Football fixtures

LONDON: Everton midfielder Jean-Philippe Gbamin's injury woes continued on Monday after a knee problem ruled him out of his club's Premier League match at Brighton & Hove Albion. The Ivorian has played only three games and made one start since joining Everton in 2019 from Bundesliga side Mainz 05 for 25 million euros. After missing most of his first season with a hamstring injury sustained in his second game for the club, he ruptured his Achilles tendon last May and was out for a further 11 months. He finally returned to the pitch as a late substitute in last week's 1-1 draw at home to Crystal Palace. But his comeback was shortlived, with coach Carlo Ancelotti saying before Monday's match at Brighton that the 25-year-old had sustained a contact injury in training over the weekend and would undergo a scan on Tuesday. ... » Learn More about Football: Injury misery drags on for Everton’s Gbamin

WEST BROMWICH -West Bromwich Albion beat Southampton 3-0 in convincing fashion in the Premier League on Monday as Sam Allardyce's side look to salvage their top flight survival hopes in the home stretch of the season. West Brom, who beat Chelsea 5-2 last weekend, have won back-to-back games for the first time this season and the 19th-placed side are within eight points of the safety zone with seven games to go. "It was really important to back last week's result up and make it two wins in a row," West Brom forward Callum Robinson told BBC Sport. "The boss stressed we needed to go out tonight and get a win, the results didn't go our way at the weekend. It (safety) is still far off but we will keep going until the end." West Brom had an early goal controversially ruled out after Mbaye Diagne headed home before celebrations were cut short when the offside flag went up. However, VAR was unable to draw a conclusion and stuck with the on-field decision. But West Brom were not to ... » Learn More about Football: Rampant West Brom beat Southampton 3-0 to ignite survival hopes

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said Manchester United were sparked into life by the injustice of seeing Edinson Cavani's opening goal controversially ruled out as the Red Devils roared back to beat Tottenham 3-1 on Sunday. United came from behind to win for the ninth time in the league this season as second-half goals from Fred, Cavani and Mason Greenwood cancelled out Son Heung-min's opener. However, Solskjaer still took aim at Son for his role in the goal United had ruled out. Paul Pogba and Cavani combined brilliantly for the Uruguayan to drill the ball low between the legs of Hugo Lloris on 36 minutes. But a VAR review by referee Chris Kavanagh resulted in a Tottenham free-kick for a foul by Scott McTominay on Son in the build-up. The Scottish international made minimal contact with Son's face as he swatted the South Korean aside. "The game is absolutely gone if that's a clear and obvious error," said Solskjaer. "It was a perfectly good goal. I think that kickstarted us, the ... » Learn More about Solskjaer ‘not conned’ by Son as Man Utd gain revenge on Spurs

LONDON: Tottenham Hotspur are to take action after Korean star Son Heung-min was subjected to “abhorrent racist abuse” on social media following Sunday’s (Monday in Manila) 3-1 defeat by Manchester United. Son is the second Spurs player in as many matches to suffer such abuse following Davinson Sanchez after the 2-2 draw with Newcastle United on April 4. Son scored Spurs’ goal but was involved in a controversial incident when he went down clutching his face after contact with Scott McTominay. That resulted in an Edinson Cavani goal being ruled out and post-match criticism of the Korean by United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. “Another matchday and more abhorrent racial abuse suffered by one of our players,” said a Spurs statement. “This has again been reported to the platforms and we shall now undertake a full review alongside the Premier League to determine the most effective action moving forward.” Tottenham said last week they wanted “social media platforms to take ... » Learn More about Spurs to take action after Korean star Son racially abused

Matteo Darmian scored the only goal as Serie A leaders Inter Milan held off lowly Cagliari 1-0 to stretch their winning streak to 11 games as they close in on a first league title in over a decade. Champions Juventus consolidated third place with a 3-1 win over Genoa as Napoli moved fourth and back into the Champions League spots with a 2-0 win at Sampdoria. Inter are 11 points clear of second-placed AC Milan who won 3-1 at Parma on Saturday, as a first title since 2010 beckons for Antonio Conte's side with eight game left to play. Moroccan Achraf Hakimi came off the bench and minutes later set up Italy defender Darmian to grab the winner in the San Siro to inflict a fourth consecutive defeat on Cagliari. "We are starting to see the finish line, but we're not there yet and can't afford to make calculations," Conte said. "It's not easy to be under constant pressure but we're getting used to it. "We just need to continue pedalling to the max as we approach our goal." Inter ... » Learn More about Inter streak towards Serie A title as Juve consolidate third spot

OUAGADOUGOU (Reuters) - At the end of an empty hallway in a Burkina Faso teaching hospital, a group of children sat together in medical gowns, nervously awaiting operations that could save their lives. The smallest, nine-year-old Landry Nion, fixated on a phone game while an older girl cheerfully encouraged him. "After the operation, I would like to become a footballer like Messi," Nion said shortly before his surgery. The five children have become the first in Burkina Faso to successfully undergo open heart surgery. It's a landmark event that doctors say could signal a sea-change for the West African country's healthcare system. Nion and his peers, all born with similar heart defects, were identified by French charity La Chaine de l'Espoir to participate in a week-long surgical campaign at the Tengandogo University Hospital in Ouagadougou. The operations were led by European doctors with assistance from Burkina Faso counterparts, who are being trained to perform ... » Learn More about Children in Burkina Faso undergo historic heart surgeries

STOCKHOLM (AFP) - Swedish authorities on Tuesday (April 13) accused Russia's military intelligence service of hacking the Swedish Sports Confederation to try to discredit its athletes, but said there was no prospect of a prosecution. The suspected breaches occurred between December 2017 and May 2018, when hackers are believed to have gained access to Swedish athletes' personal details, including medical records. Among those whose details were leaked was Swedish women's footballer Olivia Schough, Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet reported. Sweden's security service Sapo said it believed the hackers were linked to the Russian military intelligence service GRU's 85th centre, also known as APT28 or Fancy Bear. "The suspected data breach... is an example of when sports are used to strengthen the image of one's own country while at the same time discrediting other countries and their athletes," Daniel Stenling, head of counter-intelligence at Sapo, said in a statement. In a separate ... » Learn More about Doping: Sweden blames Russia for 2018 hacking of sports body

LOS ANGELES: New England Patriots star Julian Edelman announced his retirement from the NFL on Monday (Tuesday in Manila), bringing the curtain down on a career that spanned 12 seasons and included three Super Bowl victories. The 34-year-old receiver, named MVP in the Patriots most recent Super Bowl victory in 2019, confirmed his retirement after his contract was terminated due to a failed physical. “I’ve always said I’m going until the wheels come off, and they’ve finally fallen off,” Edelman said in a recorded video posted on Twitter that showed him sitting on the Patriots Gillette Stadium field at Foxboro. “Due to an injury last year, I’ll be making my official announcement of my retirement from football. It’s been the best 12 years of my life. It’s been a hell of a run.” Edelman’s former Patriots teammate and close friend Tom Brady led the tributes to the retiring receiver. “On the biggest stage and in the biggest moments, you always came through,” the seven-time Super ... » Learn More about Patriots legend Edelman retires

Sporting fixtures in Minnesota were called off Monday as tensions in the city simmered in the wake of the fatal police shooting of a Black man in a Minneapolis suburb. Basketball, baseball and ice hockey games were all postponed following the shooting death of Daunte Wright on Sunday (Monday in Manila) by police in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Center. “The National Basketball Association announced today that in light of the tragic events in the Minneapolis area yesterday, tonight’s game between the Brooklyn Nets and the Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center has been postponed,” the NBA said in a statement. The shooting, which comes with Minneapolis already on edge because of the Derek Chauvin trial for the murder of George Floyd, sparked protests and looting overnight. Authorities in Minneapolis and surrounding suburbs including Brooklyn Center announced a curfew from 7:00 pm (0000 GMT) Monday (Tuesday in Manila) until 6 a.m. Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila). The ... » Learn More about Minnesota sports shut down after police shooting

Bayern Munich midfielder Joshua Kimmich is convinced the holders can beat Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes on Tuesday in their Champions League quarter-final second leg to reach the last four. "I believe that we will progress, because we're the better team," Kimmich told the club's website. Bayern need to overturn a 3-2 defeat from last week's first leg in Munich. "We were the better team in the first leg, but unfortunately the result didn't correspond to the performance," added Kimmich. "Nevertheless, I'm confident that we can still turn it around in the second leg." Despite peppering the PSG goal with 31 shots, 12 on target, Bayern lost the first leg at home after Kylian Mbappe scored twice and Marquinhos also hit the net as PSG had just four shots on target. "In the first leg, they threatened three times and scored three times," said Kimmich. "Apart from that, I don't remember Paris having that many chances. "Overall, our attack had more possession and ... » Learn More about ‘We’re better’: Kimmich insists Bayern can beat PSG