Category: Europe

There’s a winner of the Wagatha Christie trial. It’s……Coleen Rooney.

The Wagatha Christie saga is dead. Long live Wagatha Christie

A judge has ruled against Rebekah Vardy in her libel case against Coleen Rooney, bringing a close to the saga that became widely known as “Wagatha Christie.”

Rooney infamously conducted a sting operation to determine who had been allegedly leaking stories about her to The Sun newspaper. In October 2019, she dramatically disclosed the results of her investigation in a social media post.

“It’s ………. Rebekah Vardy’s account.”

In response, Vardy, the wife of Leicester City star Jaime Vardy, brought a libel lawsuit against Rooney, the wife of ex-England star and current D.C. United head coach Wayne Rooney.

On Friday, judge Mrs Justice Steyn dismissed Vardy’s libel claim against Rooney, handing a major victory to Rooney.

“The claim has been dismissed,” a summary of the ruling says. “The defendant succeeded in establishing that the essence of the libel was substantially true. The defendant’s alternative defence of publication in the public interest was rejected.”

Rooney released a statement after the ruling, saying: “Although I bear Mrs Vardy no ill-will, today’s judgment makes clear that I was right in what I said in my posts of October 2019.”

Vardy, meanwhile, said she was “devastated” by the ruling in a statement of her own.

“I am extremely sad and disappointed at the decision that the judge has reached,” Vardy said. “It is not the result that I had expected, nor believe was just. I brought this action to vindicate my reputation and am devastated by the judge’s finding.”

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Neymar will stand trial for fraud over 2013 transfer to Barcelona

The superstar’s transfer from Santos is still being litigated nine years later

PSG star Neymar is set to stand trial for alleged fraud and corruption relating to his 2013 transfer to Barcelona from Santos.

In a legal saga that has been ongoing for years, Barcelona, Santos, Neymar’s parents and former Barcelona president Sandro Rosell will also be on trial.

The trial is scheduled to begin in Spain on October 17, just a month before the World Cup kicks off.

Brazilian investment group DIS brought the complaint, claiming that they are owed a much larger payout than they received when Neymar moved from Santos in his native Brazil to Barcelona nine years ago.

DIS owned 40 percent of Neymar’s rights at the time of the move to Spain, but claim that part of the transfer fee was hidden from them to avoid paying the full amount they were entitled to receive.

Neymar has denied any wrongdoing, but Barcelona was forced to pay a €5.5 million fine to Spanish authorities in 2016 due to irregularities surrounding the transfer.

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The official trailer for ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ is out

Find out what happens when two actors with no experience in the game take over a fifth-tier Welsh club

FX has released its official trailer for the upcoming series “Welcome to Wrexham,” which documents Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney purchasing and running Welsh team Wrexham AFC.

The two actors purchased the Welsh side in 2020, despite no experience in soccer and having never even met each other in person.

“Welcome to Wrexham” will chronicle the first two seasons of their takeover, which include a steep learning curve in the game and an unfamiliar Welsh town filled with fans dubious of the pair’s intentions.

The duo has outlined major ambitions including eventually seeing the team reach the Premier League, which would require four promotions.

“Why not dream big? I read that fans of a certain team said that oil money was coming into Wrexham. I can confirm I have no stocks in oil,” McElhenney said at a press conference last year.

Reynolds added that he and McElhenney do at least have “olive oil money.”

Welcome to Wrexham will be released on August 24 in the U.S. on FX and Hulu and August 25 in the UK on Disney+.

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Former Russia captain Igor Denisov denounces invasion of Ukraine

Denisov is among the most prominent Russian athletes to speak out against the war

Igor Denisov, formerly the captain of Russia’s national team, has denounced the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

In an interview posted on Russian sports journalist Nobel Arustamyan’s Youtube channel, Denisov called the invasion “a complete horror,” adding “I don’t know, maybe I’ll be imprisoned or killed for these words, but I am speaking as it is.”

Denisov also said he had written directly to Vladimir Putin asking him to stop the war, which after years of brinksmanship officially began on February 24.

Denisov captained Russia on and off from 2012-2016, and appeared for his country in the 2014 World Cup. He retired from professional soccer in 2019, and still lives in Russia. He is one of the most prominent Russian athletes to publicly criticize the ongoing invasion of Ukraine, an act that can carry severe penalties. A Russian law enacted this year penalizes “public actions aimed at discrediting the use of the Russian Armed Forces” with heavy fines and the possibility of 15 years in prison.

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England embarrassed by Hungary in historic home Nations League defeat

Southgate: “The results are my responsibility”

England suffered a humiliation at the hands of Hungary Tuesday, losing 4-0 at home in UEFA Nations League group play.

Roland Sallai bagged a brace, and Hungary scored three times in the final 20 minutes at Molineux, turning what would have been merely a very bad result into England’s first-ever four-goal loss on home soil. Zsolt Nagy and Dániel Gazdag added late goals sandwiched around a red card for John Stones, adding insult to injury.

“We picked a young team with energy and when the game started to go against them it started to look that way,” England boss Gareth Southgate told BBC’s Channel Four. “That is my responsibility in the end.”

Southgate’s starting eleven included four players with three or fewer caps, and three players (Jude Bellingham, Marc Guéhi, and Bukayo Saka) under the age of 22.

“I am not going to say it does not hurt but it is clear to me what we were trying to do across the four matches,” said Southgate in defense of the choice to go so young. “We needed to see some things. We have had some unbelievable nights with England over the last four or five years but this is the other side and that is the reality of football.”

Southgate said that he made halftime changes that “left us wide open” in an attempt to overturn a 1-0 deficit in a game that England very likely had to win to have any hope of winning Group A3. The loss has dashed any chance of that happening, and England will likely need to win both of their remaining games (a home match against Italy and a visit to Germany, both in September) to avoid being relegated to League B.

England captain Harry Kane said the loss was “a night to forget,” adding that the Three Lions had previously been reliably strong at the back. “It is our first big defeat in a long time, the defense has been structure of our success.”

Strangely, Hungary is the last country to visit England and score four or more goals, as they famously won 6-3 at Wembley in 1953.

“We have seen you have to be at full strength,” said Southgate. “The results are my responsibility.”

See Hungary’s goals against England

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Chelsea forward Kerr takes home women’s PFA Player of the Year award

The Australian star scored 20 league goals while leading Chelsea to a domestic double in 2021-22

Chelsea forward Sam Kerr has won the women’s 2021-22 Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) Player of the Year award.

Kerr won the Women’s Super League Golden Boot in 2021-22 by netting 20 goals, helping Chelsea win the league title.

The Australian also scored twice in the FA Cup final to help Chelsea clinch a double by defeating Manchester City after extra time.

“It’s a massive honor I think, whenever you’re voted by your peers,” Kerr said. “I think that’s the highest honor as a player so, it’s an amazing feeling.”

Hemp wins Young Player of the Year

Manchester City forward Lauren Hemp was named the PFA Young Player Of The Year, winning the award for an incredible fourth season in a row.

Hemp, 21, is the first player to win four PFA awards in the same category.

Hemp, who was also nominated for Player of the Year, said: “It’s an honor to get this again. I think especially for it to be voted for by players that I’ve played against and come up against. I mean, I look to many of them as role models as well so it’s an honor to be picked from them.”

PFA WSL Team Of The Year

  • Ann-Katrin Berger – Chelsea
  • Ona Batlle – Manchester United
  • Leah Williamson – Arsenal
  • Millie Bright – Chelsea
  • Alex Greenwood – Manchester City
  • Kim Little – Arsenal
  • Caroline Weir – Manchester City
  • Guro Reiten – Chelsea
  • Lauren Hemp – Manchester City
  • Sam Kerr – Chelsea
  • Vivianne Miedema – Arsenal

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USMNT’s Cannon: I have to explain America’s gun problem to teammates in Europe

The USMNT has arrived in Texas, the state that saw another horrific school shooting last month

U.S. men’s national team right back Reggie Cannon says he has often been forced to explain America’s gun violence problem to his club teammates in Europe.

Cannon, who plays for Portuguese side Boavista, has come to Austin, Texas with the rest of his USMNT teammates ahead of Friday’s Nations League match against Grenada.

Texas is also the site of last month’s horrific school shooting in Uvalde that left 19 students and two teachers dead.

“It’s difficult coming back to Texas, especially given the circumstances,” Cannon, a Texas native and former FC Dallas star, told reporters on Tuesday.

As the U.S. continues to suffer from an epidemic of gun violence, the USMNT released an open letter to Congress on Sunday, urging members to vote in favor of stricter gun controls.

“This is my home, but I think it’s also realistic to say that there is a need for change, and that’s what this group has been focused on, especially with the mantra ‘be the change,’ especially with that letter sent the other day that we all we all contributed to,” Cannon said.

“I think it is time for sincere change. And I think it’s always heart-wrenching to be in this place and see the problems that reside.”

Cannon added that many of his teammates in Portugal, a country with comparatively little gun violence, will quiz him on why his home nation is so different.

“Being in Europe I’m always having to explain to my teammates that this is reality,” Cannon said, “but it is what it is and that’s why I think this group is so focused on figuring out what we can do to inspire positive change.”

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Erling Haaland threw Norway teammate Morten Thorsby under the bus for his dive

The striker couldn’t ignore the evidence in front of him when confronted with a replay of the incident

Erling Haaland scored twice for Norway against Sweden on Sunday, but he admitted his second, from the penalty spot, probably shouldn’t have happened.

Haaland’s penalty in the 69th minute was ultimately the winning goal in Norway’s 2-1 victory in the UEFA Nations League, but the spot kick appeared to be incorrectly given after a dive from Norway’s Morten Thorsby.

After the game, Haaland couldn’t help but laugh at Thorsby’s dive, saying it may have been something he learned while playing for Sampdoria in Italy.

Asked by TV 2 what he thought of the incident, Haaland said: “I think he should have passed the ball to me, and I would’ve scored, but it looks like a half-dive.”

The newly minted Manchester City striker was then shown a replay of the incident.

“The Italian way, you can safely say,” he said. “That’s something he must have brought from Italy. But he touched him … It looks like he was diving, yes, I honestly have to say, but oh well. It is what it is.”

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Gerard Piqué and Shakira are calling it quits after 11 years

The pair met in 2010 and has two sons together

Barcelona defender Gerard Piqué and his partner of 11 years, Colombian pop star Shakira, have broken up.

“We regret to confirm that we are separating. For the well-being of our children, who are our highest priority, we request respect for (our) privacy. Thank you for your understanding,” the couple said in a joint statement on Saturday.

Piqué and Shakira, who were not married, had two sons together: Milan, 9, and Sasha, 7.

The pair had been together since 2011 after they met prior to the 2010 World Cup on the set of the music video for Shakira’s “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa),” the official song of the 2010 World Cup.

A recent report in El Periodico claimed that Shakira had caught Piqué cheating on her, and the 35-year-old had moved out and was living on his own.

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‘Ozil era’ over at Fenerbahce per new boss Jorge Jesus

Ozil may be looking for a new club again.

Mesut Ozil might be done at Fenerbahce, despite having 18 months left on his contract.

Jorge Jesus, the newly-minted Fenerbahce manager, declared straight away to reporters in Turkey that he had no plans to bring the Germany international back into the fold, saying that as far as he’s concerned, the “end of the Ozil era” had arrived at the club.

Ozil moved to Fenerbahce in January of last year, with Arsenal eager to offload his massive salary, and became a regular starter straight away. In 2021-2022, Ozil captained the team, but ended up in a dispute with interim head coach Ismail Kartal in March that saw the club back the boss and suspend Ozil after an on-field argument.

Ozil didn’t dress for any of Fenerbahce’s final eight league games (with the club going unbeaten during that time), and for Jesus, the future doesn’t include the 33-year-old playmaker.

“He had his time, his space. He has a beautiful history in Turkey, nobody can take it away from him,” Jesus said in his first press conference since taking charge of one of Turkey’s biggest clubs. “The most important thing here is not the coach Jorge Jesus, the most important thing here is not the player Ozil, the most important thing here is not any player. The most important thing here is Fenerbahce.”

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