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Liverpool’s Salah Named Premier League Player of the Season for Second Time

Football - Premier League - Brighton & Hove Albion v Liverpool - The American Express Community Stadium, Brighton, Britain - May 19, 2025 Liverpool's Mohamed Salah looks dejected after the match. (Action Images via Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Brighton & Hove Albion v Liverpool - The American Express Community Stadium, Brighton, Britain - May 19, 2025 Liverpool's Mohamed Salah looks dejected after the match. (Action Images via Reuters)
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Liverpool’s Salah Named Premier League Player of the Season for Second Time

Football - Premier League - Brighton & Hove Albion v Liverpool - The American Express Community Stadium, Brighton, Britain - May 19, 2025 Liverpool's Mohamed Salah looks dejected after the match. (Action Images via Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Brighton & Hove Albion v Liverpool - The American Express Community Stadium, Brighton, Britain - May 19, 2025 Liverpool's Mohamed Salah looks dejected after the match. (Action Images via Reuters)

Mohamed Salah was named the Premier League player of the season on Saturday after the Egyptian enjoyed a stellar individual campaign as Liverpool cruised to their second Premier League title.

Salah scored 28 goals and provided 18 assists to guide the Anfield club to the title, with Arne Slot's side winning it with four games to spare.

Having also earned the award in 2017-18, Salah became only the fifth player to win it twice after Thierry Henry, Cristiano Ronaldo, Nemanja Vidic and Kevin De Bruyne.

The 32-year-old Egyptian is on course to win another Golden Boot for most goals in a season and is five strikes ahead of Newcastle United striker Alexander Isak going into the final day of the season on Sunday.

No player before has had 46 goal involvements in a 38-game season and Salah could even break the record of 47 held by Alan Shearer and Andrew Cole, who achieved the feat in a 42-game campaign, when Liverpool host Crystal Palace at Anfield.

With six more assists than any other player, Salah can become the first footballer to win the Golden Boot, Golden Playmaker and player of the season awards.

Salah also won the Football Writers' Association men's player of the year for the third time earlier this month.

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Israeli Minister Criticizes Barcelona Star Lamine Yamal for Waving Palestinian Flag

FC Barcelona player Lamine Yamal holds a Palestinian flag as he celebrates with his team atop a bus after winning the Spanish La Liga title in Barcelona, Spain, Monday, May 11, 2026. (AP Photo)
FC Barcelona player Lamine Yamal holds a Palestinian flag as he celebrates with his team atop a bus after winning the Spanish La Liga title in Barcelona, Spain, Monday, May 11, 2026. (AP Photo)
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Israeli Minister Criticizes Barcelona Star Lamine Yamal for Waving Palestinian Flag

FC Barcelona player Lamine Yamal holds a Palestinian flag as he celebrates with his team atop a bus after winning the Spanish La Liga title in Barcelona, Spain, Monday, May 11, 2026. (AP Photo)
FC Barcelona player Lamine Yamal holds a Palestinian flag as he celebrates with his team atop a bus after winning the Spanish La Liga title in Barcelona, Spain, Monday, May 11, 2026. (AP Photo)

Israel's defense minister has criticized Barcelona’s teenage star Lamine Yamal for his waving of a Palestinian flag during celebrations of the Spanish league title win, saying the act “incites hate.”

“Lamine Yamal chose to incite hate against Israel while our soldiers combat the terrorist organization Hamas...” minister Israel Katz wrote on X on Thursday.

The 18-year-old Yamal waved a large Palestinian flag from an open-top bus during a victory parade by Barcelona’s team through the city on Monday. The parade drew some 750,000 people to celebrate the league title clinched the previous day, local authorities said.

Yamal, who is Muslim, posted pictures of him holding the flag on his Instagram account, The AP news reported.

Spain’s government and a large part of its population have been highly critical of Israel’s military operations that killed tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza in response to the 2023 Hamas surprise attack.

There has been a global backlash against Israel over the humanitarian toll of the war in Gaza, which has spread to sport and culture. Protests have been seen in soccer, cycling and basketball. Last year's Spanish Vuelta was repeatedly disrupted by protesters angry with the participation of an Israeli-backed cycling team.

Spain is also one of five countries boycotting this year’s Eurovision Song Contest to protest Israel’s inclusion.

Yamal is set to star for Spain at next month’s World Cup to be played in North America.

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Iran Says No US Visas Issued Yet for 2026 World Cup

FILED - 16 August 2022, Berlin: Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority, answers questions from journalists at a press conference after his meeting with the German Chancellor. Photo: Wolfgang Kumm/dpa
FILED - 16 August 2022, Berlin: Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority, answers questions from journalists at a press conference after his meeting with the German Chancellor. Photo: Wolfgang Kumm/dpa
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Iran Says No US Visas Issued Yet for 2026 World Cup

FILED - 16 August 2022, Berlin: Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority, answers questions from journalists at a press conference after his meeting with the German Chancellor. Photo: Wolfgang Kumm/dpa
FILED - 16 August 2022, Berlin: Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority, answers questions from journalists at a press conference after his meeting with the German Chancellor. Photo: Wolfgang Kumm/dpa

Iran's football federation chief on Thursday said no visas had yet been issued for the national team to participate in the 2026 World Cup in the United States, state media reported.

"Tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, we will have a decisive meeting with FIFA. They must give us guarantees, because the visa issue has still not been resolved," the state news agency IRNA quoted federation chief Mehdi Taj as saying.

"We have not received any account from the other side regarding who has been granted visas. No visas have been issued yet," he added, AFP reported.

According to Taj, the players were expected to travel to the Turkish capital Ankara for fingerprinting as part of the visa process.

"The players must travel to Ankara for fingerprinting, but we are trying to arrange for this to be done in Antalya so there will be no need to travel to Ankara," he said.

Iran has been at war with the United States and Israel since February 28, though a fragile ceasefire has been in place since April 8.

Tehran and Washington have had no diplomatic relations since 1980 following the hostage crisis at the US embassy that came after the Islamic revolution that toppled the US-backed shah.

Iran held a send-off ceremony on Wednesday for the national football team as it prepared to play in the 2026 World Cup, co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada.

Iran's national team, also known as TeamMelli, will be based in Tucson, Arizona during the World Cup.

The Iranians open their World Cup campaign against New Zealand in Los Angeles on June 15 before lining up against Belgium and Egypt in Group G.

Sports

Arteta: Arsenal in High Spirits for Run-in

(FILES) Arsenal's Spanish manager Mikel Arteta arrives ahead of kick-off in the UEFA Champions League, last 16 second leg football match between Arsenal and Bayer Leverkusen at the Emirates Stadium in north London on March 17, 2026. (Photo by Glyn KIRK / AFP)
(FILES) Arsenal's Spanish manager Mikel Arteta arrives ahead of kick-off in the UEFA Champions League, last 16 second leg football match between Arsenal and Bayer Leverkusen at the Emirates Stadium in north London on March 17, 2026. (Photo by Glyn KIRK / AFP)
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Arteta: Arsenal in High Spirits for Run-in

(FILES) Arsenal's Spanish manager Mikel Arteta arrives ahead of kick-off in the UEFA Champions League, last 16 second leg football match between Arsenal and Bayer Leverkusen at the Emirates Stadium in north London on March 17, 2026. (Photo by Glyn KIRK / AFP)
(FILES) Arsenal's Spanish manager Mikel Arteta arrives ahead of kick-off in the UEFA Champions League, last 16 second leg football match between Arsenal and Bayer Leverkusen at the Emirates Stadium in north London on March 17, 2026. (Photo by Glyn KIRK / AFP)

Arsenal's season appeared on the brink of collapse last month but a run of good results has worked wonders for their mood, with manager Mikel Arteta saying on Thursday that his team are entering the season's final games in the perfect state of mind.

A League Cup final defeat by title rivals Manchester City in March was followed by a FA Cup quarter-final loss to second-tier Southampton, which ended Arsenal's pursuit of a quadruple.

They were also briefly knocked off the top of the Premier League by City, but four wins in five games across all competitions means the London club enter their penultimate league fixture with a two-point lead.

They ⁠have also sealed ⁠a spot in the Champions League final, where they will take on holders Paris St Germain.

"The team is really present. It's living the moment. It's emotionally in a really good state. The energy level is the right one," Arteta told reporters ahead of a home game against Burnley on Monday.

"We have most players available now. OK, ⁠we lost Ben White the other day but the other ones are coming back as well. Everyone is so enthusiastic and so positive about the way we can finish the season."

Arteta confirmed that defender White had suffered a long-term injury, leaving Arsenal short-staffed at right back with Jurrien Timber also sidelined.

"We need to look at alternatives. The two players we have are not available at the moment. So we need to look and do something else," the Spanish manager added.

"The good thing is that we have experienced that all over the ⁠pitch this ⁠season, because when we have had issues, normally they've been in the same position as well, and we have still managed to find the right level of performance and consistency, so I'm sure we will do that."

Arsenal lead the standings with 79 points from 36 games, two ahead of City, but Pep Guardiola's side have a superior goal difference.

Asked if Arsenal needed to score more in the event that goal difference decided the title, Arteta said: "First we have to earn the right to win the game. Obviously if you can make a difference with more goals, that's even better...

"But we know ideally that scoring goals is going to be important."