Rafael Benitez has been sacked by Everton after a run of just two wins in 14 games across all competitions. 

The Premier League side announced Benitez s departure on their official website on Sunday, a day on from losing 2-1 to bottom side Norwich City.

Everton Football Club can confirm the departure of Rafael Benitez as first team manager, the statement read. 

An update on a permanent replacement will be made in due course.

Everton Football Club can confirm the departure of Rafael Benitez as first team manager.

— Everton (@Everton)

Former Liverpool boss Benitez was a largely divisive appointment at Everton when he was drafted in to replace Carlo Ancelotti in the close-season after the Italian left for Real Madrid.

Hampere…

Gernot Rohr has warned Nigeria to be wary of Africa Cup of Nations debutants Burundi as his side begin their bid for a fourth continental crown.

The Super Eagles won the most recent of their three titles six years ago but failed to qualify for the last two editions of the competition.

After topping a qualifying group that included South Africa, Libya and Seychelles, however, Nigeria are ranked among the favourites to go all the way in Egypt.

But Rohr s men enter the tournament on the back of a 1-0 loss to Senegal ending a year-long eight-match unbeaten run and the veteran coach of four African nations is not taking Burundi lightly.

Beating Burundi in the first game will help stabilise the team, Rohr said ahead of his side s opening Group B fixture.

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Sinisa Mihajlovic has been discharged from hospital in good condition after undergoing further leukaemia treatment, Bologna have announced.

The Serbian coach, who enjoyed an illustrious playing career in Serie A with the likes of Roma, Sampdoria, Lazio and Inter, was first diagnosed with the disease in 2019 and underwent a bone marrow transplant in October 2019, returning to the Bologna dugout just six weeks later.

Mihajlovic revealed in late March that routine tests had discovered some alarm bells , leading him to step back from hands-on coaching duties for an unspecified amount of time and to declare this disease is very courageous in returning to face an opponent like me.

An encouraging social media update from his club announced the news of Mihajlovic s e…

Bernardo Silva acknowledged the pressure on Portugal to qualify for the World Cup but assured his side can cope with the challenge of making Qatar.

Portugal overcame Turkey 3-1 in the play-off semi-final on Thursday, when Roberto Mancini s Italy crashed out to North Macedonia as Aleksandar Trajkovski scored a 92nd-minute winner in Palermo.

Fernando Santos side boast home advantage in the final at Porto s Dragao Stadium as the Euro 2016 winners aim to qualify for a sixth straight World Cup, having previously failed to appear at three consecutive tournaments between 1990 and 1998.

Manchester City star Silva insisted that Portugal players will call upon their club experiences to deal with the expectations on them against North Macedonia on Tuesday.

The re…

Crewe Alexandra have confirmed director Dario Gradi has been handed an interim suspension by the Football Association.

The FA is undertaking a wider investigation into allegations of historical child sexual abuse in football. 

Following discussions with the Football Association, Crewe Alexandra Football Club can confirm that Dario Gradi is currently under an FA interim suspension from football, read the club s statement.

It is alleged Gradi attempted to smooth over a complaint of sexual assault when he worked as Chelsea assistant manager in 1974.

The claims came from an unnamed former youth player at Chelsea in a newspaper interview earlier this month and Gradi denied any wrongdoing at the time of publication.

He also issued a statement on Frida…

Edwin van der Sar has signed a new four-year contract as Ajax s general manager, seemingly ending any chance of him moving to Manchester United.

Van der Sar returned in 2012 to the Dutch club he served as a player, joining as a marketing director before being elevated to his current key leadership role four years later.

Since Van der Sar took up that position, Ajax have taken a significant step towards being the European force they were when the former goalkeeper played for the club in the 1990s.

Very happy with my contract extension at this beautiful club, he wrote on his official Twitter account.

We ve had some difficult moments, but the good times are definitely back. And of course we want more in the future!

Very happy with my contract e…

Manchester United full-back Antonio Valencia feels 21 as he shows no signs of slowing down at Old Trafford.

Aged 31, Valencia is one of the veterans at United but the Ecuador star remains one of the club s top performers and Jose Mourinho s undisputed right-back in the Premier League.

Valencia has appeared in 33 matches in all competitions for United this season and he plans to stay beyond his contract in 2018.

I ve changed in a lot of ways [since then] but with my willingness to keep on training hard, my hunger to keep on improving and my desire to want to remain here at United, I feel like I m still just 21 years old, Valencia told Inside United.

I m thankful to this great institution [the club] which has given me the chance to fulfil my dreams. And, …

Most football seasons carry a degree of unpredictability; that s just the nature of sport.

But it s certainly arguable that this season is among the least predictable in living memory due to the unique timing of the World Cup, which took place across November and December for the first time.

In Italy, Napoli would ve presumably been the team most frustrated by the timing of Qatar 2022. On course for a first Scudetto since 1990 and the days of Diego Maradona, the Partenopei had been head and shoulders above the rest in Serie A before the World Cup and among the most eye-catching sides in Europe.

They d lost just once – a 2-0 Champions League defeat at Liverpool – and won all but three matches across all competitions prior to the season s break. So, the key que…

Barcelona have completed a surprise move for former AC Milan attacking midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng, signing him on an initial loan deal until the end of the season.

The 31-year-old returns to LaLiga for his second spell after impressing at Las Palmas during the 2016-17 campaign, and Barca can purchase him outright for a reported €8million before the loan ends.

Barca s move for the former Ghana international comes as a shock given the midfielder s stature in the game, having represented fairly modest clubs in Las Palmas, Eintracht Frankfurt and Sassuolo over the last few years.

Ernesto Valverde had been hoping for attacking reinforcements in January, particularly after seeing Paco Alcacer depart for Borussia Dortmund in the previous transfer window and Mun…

FIFA s head of refereeing Massimo Busacca praised the implementation of video assistant referees (VAR) at the Confederations Cup but conceded the much-discussed system must be reformed and improved.

The use of VAR has come under the spotlight on a number of occasions during the tournament in Russia, most recently during Germany s 3-1 win over Cameroon in Sochi on Sunday when referee Wilmar Roldan sent off the wrong player before having his mistake corrected.

FIFA is not yet committed to using VAR at the World Cup in Russia next year and will undertake a review of its operation at the end of the Confederations Cup.

Busacca, a Swiss former referee who took charge of the 2009 Champions League final and officiated at the 2006 and 2010 World Cups, told a news conferen…