Mourinho: Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has denied a Football Association misconduct charge related to his post-match comments following the Premier League loss to Sunderland. The Black Cats ended Mourinho’s 77-match unbeaten home league run with a 2-1 win on April 19. Mourinho could not hide his anger afterwards behind a sarcastic appraisal of the officials. He has requested a non-personal hearing in the case.
Phillips: Kevin Phillips, the former England striker and European Golden Boot winner, has decided to end his career at the age of 40. Phillips, who began the season in the Premier League with Crystal Palace before joining Leicester City, has ruled out another stint in the top flight after helping Leicester gain promotion this season. “After 20 amazing years as a professional footballer, I’ve decided to announce my retirement,” Phillips said.
Recife: Recife club Sport are paying tribute to three of the teams who will play World Cup matches in the Brazilian city by wearing their kit in league matches. Sport sported a green shirt and red socks in honour of Mexico in Sunday’s 2-1 win over Chapecoense. They wore Japan‘s second choice yellow shirt the week previously in the 1-1 draw at Santos. Next week, they will wear a white Germany jersey with black shorts against Internacional.
Penarol: Penarol enjoyed their biggest win over Nacional for more than 60 years when they thrashed their bitter rivals 5-0. Former Juventus striker Marcelo Zalayeta opened the scored from close range in the 12th minute and Damian Macaluso headed the secondr just before halftime. Nacional fell apart completely after Darwin Torres was sent off for a second bookable offence early in the second half and one goal from Jorge Rodriguez and two from Luis Aguiar completed the rout.
Hasebe: Japan captain Makoto Hasebe is still unsure when his injured knee will be fully healed with concerns growing as the World Cup looms. The central midfielder has been out since January with a torn lateral meniscus in his right knee. “I guess everything is going well (but) I cannot play yet. I don’t know when I will be returning,” he said.