Latest news with #UefaChampionsLeague
Irish Examiner
an hour ago
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Shels shocked as Qarabag show gulf in class in Champions League second round qualifier
Uefa Champions League second round, first leg SHELBOURNE 0 QARABAG 3 (Leandro Andrade 12, Oleksiy Kashchuk 80, Nariman Akhundzade 85) Trust someone with a Shamrock Rovers link to kick-start the monsoon dumped on Shelbourne's Champions League parade. Pico Lopes is one of the few regular internationals in the League of Ireland and his Cape Verde teammate Leandro Andrade popped up to smother a promising start for Shels to this second-round tie. That was admirable given the magnitude of the step-up in class from their first-round victory. Losing to Linfield would have triggered a wider debate on comparisons between the two leagues on the island of Ireland but there's no debate as to how far ahead the Azeris are. Specifically, that refers to Qarabag. They've claimed the title in all bar one of the last 11 seasons, their monopoly derived from the investment that puts a value on the current squad of €25m. Conservative estimates would quantify the Shels equivalent at 90% less. While the gulf in class was evident in dispatches, the Reds did occasionally sculpt moments that could have brought with them something to the second leg in Baku. That they squandered those moments, coupled with switching off to gift substitute Oleksiy Kashchuk and Nariman Akhundzade late goals, that all but confirms Shels have used up one of their three lifelines to reach group stage participation beginning in October. Nariman Akhundzade of Qarabag scores his side's third goal. Pic: Ben McShane/Sportsfile. Within the space of five minutes Shels descended from being in the tie to effectively being eliminated – a lesson as to the calibre of opponent in Uefa's supreme competition. All the warnings of lapses being punishable issued by manager Joey O'Brien, only a month into the job since his boss Damien Duff abruptly quit on a Sunday morning, weren't heeded by his Shels players. Ominously for the Irish title holders, Qarabag, on their home patch, in peak summer temperatures and a week further into their pre-season will pose a deadlier threat next Wednesday. Shels knew from their triumph in Belfast last week that three more ties were ahead of them on this return to the European stage following an 18-year absence. The second of those will be in the Europa League in a fortnight, the first leg away to the loser of another Champions League clash between Ludogorets (Bulgaria) or Rijeka (Croatia), who played out a scoreless draw. Flat feelings across Tolka Park were a contrast to the opening 10 minutes when O'Brien's call to begin briskly had the desired effect. From their first corner on seven minutes, Harry Wood's delivery was met by Tyreke Wilson's flying header which struck the arm of Behlul Mustafazade. Shels didn't have time to appeal before Seán Gannon's sliced effort rebounded off the post. A VAR check didn't award the penalty. Five minutes later and the Azeri kingpins grabbed their lead from a clinical counterattack. They were appealing for a foul by Kameron Ledwidge when Leandro Andrade drove at the defence from the right, switched play to the left, where Abdellah Zoubir and Tural Bayramo combined to square for the Cape Verde attacker to sweep home from close range. Akhundzade grazed the crossbar with a volley from a well-worked corner as Shels were stretched and all the hosts could conjure approaching the break was a header from captain Paddy Barrett which Fabijan Buntić almost contrived to fumble into the path of Mipo Odubeko. The striker was nowhere near as involved in this tie but his wingers both had chances to level early in the second half. Ali Coote's deflected volley looped over the crossbar before Harry Wood uncharacteristically scuffed his chance at the back post when found by Kerr McInroy. Barrett's cross also glanced off the crossbar as the sold-out crowd craved an equaliser but they were silenced by the late brace. When Akhundzade's shot clipped the post with 10 minutes left, Ukrainian Kashchuk followed in to tap into the empty net. Five minutes later and stand-in goalkeeper Lorcan Healy was left stranded by a header from Ledwidge that enabled Akhundzade to walk the ball over the goal-line while the row behind him ensued. SHELBOURNE: L Healy; E Caffrey (J O'Sullivan 66), S Gannon (M Coyle 46), P Barrett, K Ledwidge, T Wilson (J Norris 18); K McInroy, JJ Lunney; A Coote (J Martin 66), M Odubeko (S Boyd 77), H Wood. QARABAG: F Buntic; D Bolt (A Hüseynov 77), B Mustafazade, M Silva, T Bayramov; P Bicalho, Kady, E Addai; L Andrade (O Kashchuk 77), N Akhundzade (M Qurbanlı 88), A Zoubir (E Cafarguliyev 88). Referee: Ante Čulina (CRO).
The 42
6 days ago
- Sport
- The 42
Shelbourne's next Champions League game to be broadcast by Premier Sports
PREMIER SPORTS HAVE announced they will show Shelbourne's clash with Qarabag on Wednesday next. Shelbourne booked their place in the Uefa Champions League second qualifying round after beating Linfield 2-1 on aggregate, drawing 1-1 in Windsor Park last night to progress thanks to a first-leg 1-0 victory at Tolka Park. Match coverage of the home leg at Tolka Park on Wednesday against Azerbaijan side Qarabag will begin at 7.15pm, with Aisling O'Reilly presenting alongside Kenny Cunningham and Dave Rogers. Kick off is at 7.45pm. Advertisement The second leg, in Azerbaijan takes place on Wednesday, 30 July. Premier Sports is available as part of a 'Sports Extra' pack in Ireland on Sky, Now, Virgin Media and Vodafone. Premier Sports is available in the UK on the Sky platform, channels 419 and 420, on Virgin as channels 551 and 552 and on Amazon Prime as an add on subscription. Fans can also pay to watch on the Premier Sports Player, a streaming service available on platforms such as iOS and Android smartphones and tablets, PC and Mac, Fire TV and Android TV and Chromecast.
BBC News
16-07-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Champions League qualifier ends in 28-penalty shootout
Maltese champions Hamrun Spartans reached the second qualifying round of the Uefa Champions League for the first time on Tuesday - but they did it the hard way in a tie that went to extra time and then featured 28 penalties in a Spartans went into the second leg 2-0 down to Lithuanian champions Zalgiris but scored twice in six first-half minutes to draw had defender Vasilije Radenovic sent off in the 114th minute for a second bookable offence before the real drama of the evening a pair of misses, the teams were locked at 4-4 and the shootout went to sudden goalkeepers - Spartans captain Henry Bonello and Zalgiris' Carlos Olses - scored their midfielder Ebenezer Ofori missed the crucial spot-kick, with Jovan Cadenovic scoring the winner to give Spartans a 11-10 international Bonello, 36, became the hero for Spartans by saving two spot-kicks, while Olses saved one and four more penalties missed the reward for Spartans is a tie against Ukrainian champions Dynamo Kyiv for a place in the third round of qualifying. Where does it rank? Opta says the biggest penalty shootout by score in a European competition is Belfast club Glentoran's 14-13 defeat by Malta's Gzira United in Conference League qualifying in July 2023, which also featured 28 ranks just ahead of Ajax's 13-12 penalty win over Panathinaikos to reach the Europa League qualifying play-off round in August shoot-out featured a remarkable 34 and Zalgiris sit joint third on the list in terms of highest score but joint second in terms of number of penalties taken in a European world record for a shootout is believed to be the 56 penalties taken by Israeli sides SC Dimona and Shimshon Tel Aviv in May 2024 in a semi-final promotion play-off, as both sides took 28 before SC Dimona prevailed England, the overall record is held by non-league sides Washington and Bedlington for their 54-penalty shootout that decided an Ernest Armstrong Memorial Cup game in 2022. Highest-scoring penalty shootouts in European competition (featuring 20+ successful spot-kicks) 1 Gzira United v Glentoran (14-13) - Conference League qualifying phase - 20 July 20232 Ajax v Panathinaikos (13-12) - Europa League qualifying phase - 15 August 20243= Shamrock Rovers v Ilves (12-11) - Europa League qualifying phase - 27 August 20203= Wisla Krakow v Spartak Trnava (12-11) - Conference League qualifying phase - 15 August 20245= Skonto Riga v Olimpija Ljubljana (11-10) - Champions League qualifying phase - 1 September 19935= IK Start v Drogheda United (11-10) - UEFA Cup qualifying phase - 24 August 20065= Villarreal v Manchester United (11-10) - Europa League final - 26 May 2025= Hamrun Spartans v Zalgiris (11-10) - Champions League qualifying phase - 15 July 2025
Rhyl Journal
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Rhyl Journal
Gary Lineker named BBC's highest earner for the final time
The 64-year-old, who left the BBC early at the end of the last Premier League season in May, was reported to have earned between £1,350,000 and £1,354,999 in the corporation's latest annual report for 2024/2025, for his work on Match Of The Day and coverage of European football. Radio presenter Zoe Ball was the second highest-paid, earning between £515,000 and £519,999, for her work on the Radio 2 Breakfast Show, which she left on December 20 last year. Ball has since returned to a new Saturday afternoon show on the station, which she began hosting in May 2025. Match Of The Day pundit Alan Shearer was the third-highest earner with a salary of between £440,000 and £444,999. The former Newcastle United striker will continue to analyse football on the BBC in the new season with Match Of The Day's incoming presenters Kelly Cates, Mark Chapman and Gabby Logan. His pay also covered work on the BBC's coverage of European football competitions, such as the Uefa Champions League. BBC Radio 1 Breakfast Show presenter Greg James came fourth on the list, earning between £425,000 and £429,999, for work which also included his Radio 4 show Rewinder, while Fiona Bruce and Nick Robinson were the joint fifth-highest earners, with both earning between £410,000 and £414,999. Bruce's pay covered her work on Question Time and other presenting work on BBC One and coverage of the UK general election, while Robinson's included his presenting work, Political Thinking and Today podcasts, and his work covering the UK general election. The publication of salaries comes after former England striker Lineker left his presenting role earlier than planned following a social media row after he shared a post about Zionism which featured a depiction of a rat, historically an antisemitic insult. Lineker issued an unreserved apology for the incident, and will no longer front the BBC's coverage of the 2026 World Cup or the FA Cup next season. The rest of the top 10 was made up of BBC Radio 5 Live presenter Stephen Nolan, who earned between £405,000 and £409,999, TV presenter Laura Kuenssberg, who earned between £395,000 and £399,999, BBC Radio 2 presenter Vernon Kay, who earned between £390,000 and £394,999, and journalist Justin Webb, who earned between £365,000 and £369,999. The annual report and salary reveal comes as the BBC has made headlines over its coverage of the Glastonbury Festival, the Gaza: How To Survive A Warzone documentary, and a report into Gregg Wallace's behaviour on MasterChef. On Monday, Wallace's MasterChef co-host John Torode confirmed he had a standalone allegation of racist language upheld in the same report.
Glasgow Times
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Glasgow Times
BBC's top 10 highest earners revealed. See the full list
The 64-year-old, who left the BBC at the end of the last Premier League season in May, was reported to have earned between £1,350,000 and £1,354,999 in the corporation's latest annual report for 2024/2025, for his work on Match Of The Day and coverage of European football. FORMER Match Of The Day presenter Gary Lineker has topped the list of the BBC 's highest-earning on-air talent for the eighth consecutive year and the final time. Radio presenter Zoe Ball was the second highest-paid, earning between £515,000 and £519,999, for her work on the Radio 2 Breakfast Show, which she left on December 20 last year. READ NEXT: TRNSMT act admits wardrobe malfunction on stage - but gie' it laldy for fans READ NEXT: Singer who performs with music legend does solo show at TRNSMT Ball has since returned to a new Saturday afternoon show on the station, which she began hosting in May 2025. Match Of The Day pundit Alan Shearer was the third-highest earner with a salary of between £440,000 and £444,999. Shearer will continue to analyse football on the BBC in the new season with Match Of The Day's incoming presenters Kelly Cates, Mark Chapman, and Gabby Logan. His pay also covered work on the BBC's coverage of European football competitions, such as the Uefa Champions League. The 10 ten BBC highest earners Gary Lineker: Between £1,350,000 and £1,354,999 Zoe Ball: Between £515,000 and £519,999 Alan Shearer: Between £440,000 and £444,999 Greg James: Between £425,000 and £429,999 Fiona Bruce: Between £410,000 and £414,999 Nick Robinson: Between £410,000 and £414,999 Stephen Nolan: Between £405,000 and £409,999 Laura Kuenssberg: Between £395,000 and £399,999 Vernon Kay: Between £390,000 and £394,999 Justin Webb: Between £365,000 and £369,999. BBC Radio 1 Breakfast Show presenter Greg James came fourth on the list for work which also included his Radio 4 show Rewinder, while Fiona Bruce and Nick Robinson were the joint fifth-highest earners. Bruce's pay covered her work on Question Time and other presenting work on BBC One and coverage of the UK General Election, while Robinson's included his presenting work, Political Thinking and Today podcasts, and his work covering the UK General Election. The publication of salaries comes after former England striker Lineker left his presenting role earlier than planned following a social media row after he shared a post about Zionism which featured a depiction of a rat, historically an antisemitic insult. Lineker issued an unreserved apology for the incident, and will no longer front the BBC's coverage of the 2026 World Cup or the FA Cup next season. The rest of the top 10 was made up of BBC Radio 5 Live presenter Stephen Nolan, who earned between £405,000 and £409,999, TV presenter Laura Kuenssberg, who earned between £395,000 and £399,999, BBC Radio 2 presenter Vernon Kay, who earned between £390,000 and £394,999, and journalist Justin Webb, who earned between £365,000 and £369,999. The annual report and salary reveal comes as the BBC has made headlines over its coverage of the Glastonbury Festival, the Gaza: How To Survive A Warzone documentary, and a report into Gregg Wallace's behaviour on MasterChef. On Monday, Wallace's MasterChef co-host John Torode confirmed he had a standalone allegation of racist language upheld in the same report.
