United News of Bangladesh

Telasco Segovia scored the tying goal on an assist by Lionel Messi in the 10th minute of stoppage time, and Inter Miami played New York City FC to a 2-2 draw in their MLS opener Saturday night. On his second assist of the night, Messi hit a through ball to Segovia, who in his MLS debut finished with a nice shot from the right side of the box to the bottom left corner. Inter Miami had played much of the second half down a goal. New York's Alonso Martínez got an easy one past Oscar Ustari after Inter Miami's Jordi Alba mistakenly made a pass directly to Martínez to put New York up 2-1 in the 55th minute. But Messi, last season's MLS MVP, helped his team rally, showing no signs of fatigue in his second match in three days. The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner made his mark early. Just 72 hours after scoring the winner against Sporting Kansas City in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions Cup’s first round, Messi took a pass from Alba in the fifth minute Saturday. Messi then fed it to Toto Aviles, who tapped it past New York's Matthew Freese to the bottom left corner of the goal to put Miami ahead 1-0. Aviles drew a red card later in the first on a late sliding tackle inside the box, forcing Miami to play with 10 men the rest of the way and setting up the tying goal that Mitja Ilenic scored on a bit of trickery. On a free kick, Santi Rodriguez sent a low pass to Ilenic, who Inter Miami did not account for lined up far to the left of their defensive line. MLS Embarks on 30th year with a 30th team, a crowded schedule and, yes, more Messi Ilenic fired a cross-body shot to the far post, as the smattering of New York fans at Chase Stadium erupted in cheers that lasted until the waning minutes of the match. Miami entered this season with high expectations after finishing atop the Eastern Conference last year and winning the Supporters Shield before being surprisingly eliminated by Atlanta in the first round of the playoffs. Under new head coach Javier Mascherano, they're hoping to repeat their dominance.

Six-time champions Dhaka Abahani Limited earned their biggest victory in the 2nd phase opener of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) Football, outplaying Youngmen’s Club Fakirerpool by 6-1 goals at the Shaheed Dhirendranath Dutta Stadium in Cumilla on Saturday. Youngmen’s Club Fakirerpool, which made biggest surprise in the league beating league leader Dhaka Mohammedan SC in the last match of the first phase, today also emerged as huge threat in the match as their Sayed Hossen Sayed scored the first goal in the 15th minute shocking their giant rival Dhaka Abahani Ltd (1-0). This was the 2nd goal conceded by Dhaka Abahani in the league after conceding the first goal against Dhaka Mohammedan SC in the first phase league. However, captain Mohammad Ridoy relieved Abahani Dhaka from tension leveling the margin in the 40th minute to go for the first half break (1-1). Later, Enamul Islam Gazi struck twice for the sky-blue Dhanmondi outfit Abahani in the 54th and 60th minutes while Mohammad Ibrahim, Jafar Iqbal and Mirajul Islam netted one each for Abahani in the 76th, 86th and 90+1 minutes respectively. In the day’s other match, last season’s treble winners Bashundhara Kings earned a 2-0 goals victory over Chittagong Abahani Limited at the Rafiq Uddin Bhuiyan Stadium in Mymensingh on Saturday. Kings scored both the goals in the first half. Ahmed Fahim put Bashundhara Kings ahead in the 20th minute (1-0) while Brazilian forward Miguel Damaseno scored the 2nd goal in the 30th minute (2-0).The BPL Football, which began on Friday after three weeks break with the first round of the 2nd phase, will go for another break of one and half months for Sunday. Dour becomes kit partner of Bangladesh football teams for next 2yrs Earlier on Friday, league leader Dhaka Mohammedan SC made a good start in the opening 2nd phase of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) Football outplaying Dhaka Wanderers Club by 3-0 goals at the Shaheed Dhirendranath Dutta Stadium in Cumilla. In the day's match, Uzbek midfielder Muzaffarov scored the first goal for Mohammedan SC in the ongoing league by a brilliant free kick in the 38th minute (1-0) . Mohammedan got the free kick when a Wanderers booter commited a handball. Substitute booter Rahimuddin doubled the winners margin in the 81st minute by a cool shot, off a combined attack by Muzaffarov and Sourav Dewan (2-0) Mali forward Souleymane Diabate sealed the fate of the match for Mohammedan SC in the 88th minute (3-0). This was the 7th goal for Souleymane Diabate in the ongoing league. In the day's another match, Fortis FC defeated Rahmatganj MFS by 3-1 goals at the Bashundhara Kings Arena on Friday Bangladesh Police FC beat Brothers Union Club by 1-0 goal at the Rafique Uddin Bhuiyan Stadium in Mymensingh in the day's other match After the first round of the 2nd phase, Dhaka Mohammedan SC comfortably dominated the league securing 27 points, Dhaka Abahani Limited followed them with 23 points while holders Bashundhara Kings are in the 3rd slot bagging 20 points, playing 10 matches each.

While the main attraction is still Lionel Messi, it's perhaps fitting that for Major League Soccer's 30th season the league is welcoming its 30th team. Led by winger Hirving “Chucky” Lozano, San Diego FC is among the teams to watch this year, along with the expansion club's first opponent, the defending MLS champion LA Galaxy. And, of course, Inter Miami. Miami has sold out its season tickets as fans clamor to get an in-person look at Messi and fellow former Barcelona standouts Jordi Alba, Luis Suarez and Sergio Busquets. Miami will be looking to again finish atop the Eastern Conference and repeat as Supporters Shield winners. Messi, the league's reigning MVP, should once more be a top candidate. But the Herons' 2024 season was marred when they were surprisingly eliminated by Atlanta in the first round of the playoffs. “We had broken the points record, but football is not about awards, it’s about what you do on the field,” Suarez said at the league's media day. “We were the best team the entire regular season, we needed to show that in that playoff game against Atlanta, and we didn’t. We have to learn from that and be reminded that nobody gives you anything. It was very difficult to achieve what we did all season, but we are left with a bittersweet feeling.” LAFC, the West’s top seed, fell in the conference semifinals to the Seattle Sounders. The Galaxy won their sixth overall MLS Cup title last season with a 2-1 victory over the New York Red Bulls, a dramatic turnaround for a team that finished 26th in the league the year before. But the Galaxy embark on this season without dynamic midfielder Riqui Puig, who injured his ACL in the playoffs. Messi scores goal as Inter Miami opens preseason play with friendly win over Club America The addition of the San Diego balances MLS at 15 teams per conference. The league's newest club is owned by billionaire Mohamed Mansour and the Sycuan Tribe, the first Native American tribe in the country to have an ownership stake in a professional soccer team. The team's first season kicks off on Sunday. Turnover At The Top There are 12 coaches embarking on their first full seasons in 2025. Notable among them is Gregg Berhalter, the former U.S. men's national team coach who is now leading the Chicago Fire. In perhaps one of the most shocking coaching moves in the offseason, the Philadelphia Union dismissed Jim Curtin, a two-time MLS coach of the year who had spent 11 seasons with the team. He was replaced by Bradley Carnell, a former St. Louis coach. Inter Miami's coach, Geraldo “Tata” Martino, departed the club in November for personal reasons after one season. He was replaced in days by former Argentina great Javier Mascherano, another Messi teammate at Barcelona. And finally, the San Jose Earthquakes brought in the league's all-time winningest coach, Bruce Arena, after the club finished last in the standings with only six wins. Coming and Going MLS clubs were bullish in scooping up international talent in the offseason. Some of the notable additions were striker Emmanuel Latte Lath, who joined Atlanta from Middlesbrough, and Kévin Denkey, who arrived in Cincinnati from Cercle Brugge. Perhaps the biggest departure was Cucho Hernandez, who left the Columbus Crew for Spanish club Real Betis. Austin FC sent midfielder Sebastián Driussi to Argentine team River Plate for a reported $10 million fee. Sporting KC transferred Alan Pulido to Mexican club Chivas Guadalajara. Within the league, the Sounders scored Jesus Ferreira from FC Dallas, while Dallas got Luciano Acosta from FC Cincinnati. The Timbers sent Brazilian midfielder Evander to Cincinnati, while Houston picked up Jack McGlynn from Philadelphia. Busy Season It will be a busy season for MLS teams, with a number of tournaments in addition to the regular season. Miami and the Sounders will get international attention as the league's two participants in the FIFA Club World Cup. The event for an expanded field of 32 international clubs will be played across the United States from at June 14 to July 13. The league will take a bit of a break during the tournament. At the same time, some players players will be with their national teams for the CONCACAF Gold Cup. There's also the U.S. Open Cup, the Leagues Cup with teams from both MLS and Liga MX, and the CONCACAF Champions Cup. MLS teams can only participate in two tournaments to help alleviate the load on the players. Messi, Vinicius have frustrating nights as Argentina loses and Brazil draws in World Cup qualifying Building Toward the World Cup The United States, Mexico and Canada will co-host the 2026 World Cup and MLS is hoping to capitalize as soccer's biggest tournament looms. The addition of Messi has already brought new attention to MLS. Attendance at games last season hit a league record 12.1 million, second only to the English Premier League. Five MLS teams are now valued at $1 billion each. MLS is in the third year of a media deal with Apple TV, but there have been concerns about audience growth on the streaming service. Viewership numbers have not been made available. This year Apple TV's MLS Season Pass is available to Comcast and DirecTV subscribers — still at a fee but accessed via those platforms. Season Pass is also free for a season to T-Mobile phone service customers. “Over the next two years, North America will be the epicenter of global soccer, our league, our clubs, our players and our fans are all committed to working together on this path to the world’s biggest sporting event,” Commissioner Don Garber said during his state-of-the-league address in December. "We have an unbelievable opportunity to create this great trajectory and create even more momentum as we continue to grow our sport and our league for the years to come.”

Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) announced a 23-member youthful women’s national football team on Thursday (February 20) to play a two-match international friendlies series against hosts United Arab Emirates (UAE), excluding captain Sabina Khatun-led 18-senior national footballers. Bangladesh women’s football team will fly for UAE on February 24 to play two international friendlies against the hosts UAE on February 26 and March 2. Captain Sabina Khatun-led 18-rebelling women’s national footballers boycotting the national team's practice session under the English Head Coach Peter Butler for about last three weeks raising several allegations against Butler including mental harassment, repression, using abusive words, body shaming, misbehaving, continuous discrimination and unfair treatment. Eighteen rebelling senior players excluded the UAE bound national team just few hours after the SAFF winning Bangladesh National Women’s team received the Ekushey Padak from chief advisor. Only eight players of the last SAFF winning 30-member Bangladesh are included in the day’s squad. They are : Afeida Khandakar, Kohati Kishu, Munki Akter, Shaheda Akter Ripa, Iirin Khatun, Yearzan Begum, Sapna Rani and Mili Akter, However, chairman of the BFF Women's Football Committee Mahfuza Akhter Kiron informed the media last Sunday that the rebel senior booters will join the practice session under Peter Butler next month, for the Women’s Asia Cup qualifiers in next June. But, its fully defend on Peter Butler positive mind set. Member of Bangladesh women’s football team: Yearzan Begum, Mile Akter, Meghla Rani Roy (goal keepers) , Kohati Kisku, Joynab Bibi Rita, Afeida Khandakar, Surman Jannat, Halima Akhter, Sapna Rani, Airin Khatun, Aklima Khatun, Shaheda Akter Ripa, Ayonto Bala Mahato, Oeyshi Khatun, Tonima Biswas, Munki Akhter, Bonnya Khantun, Most. Sultana,  Khanom Akter, Arpita Biswas Arpita, Sauravi Akanda Prity, Marium Binta Hanna and Nabiran Khatun. Eighteen senior national players who are not included in the Peter Butler’s team are : Sabina Khatun (captain) , Krishna Rani Sarkar, Masura Parveen, Sanjida Akter, Maria Manda (vice-captain), Monika Chakma, Ritu  Porna Chakma, Sheuly Azim, Nilufar Yesmin, Tahura Khantun, Sogorika, Mathsushima Sumaiya, Shamsun Nahar Sr, Shamsun Nahar Jr, Rupna Chakma, Shorna Rani Mondal,  Nasrin Akter and Shati Biswas.   

Spain’s former football official, Luis Rubiales, has been fined over 10,000 euros for an unsolicited kiss on a player, reports AP. Luis Rubiales, the ex-president of the Spanish football federation, was convicted of sexually assaulting footballer Jenni Hermoso following Spain’s triumph in the 2023 Women’s World Cup final. Hamza Choudhury cleared by FIFA to play for Bangladesh On Thursday, he was ordered to pay a fine exceeding 10,000 euros ($10,400). Hermoso stated that the kiss was non-consensual, casting a shadow over the team’s victory celebrations. The incident provoked widespread outrage beyond football and led to one of the most humiliating scandals in Spanish football history. Saudi’s 2034 FIFA plans raise environmental concerns 

The decision to fire Erik ten Hag and the departure of Dan Ashworth as sporting director cost Manchester United more than $18 million, the club said Wednesday when revealing its latest financial results. Ten Hag lost his job on Oct. 28, just three months after the Dutch coach was handed a one-year contract extension at United following months of uncertainty over his future. United was in 14th place in the Premier League at the time, having lost four of its opening nine league games. The team, now managed by Ruben Amorim, is currently in 15th place with a total of 12 losses in its 25 league games in what is shaping up to be United's worst ever Premier League campaign. Barely a month after Ten Hag departed, Dan Ashworth — hired during the offseason as United’s sporting director — left the club less than six months after taking up his role, which had followed tough negotiations to take him away from Newcastle. As part of its second quarter financial results, United said “exceptional items” of 14.5 million pounds ($18.2 million) “relates to costs associated with the departure of former men’s first team manager Erik ten Hag and various members of football staff.” Los Angeles FC striker Olivier Giroud's home was burglarized, police say Ten Hag only held on to his job following an unexpected victory over fierce rival Manchester City in the FA Cup final in May and an extensive end-of-year review by United, overseen by Jim Ratcliffe — the British billionaire who has taken over control of United’s soccer operations. Ten Hag was then handed an extension to his contract, to 2026. Since taking charge in November, Amorim might be doing even worse than Ten Hag. He said last month it could be the worst Man United team in the club’s history. United spent 11 million pounds (then $12 million) to trigger Amorim’s release from Sporting Lisbon.

Los Angeles FC striker Olivier Giroud's home was the target of a burglary earlier this month, police said. The 38-year-old French soccer star moved to Los Angeles last year after signing with LAFC in May. Los Angeles police said they responded Feb. 5 to a report of a window smash at a home in west LA. The caller reported an upstairs bedroom window broken and their home burglarized. LAFC spokesperson Seth Burton declined to comment on behalf of Giroud and the organization beyond confirming the burglary report. Giroud is best known for his six prolific seasons at Arsenal from 2012-18, followed by three years apiece at Chelsea and Milan. He has scored 285 goals in 716 matches during his club career while winning a wealth of trophies, including a Champions League triumph with Chelsea three years ago. Neymar is among the players protesting the use of artificial turf pitches in Brazil He was also a star for the French national team, scoring a record 57 goals and playing for Les Bleus’ World Cup winners in 2018. Giroud is preparing with the LAFC for the upcoming Major League Soccer season, with his team kicking off against Minnesota United this Saturday at home.

Neymar, Memphis Depay and Thiago Silva are among the leading Brazilian footballers protesting against using artificial turf for league matches instead of natural grass. They all campaigned online with the same message Tuesday highlighting their fear of increased injury risk for players on the artificial surfaces. Some clubs in Brazil’s top divisions are using artificial turf to allow for multiple uses for stadiums while minimizing damage to the playing surfaces. “It is worrying to see the direction Brazilian football is taking. With the size and representation of our sport, this debate shouldn’t even exist. In the most respected leagues in the world, players are heard and investments are made to ensure the quality of the pitch in the stadiums,” the footballers said in a statement. “The solution to a bad pitch is to make a good pitch, it is as simple as that. Soccer is natural, not artificial.” Neymar has just returned to Santos, Depay plays for Corinthians and Thiago Silva is at Fluminense. Neymar scores first goal since returning to Santos in Brazil Defending Brazilian champion Botafogo, Palmeiras and Athletico Paranaense are among the clubs that have used artificial turf, which has resulted in some players who are veterans or returning from injury — including Neymar — to boycott away matches against those teams. Palmeiras said in a statement that the criticism to its artificial turf is superficial and not based on science. The club said the playing surface was certified by FIFA, the sport's world governing body, and has been subject to regular inspections since 2020, “so that it has the same parameters of a natural grass pitch in perfect state.”

Neymar scored his first goal for Santos since returning to Brazil when he converted a penalty Sunday in a 3-1 win over Sao Paulo-based Água Santa. Finding the net from the spot in the 14th minute of the Sao Paulo state championship match will provide the 33-year-old star some relief after a tough restart. Thaciano in the 26th and Guilherme, with an assist by Neymar, in the 70th rounded out the scoring for Santos. So far, Neymar has not managed to play all 90 minutes in a match for Santos. His performances were below par in the first three games for the club, but he showed some improvement on Sunday as he continues his recovery from a knee injury. Neymar officially returned to soccer in October after an entire year out. He confirmed last month that his contract with Saudi club Al-Hilal had been terminated by mutual consent. He had an injury-marred spell at Al-Hilal, where he played only seven matches and scored once. Neymar has signed a six-month contract with Santos, which he said could be extended later. In his first professional spell at Santos from 2009 to 2013, he scored 138 goals in 225 official matches. The Brazilian became the most expensive player in soccer history when he transferred from Barcelona to PSG for 222 million euros (then $262 million) in 2017. He went to Al-Hilal in 2023 for 90 million euros ($94 million).  

Liverpool restored its seven-point lead at the top of the Premier League with a 2-1 win against Wolverhampton on Sunday. But Arne Slot's team had to hold off a fightback from relegation-threatened Wolves at Anfield, which included a brilliant long-range goal from Matheus Cunha. First-half strikes from Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah secured the win for Liverpool and ensured it maintained its advantage over second-placed Arsenal. Liverpool failed to register a single shot on target after the break as Wolves dominated the chances. “Obviously 2-0 at halftime, we know that can be one of the most dangerous results in football. We had to come out and we had to start well – and we didn’t quite do that," said Liverpool defender Andrew Robertson. “When they scored, everyone gets nervous. The players get nervous, the crowd get nervous – of course that’s only natural. But it’s a massive win for us and another game down.” Champions League exit awaits Real Madrid or Man City and at least 3 more former title holders Diaz bundled the ball over the line from close range in the 15th minute to give Liverpool the lead. And Salah doubled the advantage from the penalty spot in the 37th after Diaz was brought down. It was the Egypt international's 28th goal of an outstanding season and extended his current scoring streak to six straight games. But if the home crowd was expecting a routine victory against 17th-placed Wolves, it was anything but. Liverpool conceded a goal in stoppage time to draw 2-2 with Everton on Wednesday and was pushed again. Cunha's drag-back and curled finish from around 20 yards (meters) in the 67th came after a sustained period of pressure from the visitors. Before that Marshall Munetsi was denied when through on goal — it took a crucial block in front of goal from Jarell Quansah to prevent him from converting late on. Tottenham hosts Manchester United later Sunday.