Neymar recalled by Brazil for World Cup qualifiers against Colombia and Argentina
RIO DE JANEIRO: Former captain Neymar has been recalled by Brazil after an absence of almost 1 1/2 years.
Luis Rubiales Sport News
Kante snatches a point for Al-Ittihad during frantic finish at Al-Qadsiah
Al-Ittihad rescued a point with a 1-1 draw in their Saudi Pro League clash at Al-Qadsiah on Thursday, thanks to a 96th-minute strike from N’Golo Kante that canceled out Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s opening goal, which came just five minutes earlier.
Man Utd draw in Spain in Europa League last 16 as Spurs beaten
PARIS: Manchester United drew 1-1 away to Real Sociedad in the first leg of their Europa League last-16 tie on Thursday, while Tottenham suffered a 1-0 loss away to Dutch side AZ Alkmaar. Joshua Zirkzee drilled in from just outside the area to give United the lead on 57 minutes in San Sebastian but Mikel Oyarzabal levelled from the spot after Bruno Fernandes was punished for a handball. Zirkzee cut a distraught figure after missing the decisive penalty in last week’s FA Cup shootout loss to Fulham and has endured a testing first season at United, whose only remaining hope of silverware is in the Europa League. He scored for the first time in Europe this term, unleashing a sharp low drive from 20 yards after being teed up by Alejandro Garnacho’s inviting pass. But Ruben Amorim’s side could not hold on to their advantage as Fernandes handled at a corner, with Oyarzabal confidently converting his spot-kick. Andre Onana made two excellent saves to keep United level as Real Sociedad pressed for a winner, leaving the tie evenly poised ahead of next week’s second leg. “I felt until the penalty we had control of the game and then I think the penalty changed a little bit the momentum,” Amorim told TNT Sports. “I felt our team in the last 30 minutes were really, really tired,” he added. “We take this stage to Old Trafford...
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.
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.
England hammer out Women’s Nations League victory over Spain in World Cup final rematch
LONDON: Jess Park fired England to a 1-0 win against Spain on Wednesday in a Women’s Nations League clash that provided a measure of revenge for their World Cup final defeat.
England's Wiegman hails Spain's resilience amid off-field turmoil
England manager Sarina Wiegman on Tuesday hailed the mental fortitude displayed by Spain's players during the trial of former Spanish soccer federation (RFEF) chief Luis Rubiales, ahead of a Women's Nations League meeting between the teams.