Abdi pens new Watford deal

Wales football chiefs are demanding answers from FIFA after fans were told to remove and discard rainbow-coloured hats before going into the World Cup game against the United States.

The Wales team s LGBTQ+ supporters group, known as the Rainbow Wall, has representation in Qatar, and its bucket hats were being worn by a number of fans arriving at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium on Monday.

The Football Association of Wales (FAW) said it had played a part in the Rainbow Wall bucket hats being created and was extremely disappointed female fans were instructed to give up the items.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the FAW said: The FAW has collated information on these alleged incidents and will be addressing this matter directly with FIFA today.

Former Wales foo…

Ruben Dias has signed a new six-year contract with Manchester City, the club announced on Monday.

The centre-back enjoyed a fantastic first year in English football and has been rewarded with a new deal that will keep him with the Premier League champions until 2027.

Dias joined from Benfica for a reported £65million (€89m) in September 2020, with his previous deal having run though 2025-26.

An extra year has been added on by Pep Guardiola s men as the Portugal defender continues to partner either Aymeric Laporte or John Stones, though Nathan Ake has also been used by Pep Guardiola at the start of 2021-22.

Last term, Dias made 50 appearances as City lifted their fifth Premier League title, with the 24-year-old going on to be named Premier League Pl…

Besiktas have targeted Arsenal striker Marouane Chamakh as a potential replacement for Hugo Almeida or Ricardo Quaresma.

Club board member Ahmed Nur Cebi outlined the situation regarding Almeida and Quaresma, as well as identifying Chamakh, plus Mevlut Erding of Rennes, as potential arrivals.

Chamakh joined the Gunners in 2008 from Bordeaux but has found first-team opportunities difficult to come by after his initial promising form at the Emirates Stadium fading.

Cebi confirmed the club s interest in the Moroccan but suggested that he may have expectations of joining a bigger club.

Chamakh, I d love but we re different from his expectations, he said.

Cebi went on to reveal that Besiktas interest in Gokhan Unal, of Fenerbahce, and Necati Ates, of…

A 26-year-old worker has died during construction work at Everton’s new stadium.

Merseyside Police confirmed that an injured man later died at hospital “after an incident” at Bramley Moore Dock on Monday afternoon.

They said that “his next of kin have been told and an investigation is under way”.

Everton tweeted that everyone at the club is “heartbroken” by the news a male worker had died following an incident at the site.

They said: “The thoughts and condolences of everyone connected with Everton are with his family, friends, and colleagues at this unimaginably sad time.”

Stadium contractor Laing O’Rourke said they were “shocked and saddened” by the death.

Work at the site has been suspended work “until further n…

Gary Neville believes any team eyeing the Premier League title this season will have to get past Chelsea if they are to be successful.

Jose Mourinho s side finished the previous campaign eight points clear of Manchester City to be crowned champions for the first time since 2010 and have since added to their squad with the signing of Radamel Falcao on a season-long loan.

Chelsea s rivals have been busy in the transfer market, with Petr Cech moving to Arsenal, Manchester United acquiring Memphis Depay and Liverpool making six new signings including Roberto Firmino and Danny Ings.

Despite the other contenders seeking to close the gap, Neville says Chelsea will start the new campaign as favourites.

We re in July when teams haven t completed their busines…

Ten-man Paris Saint-Germain began their Ligue 1 title defence with a battling 1-0 victory over Lille at Stade Pierre-Mauroy on Friday.

With the injured Zlatan Ibrahimovic and new recruit Angel di Maria watching from the stands, Laurent Blanc s men looked to be up against it when they lost Adrien Rabiot to a senseless red card with only 28 minutes on the clock.

However, the visitors dug deep and pinched the points courtesy of a superbly-constructed goal from Lucas Moura just short of the hour mark.

The result marked the first time since 2010 that PSG have started their league campaign with a win and although they rarely resembled the side that swept all before them en route to an historic domestic treble last season, Blanc will certainly have been heartened by …

Spain defender Cesar Azpilicueta is anticipating another difficult encounter as the reigning European Champions prepare to host Slovakia in Saturday s Euro 2016 qualifier.

The only defeat of Vicente del Bosqu
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e s side s campaign came at the hands of Slovakia, who claimed a 2-1 win in the reverse fixture in Zilina last October.

Juraj Kucka gave Slovakia the lead on that occasion, with Miroslav Stoch ensuring success three minutes from time after Paco Alcacer had cancelled out the opener.

Slovakia remain unbeaten and head Group C by three points from Spain and can approach the game with a degree of freedom knowing that qualification is within their grasp.

Regardless of the result in Oviedo, Jan Kozak s men will qualify for the finals providing…

Brazil coach Tite believes Philippe Coutinho has all the attributes a footballer needs and has become a very strong player as he prepares for his first World Cup.

Coutinho has established himself as one of the world s most talented midfielders since narrowly missing out on Luiz Felipe Scolari s 2014 World Cup squad.

Playing regularly in a Liverpool side renowned for their attacking fluency under Brendan Rodgers and then Jurgen Klopp has played a major role in his development, before eventually sealing a £142million switch to Barcelona in January.

He has perhaps lacked consistency a little since making the move to Spain, but Tite is convinced the 25-year-old who scored in Friday s 3-0 win over Russia is the complete package.

What qualities do you think a…

Philippe Coutinho wants to establish a legacy at Liverpool rather than leave and be another player at Barcelona, Bayern Munich or Real Madrid.

The Brazilian enjoyed his best season at Anfield since arriving from Inter in January 2013, scoring 13 Premier League goals and registering seven assists.

Coutinho signed a long-term contract, believed to run until 2022, in January but reports of interest from Barca have remained persistent, with Klopp having to address the issue at recent news conferences.

However, the 24-year-old has allayed concerns he will be on the move in the close-season, outlining why he would prefer to stay at Liverpool.

Stay here and they will end up building a statue in your honour, Coutinho said in an interview with ESPN Brasil.

…

Fabinho praised the impact made by Raphinha since arriving in the Premier League and says he expected the Leeds United winger to join Liverpool earlier this year.

Raphinha has starred for Leeds since arriving from Rennes for a reported £17million (€20m) in October 2020 and was rewarded with his first cap for Brazil last week.

The 24-year-old further enhanced his reputation with two goals, while also winning a penalty, in a 3-1 World Cup qualifying victory against Venezuela.

He also featured as a second-half substitute in Brazil s stalemate with Colombia and is in contention to play a part in Thursday s clash with Uruguay.

Fabinho, who played a full the full 90 minutes in those two previous matches, has been particularly impressed by what he has seen fr…