BUENOS AIRES: Buenos Aires apologized to France after Argentina’s vice president called the European country “colonialist” and its people “hypocrites” in an argument over alleged racist chants by Argentine footballers.
President Javier Milei’s office said Friday it had sent a senior official to the French embassy to explain that Victoria Villarruel’s angry statement on social media was made in her personal capacity.
FIFA has announced an investigation into the chants sung by Argentina players, including Chelsea and Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez, 23, after they won the Copa America.
The chants were heard on a live video posted on social media by Fernandez from the team bus in the wake of the Copa victory over Colombia in Miami on Sunday.
The song targets France’s star striker Kylian Mbappe among others and includes racist and homophobic insults.
Fernandez has apologized, but Chelsea have launched an internal disciplinary procedure against him. The French Football Federation (FFF) has complained to FIFA.
On Wednesday, Villarruel expressed support for Fernandez on X, saying: “No colonialist country is going to intimidate us because of a stadium chant nor for speaking truths that they do not want to admit. Enough with feigned outrage, hypocrites.”
The diplomatic incident came just days before Milei is due to travel to Paris to attend the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games.
“Diplomatic relations with France are intact,” presidential spokesman Manuel Adorni said Friday.
Argentina’s under secretary for sports, Julio Garro, was dismissed from his post this week after saying captain Lionel Messi and the Argentine Football Association should apologize for the chants.
Argentina apologizes to France in football-chant row
https://arab.news/p8ud8
Argentina apologizes to France in football-chant row
Saudi players arrive in China ahead of World Cup qualifier
- The Green Falcons face China on Tuesday in the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 tournament, following a disappointing draw against Indonesia
DALIAN: The Saudi national team arrived in the Chinese city of Dalian on Friday ahead of their World Cup qualifier there next week.
The Green Falcons will face China on Tuesday night at the Dalian Suoyuwan Football Stadium, in the second game of the third round of the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.
The Saudi squad wasted no time as they immediately began their preparations on Friday evening with a training session overseen by head coach Roberto Mancini. The players who participated in Thursday’s match against Indonesia took part in recovery training, while the rest engaged in general training exercises.
The previous day in Jeddah, Indonesia held the Saudis to a surprise 1-1 draw in the opening game of the third round of qualifiers. It was a case of two points dropped to the lowest-ranked team in Group C, not least because Salem Al-Dawsari had a penalty attempt saved with 11 minutes remaining.
Indonesia might be Asia’s most improved team of late, bolstered by the naturalization of several Europe-based players, but were nonetheless ranked 133 in the world, 77 places below their hosts.
The Saudi squad was greeted on arrival at the airport in Dalian by Jaber Rashid, a representative of the Kingdom’s embassy. The Saudi Arabian Football Federation president, Yasser Al-Misehal, thanked the embassy for the warm welcome and assistance it has provided to the team.
UEFA fines Roma $2.2m and warns Basaksehir of European ban in latest club finance rulings
- Basaksehir also were fined $111,000
- Fines of $66,500 for Aston Villa and $22,100 for Marseille were imposed for late delivery of accounts for the monitoring system once known as “Financial Fair Play”
GENEVA: UEFA fined Roma 2 million euros ($2.22 million) and threatened Istanbul Basaksehir with a one-year ban from European competitions in the latest rulings by club finance investigators on Friday.
Basaksehir also were fined 100,000 euros ($111,000).
Fines of 60,000 euros ($66,500) for Aston Villa and 20,000 euros ($22,100) for Marseille were imposed for late delivery of accounts for the monitoring system once known as “Financial Fair Play.”
Villa will play in the Champions League this season, likely earning at least 40 million euros ($44 million) in UEFA prize money. Marseille, which were fined by UEFA in 2022, did not qualify for any UEFA competition after reaching the Europa League semifinals last season.
FFP was approved by UEFA in 2009 to promote financial stability in top-level European soccer by evaluating revenue and spending by clubs which qualify for its competitions. It was amended two years ago and rebranded as “Financial Sustainability.”
Critics of the system have said it tries to limit investment by wealthy owners of emerging teams trying to challenge the established elite, and also has not been a deterrent to state-backed clubs Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain.
UEFA required clubs last season to spend no more than 90 percent of revenue on wages and transfer fees. The so-called “squad cost rule” is being phased in over three seasons toward a 70 percent limit.
“All clubs reported a squad cost ratio within the 90 percent limit applicable for the 2023-24 season,” UEFA said.
PSG, Inter Milan and AC Milan were among clubs fined in previous years which met financial targets last season, UEFA said.
Roma “slightly exceeded the intermediate target” and were fined, UEFA said. Roma will play in the Europa League this season which can pay clubs tens of millions of euros in UEFA prize money.
UEFA’s club finance monitoring panel judged Basaksehir “slightly breached the final target foreseen” last season.
The Turkish club will be barred from the next UEFA competition they qualify for in the next three seasons unless they comply with fresh financial targets. Basaksehir also can register just 23 senior players instead of 25 in the third-tier Conference League this season.
England’s new coach may only have two games to prove he’s up to the job
- Interim head coach Lee Carsley takes charge of his first game for the national team against Ireland after Gareth Southgate stepped down following the European Championship
- “He’s a great manager tactically, man-management is great,” said Morgan Gibbs-White, who has been called up for Carsley’s first squad
MANCHESTER, England: A new era for England’s soccer team begins on Saturday. How long it will last is unknown.
Interim head coach Lee Carsley takes charge of his first game for the national team against Ireland after Gareth Southgate stepped down following the European Championship.
Carsley, who stepped up from coaching the Under-21s, will take up the role for the upcoming UEFA Nations League games against Ireland and Finland, but could remain in the position for longer if the search for Southgate’s permanent successor extends beyond the next international break in October.
In that time, the 50-year-old Carsley may even put himself in the frame.
“He’s a great manager tactically, man-management is great. ... I feel like it suits him perfectly,” said Morgan Gibbs-White, who has been called up for Carsley’s first squad.
Gibbs-White, a Nottingham Forest midfielder, was part of England’s Under-21 European Championship winning squad, which Carsley coached to the title last year.
Southgate ended his eight-year reign as England manager after the loss to Spain in the final of Euro 2024. He led the team to back-to-back Euros finals and the semifinals of the World Cup in 2018 but failed to end England’s wait for a first trophy since the World Cup in 1966.
The English Football Association has set a high benchmark for his replacement and said in July it had already identified several candidates.
It said the job was to “win a major tournament and be consistently ranked as one of the top teams in the world.”
The FA said its next head coach would have “significant experience of English football, with a strong track record delivering results in the Premier League and/or leading international competitions.”
Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was quickly mentioned as a potential contender, though he has said he wants to take a year out after stepping down from his position at Anfield at the end of last season.
The closing date for applications was Aug. 2, but with no candidate in place ahead of England’s first games since the Euros, Carsley was given the job on an interim basis.
While Carsley has no experience as a Premier League manager, he is respected for his work developing young players, having been part of Manchester City’s successful academy.
England’s success at the U21s Euros last year was the first time since 1984 that they had won the competition. Whether the FA would consider that among the “leading international competitions” it wants its next head coach to have experience in remains to be seen. But Carsley is in position and will know Southgate’s own ascension to the job came after he was initially named as interim in 2016.
That makes the games against Ireland and Finland potential auditions for him to put forward his credentials. Saturday’s game is in Dublin. Finland visit Wembley Stadium on Tuesday.
He is without star players like Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Cole Palmer, but has picked some exciting young talent.
Gibbs-White, Angel Gomes and Noni Madueke — all uncapped — were part of that U21s Euro-winning squad, along with Anthony Gordon and Levi Colwill.
Gomes describes Carsley’s style as “very attacking, but also (with) a huge emphasis on defense.”
He also speaks highly of Carsley’s personal touch.
“He’s a very fair coach. He’s very, very honest and direct in his approach and he’s very close to the squad,” Gomes said. “It helps as a player when a coach takes interest in a player, not just on the pitch, but off the pitch.”
New Ireland coach Heimir Hallgrimsson is aiming to make his own statement in his first game in charge.
He already played a part in shocking England once. Hallgimsson was Iceland’s co-manager with Lars Lagerback when the team beat England 2-1 in the last 16 at Euro 2016.
“I hope we will have the same result tomorrow, of course,” he said Friday. “Everything we did that night succeeded, whether it was tactical, taking our chances, defending our goal, and nothing England tried that night succeeded, so it was just one of those days.
“Hopefully it will come again tomorrow. But we know, even if we have our best game, it still isn’t sure it will lead into a victory against a good team like England.”
Argentina cruise past Chile, Bolivia thrash Venezuela in World Cup qualifiers
- Liverpool midfielder Mac Allister swept in a low finish three minutes after halftime to break the deadlock at the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires
- Lionel Scaloni’s team lead South America’s 10-team round-robin qualifying table by five points after seven games
- Goals from Ramiro Vaca, Carmelo Algaranaz, Miguel Terceros and Enzo Monteiro handed Bolivia only their second win of qualifying
BUENOS AIRES: Alexis Mac Allister, Julian Alvarez and Paulo Dybala were on target as Argentina tightened their grip on South America’s 2026 World Cup qualifying tournament with a 3-0 win over Chile on Thursday.
Liverpool midfielder Mac Allister swept in a low finish three minutes after halftime to break the deadlock at the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires against a defensive Chile side.
Former Manchester City striker Alvarez doubled the lead in the 84th minute with a thumping shot from outside the area before substitute Dybala put the seal on the victory with a late strike in stoppage time.
It was another clinical victory for the reigning world champions, who are now cruising toward confirming their place at the 2026 finals being staged in the US, Mexico and Canada.
Lionel Scaloni’s team lead South America’s 10-team round-robin qualifying table by five points after seven games.
The top six teams in the final standings qualify automatically for the 2026 finals in North America with the seventh-placed team advancing to a playoff.
Argentina, who also beat Chile 1-0 on their way to clinching back-to-back Copa America titles earlier this year, went into Thursday’s game missing injured captain Lionel Messi and veteran winger Angel Di Maria, who retired from international football after the Copa America triumph in July.
Di Maria was feted by his former teammates at a pre-game ceremony before taking his place in the stands to watch the world champions secure their sixth win from seven qualifying games.
Despite the absence of Messi and Di Maria, Argentina had plenty of creative guile in attack with Lautaro Martinez and Atletico Madrid’s Alvarez causing problems for the Chile defense.
Argentina, meanwhile, controlled midfield with Mac Allister lining up alongside Rodrigo De Paul and Enzo Fernandez.
After a cagey first-half, the breakthrough came in the 48th minute when Alvarez whipped in a low cross from the right.
Martinez dummied cleverly and allowed the ball to roll through to Mac Allister, who guided an accurate shot into the bottom corner.
In Thursday’s other qualifier, Bolivia reignited their campaign with a 4-0 drubbing over Venezuela in a game played more than 4,000m (13,100 feet) above sea level.
Goals from Ramiro Vaca, Carmelo Algaranaz, Miguel Terceros and Enzo Monteiro handed Bolivia only their second win of qualifying and lifted them into seventh place in the standings.
The result was a vindication of Bolivia’s move to play Thursday’s game in El Alto — Spanish for “The Heights” — rather than at their usual home venue in neighboring La Paz, which is 3,600m above sea level.
The thin air of El Alto clearly left Venezuela’s players struggling for energy against a Bolivian team aiming to qualify for their first World Cup since reaching the 1994 finals in the United States.
Despite his team’s heavy loss, Venezuela coach Fernando Batista refused to dwell on the altitude issue after the game.
“Out of 10 questions, eight are about altitude,” Batista said. “You won’t hear anything from me about it.”
The pick of Bolivia’s goals came from Vaca after just 13 minutes.
The 25-year-old midfielder gathered the ball around 30 yards from goal, cut in from the left and unleashed a ferocious shot which flew into the top corner.
Venezuela, the only team from South America never to have qualified for a World Cup, remain well-placed to reach the finals despite Thursday’s loss.
The ‘Vinotinto’ are fourth in the standings with nine points from seven games, trailing Argentina, Uruguay and Colombia.
Venezuela host Uruguay next Tuesday in their eighth game of qualifying.
South America’s qualifiers continue on Friday with second-placed Uruguay hosting Paraguay in Montevideo while struggling Brazil, who are 11 points adrift of leaders Argentina in sixth, face Ecuador in Curitiba.
Third-placed Colombia, meanwhile, travel to Lima to face bottom-of-the-table Peru.
Ronaldo scores 900th career goal as Portugal beat Croatia
LISBON: Cristiano Ronaldo scored the 900th goal of his remarkable career on Thursday as Portugal beat Croatia 2-1 in Lisbon in their first game of the UEFA Nations League.
Ronaldo, 39, turned in a Nuno Mendes cross in the 34th minute of the match at the Estadio da Luz to reach the landmark.
He appeared emotional as he celebrated the goal, his 131st in a Portugal shirt. Half of his goals were scored for Real Madrid, with the remainder spread across his spells at Sporting Lisbon, Manchester United and current club Al-Nassr.
Diogo Dalot’s goal had put Portugal in front early on before Ronaldo netted, with a Dalot own-goal reducing the deficit before the break.
The teams are in Group A1 of the latest edition of the Nations League along with Poland and Scotland.
Portugal host Scotland in Lisbon on Sunday.
