Manchester United player ratings vs Real Sociedad with six 7/10s in Europa League draw
Manchester United drew 1-1 with Real Sociedad in the first leg of their round-of-16 Europa League tie on Thursday evening.
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New trial sought for convicted ex-Spanish soccer boss Rubiales over World Cup kiss
Prosecutors are asking for the retrial of former Spanish soccer president Luis Rubiales, saying the judge incorrectly kept some evidence from the court.
Women’s tennis players now are eligible for paid maternity leave funded by Saudi Arabia’s PIF
DUBAI: Pregnant players on the women’s tennis tour now can receive 12 months of paid maternity leave, and those who become parents via partner pregnancy, surrogacy or adoption can get two months off with pay, under a program sponsored by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia and announced Thursday by the WTA. “Independent contractors and self-employed individuals don’t typically have these kinds of maternity benefits provided and available to them. They have to go out and sort of figure out those benefits for themselves,” WTA CEO Portia Archer said. “This is really sort of novel and groundbreaking.” More than 300 players are eligible for the fund, which is retroactive to Jan. 1. The WTA would not disclose how much money is involved.
Tennis: India To Face Switzerland In Davis Cup World Group I Tie In September
India is set to take on Switzerland in a Davis Cup World Group I tie, following the draw conducted by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) in London on Thursday. The crucial encounter will be hosted by Switzerland from September 12 to 14, with the hosts selecting the playing surface. India secured their place in this tie with a dominant 4-0 victory over Togo in the World Group I Play-off held in New Delhi last month. Meanwhile, Switzerland suffered a 1-3 loss to Spain in the Qualifiers, setting up this decisive fixture. The winner of the India-Switzerland tie will advance to next year's Davis Cup Qualifiers, while the losing team will be relegated to the World Group I Play-offs.
FIFA to consider one-off expansion to 64 teams for 2030 World Cup
PARIS :Soccer's governing body FIFA will review a proposal to expand the 2030 World Cup to 64 teams to mark the centenary of the sport's marquee event, it said on Thursday.
Prosecutors demand Rubiales forced kiss trial be re-run
MADRID: Prosecutors on Thursday requested that the trial of Spain's ex-football federation chief Luis Rubiales for his forced kiss on Jenni Hermoso be annulled and re-run, notably questioning the judge's impartiality. Spain's top criminal court last month found Rubiales guilty of sexual assault for the kiss and fined him 10,800 euros ($11,670), sparing him jail in a sentence considered lenient by feminist groups. The sentence fell well short of the demands of prosecutors, who had sought a total of two and a half years in prison for Rubiales, one year for sexual assault and 18 months for allegedly coercing Hermoso to downplay the kiss. Hermoso is appealing the sentence, which also cleared Rubiales and three other defendants of coercion, including former women's team coach Jorge Vilda and two senior ex-federation officials. The prosecutors said in a statement that they were appealing the sentence and requested the trial be declared null and void and "held again by another judge not tainted, to say the least, by an appearance of bias". They said judge Jose Manuel Fernandez-Prieto "unduly" prevented the prosecutor in the trial, Marta Durantez, from posing certain questions and cited the "arbitrariness" of his sentence. The statement added that the judge "made no mention in the sentence" of key evidence brought up during the trial, "as if such evidence had not existed". Fernandez-Prieto attracted attention during the trial for his brusque attitude, frequently interrupting and scolding participants. Rubiales was also banned from going within a 200-metre radius of Hermoso and from communicating with her for a period of one year.
FIFA to consider one-off expansion to 64 teams for 2030 World Cup - NYT
PARIS : Soccer's governing body FIFA is to consider expanding the 2030 World Cup to 64 teams to mark the centenary of the sport's marquee event, the New York Times reported on Thursday.
How Manchester United should line up vs Real Sociedad in Europa League fixture
Manchester United take on Real Sociedad in the first leg of the Europa League Round of 16 tonight. United crashed out of the FA Cup fifth round on penalties against Fulham last weekend, meaning their only hope of winning a trophy this season is the Europa League.