Ched Evans has had his rape conviction referred to the UK s Court of Appeal following the disclosure of new evidence.
Former Sheffield United striker Evans was convicted in April 2012 of raping a 19-year-old woman in a hotel in Rhyl, north Wales. He was released from prison in October 2014 after serving half of his five-year sentence.
An appeal was rejected but an application to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) a board set up to examine possible miscarriages of justice has thrown up the possibility of his initial conviction being quashed
A CCRC statement on Monday read: The Criminal Cases Review Commission has referred the conviction of Ched Evans to the Court of Appeal.
Mr Evans appeared at Caernarfon Crown Court in April 2012 charged with ra…
Jordan Henderson has expressed his gratitude to Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers for the progress he has made this season.
Midfielder Henderson took time to prove his worth following his big-money move from Premier League rivals Sunderland in June 2011.
The 23-year-old played a key role in the Merseyside club s impressive 2013-14 campaign, though, establishing himself as a first-team regular under Rodgers.
Henderson has also secured a place in Roy Hodgson s England squad for the FIFA World Cup as a result of the progress he has made this season.
And he insists Rodgers should take great credit for his development.
Henderson told The Liverpool Echo: I think I ve improved from the start of the season until now.
I feel as though I ve become a better play…
Portugal coach Fernando Santos was left satisfied after his team moved into the Nations League Finals following a 0-0 draw with Italy.
A point in Milan on Saturday was enough for the Euro 2016 champions to become the first side to qualify for next year s Finals, which they are set to host.
While not particularly happy with Portugal s performance, Santos was glad to secure top spot in Group 3.
I am satisfied. To be present in the final phase of this competition is always important for Portugal, shows the quality of Portuguese football, he said.
It s fair, in a very difficult game, with much more suffering than I expected.
The first half was very difficult, we had a lot of difficulty adapting, mainly to the defensive actions.
Noite histó…
that Luke Shaw is desperate for Tottenham Hotspur to save him from his Manchester United nightmare.
The England international has been publicly criticised by Red Devils’ manager Jose Mourinho in recent weeks over matters such as his levels of fitness and commitment.
He came off the bench to help his side win the penalty that eventually helped salvage them a point against Everton on Tuesday evening though his Old Trafford days still appear to be numbered.
Since signing from Southampton in the summer of 2014, the left-back has racked up just forty-four club appearances in all competitions though he did miss almost all of last season with a broken leg.
He won his seventh cap for his country in their 1-0 friendly defeat to Germany last month.
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Prediction: Cagliari to win 2-1
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Cagliari and Bari will lock horns with each other in the first leg of the Serie B promotion playoff this week. The match between Claudio Ranieri’s side and Michele Mignani’s team will be held at the Unipol Domus and is scheduled to kick off at 7:30pm UK time on Thursday.
Cagliari
Cagliari got relegated from Serie A at the end of last season, and the situation looked dire at the time. However, things have been very good for Gli Isolani this campaign, especially since former Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri took over in January 2023.
Under the Italian tactician, Cagliari went from strength to strength in the final months of the season. They finished as high as fifth in the Serie B …
Antonio Conte claimed he has never been worried about the form of strike duo Son Heung-min and Harry Kane as Tottenham prepare to host Everton on Saturday.
Son endured an underwhelming start to the 2022-23 campaign, failing to score in Spurs first six Premier League games before hitting a hat-trick in a 6-2 thrashing of Leicester City last month.
While those goals remain Son s only domestic strikes of the season, he scored a brace – including a crashing left-footed volley – as Tottenham earned a 3-2 Champions League win over Eintracht Frankfurt on Wednesday.
Speaking ahead of Tottenham s meeting with the Toffees, Conte said Son s quality prevents him from fretting about any lack of goals, adding he would feel the same if Kane endured a drought.
I wa…
De Gea invites Manchester United bid
Despite mostly denying speculations linking him with a move to Old Trafford in the past, David De Gea has finally admitted a move to Manchester United is a realistic possibility.
The Atletico Madrid keeper has been heavily linked with a move to Old Trafford and he believes next summer will be the right time for a new challenge.
“I know Sir Alex Ferguson has already watched me. After this season we should look at what happens and who wants to talk can come and talk.
“At Atletico, I owe them everything and I would love to stay, but on the other hand, Manchester United is a great club.”
With Edwin van der Sar close to hanging up his boots, the time is running out for Sir Alex Ferguson to find him a replacem…
Italy grabbed a late equaliser to earn a 1-1 draw with Romania in an international friendly here on Wednesday in which Manchester City s Mario Balotelli was subjected to racist abuse.
Vfb Stuttgart striker Ciprian Marica had the former world champions on the back foot when putting Romania into a 34th minute lead only for substitute Fabio Quagliarella to score off a corner with 12 minutes remaining to produce the same scoreline as when the two countries met at Euro 2008.
Italy coach Cesare Prandelli had been counting on City star Balotelli to spearhead his attack with American-born Giuseppe Rossi in the absence of Antonio Cassano, the Sampdoria striker who has not played for his club for a month after a fall out with their president Riccardo Garrone.
Balotelli, t…
Georginio Wijnaldum says qualifying for the Champions League can be the start of something big for Liverpool under Jurgen Klopp.
The Reds know that a place in the top four will be theirs if they can beat relegated on Middlesbrough, securing a berth in Europe s premier competition for the first time since the 2014-15 campaign.
Liverpool failed to sustain a challenge for the Premier League title this season, while they also fell short in the FA and EFL Cups.
But Wijnaldum believes playing in the Champions League would represent the first step to a period of success.
It s in our own hands and it would be a good achievement, Wijnaldum told The Liverpool Echo.
It would be a good step for next season for us to play against better teams in the Champion…
Crystal Palace edged Watford 2-1 at Wembley to book an FA Cup final date with Manchester United and revenge mission for Alan Pardew.
Palace s only previous final appearance came against United in 1990, after Pardew s extra-time goalscoring heroics at the semi-final stage, but the Eagles were runners-up after a replay.
They made the showpiece fixture in calmer fashion this time around, Yannick Bolasie putting them ahead early in a first half that swiftly degenerated into a tense affair.
Troy Deeney, Watford s two-goal match-winner at Selhurst Park in the Premier League this season, responded 10 minutes after the interval, but Connor Wickham nodded Palace back ahead before Quique Sanchez Flores side could even think about building on their goal.
A dogged Pa…