Author: Timi-Zacchaeus Oluwaferanmi

Liverpool Football Club has revealed the scale of its toughest-ever crackdown on ticket touting, disclosing that it has shut down 145,000 ticket accounts in the past two years and issued a record 1,114 lifetime bans in the last season alone. The Premier League champions said that the measures follow the discovery of widespread abuse of software used to harvest tickets, often at the expense of genuine fans. According to club investigators, touts used bot technology, burner phones, and fake identities to manipulate the ticketing system and resell seats at vastly inflated prices. Lifetime bans surge The 1,114 lifetime bans imposed…

Arsenal have secured a major boost to their defensive stability after William Saliba agreed to a new five-year contract that will keep him at the Emirates until 2030. The French international, who has become a cornerstone of Mikel Arteta’s backline, was already under contract until 2027. But his new deal ends speculation linking him with a move to European giants Real Madrid and signals his long-term commitment to the club. From prospect to defensive leader Saliba joined Arsenal from Saint-Etienne in July 2019 as a highly rated teenager. He was loaned back to the French club for the 2019–20 season…

Liverpool teenager Rio Ngumoha has signed his first professional deal with the Premier League champions, capping a remarkable 12 months in which he has emerged as one of English football’s most exciting young prospects. The 17-year-old forward, who only joined the Reds from Chelsea’s academy last year, has already made five senior appearances, scored a dramatic Premier League winner, and earned a Champions League debut. Now, he has committed his future to the Anfield club, though Liverpool have not disclosed the length of the contract. A meteoric rise Ngumoha announced himself in unforgettable style last month when he scored a…

Montenegrin club FK Arsenal Tivat have seen their suspension from European competition reduced from 10 years to seven after a successful appeal to UEFA. The original sanction, handed down in July following allegations of match-fixing, would have barred the club from continental football until 2035. The revised ruling now limits the punishment to the end of the 2031-32 season. The case stemmed from Arsenal Tivat’s involvement in the 2023-24 Europa Conference League qualifying round, where the club drew 1-1 away to Armenian side Alashkert before being dismantled 6-1 in the home leg. UEFA launched an investigation amid suspicions of irregularities…

Liverpool’s defensive ranks have taken a major hit after summer signing Giovanni Leoni suffered a suspected anterior cruciate ligament injury on his debut. The 18-year-old centre-back, recruited from Serie A side Parma for a fee of £26 million plus add-ons, limped off in the closing stages of Liverpool’s 2-1 Carabao Cup third-round victory over Southampton on Tuesday night. Leoni, who had impressed with 17 senior appearances in Italy’s top flight before his move to Merseyside, was making his first appearance under new head coach Arne Slot. But what should have been a night to remember quickly turned into a nightmare,…

Barcelona have been dealt a significant setback after confirming that midfielder Gavi will be sidelined for up to five months following knee surgery. The 21-year-old, who had only just returned to full fitness after a serious injury last season, underwent an operation to repair cartilage damage sustained in training. The Spain international had started Barcelona’s opening two matches of the 2025-26 campaign before suffering the setback in August. Initial fears were that he had suffered a recurrence of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear that ruled him out for 11 months between 2023 and 2024. While scans brought some relief…

Aston Villa defender Ezri Konsa has admitted Unai Emery was right to question the attitude of his players after the head coach branded them “lazy” in the aftermath of Sunday’s disappointing 1-1 draw with Sunderland. The Spaniard was furious as his side failed to beat a Black Cats team that had been reduced to 10 men for an hour following Reinildo Mandava’s red card. Matty Cash’s opener appeared to have put Villa on course for their first league win of the campaign, only for Wilson Isidor to snatch a late equaliser. After the game, Emery did not hold back, publicly…

Tolu Arokodare has vowed to keep finding the back of the net after opening his goalscoring account for Wolverhampton Wanderers in their 2-0 Carabao Cup third-round victory over Everton at Molineux on Tuesday night. The 24-year-old Nigerian forward, who signed from Belgian side KRC Genk on transfer deadline day, scored Wolves’ second of the evening with just three minutes of normal time remaining. It was a strike that not only secured the win but also lifted the mood around Molineux as Arokodare looks to cement his place in Gary O’Neil’s squad. Coming on as a 68th-minute substitute for Jørgen Strand…

Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva has voiced frustration over the Premier League’s scheduling, claiming his side were unfairly disadvantaged in Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium. Gabriel Martinelli’s stoppage-time goal rescued a point for the Gunners, leaving City to lament what they say was an unbalanced fixture calendar. City had only 66 hours to recover from their 2-0 home victory over Napoli in the Champions League on Thursday, while Arsenal enjoyed a longer recovery period after a 2-0 win over Athletic Club in Bilbao on Tuesday. Silva believes the short turnaround left the City squad physically compromised.…

Christian Horner has formally departed Red Bull Racing, concluding a remarkable two-decade tenure as the team’s principal, following his controversial dismissal in July. While Red Bull’s official statement made no mention of financial details, sources have confirmed that Horner received a severance package worth 60 million euros (£52 million), making it one of the largest pay-offs in sports history. Horner, 51, had led Red Bull since the team’s inception in Formula 1 in 2005, guiding the squad to eight drivers’ championships and six constructors’ titles. Under his leadership, Red Bull became one of the sport’s dominant forces, challenging established automotive…