• United Press International

    Barcelona fires manager, soccer legend Xavi after three seasons

    Barcelona fired manager Xavi after three seasons, including their runner-up La Liga finish in 2023-24, the Spanish soccer club announced Friday.

  • The Canadian Press

    Real Madrid midfielder Tchouaméni to miss Champions League final with foot injury

    MADRID (AP) — Real Madrid holding midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni will miss the Champions League final because of a foot injury, coach Carlo Ancelotti said Friday. The 24-year-old France international won’t be available for the European title game against Borussia Dortmund on June 1 in London. “He won’t be ready for the final, he will focus on recovering in time for the European Championship” with France, Ancelotti said. Tchouaméni sustained a stress fracture in his left foot in the second leg of

  • The Canadian Press

    For Jewish soccer club on the verge of reaching German Cup again, there is fear as well as pride

    BERLIN (AP) — When Makkabi Berlin became the first Jewish club to ever play in the German Cup last year, it was a moment of pure joy and pride for a team founded by Holocaust survivors. A year later, Makkabi is on the verge of the same achievement again, but the emotions are vastly different this time in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. If Makkabi wins a local cup final for Berlin-based teams on Saturday, the fifth-division club once again gets a ticket to the prestigious tournament tha

  • The Canadian Press

    Equatorial Guinea must default wins in World Cup qualifying over same ineligible player as in 2013

    ZURICH (AP) — For the second time, Equatorial Guinea must forfeit two World Cup qualifying games for fielding star player Emilio Nsue when he was ineligible, FIFA said Friday. The second FIFA disciplinary case involving Nsue's eligibility comes 11 years after the first. The latest ruling was announced just four months after he was the tournament's top scorer at the African Cup of Nations, where he was permitted to play by the continent's governing soccer body CAF. FIFA said its disciplinary comm