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Fan Fervor Assured at Rare Champions League Home Games for Newcastle, Lens and Union Berlin 

Football - Premier League - Newcastle United v Burnley - St James' Park, Newcastle, Britain - September 30, 2023 Newcastle United's Miguel Almiron celebrates scoring their first goal. (Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Newcastle United v Burnley - St James' Park, Newcastle, Britain - September 30, 2023 Newcastle United's Miguel Almiron celebrates scoring their first goal. (Reuters)
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Fan Fervor Assured at Rare Champions League Home Games for Newcastle, Lens and Union Berlin 

Football - Premier League - Newcastle United v Burnley - St James' Park, Newcastle, Britain - September 30, 2023 Newcastle United's Miguel Almiron celebrates scoring their first goal. (Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Newcastle United v Burnley - St James' Park, Newcastle, Britain - September 30, 2023 Newcastle United's Miguel Almiron celebrates scoring their first goal. (Reuters)

For their first home games in the Champions League in more than 20 years, Newcastle and Lens will walk out to rousing ovations in their famously noisy stadiums this week.

Union Berlin makes its Champions League debut in the borrowed 75,000-capacity Olympic Stadium that will be a raucous home in the competition for a team that played in the German third tier as recently as 2010.

Don’t tell fans at these three clubs the Champions League group-stage format that is being dumped next year became stale and predictable.

Newcastle, Lens and Union were nowhere near the debate when the European Super League was plotted, launched and failed in 2021 by club owners who took the Champions League for granted and craved extra riches and control running their own show.

Exactly two years ago, Newcastle was still in a grim winless run in the Premier League relegation zone.

The Champions League survived the closed-shop Super League threat and now includes long-time absentees and a debutant that qualified on merit – fourth in the Premier League, runner-up in France’s Ligue 1 and fourth in the Bundesliga.

Newcastle will show Kylian Mbappé and Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday the atmosphere 52,000 create inside St. James’ Park.

Lens welcomes Arsenal on Tuesday to Stade Bollaert-Delelis where the capacity of 38,000 is bigger than the town’s population.

Union is using the Olympic Stadium – which hosted the 2015 Champions League final – because its intimate Stadion An der Alten Försterei (Stadium at the Old Forester’s House) is too small for home games in Group C, starting Tuesday against Braga.

“A Champions League for all Unioners,” club president Dirk Zingler explained to club members. “We were guided by this idea and we will try to ensure that as many people as possible can afford these games too.”

The interim move takes the club from the former East Germany into the west of once-divided Berlin.

Napoli and Real Madrid will later visit Union, and the group favorites first meet Tuesday at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.

100th birthday

Few club homes that are 100 years old still host Champions League games. Fewer still waited more than 60 years between staging games in Europe’s top club competition.

Royal Antwerp hosts Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday at the Bosuil Stadium on the site where the club has played since 1923.

There were 45,000 fans there in October 1957 — most of them standing on steep curved terraces – at the venue once known as “Hell of Deurne” when defending champion Real Madrid won 2-1 in a European Cup first-round, first-leg game.

Antwerp’s wait for a next home game ended in August in the qualifying playoffs. Just over 13,000 were there in the compact seated stands to see a 1-0 win over AEK Athens.

Bosuil is not the oldest stadium site seeing Champions League action this week.

Manchester United hosts Galatasaray on Tuesday at Old Trafford where it moved 113 years ago. Celtic welcomes Lazio on Wednesday to Parkhead where the Scottish champion has been playing for 131 years, since 1892.

Rematches

Erling Haaland scored five against Leipzig in March when Manchester City won 7-0 in the second leg of the round of 16.

On Wednesday, Leipzig hosts the defending champion who managed without Haaland’s scoring in a 3-1 win over Red Star Belgrade two weeks ago.

Inter Milan eliminated Benfica in the quarterfinals on its way to losing the final last season and hosts the Portuguese champion Tuesday.

Old hand Pepe

European soccer can unite the generations if Porto captain Pepe makes a historic appearance Wednesday against Barcelona.

At 40 years, 220 days old on Wednesday, Pepe can become the oldest outfield player ever to play in the European Cup or Champions League. Only a few goalkeepers, including Gianluigi Buffon, will be ahead of him in the record book.

When Pepe made his Champions League debut in September 2004, Barcelona’s new 16-year-old starlet Lamine Yamal was still almost three years from being born. Gavi was six weeks old and Pedri was approaching his second birthday.

Pepe played the full game two weeks ago as captain in Porto’s 3-1 win over Shakhtar Donetsk. Barcelona opened its campaign by beating Antwerp 5-0.

The current oldest outfield player in the competition’s 68-year history is AC Milan defender Alessandro “Billy” Costacurta. He played in a 1-0 loss at AEK Athens in November 2006 at 40 years, 211 days.

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Antonelli Bids for Hat-trick as F1 Returns in Miami

FILE - Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli of Italy steers his car in pit lane during the Japanese Formula One Grand Prix in Suzuki, Japan, Sunday, March 29, 2026. (Franck Robichon⁩/Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE - Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli of Italy steers his car in pit lane during the Japanese Formula One Grand Prix in Suzuki, Japan, Sunday, March 29, 2026. (Franck Robichon⁩/Pool Photo via AP, File)
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Antonelli Bids for Hat-trick as F1 Returns in Miami

FILE - Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli of Italy steers his car in pit lane during the Japanese Formula One Grand Prix in Suzuki, Japan, Sunday, March 29, 2026. (Franck Robichon⁩/Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE - Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli of Italy steers his car in pit lane during the Japanese Formula One Grand Prix in Suzuki, Japan, Sunday, March 29, 2026. (Franck Robichon⁩/Pool Photo via AP, File)

Italian teenager Kimi Antonelli, the youngest championship leader in F1 history, will seek to complete a hat-trick of early season victories this weekend as Formula One returns after a month's enforced absence due to the Middle East war.

The 19-year-old Mercedes driver, triumphant in China and Japan, leads team-mate George Russell, who won the season-opening Australian race, by nine points ahead of what is effectively the start of another season, complete with revised rules and widespread car upgrades, at the Miami Grand Prix.

"After a month without any racing, we are ready to get back on track," said Mercedes team chief Toto Wolff. "We've used this break to analyze the opening races, address our weaknesses and rase our level.

"We've started the season well, but that counts for very little if you stand still. We know our competitors will have used this time to improve and build a deeper understanding of their cars so we expect the field to be closer in Miami.

"That's the reality of F1 - it's a challenge we must rise to."

Antonelli's early triumphs made him the first Italian driver since Alberto Ascari in 1953 to win two consecutive races. Ascari completed his treble that season.

Wolff also addressed the tweaks to the regulations to be introduced in Miami, aimed at making the cars and the spectacle more natural with reduced battery re-charging in qualifying and increased super-clipping power to reduce dangerous speed differentials.

According to AFP, he said the revised rules would "respect the DNA of our sport" and deliver an improved spectacle without any significant reduction to Mercedes' early-season performance advantage.

For Mercedes, this Sunday's race is an opportunity for a first win in Florida since the event was launched five years ago. It has been won twice by four-time champion Max Verstappen for Red Bull and twice by McLaren with a win apiece for world champion Lando Norris and team-mate Oscar Piastri.

They will harbor hopes of claiming points too with success in Saturday's sprint race, won last year by Norris, but Ferrari are widely expected to be strong contenders too as they arrive in Miami, like McLaren, who are bringing an almost "completely new car", with a heavily revised package.

"It was one of our best tracks for pure pace, compared to others, last year," said Norris. "It's a different track and it may still suit us a little more than others."

After winning in 2022 and 2023, Verstappen will be aiming to stop Mercedes' winning run and revive Red Bull's challenge this year after a discouraging start. He is ninth, on 12 points, 60 adrift of Antonelli, with team-mate Isack Hadjar 12th on four.

Ferrari's duo of Charles Leclerc and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton are third and fourth respectively on 49 and 41 points with many paddock observers suggesting they are poised to fight for a first win since Carlos Sainz's success in Mexico in October 2024.

Leclerc's eighth and last win came at Austin, Texas, shortly before Sainz's triumph while Hamilton is chasing his 106th win and first since the 2024 Belgian race before he joined Ferrari. After a desultory first year, the Briton said he is relishing the challenge of a new formula that has seen him rediscover his racing mojo.

"We're all re-charged after the break," said Russell, expressing the feelings of most drivers. "I'm hoping we can continue where we left off."

It will mark newcomers Cadillac's first racing appearance on home soil in the United States when Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas venture out at the Hard Rock Stadium in a new American livery.

Sports

Burnley Boss Parker Leaves Club after Relegation

(FILES) Burnley's English manager Scott Parker arrives before the English Premier League football match between Burnley and Manchester City at Turf Moor in Burnley, north-west England on April 22, 2026. (Photo by Paul ELLIS / AFP)
(FILES) Burnley's English manager Scott Parker arrives before the English Premier League football match between Burnley and Manchester City at Turf Moor in Burnley, north-west England on April 22, 2026. (Photo by Paul ELLIS / AFP)
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Burnley Boss Parker Leaves Club after Relegation

(FILES) Burnley's English manager Scott Parker arrives before the English Premier League football match between Burnley and Manchester City at Turf Moor in Burnley, north-west England on April 22, 2026. (Photo by Paul ELLIS / AFP)
(FILES) Burnley's English manager Scott Parker arrives before the English Premier League football match between Burnley and Manchester City at Turf Moor in Burnley, north-west England on April 22, 2026. (Photo by Paul ELLIS / AFP)

Scott Parker has left his position as head coach of Burnley by mutual consent following the club's relegation from the Premier League, it was announced on Thursday.

Burnley said in a statement that Parker and the board had "mutually agreed that his time at Turf Moor would conclude" following one season back in the English top division.

Parker led the Clarets to promotion last year but this season has been a struggle, with just four league wins in total.

Burnley's fate was confirmed on April 22 after a 1-0 home defeat by Manchester City, two days after Wolves were relegated.

Parker, who has previously managed Fulham, Bournemouth and Belgian side Club Brugge, signed a three-year contract in July 2024, succeeding Vincent Kompany.

He oversaw a remarkable 2024/25 season in the Championship, which included a 31-match unbeaten run and 30 clean sheets, taking them back into the Premier League at the first time of asking.

But Burnley have conceded 68 goals in 34 league matches in the current campaign, the most of any side, and were knocked out of the FA Cup and League Cup by third-tier teams.

"The club would like to place on record its sincere thanks to Scott for his professionalism, dedication and contribution," AFP quoted Burnley as saying in a statement.

"He leaves with the respect and gratitude of everyone connected with Burnley Football Club."

Former England midfielder Parker, 45, said in a statement on the club's website that it had been an "immense privilege" to lead Burnley.

"I have enjoyed every moment of our journey together, but feel that now is the right time for both parties to move in a different direction," he said.

"I reflect back with great pride on what we achieved during my time at the club, especially our unforgettable promotion season in 2024/25, and it was a true honor to lead this team into the Premier League."

The club said Parker's assistant, Mike Jackson, would take charge for the club's four remaining Premier League fixtures, beginning with Friday's match at Leeds United.

It said the process of appointing a new permanent head coach ahead of the 2026/27 season had begun.

Sports

Canadian Official Backs Up Report that Iran’s Soccer Chief Denied Entry for FIFA Event

The FIFA Congress gathering comes weeks before the start of a World Cup that is being co-hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico (Reuters)
The FIFA Congress gathering comes weeks before the start of a World Cup that is being co-hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico (Reuters)
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Canadian Official Backs Up Report that Iran’s Soccer Chief Denied Entry for FIFA Event

The FIFA Congress gathering comes weeks before the start of a World Cup that is being co-hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico (Reuters)
The FIFA Congress gathering comes weeks before the start of a World Cup that is being co-hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico (Reuters)

Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said Wednesday it was her “understanding” that Iranian soccer officials were denied entry into her country ahead of the FIFA Congress meeting in Vancouver just weeks before the start of the World Cup.

Anand appeared to confirm a report from Tasnim, an Iranian news agency associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, but she said the denial was “unintentional.”

Tasnim reported that Iranian Football Federation president Mehdi Taj and two other Iranian officials were denied entry due to “inappropriate behavior of immigration officials” at Toronto’s Pearson Airport.

“It’s not my personal lead, but my understanding is that there is a revocation of the permission. It was unintentional, but I’ll leave it to the minister to indicate,” Anand said, apparently referring to Immigration Minister Lena Diab.

The online news outlet Iran International first reported that Taj had been granted a visa Monday and had been removed from Canada late Tuesday evening due to his connections to the IRGC, a listed terrorist entity in Canada.

An emailed response from Diab’s office said all visa applications are reviewed on a case-by-case basis by trained officials, Reuters reported.

“While we cannot comment on individual cases due to privacy laws, the government has been clear and consistent: IRGC officials are inadmissible to Canada and have no place in our country,” said Taous Ait, Diab’s press secretary.

The FIFA Congress gathering comes weeks before the start of a World Cup that is being co-hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico. Representatives from each of the 211 federations in soccer’s governing body were expected to attend the event that begins Thursday.

FIFA did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Iran's status for the event.