Dutch club Fortuna Sittard’s dreams of playing European football next season have been dashed because of missing paperwork.
Fortuna sit ninth in the Eredevisie with two games left – a position that would earn them a play-off place for a spot in the Uefa Conference League.
However, the club do not have the required Uefa licence after failing to apply before the 8 April deadline, and therefore would be ineligible to participate in European competition next term.
“At that time, the club did not meet all the requirements, including the submission of an external auditor’s report in accordance with Uefa rules,” the club said.
“This ruled out participation in the play-offs for European football in advance.”
Fortuna have not played in Europe since the 1998 Intertoto Cup – a tournament that offered backdoor entry to the Uefa Cup.
“It is disappointing that we cannot reward a great sporting season,” Fortuna general manager Martijn Merks said.
“However, we think it is important to be transparent. We are currently busy preparing for the new Eredivisie season and in the meantime we are continuing to build on the future sustainability of the club.
The Minnesota Vikings will become the first NFL team to play in three countries in one season during 2025.
A record seven international matches will be played in 2025, with the NFL taking regular-season games to Ireland and Spain for the first time.
The designated ‘home’ teams for the games had already been confirmed and their opponents were announced on Tuesday.
In addition to their US games, the Vikings will play Pittsburgh Steelers at Dublin’s Croke Park on 28 September, and the following week will travel to London to face the Cleveland Browns at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The other two London games will see the Denver Broncos face the New York Jets at Tottenham on 12 October, and the following week the Jacksonville Jaguars will ‘host’ the Los Angeles Rams at Wembley.
The NFL will stage its fifth regular-season game in Germany and the first in Berlin, with the Indianapolis Colts hosting the Atlanta Falcons on 9 November.
The Washington Commanders will be the opponents for the Miami Dolphins in the NFL’s first game in Spain, at Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.
The first international game of the season will take place in Brazil during week one, with Sao Paulo hosting its second game on Friday, 5 September.
Carlo Ancelotti said on Tuesday he “has no problem” with Real Madrid ahead of his departure from the club at the end of the season to take over the Brazil national team.
The veteran Italian will become Selecao boss on May 26, the day after Madrid’s last La Liga match of the campaign.
The Spanish giants are yet to name a replacement, although Xabi Alonso is a strong favourite to take over after confirming he will leave Bayer Leverkusen.
READ ALSO: Nigerian Striker Awoniyi Rushed To Hospital For Abdominal Surgery
Real Madrid’s Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti gestures as he celebrates his team’s victory during the UEFA Champions League final football match between Liverpool and Real Madrid at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, north of Paris, on May 28, 2022. (Photo by Anne-Christine POUJOULAT / AFP)
The Brazilian football federation (CBF) announced Ancelotti’s appointment on Monday, before any official confirmation from Madrid regarding Ancelotti’s departure.
“The CBF issued that statement because I’ll be the coach of Brazil from the 26th. Madrid will issue a statement whenever they want, there is no problem,” Ancelotti told reporters on the eve of his team’s match against Real Mallorca.
“I will be the coach of Brazil, which is a challenge, but until then, I’m the coach of Real Madrid and I want to finish in the best possible way.
“I’m focused on the final stretch of this spectacular adventure.”
Ancelotti, who has won 15 trophies including three Champions League titles across two spells at the Santiago Bernabeu, has endured a difficult final season in charge.
Real’s La Liga title defence has faltered with Barcelona on the cusp of the title, while they also lost the Copa del Rey final to their arch rivals and were humbled in the Champions League quarter-finals by Arsenal.
Real Madrid’s Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti and his players celebrate with the trophy after the UEFA Champions League final football match between Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid, at Wembley stadium, in London, on June 1, 2024. (Photo by Ben Stansall / AFP)
“Football, like life, is an adventure that begins and ends,” added the 65-year-old, who also lifted the European Cup twice as AC Milan coach.
“I’ve always kept in mind that this would end. I’ve had a great time… but in everything in life there comes a time when it ends.
“My seriousness and professionalism demand that I finish well here…
“I’ve never had a problem with the club and I never will.”
Madrid’s 4-3 loss to Barcelona on Sunday in El Clasico left them seven points behind Hansi Flick’s side with only three matches remaining.
Barca would secure the title if Madrid fail to defeat Mallorca on Wednesday.
“I’ve had a fantastic time here and I want to continue like this for the last two weeks I have left here,” said Ancelotti when asked about criticism from the press over his team’s performances this season.
“I’ve gotten the most out of myself and the titles speak for themselves.”
Estee Lauder’s skincare has been a favourite of celebs like Elizabeth Hurley and you can now snap up three full size items with a £150 discount thanks to this glow-boosting gift set
This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more
Elizabeth Hurley has used Estee Lauder’s Night Repair serum since the 90s(Image: Getty Images)
There’s nothing better than a celebrity endorsement when it comes to beauty buys, and Elizabeth Hurley has previously shared her love for Estee Lauder’s Advance Night Repair serum. The supermodel has previously revealed that she’s used the serum every night since the 1990s.
A single 50ml bottle of the Advanced Night Repair Serum will usually cost you £89 (although LookFantastic currently has it on sale for £71.50), meaning creating a whole routine from the skincare line would end up being pretty costly. However, thanks to the Lift + Firm + Glow Advanced Night Repair Skincare Gift Set, you can save yourself £150 on three main products from the range.
READ MORE: Louise Thompson shares her ‘elite’ go-to £12 fake tan that ‘doesn’t stain bedsheets’
READ MORE: Korean cushion foundations with ‘magic’ results are going viral – but does Tirtir’s work?
The Skincare Set includes three full size products – the serum, eye cream and moisturiser – and is worth £251. But when you snap it up as part of the Lift + Firm + Glow Advanced Night Repair Skincare Gift Set, you can get your hands on it for £100, saving you £150 and only costing you £10 more than buying the serum on its own.
The Estee Lauder set contains three full size products(Image: Estee Lauder)
In the set you’ll get the Full-Size 50ml Advanced Night Repair Serum, a 15ml Advanced Night Repair Eye Supercharged Gel-Creme and the large 75ml pot of Revitalizing Supreme+ Youth Power Creme, giving you an almost complete skincare routine. The set gives you everything you need to revitalise and boost your skin’s natural glow, as well as helping to hydrate your complexion and minimise the look of fine lines.
If you’re after a set that specifically targets the signs of ageing and don’t want to break the bank, LookFantastic also has the Estée Lauder Limited Edition Ladurée Revitalizing Supreme+ Skincare Set, which is worth £151, for £95. The four-piece gift set includes day and night creams, serums and an eye balm.
If it’s your makeup bag that needs a boost, this Charlotte Tilbury The Uptown Girl Look set is a great way to nab some of the brand’s best-loved beauty products for less. You’ll get an eyeshadow palette, eyeliner, mascara, blusher, lip liner, lip gloss and lipstick for £175, and because you’ve spent over £70, Sephora will throw in a free Hollywood Beauty Light Wand worth £30, too.
Article continues below
But if you want to get your hands on the Lift + Firm + Glow Advanced Night Repair Skincare Gift Set with £150 off, head over to the Estee Lauder website now.
Kim Kardashian has heartbreakingly admitted she thought she would be raped during the horror Paris robbery nine years ago. The mum-of-four, 44, is in the French capital, testifying, after she was held at gunpoint in 2016 during Paris Fashion Week by a gang of masked men dubbed the ‘Grandpa robbers’ by the French media due to their age.
Sobbing, the SKIMS star told a Paris court on Tuesday she thought she would be raped by the men, whose ages range from 38 to 78, saying: “I was certain that was the moment that he was going to rape me I absolutely did think I was going to die.”
Kim Kardashian waves to her fans before making her way inside the Parisian court ( AP)
Kim arrived at the Palais De Justice in Paris for the trial today where she will testify over the horrifying 2016 robbery that saw her being held at gunpoint by masked men dressed as police officers as millions of dollars worth of jewellery was stolen. A group of pensioners dubbed the ‘grandpa robbers’ by French media are on trial in Paris, charged with stealing the star’s jewellery during Paris Fashion Week in 2016.
The last time Kim saw the masked men that police say robbed her, she was bound at gunpoint and left locked in a marble bathroom while the gang stole jewellery, including Kim’s engagement ring from ex, Kanye West, worth millions of dollars.
Admitting she was surprised by the ages of the men, saying she thought they were younger, Kim told the court: “I thought they were younger. It was the way he carried me. I’m not saying that older people cannot carry, but I was just surprised when I saw the photos of them”.
A court was told on Monday, that the reality star was in a state of “serious terror” when the armed robbers burst into her hotel room nine years ago.
Hotel receptionist, Abderrahmane Ouatiki, 48, who was handcuffed and forced at gunpoint to lead two armed robbers to Kim’s hotel room, told the court: “She was terrified, in a state of hysteria.”
Ouatiki told the court Kim began screaming that she was a mother when the gunmen burst into her bedroom. He said: “She was in serious terror; it was unbearable to see a woman in that type of distress.”
The robbers took Ouatiki at gunpoint in the lift with them to Kim’s apartment, he told the court. As they approached her bedroom, Ouatiki said Kardashian called out “Hello? Hello?” thinking it might be her older sister Kourtney Kardashian returning from a nightclub.
He said the robbers burst into the room and roughly pushed Kim.
Ouatiki said The Kardashians star was shouting and hysterical. Concerned the lead robber was “very nervous, unstable, aggressive”, Ouatiki said he felt he had to “calm things down and contain it” so he shouted at Kim to “shut up!”.
He said the robbers were asking in French for money. Ouatiki, still with a gun held at his head, tried to translate. Kim said she had “a thousand” – either in dollars or euros. He said she gave the robbers the ring that was on a bedside table. She then nodded towards a Louis Vuitton jewellery box, the robbers allegedly opened it and tipped its valuable contents into two bags.
The ten suspects, who are aged between 35 and 78, are on trial on May 23. Some are accused of aiding in the organisation of the robbery. Eight of the accused deny any involvement in the terrifying robbery.
The suspects include Aomar Aït Khedache, 69, and the alleged ringleader, who has publicly admitted kidnapping and robbing Ms Kardashian. Another suspect who confessed is named Yunnis Abbas, 72, who wrote a book about the robbery called I Kidnapped Kim Kardashian.
The trial continues.
Follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Threads.
The Senate on Tuesday asked the military to urgently redeploy personnel and advanced equipment to Borno and Yobe states following a resurgence of attacks by Boko Haram terrorists in the area.
This resolution followed renewed insurgent attacks in the North-East region, including the killing of over a dozen soldiers in Marte town of Monguno Local Government Area on Monday, May 12, and a subsequent assault early Tuesday on Gajiram, the headquarters of Nganzai LGA.
In a motion raised by the Senate chief whip, Tahir Munguno, lawmakers noted that while two-thirds of Borno State’s local government areas were once under Boko Haram control, collaborative efforts between the Nigerian military and civilian Joint Task Force had successfully reclaimed the territories.
READ ALSO: Boko Haram Attacks Military Base, Kills Two Teachers In Borno
The restored peace, however, had led to a relocation of tactical command to the North-West, where the military is combating kidnapping and banditry.
Expressing concern over the militants’ evolving tactics, Munguno highlighted the use of modern technologies by the group, including drones, and an increase in the deployment of improvised explosive devices, which have led to high civilian and military casualties, disrupting transportation networks.