The trial of French footballers Karim Benzema and Franck Ribery for allegedly paying an underage prostitute for sex has been adjourned.
With the footballers lawyers having challenged the legality of the charges levelled against their clients, the judge in charge of the case has postponed the trial until January 2014 to address that issue in another court.
Benzema and Ribery are charged with paying the then under 18-year-old Zahia Dehar for sex in 2008 and 2009 but their lawyers believe the case is unconstitutional and hope it will be thrown out.
Obviously for Karim Benzema, it is more waiting time that he has to suffer, Benzema s lawyer Sylvain Cormier said after the trial was adjourned on Tuesday.
It is not good news.
The text for the proceedings seems to …
Zinedine Zidane on a mission / Image via sports.ndtv.com
He enjoyed his fair share of duels with the greatest rivals during his playing career, but Zinedine Zidane is now preparing for a different kind of a challenge.
Standing on the touchline as Real Madrid manager, the French legend will head into his first El Clasico as a coach on Saturday eager to prove a point against the in-form Catalans who are shoe-in for another La Liga title with ten points of advantage in front of their arch rivals.
El Clasico hoodoo
Zinedine Zidane is entering his first ever clash against Barcelona with a huge load upon his back.
With his team almost effectively out of the title race, the French tactician is by no means expected to throw in the white towel, but will …
History will be made one way or the other when Queretaro and Tigres meet in the CONCACAF Champions League last four, with neither having ever made the final.
Queretaro host the first leg of the tie on Tuesday and will be hoping to taste some success following their poor start to the Liga MX Clausura.
Victor Manuel Vucetich s men sit third from bottom after 10 games, with just two wins and eight points to their name, but Paraguay international Edgar Benitez – a winner of the tournament with Pachuca in 2010 – is determined to rewrite the record books.
We have already talked about it, there was a talk among all the team-mates, he said. The objective is to make the Liguilla and, in CONCACAF, we want to fight and make history.
A 2-0 loss to Leo…
Guangzhou Evergrande suffered a heartbreaking 5-4 defeat on penalties to nine-man Chinese Super League rivals Shanghai SIPG after coming agonisingly close to a sensational AFC Champions League comeback win.
It appeared that Guangzhou, winners of the tournament in 2013 and 2015, faced an impossible task to progress after losing the away leg of their quarter-final tie 4-0 three weeks ago.
But they won Tuesday s return leg by the same margin and then emerged from an extra-time period that saw two Shanghai SIPG players see red with a 5-1 lead, forcing a shoot-out.
However, Andre Villas-Boas men were able to survive and reach the last four, winning by a solitary spot-kick after Ricardo Goulart, who had earlier scored a hat-trick, hit the post with Guangzhou s first p…
Real Madrid attacker Jese Rodriguez has stressed failure is not an option when they visit Deportivo La Coruna on Saturday as Zinedine Zidane s men aim to pip Barcelona to La Liga glory.
Madrid are trailing leaders Barca by one point heading into the final matchday, with the Catalans travelling to Granada.
The capital club could still win their first title since 2011-12 if Barcelona slip up, but Jese has warned beating Deportivo should be their main priority before they can think about the result of their rivals game.
A draw will not be enough for Zidane s men, with Barca holding a superior head-to-head record after the two league matches between the sides.
We re preparing for the game against Deportivo just as if it was any other game. We have to loo…
Paulo Dybala needs to train at the same level as Cristiano Ronaldo if he is to become a regular starter at Juventus this season, according to Andrea Pirlo.
Dybala started Juve s opening match of the Serie A campaign against Chievo but was not involved against Lazio and was limited to only 10 minutes off the bench in the 2-1 victory over Parma prior to the international break.
The arrival of Ronaldo in Turin has led to questions over the future of the Argentina international, with reports linking him with a move to LaLiga and the Premier League.
Palermo owner Maurizio Zamparini, who sold Dybala to Juve in 2015, even claimed the forward has already received offers from Spain and England and will change clubs in January.
But Juve legend Pirlo believes he sti…
Verdict: Barcelona to score during first half yes
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FC Barcelona have been the best club in LaLiga so far and sit comfortably at the top of the standings. They will try to extend their positive run on Saturday, when they travel to Bilbao to take on Athletic Club. Kick-off is scheduled at 19:45 BST, and Juan Martinez Munuera will be the referee.
Athletic Club
Athletic Club have not exactly been a model of consistency during the current season. They currently sit in 11th place with 11 points (W3, D2, L4), and have underperformed in comparison to their pre-season expectations. They only have one win in their last 10 matches, and are coming off a disappointing defeat against Leganes and a draw against Formentera in the Copa del Rey a…
Verdict: Ukraine and Switzerland to draw 1-1
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Switzerland and Ukraine will kick off their 2020–21 UEFA Nations League A campaign this week. The Group 4 encounter between the two sides is scheduled to kick off at 7:45pm on Thursday and will be held at Arena Lviv in Lviv, Ukraine.
Ukraine
Ukraine were in 2018–19 UEFA Nations League B, and they did superbly to win promotion to League A for the 2020-21 campaign. Andriy Shevchenko has been in charge of the national team since 2016, and it was a considerable success for him to get the side promoted to the elite division.
Ukraine picked up nine points from their four matches from Group 1, which also included the Czech Republic and Slovakia. They won three games, lost one, sc…
Crystal Palace kept their first clean sheet of the Premier League season as they held Brighton and Hove Albion to a 0-0 draw to earn their first away point of the campaign.
The two sides renewed their top-flight rivalry after 36 years in the Eagles first visit to the Amex Stadium since their infamous victory in the Championship play-off semi-final of 2013, and the tension around the ground was reflected by two teams who defended in numbers.
The return of Christian Benteke to Roy Hodgson s starting line-up, alongside Wilfried Zaha and Andros Townsend, ensured that Brighton could not relax and all three forwards had chances to score Palace s first away goal in the league since April.
Former Palace striker Glenn Murray was given precious little to work with at the…
Ajax have today confirmed that they ve re-signed Daley Blind in a deal that could rise to around £18.1 million. The 28-year-old, who can play as either a midfielder or defender, hasn t been able to lock down a consistent place in the first team with Manchester United and now, he s returning to the place that he called home for so many years.
Blind began his football journey with Ajax at the age of just eight, rising up through the ranks as something of a hometown hero before eventually switching to Old Trafford back in 2014. The Amsterdam-born Daley initially got off to a promising start in English football with a series of impressive performances, but over time, he seemed to fall out of favour before the rumours surrounding his future started to get louder and louder.