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Wednesday, 17 December 2025
WHY MOHAMED SALAH WAS LEFT OUT OF EGYPT SQUAD AHEAF OF AFCON AFTER ARNE SLOT ROW
Mohamed Salah was left out of Egypt's squad for the nation's friendly clash with Nigeria ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations, as the Liverpool forward temporarily parts ways with Anfield following a bombshell Arne Slot statement
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| Mohamed Salah was left out of the Nigeria friendly(Image: Getty Images) |
Everything you need to know as Mohamed Salah was left out of Egypt's squad against Nigeria ahead of AFCON...
Mohamed Salah makes bombshell Arne Slot claim: The Liverpool forward lambasted a lack of a relationship between himself and his manager after a 3-3 draw with Leeds United, in which he was left on the bench for. During an interview with reporters he claimed there was no relationship between the two, claiming he had been thrown under the bus by the club. Read the full story here.
- Slot forced into change for Brighton: Despite starting on the bench during Liverpool's 2-0 win over Brighton and Hove Albion, Salah was deployed by Slot as a replacement for Joe Gomez in the first-half. The 33-year-old made an impact in the match, setting up Hugo Ekitike in the second period for his brace. Read the full story here.
- Salah links up with Egyptian national team for AFCON: Following the Brighton match, Salah made his way to Morocco to link up with his national team mates ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations. FIFA required all Premier League clubs to allow players to leave their club for the tournament by Monday, December 15.
- Forward dropped from squad for friendly: After missing Monday's training session with Egypt, Salah was understandably not named in the nation's squad for a pre-AFCON friendly with Nigeria. However, when the tournament gets underway, it is expected that the star will feature heavily. Read the full story here.
- Egypt secure 2-1 win over Nigeria: Mahmoud Saber opened the scoring for the Pharaohs on Tuesday evening, before Zaidu Sanusi levelled the match on the turn of half-time. Mostafa Mohamed then put Egypt back in front moments after play had resumed to close out a 2-1 win.
- Egypt AFCON schedule: Egypt kickstart their AFCON endeavours with a clash with Zimbabwe come Monday, December 22, before taking on South Africa on Friday, December 26. They then turn their attention to Angola on Monday, December 29 in their final clash of the group stages.
- The games Salah is guaranteed to miss: As a result of AFCON, Salah will miss Liverpool's upcoming outings with Tottenham Hotspur (December 20), Wolverhampton Wanderers (December 27) and Leeds United (January 1). Dependent on how far Egypt progress in the tournament, he may also be absent from Fulham (January 4), Arsenal (January 8) and Burnley in the FA Cup (January 17). Read the full story here.
TERENCE CRAWFORD ANNOUNCES HIS RETIREMENT
Instagram: tbudcrawford https://www.instagram.com/p/DOktLePDsEx/?img_index=1
Three-weight undisputed champion Terence Crawford has announced his retirement from the sport of boxing at the age of 38.
The news follows his unanimous decision win over Canelo Alvarez to become the Undisputed Super Middleweight Champion in September. The historic win made him the first-ever male three-weight undisputed champion, following his feats at 140, 147 and 168. After the Canelo win, Crawford was stripped of his WBC Super Middleweight Title after refusing to pay the WBC their $300,000 sanctioning fee. While Bud hinted at a possible move to 160 with a view to becoming a six-weight world champion, he has now called it a day. He leaves the sport undefeated with a 42-0 record, as boxing fans have come out in droves to credit Crawford for a hugely successful career.
“I’m stepping away from competition, not because I’m done fighting, but because I’ve won a different type of battle. The one where you walk away on your own terms. Every fighter knows this moment will come, we just never know when. I spent my whole life chasing something.
“Not belts, not money, not headlines. But that feeling, the one you get when the world doubts you but you keep showing up and you keep proving everyone wrong. I fought for my family. I fought for my city. I fought for the kid I used to be, the one who had nothing but a dream and a pair of gloves. And I did it all my way. I gave this sport every breath I had,” Crawford said
Tuesday, 16 December 2025
FIFA COMMITTEE MEETING | DOHA | QATAR
President of Young Africans(Yanga) Sports Club, Chairman of the African Clubs Association (ACA) and Member of the FIFA Club Competitions Committee, Eng. Hersi Said, in a group photo with the President of the World Football Federation (FIFA) Gianni Infantino, President of TFF Wallace Karia, and Deputy Chairman of ACA Jessica Motaung, at the first meeting of the FIFA Committee taking place today in Doha, Qatar.
KYLIAN MBAPPÉ OWED 60 MILLION EUROS BY PSG, FRENCH COURT SAYS
Paris Saint-Germain ordered to pay superstar forward now at Real Madrid unpaid salary and bonuses.
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| Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe has won his court case against former club PSG [Miguel Oses/AP] |
A Paris labour court has ordered Paris Saint-Germain to pay Kylian Mbappe 60 million euros ($70.6m) in unpaid salary and bonuses, bringing a partial end to one of the most acrimonious disputes in French football.
The ruling on Tuesday followed months of legal wrangling after the France striker took PSG to court over earnings he said were withheld for April, May and June 2024, shortly before he left the Ligue 1 club to join Real Madrid on a free transfer.
“We are satisfied with the ruling. This is what you could expect when salaries went unpaid,” Mbappe’s lawyer Frederique Cassereau told reporters.
The court found PSG had failed to pay three months of Mbappe’s salary, an ethics bonus and a signing bonus due under his employment contract.
Those sums were recognised as due by two decisions of the French Professional Football League in September and October 2024, and the judges said PSG had not produced any written agreement showing Mbappe had waived his entitlement.
The judges rejected PSG’s arguments that Mbappe should forfeit his unpaid wages entirely but also dismissed several of the player’s additional claims, including allegations of concealed work, moral harassment and breach of the employer’s duty of safety.
The court did not view Mbappe’s fixed-term contract as a permanent one, a decision that limited the scale of potential compensation related to dismissal and notice pay.
‘Labour law applies to everyone’
“This judgment confirms that commitments entered into must be honoured. It restores a simple truth: even in the professional football industry, labour law applies to everyone,” Mbappe’s legal team said in a statement.
“Mr. Mbappe, for his part, scrupulously respected his sporting and contractual obligations for seven years, right up to the final day.”
PSG had argued that Mbappe acted disloyally by concealing for nearly a year his intention not to renew his contract, preventing the club from securing a transfer fee similar to the 180 million euros ($212m) they paid to sign him from AS Monaco in 2017.
Mbappe’s representatives said the dispute concerned the strict application of French labour law and unpaid remuneration rather than transfer policy.
- News Agencies
VERSTAPPEN MAKES THE SWITCH TO MERCEDES AND OS THEREFORE IN PORTUGAL
Max Verstappen is reportedly not in Portugal for a holiday, but to race in a Mercedes car. It is said that two Verstappen.com cars are running at the Estoril circuit in preparation for the 2026 GT3 program.
News surfaced that Verstappen’s plane had landed in Portugal. At first, it appeared to be a holiday trip, but rumours suggest he is set to run a Mercedes car in a test at the Estoril circuit.
According to the reports, the Red Bull driver is taking part in a test day at the Portuguese venue, with his team believed to be running a Mercedes-AMG GT3 bearing the numbers 33 and 333.
'Verstappen in Portugal for Mercedes test'
Verstappen’s team will race with Mercedes-AMG power next year, and according to rumours, two such cars are currently running in Portugal in Red Bull colours. Max is not alone on track either, with Mercedes-AMG factory driver Jules Gounon also said to be present.
It’s clear that Verstappen enjoys other racing classes besides Formula 1. A few months ago, the four-time F1 world champion drove with Emil Frey Racing on the Nurburgring Nordschleife.
Together with teammate Chris Lulham, they were too strong for the competition at the German track.
- Estéban den Toom
"HE'S BEEN HURT IN SPARRING": JAKE PAUL VS ANTHONY JOSHUA 'LEAK' EMERGES DAYS BEFORE FIGHT
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| Image credit: Jake Paul Instagram / Matchroo |
Anthony Joshua and Jake Paul are just days away from their controversial heavyweight showdown.
Two-time unified heavyweight champion Joshua is set to face ‘The Problem Child’ over eight rounds at the Kaseya Center in Miami on Friday night.
‘AJ’ is yet to make a return to the ring since he suffered a shock 5th round stoppage defeat to former IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois in September 2024.
Paul was last in action back in July when he defeated former WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr at the Honda Center in Anaheim.
There are a number of stipulations that have been put in place for their controversial match-up which includes a 245lb weight limit that only Joshua must adhere to.
As reported by The Sun, Ryan Garcia has claimed that Paul has been struggling during his sparring sessions and could be in a world of trouble when he steps into the ring with ‘AJ’ later this week.
“I heard word that he’s getting beat up in sparring by these heavyweights. And these aren’t even Anthony Joshua, bro. S***, I’m leaking some s***. But… [Joshua] has got 50lbs on him.”
It was revealed earlier this month that Paul had drafted in a number of world ranked heavyweights for sparring ahead of his meeting with Joshua, including two-weight world champion Lawrence Okolie and Cuban contender Frank Sanchez.
Okolie, who is now campaigning at heavyweight following his success at cruiserweight and bridgerweight, left ‘The Problem Child’ with a black eye following a recent sparring session.
- Kailem Lowe
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