SOCCER

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Michael Carrick admits he doesn’t know if Manchester United defender Matthijs de Ligt will play again this season as he struggles with a “difficult” back injury.

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The Senegalese government has called for an independent international investigation into the Confederation of African Football (CAF) following its decision to strip Senegal of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations title. CAF awarded the trophy to Morocco, overturning Senegal’s 1-0 victory in the January final. The ruling stems from a protest during the match where Senegalese players walked off the pitch for 17 minutes after a controversial stoppage-time penalty was awarded to Morocco.

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FIFA has introduced landmark regulations requiring every team competing in its women’s tournaments to include at least one female head or assistant coach. The mandate, approved by the FIFA Council on Thursday, will take effect starting with this year's U-17 and U-20 Women’s World Cups, as well as the Women’s Champions Cup. The move is part of a broader, long-term strategy to increase the representation of women in elite coaching roles.

Under the new ruling, at least two staff members on the bench of every team at matches must be female, with one in an assistant coach or head coach role.

The rule applies to all youth and senior tournaments, including clubs and national teams.

At the 2023 Women's World Cup, 12 of the 32 head coaches were female, including England manager Sarina Wiegman.

"There are simply not enough women in coaching today. We must do more to accelerate change by creating clearer pathways, expanding opportunities, and increasing the visibility for women on our sidelines," said Fifa's chief football officer Jill Ellis.

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Bayern Munich cruised into the UEFA Champions League (UCL) quarter-finals after a 4-1 second leg win increased their aggregate score over Atalanta BC to 10-2, their largest margin of victory in a European knockout tie since 2009.

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FIFA has introduced new regulations requiring every team in its women's tournaments to include female coaches as part of their technical staff. The move is aimed at increasing representation and creating more opportunities for women in coaching roles across the sport.

The new rules will take effect during this year's FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup and the FIFA Women's Champions Cup. They will also apply to both youth and senior competitions at club and international level moving forward.

Under the updated guidelines, each team must have at least one female head coach or assistant coach. In addition, at least two members of the matchday bench staff must be women, with one occupying a key coaching position. The decision was approved during a FIFA Council meeting, where officials discussed long term strategies to improve gender balance within coaching.

According to FIFA's chief football officer Jill Ellis, the initiative addresses a long standing gap in the game. She noted that there are still too few women working in coaching roles and emphasized the need to accelerate progress. Ellis highlighted the importance of building clearer pathways, expanding access to opportunities and increasing visibility for female coaches at all levels.

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Tottenham Hotspur picked up a long-awaited first win under Igor Tudor, but a Xavi Simons brace wasn’t enough to turn around their UEFA Champions League (UCL) Round of 16 tie against Atlético Madrid, as a 3-2 home victory saw Spurs eliminated 7-5 on aggregate.

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Liverpool secured their place in the UEFA Champions League (UCL) quarter-finals for the first time in four years after cruising to a 4-0 victory over Galatasaray, prevailing 4-1 on aggregate and setting up a mouth-watering clash with Paris Saint-Germain.

Following a turbulent previous seven days, the pressure was on Arne Slot’s side to reignite their stop-start campaign in a competition which has treated the six-time winners very well over the years.

With a one-goal aggregate deficit to overturn, a familiar face entered the fray to bring Liverpool back on level terms in the tie following a wonderfully worked corner routine.

Alexis Mac Alliser spotted the late run of Dominik Szoboszlai, who allowed the ball to move across his body before dispatching a clinical left-footed finish into the bottom corner.

The Reds could have doubled their advantage moments later when Mohamed Salah saw his attempted chip parried to safety by Ugurcan Cakir, before the Gala shot-stopper was called into action again to deny Szoboszlai a second.

The Hungarian was at the heart of everything going forward for Slot’s men, and referee Pawel Raczkowski pointed to the spot when Ismail Jakobs brought down the midfielder inside the box.

Salah couldn’t accept the gift from 12 yards, though, as his poor spot-kick was comfortably kept out by Cakir’s trailing leg, before denying the Egyptian again and Florian Wirtz with a fine double save. Liverpool’s quarter-final hopes remained in the balance at the restart, but that soon changed with two goals in as many minutes.

Mac Allister was heavily involved again, playing in Salah, whose first-time cross was fired home by Hugo Ektike at the end of a swift passage of play. Slot’s side now had the aggregate lead and had a two-goal cushion when Ryan Gravenberch reacted quickest on the rebound after Salah’s initial shot was saved by Cakir.

Galatasaray were firmly up against the ropes, and Salah finally added his name to the scoresheet with a trademark curling left-footed strike to score his 50th UCL goal, becoming the first African to reach that milestone.

The Reds were showing an unrelenting hunger to make the scoreline even more convincing, with Mac Allister denied a goal in the 90th minute for a foul in the build-up. Ultimately, the hosts settled for four and can now prepare for the quarter-finals.

Holders PSG will provide a much stiffer test in the last eight, but their devastating attacking play here will give them confidence to go all the way in this competition.

Meanwhile, Gala suffered a bruising night in more ways than one following injuries to Victor Osimhen and Noa Lang, and have now won just one of their last 15 European away games (D3, L11).

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In a stunning and unprecedented decision, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has officially declared Morocco the winner of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), stripping Senegal of the title following a post-final ruling.

The decision comes after the dramatic scenes in Rabat where the Lions of Teranga walked off the pitch in protest at a late penalty given against them.