Cagliari president Tommaso Giulini said closing curvas isn t the answer to ending racism in Serie A after Inter star Romelu Lukaku was subjected to monkey chants last week.

Racism reared its ugly head again in Italy, where Lukaku was racially abused during Inter s 2-1 win away to Cagliari at Sardegna Arena on Sunday.

The incident, which came as Lukaku stepped up to convert a second-half penalty, sparked widespread condemnation of Cagliari – whose fans were also previously involved in racist chants directed at Pescara s Sulley Muntari (2017), Juventus midfielder Blaise Matuidi (2018) and former Juve forward Moise Kean (2019).

Inter s Curva Nord supporters claimed alleged abuse of striker Lukaku from Cagliari fans was not racist but a form of respect .

We…

It was home to what the McLaren report details as one of the most elaborate doping ploys in sport history.

Just a stone s throw from Fisht Stadium in Sochi, the infamous building housed Russia s state-sponsored anti-doping laboratory for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games.

At the centre of the controversy,  Room 124 – a storage space converted into a lab – where urine samples were passed through a hole in the wall and swapped with clean bottles, claims that came to light from Grigory Rodchenkov, the former director of Russia s anti-doping laboratory, in the New York Times back in May 2016.

The hole in the wall was concealed by a small faux-wood cabinet during the day as an institutional conspiracy, albeit one denied by Russian officials to this day, remained…

Manuel Neuer backed Hansi Flick as the right coach for Bayern Munich, amid reports of a row with sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic.

A difficult week for Bayern ended in frustrating circumstances on Saturday, as Marcus Ingvartsen s late goal snatched a 1-1 draw for Union Berlin at the Allianz Arena.

Jamal Musiala s moment of quality seemed set to have proved decisive for Bayern, who are now just five points clear of RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga.

With the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Paris Saint-Germain coming up, Flick made a glut of changes for the Union clash, while both Musiala and Kingsley Coman sustained injuries.

According to reports, Flick s relationship with sporting director Salihamidzic has all but broken down,…

Gonzalo Higuain has hinted Major League Soccer could be his next destination if he is not in the plans of new Juventus coach Andrea Pirlo.

Higuain, 32, has been with Juve since 2016 when he moved from rivals Napoli and, although he enjoyed a fine first season in Turin with 32 goals across all competitions, he was less impressive the following year.

With Cristiano Ronaldo then arriving at Juve in 2018, Higuain was deemed surplus to requirements and spent the season on disappointing loan spells with Milan and then Chelsea.

Higuain was given another shot at Juve following the arrival of his former Napoli boss Maurizio Sarri last year, despite him failing to impress under the Italian with Chelsea.

But a rather meagre goals tally of 11 in 43 matches does not b…

Napoli are interested in signing Tosin Adarabioyo from Fulham in the summer of 2022, according to , as relayed by . The report in the Italian news outlet has claimed that Italian club Napoli are keeping a close eye on Adarabioyo with a view to making a move at the end of the season.

Adarabioyo has been on the books of Fulham since the summer of 2020 when he joined after leaving Manchester City. The 24-year-old central defender has scored two goals in 20 Championship matches for the Cottagers so far this season, scoring two goals in the process. The defender played 33 times in the Premier League last season.

Napoli are third in the Serie A table at the moment with 43 points from 21 matches, six points behind leaders and defending Italian champions Inter Milan, who have p…

The first Clasico of the season between Barcelona and Real Madrid, originally scheduled for October 26, has been postponed amid political unrest in Catalonia, the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) has confirmed.

Violent scenes broke out in Barcelona after nine Catalan political leaders received long prison sentences for their roles in the region s 2017 referendum and subsequent unilateral declaration of independence.

A rally in Barcelona has been called by pro-independence politicians for October 26, the day Barca were due to host bitter rivals Madrid.

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Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel is positive over the fitness of N Golo Kante and Edouard Mendy ahead of the Champions League final.

Midfielder Kante sat out the 2-1 loss to Aston Villa on Sunday as the Blues scraped a top-four finish in the Premier League on the final day thanks to Tottenham s win over Leicester City.

Goalkeeper Mendy was substituted at Villa Park with a rib injury, making him a doubt for the showdown with Manchester City in Porto on Saturday.

However, Tuchel does not appear overly concerned by either injury and is prepared to give them time to recover before he makes a decision on their involvement.

The situation has not changed with N Golo in the sense we are still waiting, but it is looking good that he will return to training on Wednesday…

Bayern Munich chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said any issue with Mesut Ozil is not racism-related, but claimed comments from the Arsenal star s agent are untrue and getting on his nerves .

There has been significant fallout since Ozil announced his retirement from international football earlier this month after he released a three-part statement, addressing criticism he received following a meeting with Turkey president Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Ozil has Turkish roots and has subsequently accused sponsors, German media and German Football Federation (DFB) president Reinhard Grindel for scapegoating him after the country s shock group-stage exit at the 2018 World Cup.

The 29-year-old playmaker, who earned 92 caps with Germany, alleged the treatment of him was …

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Looking to extend on their remarkable European charge, Waterford will welcome Sligo Rovers to town on Friday night.

Starting with the hosts, while Waterford might have only made their Premier Division return this season, the Blues have embarked on a remarkable top-flight romp. However, despite being left disappointed earlier in the week as they slumped to a 3-0 drumming at the hands of Derry City, Keith Long’s men should still find the mood in their camp at a continued high. Signing off May with a 2-1 victory against Bohemians, some around the Regional Sports Centre are dreaming of the chance to mount a genuine European charge. Opening Friday’s showdown showdown sat just three points adrift of breaking into the top-three, …

Oleksandr Zinchenko expects true warrior Gabriel Jesus to return much strong than before after his injury but has backed Eddie Nketiah to step up for Arsenal in the meantime.

Mikel Arteta s side will resume their Premier League campaign five points clear of Manchester City at the top of the table after impressing before the World Cup break.

Arsenal host West Ham on Monday, but they will do so without Jesus after the Brazil forward underwent knee surgery following an injury in Qatar.

Zinchenko, who joined Arsenal with Jesus from Manchester City in the last transfer window, vowed his team-mate will return stronger as he encouraged the Gunners to step up in his absence.

He s one of the leaders in our team. He s a true warrior, the Ukraine international told…