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The Catalan giants have been sanctioned under Article 16 (2) of UEFA’s Disciplinary Regulations following Wednesday’s 4-1 win. A UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body will meet on May 31 to rule on the charges. Barca took a commanding lead in the quarter-final tie thanks to own goals from Daniele De Rossi and Kostas Manolas, with Gerard Pique and Luis Suarez completing the win. Ernesto Valverde’s side will travel to Rome for the second leg on Tuesday, Edin Dzeko’s away goal having given the Italian club the smallest glimmer of hope....

Kazakhstan champions FC Astana came back from a deficit at half-time to win the game 2-1 in front of their home crowd and give them a moment that they will cherish forever. Jesse Lingard was given the captain’s armband. Mason Greenwood, Tahith Chong and Angel Gomes all started the game. Lee Grant also got his opportunity to start his first game in Manchester United shirt. Lingard broke the deadlock by scoring in the 10th minute of the game....

UEFA said its disciplinary panel ordered the sanction to apply when defending champions Real Madrid visit the Polish Army Stadium on November 2. Legia were also fined 80,000 euros (about $90,000), reports Efe. Fans clashed with stadium security staff, threw objects and lit fireworks, and discrimination monitors reported anti-Semitic abuse during Legia Warsaw’s 0-6 loss to German powerhouse Borussia Dortmund two weeks ago. Legia lost 0-2 at Sporting Lisbon on Tuesday and are in last place in Group F....

The UEFA statement on the prospect of the financial compliance system being “abused” by teams comes after internal correspondence exposing City’s alleged deception was published by European media outlets. The reigning English Premier League champion and current leader has not provided a defense or disputed the authenticity of the information from leaked emails which reveal elaborate attempts over several years to try to avoid breaching the rules designed to curb overspending on player costs....

The golden era for MMA heavyweights was 2008-11 when Brock Lesnar, Randy Couture, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Frank Mir, Fedor Emelianenko, Cain Velasquez and Junior Dos Santos dominated. A lull period followed when Lesnar, Couture and Emelianenko declined, leaving a void and lack of box-office attractions. MORE: Astonishing UFC photos | Five reasons to watch UFC 190 | UFC 190 odds, picks | “Rumble” admits mental mistake Now comes a resurgence....

But at what point does it become abusive? MORE: Conor McGregor’s most notorious moments | McGregor-Diaz press conference got physical There’s a rule in MMA that forbids abusive language in the cage, but Saturday’s main card ref, Herb Dean, has his own take on what’s acceptable and what’s just plain wrong. “I generally choose to let people talk trash,” Dean told MMA Junkie. “I think it’s fine. … I mean, we’re watching people kick each other in the face, but we can’t say ‘(expletive) you’ every now and then?...

“It took me a while to get acclimated,” Lesnar told Joe Rogan. “Words can’t describe it. Thank you so much.” MORE: UFC 200 live blog | Best UFC 200 photos The fight began with both fighters feeling each other out, circling the octagon. Lesnar threw the first strike of the fight with a leg kick. Hunt missed a looping overhand right. Hunt popped a jab and Lesnar fell down. Lesnar went for a takedown, Hunt grabbed the cage, and the referee told him to let go and Lesnar got Hunt down....

The main event saw former Heavyweight Champion, Maurice Smith compete versus Marcos Ruas, the UFC 7 tournament winner, who had not been seen in UFC since December 1995 at the Ultimate Ultimate pay per view. This was an interesting collision as Smith was an excellent striker and Ruas, the superior wrestler. Ruas took Smith down early but Smith to his credit managed to fight his way back up. Smith found himself in the mount and nailed Ruas with some good shots before Ruas attempted a heel hook....

Jones tested positive for turinabol in 2017 and was suspended by the UFC for 15 months. The USADA issued a statement Sunday which said the small amount of the drug was from Jones’ “prior exposure for which he was previously sanctioned.” The fight was moved out of Las Vegas because the Nevada State Athletic Commission did not have the proper time to investigate the matter, according to USA Today. The California State Athletic Commission, however, said it will approve a license for Jones, that report says....

Dustin Poirier made his long-time dream come true, collecting the interim lightweight title with an impressive unanimous decision win over Max Holloway to close out an amazing night in Atlanta. Early in the fight, the power difference between the two was clear, as Poirier took the fight to Holloway and appeared on the verge of getting the featherweight champion out of there in a hurry. But Holloway steadied himself and rebounded in the second, forcing Poirier to dig deep and go the distance in what developed into an incredible, tense affair....

Hutchinson is one of the surging featherweight contender’s best friends and Volkanovski is set to serve as the best man in his wedding to Whitmee, which was originally supposed to take place on Saturday. When the UFC came calling with an opportunity to face Aldo in what very well could prove to be a title eliminator in the 145-pound ranks, the 30-year-old former rugby man was left in a bit of a bind, until Hutchinson and Whitmee agreed to shift the date of their wedding in order to accommodate his schedule....

Adesanya showed why is most certainly the next big thing in the UFC by planting a counter left hook on the whiskers of his Aussie foe in the second round that spelled Whittaker’s demise and made the 30-year-old the undisputed middleweight champion less than two years after his debut with the promotion. Sporting News had the fight scored 10-9 for Adesanya at the time of the stoppage, which came at the 3:33 mark of the round....

There have been rumors that it has to do with his daughter’s illness, but we won’t go further into it until there’s an official reason given. The plan seems to be to keep Jared Cannonier on the card but it’ll be slightly problematic if it’s anyone else except Darren Till replacing Whittaker. Cannonier has entered the Top 5 and is a rank above Till. Many believe that he’s just a win away from earning a title shot and as a result, one can only understand Cannonier’s point of view in declining anyone else that’s ranked lower than him except Till....

Maia is the only man to have stepped into the Octagon with both Usman and Masvidal, who will meet at UFC 251 in Abu Dhabi on Sunday local time (Saturday night in the U.S.). The titleholder was initially scheduled to fight Gilbert Burns but the Brazilian contracted the coronavirus and was replaced by Masvidal on six days’ notice. UFC 251 ON FIGHT ISLAND: Everything you need to know Maia gained a split-decision verdict against “Gamebred” after three rounds in 2017; the following year, he lost on points to Usman after 25 minutes....

[HTML1] Word’s been out on Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag for some time now. But after the announcement trailer was leaked, and screenshots showing the tropical locales prepared for players made their way online, Ubisoft certainly hasn’t disappointed with their official details. Edward Kenway will indeed be the new hero, and to show his lethality, a new weapons trailer has been released to show the tools of Kenway’s trade up close and personal....

During an appearance on the “Off the Looking Glass” podcast in late December, McGraw, who coached at Notre Dame from 1987-2020 and now serves as an analyst at the ACC Network, referred to ESPN as “Connecticut’s network” and declared that there is an “incredible bias” when it comes to evaluating the program and its players. MORE: Who is Beth Mowins? Play-by-play announcer makes history on ESPN “UConn has done great things, and they’ve won way more than anybody else, except Tennessee....

From the 2020-21 season, the new Nations League structure will see 16 teams in Leagues A, B and C and seven teams in League D. Those Leagues will be decided by countries’ overall ranking after the 2018-19 competition, which was won by Portugal, with the draw taking place in Amsterdam on March 3, 2020. The format for the Nations League Finals, which sees the four group winners from League A meet in a knockout competition, will remain the same....

The win ensures Juventus’ qualification for the knockout stages and with a game against minnows Zagreb upcoming, the Old Lady will fancy their chances of topping the group. Sevilla, on the other hand, have their task cut out as they look to consolidate their position to qualify for the next stage. Let us reflect on the top 5 talking points of the match #5 Sevilla looked the more threatening side in the first half It was the familiar pressing game from ex-Chile national coach Jorge Sampaoli’s Sevilla side....

Looking to finish the contest in their group as early in their fourth group stage match, Barcelona looked to be the more dominant side, however, Malcom’s goal was cancelled out by Mauro Icardi three minutes before stoppage time. We now look into the five takeaways from this draw for Barcelona. #1 The silent operator continues to deliver Though it looked like he didn’t surface much in this match, Sergio Busquets still continue to play as the unnoticed, but impactful midfielder as he is....