Europe

All professional soccer leagues in Turkey were suspended earlier in December after the president of Ankaragucu punched a referee in the face. Fast forward a little over a week later and another brawl has taken place at a Turkish soccer game.

The incident with the referee getting punched forced the Turkish Football Federation to suspend all leagues for one week on Dec. 11. 

The Lindsey Horan red card in the UEFA Women’s Champions League on Thursday has made the rounds among USWNT fans. The star American was sent off during Lyon’s group stage game vs. Norway’s Brann.

Horan’s red card occurred in the 52nd minute when she was fouled by Brann’s Karoline Haugland. The 29-year-old Colorado native wasn’t pleased about the challenge and gave her opponent a shove.

Tensions continued to rise as words were exchanged with Haugland and then with the referee.

Lindsey Horan red card

The European Court of Justice ruled on Thursday that European soccer's governing body UEFA and its global counterpart FIFA breached EU law when they prevented 12 clubs from forming a European Super League (ESL).

WHAT IS THE EUROPEAN SUPER LEAGUE?

Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus plus nine other European major clubs announced the breakaway ESL -- a closed league -- in April 2021.

Sports development company A22 assisted with creating the ESL.

PARIS — Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappé scored twice to help the Ligue 1 leaders beat Metz 3-1 at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday and close out the year on a high as they maintained their five-point advantage at the top of the table.

Vitinha put the hosts in front early into the second half, scoring with his first touch, before Mbappé doubled the lead on the hour mark with a stunning shot from the edge of the box as the France forward celebrated his 25th birthday.

Kylian Mbappé goal vs Metz

LONDON — Chelsea booked their place in the semi-finals of the League Cup on Tuesday, defeating Newcastle United 4-2 in a penalty shootout at Stamford Bridge after substitute Mykhailo Mudryk kept the Blues alive with a 92nd-minute equalizer.

Newcastle had appeared set to snatch a 1-0 win in west London until Kieran Trippier, on as a substitute, failed to cut out a Malo Gusto cross and allowed Mudryk, also on as a sub, to slot home, levelling the tie at 1-1 and taking it to penalties.

Belgium's number one goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has said he will not go to next year's European Championship in order to fully recover from a knee injury, he told Belgian TV station VRT broadcast on Tuesday.

"I need to recover fully, so it's better to provide clarity now," the Real Madrid player said.

"If I'm lucky, I might be able to play a match come May, but I'll never be ready for the tournament. I can't be in the goal at 80% or 85%, I should step aside for other good players."

Courtois Euro 2024

FIFA announced on Sunday that its revamped Club World Cup, to be held for the first time in 2025, will feature 32 teams and will be played from mid-June to mid-July.

Following are details of how the tournament will work:

- The United States will host the 2025 edition of the expanded event, which will be held every four years thereafter.

- The tournament will have eight groups of four with the top two teams from each group going through to the knockout stages -- the same format as the 2022 World Cup.

Nottingham Forest fell to Tottenham 2-0 on Friday and many fans are pointing the blame at United States goalkeeper Matt Turner after a massive error.

Turner had produced several important stops in the game to deny Spurs, however the only thing people will remember Friday’s game for was the gaffe in the 65th minute.

Matt Turner mistake vs Tottenham

UPDATE:

Luton captain Tom Lockyer suffered a cardiac arrest and collapsed on the pitch.

The score was 1-1 when the 29-year-old Wales international fell to the ground with no other player near him. Players and Luton manager Rob Edwards reacted immediately to get medical attention.

"Our medical staff have confirmed that the Hatters captain suffered cardiac arrest on the pitch but was responsive by the time he was taken off on the stretcher," Luton said in a statement.