The Scottish Professional Football League has apologised to Rangers after a long-running sponsorship dispute was resolved.
The SPFL agreed a deal with car firm cinch in 2021 but Rangers claimed it compromised a prior agreement in place with then Ibrox chairman Douglas Park’s firm, Park’s of Hamilton, and did not promote the deal, winning the right to take the matter to court.
A statement released from the SPFL read: “The SPFL regrets any damage to the reputation of Rangers and Park’s as a result of the dispute.
“The SPFL has accepted that Rangers had a pre-existing contract with Park’s at the point that the SPFL entered into its title sponsorship contract with cinch in June 2021.
“All three parties have now agreed to withdraw the resulting S…
Manchester City edged closer to the Premier League title, while there was significant change at the bottom of the table on Sunday.
City were eliminated from the Champions League semi-finals in dramatic fashion by Real Madrid in midweek, but saw their domestic hopes boosted when Liverpool dropped points against Tottenham on Saturday.
Pep Guardiola s side subsequently breezed past Newcastle United to move three points clear of the Reds with three games remaining, while West Ham hit relegated Norwich City for four.
Elsewhere, Arsenal continued their charge for Champions League qualification with a narrow victory over 10-man Leeds United, who ended the day in the relegation zone after Everton triumphed at Leicester City.
Here, Stats Perform takes a look at th…
Newcastle midfielder Lee Bowyer was fined six weeks’ wages on this day in 2005 for fighting with team-mate Kieron Dyer during a 3-0 defeat by Aston Villa.
Bowyer appeared to be the aggressor in the extraordinary scenes at St James’ Park, resulting in the England midfielder being severely censured by his club and warned as to his future conduct.
Both players were sent off and Bowyer was banned for six games by the Football Association as well as being fined by the governing body, lifting the total amount of fines he paid for the incident to £280,000.
Northumbria Police pressed charges and in 2006 Newcastle magistrates issued a £600 fine and ordered Bowyer to pay £1,000 in costs for the offence of “causing harassment, alarm or distress”.
“A mom…
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has hailed Liel Abada’s contract extension after receiving “significant interest” in the Israel winger from elsewhere.
Abada has signed a new four-year deal after netting 29 goals in 105 appearances and winning five major trophies since joining the Hoops from Maccabi Petah Tikva in July 2021.
Rodgers told Celtic’s website he was delighted with the news, which follows extended deals for Daizen Maeda and Kyogo Furuhashi earlier this summer.
“We know there was significant interest in Liel from other clubs so we’re delighted that he has committed his future to Celtic,” Rodgers said.
— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC)
“Already he has made a great contribution to Celtic, delivering some great p…
When Paris Saint-Germain line up against Manchester City at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday for the first leg of their highly anticipated Champions League semi-final, the state of the home side s defence is unlikely to be at the forefront of many minds.
Neymar and Kylian Mbappe, each sublime against defending champions Bayern Munich in the previous round, are the obvious attractions.
The opportunity to see the two PSG superstars go toe-to-toe with an exciting City side, led by Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden, is an enticing one.
However, as well as the attacking talent that has allowed City to score 21 times in the competition this season – matching PSG and trailing only Bayern (27) – Pep Guardiola s men also have the meanest defence.
Fellow semi-…
Best Odds: 7/10
Bookmaker:
Two sides who find themselves scrapping it out at the foot of the Serie A table, Cuiaba will welcome Vitoria to the Arena Pantanal in the early hours of Thursday.
Cuiaba
Starting with the hosts, while Cuiaba might have embarked on a major Copa Sudamericana adventure this year, Petit’s men are at the heart of a major domestic struggle. Last seen over the weekend putting in a toothless performance as they slumped to a 1-0 loss at home against Internacional, the Dourado sit rock-bottom of the Serie A table and have come under plenty of top-flight scrutiny. Opening up the 2024 campaign with a routine 4-0 drumming at the hands of Athletico-PR, the former Boavista boss knows that his squad faces a major must-win showdown in the early hour…
Tottenham have allowed young forward Troy Parrott to join Excelsior Rotterdam on a season-long loan.
The 21-year-old Republic of Ireland international spent the 2022-23 campaign at Preston, where he scored four goals in 34 appearances for the Sky Bet Championship club.
A groin injury prevented Parrott from joining the Spurs squad on their Asia-Pacific pre-season tour under new boss Ange Postecoglou and he will now continue his develop in the Eredivisie.
Troy Parrott has joined Dutch Eredivisie side Excelsior Rotterdam on loan for the remainder of the 2023/24 season.
Good luck, Troy!
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial)
Parrott made his Tottenham debut in 2019 but has only appeared a further three times for his boyhood club and now foll…
The 33-year-old, who swiftly turned his attention to Saturday’s Premier League trip to Bournemouth, said: “When I was at Tottenham, we had Barcelona and Inter Milan in our group and everyone said it was done, but never say never.
“We got to the final that year, so it is a never-say-die attitude from us. We can’t control what happens, we just have to focus on Bournemouth and forget this.”
Newcastle’s current haul of four points from four games is equal to what Trippier’s Spurs had managed by the same point in 2018-19, when defeats by Inter and Barcelona were followed by a draw at PSV Eindhoven and then a 2-1 home win over the Dutch outfit.
They eventually secured second place in Group B by beating the Italians in north London and then drawing at the …
Bayer Leverkusen are interested in signing Jeanuel Belocian from Rennes in the summer transfer window, according to Fabrizio Romano. The well-known and well-respected Italian journalist has reported on X that Bayer are closing in on a deal with Rennes to get a deal done for Belocian.
Romano has noted that Bayer, who won the Bundesliga title this past season, will hand Belocian a five-year contract. The German club view the 19-year-old, who can operate as a central defender or as a central midfielder, as a player for the present and for the future.
https://x.com/FabrizioRomano/status/1798997924992757878
Belocian has been on the books of Rennes since 2020 and is now part of the first team. The teenager made 16 starts and seven substitute appearances in Ligue 1 las…
Noni Madueke’s equaliser earned Chelsea a point as they came from behind in a 1-1 draw with 10-man Nottingham Forest at Stamford Bridge.
Despite a late push by the dominant hosts, Forest held firm to continue their fine start in the Premier League against another top-four opponent.
After a tepid first half, Chris Wood put the visitors ahead in the 49th minute after directing Nikola Milenkovic s header across goal into the bottom corner.
That lead did not last long as Madueke fired Chelsea level just eight minutes later after cutting in from the right of the box.
James Ward-Prowse received his marching orders for a second yellow card on 78 minutes, though neither side could find a winner in the fiery encounter despite a spate of late chances.
Che…