Italy coach Cesare Prandelli says Mario Balotelli s Euro 2012 place is not under threat despite his sending off against Arsenal on Sunday.
Balotelli saw red late in Manchester City s 1-0 defeat at the Emirates Stadium for a foul on Bacary Sagna.
He had escaped a similar punishment earlier following a hard tackle on Alex Song.
In February, Prandelli said Balotelli could be left out of his plans for the competition in Poland and Ukraine because of his temperament, but the 54-year-old coach played down the former Inter Milan star s actions on Sunday.
I saw his sending off, but this time it was for a foul that was part of the game, he is quoted by Eurosport as saying.
I do not think the code of ethics can be applied in this particular situation.
Lille manager Rudi Garcia has played down the possibility of keeping Liverpool loanee Joe Cole at the Ligue 1 club.
Earlier this week, the 30-year-old admitted he would prefer to stay with the French side rather than return to Anfield at the end of his loan spell.
And, while Garcia admitted the club would like to retain Cole s services, he refused to reveal whether wages are proving to be a stumbling block to any proposed deal.
It proves he is happy with us. We are happy with him. There has been no debate on the reciprocal desires. But this is not the time (to talk), he said.
We have a big objective, so we don t waste our energy working on it (a permanent deal for Cole).
What is certain is that everyone is under contract. There are special cas…
Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar were a joy to play alongside but Pablo Sarabia nevertheless wanted to leave Paris Saint-Germain.
Sarabia swapped hopes of a Ligue 1 title and push for Champions League glory with PSG for a relegation battle in the Premier League with Wolves in January.
The Spain international reunited with Julen Lopetegui, who he had previously worked under in La Roja s under-21s team.
Lopetegui has lifted Wolves off the bottom of the table and out of the relegation zone, though ahead of Saturday s meeting with Tottenham they have failed to win their last three games.
Sarabia is enjoying life in England, however, despite no longer playing alongside three of the world s best players.
In an interview with The Telegraph, the 30-…
Spanish coach Luis Aragones on Saturday signed a two-year contract with Turkish club Fenerbahce.
I am here both with my brain and heart to work for Fenerbahce, the 69-year-old, who led champions Spain in Euro 2008, told a news conference through an interpreter.
I know I have come to a good and strong team. I can tell you that I am very happy, he added.
Fenerbahce had first announced a two-year pre-contract with Aragones on June 25, but the coach then still at the helm of Spain on the eve of their Euro 2008 semi-final against Russia had denied the deal.
Approaching his 70th birthday, Aragones became the oldest coach to win the European title when Spain beat Germany 1-0, clinching their second title after the first in 1964.
Back in the dark da…
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has accused the Premier League of ignoring the mental and physical welfare of players with its refusal to sanction five substitutions.
The issue was neither raised nor discussed at a Premier League shareholders meeting this week despite Klopp and other managers, such as Manchester United s Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, regularly highlighting the issue.
Clubs had previously been allowed to make five changes during the restart last season, but the Premier League twice voted against continuing it before the start of the current campaign.
The English Football League has since voted to allow managers to make five subs if needed, with the rule already in place in the Champions League and elsewhere in Europe.
Klopp again spoke at length…
Nigel Pearson will lead Watford s survival mission after returning to the Premier League as head coach of the Hornets.
The former Leicester City manager succeeds Quique Sanchez Flores, whose short-lived second spell at Vicarage Road was brought to an end last weekend after a sore defeat to Southampton.
Pearson has signed a contract initially until the end of the season, Watford said on their official website.
The Hornets sit bottom of the Premier League with eight points from 15 matches. Pearson, 56, becomes their third head coach of the campaign, after Javi Gracia and Flores.
Watford chairman and chief executive Scott Duxbury said: Nigel is an impressive coach and comes with all of the experience and success we believe can have a very positive impact on …
Liverpool have announced that captain Steven Gerrard will leave the club at the end of the season.
The 34-year-old has ingrained himself as an Anfield legend during a professional career that started in 1998.
Gerrard has been a talismanic leader for Liverpool, famously skippering the side to UEFA Champions League success in 2005 and the FA Cup in 2006.
The former England captain has never lifted the Premier League title, although he came agonisingly close in the 2013-14 season.
However, he slipped and gifted the ball to Demba Ba during April s 2-0 defeat to Chelsea as Liverpool s challenge faded in the closing weeks of the season.
Speculation that Gerrard could leave Liverpool gathered pace earlier this term after he struggled for form, althou…
Oman coach Paul Le Guen warned Australia his side will fight for everything on Tuesday as they look to keep their Asian Cup campaign alive.
The Omanis face a crucial clash against Australia in Sydney following their narrow 1-0 defeat to South Korea in Canberra on Saturday.
While they will have one less day than the Socceroos to prepare for the match, Le Guen has promised a full-blooded effort from his side.
“They ran a lot of on the pitch [against South Korea on Saturday]. I have to take that into consideration,” Le Guen said.
“I am convinced we will fight.
“We have one day less recovery … it will be tough for many reasons but we will fight.”
Skipper and goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi, who was solid in the loss to South Korea, knows h…
Bayern Munich and Los Angeles FC have joined forces in an agreement designed to bolster both clubs development of young players.
The Bundesliga champions and the MLS Cup holders have set up a joint venture named Red Gold Football based in Munich, with the aim of developing players for both teams internationally.
Bayern chief executive Oliver Kahn said the partnership with LAFC will enable Bayern to continue to compete with their European rivals, saying improvements in the quality of MLS will benefit the Bavarian giants.
On an international level, soccer is developing rapidly, which is also evident in the transfer market, Kahn told the club s website.
We see this partnership as an opportunity to strengthen FC Bayern in the sporting competition with the …
Jurgen Klopp has ruled out any panic buying from Liverpool after Thiago Alcantara suffered a hamstring injury in the 2-2 draw at Fulham.
Thiago had to be withdrawn early in the second half of the Reds first game of the Premier League season at Craven Cottage on Saturday.
Liverpool face an anxious wait to discover the extent of the damage the Spain international sustained in London.
Klopp has already lost fellow midfielders Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (hamstring) and Curtis Jones (calf) to injury, while Naby Keita missed the clash with the Cottagers due to illness.
The Reds boss says there will be no knee-jerk reaction if Thiago is facing a lengthy absence.
He told reporters: I know what will now come up, it s clear. We said we don t need a midfield…