Human Interest

Bavarian Premier Markus Soeder on Monday urged Bayern Munich fans not to travel to the UEFA Super Cup final against Sevilla in Budapest this week or risk turning the event into a hotbed for COVID-19 to spread.

The German champions, who won the Champions League, face Europa League winners Sevilla in the Hungarian capital on Thursday.

"My stomach hurts thinking about the Super Cup. Budapest is a risk area. We have to be very careful that we don't risk turning it into a football-Ischgl," he said.

Newly promoted Cádiz, playing in LaLiga for the first time since 2005-06, started the new campaign brightly on Sunday with a 2-0 away victory over Huesca. 

There were a couple of feel-good stories on the day, including 35-year-old striker Álvaro Negredo scoring his first LaLiga goal since 2016 after a sojourn abroad that included stints with Manchester City, Middlesbrough and Beşiktaş. 

But even better was the first top tier appearance for 41-year-old goalkeeper Alberto Cifuentes, who became the oldest-ever LaLiga debutant and kept a clean sheet. 

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Monday hit out at fans who sing and cheer at soccer matches, saying they were frustrating the fight against the coronavirus amid a surge in infections.

Limited crowds have been allowed back in Dutch stadiums since the start of the new season this month, but only if they adhere to social distancing rules and refrain from singing and shouting.

"Just shut up when you're sitting there," Rutte said when asked about fans' behavior in the stadiums. "Watch the game and don't shout. It's possible."

Former England striker Les Ferdinand believes 'taking a knee' in support of the Black Lives Matter cause has become nothing short of a PR stunt and that the real message is being diluted.

Ferdinand, who is Black, is now Director of Football at Queens Park Rangers who were criticized after both sets of players opted not to take the knee before their match against Coventry City in the Championship on Friday.

Manchester City midfielder İlkay Gündoğan has tested positive for COVID-19, the Premier League club said on Monday, making him the third player in the squad to return a positive test in recent weeks.

City winger Riyad Mahrez and defender Aymeric Laporte previously tested positive for the novel coronavirus earlier this month.

"İlkay is now observing a 10-day period of self-isolation in accordance with Premier League and UK Government protocol on quarantine," the club said in a statement.

The Ligue 1 match between Paris Saint-Germain and Marseille on Sunday ended in a scuffle between the two sides that resulted in five red cards. The fight was prompted by Marseille center back Alvaro allegedly directing a racist slur toward PSG star Neymar.

This story alone was enough to warrant significant media attention, but the comments made by French Football Federation (FFF) president Nöel Le Graët on Tuesday made the issue even more pertinent.

Kazuyoshi Miura, the 53-year-old forward for J.League side Yokohama FC, began his career 34 years ago and is still going strong, wondering if he "can stay alive" without the sport after retiring.

Not that the man known fondly in Japan as 'King Kazu' is considering retiring anytime soon, despite being 20 years older than most of his team mates.