Tag: Soccer

François Carrard, Legal Doyen of Olympic Sports, Dies at 83

LAUSANNE, Switzerland—François Carrard, the former longtime IOC director general who helped oversee its reforms after the Salt Lake City bidding scandal, has died, the Olympic body said Monday. He was 83. The International Olympic Committee said it was “deeply saddened” to learn of Carrard’s death. The cause was not specified though Carrard was known to…


Italy’s Serie A Stadiums Reduced to Max 5,000 Capacity to Curb COVID-19

ROME—The 20 clubs in Italy’s top soccer league Serie A voted on Saturday to reduce stadium capacity to a maximum 5,000 for two rounds of fixtures in January, in a bid to help fight the country’s rising COVID-19 cases. Two club officials attending a remote meeting confirmed to Reuters that the new restrictions will be…


Messi Continues COVID-19 Recovery, Misses Lyon Trip

PARIS—Lionel Messi will miss Paris St. Germain’s Ligue 1 trip to Olympique Lyonnais on Sunday as he continues his recovery from COVID-19, the capital club said on Saturday. The Argentine forward is back in Paris from his home country after testing negative but has not been cleared to play. “Lionel Messi will continue his post-COVID…


25-Year-Old Guatemalan Soccer Star Dies After Suffering Cardiac Arrest in Training

Guatemalan soccer player, Marcos Menaldo, has died after suffering from a heart attack during a training session on Jan. 3 in preparation for the new season, according to reports. The 25-year-old central defender, who plays with Club Deportivo Marquense based in the Guatemalan city of San Marcos, collapsed during practice and was rushed to a…


Manchester United Labors to Worrying First Loss Under Rangnick

MANCHESTER, England—Ralf Rangnick is beginning to understand just how big a job he has taken on at Manchester United. His players are already becoming dispirited, too. Rangnick fell to his first loss as United manager after Joao Moutinho’s 82nd-minute strike earned Wolverhampton a 1–0 win in the English Premier League on Monday, and his team’s…


Lionel Messi and 3 More Paris Saint-Germain Players Test Positive for COVID-19

Football star Lionel Messi and three of his Paris Saint-Germain teammates have tested positive for COVID-19, the team announced on Sunday. Juan Bernat, Sergio Rico, and Nathan Bitumazala have also contracted the virus and are in quarantine. “They are currently in isolation and are subject to the appropriate health protocol,” the club said in a statement. Messi, who…


Liverpool Loses for 2nd Time in EPL, Big Blow to Title Hopes

Losses for Liverpool are about as rare as penalty misses by Mohamed Salah. Both happened on Tuesday and, even at the halfway stage of the season, it could cost Jürgen Klopp’s team the Premier League title. Liverpool was beaten 1–0 by a patched-up Leicester team and could find itself nine points behind Manchester City heading…


La Liga Sells Spanish Broadcast Rights for Over $5 Billion for 5 Years

MADRID—Spain’s top soccer league has generated 4.95 billion euros ($5.6 billion) from the sale of subscription broadcast domestic rights for five seasons. La Liga has sold games for live broadcast in Spain to a streaming service for the first time with DAZN picking up the rights to 175 matches per season. Telefonica-owned Movistar has the…


Soccer: Four Real Madrid Players Test Positive for COVID-19

MADRID—Real Madrid’s Gareth Bale, Marco Asensio, Andriy Lunin, and Rodrygo have tested positive for COVID-19 as well as assistant coach Davide Ancelotti, the club said in a statement on Thursday. The club postponed their first-team training session from Thursday morning to the afternoon to allow them to test players and staff. It is the third…


Clemson Wins NCAA Men’s Soccer Title, Beats Washington 2–0

CARY, N.C.—Isaiah Reid scored twice, including a goal just 27 seconds into the match, and Clemson defeated Washington 2–0 to win the NCAA College Cup championship on Sunday. It was Clemson’s third national championship. The Tigers also won in 1984 and 1987. “I think it’s going to take days and weeks to set in, but…