Football/Soccer 24-Hour Briefing
×Premier League & FA Cup
Wayne Rooney espn.com has urged Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta to ignore "very unfair" criticism of the Premier League leaders' playing style. Meanwhile, Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson espn.com has not travelled to Istanbul for the Champions League last-16 first leg against Galatasaray after sustaining a problem in training. João Pedro espn.com has hailed his "special" first season at Chelsea after firing himself into contention to lead the line for Brazil at this summer's World Cup.
Scottish Football
Police Scotland skysports.com would not currently support another big away allocation for the next Old Firm fixture following trouble at Ibrox on Sunday. Phil Parkinson bbc.com says Wayne Rooney's praise for Wrexham's FA Cup display against Chelsea is an "incredible tribute" for the club. Celtic and St Mirren bbc.com will meet in a repeat of this season's League Cup final in the Scottish Cup semi-finals, while Falkirk and Dunfermline Athletic will meet in a Scottish Cup semi-final derby at Hampden next month. St Mirren skysports.com defeated Partick Thistle 2-1 to book their place in the Scottish Cup semi-finals.
European Football
Manchester City midfielder Rodri skysports.com has escaped a ban for hitting out at officials following his side's 2-2 draw at Tottenham last month. Jose Mourinho espn.com accused FC Porto assistant manager Luis 'Lucho' Gonzalez of calling him "a traitor" 50 times during Sunday's 2-2 draw. Former Barcelona coach Xavi Hernández espn.com says Joan Laporta blocked Lionel Messi's return to the club because he feared a war and a power struggle.
MLS & North America
CF Montreal espn.com thumped Red Bull New York 3-0 on Sunday with Wiki Carmona scoring two goals against his former team. David Martínez espn.com scored in the second half and Hugo Lloris made it stand up for a third straight clean sheet to begin the season as LAFC beat FC Dallas 1-0 on Saturday night.
Brazilian Football
A mass brawl in Brazil espn.com led to 23 red cards after Cruzeiro's 1-0 win over Atlético-MG in Sunday's Mineiro Championship final. Former Brazil forward Hulk bbc.com said "it's regrettable" after becoming one of 23 players sent off following the mass brawl between Cruzeiro and Atletico Mineiro.
International Football
Graham Arnold espn.com is asking FIFA to come to Iraq's aid as the conflict between neighboring Iran and the United States threatens to derail his plans to help his team to its first World Cup in 40 years. FIFPRO espn.com says it expects FIFA, the AFC, and the Australian government to exert the leverage it has to ensure the safety of Iran's women's national team players.
Women's Football
Michael McArdle bbc.com, the Scottish FA's head of elite women's football and former interim head coach of Scotland, is appointed Northern Ireland manager. Watford Women bbc.com are to play their final two home games of the season at Vicarage Road after a 14-0 win put them in pole position to win promotion to WSL.
Other Football News
A masked fan bbc.com unplugged a VAR monitor in a German second division match as the referee went to the pitchside screen to check a penalty award. Bradford City bbc.com plant 154 trees - one for each goal scored by its men's and women's teams last season - at its training ground as part of its commitment to sustainability.
Transfer News
Fulham and USMNT left back Antonee Robinson espn.com favors a move to Liverpool over Manchester United. The top stories and transfer rumours skysports.com from Monday's newspapers include various transfer updates.