Sports

Four Real Madrid players have been cleared to face Arsenal in their Champions League quarter-final despite three being punished by Uefa.
Last month, European football’s governing body opened an investigation into allegations of indecent conduct by Antonio Rudiger, Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Jr and Dani Ceballos during their last-16 win against Atletico Madrid.
The four allegedly made gestures towards the home fans after Real beat their city rivals on penalties to book their place in the last eight.
Uefa said on Friday that no disciplinary proceedings were brought against 24-year-old Brazil winger Vinicius.
The other three Real players were found to have violated “the basic rules of decent conduct” under article 11(2)(b) of Uefa’s disciplinary regulations.
France striker Mbappe, 26, and Germany defender Rudiger, 32, were both given a suspended one-match ban and fined £25,000 (30,000 euros) and £35,000 (40,000 euros) respectively.
Spain midfielder Ceballos, 28, was fined £17,000 (20,000 euros).
Arsenal face Real in the first leg of their quarter-final at Emirates Stadium on 8 April, with the second leg at the Bernabeu on 16 April.

Paris St-Germain are on the brink of something special.
Luis Enrique’s side are 21 points clear of nearest challengers Monaco in Ligue 1 and avoiding defeat at home to Angers on Saturday will see them crowned champions with six matches remaining.
It will only be the third time a team has won Ligue 1 with so many matches left, PSG themselves having lifted the title with eight games to go in 2016 and Lyon winning it with six games remaining in 2007.
Only PSG have lifted the title earlier in the year, having won it by mid March in that 2016 campaign.
Of course, a league title is nothing new to the defending champions – this will be their fifth successive Ligue 1 crown and 12th in the past 14 seasons.
But the manner of this season’s efforts, despite the departures of Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar in recent years, has been particularly eye-catching.
They are unbeaten in the league after 27 games and closing in on Nantes’ record of the most games without defeat from the start of a season – that was 32 in 1994-95, suffering their only loss in the 33rd of what was then a 38-game campaign.
“That Nantes side were one of the greatest teams we have had in French football history,” said Julien Laurens on the EuroLeagues podcast. “[They went close to going unbeaten], but nobody has ever gone the whole way.”
If PSG complete an unbeaten league season, they would become just the sixth team from Europe’s top five leagues to do so, joining Bayer Leverkusen from 2024, Juventus in 2012, Arsenal in 2004, Milan in 1992 and Perugia in 1979.
“They would be the first French team ever to do it,” added Laurens. “One defeat has been done twice, but zero defeats never.
“I think this is the main motivation for this PSG team and for Luis Enrique. He tells the players enough they could write even more history by staying the whole season unbeaten.
“There is a reason why it is so rare, because I think subconsciously when you have validated the title and have other competitions to focus on, even if you want to keep winning, maybe there is something in you that you switched off a little bit.
“They have been playing so well the last few months that it is definitely not out of the question.”
PSG also still have their eyes on a quadruple, with a Champions League quarter-final and a Coupe de France final to look forward to, having already won the French Super Cup.
With the Ligue 1 crown almost wrapped up, here is how the title races look across the rest of the top five European leagues.
The La Liga title race is one of the tightest in Europe, with Barcelona and Real Madrid battling for top spot.
Hansi Flick’s side sit at the summit in Spain with a three-point cushion over the reigning champions Real, with nine matches remaining.
Barcelona and Real Madrid still have to meet in the final La Liga Clasico of the season – due to take place on the second weekend in May.
Atletico Madrid are lingering in third but the nine points needed to catch up with their rivals may well be too much at this stage in the campaign.
They don’t, however, have to play either of the top in the run-in.
England captain Harry Kane could win the first major trophy of his career, with Bayern Munich six points clear of defending Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen in Germany.
Xabi Alonso’s side failed to capitalise when Vincent Kompany’s men dropped points in March, losing at home against lowly Bochum and drawing at Union Berlin.
With seven matches left, only Leverkusen are within touching distance of the Bavarians, with third-placed Frankfurt a further 11 points behind Alonso’s outfit.
Kane is once again top of the scoring charts in Germany with 22 goals.
The Serie A title race remains close, with defending champions Inter Milan leading the way by three points.
Napoli, the 2023 champions, are the only side who could realistically catch Simone Inzaghi’s men, with third-placed Atalanta nine points adrift of top spot.
Inter take on rivals AC Milan in the Coppa Italia semi-finals and face Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-finals – meaning a treble is very much alive.
Will it be a second Scudetto on the spin for Inter or two in three seasons for Napoli?
Liverpool can wrap the Premier League title up before the end of April with second-place Arsenal 12 points adrift.
Liverpool’s first title in 30 years came in 2020 during the Coronavirus pandemic under the guidance of Jurgen Klopp.
Arne Slot, however, is hoping to win the title in his first season at the club since replacing Klopp last summer.
Out of all other competitions, the biggest tests of his side’s remaining eight league games would appear to be away at Champions League-chasing Chelsea on 4 May before they host second-placed Arsenal the following week.

Fenerbahce have accused Galatasaray boss Okan Buruk of acting “as if he had been shot” after a confrontation with their manager Jose Mourinho on Wednesday night.
In a strongly-worded statement, Fenerbahce accused Buruk of having the “audacity to make disrespectful hand gestures” to provoke Mourinho, who then “briefly touched his nose” in response.
The Turkish Cup match, which Galatasaray won 2-1, came amid increased animosity between the two clubs.
Following the match Galatasaray accused Fenerbahce boss Jose Mourinho of “physically attacking” their manager Buruk after he appeared to grab his nose following the fiery derby match.
The incident occurred after the final whistle at Sukru Saracoglu Stadium, when both managers were interacting with the match officials in the centre circle.
“This was a planned provocation [by Buruk] and as part of this plan the individual acted as if he had been ‘shot’ and fell to the ground in a professional manner, and his disrespectful words and actions are documented on video,” Fenerbahce said in a statement.
“The absurdity of someone who is touched on the nose immediately throwing himself to the ground and writhing for seconds is clear to the public.
“It is evident that this individual’s tendency to fall to the ground, seen during his playing days, continues in his coaching career, showing that this behaviour is a characteristic attitude.”
Buruk sought to play the incident down at his post-match news conference, saying there was “nothing” between him and Mourinho.
But Galatasaray inflamed the situation further by posting a video on X mocking Mourinho in the style of US comedy South Park.
Fenerbahce substitute Mert Yandas and Galatasaray substitutes Kerem Demirbay and Baris Yilmaz were shown red cards for their part in a melee between the two benches during stoppage time.
Following a goalless draw between the two clubs in the Turkish Super Lig in February, Galatasaray said they would “initiate criminal proceedings” against Mourinho after claiming he made “racist statements”.
The Turkish Football Federation handed Mourinho a four-game ban and a fine of £35,194 for two separate disciplinary matters.
Mourinho responded by launching a lawsuit against Galatasaray “due to the attack on the personal rights” of the Portuguese.

For the people of Alsace, a French region close to the German border, local pride is a huge part of life.
Its biggest football team, Racing Club Strasbourg, has galvanised the France-Germany identity even further over the last 16 years. But now the club is engulfed in bitter civil war.
Since going bankrupt in 2011, Strasbourg, who climbed back to the top flight from the amateur fifth tier, built a strong fan-centric culture with former France international Marc Keller as president.
In June 2023, the one-time French champions were bought by BlueCo, a consortium headed by American businessman Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali, and became part of a multi-club ownership portfolio alongside Chelsea.
It was seen as betrayal by Keller in the eyes of many.
Since then, the fanbase has been torn apart, with ultras and supporters’ groups organising protests at every game.
BlueCo’s influence has been huge. Strasbourg have the youngest average age in Ligue 1 this season at 21.3 years.
After bottom-half finishes in three of their past four seasons since promotion from Ligue 2, they are dreaming of Europe under former Hull City boss Liam Rosenior.
But despite this being their strongest era in a generation, it hasn’t been worth what some supporters believe is a loss of identity.
“Strasbourg doesn’t exist from the sporting point of view. We are just Chelsea B team,” Strasbourg Supporters’ Club member Alexandre Hummel tells BBC Sport. “I don’t get why they would buy Strasbourg.
“Strasbourg is the only professional club in Alsace. There is a strong connection to the local identity, a mix of French and Germanic culture.
“In 2011, we went back to basics, we fought for our club and the Alsatian roots. It didn’t matter what league it was, there was a local, grassroots link with the club.
“It worked very well, we have beaten every attendance record in the fifth, fourth and third tiers. You would regularly see crowds of 10,000 or 20,000.”
An £11.9m deal to take defender Mamadou Sarr to Stamford Bridge has been agreed for July and Hummel says he expects such transfers to become a regular occurrence.
“It has been slow to emerge but for me it was clear from the beginning,” he adds. “They use Strasbourg so they can buy a player earlier than they would have otherwise and they pay a lower transfer fee.
“When BlueCo arrived, Keller was saying we’d be two different entities, with our own sporting policies. It has been clear for 18 months that this is not the case.”
Meanwhile, goalkeeper Djorde Petrovic and winger Andrey Santos – on loan from Chelsea – have become crucial members of Rosenior’s squad this season, with 20-year-old Brazilian Santos reaching nine goal involvements in 24 Ligue 1 games.
French football expert Jonathan Johnson believes the stature of Strasbourg always gave BlueCo an uphill battle for acceptance.
“Strasbourg fans are hurt as BlueCo identified them as a solid club with potential to nurture quality players and occasionally compete in Europe without being frontrunners for in Ligue 1 or Champions League regulars,” he said.
“I can see why BlueCo acquired Strasbourg. However, looking at some of the other clubs that were available then, it was always going to be tricky for a foreign investment group to succeed with the club clearly not the multi-club operation’s focal point.
“I believe that an absence of strong and clear communication created enough doubt to foster this hostility from Strasbourg’s fans towards BlueCo.”
A lot of frustration and anger is directed at Keller, who is accused of selling out by sections of the fanbase, but the split among the fans has created a toxic – even violent – atmosphere on matchdays.
“At the beginning of every game, for 15 minutes, the ultras and supporters’ groups don’t sing in protest against BlueCo,” says Hummel.
“Keller said clearly he wasn’t going to interfere with the protests. It was our right, he respected it. Now he is putting pressure on us, publicly. For us, it is the icing on the cake of all the lies.
“There is a big row between the ultras and rest of the stadium. Protesters have been harassed online and the leader of the ultras had to avoid a glass bottle that was thrown at him.
“It is difficult to know if we should be happy when the team wins. It is difficult for us to work with someone who we trusted to build the club back from the fifth tier and for him now to be working with the shareholders.”
Johnson says although Strasbourg fans may not like it, they have to accept the positive impact BlueCo has had on the club financially during difficult times for Ligue 1. The league’s TV rights have shrunk twice in the past five years.
“Objectivity is needed,” he asserts. “This current team is younger, more vibrant and plays attractive football – the club is moving in a positive direction.
“The stadium is also being renovated. Strasbourg could have been in major financial trouble last summer without BlueCo during France’s latest TV rights debacle.”
But Hummel disagrees, saying: “The economic problem in French football is very real – BlueCo is just a bad solution.
“We are not in debt to a bank but we are in debt to BlueCo. I would rather be in the fifth tier with our destiny in our hands, not spending someone else’s money. When you do that, you belong to them.”
In a recent interview with BBC Sport, manager Rosenior said his footballing philosophy aligns with what BlueCo want to achieve.
“Strasbourg is a club that has had a takeover from BlueCo and I know the technical directors Paul [Winstanley] and Laurence [Stewart] there,” he said.
“They’re great guys and aligned with what I believe in, which is a style of football and the development of players and winning games in a style that I believe in.
“I think that’s why they spoke to me. I spoke to Marc Keller who’s the president here and Marc has a great knowledge of the English game, a fantastic footballer himself, and he understands football.
“He played for some top clubs including West Ham, which again I have a link with through my dad, so everything felt right with the people I spoke to and I took the plunge. I’m enjoying every minute.”
Multi-club ownership is becoming more common in modern football. Johnson believes has its place but understands fan frustrations.
“I do think that it can work with select clubs,” he says. “There are financial benefits but the project’s narrative not being tightly controlled from day one creates a crisis of identity.
“No fan views their club as secondary in any project and a stand-alone approach is more palatable.
“Some French clubs have historically relied on wealthy, stable benefactors and being in a modern multi-club operation could keep them relatively competitive and secure.”
But in Alsace, the war between sporting success and local pride and community shows no sign of ending.

Dani Olmo and Pau Victor are eligible to play for Barcelona for the rest of the season, Spain’s National Sports Council (CSD) has ruled.
La Liga granted Barcelona temporary licences to register Olmo and Victor last summer, but later revoked their registrations after claiming the club had failed to prove they were complying with the league’s financial rules by the deadline on 31 December.
The CSD gave Barcelona permission to temporarily reinstate the pair following an appeal in January.
On Wednesday, La Liga said that the club do not have the financial capacity to register the forwards.
But the CSD annulled the agreement between the Spanish top flight and the country’s football federation (RFEF).
The CSD said the two players’ registrations remain valid as the RFEF acknowledged that “there is no federation resolution that agreed to the cancellation of the licences” and that its decision not to grant a licence is “null and void”.
La Liga said it will appeal the decision.
In a statement on Wednesday, La Liga said it had lowered Barcelona’s wage cap after irregularities with their end-of-year accounting for the 2024-25 season.
Barcelona announced a deal on 3 January to sell VIP boxes at the club’s Nou Camp stadium, which is being rebuilt, to raise 100m euros (£83m) in order to meet La Liga’s Financial Fair Play rules and extend the registrations of Olmo and Victor.
But La Liga said the deal had not been recorded in accounts submitted by Barcelona to the league last week, and that the deal had been approved by a different, unnamed auditor.
Olmo was part of Barcelona’s academy before leaving to play for Dinamo Zagreb and RB Leipzig.
Barcelona paid £52m to reunite with the Spain international last summer and he has featured 28 times this season, including 13 since the CSD’s ruling.
Victory also came through Barcelona’s famed La Masia academy and has played 22 times this term, with five of those appearances coming since the ruling.

Galatasaray have accused Fenerbahce boss Jose Mourinho of “physically attacking” their manager Okan Buruk after he appeared to grab his nose following a fiery derby in the Turkish Cup.
The incident occurred after the final whistle at Sukru Saracoglu Stadium, when both managers were interacting with the match officials in the centre circle.
Mourinho approached Buruk from behind and appeared to pinch his nose, causing the Galatasaray manager to fall to the floor with his hands covering his face.
“Our manager Okan and Mourinho congratulated the referees. After that, while Okan was continuing, Mourinho first verbally and then physically attacked him,” Galatasaray’s vice-president Metin Ozturk said.
“Where else in the world can he do this? What does he think of Turkey?
“I believe that Fenerbahce’s management will impose the necessary sanction before the federation does.”
Galatasaray won the Turkish Cup quarter-final tie 2-1 with Victor Osimhen scoring twice for the visitors.
BBC Sport has contacted Fenerbahce for a response.
Buruk, who enjoyed two spells at Galatasaray as a player before returning as manager in 2022, played down the incident at his post-match news conference.
“There was nothing between me and Mourinho,” Buruk said.
“He pinched my nose from behind. There was a slight scratch. Of course, it wasn’t a very nice or elegant thing to do.
“We expect managers to behave more appropriately in such situations. I won’t exaggerate this issue, but it wasn’t a classy move.”
Fenerbahce substitute Mert Yandas and Galatasaray substitutes Kerem Demirbay and Baris Yilmaz were shown red cards for their part in a melee between the two benches during stoppage time.
Following a goalless draw between the two clubs in the Turkish Super Lig in February, Galatasaray said they would “initiate criminal proceedings” against Mourinho after claiming he made “racist statements”.
The Turkish Football Federation also handed Mourinho a four-game ban and a fine of £35,194 for two separate disciplinary matters.
Mourinho responded by launching a lawsuit against Galatasaray “due to the attack on the personal rights” of the Portuguese.

Bulgarian side Arda Kardzhali welcomed club great Petko Ganchev as a special guest to their match against Cherno More on Wednesday – two weeks after holding a minute’s silence for him.
Arda mourned Ganchev before their match with Levski Sofia last month, wrongly believing he had died, with both teams lining up on the centre circle and bowing their heads.
However, before that game had ended, Arda posted on social media to say they had received “incorrect information about his death” and that the 78-year-old was very much alive.
Ganchev was described as a “legend” and received a jersey with his name on it before Arda’s match against Cherno More, which they won 4-0.
“Before the match Petko Ganchev saw the sport director Ivaylo Petkov, who gave him a jubilee jersey. He watched the match in the company of other Arda veterans,” the club said.
“Once again we apologise to Petko Ganchev.”
Ganchev said he had to reassure friends and family he was still alive because he was driving home when Arda mistakenly made their announcement of his death.
“When I heard the terrible news, I poured myself a small brandy,” he told Bulgarian outlet Blitz.
“Being buried alive is quite stressful, really.”

Fabio Paratici is in talks with AC Milan over becoming their new sporting director, in a move that would end his ties with Tottenham.
The Italian administrator, who left his role as Spurs’ managing director of football in April 2023 after being banned by world governing body Fifa – following an investigation into financial irregularities during his time at Juventus – is free to return to work in the summer when his suspension ends.
Sources close to Paratici have told BBC Sport the 52-year-old is in contact with AC Milan over becoming their new sporting director.
Despite leaving his role at Tottenham, Paratici has continued to have a presence at the Premier League club.
He is a consultant for the club and has been a regular at Tottenham’s home games, while recent reports have stated the north London club were looking to rehire him.
However, Paratici – if talks with the San Siro club end successfully – will cut ties with Tottenham as he focuses on his new role.
Paratici has been central to a number of Tottenham’s most recent signings, most notably Cristian Romero, Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur.

Barcelona do not have the financial capacity to register forwards Dani Olmo and Pau Victor, La Liga has said.
The Catalans were granted temporary licenses by La Liga to register Olmo and Victor last summer.
But their registrations were then revoked in January by La Liga, who said Barcelona had failed to prove they were compliant with the league’s financial rules by their deadline of 31 December.
Spain’s sports council (CSD) gave Barcelona permission to temporarily reinstate Olmo and Victor following an appeal, with a definitive ruling on the pair’s registrations expected by 7 April.
Barcelona – top of La Liga and in the Champions League quarter-finals – announced a deal on 3 January to sell VIP boxes at the club’s Nou Camp stadium, which is being rebuilt, in order to raise 100m euros (£83m).
But La Liga says the deal was not recorded in the accounts submitted by Barcelona to the league last week for the 2024-25 season, and that the deal had been approved by a different, unnamed auditor.
“No amount from the [VIP box deal] is ultimately recorded in the profit and loss accounts, contrary to what had been certified by the club and the auditor at the time of said transaction,” said La Liga in a statement.
La Liga said they were reporting the auditor to the Accounting and Auditing Institute.
“Barcelona did not have on December 31, 2024, or on January 3, 2025, nor has it had since that date, nor does it currently have, [the financial fair play capacity] for the registration of the players Dani Olmo and Pau Victor,” La Liga said.
In response, Barcelona president Joan Laporta told reporters the league’s letter was “an attempt to damage the club’s image and go against FC Barcelona’s interests”.
He said the club’s legal team would respond to the letter “as forcefully as necessary” and questioned the timing of it, with his side facing Atletico Madrid in the second leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final later on Wednesday (20:30 BST).
“Three months ago I said that Olmo and Pau Victor’s registrations had been carried out correctly, following each and every one of the requirements demanded by the RFEF [Spanish Football Federation] and La Liga, and this is still the case.”
Olmo, 26, joined Barcelona from RB Leipzig in a £52m deal last summer.
He has made 28 appearances this season, including 13 since the CSD’s ruling.
Victor, 23, a product of Barcelona’s academy, has played 22 times this season and five times since the ruling.

Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti said he “never thought about committing fraud” as he testified in court in Spain over tax evasion charges.
The Italian is accused of failing to pay 1m euros (£830,000) in tax on his Real salary during his first spell in charge from 2013 to 2015.
Ancelotti began his second stint at Real in 2021.
Prosecutors are seeking a prison term of four years nine months and a fine of 3.2m euros (£2.7m).
Ancelotti is accused of paying tax only on his Real salary and omitting income from image rights on his tax returns.
“For me, everything was in order,” Ancelotti told the Provincial Court of Madrid.
Ancelotti said he was offered a net salary of 6m euros (£5.1m) by Real and that he left the structure of it to his financial advisors.
“I thought it was quite normal because at that time all the players and the previous coach had [done the same],” he said.
“For coaches [image rights] don’t mean the same as they do for players because they don’t sell shirts.”
Several high-profile figures in Spanish football have been charged with tax evasion in recent years.
Barcelona forward Lionel Messi was fined 252,000 euros in 2017 after initially being given a 21-month prison sentence.
In 2019 Real striker Cristiano Ronaldo accepted an 18.8m euro fine following an out-of-court settlement and Jose Mourinho was fined 2.2m euros relating to tax charges during his time as Real manager from 2011-12.