Tag: Soccer

Los Angeles FC Arena Changes Its Name to BMO Stadium

LOS ANGELES—Los Angeles FC’s home arena is changing its name from Banc of California Stadium to BMO Stadium. LAFC announced the new naming rights deal Thursday, Jan. 19, for the five-year-old arena, which was built by the expansion Major League Soccer Club. The stadium also is the home of the NWSL’s Angel City FC. BMO,…


Witness: Bribes Helped Fox Execs Get Soccer TV Rights

NEW YORK—The U.S. government’s star witness in a corruption trial over the broadcasting rights to some of soccer’s biggest events testified Wednesday how he and two former Fox executives paid millions of dollars in bribes to undermine competing bids. The trial in New York City is the latest development in a tangled corruption scandal that…


French Soccer President Targeted by Sexual Harassment Probe

PARIS—French soccer federation president Noël Le Graët is under investigation for sexual harassment and “moral harassment,” the Paris prosecutor’s office said Tuesday. In a message to The Associated Press, the prosecutor’s office said the investigation was opened Monday following a report by the General Inspectorate of Education, Sport, and Research. It will be carried out…


Ronaldo-Messi Rivalry Set for New Chapter in Riyadh

A new chapter in the celebrated rivalry between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi will unfurl on Thursday when they meet in an exhibition match as the Portugal forward gears up for his first game in Saudi Arabia since joining Al Nassr. After a glittering career in Europe that saw him win four Champions League titles…


Former VA Tech Soccer Player Gets $100,000 for Protected Speech in Refusing to Kneel for BLM

Ex-Virginia Tech soccer player Kiersten Hening has received a $100,000 settlement for being benched after she refused to kneel for BLM before soccer games. Hening claimed she was benched after head coach Charles Adair became frustrated with her political views, which often differed from those of her teammates. According to Hening, her coach put her…


Premier League Footballer Benjamin Mendy ‘Delighted’ After Partial Acquittal in Rape Trial

A French international footballer who plays for English Premier League champions Manchester City has been acquitted of raping four women at his home in the northwest of England. Benjamin Mendy, 28, went on trial in August 2022 on charges relating to seven women between October 2018 and August 2021. He maintained all the women consented….


Wales Captain Bale Announces End of Playing Career

Wales and Los Angeles FC winger Gareth Bale said on Monday he had decided to end his playing career at the age of 33, having reached exceptional milestones in both club and international football. Bale played a Wales record of 111 games for his country and was a five-time Champions League winner with Real Madrid….


Ex-VT Soccer Player to Get $100K Settlement After Defying Pro-BLM Kneel: Attorney

The attorney for former Virginia Tech soccer player Kiersten Hening said she will receive a $100,000 settlement after she alleged she was punished for refusing to kneel during the reading of a statement in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. In 2021, Hening filed a lawsuit against Virginia Tech Women’s Soccer head coach Charles…


Cristiano Ronaldo Experiences Surreal Start in Saudi Arabia

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia—The palm trees lining the desert roads leading out of Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport were wet with rain drops when Cristiano Ronaldo arrived this week in Saudi Arabia’s capital city. The surprising weather greeted the soccer great’s shocking move to the Middle East, where the gray skies in Riyadh were more akin…


Reyna Family Flagged Berhalter Incident; Interim Coach Named

NEW YORK—The U.S. soccer team was plunged into public turmoil Wednesday when the family of former U.S. captain Claudio Reyna said it notified the U.S. Soccer Federation of a decades-old incident involving Gregg Berhalter and his wife in response to the coach’s disparagement of Claudio’s son, young star Gio Reyna. Berhalter said Tuesday his 1991…