Everton are to offer free tickets to Ukrainian refugees on Merseyside for their pre-season friendly with Dynamo Kyiv later this month, the club has announced.
The encounter, part of the Ukrainian Premier League outfit s Match for Peace initiative, was already set to deliver proceeds towards humanitarian charities supporting the nation s citizens following their invasion by Russia.
The Toffees, who signed Vitaliy Mykolenko from Dynamo in January, and made a £500,000 contribution to the Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal in March, will now go a step further, with displaced natives set to be allowed free entry.
The club are working with councils around the Merseyside area to ensure invitations are handed out for the match, which will be played on July 29, to those hou…
Pep Guardiola urged referees to give better protection to all Premier League players after Manchester City star Kevin De Bruyne escaped a serious injury from a crude Jason Puncheon tackle on Sunday.
City were looking to catch Crystal Palace on the break late on in Sunday s 0-0 draw, with Ederson saving a Luka Milivojevic penalty just a few moments earlier.
De Bruyne released the ball midway through the City half and was caught late by a very strong tackle by Puncheon, who injured himself in the process.
The Belgium international was initially carried off the pitch on a stretcher with his leg in a brace, but he was soon seen ambling down the touchline with the support of City s medical staff.
And while it looks as though De Bruyne has avoided a potentiall…
Mitch Duke scored twice as Australia closed in on a place in the third stage of World Cup qualifying with a 5-1 hammering of Chinese Taipei on Monday.
The Socceroos made it six wins out of six and within one victory of a guaranteed spot in the third phase of Asian qualifying at Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium in Kuwait, outclassing the team propping up Group B without a point to their name.
Harry Souttar and Jamie Maclaren each scored their fifth goals of the qualifying campaign and Trent Sainsbury added a third in the first half, with Duke claiming a second-half double either side of Gao Wei-Jie s surprise goal for Chinese Taipei.
Head coach Graham Arnold called on Australia to be more clinical after a 3-0 win over Kuwait and gave a completely …
Theo Walcott s pace is totally unaffected by his near year-long absence through a knee injury, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger insists.
The England international sustained a torn cruciate ligament in an FA Cup tie with Tottenham last January, missing the latter half of the 2013-14 season and the World Cup as a result.
Walcott has made two substitute appearances this term, against Burnley and Swansea in November, and returned to the bench at Liverpool at the weekend after suffering a minor groin injury.
Wenger confirmed that Walcott is not far from making his XI over the busy festive period, and the Frenchman is confident his attacker will not miss a step when he does return.
He has been missed because first of all he s a top quality player, Wenger said.