Nnamdi Onyeagwara

Unai Emery refused to blame the video assistant referee (VAR) decision to rule out John McGinn’s goal for Aston Villa against Bournemouth. Villa looked to be on track for their sixth Premier League win of the season after Ross Barkley put the home side 1-0 up at Villa Park after 76 minutes. However, a stoppage-time header from Bournemouth striker Evanilson rescued a point for the away side. The result may have been different had McGinn’s disallowed goal in the first half counted.The Scotland international curled in what he thought was the game’s opening goal in the 27th...

Real Madrid and La Liga have announced that they will take action after Barcelona winger Lamine Yamal was allegedly racially abused during El Clasico on Saturday night. The 17-year-old played the entire game, scoring Barcelona’s third goal during their 4-0 victory and becoming the youngest-ever Clasico scorer in the process. Videos on social media appeared to show the Spain international being subjected to racist abuse from Real Madrid fans in the stands at the Santiago Bernabeu while preparing to take a corner after his goal. GO DEEPERThe Briefing: Real Madrid 0 Barcelona 4 - Mbappe's...

Lamine Yamal believes that Barcelona are the “best team in the world” after their 4-0 El Clasico victory over rivals Real Madrid. Goals from Yamal, Raphinha, and a brace from Robert Lewandowski secured an empathic win for Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday night. Barcelona’s win, which came three days after their 4-1 victory over Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday, sees them open up a six-point lead at the top of La Liga ahead of Real Madrid, nine points ahead of third-placed Villarreal. “We believe we are the best team in the world,” said 17-year-old...

Ajax have sent a formal complaint to UEFA after Real Sociedad refused to sell tickets to Dutch away fans for their Europa League match. The two sides are set to meet at the Reale Arena on November 28 in Spain. However, Real Sociedad have informed Ajax that they will not sell tickets to its fans for the match. The Spanish club are of the opinion that crowd trouble from opposition fan bases when European teams visit San Sebastian for a game is a regular occurrence and are acting to ensure safety. Real Sociedad believe in previous instances, San Sebastian citizens and home fans in the Reale Arena...

National League side Tamworth FC have knocked out League One side Huddersfield Town from the FA Cup in a first-round upset. There are 57 places between the two sides with Huddersfield playing in the third tier of English football, and Tamworth in the fifth. The home side took the lead in the FA Cup first-round tie after Huddersfield goalkeeper Chris Maxwell scored an own goal just before half-time. Huddersfield, who were taken over by American businessman Kevin Nagle in June 2023, enjoyed 68 per cent of the possession and managed 19 shots, but were unable to salvage the result and were...

Hull City midfielder Oscar Zambrano has been suspended over a breach of anti-doping rules. The 20-year-old joined the Championship club on a season-long loan from Ecuadorian first-division side LDU Quito in August. He has made eight appearances in England, scoring one goal and providing one assist. Hull were aware of the case before signing him with owner Acun Ilicali admitting it was a “risk” but one worth taking. Zambrano had previously maintained his innocence and Hull say he intends to appeal against the suspension. A statement from the club on Tuesday read: “Hull City can...

West Ham United forward Mohammed Kudus’ suspension has been upgraded to five games by the Football Association (FA) after his red card against Tottenham Hotspur in October. The 24-year-old was shown a straight red card for violent conduct following a video assistant referee (VAR) review in the second half of West Ham’s 4-1 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur on October 19. The suspension means, in addition to the games against Manchester United and Nottingham Forest that Kudus has already missed, he will also be unavailable for West Ham’s upcoming fixtures against Everton (November 9),...

Neymar is set to miss the next four to six weeks with a hamstring injury, his club Al Hilal have confirmed. The 32-year-old made his return after 12 months out following an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury when he appeared as a substitute for the Saudi Arabian club in their AFC Champions League game against Al-Ain on October 21. However, he sustained the hamstring injury in the final moments of Al Hilal’s 3-0 victory over Esteghlal on November 4, being substituted in the 87th minute of the game. The Brazil international said after picking up the injury: “It felt like a...

France captain Kylian Mbappe has been left out of Didier Deschamps’s squad for their upcoming Nations League fixtures. It is the second consecutive France squad that Mbappe has been left out of, after missing the October selection due to fitness concerts following a thigh injury. The 25-year-old Real Madrid forward will miss France’s Nations League games against Israel (November 14) and Italy on November 17. When asked about the decision to omit Mbappe from his squad, France head coach Deschamps said: “I’ve had several exchanges with him. I reflected and I took this decision...

English football’s refereeing chief Howard Webb says the decision to award West Ham United a penalty in their controversial 2-1 victory over Manchester United in October was a mistake. During the latter stages of the game at the London Stadium on October 27, West Ham won a penalty after Matthijs de Ligt was judged to have fouled Max Kilman, with Jarrod Bowen converting from the spot in the 92nd minute to give the hosts a 2-1 win. The penalty was not initially awarded by referee David Coote but VAR Michael Oliver recommended his on-field colleague review the incident on the pitch-side...