عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Sports

Former Argentina Coach Sampaoli Takes Over at French Club Rennes

FILE - Coach Jorge Sampaoli of Brazil's Flamengo reacts during a Copa Libertadores round of 16 second leg soccer match against Paraguay's Olimpia at Defensores del Chaco stadium in Asuncion, Paraguay, Aug.10, 2023. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz, File )
FILE - Coach Jorge Sampaoli of Brazil's Flamengo reacts during a Copa Libertadores round of 16 second leg soccer match against Paraguay's Olimpia at Defensores del Chaco stadium in Asuncion, Paraguay, Aug.10, 2023. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz, File )
TT
TT

Former Argentina Coach Sampaoli Takes Over at French Club Rennes

FILE - Coach Jorge Sampaoli of Brazil's Flamengo reacts during a Copa Libertadores round of 16 second leg soccer match against Paraguay's Olimpia at Defensores del Chaco stadium in Asuncion, Paraguay, Aug.10, 2023. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz, File )
FILE - Coach Jorge Sampaoli of Brazil's Flamengo reacts during a Copa Libertadores round of 16 second leg soccer match against Paraguay's Olimpia at Defensores del Chaco stadium in Asuncion, Paraguay, Aug.10, 2023. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz, File )

Former Argentina coach Jorge Sampaoli is taking over at French league side Rennes.
The 64-year-old is returning to French soccer following a previous stint with Marseille.
Rennes said late Monday that Sampaoli signed a 1 1/2-year contract, The Associated Press reported.
Sampaoli, who was in charge of Argentina at the 2018 World Cup, replaces Julien Stephan, who was dismissed last week.
Rennes is looking for a jolt after a mediocre spell that saw the team slump to 13th place in the standings, 18 points behind leader Paris Saint-Germain after 11 matches.
“He is a coach who is recognized internationally for his professionalism and humanism,” said Arnaud Pouille, the executive chairman and managing director at Rennes. “He has a strong attachment to his players and staff, and is a loyal and committed man. We need his energy to get the club moving again and to face the competition with determination.”
The much-traveled Sampaoli has also coached clubs in Peru, Ecuador, Chile, Spain and Brazil.
Sampaoli abruptly left Marseille in July 2022 after leading the team back to the Champions League, over a disagreement related to the club's transfers of players.

Most Viewed

 
 
Sports

Salah-less Liverpool Plays Inter in Champions League. Barcelona, Bayern, Chelsea All in Action

Liverpool's Mohamed Salah passes manager Arne Slot, left, as he takes part in a training session in Liverpool, England, Monday, Dec. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Jon Super)
Liverpool's Mohamed Salah passes manager Arne Slot, left, as he takes part in a training session in Liverpool, England, Monday, Dec. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Jon Super)
TT
TT

Salah-less Liverpool Plays Inter in Champions League. Barcelona, Bayern, Chelsea All in Action

Liverpool's Mohamed Salah passes manager Arne Slot, left, as he takes part in a training session in Liverpool, England, Monday, Dec. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Jon Super)
Liverpool's Mohamed Salah passes manager Arne Slot, left, as he takes part in a training session in Liverpool, England, Monday, Dec. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Jon Super)

After leaving Mohamed Salah at home, Liverpool needs to show it can win without the Egyptian forward as Arne Slot's team takes on Inter Milan in the Champions League on Tuesday.

On a night when Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Chelsea and Tottenham are all in action, the focus is on Liverpool after Salah said Saturday it “seems like the club has thrown me under the bus.” Liverpool's response was to leave him out of the squad for its trip to Italy, The Associated Press said.

Liverpool's poor recent form boosts Inter's chances of picking up a fifth win in six games. A win for 13th-place Liverpool would put Slot's team back into the hunt for the top eight seedings for the knockout stages.

After losing its last Champions League game 3-0 to Chelsea, Barcelona aims to recover at home to struggling Eintracht Frankfurt. It will have to do without defender Ronald Araujo, who is suspended after his red card against Chelsea and has also been unavailable for personal reasons.

Seventh-place Chelsea is unbeaten in four Champions League games and visits Atalanta aiming to strengthen its hold on a top-eight spot offering direct entry to the round of 16. Bayern can earn its fifth win of the league stage by beating Sporting Lisbon in an early kickoff.

Tottenham, which lost 5-3 to Paris Saint-Germain last time out, has an easier task against Czech team Slavia Prague. Atletico Madrid visits PSV Eindhoven, Monaco hosts Galatasaray and Union Saint-Gilloise plays Marseille.

One game starts in an unusually early window at 1530 GMT (10:30 a.m. ET) as Kazakhstan's Kairat Almaty hosts Greece's Olympiacos.

Sports

SEA Games to Open in Thailand with Tightened Security

Security was heightened at the Southeast Asian Games after Thailand-Cambodia border clashes reignited. Chanakarn Laosarakham / AFP
Security was heightened at the Southeast Asian Games after Thailand-Cambodia border clashes reignited. Chanakarn Laosarakham / AFP
TT
TT

SEA Games to Open in Thailand with Tightened Security

Security was heightened at the Southeast Asian Games after Thailand-Cambodia border clashes reignited. Chanakarn Laosarakham / AFP
Security was heightened at the Southeast Asian Games after Thailand-Cambodia border clashes reignited. Chanakarn Laosarakham / AFP

The Southeast Asian Games officially open in Bangkok on Tuesday with security for athletes tightened due to fresh border clashes between Thailand and Cambodia.

The SEA Games run until December 20 in Bangkok and the nearby coastal province of Chonburi, with thousands of athletes from 11 southeast Asian countries competing in events ranging from football and fencing to skateboarding, sailing and combat sports, reported AFP.

They include world-class performers such as Olympic weightlifting gold medallists Hidilyn Diaz of the Philippines and Rizki Juniansyah of Indonesia, and Thailand's badminton silver medallist Kunlavut Vitidsarn.

The Thai King and Queen are scheduled to open the Games ceremony at the Rajamangala National Stadium in Bangkok Tuesday evening, with a performance South Korea–trained Thai artist BamBam.

Far from the competition, renewed combat this week over a long-standing border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia has killed six Cambodian civilians and three Thai soldiers, and wounded more than 20 others.

Citing safety concerns, Cambodia last month withdrew about half of its athletes, pulling out of eight events including football, wrestling, judo and karate.

Thailand's deputy Prime Minister Thammanat Prompao said Tuesday that Thailand will "ensure the highest level of security" for Cambodian at athletes during the ongoing border tensions.

Security personnel will be deployed to guarantee their safety, he said, though specific operational details were not disclosed.

Thailand is hosting the SEA Games, which take place every two years, for the first time since 2007. They were first held in Bangkok in 1959.

The SEA Games are known for inclusion of non-Olympic sports from the region such sepak takraw, foot volleyball played with a rattan ball and pencak silat, a martial art popular in Indonesia.

Sports

Salah a 'Disgrace' for Liverpool Outburst, Says Carragher

08 December 2025, United Kingdom, Liverpool: Liverpool's Mohamed Salah practices during a training session at the AXA Training Center, ahead of Tuesday's UEFA Champions League soccer match against Inter Milan. Photo: Tim Markland/PA Wire/dpa
08 December 2025, United Kingdom, Liverpool: Liverpool's Mohamed Salah practices during a training session at the AXA Training Center, ahead of Tuesday's UEFA Champions League soccer match against Inter Milan. Photo: Tim Markland/PA Wire/dpa
TT
TT

Salah a 'Disgrace' for Liverpool Outburst, Says Carragher

08 December 2025, United Kingdom, Liverpool: Liverpool's Mohamed Salah practices during a training session at the AXA Training Center, ahead of Tuesday's UEFA Champions League soccer match against Inter Milan. Photo: Tim Markland/PA Wire/dpa
08 December 2025, United Kingdom, Liverpool: Liverpool's Mohamed Salah practices during a training session at the AXA Training Center, ahead of Tuesday's UEFA Champions League soccer match against Inter Milan. Photo: Tim Markland/PA Wire/dpa

Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher labelled Mohamed Salah "a disgrace" on Monday after the Egypt star's stunning outburst at Reds boss Arne Slot.

Salah said he had been "thrown under a bus" and had no relationship with Slot after he was left on the bench for last Saturday's 3-3 draw at Leeds.

It was the third successive game that Salah had been kept out of the starting line-up by Slot amid the forward's loss of form this season, AFP said.

In response to Salah's astonishing rant to reporters, Liverpool axed the 33-year-old from the squad for Tuesday's Champions League clash at Inter Milan.

Speaking on Sky Sports' Monday Night Football, Carragher, a 2005 Champions League winner with Liverpool, said: "I thought it was a disgrace what he did after the game.

"Some people have painted it as an emotional outburst. I don't think it was. I think whenever Mo Salah stops in a mixed zone, which he has done four times in eight years at Liverpool, it's choreographed with his agent to cause maximum damage and strengthen his own position.

"He's chosen this weekend to do this now, and he's waited I think for a bad result... everyone involved with the club (feeling) like they're in the gutter, and he's chosen that time to go for the manager and maybe try to get him sacked."

Salah is a two-time Premier League champion with Liverpool and has also won the Champions League during his iconic eight-year spell at Anfield.

But, although he only signed a new contract in April, Salah hinted he might have played his last game for Liverpool as he prepares to jet off to the African Cup of Nations after their Premier League clash with Brighton at Anfield on Saturday.

Carragher added: “...Whether he will play for Liverpool again, I don't know.I hope he does, because he's one of the greatest players we've ever had, but if you continue like that, and statements like that, if he doesn't play, who knows."