Football/Soccer 24-Hour Briefing
×Premier League Crisis
Spurs skysports.com suffered their fifth straight defeat after losing 3-1 to Crystal Palace at home. Jamie O'Hara skysports.com called for the club to sack Igor Tudor, believing relegation is now likely. BBC Sport's Phil McNulty examines who is to blame for Tottenham's crisis as they fight to avoid the drop. Tottenham espn.com are on pace for relegation despite significant spending, ranking among the worst Premier League teams relative to investment.
Barcelona Injury Woes
Barcelona coach Hansi Flick espn.com said he takes responsibility for the team's spate of injuries after losing Frenkie de Jong, Jules Koundé and Alejandro Balde to hamstring problems during the last week. The Catalan club faces a challenging period with multiple key players sidelined.
Women's Football Updates
Denise O'Sullivan is ruled out of the Republic of Ireland's World Cup qualifier against the Netherlands in Utrecht on Saturday. England manager Sarina Wiegman bbc.com says it is "very important" her team are patient if goals do not come quickly in their 2027 Women's World Cup qualifier against Iceland. The Confederation for African Football confirmed the 2026 Women's Africa Cup of Nations will not take place in Morocco as planned on March 17, drawing swift criticism.
FA Cup Action
Daniel Farke led Norwich to the FA Cup quarter-finals in 2020 and now his old team are hoping to do so again by knocking out his current club Leeds United. Wolves manager Rob Edwards bbc.com shares why the FA Cup is so important to him before Friday evening's fifth-round tie against Liverpool. Defender Andy Robertson says Liverpool will have to play better in Friday's FA Cup tie against Wolves than they did in Tuesday's Premier League defeat by the same opposition.
International Football
Morocco coach Walid Regragui has quit the team just months before it competes at the World Cup, he confirmed at a late-night news conference on Thursday. Carlos Vela espn.com is among three new investors to purchase a minority stake in LAFC, with Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai among those to sell his stake in the club.
Transfer Rumors
Arsenal espn.com must offload a first-team player in the summer to balance their books, but who could it be? Transfer Talk has the latest. Several Premier League clubs are chasing Fulham's Samuel Amissah, while Elliot Anderson is closing in on a move to Manchester City.
Other European Football
Wolfsburg espn.com have enjoyed playing in the Bundesliga for nearly three decades, but as they currently sit in the relegation zone, that streak could be over at the end of the season. Paris Saint-Germain star Vitinha says it would be "foolish" for him to consider leaving the Ligue 1 giants amid reported interest from Real Madrid. UEFA have fined Real Madrid and ordered a suspended partial closure of the Bernabéu after a supporter inside the ground was filmed appearing to make a Nazi salute.
Scottish Football
Rangers manager Danny Rohl bbc.com says Sunday's game with Celtic is a "great opportunity to make a good step towards" winning a trophy. Former Celtic forward and boss Kenny Dalglish and ex-Rangers winger Peter Lovenkrands preview Sunday's Old Firm Scottish Cup quarter-final. Over 1.1m viewers tuned into Sunday's thrilling 2-2 draw between Rangers and Celtic live on Sky Sports as Scotland's top-flight title race continues to ramp up.
Player News
Harry Maguire's lawyers skysports.com are adamant that the Manchester United defender does not have a criminal record and he has complete freedom to travel - despite him being convicted in a Greek court. A Brazilian sports court suspended a defender of top-flight club Red Bull Bragantino for 12 matches because of sexist remarks he made about a female referee.
Youth and Development
Teenage forward Mateus Mane has been a rare bright light in Wolves' season as BBC Sport charts his journey from Portugal to the Premier League. England have announced 30 players will travel to Pretoria for a rescheduled intra-squad series, with eight uncapped players given a chance to impress.
Managerial Changes
Nottingham Forest global head of football Edu bbc.com is asked to stay away from the club's training ground. Brendon McCullum said he "would love to carry on" as England head coach but added that a "hard conversation" was needed following a difficult winter away with the Test team.
Other Sports News
LeBron James broke the record for the most field goals in NBA history which had been previously held by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar since 1989. Venus Williams suffered another blow in her return to the BNP Paribas Open, falling in the first round 6-3, 6-7 (4-7), 6-1 to Diane Parry of France. England fell seven runs short in a spirited chase of 254 in their T20 World Cup semi-final against India, with Jacob Bethell's stunning 105 off 48 balls not quite enough to see them into Sunday's final.