Giorgio Chiellini feels "sad and hurt" by Juventus' points deduction that dented their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League.
The Bianconeri were punished for alleged irregularities regarding historic transfer dealings by having 15 points struck off their Serie A total in January, although the club intend to appeal.
Chiellini, who now plays for Major League Soccer side Los Angeles FC, was a part of the Juve team who were stripped of titles and relegated due to the Calciopoli scandal in 2006.
Massimiliano Allegri's side are seventh in Serie A, 12 points off the top four and Champions League qualification with 15 games remaining, though they are through to the Europa League last 16 after beating Nantes 4-1 on aggregate in the playoff round.
"For me, it's painful," Chiellini told The Athletic. "I feel sad and hurt by what's happening to Juventus. It's hard not to be in Turin, and it's not easy for everyone who loves the club. Now, the fans need to be patient because the club is fighting for everyone, and I hope everything finishes in the best way possible."
The 38-year-old former Juve and Italy defender revealed he barely watched any of the World Cup in Qatar, after the Azzurri failed to qualify.
"The World Cup was weird, to be honest," he said. "I didn't watch very much – it wasn't nice. I caught up on some of the highlights but almost never the live matches, outside of the final [Argentina v France] and the United States' first game against Wales, because I was still here for that.
"It was tough not to be there for it because going to the World Cup is a big goal. It would have been a great experience, but I try to change the bad things and look at them more positively. Failing at World Cup qualification meant I decided to come to Los Angeles for a new challenge, and it has been an unforgettable experience for me."
Chiellini made 13 appearances for LAFC after joining last season, helping them to win the MLS Cup, and he is starting to feel more at home since leaving his native Italy.
"After the Christmas holiday, I feel more settled, I understand the city better now," he said. "Los Angeles is so big. When I arrived, I didn’t quite understand what it was like to live here."
He added: "Leaving Italy and coming here has allowed me to discover many new cultures and a different way of life outside of football. I like it. I'm a curious guy, and I'm very lucky to have found an amazing club that has welcomed my family and me in the best way possible."
France forwards Kadidiatou Diani and Marie-Antoinette Katoto joined captain Wendie Renard in a boycott of the national team as a crisis erupted ahead of the Women's World Cup.
Lyon veteran Renard announced on Friday she would not represent France in Australia and New Zealand later this year unless major changes are implemented.
Renard spoke of wanting to protect her mental health, attacking the "current system".
She did not name head coach Corinne Diacre, who has overseen a controversial reign, but reports claimed Renard would refuse to return if Diacre and her staff remain in place.
Within hours, Paris Saint-Germain players Diani and Katoto followed suit by announcing they too would be unavailable for selection, with both also offering a scathing indictment of the national set-up.
"The words of our captain Wendie lead me in turn to talk about the situation in the France team," Katoto wrote.
She said she felt "no longer aligned with the management of the France team and the values transmitted".
"I therefore make the decision to put my international career on hold until the necessary changes are applied," Katoto added.
Diani added: "Following the announcement from our captain Wendie Renard and in view of recent results and management in the France team, I am suspending my international obligations in order to concentrate on my club career.
"If the profound necessary changes finally arrive, I will return to the team."
Renard, a 142-cap veteran, lost the captaincy under Diacre in 2017 but was restored to the leadership in 2021.
Star midfielder Amandine Henry was controversially excluded from last year's Euro 2022 squad, with record scorer Eugenie Le Sommer also missing out.
It remains to be seen whether the three who took their stance on Friday will be followed by others.
The Women's World Cup runs from July 20 to August 20.
Norway international Ada Hegerberg, Renard's team-mate at Lyon, voiced her support, having famously spent a self-imposed five-year exile from the national side in protest over a perceived lack of support for women's football in her homeland.
Hegerberg wrote on Twitter: "How long will we have to go through these lengths for us to be respected? I'm with you, Wendie, and with everybody else going through the same processes. Time to act."
A brief statement from the French Football Federation addressed the matter on Friday, with the escalating crisis set to be addressed at an executive committee meeting on Tuesday.
"The FFF has taken note of the statements of Wendie Renard, Kadidiatou Diani and Marie-Antoinette Katoto," it read. "Its executive committee, meeting on February 28, will take up the issue at that time.
"The FFF would like to serve a reminder that no individual is bigger than the team."
As the national women's softball team prepares to leave the island shortly, they do so confident in the backing they have received from the Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA).
The team leaves for the US Virgin Islands where they will participate in a qualifying tournament for the Pan-American Games as a precursor to an Olympic bid.
The national association is funding the aspirations of softball on a journey which, hopefully, will be historic.
“History making and their love for country compel our support for softball and I have watched them in training exemplifying commitment and going beyond the challenges of not having the luxury of resources in the sport to creating a wealth of talent,” said JOA President Christopher Samuda.
The national team has been in training at their home ground at Up Park Camp and for JOA Secretary General/CEO, Ryan Foster, “the JOA is proud of and committed to the softball artillery as part of our armoury of building capacity in several sports in giving them a fighting chance in the international arena of combat. This investment is bankable.”
Softball Jamaica’s President, Marvalyn Campbell, thanked the nation’s governing sport body “for believing in softball and responding every time to the call which will not be forgotten and for which the team is very grateful.”
The JOA Executives also lauded the directors of Softball Jamaica for growing the support and providing our sportsmen and women opportunities for self-actualisation and national representation.
Barbora Krejcikova will play Iga Swiatek for the Dubai Tennis Championships title after settling a see-saw semi-final against Jessica Pegula in ruthless fashion.
Having seen Swiatek brush aside Coco Gauff in straight sets in the first match of the day, Krejcikova would have been confident of doing likewise after taking the opener against Pegula.
Third seed Pegula battled back to take the second set, though, and the American appeared to have momentum on her side, only to bow out in a one-sided decider, losing 6-1 5-7 6-0 for her first defeat to Krejcikova.
The pair's only prior meeting had been a straight-sets win for Pegula at the Australian Open earlier this year.
Pegula's sole other tournament since Melbourne had ended in similar circumstances to this one, with a 6-3 6-0 crushing at the hands of Swiatek in the final of last week's Qatar Open. The Pole is who Krejcikova must play next.
Krejcikova is the first player since Svetlana Kuznetsova in Cincinnati in 2019 to beat two top-three opponents at the same WTA 1000 tournament.
Yet after seeing off number two Aryna Sabalenka in the quarter-finals and number three Pegula in the semis, she faces the world number one in the final.
Swiatek has had a rather more straightforward path, granted a walkover in the last eight and then, on Friday, playing Gauff, who she continues to dominate.
The Pole is now 6-0 across her career against Gauff, winning all of those matches in straight sets.
Gauff at least made Swiatek work a little harder than she has in many recent matches, going down 6-4 6-2 – the first match since Melbourne in which the number one has not won a set either 6-0 or 6-1, piling up the 'bagels' and 'breadsticks'.
Swiatek is 2-1 against Krejcikova for her career, although the Czech won their most recent meeting and their only encounter in a final in Ostrava last year.
Atletico Madrid head coach Diego Simeone is plotting to bring Real Madrid back down to earth when he makes history in Saturday's derby at the Santiago Bernabeu.
The former Argentina midfielder will take charge of his 425th LaLiga game as Atleti boss, which is more than any other coach has overseen for one club in the Spanish top flight.
Simeone will also match Luis Aragones' record tally of 612 competitive matches in the dugout for the capital club, taking in all competitions.
Los Blancos could ensure Simeone is no mood to celebrate after maintaining their impressive form by coming from two goals down to hammer Liverpool 5-2 in the Champions League at Anfield on Tuesday.
Ahead of kick-off, Stats Perform previews the big game with a healthy serving of Opta data.
Derby delight in short supply for Atleti
Atleti have only won one of their last 13 LaLiga meetings against their city rivals, Yannick Carrasco's penalty securing a 1-0 victory last May.
Los Blancos have come out on top in six and drawn as many times in the other dozen encounters.
Simeone's side have suffered three consecutive LaLiga losses at the home of their rivals without scoring a goal.
Carlo Ancelotti's men have already beaten Atleti twice this season, most recently a 3-1 Copa del Rey triumph after extra time last month.
Ruthless champions firing on all cylinders
Madrid have one foot in the Champions League quarter-finals after putting sorry Liverpool to the sword on Merseyside in an incredible first leg.
Vinicius Junior and Karim Benzema helped themselves to doubles as the holders stormed back from sliding two goals down inside 15 minutes.
The LaLiga and European champions, who also won the Club World Cup this month, have won five games in a row and scored 20 goals in the process.
Second-placed Madrid are eight points behind leaders Barcelona and 10 better off than Atleti, who occupy fourth spot.
Atleti building momentum
Simeone's side have also improved of late, winning three times and drawing with Getafe since losing the Copa del Rey derby tie.
All three of those wins were by 1-0 margins, and Atletico have not been beaten in six LaLiga matches.
That is their longest unbeaten run in the competition this season, moving them two points behind third-placed Real Sociedad.
Beware Benzema
Madrid captain Karim Benzema's double against the Reds ensured he has scored five goals in his last three matches.
The Ballon d'Or winner has 17 goals in all competition this season despite enduring injury frustration.
Benzema has enjoyed facing Atleti, scoring in three of his last four derbies in LaLiga. He will be looking to find the back of the net against Simeone's side in a third consecutive game.
Thomas Muller will start Bayern Munich's clash with title rivals Union Berlin on Sunday after he was hauled off early on in the defeat to Borussia Monchengladbach.
Head coach Julian Nagelsmann replaced captain Muller with Joao Cancelo after just 16 minutes against Monchengladbach, making a tactical substitution with Bayern a goal behind and down to 10 men after Dayot Upamecano's early red card.
The champions went on to lose 3-2, another blow to their hopes of winning an 11th consecutive Bundesliga title as their challengers made ground.
Nagelsmann's decision to replace veteran Muller so early came under scrutiny after the match, having also chosen to start him on the bench for Bayern's 1-0 Champions League first-leg victory over Paris Saint-Germain.
With the Bavarian side facing shock title challengers Union this weekend, Nagelsmann confirmed the 33-year-old will be in the starting XI.
"Thomas is a very experienced player, he was told why the decision was made," Nagelsmann said at his pre-match press conference. "You can always discuss it afterwards. I spoke to Thomas at length and clearly he is not happy.
"He is very professional and an important player. His importance is huge because it goes beyond the game itself. He will start on Sunday. He is aware of the overall situation."
The slip-up against Monchengladbach allowed Borussia Dortmund and Union to both pull level on points with Bayern at the top, though the champions' goal difference means they clung onto their position at the summit.
Nagelsmann's men have picked up just nine of a possible 18 points since the turn of the year, while Sunday's opponents have taken 16 over the same period.
A tricky encounter is expected against Union, who have never won a Bundesliga match against Bayern in seven attempts.
"I'm expecting a top game," Nagelsmann said. "Union always bring their football onto the pitch, designed for counter-attacks, with their physicality. It's always uncomfortable to play them.
"It will definitely be an exciting and interesting game, hopefully with a better outcome for us."
Nagelsmann revealed Bayern could be boosted by the return at some point in the game of Sadio Mane, who has been absent since early November after suffering a leg injury that ruled him out of Senegal's World Cup campaign.
"Sadio Mane isn't fit enough to start," Nagelsmann added. "But he is an option that we're really happy about."
France captain Wendie Renard will sit out the 2023 Women's World Cup unless there is a regime change, she revealed in a bombshell announcement on Friday.
In a statement posted on social media, Renard said she loved France "more than anything" but blamed "the current system" for her decision and said she wanted to protect her mental health.
The 32-year-old has 142 international caps and is one of the best-known women's footballers in the world game.
Renard was stripped of the captaincy by head coach Corinne Diacre in 2017, before regaining it four years later, with French outlet RMC Sport reporting her decision on Friday relates to concerns about Diacre, who remains in charge of the team.
Renard wrote: "I defended the blue, white and red jersey 142 times with passion, respect, commitment and professionalism. I love France more than anything, I'm not perfect, far from it, but I can no longer endorse the current system, far from the requirements required by the highest level.
"It's a sad but necessary day to preserve my mental health. It is with a heavy heart that I come by this message to inform you of my decision to take a step back from the French team.
"Unfortunately, I will not play this World Cup in such conditions. My face can hide the pain, but my heart hurts... and I don't want to hurt any more."
Renard has won 15 Division 1 Feminine titles with her club Lyon, as well as nine Coupe de France trophies and eight Women's Champions League titles.
The Women's World Cup takes place between July 20 and August 20 in Australia and New Zealand.
England and Barcelona star Lucy Bronze sent a message of support to Renard, her former Lyon team-mate, posting on Instagram: "With you my sister always."
French tennis legend Yannick Noah added his support, writing: "Courage to you Wendie."
Jamaica’s former WBA Super world featherweight champion Nicholas ‘Axe Man’ Walters says he was encouraged to return to the ring by several trainers in Panama where he is based.
The 37-year-old is set to break a six-year layoff with an eight-round super lightweight bout this Saturday in Santa Marta, Colombia, against local fighter Luis Diaz Marmol.
In recent years, Walters had been visiting the boxing gym to keep in shape but admits he “wasn’t really serious about fighting” until experts around the gym encouraged him to come out of retirement.
“After sparring with other fighters here in Panama, my coach and other coaches asked me to come back to the sport,” Walters said.
“I was making it very difficult for the guys that I was sparring with, so everyone was saying I should make a comeback,” added Walters, who boasts a solid ring record of 26 wins (21 kos) against one loss and one draw.
The 29-year-old Marmol brings an aggressive style to this Walters bout and upset unbeaten Colombian prospect Diego Silva his last time out. Marmol has a ring record of 19 wins (11 kos) against 16 losses.
Originally from Montego Bay on Jamaica’s north coast, Walters became the first Jamaican ever to win a world boxing title at home when he defeated Daulis Prescott on December 8, 2012 in Kingston via a seventh round TKO. He will be fighting for the first time since 2016 but has been actively training for months.
Walters has also enlisted the services of well-respected manager Gabriel Barron as he returns in a weight class 14 pounds above his title-winning featherweight division. In his last bout on November 20, 2016, Walters quit against Vasiliy Lomachenko after being dominated by the outstanding Ukrainian for seven rounds in Nevada, USA.
Walters had turned pro in 2008 after an amateur career that included bronze at the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games and two gold medals at the Caribbean Championships in 2005 and 2006. Within a few years he became one of the world’s most exciting fighters of the lower weight divisions after defeating big names like Nonito Donaire and Vic Darchinyan.
Luciano Spalletti says Napoli cannot afford to make "the slightest mistake" when they visit Empoli on Saturday, having seen their Scudetto bid derailed by the same opponents last season.
Napoli are 15 points clear of Inter at the Serie A summit ahead of their trip to the Stadio Carlo Castellani, and appear destined to win their first league title since the Diego Maradona era.
However, Empoli have only lost one of their nine home games against Napoli in Serie A, winning four and drawing four – with last campaign's contest having a huge impact on the title race.
Napoli squandered a two-goal lead in the final 10 minutes as they succumbed to a 3-2 defeat at Empoli last April, a result which all but ended their hopes of beating Milan and Inter to the Scudetto.
Despite Napoli's seven-game winning streak making them overwhelming title favourites, Spalletti is wary of the threat posed by a side he represented as both a player and as head coach.
"Don't get confused between work and superstition," Spalletti said. "Here, we work in the right way.
"The match with Empoli [last season] destroyed our whole year of work, we could have won 3-0 and instead we lost, it was devastating. We suffered a lot.
"We want to win for our city, we feel it. We can't make the slightest mistake. Sometimes, they happen unexpectedly and determine the fate of the whole situation.
"The euphoria we have cannot become presumption, which would stop us from growing."
Empoli are one of just two teams – the other being Inter – to have beaten Napoli twice across the last two Serie A campaigns, doing the double over the Partenopei last term.
However, Napoli appear to be a different beast this campaign, and Spalletti's men have even been touted as contenders to win the Champions League following Tuesday's 2-0 win at Eintracht Frankfurt in the first leg of their last-16 tie.
Asked whether his side should be held up as an example for others to follow, Spalletti said: "I don't know if we can become a role model.
"Our approach is this, to play good football with our characteristics and to achieve as many results as possible. We are pleased with the compliments, of course."
Senior Chelsea players have pointed to "the worst pre-season they've had" as a possible reason for their poor form, according to head coach Graham Potter.
The Blues make the short trip to Tottenham on the back of a four-game winless streak in the Premier League, including a home loss to rock-bottom Southampton last week.
For Potter, who succeeded Thomas Tuchel in September, the pressure has continued to build as his side have slipped further down the table.
Ahead of another difficult encounter for his misfiring team, he acknowledged there were no easy answers and discussed conversations he held with some of his players about their preparation for the season before he arrived from Brighton and Hove Albion.
The club visited the United States for three games in July, before playing Serie A side Udinese twice in Italy ahead of the 2022-23 campaign.
"It is really tough," he said. "A few weeks ago, [I said] it is the toughest job of football, and there are reasons for that.
"Speaking to a few of the experienced guys, they said it was the worst pre-season they've had. Organisationally, the tour didn't work as well as they'd like. I wasn't there so I can't say.
"We thought we had made progress, but against Southampton, [it] was below par. The sky can fall. These are inconvenient facts, but that's the situation."
Potter insisted he still has the full backing of owner Todd Boehly and the Chelsea board, and added that he expects and deserves to be under the microscope.
"With results as they are, you accept criticism," he said. "That should come, that is fair. [But] the mood here has always been positive and respectful.
"That is not to say it is easy at all. My family suffers, my mental health suffers. Personally, it is hard. I've been under pressure here for four months."
Captain Cesar Azpilicueta was taken to hospital during the defeat to Southampton after he suffered a concussion, and will not be available for the Spurs clash.
Potter was pleased with his improvement though, adding: "He is as OK as you can be when you've had that. He won't be ready for the weekend, but he's doing well."
Ireland centre Garry Ringrose has been ruled out of their Six Nations trip to Italy after failing to overcome a calf injury in time.
Ringrose suffered the problem during their week two victory over holders France but was named in the starting XV for Saturday's game at Stadio Olimpico.
He has failed to overcome the issue however and has now been withdrawn, with Stuart McCloskey now in line to start and utility back Jimmy O'Brien elevated to the bench.
Andy Farrell will hope Ringrose recovers in time to take part in their final two games next month, against Scotland and England.
Ringrose had been in line to win his 50th cap for Ireland in this weekend's fixture and was looking to score on his third consecutive visit to Rome.
The centre has been a standout performer for Ireland in the Six Nations too, beating more defenders than any of his team-mates in the tournament so far, on eight occasions.
Pep Guardiola has dismissed criticism of Erling Haaland, insisting it is the team's fault when the striker struggles to influence a game.
Having struck an incredible 32 goals in 32 games this season for Manchester City, Haaland failed to score in draws against Nottingham Forest and RB Leipzig over the last week, having just 22 touches in the Champions League last-16 first leg in Germany, the lowest amount of any player for either side who completed 90 minutes.
Speaking ahead of City's Premier League trip to Bournemouth, Guardiola said it was up to the rest of the team to find their star forward.
"That is our fault, Erling has been impressive for us all season," he told reporters.
"I don't need numbers or metrics, I know immediately after the game who has been involved and who has not.
"Yes, of course, it depends on us. We need to look for him a little more."
The City boss was unsure about the fitness of trio Aymeric Laporte, John Stones and Kevin De Bruyne, though while the latter could potentially be fit for Saturday's game on the south coast, the two defenders remain more unlikely to feature.
Guardiola also explained his decision not to make any substitutions during Wednesday's 1-1 draw in Leipzig, suggesting he had considered it at one point only for Josko Gvardiol's equaliser to alter his thinking.
It meant that City became the first team to make no substitutions in a Champions League game since Manchester United in October 2018 against Juventus.
"I'm not concerned [about squad depth], Kevin was not there, Aymeric, John," Guardiola added.
"The second half I wanted to make a change, maybe Phil [Foden] or Julian [Alvarez] in a position close to Erling to be more aggressive, but after we conceded the goal we were good.
"When the situation is going more or less well I don't like to change things around normally, when I don't like what I see I will but I don't like to move things around [for the sake of it]."
City are two points behind Arsenal in the Premier League title race, having played a game more, and just three ahead of United.
Guardiola, a four-time Premier League winner, took the opportunity to offer a reminder that he was told English football would be more competitive than his previous jobs at Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
"People told me when I arrived that the UK is different to Spain and Germany," he said. "Fortunately [for me], for most years it was only a two-horse [title] race.
"Now, finally, there is more."
Erik ten Hag warned his Manchester United team not to be "distracted" by their "annoying" EFL Cup final opponents Newcastle United.
United face Newcastle in Sunday's Wembley showpiece, bidding for the first major silverware of the English season.
But Ten Hag is not expecting a free-flowing encounter, having noted Newcastle's gamesmanship during the campaign.
"I think it's a great team," Ten Hag said of Newcastle, who held United to a goalless draw at Old Trafford in the Premier League in October.
"It's a clear philosophy about how they play the game. The key word is 'intensity'. They do really well. They're an annoying team to play against, so we have to find a way to win."
Asked if he had meant to describe Newcastle as "annoying", Ten Hag confirmed and replied: "They try to annoy you. So, we have to make sure we play our game and focus on our game."
Pressed further on the matter, Ten Hag highlighted Newcastle's perceived time-wasting.
It was the subject of some contention when the Magpies lost at Liverpool early in the season – one of only two Premier League defeats for Eddie Howe's side.
According to Opta data, only Leeds United matches have seen less time with the ball in play than those involving Newcastle. However, Aston Villa lead the way for yellow cards for time-wasting, with 11 to Newcastle's five (Fulham have six).
"They are quite successful with it," Ten Hag said. "It's up to us that there's speed in the game, but we are also dependent on the refereeing as well."
At Anfield, Nick Pope was the subject of some criticism for his role in these tactics, but he will miss Sunday's match through suspension, meaning Loris Karius is in line for a Newcastle debut in their biggest match of the season.
"It's an issue for them that they have to sort. Of course we know it," Ten Hag said. "It's definitely not an advantage.
"We can't influence it; the one who is holding [the gloves] can influence it. We have to test him, it's quite obvious."
Asked if Pope's absence would impact Newcastle's gamesmanship, Ten Hag replied: "I don't know the instructions of the opponents. I cannot influence that.
"We have to make it our game, so focus on the job we have to do, focus on football when the ball is in the game. It's about that, being fully concentrated on that and don't get distracted by whatever is on the pitch.
"We have to focus on the job, find our way and find the moments when we can strike."
Diego Simeone believes Vinicius Junior has made "enormous" strides, as the Real Madrid star looks to inflict more derby misery on Atletico Madrid on Saturday.
Vinicius scored twice as Madrid thrashed Liverpool 5-2 in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie at Anfield on Tuesday, taking him to 18 goals for the season.
The Brazilian has saved some of his best performances for meetings with Simeone's Atleti, scoring in January's extra-time Copa del Rey win and starring in a 2-1 away triumph in the teams' last league clash in September.
Speaking at a press conference to preview Saturday's trip to the Santiago Bernabeu, Simeone was full of praise for the in-form winger.
"I think his growth has been enormous," Simeone said of Vinicius on Friday.
"It was a great bet that Real Madrid had on him, he improved all of his numbers year after year, and he's in a great moment as a player."
Saturday's game will see Simeone claim the outright record for the most matches as coach of one club in LaLiga history, as he oversees Atleti for the 425th time in the league.
Meanwhile, Simeone's 612th game with Atleti will see him draw level with Luis Aragones as the coach to have led them in the most competitive fixtures.
The Argentine puts his longevity down to the application of those who have played under him, saying: "Above all, I am lucky, and I have to be grateful to the club and to all those who played for the team.
"Without all these situations, both for the club and for the players, it would be impossible to meet these numbers; they made me able to express myself.
"The numbers are accompanied by the results. I'm grateful to all the players who went through the team. I am in the place I want to be, and I am still very excited."
While Atleti's six-game unbeaten run in LaLiga is their longest of the season, they sit 10 points behind second-placed Madrid in the table and look destined to endure a trophyless campaign.
Simeone, however, is adamant they have much to play for, adding: "There are seasons where we can compete to win something and others when it seems far away.
"It is not less important, what we have left. Every match where you put on the Rojiblanco shirt, you have to be excited."
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
