EUROPA League
Ten Hag plays down Martinez injury fears
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag tried to stay positive about the injury suffered by defender Lisandro Martinez during the 2-2 Europa League draw with Sevilla on Thursday.
There was speculation Martinez had suffered a serious Achilles injury which would end his season.
“I cannot tell what it is, but is not an Achilles,” the Dutchman told reporters. “I have spoken with him and he is okay and he is calm.”
United were leading 2-0 late in the game at Old Trafford, but had to settle for a 2-2 draw after conceding two own goals.
The draw was not the only disappointment. Martinez joined a list of injured players including striker Marcus Rashford, defender Luke Shaw and Martinez’s fellow centre back Raphael Varane who had to be replaced at halftime against Sevilla.
“We have seen Licha Martinez drop out after a moment,” Ten Hag told MUTV. “There was no opponent involved so it doesn’t look that great but we have to wait. The medical staff have to do their job, to give the right diagnosis.
“I think (it is) an injury (that means) he will not play on Sunday,” Ten Hag added, referring to United’s Premier League game at Nottingham Forest. “I cannot say what the diagnosis (is). I prefer to wait and to know what it is.”
Rashford, who has contributed 28 goals and eight assists this season, is expected to miss a couple of weeks due a groin injury.
United became only the second English side to score two own goals in a single match in a major European competition. Chelsea were the first, in 2019 against Ten Hag’s Ajax Amsterdam
-Reuters
List of teams which have qualified for the next round of the Europa League after the league phase concluded on Thursday, ranked by table position:
Directly to the round of 16:
1. Olympique Lyonnais (France)
2. Aston Villa (England)
3. Midtjylland (Denmark)
4. Real Betis (Spain)
5. Porto (Portugal)
6. Braga (Portugal)
7. Freiburg (Germany)
8. AS Roma (Italy)
Knockout phase play-off places (seeded)
9. Genk (Belgium)
10. Bologna (Italy)
11. VfB Stuttgart (Germany)
12. Ferencvaros (Hungary)
13. Nottingham Forest (England)
14. Viktoria Plzen (Czech Republic)
15. Red Star Belgrade (Serbia)
16. Celta Vigo (Spain)
Knockout phase play-off places (unseeded)
17. PAOK (Greece)
18. Lille (France)
19. Fenerbahce (Turkey)
20. Panathinaikos (Greece)
21. Celtic (Scotland)
22. Ludogorets (Bulgaria)
23. Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia)
24. SK Brann (Norway)
-Reuters
UEFA Europa League – Aston Villa v RB Salzburg – Villa Park, Birmingham, Britain – January 29, 2026 Aston
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv will not accept any away fan tickets for their Europa League match at Aston Villa next month, even if local authorities reverse the decision to ban their supporters, they said on Monday.
The ban followed safety concerns raised by British Police, who cited potential protests outside Villa Park, following demonstrations at Israel’s recent World Cup qualifiers in Oslo and Udine.
“From hard lessons learned we have taken the decision to decline any allocation offered on behalf of away fans and our decision should be understood in that context,” Maccabi said in a statement.
“We hope that circumstances will change and look forward to being able to play in Birmingham in a sporting environment in the near future.”
Aston Villa announced the decision last week, saying they were following instructions from the Safety Advisory Group (SAG), who are responsible for issuing safety certificates for games at Villa Park.
West Midlands Police described the match as high risk, past incidents, including violent confrontations and hate crime offences involving Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters ahead of a November 2024 game in Amsterdam.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar described the announcement as “shameful”.
Villa are third in the Europa League standings while Maccabi Tel Aviv are 30th after two rounds.
-Reuters
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
Crystal Palace’s appeal against UEFA’s decision to drop them from the Europa League to the third-tier Conference League was dismissed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Monday.
UEFA demoted Palace while allowing Olympique Lyonnais to play in the Europa League as, at the time of assessment on March 1, the Eagle Football Group were majority owners of Lyon while their chairman, John Textor, owned a controlling stake in Palace.
Nottingham Forest, who finished seventh in the Premier League last season, will replace Palace in the Europa League.
“After considering the evidence, the panel found that John Textor, founder of Eagle Football Holdings, had shares in CPFC and OL and was a board member with decisive influence over both clubs at the time of UEFA’s assessment date,” the CAS said in a statement.
“The panel also dismissed the argument by CPFC that they received unfair treatment in comparison to Nottingham Forest and OL.”
Palace did not respond to a request for comment. Club chairman Steve Parish told reporters on Sunday that if Palace lost the appeal, they would “have to look if there’s any steps after that.”
The club, who qualified for the Europa League as FA Cup winners, appealed against UEFA’s decision last month.
The appeal came days before New York Jets co-owner Robert Wood “Woody” Johnson completed the purchase of Eagle Football Holdings’ stake in Palace.
Textor has also resigned from Lyon’s board of directors with Michele Kang appointed chairwoman and president.
As both Lyon and Palace had qualified for the Europa League, the French club were allowed to keep their place because they had finished higher in their respective league. Lyon finished sixth in Ligue 1 while Palace were 12th in the Premier League.
“Olympique Lyonnais welcomes today’s decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport confirming its participation in the Europa League,” Lyon said in a statement.
Palace, who won the Community Shield on Sunday , beating Liverpool in a penalty shootout, are set to play in the Conference League’s qualifying playoff round later this month.
-Reuters
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
- WAFCON6 days ago
BREAKING: CAF Postpones WAFCON 2026
- World Cup2 days ago
Iraq coach calls for delay to World Cup playoff amid travel shutdown
- DIPLOMACY2 days ago
Morocco Backs Gulf Security, Condemns Iranian Attacks Against Brotherly Arab States
- DIPLOMACY1 day ago
Trump calls on Australia to give asylum to Iranian women’s soccer players
- OBITUARY1 day ago
Breaking! Former Super Eagles Coach Adegboye Onigbinde Dies Four Days After Clocking 88
- OBITUARY7 days ago
Nigerian Sports Journalism Mourns Oyeniyi Oyeleke and Tonex Chukwu
- OBITUARY20 hours ago
Nigeria’s Sports Community Mourns Adegboye Onigbinde, A Life Devoted to Football
- World Cup7 days ago
‘I really don’t care’ if Iran plays in World Cup, Trump tells Politico