Human Interest

The father of Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker drowned in a lake near his holiday home in southern Brazil on Wednesday, local police said.

José Becker, 57, had been swimming at a dam on his property when the accident happened on Wednesday afternoon, Doroteo Machado Filho, a police inspector in the town of Lavras do Sul, told Reuters. No foul play was suspected.

Liverpool issued a statement asking for Alisson's privacy to be respected.

German sports magazine 11FREUNDE “11 Friends” has teamed up with more than 800 soccer players playing in the country in a mission to support gay soccer players.

In 11FREUNDE’s latest issue the hashtag and slogan “Ihr Könnt Auf Uns Zählen” (You Can Count On Us) has been echoed by the magazine and some of the biggest men and women stars playing in Germany.

Wolverhampton Wanderers striker Raúl Jiménez has returned to training after his recovery from an operation on his fractured skull but his return to the team will not be rushed, manager Nuno Espírito Santo said on Thursday.

Jiménez was taken to hospital after a clash of heads with Arsenal defender David Luiz during a match in November and the club were initially not optimistic about the Mexican's return to action this season.

Nigeria Professional Football League side Wikki Tourists had a lucky escape when the team bus carrying them to their away fixture against Dakkada in Uyo burst into flames and burnt to the ground, officials said.

All players, coaches and team officials survived unscathed in the incident on Saturday, but they lost the team kit and many of their belongings as the blaze moved quickly through the vehicle.

The bus in which Wikki Tourists players and officials were travelling, burst into flames this morning.

“There is nothing new about poverty. What is new, however, is that we now have the resources to get rid of it. … Why should there be hunger and privation in any land, in any city, at any table, when man has the resources and the scientific know‐how to provide all mankind with the basic necessities of life? … There is no deficit in human resources, the deficit is in human will.”

After the brutal police murder of George Floyd on May 25 in the Powderhorn Park neighborhood of Minneapolis, daily protests turned into nightly riots that shook large sections of the Twin Cities for three straight days.  

The message could be heard loud and clear from protesters — “No justice, no peace” — and read on the graffiti scrawled across Target stores — “Merchandise can be replaced. Black lives can not” — as the worst imaginable provocation coalesced with centuries of repeated injustice to trigger an outpouring of rage and grief.     

It’s been 10 years since Lille OSC captured its last Ligue 1 title, but one look at the table sees the club from northern France setting the pace ahead of last season’s Champions League semifinalist Lyon and, of course, three-time defending champion Paris Saint-Germain. 

If it’s a position that Lille didn’t anticipate being in with just 14 matches remaining, 20-year-old American forward Timothy Weah isn’t letting on to any sense of disbelief. 

BERLIN - Liverpool coach Jürgen Klopp will not be able to attend his mother's funeral in Germany's Black Forest region due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, he said on Wednesday.

Klopp, who led Liverpool to the English league title as well as the Champions League crown in the past few seasons, said due to the restrictions and quarantine rules in England and Germany he would not be able to attend the funeral.

His mother Elisabeth had passed away last month.

AL RAYYAN, Qatar - Bayern Munich will face Mexican club Tigres UANL in Thursday's Club World Cup final without experienced central defender Jérôme Boateng, coach Hansi Flick said on Wednesday.

The 2014 World Cup winner will return home for personal reasons, following news reports from Germany of the death of a former partner.