Otamendi’s second-half header from a corner settled the contest, while Brazil’s Joelinton saw red for a shove on Rodrigo de Paul late on. The loss condemned the hosts to their third straight defeat in World Cup qualifying and their first ever on home soil. Lionel Messi said the “great victory” could have ended in “tragedy”. Quoted on the BBC, he said: “We went to the locker room because it was the best way to calm everything down, it could have ended in tragedy.” The Ballon d’Or winner added on Instagram: “Great victory in the Maracana, although it will be marked by the repression of the Argentinians in Brazil. “This can’t be tolerated, it’s insane and it needs to end now!” Read More Everton have extra motivation following points deduction – director of football What happens next for Wales as they look to book a place at Euro 2024? Clubs must be punished for failure to meet diversity requirements – Kick It Out

Find out our favorite Sleeper fantasy NBA targets for tonight's slate, as well as how to claim a $100 deposit match right now!

The complete head-to-head record between Arsenal and Liverpool with some thrilling and memorable Premier League encounters in recent years.

Arsenal forward Gabriel Jesus has admitted that scoring goals is not his "strong point". The Brazilian failed to find the net against Argentina in a World Cup qualifier, making it one goal in his last 29 international appearances.

The 10 worst contracts currently on the books in Major League Baseball.

Jim Knowles is a sexifinalist.

Barnsley have been expelled from the FA Cup for fielding an ineligible player in their first-round replay against Horsham. Seventh-tier Horsham will now progress to round two, where they will visit League Two strugglers Sutton. The Tykes were 3-0 winners in last Tuesday’s replay, after the first game had finished 3-3 at Oakwell, but have since acknowledged a “regrettable”, “unintentional” error that has seen them kicked out of this season’s competition by the Football Association. A club statement read: “Today the FA has advised us that we will no longer be able to participate in the FA Cup this season. “An administrative error was brought to our attention regarding the eligibility of a player who played in last Tuesday’s game with Horsham FC. “The club has fully co-operated with the investigation and has accepted the FA’s decision. We have been in contact with Horsham FC and would like to thank the club and chairman for their understanding and co-operation throughout this process. “We would like to apologise to our fans, players and staff for this regrettable error. “This mistake – although unintentional – falls way below the high standards we set at this club and is simply not what you deserve. “We have already conducted a full internal investigation and have subsequently put safeguards in place to ensure this will never happen again.” The FA said Barnsley fielded a player in the replay who was not eligible for the first match, which is against the rules. Forward Aiden Marsh was on loan at National League York when the first game took place on November 3, before being recalled by parent club Barnsley on November 6 and playing 71 minutes of the replay on November 14. “A Professional Game Board sub-committee has removed Barnsley from the 2023-24 Emirates FA Cup for fielding an ineligible player during their first-round proper replay against Horsham on Tuesday 14 November 2023,” an FA statement read. “The FA alleged that the player was ineligible for this replay, as he was not correctly registered and eligible for the original first-round-proper match on Friday 3 November 2023, which constitutes a breach of FA Cup rule 103. “Barnsley admitted this charge and acknowledged that the breach had occurred. The sub-committee’s members ordered that Barnsley be removed from the competition, and that Horsham be awarded the tie and progression to the second round proper. “Subject to any appeal by Barnsley, Horsham will now play away to Sutton United in the Second Round Proper on Saturday 2 December 2023.” Read More Great Britain determined to ruin Novak Djokovic’s astonishing year at Davis Cup Everton have extra motivation following points deduction – director of football What happens next for Wales as they look to book a place at Euro 2024? Clubs must be punished for failure to meet diversity requirements – Kick It Out Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta’s deadline to respond to FA charge extended to Friday Rob Page ‘absolutely’ adamant he will lead Wales into Euro 2024 play-offs

Everton director of football Kevin Thelwell admitted his club had extra motivation following their “wholly disproportionate” points deduction. The Toffees were docked 10 points last week for breaching Premier League financial rules over a three-year period, plummeting them from 14th in the table into the relegation zone. They looked to be set for a comfortable season after a good run of form culminated in a 3-2 win at Crystal Palace before the international break. Thelwell said on the club’s official website: “The three points from that victory may no longer be accounted for in the table – nor seven other hard-earned points amassed during this season. “But what does remain in place is the unity, focus and determination that helped earn those points on the field of play – now supplemented by the additional fuel of what we believe is a wholly-disproportionate ruling. “We are rallying in the face of a sporting sanction in the only way we can and that is our focus and hard work in supporting the team in delivering to their fullest on the pitch. We know that every Evertonian is behind us. We feel the strength of support and we will continue to use that backing to drive us on Kevin Thelwell “Everton is a special football club. It is a special football club because of its people – our players, staff and fans.” Everton have already indicated their intention to appeal against the commission’s sanction, with the appeal expected to be heard during the course of the current season. Thelwell said the club would remain “united” in their fight against the punishment. “We go into this weekend having secured six wins from our last nine outings in all competitions,” he added. “The team has displayed a level of effort, camaraderie and bravery that is synonymous with this club in earning those victories. “That spirit remains strong – unwavering. (Manager) Sean (Dyche) and the players are fully focused on the work that lies ahead and everybody at Finch Farm is united. “We know that every Evertonian is behind us. That is never taken for granted, but always hugely appreciated and valued. “We feel the strength of support and we will continue to use that backing to drive us on.” Read More What happens next for Wales as they look to book a place at Euro 2024? Clubs must be punished for failure to meet diversity requirements – Kick It Out Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta’s deadline to respond to FA charge extended to Friday Rob Page ‘absolutely’ adamant he will lead Wales into Euro 2024 play-offs James McClean backs Republic to enjoy ‘glory days’ after calling time on career On This Day in 2017 – Everton’s Oumar Niasse hit with retrospective diving ban

Real Hoopers know things about basketball that the rest of us could never grasp, like the fact that Kevin Durant is going to go down in history as better than LeBron.

Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur are interested in signing young Irish talent Sam Curtis, sources have confirmed to 90min.

Wales must navigate the play-offs in March to reach the European Championship finals next summer. If they do so, it will be Wales’ fourth major tournament out of the last five. Here, the PA news agency looks at their Euro 2024 story so far and what happens next. How did Wales get here? It has been a campaign of transition without talismanic captain Gareth Bale following his retirement in January and the loss of other key players such as midfielder Joe Allen. Wales began well with a bonus point away to World Cup semi-finalists Croatia – courtesy of Nathan Broadhead’s stoppage-time equaliser – and a narrow home win over Latvia. But a sour summer – back-to-beat defeats against Armenia and Turkey – would cost them dear, despite bouncing back with a 2-0 success in Latvia and a sensational 2-1 home victory over Croatia. Wales had automatic qualification in their hands heading into the final two games, but ultimately fell short with closing 1-1 draws against Armenia and Turkey. Croatia and Turkey qualified as the top two in Group D. Play-off scenario Wales will discover at 11am on Thursday morning who their semi-final opponents will be on March 21. Manager Rob Page will attend the draw in Switzerland to get a flavour of what stands in his side’s way. It is a case of one from three countries as Finland, Iceland or Ukraine will be paired with Wales in Path A. The winners of that tie will play Poland or Estonia in the play-off final on March 26 for the right to play at Euro 2024. Home sweet home Wales will have home advantage for the semi-final, which will be played at Cardiff City Stadium. That is a huge boost for Wales who have had some special nights in Cardiff in recent times, and beat both Austria and Ukraine there in the 2022 World Cup play-offs. The Nyon draw on Thursday will also decide who gets home advantage for the March 26 final. Wales got the breaks in the 2022 World Cup play-offs with two home ties. Will they be as fortunate again? Who do Wales want? Ukraine are 22nd in the FIFA rankings, six places above Wales, and present the toughest test on paper. They were third in England’s qualifying group and might already be preparing for Germany had they been awarded what appeared a certain stoppage-time penalty against Italy on Monday. Finland won six of their 10 qualifiers and finished four points behind Denmark and Slovenia, while Iceland won only three times in 10 games and were a distant fourth to Portugal, Slovakia and Luxembourg. Whoever they play, Wales enter the play-offs with confidence after an unbeaten six-game run of three wins and three draws. Read More Clubs must be punished for failure to meet diversity requirements – Kick It Out Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta’s deadline to respond to FA charge extended to Friday Rob Page ‘absolutely’ adamant he will lead Wales into Euro 2024 play-offs James McClean backs Republic to enjoy ‘glory days’ after calling time on career On This Day in 2017 – Everton’s Oumar Niasse hit with retrospective diving ban Performing under pressure – remembering England’s dramatic 2003 World Cup win

Clubs must face sanctions if they fail to comply with diversity reporting requirements and workforce targets, Kick It Out’s chief executive has said. Data released by the Football Association on Wednesday showed the 53 clubs signed up to the Football Leadership Diversity Code (FLDC) collectively failed to meet any of the eight hiring targets set last season. The FA board has now approved the creation of a new rule which will make clubs publicly declare their workforce diversity data on age, sex, gender, ethnicity, disability and sexual orientation twice a year from 2024-25. The detail of the new rule will be worked out in consultation with the Premier League, the EFL, the Women’s Super League and the Women’s Championship but Kick, It Out chief Tony Burnett insists it must have teeth if it is going to prove effective. “The club results for the Football Leadership Diversity Code are disappointing, but they are not wholly unexpected,” he said. “In the process of setting up the code, we expressed concerns that if football wanted to drive change, it needed to be transparent about its whole workforce. “Clubs were only willing to provide limited recruitment data and there were no sanctions for failing to comply. We need sanctions for non-compliance and future diversity targets baked into FA, Premier League and EFL rules Tony Burnett, Kick It Out “Now is the time to be bolder. The FA’s intention to make reporting of diversity data mandatory for all men’s and women’s clubs is a step in the right direction. We would urge the Premier League, EFL and all its 92 clubs to make that data transparent. “But we also need sanctions for non-compliance and future diversity targets baked into FA, Premier League and EFL rules. Without that commitment, we won’t know the true scale of the challenge nor be able to find solutions to make football more representative of the people who love the game.” The FLDC was established in October 2020 in a bid to tackle under-representation in the game, but Wednesday’s 2022-23 figures demonstrate clubs’ collective failure to meet any of the targets set. Senior leadership hiring of black, Asian and mixed heritage candidates is set at 15 per cent, but clubs only achieved 9.1 per cent. In men’s clubs, the target for new coaching hires from a black, Asian or mixed heritage background was 25 per cent but clubs only managed 16 per cent. For the first time clubs’ existing workforce data was included in the FLDC data published. It demonstrated that levels of diversity off the pitch fall well below the level in the playing population, and that hiring rates are currently not high enough to drive the rapid change needed. Within the 53 club signatories, 21 per cent of senior leaders and 29 per cent of team operations are female and seven per cent of senior leaders and nine per cent of team operations are black, Asian or mixed heritage. Across the coaching workforce, 13 per cent of coaches and 11 per cent of senior coaches are black, Asian or mixed heritage. Data from the Black Football Partnership published earlier this year showed 43 per cent of Premier League players and 34 per cent of Championship players were black. Former Chelsea defender Paul Elliott, who was key to the FLDC’s creation three years ago, said on Wednesday: “Football wants the diversity off the field to match what we see on the field. “While we have work to do to improve player diversity in the women’s game, diversity on the pitch in the men’s game is a given. “Despite this, if we look at Europe’s top five leagues, there are only two black head coaches – one is Vincent Kompany at Burnley and the other is Patrick Vieira at Strasbourg. “So the challenge is not just in the UK, it’s all across Europe, but I personally have a greater expectation of progress in the UK because of the diversity of our society. “By evolving the code to mandatory reporting of workforce data, we can take a new approach with new transparency. It is a natural next step. I am pleased that the FA is leading on this topic and embedding it in the rules of the game; that will help to accelerate progress and the growth we need.” Kick It Out wants football’s new independent regulator to oversee equality standards as part of a code of football governance and to compel clubs to share representation and recruitment data. Currently, clubs in the Premier League are independently evaluated under the league’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion standard (PLEDIS), while the EFL’s Equality Code of Practice assesses work, learning, development and commitment to EDI and provides a grade of bronze, silver or gold after review. Read More Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta’s deadline to respond to FA charge extended to Friday Rob Page ‘absolutely’ adamant he will lead Wales into Euro 2024 play-offs James McClean backs Republic to enjoy ‘glory days’ after calling time on career On This Day in 2017 – Everton’s Oumar Niasse hit with retrospective diving ban Performing under pressure – remembering England’s dramatic 2003 World Cup win Jason Robinson has yet to watch a rerun of England’s World Cup success