Man City and Paris St-Germain putting European football in danger, says La Liga boss

European football is in "danger" unless "state-owned" clubs such as Manchester City and Paris St-Germain can be controlled, the president of Spain's top league says, BBC reported.

La Liga has filed a complaint to Uefa about what it believes to be Financial Fair Play breaches by the two clubs.

It believes they are effectively run by wealthy countries and circumvent rules designed to keep spending sustainable.

Both clubs have vigorously denied the complaints.

Premier League winners Manchester City are majority-owned by Sheikh Mansour of the United Arab Emirates, while the Emir of Qatar owns French champions PSG. 

"We're doing it to defend the football eco-system in Europe," said La Liga president Javier Tebas.

"We think European football is in danger. [We have] not been able to design a system to control the state-owned clubs."

He has strongly criticised PSG over the new multi-million pound contract they gave star striker Kylian Mbappe, according to BBC.

Speaking at a European Leagues meeting in Amsterdam, he added: "We've made official complaints about PSG for financial doping. 

"Uefa have allowed losses because clubs reduced their turnover, but PSG increased their wage bill by an incredible amount during Covid.

"Their wages for 2021-22 were 600m euros. It is impossible. That is without including Mbappe. It is obvious they are not applying FFP [Financial Fair Play] rules. It is endangering the entire financial eco-system in Europe."

The complaint against PSG was made last week and the one against City in April, although La Liga says it reserves the right to extend these complaints.

In July 2020, the Court of Arbitration for Sport overturned a two-year Champions League ban imposed on City by Uefa for FFP breaches.

Tebas added: "At one point, Man City had 68% of their revenue from commercial income. Real Madrid was 54%. That is impossible. Man City as a brand is not worth that much. They were sanctioned but it was reversed. PSG is even more obvious. It is totally impossible. Contracts were inflated, BBC reported.

"The majority of people in football try to control their financial status. It is not a problem they are owned by the state. It is the financial side."


 

ICC Cricket World Cup League: Nepal lose to USA

Nepal faced a 38-run defeat at the hands of the USA in ICC World Cup League-2.

The USA posted a 246-run target for Nepal in the match played at Moosa Cricket Stadium in Huston of the US. Nepal could muster 206 runs all out in 47.4 overs.

Nepal’s Aarif Sheikh scored the highest 63 runs including three fours while Sompal Kami gathered 47 runs, including a four from 72.

Sheikh and Kami made a partnership for 106 runs in the face-saving sixth wicket. Opener Kushal Bhurtel made 10, Ashif Sheikh 18, Dev Khanal 34 and Rohit Kumar Poudel 16 runs.

Saurav Netravalkar and Ali Khan of USA took three wickets each and Nothus Kaijing and Nisarga Patel one each to steer the USA team to victory.

Earlier, put on bat first after losing the toss, the USA mustered 245-7 in the 50-limited overs game.

Nepal’s bowlers Karan KC took three wickets, captain Sandeep Lamichhane two and Sompal Kami and Deepndra Singh Eiri one each.

ICC lifts control funding imposed on Nepal

The ICC, the apex body of world cricket, has lifted the control funding imposed on Nepal.

Issuing a statement on Tuesday, the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) said that the ICC has lifted control funding imposed on Nepal.

The ICC sent a letter on Monday stating that the control funding imposed on Nepal has been fully relaxed and from onwards Nepal will be able to receive financial grants like other associate countries who have achieved one day status and can organize national-level tournaments and activities, the CAN said in the statement.

According to the statement signed by CAN Chairman Chet Bahadur Chand, the ICC lifted the control funding based on evaluation of the best performance in financial transparency.

 

Australia book World Cup place on penalties

Australia became the 31st team to book their place at the 2022 World Cup after beating Peru on penalties in an intercontinental play-off in Qatar, BBC reported.

Goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne, who replaced Mat Ryan just before the shootout for his third cap, was the hero, saving Alex Valera's final kick.

This will be Australia's fifth World Cup in a row, having qualified every time since 2006.

They will be in Group D alongside holders France, Denmark and Tunisia.

The World Cup's final team will be decided on Tuesday when Costa Rica face New Zealand at the same venue, the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, according to BBC.

That game will be streamed live on the BBC Sport website and app as well as on iPlayer and the Red Button at 19:00 BST