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  Friday, May 1 FC Juarez vs. Santos Laguna (eLiga MX), 4pm, TUDN and fuboTV (free trial) Puebla vs. Toluca (eLiga MX), 9pm, TUDN and fuboTV (free trial) Atlas vs. Pachuca (eLiga MX), 10pm, TUDN and fuboTV (free trial)   Saturday, May 2 PL 100 – David James, 6am, NBCSN, fuboTV , Hulu Live , Sling Blue and AT&T TV (free trial) PL 100 – Andy Cole, 6:30am, NBCSN, fuboTV , Hulu Live , Sling Blue and AT&T TV (free trial) PL 100 – Darren Bent, 7am, NBCSN, fuboTV , Hulu Live , Sling Blue and AT&T TV (free trial) Everton vs. Wolverhampton (Rerun from September 1, 2019), 7:30am, Universo and fuboTV (free trial) PL 100 – Robbie Fowler, 7:30am, NBCSN, fuboTV , Hulu Live , Sling Blue and AT&T TV (free trial) Premier League Goals of the Season 2009-10, 8am, NBCSN, fuboTV , Hulu Live , Sling Blue and AT&T TV (free trial) Premier League Goals of the Season 2010-11, 9am, NBCSN, fuboTV , Hulu Live , Sling Blue and AT&T TV (free trial) Burnley vs. L

Madrid (AFP) – Martin Braithwaite was Barcelona’s emergency signing in February, a quick-fix to replace the injured Ousmane Dembele, but for him the move goes back 10 years to a broken leg and a notebook. In his first meeting with the club’s president Josep Maria Bartomeu and technical secretary Eric Abidal, Braithwaite was told one of the main reasons Barca were buying him was his mentality. “I felt like they really knew me,” Braithwaite says in an interview with AFP. “They knew how strong I am mentally and they said that was one of the things that made them go for me. They thought I was up for the test.”  The toughness they saw owes much to when Braithwaite was 18 and playing for Esbjerg FB in Denmark. A broken leg prompted him to transform his attitude and start writing objectives down in a notebook.  “I was already a professional footballer but I wasn’t respecting the job and I wasn’t respecting the boy that had a dream to be here,” Braithwaite says. “I took it for granted.” 

Rome (AFP) – Italy’s sports minister has cast doubt on the resumption of Serie A leaving title-chasing Lazio fearing that history could repeat itself and deny them the Scudetto for the second time. But with its president Claudio Lotito as the main driving force, the Roman club are determined that the Italian football league will resume despite the pandemic of the new coronavirus.  At stake, a Scudetto that Lazio see as being at their fingertips and the fear of reliving a nightmare going back 105 years. Lazio missed out on the title the only previous time that football was suspended in Italy after the country’s entry into the First World War in May 1915. Genoa were controversially awarded the title. Lazio still claim it should have been shared. This season Lazio were second in Serie A, just one point behind Juventus when the championship was suspended on March 10. The club are chasing a third league crown in their 120-year history after 2000 and 1974, the latter a season which ha

Shanghai (AFP) – Many footballers dread the rigours of pre-season training but in China they could be forgiven for hating it by now as stop-start preparations drag into a fifth month because of the coronavirus. The Chinese Super League (CSL) was one of the earliest sporting victims of the pandemic with the February 22 start date indefinitely postponed in January. The CSL could now begin in late June or early July but the uncertainty has left teams at all three levels of professional football treading water since the start of the year. “Everyone was expecting the season would start at the end of February but now we don’t know exactly when it will begin,” AC Milan legend Roberto Donadoni, coach of second-division Shenzhen FC, told AFP in a recent interview. “This is the biggest problem for me and everybody because when you know the exact start date, you put your focus on this day.” The never-ending pre-season — punctuated by short holidays and periods of quarantine — is the opposit

Sydney (AFP) – Dutchman Gertjan Verbeek quit as Adelaide United coach Thursday after less than a year in charge, citing uncertainty over the Australian A-League’s future due to the coronavirus pandemic. Verbeek, who guided Adelaide to victory in the FFA Cup last year, said he asked for an early release from his contract after recently returning to the Netherlands. “Given… the global health problems, future of the league, the difficult financial situation of the club and the need to protect and care for my family, my future as head coach at Adelaide United was insecure,” he said in a statement. Verbeek had previously coached at the highest level in Germany and the Netherlands, including at Feyenoord, FC Nurnberg and FC Twente. He is no relation to the late Pim Verbeek, a Dutch compatriot who coached Australia at the 2010 World Cup. Adelaide United thanked him for his service and said it would not renew the contract of his assistant, Gerald Sibon. “In due course we will assess the

Montreal (AFP) – Thierry Henry is adjusting to life on pause with the Montreal Impact as the Major League Soccer side awaits the end of the coronavirus shutdown. Former France, Arsenal and Barcelona star Henry took over as manager of Montreal ahead of the 2020 season, but saw his reign effectively put on hold after just two games when COVID-19 brought sport in North America to a standstill last month. Speaking on a video conference call on Tuesday, Henry said he is staying positive as he waits to see how the virus plays out. Major League Soccer chiefs have said the league won’t resume until June 8 at the earliest, as they work through different scenarios which could allow the 2020 season to be completed. “Nobody knows who is going to move when, what’s going to happen. We are waiting to see if we are going to play football again,” Henry said Tuesday. “All we can do on our side is to be focused and prepare to whatever is going to come our way. They are going to take the decision an

Berlin (AFP) – Bayern Munich’s Alphonso Davies says it would be a “disaster” if the coronavirus reaches one of the world’s many refugee camps — like the one he was born in. The 19-year-old started life in a refugee camp in Ghana after his parents fled the civil war in Liberia. The family emigrated to Canada when Davies was five years old. The move was made possible by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), for whom Davies helped raise funds by playing a virtual match last Saturday. His opponent was AC Milan goalkeeper Asmir Begovic, 32, another former refugee who fled to Germany from Bosnia as a young boy before also eventually settling in Canada. The pair went head-to-head in the eFootball PES2020 livestream tournament, organised by the UNHCR to help the 70 million refugees around the world. “Right now, the main focus is to raise money to help get refugees whatever they need,” said Davies in a video press conference Tuesday in Munich. “Obviously social dist

Lausanne (AFP) – A Swiss court on Tuesday scheduled a September trial date for Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi and FIFA’s former secretary general Jerome Valcke, in an alleged corruption case. The case, involving the pair and a third, unnamed man, relates to alleged criminal mismanagement, incitement to criminal mismanagement, falsifying documents and corruption, the Federal Criminal Court said on its website. The court is based in the southeastern Swiss city of Bellinzona. When filing the indictment in February, the office of Switzerland’s attorney general (OAG) said the men faced charges linked “with the award of media rights to various World Cup and FIFA Confederations Cup tournaments.” After the date was set on Tuesday, Al-Khelaifi’s lawyers issued a statement insisting the case was “completely unfounded”, and said the allegation against their client was “manifestly artificial.” They also indicated that they had requested the recusal of the prosecutors in the

Seoul (AFP) – Broadcasters in 10 foreign territories have bought rights to air the upcoming South Korean football season, the K-League said, with major sports on hold around the world over the coronavirus pandemic. South Korea endured one of the worst early outbreaks of the disease outside China, prompting professional sports to suspend or delay their seasons. But the country appears to have brought its outbreak under control thanks to an extensive “trace, test and treat” programme, and its football season will start on May 8, shortly after baseball resumes on May 5, both behind closed doors. It will be an oasis of live action in a world where sports fans have been starved of such content by the virus, with broadcasters resorting to repeats of matches from past years, while leagues face the prospect of paying rights-holders multi-million-dollar refunds. As a result there is new-found interest among broadcasters who would not normally screen the likes of Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors or P

London (AFP) – Will Liverpool get the chance to end their long wait for the Premier League title or will there forever be an asterisk against a season that remains unfinished due to coronavirus? Premier League stakeholders are meeting on Friday to discuss the way forward, with widespread speculation over a potential June 8 restart. With the Dutch Eredivisie already called off and the Belgian season in the balance, there have been calls for the English top-flight to draw a line under the season. But the clubs remain committed to ending the 2019/20 campaign and there are compelling financial and legal ramifications to playing the remaining 92 games. AFP Sport looks at both sides of the debate: Find a way to finish Since the Premier League was suspended on March 13, English clubs have endured a torrid time, with controversies over pay cuts and players breaking social-distancing rules tarnishing the brand. Getting the focus back on football would be a welcome boost for the league,

Shanghai (AFP) – A pay dispute, an eccentric owner and smashed-up furniture — and arguing with fans for refusing to bow. When Premier League stars Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka made surprising moves to China in 2012, they put Chinese football on the map. Carlos Tevez, Marouane Fellaini and others would ultimately follow as money poured into the Chinese Super League, but the former Chelsea duo’s chaotic spell served as a cautionary tale. Anelka lasted only one, turbulent year at Shanghai Shenhua while his fellow forward Drogba did barely six months at the club. Drogba signed in June 2012 at 34, just weeks after he scored the winning penalty for Chelsea in the Champions League final against Bayern Munich. “For me it would have been easy to go to another team in Europe but I chose China because of the challenge,” he said at the time, after becoming one of the world’s best-paid players on a reported $300,000 a week. Hundreds of Shanghai Shenhua supporters mobbed the Ivorian as he

Paris (AFP) – Claudio Ranieri won the hearts of the football world when he took Leicester City to the 2016 Premier League title, but six years earlier he came to within touching distance of an even more romantic achievement — a league title with home town team Roma. Ranieri, born and raised in Rome and a lifelong fan of the capital club, had taken over a side with no points in the early stages of the 2009-10 season, but after a slow start led the Giallorossi to a 24-match unbeaten run that left them at the summit in Italy with four matches left. However 10 years ago on Saturday a tidal wave of emotion came crashing down in one of the most dramatic matches in recent Serie A history, a 2-1 home defeat to Sampdoria which all but handed Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan the title and the chance to complete a now famous league, cup and Champions League treble. The loss, and Inter’s 3-1 defeat of Atalanta the previous day, put Mourinho’s team two points ahead with three games remaining, a lead

London (AFP) – Everton said they are “appalled” at one of their players widely reported to be Italian international Moise Kean hosting a house party contravening the social distancing measures recommended by the British government due to the coronavirus pandemic. The 20-year-old striker filmed himself hosting the party, the Daily Mirror reported. The Mirror says Kean sent video clips to a private Snapchat group, with the footage showing female guests giving lap dances. The caption on one picture was labelled ‘quarantine clean’. Everton issued a statement expressing their fury at the player’s actions — they did not name Kean — on a day when the death toll in hospitals in the United Kingdom passed the 20,000 mark. “Everton are appalled to learn of an incident in which a first-team player ignored government guidance and club policy in relation to the coronavirus crisis,” read the club statement. “The club has strongly expressed its disappointment to the player and made it clear tha

Minsk (AFP) – As Belarus resists imposing a lockdown to combat the coronavirus, its football league has stumbled into the international limelight as Europe’s only remaining top-flight competition. But players are worried about the health risks and only diehard fans are braving matches. FC Slutsk fan Yahor Khavanski, 26, is “a bit afraid” but could not imagine quitting his weekend football fix. On Sunday he intends to don a surgical mask and an FC Slutsk scarf and “try not to touch anything” at a clash against rivals Belshina Bobruisk. “The stadium holds 2,000 people, but only 300 came to the last match. You can sit anywhere you want and keep your distance,” he told AFP by phone. Khavanski says he will keep attending matches, regardless of the risk. In his view, he faces “the same odds of being infected on public transport or in shops”. Life has continued as normal in Belarus, whose authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko has dismissed World Health Organisation recommendations

London (AFP) – The English Premier League are eyeing a resumption of the season on June 8, behind closed doors due to the coronavirus pandemic, and reaching a climax on July 27, according to The Times. The paper claims football chiefs, along with other sports governing bodies, have been holding talks with the British government about when they can resume and at only “approved grounds”. The Premier League has 92 games remaining since it suspended the season on March 13 with Liverpool agonisingly close to their first ever EPL title. The Times says Premier League bosses shared their idea ‘Project Restart’ with the shareholders last week. The matches would be played behind closed doors — a maximum of 400 people would be pemitted to attend including media though only if they tested negative for the virus — and at selected stadia to limit stretching the limited resources of the medical services. Extra changing facilities would be introduced to ensure social distancing measures were in

Madrid (AFP) – Real Madrid star Gareth Bale says there should be no rush to restart La Liga during the coronavirus lockdown as the Spanish football federation plans tests and a return to training. Testing players is being discussed with a view to completing the Liga season and thereby avoiding financial disaster, a source cose to La Liga told AFP on Thursday. Bale said he wanted to get back into action but felt it wise to wait and see. “Everyone wants to play football, but the most important thing is everyone stays safe, we don’t want to come back too early. We need to make sure everything is done safely so we avoid the second wave of this virus,” Bale told British broadcaster BT Sports. The Bundesliga in Germany, where there have been far fewer coronavirus deaths, said on Thursday they are “ready” to restart on May 9 but needed government approval. Rafael Ramos of the Spanish Association of Football Team Physicians said La Liga is planning to return to action in a series of stag

London (AFP) – The Premier League is considering screening some behind-closed-doors matches on free-to-air television in Britain when the season restarts, the culture secretary has said. Sky Sports and BT hold the UK television rights for live Premier League matches in what remains of the 2019/20 season, which is currently suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic. Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said there had been “productive conversations” with sporting bodies about how they would resume activity in the event of restrictions being relaxed. Discussing how sport would be broadcast if held behind closed doors, he told the Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport committee: “I have said to the Premier League it wouldn’t send the best signal if they were one of the first major sports to resume behind closed doors and the public at large couldn’t have access to it.” But Dowden, who spoke to the lawmakers on Wednesday, refused to speculate further on which platforms would broadcast t

London (AFP) – Phil Neville will leave his role as England women’s manager when his contract expires next year, according to widespread reports on Thursday. The former Manchester United and England defender’s deal would have seen him take charge of the Lionesses’ European championship campaign on home soil next year. However, the reorganisation of the football calendar due to coronavirus means the women’s Euros is expected to be moved to 2022 by UEFA this week. Neville is also now unlikely to take charge of the Great Britain team at next year’s Olympics, with the FA keen for his successor to get tournament experience before the Euros. After taking charge in January 2018, Neville quickly made a big impact as England won the high-profile SheBelieves Cup for the first time and pushed world champions the United States all the way before losing a pulsating World Cup semi-final 2-1 last year. However, England’s form has unravelled since, with a run of seven defeats in 11 games leaving

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Paris (AFP) – Ten years ago this week, Barcelona limped home from a Champions League semi-final first-leg defeat blaming a volcano thousands of kilometres away and stoking the smouldering fires of Jose Mourinho’s feud with their club and their coach.  The eruption of Eyjafjallajoekull on Iceland had sent a plume of ash drifting across Europe, grounding flights and playing havoc with the sports calendar. A MotoGP race scheduled for Japan on April 25 was postponed until October because teams and riders could not get there.  As bad luck would have it, Newcastle United faced the longest away trip in English football on April 19. They made the 650-kilometre (404-mile) journey to Plymouth Argyle for a Monday night game by coach and won, 2-0, to secure promotion and relegate the hosts. In Europe, Lyon travelled 730 kilometres to face Bayern Munich in the Champions League on April 21.  For the Europa League semis on April 22, Fulham went 950 kilometres by bus to Hamburg. In order to face

Berlin (AFP) – German football authorities are set to announce plans on Thursday for Bundesliga matches to restart on May 9 in empty stadiums, but the potential return in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic is meeting some opposition. Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government is slowly easing nationwide restrictions and the resumption of the Bundesliga, which was halted on March 13, would boost morale in football-mad Germany. It would also make the Bundesliga the first top-flight European league to begin playing again. Large public events are banned in Germany until August 31, yet football could resume without spectators — known as “ghost games” in German. Germany has more testing capacity than other European countries and players could be tested regularly. The 18 clubs have been back in training for three weeks, albeit in small groups with social distancing observed even on the pitch.  Having already been given signs of encouragement by politicians, the German Football League (DFL

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Shanghai (AFP) – The Chinese Football Association has proposed clubs slash wages of players and coaches by at least 30 percent to cut costs because of the coronavirus, state media said Tuesday. The People’s Daily said that the CFA is now awaiting feedback from teams in the top-tier Chinese Super League (CSL) and the two divisions below. The CSL season was supposed to begin on February 22 but was indefinitely postponed after coronavirus emerged in central China in December, before spreading worldwide. “After the opinions are collected and revised, the Chinese Football Association will report to FIFA and other relevant departments,” the state-run newspaper said. “It is understood that the target of the Chinese Football Association (wages cuts)… does not include youth players and ordinary employees with relatively low salaries,” People’s Daily added. The CSL has enticed foreign coaches and players in recent years with vast pay packets.  Shanghai SIPG’s Brazilian attacking midfielde

Seoul (AFP) – South Korean football clubs will be allowed to hold practice matches behind closed doors from Tuesday, the K-League said, with the season delayed by two months so far over the coronavirus epidemic. South Korea endured one of the worst early outbreaks of the disease outside China, but appears to have brought it under control thanks to its extensive “trace, test and treat” programme. The outbreak had prompted sports leagues to suspend or delay their seasons across the country. Sports fans around the world have been starved of live action because of the virus, with broadcasters resorting to repeats of matches from past years, while leagues face the prospect of paying rights-holders multi-million-dollar refunds. But at the weekend Seoul said it would permit outdoor sports matches behind closed doors as the country is seeing a steady decline in new virus cases. The Korean Professional Football League responded late Monday, announcing that its clubs would be allowed to pl

Seoul (AFP) – Tottenham Hotspur’s South Korean striker Son Heung-min began his three-week military training at a marines boot camp on Monday, a report said, with the Premier League on hold over the coronavirus pandemic. All able-bodied South Korean men are obliged to serve in the military for nearly two years, making up the bulk of Seoul’s 600,000-strong forces — who face off against North Korea’s army of 1.3 million. But Son was among the South Korean footballers who earned an exemption by winning gold at the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia. The 27-year-old’s Premier League season ended even before the coronavirus outbreak spread to Europe when he broke his arm against Aston Villa on February 16, and Spurs said he returned to South Korea for “personal reasons”. Son reported to a marines camp on the southern island of Jeju for his three-week basic training, Yonhap news agency reported. A Yonhap photo showed Son walking past a military truck and soldiers, wearing a green sweatshirt,

Shanghai (AFP) – The coronavirus-delayed Chinese Super League (CSL) season is scheduled to begin in late June or early July, a club chairman says. Suspended leagues across the world, including in Europe, will be watching the CSL with interest as an indicator of the challenges they face in relaunching their own competitions. The campaign was supposed to start on February 22 but was indefinitely postponed by the pandemic, which emerged in China in December before spreading worldwide. “Based on the assessment of the current situation, the new season will start at the end of June or beginning of July,” said Guangzhou R&F chairman Huang Shenghua, according to state media. Huang said that the season will be able to take place in full with each team playing the alloted 30 matches. The media reports did not indicate whether a formal announcement was expected from the Chinese Football Association. China says that it has curbed coronavirus at home but is now concerned about a second w

London (AFP) – The financial squeeze put on Premier League clubs by the coronavirus crisis could be felt across the continent in the coming months as the well to fund massive transfer fees runs dry. For each of the past four summers, Premier League clubs have flexed their financial muscle to splurge over £1 billion ($1.3 billion) on transfers. That has helped spread the wealth of television contracts worth billions across Europe and crucially down the divisions to cash-strapped clubs in England. Now even the world’s richest league is facing economic meltdown. Premier League matches have been suspended indefinitely with no return expected before mid-June at the earliest. Broadcasters could be due a rebate worth a reported £762 million if the season is not completed and, even when the games do recommence, they are likely to be behind closed doors, quashing income from gate receipts. Moreover, a number of major sponsors such as airlines and gambling companies have been just as badl

Paris (AFP) – Football leagues across Europe have been suspended since mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic which has claimed over 100,000 lives throughout the continent. Lockdown restrictions are in effect worldwide although some countries are cautiously beginning to ease stay-at-home orders. AFP Sport looks at what we know about possible restart plans for Europe’s top leagues: ENGLAND The Premier League said that wrapping up the remaining 92 fixtures remains their goal, but the ongoing COVID-19 crisis means no fixed schedule can be drawn up yet. With most clubs having nine games left, it was reported that Friday’s meeting of the 20 clubs discussed finishing the season in a 40-day window. There have been claims that clubs were told domestic seasons must end by July 31 and the 2020-21 campaign must start by the first week of September at the latest. The UK’s lockdown is in place until May 7 at the earliest. There is a general acceptance among clubs that matches will be pl

Berlin (AFP) – Bayern Munich captain and goalkeeper Manuel Neuer told German media Sunday he has become “irritated” with negotiations to extend his contract, which have reportedly stalled in recent weeks.  “All talks I have had since I have been here have been confidential… nothing has ever leaked,” the 34-year-old told Germany’s most popular daily Bild. “But now, details about the current talks are constantly appearing in the media, and are often untrue. That irritates me. It’s not something I am used to at Bayern.” The veteran goalkeeper’s unusually candid comments come amid widespread reports that his current contract negotiations have hit the rocks.  If the talks fail, club captain Neuer could be free to leave Bayern in June and attract the interest of the Premier League clubs. According to Bild, Neuer and his agent Frank Kroth are demanding a five-year deal, with a salary of 20 million euros ($22 million) per season. In Sunday’s interview, Kroth denied such details and said