Manchester City s Abu-Dhabi project and the future of UEFA s financial fair play (FFP) rules face a pivotal day on Monday when the Court of Arbitration for Sport delivers its verdict on City s appeal against a two-season ban from European competitions. The stakes could not be higher for the English side, who have always strongly denied any wrongdoing over allegations they deliberately inflated the value of income from sponsors with links to the Abu Dhabi United Group, also owned by City owner Sheikh Mansour, to avoid falling foul of FFP regulations between 2012 and 2016. In February, UEFA imposed a fine of 30 million euros ($32 million, £25 million) on City as well as suspending them from European competitions for the next two seasons. Since Sheikh Mansour s takeover 12 years ago, City s fortunes have been transformed from perennially living in the shadow of local rivals Manchester United to winning four Premier League titles in the past eight years among 11 major trophies. Yet the prize that has eluded them is the one the Abu Dhabi project most desires - the Champions League. - Guardiola s last shot? - No matter the outcome on Monday, City will have the chance to do so in August as they resume their Champions League campaign with a 2-1 lead over Real Madrid from the first leg of their last 16 tie. That could be the last chance for some of City s biggest names to win the Champions League for the club as a two-year ban would have severe consequences for the club s finances. Manager Pep Guardiola s contract runs until the end of the 2020/21 season and the Catalan is unlikely to still be in charge in two years time. Star players such as Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling are also unlikely to want to waste two of their peak years without Champions League football. "Two years would be long. One year is something I might be able to cope with," De Bruyne told Het Laatste Nieuws in June. It would still take huge fees from rival clubs to tempt City to sell, but they may be forced to downsize to gain re-entry to the Champions League even after any ban is over. City made 93 million euros from UEFA prize money and TV rights from last season s Champions League, with gate receipts and extra sponsorship revenue from Europe s premier club competition added to that tally. It would be almost impossible for the club to lose that level of revenue for two years and remain FFP-compliant without cutting costs on transfer fees and wages, or selling players. - Man Utd to benefit? - Even more painfully for City, Manchester United could be one of the major beneficiaries of their exclusion. City are comfortably second in the Premier League table, but if they are banned, fifth will be good enough to qualify for the Champions League. United are currently in fifth with Chelsea or Leicester the other sides likely to profit. The likes of Arsenal and Tottenham could also look to benefit next season if City s ban is upheld in full. Losing such a high-profile case would also cause major embarrassment to the legacy of the City project. It is no secret that one of the major motivations behind the billions invested is to promote a positive image of Abu Dhabi around the world. That image will for some be forever tarnished if City are found not only to have flouted FFP, but deliberately misled UEFA in doing so. But the stakes are also high for European football s governing body. Qatari-owned Paris Saint-Germain have already successfully won an appeal at CAS against UEFA reopening a FFP investigation into the French champions. The system which limits clubs to not losing more than 30 million euros with exceptions for some costs such as youth development and women s teams over a three-year period has helped cut debt across European football. But its detractors point to the fact it maintains the status quo with traditional giants like Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich always enjoying bigger budgets thanks to their large global fanbases. Should UEFA lose another case, questions will be asked over how effectively FFP can ever be enforced at the highest level of the game.

Four months on from the last match in this season s Champions League, the draw for the final eight will be held on Friday amid ongoing uncertainty about how safe it will be to play out the competition in Lisbon as planned, and with four last-16 ties still to be completed. It was on March 11 that Paris Saint-Germain beat Borussia Dortmund 2-0 behind closed doors to qualify for the quarter-finals for the first time in four years and their players celebrated wildly with jubilant supporters who had gathered outside the Parc des Princes. The same night, holders Liverpool were knocked out by Atletico Madrid in front of 52,000 fans at Anfield, a mass gathering which British scientists later said had aided the acceleration of the coronavirus pandemic. Within days football across Europe was suspended and it was only in mid-June that UEFA was able to unveil a way of finishing its flagship tournament, the main economic driver for European football s governing body -- before the pandemic, it estimated gross commercial revenue from its competitions this season would be 3.25 billion euros ($3.69bn). And so the plan is to go to the Portuguese capital for a unique "final eight" straight knockout tournament from the quarter-finals onwards, starting on August 12 and finishing with the final at Benfica s Estadio da Luz on August 23. It will share the quarter-final and semi-final matches with the Estadio Jose Alvalade, Sporting s home just along Lisbon s Segunda Circular ring road. - Games behind closed doors? - Benfica s home staged the Champions League final in 2014 when Real Madrid beat Atletico. Then it was filled to its 65,000 capacity, but this time it is expected all matches will be played behind closed doors due to fears an influx of supporters from around Europe could spark a new wave of COVID-19. Indeed, the biggest concern right now is Lisbon itself. Last week lockdown restrictions were reimposed on 19 neighbourhoods across the northern periphery of Lisbon, worryingly close to both venues. The restrictions concern some 700,000 people and will remain in place for at least a fortnight. Portugal, a country of 10 million, is currently registering over 300 cases of coronavirus a day. Three-quarters of the 443 new cases registered on Wednesday came in the Lisbon area. - No Plan B - That raises questions about whether the final eight will happen as planned, although UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has remained outwardly bullish. "I am confident that with the continued and constant collaboration between all stakeholders, we will conclude the season in a positive way in Lisbon. There is no need for a Plan B," Ceferin said last week. UEFA plans to complete the Europa League with an identical format, a final eight in Germany, with the final due to go ahead in Cologne on August 21. The draws for the quarter-finals and semi-finals of both competitions will be held on Friday, from 1000 GMT. However, before getting that far in either competition, there are a host of last-16 ties to be completed. In the Europa League last 16, only six of the eight first-leg matches were played in March. In the Champions League, Atalanta and RB Leipzig are through to the last eight along with PSG and Atletico. The remaining last 16, second legs will see Juventus face Lyon, Manchester City take on Madrid, Bayern Munich face Chelsea and Barcelona meet Napoli. UEFA has kept open the idea of also moving those games to Portugal if necessary, to the northern cities of Porto and Guimaraes. While some of the continent s behemoths still hope to book their spots in Portugal, Atletico and PSG might see the unique format as an ideal opportunity for European glory. "We are capable of winning this competition, just like the other seven teams will be. I am convinced that we will be a strong proposition," said the PSG coach Thomas Tuchel. Underdogs Atalanta, from the northern Italian city of Bergamo devastated by the pandemic, are dreaming of going all the way. The same can be said of RB Leipzig, although they will have to do without star striker Timo Werner after he was sold to Chelsea.

Chelsea moved up to third in the Premier League table after holding out to win a 3-2 thriller at Crystal Palace, while Leicester could only manage a draw at 10-man Arsenal on Tuesday. Frank Lampard s men edged closer to sealing a place in next season s Champions League as a seventh win in eight games takes them one point ahead of Leicester and opened up a five-point lead on fifth-placed Manchester United. The Blues were fortunate when opening the scoring at Selhurst Park as former Chelsea captain Gary Cahill fell to the ground clutching his hamstring to allow Willian to tee up Olivier Giroud for his fourth goal in six games. Christian Pulisic s form since the Premier League s restart has led to comparisons with Eden Hazard, the man he replaced at Stamford Bridge, and the Belgian would have been proud of Chelsea s second as the 21-year-old American skipped past Joel Ward and hammered in off the inside of the near post. "Christian is hugely important," added Lampard. "You look at the top attacking players in the world and they score goals and make assists regularly that win games and at the moment he is doing that, so I am delighted with him." As so often this season, Lampard s men failed to capitalise on their dominance and were suddenly on the back foot when Wilfried Zaha thundered a shot high past Kepa Arrizabalaga from long range for Palace s first goal in four games. Chelsea looked to have sealed the three points again when substitutes Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Tammy Abraham combined for the latter to restore a two-goal cushion 19 minutes from time. Just over a minute later, though, Palace were back in the game when a brilliant move culminated in Patrick van Aanholt squaring for Christian Benteke to tap in just his second goal of the season. Questions remain over whether the Chelsea defence will be strong enough to maintain a title challenge next season and they were left clinging on in stoppage time as Kepa turned Scott Dann s header off the inside of the post and only a last-ditch challenge from Kurt Zouma denied Benteke a second. - Vardy matches Aubameyang - Leicester have now won just one of their six games since the restart to see their lead over the chasing pack for a place in the top four whittled away, but were grateful for a 1-1 draw at the Emirates after a slow start against in-form Arsenal. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang swept home the opener for the Gunners as Kasper Schmeichel kept Leicester in the game with a stunning save to deny Alexandre Lacazette. "In the first half we should have gone 3 or 4-0 up and kill the game against this type of opposition," said Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta. Lacazette also saw a goal disallowed for offside after the break before the game turned when Eddie Nketiah was shown a straight red card after a VAR review for a high challenge on James Justin. Leicester made the man advantage count as Vardy pounced to slot home Demarai Gray s cross and regain his two-goal advantage over Aubameyang in the race for the Golden Boot. "I was really pleased with how we managed the game 11 v 10. We got a deserved goal and if we had made the final pass we could have gone on and won the game," said Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers. Arsenal s hopes of reaching the top four now appear over as they remain nine points behind with just four games to go. - Welbeck makes Watford mark - At the other end of the table, Danny Welbeck s first Premier League goal for Watford was as valuable as it was spectacular as the Hornets beat Norwich 2-1 to move four points clear of the relegation zone. Defeat pushes Norwich ever closer to the drop and the Canaries could be relegated at the weekend if they fail to beat West Ham. Like so much of his career, Welbeck s first season at Watford has been blighted by injury, but the former Manchester United and Arsenal forward showed his class by adjusting his body to hook home the winner after Craig Dawson cancelled out Emiliano Buendia s early opener for Norwich. "I am speechless after the goal," said Welbeck. "It means a lot to me and means a lot to the whole team. It is one that puts us on our way now. We will give it our all from now."

Arsenal are in talks with Real Madrid over keeping Dani Ceballos at the club, with the playmaker’s loan deal due to expire soon, manager Mikel Arteta has said. Ceballos, who joined Arsenal in July last year, missed over two months with a hamstring injury but scored in stoppage time against Sheffield United last week to send Arsenal into the FA Cup semi-finals. “We are talking to the club,” Arteta said ahead of Arsenal’s Premier League game against Leicester City later on Tuesday. “Obviously we don’t own the player, he’s not in our hands so the clubs will need to have a communication and see what we can do. I’m really happy with him, the way he’s evolving.” Ceballos is contracted to Real until 2023 and Arteta added that Arsenal might bring in more players on loan given the financial constraints brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. “We have to be open to different situations,” Arteta said. “I think the market will give us the opportunity to do certain (loan) deals like this but at the moment I cannot comment on that.” Arsenal are seventh in the league on 49 points, six behind fifth-placed Manchester United. With second-placed Manchester City facing a possible European ban for breaching UEFA financial rules, fifth place would guarantee Champions League qualification unless City win an appeal in the Court of Arbitration for Sport. “It’s clear that it’s not in our hands; the only thing we can do is win as many games as possible and see what happens with the opponent,” Arteta said.

Barcelona responded to a trying week by thrashing Villarreal 4-1 away to stay alive in the Liga title race, producing one of their best displays under coach Quique Setien. The Catalans had drawn their last two matches to hand more momentum to league leaders Real Madrid but Sunday’s win took them to 73 points after 34 games, four behind their arch-rivals who beat Athletic Bilbao earlier on Sunday. An own goal from Pau Torres put Barca in front in the third minute, with Villarreal’s Gerard Moreno levelling on the rebound in the 14th before the visitors restored their lead through an outstanding curling strike from Luis Suarez six minutes later. Antoine Griezmann stretched Barca’s advantage just before the break with a sublime chip, having been dropped from the starting lineup in the last two games, while 17-year-old Ansu Fati added a fourth in the second half with a low strike.

The Egyptian Football Association (EFA) announced Sunday that all Egyptian League players underwent PCR tests (a test that can detect antibodies from exposure to the Covid-19 pandemic) and are ready to resume sports activities. EFA said it had been given the green light by the government to resume the Premier League, which has been on hold since mid-March as part of measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. "All Egyptian Premier League clubs underwent PCR tests; 80 percent of them made the tests three times," EFA executive director Walid El-Attar told a radio programme Sunday. “The medical staff detected 15 players testing positive for antibodies tests, which means they sustained the virus and recovered from it," he added. The EFA s medical committee announced late on Saturday that from among all tests, 27 persons tested positive for Coronavirus and they are now in isolation according to the protocol. The Egyptian Premier League will resume 7 August, EFA announced Thursday, after almost five months of suspended activities. Premier League title holders Ahly is leading the teams table with 49 points after playing 17 matches, 16 points over second placed Arab Contractors who played one game more.

After the Confederation of African Football (CAF) gave the green light to the Champions League games to resume next September, Wydad de Casablanca defender Mohamed Nahiri announced that his team s game against Ahly in the semifinals will be a do or die mission. Prior to the CAF competitions’ postponement, Egypt’s big names Ahly and Zamalek had been set to play Champions League semi-finals against Moroccan sides Wydad de Casablanca and Raja de Casablanca, respectively. "We don t have any chance except winning when we face Ahly in the Champions League semifinal game," the Wydad Casablanca defender told "le 360". "We have to concentrate to go through the Egyptian team and reach the final game for the third successive time," All continental sports activities have been suspended since March due to the coronavirus pandemic, including the CAF Champions League and the CAF Confederation Cup, which were originally scheduled to be played on 1 May. CAF executive committee held a meeting on Tuesday to decide on the fate of its competitions amid the pandemic as they gave the green light for the Champions League and Confederation Cup games to resume in September in a final four format. The semi-finals will be played in a single match. "Wydad players won t accept any result except beating Ahly as well as reaching the final game," Nahiri added.

Liverpool s challenge after wrapping up their first English league title in 30 years is to maintain their intensity and keep pushing for trophies, skipper Jordan Henderson has said. The club sealed their 19th league crown with seven Premier League matches remaining after having won the Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup last year. Henderson told British media the mentality of his team would never change. "They ll want to keep going and keep improving because the hard bit now is continuing that consistency and intensity to keep going at the highest level, keep winning trophies," he said. "That s going to be a new challenge for us to cope with and I ve got every confidence from us that we ll meet it." Henderson said manager Juergen Klopp would help them maintain their focus. "... We see the manager as being someone who would never let distractions get in the way of what we re trying to achieve," Henderson added. "After the Champions League (final) you could have asked would they still have that drive, that hunger to go on and win more? And I think we have proven this season we do." Liverpool visit second-placed Manchester City in the league on Thursday.

Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers says the club’s King Power Stadium is “a very safe environment” and his team will continue to work in the same way unless told otherwise by local authorities as the number of COVID-19 cases rise in the area. The government has imposed a lockdown on the city of Leicester, which has a higher infection rate than anywhere else in the country, in its first major attempt to curb an outbreak with local rather than national measures. Speaking before Monday’s decision, which could see Leicester play their three remaining Premier League home games at neutral venues, Rodgers said his team had to be flexible. “Nothing has changed in terms of how we have been working thus far throughout this situation,” Rodgers told reporters. “It’s a very safe environment for the games to be in. We will just keep working until we are told otherwise. “I have always said we will react accordingly. We have to have agility in this period. I think in this moment in time we are in the safest place we can be in terms of our work, the stadium also.” Leicester visit Everton on Wednesday and are then set to host Crystal Palace on Saturday. Palace manager Roy Hodgson said he would follow the league’s guidelines on where his team have to play that fixture. “We’re happy to go up and play Leicester wherever the Premier League feels we should play... I’m perfectly happy to let the Premier League take care of that,” said Hodgson.

Burnley must start spending more to stay competitive in the Premier League because their current transfer strategy is not sustainable in the long term, manager Sean Dyche has said. Midfielders Aaron Lennon and Jeff Hendrick and goalkeeper Joe Hart left the club this week, while 11 more players will be out of contract at the end of next season. Dyche, whose team are 11th with seven games to go, said bargains were hard to come by these days. “The days of us nicking Nick Pope for 1.5 million pounds ($1.85 million), Johan Gudmundsson for 2.2 million pounds, James Tarkowski for 4 million pounds and Andre Gray for 6 million pounds, they’ve gone,” Dyche said. “We’re not sure how COVID-19 is going to affect the market, but if you took that away, I have said for a long time that we need to get in front of the curve. But doing that costs a lot of money. It’s a vicious circle.” Dyche, who has managed Burnley since 2012 and has always operated on a tight budget, said he had been asking the club’s hierarchy to consider tweaking their spending model for the past couple of seasons. “Can we do it? Yes. Does it need stretching? Yes, it does,” he added. “You can’t forever just work on a net spend of 9 million pounds a year. It’s not impossible, but it’s improbable that is going to work over a long period.” ($1 = 0.8088 pounds)

Liverpool cannot afford to get carried away by their Premier League triumph and must remain hungry for success if they are to compete with nearest rivals Manchester City next season, according to experienced midfielder James Milner. Liverpool s 30-year wait for their 19th English top-flight title ended on Thursday when two-times defending champions City lost to Chelsea, giving Juergen Klopp s side an unassailable 23-point lead with seven games left. Englishman Milner, who won two Premier League titles with City before joining Liverpool in 2015, expects a strong response from Pep Guardiola s team. "You see how difficult it is for any team to defend the title,” Milner, 34, told the Times. "City managed it last season.. but they tried twice before and failed. "The two times I was there in seasons after winning titles we were never at the races... That’s something I’ve learnt from. "This Liverpool team has shown we can deal with disappointment. Can we now show that we can deal with success? Being as good next year as we ve been this year won’t be enough, City will raise their game and so will other clubs." Milner said his side have the strength of character to cope with the pressure of being champions. “We are now there to be shot at and we have to be big enough to deal with that. It’s not a team that would ever go into autopilot. I don’t think we have those sort of characters and attitude," he added.

Egypt s Minister of Sports and Youth Ashraf Sobhi has confirmed that all sports competitions in Egypt will be completed according to cabinet decision, including the domestic handball league. Sports activities have been suspended since mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic, but the government has decided to allow teams to resume training starting 20 June. The reopening is part of a wider relaxation of restrictions that will see restaurants, sporting clubs and mosques open their doors starting Saturday, alongside scrapping the country s nighttime curfew. "We will do like all the world countries did, including [easing] precautionary measures," the Egyptian sports minister added. Cairo s popular club Zamalek said Wednesday they will not play when the Egyptian Premier League resumes in late July, citing concerns over the spread of the coronavirus. The Egyptian Handball Association announced last week cancelling the league due to the coronavirus pandemic, as well as starting a new season in August. "The decision of of Handball Association to cancel the current season was suspended, as International Handball Federation boss Hassan Mostafa told us that canceling the league could affect organising for the World Cup," Sobhi said. Egypt is scheduled to host the 2021 World Men s Handball Championship from 14 to 31 January 2021. The tournament will be the first handball championship, with 32 teams instead of 24.

Veteran defender David Luiz has signed a new one-year deal with Arsenal, the Premier League club announced on Wednesday. The 33-year-old Brazil international joined the Gunners last year from Chelsea on an initial 12-month deal. He was heavily criticised after being sent off in last week s 3-0 loss to Manchester City -- when the Premier League resumed after the coronavirus shutdown. But Arsenal technical director Edu hailed Luiz s influence on and off the pitch. "David is a really important player for us," he told the club website. "He has played most of our matches this season and has been important for the team. His passing, his communication with the team on and off the pitch -- he helps everyone." Arsenal have also moved to make the temporary moves of fellow defenders Pablo Mari and Cedric Soares into permanent arrangements, while midfielder Dani Ceballos s loan from Real Madrid has been extended until the end of the 2019/20 season. "I am really happy that we will have these players in our squad for the future," said Edu. "They have been part of the long-term technical plan (manager) Mikel (Arteta) and I have developed. They bring the right balance to our squad." Arsenal, who are 10th in the table, will bid to end a run of two defeats since the resumption away at Southampton on Thursday.

Pyramids FC are the first Egyptian team to resume training sessions on Tuesday, after the sports minster gave the green light for clubs to do so. Sports activities have been suspended since mid-March due to the coronavirus, but the government had decided to allow sports to resume starting from 20 June, part of a wider relaxation in restrictions that will see restaurants, clubs and mosques open their doors. Footballing activity will be resumed starting from 25 July, and clubs may start training before then, once they have completed required medical tests for players and staff. “We were granted the permission from the Egyptian Football Association and its medical committee, headed by Dr. Mohamed Soltan, to carry out the trainings in separated groups starting from Tuesday at Al-Defaa Al-Gawi stadium,” Pyramids FC football director Hani Said said in a statement published on the club’s official Twitter account. The EFA medical committee had said the club was allowed to let players train individually until they take a second coronavirus test scheduled for Wednesday, Said added. After the results come in, the team will return to group training sessions. Egypt will reopen restaurants, sporting clubs and mosques and will lift a daily curfew from Saturday, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and a cabinet spokesman said on Tuesday.

Jose Mourinho strongly defended his record of getting the best from top strikers on Monday after criticism the Portuguese manager s style could see Harry Kane look for pastures new. Kane played his first game for six months in Tottenham s 1-1 draw against Manchester United on Friday, but failed to get a single touch in the opposition box. Mourinho s tactics were again in the spotlight as Spurs tried to hold onto a 1-0 lead for most of the second half before Bruno Fernandes s penalty secured a point for United. Former Arsenal midfielder Paul Merson said he "worried" for Kane under Mourinho and a lack of trophies could also force the England captain to move on. Mourinho addressed Merson personally during a videoconference ahead of Tuesday s clash with West Ham and reeled off a list of statistics detailing the scoring rates of Didier Drogba, Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Diego Milito and Zlatan Ibrahimovic during his time in charge of Chelsea, Real Madrid and Inter Milan. Kane scored seven goals in 10 games following Mourinho s appointment before tearing his hamstring on New Year s Day. "Harry Kane has no problems at all to score goals in my team," said Mourinho. "Especially when he is fit, when is fresh, when he has routines of playing that s my message to somebody." Mourinho was also criticised for leaving a visibly tiring Kane on the field for the full 90 minutes last week. Spurs wilted in the final quarter as Mourinho made just two of five allotted substitution compared with United s Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who used his full complement. Mourinho bemoaned his lack of options from the bench, with Dele Alli suspended and Lucas Moura injured. Alli and Lucas will be available for selection against West Ham and Mourinho is looking forward to having six attacking players to choose from for the first time as Tottenham boss. "(Steven) Bergwijn and (Erik) Lamela, Lucas and Son (Heung-min), Dele and Harry, six attacking players, all different, all very good and it is the first time I have all of them available, which is the kind of problem which we coaches love."

Ahly winger Hussein El-Shahat will not be playing for at least two months after undergoing a hernia surgery on Sunday. The player s brother posted a picture of him online before heading into surgery, which will force him to rest for weeks before resuming full training. The 28-year-old winger had been struggling with his injury since February, but the operation was postponed first due to Ahly s matches in the CAF Champions League then the coronavirus outbreak, which has put much pressure on the health system since March. El-Shahat joined the Red Devils in January 2019 from UAE side Al-Ain for a reported fee of $5 million, making him the most expensive signing by an Egyptian club. He made an immediate impact with the club, leading them to the 2019 Egyptian Premier League title and on verge of defending their title following a whopping 16-point lead at the top. However, he has been struggling with his fitness this season, failing to live up to expectations. Egypt’s government has given the green light for clubs to resume training starting 20 June. The Egyptian FA has set 25 July as an initial date to resume the league, which is only halfway through the season.

Gennaro Gattuso hailed the God of football after he lifted his first coaching trophy as Napoli beat Juventus 4-2 on penalties to win the Italian Cup for the sixth time on Wednesday. The final had ended 0-0 in an empty Stadio Olimpico in Rome. Paulo Dybala and Danilo both missed their spot-kicks for record 13-times Italian Cup champions Juventus with Arkadiusz Milik slotting in the winner for Napoli past veteran keeper Gianluigi Buffon. It is the first trophy for the southerners since 2014, and also a maiden coaching trophy for Gattuso, who took over from Carlo Ancelotti in December. For former Italy World Cup winner Gattuso his first coaching success comes after the death of his 37-year-old sister Francesca from a rare illness. "In life you cannot accept some things, but football has given me a lot and a great passion," said the 42-year-old former AC Milan great. "I feel I have a great responsibility. I know I cannot give up and I have never done in my career. "I saw a team tonight that wanted to win, we deserved it. "There s a God of football, who makes you reap all that you ve sown. "I am proud of what my lads have done. Now we must continue with this spirit also in the championship, to recover the disadvantage." Napoli have been reborn under Gattuso and are now sixth in the league table as they target the Champions League places when Serie A returns this weekend after a three-month absence due to the coronavirus. But the defeat was a worrying sign for Maurizio Sarri s Juventus, who also lost the Italian SuperCup final last December to Lazio. The 61-year-old former Napoli coach had also been chasing his first coaching trophy in Italy, and second in his career after leading Chelsea to the Europa League last season. "There is disappointment for the lads, for the club, for the fans," said Sarri. "At this moment we lack brilliance to make the game dangerous, and without that brilliance, it becomes more difficult." - Ronaldo lacking sharpness - The final was played behind closed doors, in the silence of Rome s Stadio Olimpico which should have hosted Italy versus Switzerland in Euro 2020 on June 17. Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo missed a chance to break the deadlock after five minutes, having also missed a penalty in a goalless semi-final, second leg match against AC Milan last weekend. "It s unusual two 0-0 draws for us but that just shows the lack of sharpness after such a long break," said Sarri. "Ronaldo s in the same shape as the others, like Paulo Dybala and Douglas Costa, he is lacking the sharpness to do what works best for him." Napoli had the best chances of the first half with Lorenzo Insigne s curling effort denied and Buffon clearing Diego Demme from close range. Buffon pulled off a last-minute save on Nikola Maksimovic to send the game into penalties with extra-time scrapped to minimise injuries after the coronavirus shutdown. Sarri said he hoped the players would now "put the anger and hunger from this disappointment" into their Serie A challenge with the eight-time reigning champions just one point ahead of second-placed Lazio in the table.

Supporters must be consulted over their return to stadiums but also football s current model which is "flawed, unfair and unsustainable", a collective of 27 national fan organisations across Europe said Wednesday. The resumption of leagues behind closed doors following the coronavirus shutdown has demonstrated "fans are the lifeblood of the game", said Football Supporters Europe (FSE), a grass-roots network of fans across the continent. "It is therefore more important now than ever for supporters to be included in discussions that will determine the immediate and long-term future of the game." Among the statement s signatories were major supporters groups from England, France, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands, who all urged "multi-stakeholder dialogue" on the game s long-term future. "The coronavirus crisis has yet again shown that the current model of football is flawed, unfair, and unsustainable," it read. "Football needs to change dramatically. Any reform process must include fan representatives, on local, national, and European level. "Fans must be engaged and involved in decisions that relate to the wider future of the game, including the necessary overhaul of governance structures and financial regulations." The statement also called for the safe return of spectators to be "accompanied by a meaningful consultation with fans representatives at every level of the game on health safety protocols." Broadcasters have attempted to compensate for the absence of supporters by adding crowd sounds and chants to hide the drab atmosphere, efforts described by FSE as a "rebuke to match-going fans". "We have significant concerns regarding attempts by broadcasters to replace or imitate the unique atmosphere produced by fans." "There can be no return to normal," it concluded. "Lasting change is needed to make the game sustainable from top to bottom, and fans stand ready to play a part in shaping that change."

The world s top players, including Egypt s star winger Mohamed Salah, will see a decline of 13% in their market value due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to KPMG. The suspension of soccer leagues across Europe will see overall player value drop by 6.6 billion euros ($7.5 billion), or about 18%, in the transfer market, KPMG s global head of sports Andrea Sartori said on Tuesday.

Egyptian clubs could resume trainings starting from next Saturday 20 June, after been given the green light by the government on Monday. The Minister of Youth and Sport Ashraf Sobhi said in a press conference that the Egyptian Football Association may restart its competition starting from 25 July. More details soon …

After extending his stay with the Egyptian Premier League outfit Zamalek, French coach Patrice Carteron has expressed his pleasure with the new deal. "I am happy and proud of continuing with Zamalek as well as being a technical manager of the Whites players," Carteron told the club s television channel. Zamalek announced on Saturday that Carteron would remain in his post with the team for another season. The 49-year-old Carteron, who took charge of the Whites last December, helped Zamalek snatch the African Super Cup and Egyptian Super Cup titles and reach the African Champions League semi-finals. "Zamalek players are part of a big team with great supporters, those fans enjoyed great moments when we won two titles and we want to continue with the same strength," the Zamalek coach said. "I promise Zamalek fans to do my best to achieve more trophies," Carteron added.