PCPL Uncle’s Kitchen United Orlem and Kalina Rangers will be among the top teams in action at the franchise-based second edition of the Mumbai Rink Football League (MRFL) to be held from May 18 to June 2 at the St Andrew’s turf in Bandra. The five-a-side tournament that carries a total prize money of R8 lakh has four categories—men’s open, women’s open, veteran men and boys U-17. While PCPL UK United and Kalina Rangers are among the contenders for the 12-team men’s open category, MYJ Orlem, Golden Gunners Versova and Tarun FC Parel are the leading teams in the eight-team veteran men’s section. Joga Bonito Bandra and Shalom United Malad are among the top women’s teams in the fray while the boys U-17 category will see Poisar Pirates and Chembur United leading the group.
15 May,2024 06:20 AM IST | Mumbai | A CorrespondentArgentine legend Diego Maradona’s heirs will launch a lawsuit to stop the auction of the Golden Ball trophy that he was awarded after the 1986 World Cup won by Argentina. The trophy rewarding the best player of the tournament had been missing for decades and recently resurfaced. It is set to be auctioned in Paris next month, the Aguttes auction house said. Maradona’s heirs say the trophy was stolen and claim the current owner cannot be entitled to sell it. Gilles Moreu, a lawyer, who represents Maradona’s two daughters, said he will throw an urgent request to the president of the Nanterre judicial court near Paris to have the Golden Ball withdrawn from the auction. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
15 May,2024 06:17 AM IST | Paris | AFPRaphael Varane announced on Tuesday he will leave Manchester United at the end of the season when his contract expires following a three-year spell at Old Trafford. The former France defender, 31, arrived at the club from Real Madrid in 2021 for an initial fee of about £34 million ($43 million) and has made 93 appearances, scoring twice. He was part of the team that won the club’s first trophy in six years —the 2023 League Cup. But United have endured a nightmare season, languishing in eighth place in the Premier League with 14 defeats. Varane, whose United career has been disrupted by injuries, has not played since a 3-4 defeat to Chelsea on April 4. “The first time I went to Old Trafford as a Man United player was insane, the atmosphere was amazing. I fell in love with the club, with the fans. You have to play for Man United to understand what that represents,” Varane wrote on social media. “Despite the fact we had a difficult season, I’m very positive for the future. The new owners are coming with a clear plan and a great strategy,” the 2018 World Cup winner added. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
15 May,2024 06:15 AM IST | Manchester | AFPRaphael La Liga president Javier Tebas says Paris Saint-Germain striker Kylian Mbappe will join Real Madrid next season. Mbappe, 25-year-old, announced last week he’s leaving PSG at the end of his contract this summer, without specifying his destination. “He’s Madrid’s next season, yes,” Tebas told Argentine newspaper Ole on Monday. “If they’ve signed a five-year deal, he has five seasons of opportunity [to win the Champions League],” he added. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
15 May,2024 06:13 AM IST | Buenos Aires | AFPJhon Duran struck twice in the final five minutes to salvage a 3-3 draw for Aston Villa against Liverpool on Monday night. Martinez scores own-goal Villa looked set for a fourth consecutive defeat in all competitions as an Emiliano Martinez own-goal and strikes from Cody Gakpo and Jarrell Quansah put the visitors on course for victory in Jurgen Klopp’s final away game in charge. But substitute Duran’s double edged Unai Emery’s men closer to the top four. Duran celebrates his goal. Pics/AFP Martinez’s return to fitness after he missed last weekend’s 0-1 defeat at Brighton should have been a major boost for the home side. But the Argentine World Cup-winner’s howler handed Liverpool the opening goal after just two minutes as he fumbled Harvey Elliott’s deflected cross into his own net. Villa did respond positively as Ollie Watkins burned Quansah for pace and pulled back a cross for Youri Tielemans to equalise. However, momentum swung back in Liverpool’s favour in an end-to-end encounter when Gakpo tapped in after Martinez could only parry Joe Gomez’s effort. Villa were 1-3 down just three minutes into the second half as Quansah rose highest to head in Elliott’s free-kick. There was still time for Villa to mount a memorable comeback as Liverpool’s own defensive weaknesses were laid bare. “It got away from us tonight, there’s no doubt about that,” said Klopp. “We make a mistake for 3-2 and we open the door for them, the atmosphere was there and they score the equaliser.” Had it not been for an injury to substitute Nicolo Zaniolo, Duran may not even have entered the field. But the Colombian produced a stunning finale as he pounced on a mistake from Alexis Mac Allister to drill home from the edge of the box. Duran didn’t know much about his second as Diaby’s pass ricocheted in off his thigh. Pointless point for Reds A point for Liverpool may be meaningless in their title quest as wins for Man City and Arsenal ended their title hopes. Villa visit Crystal Palace on Sunday. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
15 May,2024 06:11 AM IST | Birmingham | AFPFaisal Halim, a Malaysian national team footballer, who was the victim of an acid-attack, has left intensive care following multiple surgeries, a football official said Tuesday. Halim suffered burns on the neck, shoulder, hands and chest in Petaling Jaya district outside the capital Kuala Lumpur two weeks ago. Nicknamed "Mickey", the 26-year-old plays on the right wing for Selangor Football Club and Malaysia. "Today, Faisal has been moved to a normal ward from ICU," Shahril Mokhtar, deputy president of the Selangor Football Association, said in a video shared on social media platform X by local media. Mokhtar said in the video, posted by Astro Arena, that the footballer was in "stable" condition. The motive behind the attack on him is still unknown and two suspects were arrested in connection with the attack. One has been freed while the other is still being questioned, investigators said. Police have lifted fingerprints of a suspect from the mall and were analysing them to help the search, local media reported Thursday. Also Read: Goalie Mazin saves three as Christ Church enter U-10 final The popular Malaysian footballer scored an equaliser against South Korea that was voted best goal of the 2023 Asian Cup. The acid attack came three days after another national team player, Akhyar Rashid, was injured in a robbery outside his home in the eastern state of Terengganu. In a third incident last Tuesday, former Malaysia skipper Safiq Rahim escaped unharmed after he was threatened with a hammer and his car windscreen was smashed by two assailants. The mystery assaults in the Malaysia football team have shocked and angered the nation. Police are continuing investigations and the motive for the attacks has not yet been determined. The domestic season of Malaysia football was slated to begin on Friday with a curtain raiser between Faisal's Selangor and Super League champions Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT). But Selangor pulled out of the showpiece, citing "a series of criminal incidents and recent threats". (With AFP inputs)
14 May,2024 03:16 PM IST | Kuala Lumpur | mid-day online correspondentPep Guardiola said “history is in front of us” as he prepares his Manchester City team for a potentially tricky match at Tottenham on Tuesday that could ultimately decide the destination of the Premier League title. City, chasing an unprecedented fourth straight English league crown, are one point behind leaders Arsenal but have a game in hand. If City beat Spurs they will be able to seal the championship with a win at home to West Ham on the final day of the season on Sunday, when Arsenal host Everton. “The mindset is easy, in terms of if we don’t win we are not going to win the Premier League and this is what we have to do,” Guardiola told Monday’s pre-match press conference. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
14 May,2024 06:39 AM IST | London | AFPArsenal forward Kai Havertz said he will become the “biggest fan” of north London rivals Tottenham when they host Manchester City on Tuesday as the Gunners hope for a twist in the Premier League title race. Havertz set up Leandro Trossard for the only goal in a 1-0 win at Manchester United on Sunday to take Mikel Arteta’s men top of the table by one point. However, City still have the destiny of the title in their own hands as they have two games remaining to Arsenal’s one. The first of those comes in midweek when Pep Guardiola’s men travel to a stadium where they have lost without scoring in each of the past four Premier League seasons. “I am going to be the biggest fan of Tottenham ever,” said Havertz. “Let’s hope for the best!” City have been relentless in recent weeks, winning their last seven league games to close in on an unprecedented fourth consecutive English top-flight title. Arsenal have had to be nearly flawless themselves just to remain in the race. They have taken 46 from the last 51 available points to register a club record 27 wins in a Premier League season. “It is a phenomenal thing they are doing,” said Arteta. Mikel Arteta “Winning, I think, encourages you to win more, to be better equipped and prepared to win in different contexts. Twenty-seven wins in the Premier League is the most in the history of this club. That is not progress, that is history. Big compliments to the players,” he added. By contrast, United are at risk of failing to qualify for European competition for just the second time since 1989-1990. Erik ten Hag’s men sit eighth in the table, 32 points behind Arsenal, after a 19th defeat in all competitions this season. United were at least much-improved from a 4-0 thrashing at Crystal Palace on Monday. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
14 May,2024 06:36 AM IST | Manchester | AFPKylian Mbappe's relationship with Paris Saint-Germain started with great fanfare but is ending amid ongoing tensions and without a Champions League trophy. Mbappé joined as a teenage phenom from Monaco in 2017 in a deal worth 180 million euros ($194 million). On Sunday, the 25-year-old superstar played his last home game for PSG and scored in a 3-1 loss to Toulouse. He was loudly jeered by sections of the crowd at Parc des Princes when his name was announced, two days after finally making it official he is leaving, though Mbappé got a warmer welcome from other PSG fans. As the soccer world discussed his imminent departure on Friday, French champion PSG did not comment on the matter. The late-evening announcement by Mbappé may have taken PSG by surprise since it was in a video posted on X, and not through the club's communication department. Between then and the Sunday night kickoff, there were more than 20 posts on PSG's official feed on X. KYLIAN MBAPPE TIFO raised by PSG's ultras ahead of his final home game for the club. 🇫🇷Mbappe departs hometown team having won Ligue 1 six times, but PSG the club decided not to give him an official farewell ceremony. 🙄pic.twitter.com/ZzEyZP1R30 — Men in Blazers (@MenInBlazers) May 12, 2024 Those included an exclusive look at next season's home strip, an item on a betting site, a clip of PSG's women's team reaching the French Cup final, and kickoff times for the match in different parts of the world, but nothing on Mbappé. Also Read: PSG win record-extending 12th French league title No tribute was paid to him by the club during Sunday's game, either, albeit not the last match of the season. It was left to the ultra supporters from the CUP, or Paris Ultras Collective, to honor him with a banner and a giant tifo in his image. The fracture between the cash-rich Qatari-owned club and its 256-goal record scorer appears to run deep. Here's a look at how relations deteriorated. New contract PSG may be feeling let down by Mbappé after offering him the most lucrative contract in the club's history when he signed a new contract in 2022. But Mbappé was frustrated because he felt promises to sign key players ¿ notably a top-class center forward like Robert Lewandowski so he could play in his favored position wide left ¿ were not kept. When he signed the new deal, he was paraded in front of fans holding up a jersey with 2025 on it. Mbappé was reportedly annoyed about this, because the contract was until 2024 with the option for an extra year. Offer declined Mbappé stunned PSG in June last year by informing the club he would not take the option for an extra year. With his contract effectively into its final year, it put PSG in the position of needing to sell Mbappé to avoid losing him for free when the contract expired. PSG insisted he would be sold but Mbappé wanted to see out the final year, so the club flexed its muscle by leaving him out of the pre-season tour to Japan in late July. Al-Hilal came in with a world record $332 million bid, but Mbappé was not interested and reportedly refused to meet with representatives from the Saudi club in Paris. Also Read: Is Madrid calling? Fallout and tensions After being left out of the preseason tour, Mbappé posted a photo of himself online after training with some fringe players, stopping to sign autographs outside the club's training complex. The standoff continued when Mbappé was dropped for this season's opening league game, watching from the stands as PSG drew 0-0. With Lionel Messi gone and Neymar on his way to join Saudi club Al-Hilal, PSG coach Luis Enrique simply could not afford to keep overlooking Mbappé. He returned in the next league game and scored a penalty. Time to leave Relations appeared to be repaired for a while, but they took another turn for the worse when Mbappé informed club president Nasser Al Khelaifi in mid-February that he was leaving, although he did not go public until Friday. In between times, Mbappé's relationship with Enrique ¿ knowing his best player would be leaving ¿ reportedly became more tense. Enrique showed his authority in recent weeks by either putting Mbappé on the bench or taking him off during important games. Lower status Mbappé's near-untouchable status at PSG was suddenly in question. When Enrique replaced him midway through the second half against bitter rival Marseille on March 31, a surprised Mbappé appeared to mutter something negative as he walked off. Enrique said he was rotating Mbappé to keep him fresher for the bigger games. They jumped into each other's arms after PSG knocked Barcelona out of the Champions League quarterfinals, with Mbappé scoring twice in the second leg. But resting Mbappé made no difference in the semifinals against Borussia Dortmund, with Mbappé failing to score as PSG lost both games 1-0. Once again, PSG fell short in European soccer's elite club competition. Mbappé's last PSG match will be on May 25 in the French Cup final against Lyon.
13 May,2024 05:05 PM IST | Paris | mid-day online correspondentIf anything defines Real Madrid it is a relentless hunger for silverware and that remained clear even as they celebrated their 36th La Liga title triumph on Sunday.Los Blancos players partied with fans at their traditional location outside the city’s Cibeles palace but the upcoming Champions League final remained in focus. Modric thanks fans The record 14-time European champions face Borussia Dortmund at Wembley on June 1 and various players said they hoped they could return to celebrate again after the final. “Thank you for being here to celebrate this day...I hope we see each other again in June,” said veteran midfielder Luka Modric, a five-time Champions League winner with Real. Carlo Ancelotti Madrid sealed their triumph last weekend with four games to spare, taking the title back from rivals Barcelona, but delayed the celebration to concentrate on beating Bayern Munich in midweek to reach the Champions League final. Dominant Madrid have lost just one match this season in La Liga, against rivals Atletico Madrid last September, and at present have scored more goals and conceded fewer than any other side in the division. They won both Clasicos against Barcelona and twice defeated their closest challengers for much of the season, Catalan upstarts Girona. Coach Carlo Ancelotti was a central figure in the celebrations, once again toting a cigar and wearing sunglasses as he did at Madrid’s last parade in 2022. ‘Today is the day to enjoy’ The day began early with RFEF president Pedro Rocha delivering the league trophy to Madrid’s Valdebebas training ground at 7.30 GMT, with captain Nacho Fernandez lifting it, for the first but certainly not the last occasion on the day. “Today is the day to enjoy it, when it’s something so deserved, something so big as winning the league, it’s the day to go to Cibeles,” said Nacho. There were other stops on the way for Madrid’s jubilant players, first heading to the Madrid regional government’s headquarters, presenting the trophy to president Isabel Diaz Ayuso. “This team has overcome a lot of adversity, with a lot of injuries,” said Madrid chief Florentino Perez, referring to Thibaut Courtois, Eder Militao and David Alaba’s long-term absences in particular. “This squad rebelled against the situation, this club badge achieves everything that seems impossible—the attitude [you need] in the face of life. “I want to thank all of the players that now form part of the history of the club—they have won it all and are still hungry.” This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
13 May,2024 06:40 AM IST | Madrid | AFPSomaiya FC U-21 produced a solid attacking performance as they blanked 7070 Football Club 3-0 in a Div-II match of the Mumbai Football Association (MFA) League at the Neville D’Souza Ground, Bandra, on Sunday. Anish Anavkar opened the scoring in the 15th minute and after the change of ends, Vedant G and Swaraj Pawar added to the scoreline. In another match, Jeeves FC beat Millat FC Colts 3-0. Samarth K, Shubham K and Aniket S scored for Jeeves FC.
13 May,2024 06:24 AM IST | Mumbai | A CorrespondentADVERTISEMENT
