Category Sports News

Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes says it “hurt” to realise the club “wanted me to leave” when Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal proposed a huge offer in the summer.

The Portugal international, 31, rejected the move to the Saudi Pro League in order to stay at Old Trafford, despite Al-Hilal reportedly being open to paying a fee of about £100m and wages of up to £700,000 a week.

Fernandes has a contract that runs to 2027, with the option of an additional year.

He said in October, before his 300th United appearance, that he will not discuss his future with anyone until after next year’s World Cup.

Looking back on the Al-Hilal interest in a new interview, he said of United’s stance: “From the club I felt it was, ‘If you go it’s not so bad for us’. It hurts me a bit.”

“More than hurting me, it makes me sad,” Fernandes said. “I’m a player that no-one can criticise, I’m always available, I always give my best.

“I could have left in this transfer window, I would have earned much more money.

“I would have won many trophies this season, but I decided not to go, not only for family reasons but because I genuinely love the club.”

Fernandes joined United in January 2020 for £47m from Portuguese side Sporting and has made 307 appearances for the club, scoring 103 goals and providing 93 assists.

This season, he has five goals and seven assists in the Premier League, including a brilliant free-kick strike and an assist in Monday’s 4-4 draw with Bournemouth.

In June, Fernandes said one of the reasons he did not join Al-Hilal was because he wanted to continue to “play at the highest level”, and it was United boss Ruben Amorim who urged him to stay at Old Trafford.

However, Fernandes told Canal 11: “The club wanted me to leave. I told the directors that, I think they didn’t have the courage to make that decision because the manager wanted me.

“But if I said I wanted to leave, even with the manager wanting me to stay, the club would let me.”

Former South Africa women’s captain Lusanda Dumke has died at the age of 29 after being diagnosed with a rare gastric cancer.

The back row won 33 Test caps, captaining South Africa three times.

She also captained domestic side Bull Daisies and led them to a historic three consecutive Women’s Premier Division titles.

“Even in the face of immense personal challenge she carried herself with dignity and strength, inspiring those around her on and off the field,” Alexander said.

“Her legacy lives on in the lives she touched, the example she set, and the pride with which she represented her country.”

The response to Turkey’s football betting scandal must have the same cultural impact as the punishments for the Calciopoli affair in Italy, says the assistant manager of Galatasaray.

A wide-ranging investigation into illegal gambling involving figures in Turkish football is under way, with hundreds of players, club owners and referees under scrutiny.

Police raids have taken place, arrests have been made, and more than 1,000 players have been suspended.

Galatasaray assistant boss Ismael Garcia Gomez says that “when there is a big problem, you need big decisions”, and he believes “very strict” sanctions will be required to restore trust in Turkish football.

He drew comparisons to the Calciopoli scandal, when manipulations to refereeing appointments to benefit certain clubs took place in Serie A between 2004 and 2006.

Several directors and referees were punished, as were some clubs. Most notably, Juventus were stripped of two Serie A titles and relegated to the second division.

While the Turkish scandal currently concerns individuals rather than clubs, Garcia Gomez says there needs to be a similar cultural reset in the Super Lig.

“We should be talking about the Champions League and Galatasaray, other clubs doing well in Europe, so this is sad,” he said.

“Sometimes when there is a big problem, you need big decisions. Sometimes you need to be very strict.

In November, the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) suspended 1,024 players from its professional leagues as part of an investigation into betting.

It then handed out bans to 102 players from its top two divisions for “betting-related activities”.

Among those detained by prosecutors was 23-year-old Galatasaray player Metehan Baltaci, who has admitted placing bets as a youth player, claiming he did not know it was illegal, but denies betting on his club’s matches after joining the senior squad.

Garcia Gomez did not speak directly about Baltaci, but he said of Galatasaray: “In the club, people are against this situation, and people must start learning from mistakes, this is the way.”

The Spanish coach, who has worked in Turkish football for four years, said he had been called by acquaintances from all over Europe about the scandal and that answers are needed quickly to begin restoring the country’s reputation.

“I have to value a quick answer, and we hope in future Turkey is known for the talent of its players, as the national team could go to the World Cup and teams are doing fantastic in Europe,” he said.

The betting scandal first erupted on 27 October and focused on referees. A five-year TFF investigation found 371 of 571 match officials in Turkey held betting accounts, with 152 of those actively gambling.

It fuelled conspiracies about refereeing in Turkish football – former Fenerbahce manager Jose Mourinho regularly made claims about bias during his time in the Super Lig.

However, Garcia Gomez said he was sure there is “no conspiracy against any club”, and that Turkish football will be able to put its house in order.

England’s Hannah Hampton has been named the Best Fifa Women’s Goalkeeper, while Manchester City‘s Gianluigi Donnarumma won the men’s award.

Hampton, 25, helped Chelsea win the domestic treble last season and England defend their Euro 2025 title this summer.

Italy’s Donnarumma played a significant role in Paris St-Germain’s first Champions League triumph before joining City this summer.

Hampton thanked England manager Sarina Weigman and Chelsea boss Sonia Bompastor “for the belief in me this year”.

“To the fans, both club and country, your support doesn’t go unnoticed.

“We hear you cheering every single game loud and proud and it helps push us on to go and get the win for you all. So, thank you very much.”

Hampton and Donnarumma won the Yashin Trophy at the Ballon d’Or in September.

Hampton started every game at Euro 2025 – England beat Spain in a penalty shootout in the final – and all Chelsea’s matches in an unbeaten Women’s Super League season.

Paris St-Germain have been ordered to pay former striker Kylian Mbappe 60 million euros (£52.5m) in unpaid salary and bonuses by a French court.

Mbappe had been seeking 263m euros (£231.5m) from his former club after the long-running dispute reached a Paris labour court in November.

The European champions were counter suing the France captain for 240m euros (£211m).

The 26-year-old Real Madrid forward claimed the nine-figure sum, which included 55m euros (£46.3m) in unpaid wages, as damages in response to a contract dispute and ill-treatment by the club.

However, he has only been awarded a fraction of that amount, with the court recognising that PSG had failed to pay three months of his salary between April and June 2024 as well as an ethics bonus and a signing bonus under his contract.

“We are satisfied with this ruling. This is what you could expect when salaries went unpaid,” Mbappe’s lawyer Frederique Cassereau said.

PSG had been seeking compensation for Mbappe’s failed 300m euros transfer to Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal in 2023.

Mbappe’s decision not to move to the Saudi Pro League, coupled with his refusal to sign a contract extension, sparked the more than two-year dispute, with the forward believing he was sidelined by the French champions.

He was not invited to take part in the club’s pre-season tour of Asia and missed their first match of the 2023-24 campaign.

He was later reinstated to the side – a decision PSG said followed Mbappe’s agreement to forgo some of his end-of-contract payments to protect the club’s financial health.

However, Mbappe’s representatives dismissed the claim as “fantasy” at November’s hearing.

PSG also accused the player of acting “disloyally by concealing for nearly eleven months, between July 2022 and June 2023, his decision not to extend his contract” and said the club had suffered “significant damages” as a result of his actions.

Mbappe was at PSG from 2017 to 2024, initially on loan from Monaco and later on a permanent transfer, and won 15 trophies in the French capital.

“I got to the stage where I was going to give up my season ticket.”

When Neale Ormston developed diabetic retinopathy, an eye condition, he thought his days of attending Crystal Palace games were over.

The 53-year-old was “not getting enjoyment” out of football because of the struggles of getting to matches and not being able to see and keep up with play as he once did.

But now he has “that passion again” and has made history as the first visually impaired fan to commentate on a Premier League game using a GiveVision headset.

Football commentary is challenging enough – finding the correct words to describe the action, keeping up with the play and identifying the right player at the right moment is more difficult than the professionals make it look.

For Ormston, who said he was “nervous” to go live, it was made even harder by his inability to have notes or a teamsheet.

For Sunday’s match against Manchester City, he was providing audio to other visually impaired fans in the stadium alongside colleagues Roger Dickson, Andy Bull and Chris Winter.

Palace have provided this service for their fans for many years, but since last season GiveVision headsets have also been made available for those that are eligible.

The headset, which looks like a virtual reality mask, transmits to the retina to allow the person using it to see what is there.

During the game, the user can control what they see via network camera feeds and they can zoom in and out and change the contrast. It also also allows users to switch to regular vision to join in with the real-time celebrations with those around them.

“I’m actually at more of an advantage now than everyone else,” smiled Ormston. “My friends round me ask when there is VAR because I get replays so I can tell them when to cheer and not to cheer.”

Ormston took the headset to Dublin last Thursday for Palace’s Conference League victory over Shelbourne but is unable to take it to any Premier League away game because other grounds do not have the requisite 5G infrastructure.

“The atmosphere is what I want to experience,” he added. “But it’s about inclusivity.

“There are so many clubs that don’t even have the audio commentary option, so how many visually impaired people are there out there who don’t go but want to go?”

One in 30 people in the UK are affected by some degree of sight loss, but at present, Palace are the only club to offer the vision enhancement system.

A total of 73% of sports fans with visual impairments do not attend matches due to the lack of accessibility, according to Unadev, the France-based organisation that raises awareness of visual impairment issues.

For Sunday’s game, eight people had the headsets, which are also available to travelling fans if they register in advance.

One fan who relies on the technology is Susan Venon, 80, who has had gradual deterioration in her sight since 2004.

She called the service “a revelation” because without it she too “would not be coming now, and wouldn’t have renewed [her season ticket] for this season” despite following the club for 56 years.

Charlotte Woodward, Chair of Crystal Palace’s Disabled Supporters’ Association, says the headsets “should be a standard across the Premier League and beyond”.

“You can’t put a price on sight,” she said. “It doesn’t discriminate against age, gender, race or background. You can have a sight condition from birth or later on in life.

“At Palace we invest in fans and by doing this it shows the club’s dedication to them being the 12th man.”

Stan Karpenko, the founder of GiveVision, told BBC Sport it has “spoken to almost every club in the UK”.

He added that the biggest barrier is not the installation cost but “it’s the awareness of their fans who could benefit from it”.

Karpenko said: “If there are no facilities to make their experience adequate enough to attend, then they don’t think they have any visually impaired fans.