England

SINGAPORE — The Singapore-registered company that says it is close to buying English soccer club Newcastle United admits it doctored photos of former U.S. President Barack Obama in marketing materials used to publicise the newly formed group.

Bellagraph Nova Group (BN Group) also said some of the information in those materials was released prematurely or contained errors after Reuters found inconsistencies when speaking to firms and persons BN Group says it is involved with.

ATHENS — Manchester United captain Harry Maguire was detained for questioning on the Greek island of Mykonos after allegedly being involved in an incident in which police officers were assaulted after a brawl, Greek state TV ERT said on Friday.

Officers were called in to break up a brawl between two groups of tourists. Two other Britons were also detained.

"The soccer player was verbally abusive to an officer and then hit him," a police official said. "The three were resisting when brought to the Mykonos police station."

Liverpool will begin defending their Premier League title on Sept. 12 at Anfield, according to a fixture list for the new season, when they play newly promoted Leeds United, who return to England's top-flight for the first time in 16 years.

Our 2020/21 @PremierLeague fixture list

VIENNA — An unidentified member of English Premier League champions Liverpool has tested positive for the new coronavirus at their summer training camp in the Austrian Alps, tabloid newspaper Kronen Zeitung said on Tuesday, citing anonymous sources.

The Austrian paper did not specify whether the person involved was a player or a member of staff, describing them only as a "member" of the club.

Liverpool declined to comment on the report.

Manchester City has signed United States' World Cup-winning midfielder Rose Lavelle from National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) side OL Reign, the English club said on Tuesday.

The midfielder joined OL Reign from Washington Spirit this week but had signed an agreement to join a club outside the NWSL.

Pure art!  @roselavelle

Manchester City midfielder David Silva is departing the club after a decade of service. On Monday, City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak revealed the plan for a David Silva statue, as well as the dedication of a training pitch with a mosaic to the Spaniard.

English Premier League club Newcastle United has held talks with the Bellagraph Nova Group (BNG) group over a possible takeover bid, the Singapore-backed company said in a statement.

BNG, co-founded by Singapore-based investors Evangeline Shen, Nelson Loh and Terence Loh, and headquartered in Paris, said that negotiations were at an advanced stage and that the group was willing to "massively contribute" to the club's development.

OL Reign has announced that it acquired the future playing rights of Washington Spirit midfielder and USWNT standout Rose Lavelle. In exchange, the Spirit will receive the Reign’s first round draft pick in the 2022 NWSL College Draft and $100,000 in allocation money. 

Sevilla’s quest for a record-extending sixth Europa League crown continues after LaLiga’s fourth-place finisher defeated Manchester United 2-1 on Sunday. United took an early lead through Bruno Fernandes’ customary penalty, but Sevilla overturned the deficit with goals from the unlikely duo of Suso and Luuk de Jong.