Mamadou Sakho says his drugs ban was the reason he was not selected for France s Euro 2016 squad.
The defender tested positive for the fat burner higenamine in April last year and was handed a 30-day suspension, although it has since transpired that the substance was not on WADA s banned list.
Sakho, who is on loan at Crystal Palace from Liverpool, missed the Europa League final due to his ban and believes he would have been picked for Euro 2016 were it not for the suspension.
I worked so hard to prepare myself for the European Championship, to help my country, to wear the France shirt in a tournament on home soil, Sakho told the Guardian. Now I ll never do that.
Whatever they say or do, they cannot replace what they took away from me. My lawyer …
Spain midfielder Santi Cazorla said on Friday he sees Sunday s Euro 2008 final against Germany as too close to call, telling reporters there s no favourite.
The 23-year-old Villarreal star was a surprise inclusion in the squad of coach Luis Aragones. But he has seized his chances, coming off the bench in four games to take his cap tally to six and getting two-and-three-quarter hours of action.
Cazorla says that the 3-0 destruction of Russia in the semis gave the team a great feeling but that the squad say they know they have achieved nothing yet.
We celebrated but remained calm. Because we have a match to play Sunday, he noted candidly, both feet planted firmly on the ground.
Now we re going to stay and rest up in the hotel. We have to retain our en…
Manchester United completed the signing of Harry Maguire from Leicester for £80million on this day in 2019.
The England international, then 26, signed a six-year contract at Old Trafford with the option of a further year in a deal that involved a world-record fee for a defender.
Maguire was strongly linked with both Manchester clubs but Leicester held out for their valuation and the fee surpassed the £75million Liverpool paid Southampton for Virgil van Dijk in January 2018.
Maguire told United’s official website: “I am delighted to have signed for this great club. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at Leicester and would like to thank everyone at the club, and the fans, for their fantastic support over the past two seasons.
“However, when Mancheste…
Week 4 kicks off with a Thursday Night Football showdown between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium.
There will be plenty to watch in this contest, such as the last two No. 1 overall picks, quarterbacks Trevor Lawrence and Joe Borrow, going head-to-head, and whether Cincinnati’s defense can remain an early-season force.
The Bengals, 7-point favorites over winless Jacksonville, have one of the top-ranked defenses in the NFL and they are coming off a two-touchdown victory after holding the Pittsburgh Steelers to 10 points.
Find out if we like Cincinnati’s D to stay hot and cause issues for Lawrence in our free NFL picks and predictions for Jaguars vs. Bengals on September 30.
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The Big Game goes down today, and the FanDuel Super Bowl promotion is readily available for potential bettors — new customers can claim a bonus of $280 in real cash should they place a wager on either the Cincinnati Bengals or the Los Angeles Rams to win the game and choose correctly (56-1 odds).
How-to claim $280 in bonus cash from FanDuel
You can sign-up here to begin the process of claiming FanDuel’s Super Bowl promotion if you live in a state where the sportsbook is active. There is no FanDuel promo code necessary, but it will be important to have personal information on hand, and you’ll need to be ready to deposit a minimum of $10 before placing any bets. Make you sure you download the FanDuel app (you will be prom…
The second of Sunday’s two Conference Championship games could be an absolute classic, with the Cincinnati Bengals facing the Kansas Chiefs for a trip to the Super Bowl.
There’s plenty of scoring opportunity in this game for bettors, so why don’t we get right into the action? Don’t miss our NFL anytime touchdown prop picks for the Bengals vs. Chiefs on January 29.
For more, be sure to check out Jason Logan’s full AFC Championship betting preview, as well as our Bengals vs. Chiefs prop picks.
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The NFL odds have plenty of tricks and treats on the Week 8 odds board, but how you bet these lines could make the difference between getting a full-size candy bar for Halloween or just those nasty caramel kisses. Ugh.
Getting the best number for your opinion is step No. 1 is smart sports betting, which is why I scan the opening NFL odds every Sunday night and highlight spreads and totals to bet right now — before they move — and others to bet later, after the adjustments.
Here are my “Bet Now, Bet Later” lines for NFL Week 8.
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It’s Wild Card weekend in the NFL odds, and the weather could not be more wild. The Dolphins vs. Chiefs weather report suggests that record-cold temperatures could be in store, while the Steelers vs. Bills weather report calls for cold temperatures and strong winds in the aftermath of a blizzard. The Wild Card odds have been impacted drastically.
I think Mother Nature will have a major impact on both those games, even in spite of the latter being postponed from Sunday to Monday, so each one will be featured in my NFL parlay picks. I’m also taking the Texans and Rams to improve upon their Super Bowl odds. Join me as I give out what I hope will be two lucrative NFL parlays for Wild Card weekend!
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The Green Bay Packers take on the Tennessee Titans in NFL betting action this afternoon.
Green Bay pulled off the upset with Malik Willis at quarterback last week, but my Packers vs. Titans predictions for Week 3 are counting on his luck to run out.
Here are my best free NFL picks for this September 22 contest.
Packers vs Titans prediction
My best betTitans -2.5 (-115 at BetMGM)
My analysis
Don’t be scared off by Jordan Love practicing for the Green Bay Packers this week, since books seem convinced he won’t suit up. He was initially expected to miss 3-6 weeks with an MCL injury and oddsmakers have stuck to the Titans as faves, with the line only briefly slimming to -1.5 on Wednesday when Love said he was “hopef…