
Modric completes AC Milan move on one-year deal
Massimiliano Allegri, who has returned for a second stint as Milan boss after replacing Sergio Conceicao, called Modric an "extraordinary player" when confirming the Croatia captain would join earlier this month. Modric, who won the Ballon d'Or in 2018, won 28 trophies - including six Champions Leagues and four La Liga titles - with Real after his move from Tottenham in 2012, making him the club's most decorated player. He scored 43 goals in 597 games at Real and his final match was their 4-0 semi-final defeat by Paris St-Germain in the Club World Cup last week. Modric is keen to play at next year's World Cup, which takes place in Canada, Mexico and the US. Milan finished eighth in Serie A last season and missed out on a spot in Europe.
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Reuters
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Burnley's owners to take over LaLiga club Espanyol
July 15 (Reuters) - The owners of Premier League club Burnley, Velocity Sport Limited, have agreed a deal to acquire Espanyol, the LaLiga team said on Monday. "With this deal, RC Espanyol and (Burnley) will be part of this investment group, which expands its interests by having a club in LaLiga and another in the Premier League - although each will remain independent," Espanyol said in a statement. China's RASTAR Group took over Espanyol in 2015, overseeing two relegations and promotions as well as a seventh-placed finish in the 2018-19 season. "RASTAR is not disassociating itself from RCD Espanyol, but rather its shares will become part of this new investment vehicle that will have stakes in both clubs," Espanyol added. Espanyol finished 14th in LaLiga last season, just two points ahead of Leganes in 18th -- the final relegation spot.


BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Horsman urges WRU to act quickly on potential team cull
Former Wales prop Chris Horsman says strong leadership and a quick decision is needed by the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) after it announced it was considering cutting up to two of its four professional regional rugby's governing body says it is entering a formal consultation with the Professional Rugby Board (PRB) - which represents both the WRU and Cardiff, Dragons, Ospreys and Scarlets - saying the current system is failing and WRU says it wants a "more radical" strategy to be completed by played for Celtic Warriors - one of the original five teams created when Wales switched from club to regional sides as the top level of the domestic game - who were disbanded after just one season in 2004."What the game needs more than anything at the moment is stability," said Horsman, 47, who won 14 caps and has coached Wales Under-20s and Wales Women."For me, if they're [the WRU] going to make the cut they've got to just come forward they've got to give us some strong leadership." The current professional rugby agreement (PRA) that underpins the Welsh professional game runs out in was due to be superseded by a new five-year deal agreed by WRU-owned Cardiff and privately-owned Dragons, but has still not been signed by either Ospreys or Scarlets who say "key issues" have not been four sides are expected to continue to exist in their current form until at least June 2027 but their futures are now uncertain."Potentially they have got a year left of their contract," Horsman told Radio Wales Drive."They [the regions] want financial stability. Are you going to buy a season ticket? If you're a business are you going to sponsor the region, because you don't know in three, four month's time, you might be told it's not going to be there anymore? "So there are so many things resting on this decision and again we've got to wait."I know it's not going to be straightforward but we've heard that things were going to happen 18 months ago and they haven't, so I don't put a lot of stock in it's going to happen fast. I hope it does for the players' sake and for Welsh rugby's sake."One thing I will say is when we were at the Celtic Warriors, it happened over a weekend, pretty much, and as painful as it was at least it was done and then there was a decision made that the players were divvied up, pretty equally between the four regions and the game moved on quickly. "I think that's what's needed now."


Times
an hour ago
- Times
Officials to assess use of innovations by Rassie Erasmus against Italy
The match officials in South Africa's win over Italy are set to assess their handling of the home side's intentionally mistaken kick-off, one of two controversial innovations used by the head coach Rassie Erasmus in the match. The Springboks' 45-0 victory on Saturday in Gqeberha featured two unorthodox tactics that were widely shared and debated: the kick-off strategy — which guaranteed an early scrum and was criticised by the away team's head coach — and a lineout formation to set up a maul in open play. When the refereeing team meet this week to discuss their performance — as they do after every Test — they will assess their interpretation of the opening move of the game, which could have ramifications for future rulings. André Esterhuizen, the Springboks centre, ran ahead of Manie Libbok at kick-off and the fly half dinked the ball straight to his team-mate, ensuring it would not travel the requisite ten metres and the match would begin with a scrum. South Africa then conceded a free kick at the set-piece. 'We wanted to get the scrum badly to get into the game early on,' Erasmus said. 'We make a lot of little plans that sometimes don't pay off, that people don't know of.' Gonzalo Quesada expressed his surprise over the manoeuvre. 'I didn't take it very well, they can beat us without needing to do this kind of tactic,' the Italy head coach said. 'These last couple of weeks, we've been extremely respectful, coming here with a lot of humility — the land of the world champions and deserved double world champions. 'We know that when they prepared this game, they decided to dominate us and show us why they are the first team in the world. 'I was surprised because I don't know if it was something we did or said that created that first moment. They didn't need to do that to beat us.' Quesada had more praise for the Springboks' second innovation. Later in the game, South African forwards lifted a team-mate in the middle of the field to receive a pass from the scrum half, manufacturing a driving maul in open play. Law 9.26 states: 'In open play, any player may lift or support a team-mate.' The tactic has previously been used by Paul Roos Gymnasium's age-group sides. Regarding the kick-off tactic, one can interpret the existing laws in two ways. Law 12.5 states: 'When the ball is kicked: team-mates of the kicker must be behind the ball.' The first offence was that Esterhuizen was in front of the ball, therefore a scrum was awarded in accordance with the listed sanction. Law 12.6 adds that 'the ball must reach the 10-metre line', for which the sanction is either a scrum or a retaken kick-off, decided by the opposing team. Esterhuizen's role prevented that choice. There is no firm provision in law 12 that 'an offside player must not interfere with play', though that phrase exists in law 10, which governs offside and onside in open play rather than at kick-offs and restarts. However, Andrew Brace could have penalised South Africa under foul play under two edicts that, in effect, give officials the latitude to punish whatever they deem to be unfair. Law 9.27 states: 'A player must not do anything that is against the spirit of good sportsmanship.' More pertinently for this incident, law 9.7 stipulates that 'a player must not intentionally infringe any law of the game'. If South Africa had discussed the tactic beforehand with Brace, it could easily be viewed as a deliberate infringement, with a penalty awarded to Italy. As with the in-field lineout, the Springboks do not have sole ownership of the deliberately mistaken restart. Immediate scrums used to be a feature of the wild days of French club rugby, when fly halves would deliberately kick the ball straight out to ensure an early confrontation on the halfway line. Supporters of Erasmus again have cause to celebrate the innovations of the world champions, and to revel in those who cry foul. South Africa's use of the 'bomb squad' in a 7:1 split of forwards to backs on the bench has intensified calls in some quarters to limit the impact of replacements. Less controversially, in the 2023 World Cup quarter-final, Damian Willemse took the unusual move of calling for a scrum from a mark in his own 22, in another show of Springbok brain and brawn. Novel tactics and the use of loopholes often bring about changes to the laws of the game, such as Italy's no-ruck 'fox' tactic against England in 2017 and the so-called 'Dupont law', which was recently altered to ensure players had to make more effort to return to an onside position during a kick chase.