West Indies all-rounder Carlos Brathwaite believes sportspersons taking a knee to protest against racism in sport is "cosmetic" and a change in law is needed to fight racial discrimination. Taking a knee has become a popular symbol to show solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement which gained momentum following the killing of George Floyd by police in the United States of America.
Barcelona wasted a golden opportunity to extend their lead at the top of LaLiga as they were shocked 1-0 at lowly Almeria on Sunday thanks to a first-half strike by El Bilal Toure.
German soccer teams started the week in isolation on Monday after going into seven-day quarantine ahead of the Bundesliga season restart on Saturday, with club bosses saying completing the campaign amid the coronavirus outbreak will not be easy. The German Football League (DFL) decided last week to resume the first and second division from May 16 after a two-month suspension, making it the first major sports league to attempt a restart.
The 21-year-old Denmark international has made 22 appearances for the English champions this term having cemented his place at the heart of Antonio Conte's three-man defence.
Borussia Dortmund stayed top of the Bundesliga by beating Augsburg 4-3, while titleholders Bayern Munich were thumped 3-0 at home by Borussia Moenchengladbach.
Arjen Robben is out for six weeks with a knee injury sustained in Bayern Munich's 2-0 victory at Augsburg in the last 16 of the German Cup, the European champions said on Thursday.
In-form Borussia Moenchengladbach struck three times in 14 minutes in the second half to floor champions Bayern Munich 3-1 on Saturday and inflict their first Bundesliga defeat of the season.
IMAGES from the Bundesliga matches played across Germany on Tuesday.
A lacklustre Bayern Munich needed a long-range goal from Spaniard Xabi Alonso to secure a 1-0 victory over Darmstadt 98 on Tuesday that put them into the quarter-finals of the German Cup.
VfL Wolfsburg's Luiz Gustavo scored on the hour to rescue a 1-1 draw at improving Mainz 05 on Sunday but the Wolves lost possible further ground in their chase of Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich.
Images from Europa and Champions League matches played on Wednesday.
Leipzig will likely need to find an alternate venue or shift the two-leg tie around and first play in England.
Sevilla missed a chance to get their La Liga campaign up and running when the Europa League holders surrendered the lead and were held to a 1-1 draw at Levante on Friday.
Holders FC Barcelona have been placed in Group E, along with Bayer Leverkusen, AS Roma, Dinamo Zagreb.
Fiorentina squandered a two-goal lead at home for the second time in five days on Monday and were jeered off the field following a 2-2 draw with Torino which heaped the pressure on coach Paulo Sousa.
Werder Bremen snatched a 1-1 draw at VfB Stuttgart thanks to Anthony Ujah's second-half equaliser in a relegation derby of former German champions on Sunday to stay one point above the relegation zone.
Bundesliga teams will be allowed up to five substitutions per match when it restarts on Saturday after the coronavirus stoppage, while teams will be relegated provided the season is completed, the German Football League (DFL) said on Thursday. Short-term venue changes will also be permitted if health reasons dictate such a need and the season will continue beyond its re-scheduled finish date of June 30 and into July if necessary, the DFL said following a general assembly.
Manager Pep Guardiola tempered his delight at ManchesterCity's ability to fight back three times in a thrilling 3-3 draw against Celtic in the Champions League on Wednesday by urging his players to understand the importance of a good start.
ManchesterCity could be without playmaker David Silva for Saturday's home game against Bournemouth while midfielder Ilkay Guendogan may make his Premier League debut.
Substitute Joel Pohjanpalo scored a hat-trick in the last 11 minutes to fire Bayer Leverkusen to a 3-1 win at home to Hamburg SV on an afternoon of late Bundesliga drama on Saturday.
Yaya Toure has been left out of Manchester City's Champions League squad by coach Pep Guardiola, further undermining the Ivorian's position at the club. Toure, a mainstay of the City midfield since joining from Guardiola's Barcelona in 2010, has failed to start any of the club's opening three Premier League matches. He has only played once this season, in the second leg of the Champions League playoff tie against Steaua Bucharest, when they already had a 5-0 lead from the first encounter.
Bundesliga players are free to show their support for protests over the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man killed in police custody in the United States, the German Football Association (DFB) said on Wednesday.
Pep Guardiola's ManchesterCity will play Romanian side Steaua Bucharest in the Champions League playoff round after the draw was made in Nyon on Friday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Images from matches played across European leagues on Saturday
The German Football League decided last week to resume the first and second divisions from May 16 after a two-month suspension, with teams undergoing a seven-day isolation period after testing for the new coronavirus.
Images from La Liga and German Cup matches played on the weekend.
Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring as Juventus beat visiting Bologna 2-1 on Saturday to move four points clear at the top of the Serie A table. Ronaldo struck from close range after 19 minutes, but Danilo levelled for the visitors soon afterwards.
Robert Lewandowski struck twice to steer champions Bayern Munich to a 2-1 win at Hamburg SV on Friday that stretched their lead at the top to 11 points as the Bundesliga resumed following a one-month winter break.
Cinemas, stadiums, town squares and other public gathering places are devoid of people as the coronavirus spreads to at least 118 countries around the world. As of Thursday, the Johns Hopkins University tracker says 1,26,258 people have contracted the disease and 4,638 have died across the globe. The vast majority of the victims have been in China but the country said on Thursday that it had only 15 new cases. The outbreak also claimed its most high-profile victim so far when Hollywood star Tom Hanks announced he and his wife, Rita Wilson, had tested positive. The couple, who are in Australia where Hanks is making a film about Elvis, said they had felt "a bit tired, like we had colds" before being "found to be positive" Take a look.
Borussia Dortmund missed a bagful of chances to draw 1-1 at home with Augsburg on Tuesday, as they squandered the opportunity to make up ground in the Bundesliga title race heading into the winter break.
Manchester City moved 13 points clear at the top of the English Premier League table after a 2-1 win over West Ham United on Saturday - their 20th straight win in all competitions.
A weekend of surprise results across Europe's big leagues saw Bayern Munich's unbeaten run come to an end, Napoli knocked off top spot in Serie A and Manchester City toppled in the Premier League where Leicester City are the new leaders.
The Champions League group stages took on a less predictable look after Thursday's draw, helped by UEFA's decision to tweak the seeding system.
Defender Per Mertesacker expects Granit Xhaka to set the tempo from the Arsenal engine room this season and described him as the 'perfect signing' for the club.
VfL Wolfsburg ended Arminia Bielefeld's sensational German Cup run, crushing the third division club 4-0 on Wednesday to book a spot in their first Cup final in 20 years where they will face Borussia Dortmund.
IMAGES from the Champions League matches played on Wednesday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Real Madrid were made to toil by the 10 men of Athletic Bilbao but eventually won 3-1 on Tuesday thanks to two strikes from Karim Benzema to go level on points with La Liga leaders Real Sociedad.
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