Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli has threatened to walk out of Euro 2012 should he be subjected to racist abuse from fans.

The enigmatic Italian has dealt with such abuse before in his career, and says he will not tolerate a repeat at the European Championship.

Balotelli told France Football of an incident in a Rome bar where he was subjected to racial slurs, and sent a warning to any fans that might target him in the future.

There were two or three boys, and it was lucky that the police arrived quickly because, I swear, I would have beaten them, Balotelli said of the confrontation in Rome.

I would have really destroyed them. I hope it will not happen again because if someone throws a banana at me in the street, I will go to jail, because I wi…

After 32 nations arrived at the World Cup, 16 are left standing in Russia.

The group stage offered great drama and intrigue, both on and off the field. However, whether they made serene progress or squeezed through, all teams in the knockout stages will believe they can go all the way.

Juicy ties have been lined up for the second round, with France against Argentina arguably the pick in a stacked top half of the draw, while the likes of England and Colombia may feel a path to the final has opened up.

Ahead of the opening knockout round, we take a look at the runners and riders who remain in the field.

France v Argentina 

Date, time and venue: Saturday, June 30 (17:00 local time)  Kazan Arena

A true heavyweight clash kicks off the kn…

Cincinnati assistant head coach Dominic Kinnear insisted that the team’s slow starts were alarming and needed to be put right ahead of the visit of CF Montreal.

With head coach Pat Noonan serving a suspension, Kinnear watched on as his side conceded two goals in six minutes against Inter Miami, with Luis Suarez netting both in a 2-0 victory for the Eastern Conference leaders.

Despite the result, the Orange and Blue remain second in the standings, but have Leagues Cup winners Columbus Crew breathing down their necks and the advantage of having two games in hand.

Kinnear believes that starting fast will set the tone for the remainder of the season, explaining that it must start sooner rather than later ahead of the playoffs.

“It s cause for alarms,” K…

Lionel Messi is set to extend his contract with Barcelona until the summer of 2023, according to Mundo Deportivo.

The Argentine superstar has been setting the football world alight for over 15 years now, all spent at the Camp Nou. His current deal reportedly allows him to leave for free at end of each season, though the clause has a set deadline which has expired for this year. He reportedly had a spat with the club s hierarchy at one point this season, and it was reported that he could, as a result, leave this summer to join either Inter Milan, or former Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola at Manchester City.

The 32-year-old s contract is set to expire next year, so the new one should basically be a two-year extension under the same terms. It means he would still be allowed t…

Chelsea will finish 2014 as Premier League leaders, despite Jose Mourinho s side toiling to a 1-1 draw at Southampton on Sunday.

The west Londoners failed to hit their usual impeccable standards at the St Mary s Stadium on Sunday, with Southampton displaying their top-four credentials in a battling display.

An upset appeared on the cards when Sadio Mane made the most of sloppy defending from Chelsea captain John Terry, recently promised a new deal by Mourinho, to race through and deftly lift over Thibaut Courtois for his second goal in as many matches.

However, a moment of brilliance from Eden Hazard shortly before the break levelled proceedings, as he curled home his seventh league goal of the campaign.

Chelsea pushed hard for a winner after the break an…

England have had their ups and relative downs as Gareth Southgate’s men qualified for next summer’s Euros and went through 2023 unbeaten.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at some of the highs and lows from England’s eight wins and two draws across the year.

HIGHS

Opening qualification win in Italy

Southgate’s men put their 2022 World Cup frustration behind them by kicking off European qualification with victory at reigning champions Italy in March.

Harry Kane became England’s all-time record goalscorer by striking home a penalty after Declan Rice opened the scoring in Naples, before Mateo Retegui pulled one back.

Luke Shaw’s sending-off for two bookings in quick succession made for a nervy final 10 minutes but England held out fo…

Nearly 40 years ago “A Christmas Story” was released, in which Ralphie wakes up on Christmas morning and gets the Red Ryder BB gun he desired so badly. Fast forward to the present day and Bears fans are getting a late Christmas gift that probably wasn’t on their list: The Red Rifle.

That’s right, it’s the last dance for Andy Dalton in Chicago this week with the veteran set to start as the Bears host the New York Giants in Week 17 of NFL betting action.

We’ve got everything you need ahead of this Soldier Field slog with our NFL picks and predictions for Giants vs. Bears, with kickoff on January 2.

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With just a month left in the 2022 NFL season, Super Bowl odds continue to take shape, with the San Francisco 49ers moving into the Top 5 despite turning to Mr. Irrelevant Brock Purdy at quarterback.

The Niners entered this season with futures odds of +1,600 but have surged up the board after a 9-4 start. They were at +900 entering Week 14, and after a dominant victory against the Buccaneers have moved to +800. 

With a dominant defense and a rookie quarterback getting the job done, we break down the 49ers’ Super Bowl 57 futures heading into Week 15.

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The 2023 NFL season has been full of comebacks, but none have been more impressive than the one authored by Joe Flacco. An unsigned free agent at the beginning of the season, the 38-year-old vet has the Cleveland Browns on the verge of a playoff berth after leading the team to three straight wins. Flacco was especially impressive on Christmas Eve against the Houston Texans, throwing for 368 yards and three touchdowns in the 36-22 win. He’ll have a chance to add another chapter to his comeback – against his old team, no less – when the Browns take on the New York Jets tonight in primetime.

While there are a number of different subscription-based TV channels and streaming services available to watch tonight’s game, you can also live stream Jets vs. Browns directly from…

The Los Angeles Rams face off against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field for Sunday Night Football action.

This is the highest total of Week 1 at 52.5, and my favorite NFL player props for this clash are following that narrative of a high-scoring shootout. Here are my three favorite NFL picks for Rams vs. Lions on Sunday, September 8.

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