Messi considers leaving Barca

AMMAN, Oct 9, (Agencies): Kuwait National Football team will play Thursday its third FIFA World cup 2022 and Asian Cup 2023 qualifying match against Jordan.

The Kuwaiti team seeks to achieve a positive score in the match held in Amman International Stadium, and overcome the loss in the previous game against Australia.

The Kuwait national football team manager Fahad Awadh said, “We seek to attain the fans’ aspiration through a new achievement after the long period of suspension.”

“The team have prepared perfectly for this match and we had a closed training session in which the newly appointed coach Thamer Enad explained his tactical vision to the players,” he added.

He also affirmed the Kuwaiti Football Association’s (KFA) support for the new coach and team, and showed confidence in them to achieve the important three points from Jordan.

Kuwait embassy in Jordan in cooperation with Kuwait’s cultural office and Jordan Football Association (JFA) have provided a booth to sell tickets for the Kuwaiti fans in the cultural office’s headquarters.

Lionel Messi says he considered leaving Barcelona after being targeted by Spanish tax authorities in the early 2010s.

Messi says in an interview with Catalan radio station RAC1 he felt he wasn’t treated well in Spain and didn’t want to stay in the country after being accused of not paying his taxes properly.

He says it was a very difficult situation for him and his family and hinted that if there was an official offer from another club at the time he might have left.

AC Milan has appointed Stefano Pioli as its new coach, the Serie A club said on Wednesday, handing him a two-year contract in the hope he will turn around the fortunes of the seven-times European champions.

AC Milan sacked the previous coach, Marco Giampaolo, on Tuesday after the team lost four of their first seven Serie A games of the season.

Pioli has coached seven Serie A teams previously, AC Milan said in a statement, including Lazio and Inter Milan. His last job was at Fiorentina, whom he left in April during his second season in charge.

France striker Kylian Mbappe has been ruled out of their Euro 2020 qualifiers against Iceland and Turkey through injury, the French football federation said on Tuesday.

Paris St Germain’s Mbappe, who has been struggling with a recurring thigh problem, has been replaced in the squad by Borussia Moenchengladbach forward Alassane Plea.

Atalanta has been fined 10,000 euros ($11,000) for racist chanting by its fans, adding to the notion that Italian soccer authorities are doing little to combat racism.

Fiorentina defender Dalbert Henrique was targeted by racist chanting during his team’s 2-2 draw at Atalanta on Sept. 22. The match was briefly suspended because of the abuse.

Kosovo authorities have banned Red Star Belgrade from playing a soccer match against a local Serb team and prevented the club’s bus from crossing into the former Serbian province.

Tensions were high on a border crossing as police faced off with Red Star fans and Kosovo Serb politicians waiting for the bus to arrive.

FIFA has fined Hong Kong’s soccer federation 15,000 Swiss francs ($15,100) for fans disrespecting the Chinese national anthem before a World Cup qualifying game last month.

Hong Kong fans booed and turned their backs when the anthem was played for their team before a Sept. 10 qualifier at home against Iran.

The game took place amid ongoing pro-democracy protests against China’s rule of Hong Kong, which was under British rule until 1997.

Hong Kong, which lost 2-0 to Iran, has its next home game on Nov. 14 against Bahrain.

Also, FIFA fined Indonesia 45,000 Swiss francs ($45,300) for fan disorder in a home qualifier against neighboring Malaysia.

The game was suspended for several minutes late in the second half because of clashes between fans. Malaysia won 3-2 with a goal in the seventh minute of stoppage time.

FIFA warned Malaysia for its fans’ lack of discipline and throwing objects.