Osasuna appeal over Barcelona player dismissed
Osasuna's appeal over Barcelona defender Inigo Martinez's eligibility to play against them has been dismissed.Martinez did not join up with the Spain squad for the recent international break because of a knee injury.Fifa rules prohibit a player from playing for his club within five days - unless he has the national FA's permission - if he has not linked up with his country when called up.Barca's 3-0 win over Osasuna in La Liga, rearranged from 8 March after the death of club doctor Carles Minarro Garcia, came the day after the international window ended - and four days after Spain's Nations League match with the Netherlands.Martinez played the full 90 minutes against Osasuna on 27 March and the Basque club launched an appeal to the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) a day later.However, the RFEF's competition committee deemed there was no infringement by Barcelona, as the player's withdrawal process was carried out correctly and in accordance with the regulations.Osasuna plan to file a second appeal with the RFEF's appeal committee.Barcelona are four points clear at the top of La Liga while Osasuna are 13th.
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The Guardian
28 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Cheikh Sabaly's clincher condemns England to woeful defeat by Senegal
Thomas Tuchel wanted smiles. He wanted a response after the lacklustre performance against Andorra in Barcelona on Saturday, albeit in a 1-0 World Cup qualifying win. What he got was another line to his brow, plenty to ponder as he begins what could be a long summer debrief. And more boos. There had been a bit of zip and character from Tuchel's team in the final 25 minutes of regulation time. He made attacking changes, with the Nottingham Forest midfielder, Morgan Gibbs-White, showing up. Eberechi Eze, who played from the start, was good. The only problem was that Senegal were 2-1 up by then, having played around and through England far too easily. England looked as though they might escape with a draw in this friendly when Jude Bellingham, who also came off the bench, took a touch on his thigh before lashing home in the 83rd minute after Levi Colwill had smuggled a corner towards him. That would be scrubbed out when the VAR spotted the ball had come off Colwill's upper arm. Tuchel went for broke, introducing Ivan Toney for Myles Lewis-Skelly and switching to three at the back. The problem was that the back door was not bolted and how Senegal made England pay, the substitute Cheikh Sabaly sweeping home after a flowing stoppage-time counter to send the home supporters streaming for the exits. The full-time whistle was the prompt for those who stayed to jeer with real feeling. Tuchel's honeymoon period is firmly over. It was easy to feel the shadow of the Andorra game, with Tuchel determined to chase it away with an almost entirely different starting XI. Almost. Kane was the lone survivor. Of course he was. It did not matter that the captain is one of the few players Tuchel has worked with extensively at club level and maybe did not absolutely need to see more of here. Tuchel wanted Senegal to come and play. No 5-4-1 block, bus parked, handbrake on. He expects his England team to raise their level significantly against the better opponents. Pape Thiaw's Senegal are ranked 19th in the world. It did not matter that Sadio Mané had asked to sit this one out for personal reasons, having been hammered by internet trolls over his recent Senegal performances. Thiaw's lineup was sprinkled with pace and flamboyance. Senegal played. There was a moment early on when the quicksilver Iliman Ndiaye streaked away from Myles Lewis-Skelly up the right before tricking inside Conor Gallagher and playing in Nicolas Jackson with a reverse pass. It was a clear chance for Jackson, who blasted too close to Dean Henderson. The tone was set. Can a visiting team start too well? Lamine Camara was certainly emboldened to try a fancy spin on the edge of his own defensive third and when he was robbed by Eze, who started in the No 10 role, Senegal were stretched. Eze went left to Gallagher, who went further for Anthony Gordon, who shot low. Édouard Mendy made a hash of the save. Kane was alive to the rebound. It was a strange first-half performance from England, who looked static and predictable when they attempted to play out from the back. Where were the options? Tuchel wants time to instil them. He does not have it. England played with fire as Senegal brought the press. Tuchel's men played loose passes. They went down, at times, desperately appealing for fouls. It was tough to watch. Kane made a few nice moves as he dropped back and tried to ignite his team while Gordon blew a golden chance on 29 minutes, dragging wide of an empty net at the far post following a low Kyle Walker cross. But Senegal were the better team before the interval, more cohesive and dynamic, and they deserved the equaliser, swept home by Ismaïla Sarr after he was sharper to react than Walker to Jackson's hooked cross from the right. Sarr made up three yards on Walker, which really should not have happened, while Jackson had run away from the England debutant, Trevoh Chalobah, on to a ball over the top. Senegal had other flickers in the first half. Sarr was left alone to work Henderson with a header and Idrissa Gueye did likewise when he shot through a crowd. Sign up to Football Daily Kick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football after newsletter promotion Tuchel made no changes for the second half. He merely sent his players back out early and it was hard to imagine there were not choice words ringing in their ears. Tuchel is not a guy to hold back. Remember his comments after Andorra? He had demanded energy, exuberance. It was Senegal who continued to bring it after the restart. There was a reason why Tuchel introduced the City Ground favourite Gibbs-White just before the hour. The crowd needed a lift. So did England. By then, Senegal might have been ahead, Diarra lifting high following an El Hadji Malick Diouf cross. It was no surprise when Senegal went ahead, Lewis-Skelly caught out – and not for the first time – by Kalidou Koulibaly's ball up the inside right channel. Diarra was away, England wide open, the finish steered through Henderson's legs from a tight angle. Gibbs-White made a difference while Eze came alive as England tried to respond. There was an outrageous touch and layoff from the latter for Gibbs-White, who drilled too close to Mendy. The pair also combined to tee up Bukayo Saka; his shot was brilliantly saved by the goalkeeper. Senegal, though, retained a clear threat on the break and, after Bellingham's effort was disallowed, Youssouf Sabaly would twist the knife.
Scottish Sun
an hour ago
- Scottish Sun
Man City splash £107m in 10-day Club World Cup transfer window after completing £35m deal for in-demand Rayan Cherki
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) RAYAN CHERKI believes his "dream" move to Manchester City gives him the perfect platform to shine. The 21-year-old France international becomes Pep Guardiola's third capture of the summer after moving from Lyon. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 5 Rayan Cherki completed his £35m transfer to Manchester City Credit: Getty 5 He made his first two caps for France in the Nations League but will team up with the Citizens for the Club World Cup Credit: AFP City will pay around £30million up front for the midfielder with a further £5m in add-ons if he proves to be a success. He follows full-back Rayan Ait Nouri - who moved from Wolves to the Etihad for £31m - on Monday and reserve keeper Marcus Bettinelli. Meanwhile, Tijjani Reijnders' £46m switch from Milan will be formally announced on Wednesday morning. The deal was all agreed ahead of Tuesday night's transfer deadline but he was on international duty with the Netherlands. READ MORE ON FOOTBALL MIC SWAP Carrick takes up new offer alongside Man Utd icon O'Shea just days after Boro axe WATCH EVERY MATCH OF THE CLUB WORLD CUP 2025 LIVE ON DAZN That will take Pep's spending to around £107m in the first part of the summer transfer window. Cherki will be part of the Club World Cup squad and said: 'This is a dream for me. "Honestly, to be joining a club like Manchester City and have the opportunity to make the next step in my career here is something very, very special. 'I have worked so hard for this all my life. I love this sport, and I can't wait to develop further here in Manchester with Pep and his backroom staff. CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS 'Everyone knows how good City are – they have been so successful for many years now. The responsibility to help the team continue winning is something I want to embrace. 'I would only leave Lyon for a project I really believe in and everything at City suggests I can develop my game and help the team be successful in the future. Sports DESK EP15_9_16 _V4 5 'I can't wait to show City fans what I can do.' City's director of football Hugo Viana said: 'There's no doubt that he's now in the best place possible to develop further under Pep's guidance . 'I really believe he can become a world-class player with our support and direction.' It was a busy day at the Etihad Campus on Tuesday as City prepare to fly to Miami on Thursday to begin their preparations for the Club World Cup. As well as Cherki, their new third-choice keeper Bettinelli arrived – joining from Chelsea for a nominal fee. The 33-year-old will replace Scott Carson, who has left the club after six years. Meanwhile, City confirmed that Pep Lijnders and James French – who both worked under Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool – will join Guardiola's coaching staff. Lijnders will work as an assistant to the boss following the departure of Juanma Lillo at the end of last season. Kolo Toure – who won the title with City back in 2012 – will step up from his role with the youth team to assist the senior team in America this month. Guardiola is due to name his squad to travel to the US once all the players have reported back from international duty. 5 Tijjani Reijnders will link up with Manchester City after international duty with Holland Credit: Getty
The Herald Scotland
2 hours ago
- The Herald Scotland
Why Steve Clarke won't repeat 4-4-2 experiment in World Cup qualifying
Nor was Boyd, who is as well known these days for being a forthright and knowledgeable pundit for Sky Sports as he is for his heroics in the final third during his previous existence, surprised when Che Adams scored a hat-trick and George Hirst netted his first goal for his country during an emphatic and badly-needed 4-0 triumph. However, the man who found the target on seven occasions during his 18 cap international career suspects it will not be an experiment that will, despite its resounding success this week, be repeated once the World Cup qualifying campaign gets underway in September. Even against Group C minnows Belarus. Read more: The Ayrshireman can understand exactly why members of the Tartan Army have grown frustrated at the failure of a Scotland striker - of Adams, Tommy Conway, Lyndon Dykes, Hirst, Lawrence Shankland and James Wilson - to score during the past 12 months. Adams' early opener on Monday evening was the first time in 367 days, in 12 games, in 1,116 minutes, that a player who was leading the line for the national team had found the target. His effort ended a drought which stretched back to the goal which Shankland pitched in with against Finland in the second half of the Euro 2024 warm-up friendly at Hampden on Friday, June 7, last year. But for Boyd, who took part in a McDonald's Fun Football session for local youngsters at Hampden on Monday afternoon before watching the second June friendly at home on television, centre forwards scoring goals has become of far less importance in the modern game. He doesn't think the failures in the Nations League play-off against Greece in March and the June friendly against Iceland last Friday night can be attributed to the Scotland attackers' lack of ruthlessness. (Image: Craig Williamson - SNS Group) 'The issue is that we grew up in an era when there was always two strikers and those two players usually got you the goals,' he said. 'But I think we've been quite fortunate that we have a number of players behind a striker who have been able to deliver for Scotland. 'The role of a striker has changed over the years, there's no getting away from it. But that lone striker role that we deploy quite a bit allows us to get players from the middle of the pitch forward and they have contributed to Scotland in a big way over a period of time. 'To be honest, I think that's just where the world of football is right now. Look at Mo Salah at Liverpool, Ousmane Dembele and Desire Doue at Paris Saint-Germain and Lamine Yamal at Barcelona. They're all big players who score goals for their clubs but they're all wingers. 'If you take the likes of Erling Haaland, Harry Kane and Robert Lewandowski out of the equation, there's not an awful lot of old-fashioned No 9s any more. Football has changed, it's evolved.' Boyd believes that Clarke, who he worked under towards the end of his playing days at Kilmarnock, would be savaged by Scotland supporters if he played two strikers in important fixtures, in the forthcoming World Cup qualifiers, because it would mean that he would have to drop one of his best midfielders. Read more: 'What Steve needs to do is get the best out of the boys that he's got,' he said. 'Sometimes it is best to play with one up front and have the players that we've got behind him get the goals. That is the way it works. 'If Steve was to put in another striker and drop one of our star midfielders, drop John McGinn, Scott McTominay, Lewis Ferguson or Billy Gilmour, he's going to get criticised for that. 'Our strikers have got strengths in their game, there's no doubt about that. But there's not really an out-and-out goal scorer among them. If a team is a jigsaw and you're trying to put it all together, you need to realise where we're really strong and that is behind the striker with our midfielders. 'Throughout the Steve Clarke era, those players, those big players like John McGinn, Ryan Christie, Scott McTominay and Billy Gilmour, have almost always produced when it has mattered most.' Boyd, though, is hopeful that we have, even in this era of false No 9s, shadow strikers and twin No 10s, not seen the end of the 4-4-2 formation. He will not be at all surprised if it is in vogue once again in the not too distant future. (Image: SNS Group / SFA) 'Will it come back?' he said. 'Will we see two strikers up front again? You know, the big guy and the small guy? Do you know what? We just might. 'In football, everybody likes to try to reinvent the wheel. But nine times out of ten the game will revert back to what it was before. I for one hope that is the case. I would like to see Steve get two strikers on the pitch and create opportunities for them to score goals. But I do think we will go back to one up front when World Cup qualifying comes around.' That campaign will come a little too quickly for the boys and girls who took part in the McDonald's Fun Football sessions at Hampden on Monday – but Boyd is hopeful the long-standing initiative will produce a few more players like Che Adams, George Hirst and Lawrence Shankland for Scotland in the years to come. 'Programmes like McDonald's Fun Football are important for communities across Scotland,' he said. 'They give children a safe, positive place to just play the game and have fun. 'McDonald's are offering more free sessions this summer across Scotland and it's brilliant to see. I wish I had this when I was a youngster, I would've loved it. I'd encourage every parent to not miss out and to get their child signed up to their nearest free session.' Kris Boyd was celebrating the latest free wave of McDonald's Fun Football sessions this Summer, available to all children aged 5-11 across the UK. You can sign up now for your nearest free session at
