London, United Kingdom | AFP | From cardboard cut-outs in the stands to Zoom watch parties, the return of the Premier League will be a bizarre experience for locked-out supporters. The English top-flight resumes behind closed doors on Wednesday, with fans forced to adapt to an unsettling new normal due to …
Read More »No more face masks for subs as Bundesliga eases hygiene measures
Berlin, Germany | AFP | Substitutes will no longer have to wear protective face masks on the sidelines during Bundesliga matches in changes to hygiene measures announced Wednesday. While fixtures in Germany’s top three men’s leagues and the women’s top-flight continue to be played behind closed doors, the rules are to be relaxed across the …
Read More »Growing calls for anti-racism protests as Bayern scent Bundesliga title
Berlin, Germany | AFP | Bayern Munich face one of the final obstacles in their hunt for an eighth consecutive Bundesliga title this weekend as players in Germany contemplate staging collective protests following the death of George Floyd in the United States. The German FA said on Wednesday footballers including Jadon …
Read More »No sanctions for Sancho and Bundesliga players for Floyd protests
Berlin, Germany | AFP | Bundesliga players including Jadon Sancho who staged protests during matches following the death of black American man George Floyd will not be punished, the German Football Federation said on Wednesday. In a statement, the DFB said “no action” would be taken against Borussia Dortmund players Sancho …
Read More »What future for sport and sponsors after the coronavirus lockdown?
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Global sport is facing the “mother of all wake-up calls” as it emerges from the coronavirus lockdown, with uncertainty over what the landscape for participants and sponsors will look like. Former head of Olympic marketing Michael Payne believes that although “it will be very painful …
Read More »As football restarts around Europe, France questions decision to end season early
Paris, France | AFP | It is the land of the world champions, but is it really a football country? That is the question some in France have been asking this week while its European neighbours work to bring the sport back after the coronavirus shutdown. Debate has raged ever since …
Read More »League-by-league guide to the return of football around Europe
Paris, France | AFP | With the German Bundesliga on its second weekend back following the two-month coronavirus shutdown and La Liga given the green light by the Spanish government to return next month, AFP Sport casts a glance at the situation for football leagues across Europe: – Leagues restarting – …
Read More »Bayern prepare to take revenge on Eintracht with Dortmund looming
Munich, Germany | AFP | Bundesliga leaders Bayern continue their renewed season with only one injury doubt ahead of a home game against Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday. Coach Hansi Flick said in an on-line press conference on Friday that central midfielder Thiago was unlikely to play because of a hip muscle problem. “We’ll have to …
Read More »Five things from the Bundesliga comeback
Berlin, Germany | AFP | Bayern Munich maintained their four-point lead at the top of the Bundesliga as Germany gave fans across the world their first taste of elite football for two months amid empty stands and stringent hygiene guidelines designed to curtail the spread of the coronavirus. AFP looks …
Read More »German football kicks off as Europe begins reopening
Berlin, Germany | AFP | Top flight German football kicked off again on Saturday as the French returned to the beach and Italy announced a resumption of European tourism, providing much-needed relief against the relentless drumbeat of death and economic devastation wreaked by the coronavirus pandemic. The reopenings mark the beginning …
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