CNN — Greater Manchester Police (GMP) is investigating reports that Liverpool’s team bus was damaged after the club’s English Premier League match against Manchester City, the police force said in a statement. The incident is reported to have taken place close to the Etihad Stadium, where the match was held, on Saturday afternoon, GMP said. … Read more
Jakarta, Indonesia CNN — Two Indonesian soccer officials were sentenced up to 18 months in prison by a court on Thursday over a deadly stadium crush last year that killed more than 130 people and injured hundreds more in what was one of the sport’s worst disasters. The sentences were the first jailings handed down … Read more
CNN — The body of Ghana soccer star Christian Atsu arrived in Accra, Ghana on Sunday evening after it was flown from Turkey, Ghana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration (MFA) said. “The mortal remains of the former Ghana Black Stars player, the late Christian Atsu, whose demise occurred during the recent earthquake in … Read more
CNN — Nigerian tech entrepreneur Dozy Mmobuosi has “made a deposit” to buy Sheffield United, in a takeover that would make him the only Black majority owner in England’s top two professional leagues. Sheffield United currently lie second in the Championship competition and are on course to being promoted to the Premier League, which is … Read more
CNN — When plans for the South African government’s tourism board to sponsor English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur were leaked and then confirmed last week, they caused widespread public anger. The controversial sponsorship deal, which has been conditionally approved but not yet finalized, is reported to be around $58 million (R1 billion). But South … Read more
Abu Dhabi and Baghdad CNN — A Gulf Cup final match between Iraq and Oman will take place in Basra on Thursday as scheduled, Iraqi soccer officials said, despite a deadly stampede outside the stadium just hours earlier. “The match between the Iraqi and Omani national teams will take place as scheduled,” the Iraqi Football … Read more
CNN — British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe’s company INEOS has formally entered the bidding process to buy Premier League soccer club Manchester United, according to The Times on Wednesday. This comes after United’s owners, the Glazer family, announced they were exploring new investment or the potential sale of the English Premier League side in November 2022. … Read more
Editor’s Note: A version of this story appears in today’s Meanwhile in the Middle East newsletter, CNN’s three-times-a-week look inside the region’s biggest stories. Sign up here. Abu Dhabi, UAE CNN — It was a rare embrace between one of Israel’s most controversial politicians and an Arab ambassador. Itamar Ben Gvir and the United Arab … Read more
CNN — Brazilians have started paying their final respects to football great Pelé with a 24-hour public wake, which began on Monday at the Urbano Caldeira Stadium, the home of his former football club, Santos. The wake is open to the public and mourners began entering the stadium Monday morning. On Tuesday, a funeral procession … Read more
CNN — Arsène Wenger’s departure from Arsenal as the club’s manager in 2018 was bittersweet. He is the longest serving manager still in the English Premier League, but stepped down after 22 years in charge with a disgruntled section of fans unhappy that Arsenal had been unable to win the league title since the 2003/04 … Read more