WORLD

Russia has been banned from competing at next year’s Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang by the International Olympic Committee. But Russian athletes who can prove they are clean would be allowed to compete in South Korea under a neutral flag. It follows an investigation into allegations of state-sponsored doping at the 2014 Games hosted by Russia in Sochi. “This should draw ...

MANCHESTER UNITED boss Jose Mourinho ordered Antonio Valencia, Romelu Lukaku and Ander Herrera to head straight to the dressing room ahead of Sunday’s showdown with Manchester City. Manchester United geared up for their crunch Premier League clash with a 2-1 Champions League win over CSKA Moscow at Old Trafford last night. Moscow took a surprise lead early on but the ...

KEVIN DE BRUYNE does not view Paul Pogba’s absence from this weekend’s Manchester derby as some sort of “karma”. Pogba joked in a television interview at the weekend that he hoped some Manchester City stars would be injured for the showdown between the Premier League’s top two teams. As it turned out, it is Pogba who will miss the game ...

THE winner of the 2017 Ballon d’Or will be announced on Thursday, but which superstar player are on the shortlist? The prestigious award has been won by the Real Madrid superstar or Barcelona ace Lionel Messi for the past nine years. After winning the FIFA’s ‘The Best’ award last month, Cristiano Ronaldo is favourite to take the crown for a ...

MANCHESTER UNITED will try to sign Arsenal playmaker Mesut Ozil next month, with Jose Mourinho unwilling to wait until the summer. Manchester United have emerged as key players in the transfer battle for Arsenal ace Ozil, with Mourinho keen to add the Germany international to his squad. Mourinho previously managed Ozil at Real Madrid and the two have remained close ...

LIONEL MESSI wants to finish his career at Barcelona, according to Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola. Spanish newspaper Marca claim Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour offered Messi a signing on fee of £80million to go to the Etihad. Guardiola worked with him at Barca and the pair have remained close. But he insists a move to City “was never going ...

Manchester City’s David Silva is a doubt for Sunday’s derby with Manchester United in the Premier League. Manager Pep Guardiola confirmed he had an unspecified complaint during his Champions League press conference game against Ukranian side Shakhtar Donetsk. He said, ” Kevin De Bruyne is suspended tomorrow and Silva has a little problem and I don’t know whether he will ...

ANTHONY JOSHUA has prioritised a unification fight with Joseph Parker next, according to Deontay Wilder. Joshua successfully defended his IBF and WBA world heavyweight titles last month, stopping late replacement Carlos Takam in the 10th round. His promoter Eddie Hearn quickly outlined their plans to unify the division by winning the WBO and WBC belts in 2018 and last month ...

Apple is once again hinting that the world could one day see a foldable iPhone. The U.S. Patent & Trademark Office recently published an Apple patent application for “an electronic device [that] may have a flexible portion that allows [it] to be folded.” The patent was filed in September 2016, shortly before the company was granted a patent for a ...

Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann has topped the Sky Sports La Liga Power Rankings this week. Griezmann scored an 88th-minute matchwinner during a 2-1 win over Real Sociedad after team-mate Filipe Luis (No 11, up 109 places) levelled Willian Jose’s (No 15, down eight places) opener. Barcelona only managed a 2-2 draw against Celta Vigo after Lionel Messi (No 7, up three places) and ...