
Barca's Leon banned for allegedly touching opponent's groin
Barcelona defender Mapi Leon has been banned for two Liga F matches following an incident with Espanyol defender Daniela Caracas in February.The Spain international was accused of "violating the privacy" of Colombia defender Caracas on 10 February after appearing to touch her in the groin area while Espanyol defended a corner kick. Espanyol expressed their "total discontent and condemnation" of the incident after a video of the clip went viral on social media.Liga F has confirmed to BBC Sport that Leon has been given a two-match suspension "due to the incident with Daniela Caracas" and would not be making any further statement. She served the first match of the suspension last weekend against Atletico Madrid and will miss Barcelona's next league game against Real Madrid. Leon denied inappropriately touching Caracas, saying there was "no contact with her private parts". "At no time did I, nor was it my intention, infringe upon the intimacy of my fellow professional Daniela Caracas," she said.Barcelona failed with an appeal over the suspension. The Catalans are four points clear of rivals Real Madrid at the top of Liga F, with five matches of the season remaining.

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Daily Mail
18 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Revealed: Trent Alexander Arnold's new shirt number at Real Madrid ahead of Club World Cup after controversial Liverpool exit
Trent Alexander-Arnold has been handed his new shirt number at Real Madrid ahead of the Club World Cup. The right back is in line to make his debut for the Spanish giants next Wednesday when they face Al-Hilal in their first group game after Real paid Liverpool £10m to release him from his contract early so he could play in the tournament. Alexander-Arnold wore the No 66 shirt at Liverpool, but this will not be an option at Real due to LaLiga rules stating that shirt numbers must fall between 1 and 25. It has now been confirmed that Alexander-Arnold will wear the No 12 shirt at his new club. The name on the back of his shirt will also change and now read 'Trent' rather than 'Alexander-Arnold'. The 26-year-old is due to be unveiled as a Madrid player on Thursday before the team jet off to the US to compete in the group stage where they are scheduled to face Al-Hilal, Pachuca and Red Bull Salzburg. It will be Alexander-Arnold's first chance to impress new manager Xabi Alonso, with the Spaniard taking over from Carlo Ancelotti. 🚨🏴 OFFICIAL: Trent Alexander-Arnold will wear number 12 at Real Madrid. — Madrid Xtra (@MadridXtra) June 11, 2025 🚨🏆 Real Madrid's squad list for the Club World Cup + official shirt numbers of the players. — Madrid Xtra (@MadridXtra) June 11, 2025 Fans will be eager to see how Alexander-Arnold settles at Madrid following his controversial Liverpool exit. Alexander-Arnold opted to run down his contract to leave his boyhood club on a free transfer at the end of the season, leading to an angry response from some Liverpool fans. After announcing his decision to leave in early May, Alexander-Arnold was booed by his own supporters when he came off the bench during a 2-2 draw with Arsenal at Anfield. A number of his team-mates and Arne Slot leapt to his defence after that game as they asked fans to remember his previous years of service. The England international did not feature in Liverpool's next game - a 3-2 away defeat by Brighton - but did come on as a half-time substitute on the final day against Crystal Palace. On that occasion, he received a much better reception from supporters, and he was then cheered by most fans when he went up to collect his medal during the post-match presentation as Liverpool lifted the Premier League trophy. Alexander-Arnold broke down in tears as he did a lap of honour to thank fans after the presentation, and he was seen crying again during Liverpool's open-top bus parade the following day. But he has never left Merseyside behind for a new life in the Spanish capital, and he is just days away from making his debut for Real in his No 12 jersey.


Telegraph
3 hours ago
- Telegraph
Tuchel's England is meant to be fun – but this is a joy-free zone
There were a few comments from England players as they arrived at the opulent XLR Executive Jet Centre in Birmingham. With an unbranded private plane waiting to take them to the Spanish Grand Prix, the gist of the remarks was that this was an early start. Who exactly relishes an early-morning flight anyway? At XLR, they pride themselves on being the ultimate in private, luxury travel, where 'every detail, request, and preference is meticulously anticipated in advance'. But it is still a journey at the crack of dawn. Other footballers were flying away with their families after a gruelling Premier League campaign but there was one final end-of-season camp for Thomas Tuchel's players. They were dressed in civvies – Kyle Walker in an eye-catching tank top – as they headed to Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona, before the start of warm-weather training. Declan Rice and Ezri Konsa were allowed to skip the Formula One as they were attending Jarrod Bowen's wedding, but the rest of the squad took selfies with pit crews and posed with shirts. Bukayo Saka seemingly did not get the memo about the unwritten grid-walk rule about giving interviews to Martin Brundle, but all-in-all it was described as 'good team-bonding' by one player. As much as players enjoyed the F1, this was still Tuchel's first taste of keeping the squad engaged during the summertime away from home. It has always been an issue for an England manager, never more apparent than during the Fabio Capello days when players were bored and isolated in their hotel rooms. Gareth Southgate set up a basketball court and chipping green at St George's Park during Euro 2020, then last summer there were padel courts at their base in Blankenhain, Germany. This was only a mini-break – and at the end of a long season – but it was worrying to hear that Tuchel saw no joy on the faces of his squad when they crossed the white line and played with the Three Lions on their chest during this international break. He will have to find a way to make it fun to go away with England. Of course, winning matches with conviction will help. His message when he first met the squad was that he wanted to put another star on the England shirt – the eternal legacy of a World Cup triumph. This meant every match counted, even if a qualifier was against lowly Andorra. Or a friendly against Senegal some 10 months after the season started. The German coach even counted up the sessions he would have before next year's tournament: 24 training days in total. There were six international breaks before the end of next season, and, with two already down, it has been a baptism of fire: jeered off after two worrying performances, questions over players' attitudes and confusing selection calls. Changes to the Southgate set-up It was always going to be a different dynamic to the previous era. Reporting on Gareth Southgate's team over eight years, it became apparent there was a bigger picture to winning football matches and reaching tournament finals. Over time, players matured and the culture of the squad changed. By coming with the sole aim of winning the World Cup, Tuchel's reign will only be defined by whether he is lifting the trophy in New Jersey next July. There have been changes from the Southgate era in the past two camps, even if they are small. There is an 'optional' squad breakfast between 9am and 11am, later in the morning in a move away from the strict timings under previous managers. Southgate used to start training sessions in the morning, which offered players an opportunity to sleep at some point in the afternoon. Under Tuchel, training starts in the afternoon. It is part of Tuchel's plan to build a 'brotherhood' spirit among his squad. The coach also embraced each player when they arrived in the lobby of their St George's Park base back in March when they met up for the first time. There have been new voices on the training pitches, with the accent of French-born Nicolas Mayer heard during sessions. Anthony Barry, a Liverpudlian, also takes drills. For the warm-weather training at the Camiral Golf and Wellness resort, in Girona, players strapped heart-rate monitors on their chests and applied sun cream before being put through their paces. The team selection for the two matches pointed to where players stood in the pecking order. Jordan Henderson, 35 next week, was given his first start since November 2023 and Tuchel wants him in the squad as he raises the standards of his team-mates. Tuchel also wanted to use an inverted right-back to move into midfield against an Andorra team not interested in attacking. Rather than Trent Alexander-Arnold who played there all season for Liverpool, Tuchel picked Curtis Jones, who started there three times in the title-winning team. Ivan Toney was said to have trained well all camp and there was a degree of surprise from some team-mates that he only got the final three minutes plus stoppage-time against Senegal, when England were chasing the game and on the brink of a first defeat by an African nation. There were theories that Tuchel called up Toney to look at him in person, rather than watching him in the Saudi Pro League in a lower standard of football. But taking off Harry Kane for the final half an hour and leaving Toney on the bench hinted at what Tuchel thinks of the Al-Ahli striker. At the final whistle there were jeers and the odd call of 'Tuchel out' as fans headed to the exits. One of Tuchel's messages to players is the importance of body language. He wants them to high-five like basketball players in the NBA, so the way players look like the enjoyment has been zapped out of them was the biggest concern. Contrast that to the Senegalese players signing and dancing in their dressing room, with manager Pape Thiaw banging on tables like he was beating a drum. It was like they had won the World Cup, which feels a long way from where England are.


Daily Mirror
4 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Thomas Tuchel confirms Trent Alexander-Arnold stance after England frustration
Trent Alexander-Arnold is set to to feature for Real Madrid at the upcoming Club World Cup but played just 26 minutes in England's latest international double-header Trent Alexander-Arnold did not start either England game because of the distraction of his move to Real Madrid. Alexander-Arnold is set to be unveiled by the Spanish giants after his £10m move from Liverpool ahead of the Club World Cup. But the Real Madrid right back had a frustrating time on international duty which must raise question marks over whether another England manager really fancies him. However, Thomas Tuchel said Alexander-Arnold is a 'special player' and said that leaving him out was a decision made with so much else going on in his world. England boss Tuchel said: 'Like every other player, he needs to play and get minutes, and be competitive on the highest level. It's as easy as that. 'There was a lot going on for Trent in the last weeks. Even now with the change of city, change of environment, change of country, change of club. Let's see. 'I wish him all the best and he was in camp and like every other player be there, be competitive, find your place, keep your place, and be ready for nomination in September. 'Trent is Trent. He's a special player, it makes not so much sense to focus on a part of his game that's not his strength. We all know what he can give to a team. If he steps up to his highest level he will always be in contention for nomination.' Meanwhile, Alexander-Arnold's new club team-mate Jude Bellingham is set to miss England's next two World Cup qualifiers. Tuchel admitted that he fully expects Bellingham to undergo shoulder surgery after the Club World Cup. Real Madrid star Bellingham has been playing with heavy strapping on the injury for the past year and will go under the knife this summer. That means he is set to miss the qualifiers with Andorra at Wembley and a trip to Serbia but Tuchel insists the other players will need to step up and prove they can cope without him. Tuchel said: 'It can be an issue. But we can do without… We have whom we have. The players need to make sure they're in the right mindset, they have their place, they're fit and strong, a World Cup season demands everything from the players. 'They need to be at the highest standards, and if a player cannot make it because of a surgery or injury or whatever we have to step up and do it as a team without them, no question.' And while Jude will miss the next batch of internationals, his brother Jobe has been thrown a shock World Cup chance after his move to Borussia Dortmund. The 19-year-old is following in Jude's footsteps by moving to the Bundesliga club to further his career. It worked brilliantly for Jude Bellingham as the England star became one of the best midfielders in the world and is now a superstar with Real Madrid. Jobe has already represented England at under-21 level, helped Sunderland to gain promotion to the Premier League and his £32m fee was more than Dortmund paid for Jude. Tuchel revealed they will now monitor Jobe's progress carefully and both brothers could go to next summer's World Cup. When asked whether there was a chance of a call-up and Dortmund being a good platform, Tuchel said: 'It works well in his family.' And Tuchel admitted he could be one they look at before adding: 'Of course. Everyone is a one. 'It starts World Cup season, in August for me. The start of the season after the club World Cup. World Cup season, if you're ready at that highest level, you can be selected. If he's playing, then of course.'