Japan s football chief has vowed to do everything possible to prevent Tokyo s diplomatic spat with Beijing over an incident in disputed waters from spoiling upcoming tournaments in China.

It will be terribly shocking if booing starts when our national anthem is played, Japan Football Association president Junji Ogura told Japanese media.

We want to take every possible step with the help of the Chinese (football) association, added Ogura, who also heads the East Asian Football Federation, in comments published Tuesday.

I am worried. The football world in particular needs special care.

China will host the under-19 Asian football championships in October and the multi-sport Asian Games in November.

Japan s September 7 arrest of a Chinese captain…

Paris Saint-Germain and their outcast midfielder Jerome Rothen have reached an agreement over the termination of his contract, the French side announced on Tuesday.

Rothen, who has been training with the club s reserves since the summer, had a contract tying him to PSG until June 2011 that was worth 180,000 euros a month.

Paris Saint-Germain and Jerome Rothen on Tuesday, 19 October reached an agreement over the termination of the player s contract, read a statement on the PSG website.

The player is now free to sign for the club of his choice.

Rothen s problems at PSG began at the end of the 2008-09 season, when he strongly criticised the club s management.

The former France international was subsequently loaned to Scottish giants Rangers befor…

Cesare Prandelli is set to sign a contract extension to remain as coach of the Italian national team until the end of UEFA Euro 2016.

Prandelli had been tipped by some to leave his post at the end of this year s FIFA World Cup after four years in charge.

But responding to the rumours, the former Fiorentina boss assured Italian fans at the time that the issue of his future would not be a distraction at the showpiece event in Brazil.

And an FIGC spokesman confirmed to Perform on Monday that Prandelli had held discussions with the national governing body s president Giancarlo Abete, adding that an agreement over a new two-year deal had been verbally agreed.

The 56-year-old is yet to put pen to paper on the deal, but declared his pride at being offered the extension.…

Burnley will be out seal promotion back to the Premier League when they host Middlesbrough in the Championship on Saturday.

Tuesday s 1-0 win at Barnsley means Sean Dyche s men are now 11 points clear of third-placed Derby County with five matches to play.

A win on Saturday, combined with Derby failing to claim maximum points at home to Huddersfield Town, will see Burnley climb back to the top flight for the first time since relegation in 2010.

That will be no easy task against a Middlesbrough side that has won three matches in succession, while Derby look firm favourites to get the better of Huddersfield, whose winless run of eight matches has seen them drop to 17th in the table.

Just below Burnley, the race for the play-offs continues to heat up, with Tuesday s…

New Everton signing Davy Klaassen is expecting to score goals regularly in the Premier League.

Klaassen scored 14 goals and registered nine assists in 33 Eredivisie appearances for Ajax last season, following on from 2015-16 where he netted 13 and created eight.

The 24-year-old, who moved to Goodison Park in a €27million transfer on Thursday, is confident of continuing to make an impact in front of goal after moving to England.

I like to get in the box and I also like to be aggressive on the field and press all the time, Klaassen said to evertontv. 

I like to score and create goals and I like to win. My whole life I have scored a lot of goals, so I expect that I can do it here as well.

It is not the most important part of my game but goals …

Juventus head coach Massimiliano Allegri believes their Supercoppa Italiana clash with AC Milan will serve as practice for the knockout rounds of the Champions League as they bid to avoid a repeat of recent disappointment in the annual showpiece. 

The Bianconeri, again runaway leaders in the Scudetto race, take on the team they beat 4-0 in last season s Coppa Italia final in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday.

Despite having won both Serie A and the Coppa Italia in each of the previous three seasons, Juve have failed to triumph in the Supercoppa in three of the last four years and lost to Milan on penalties in 2016. 

It s difficult to figure out why, as we lost both on penalties to Napoli and Milan. I hope tomorrow will be different and that we can be more concentrat…

Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka is not concerned by the number of minutes he has played this season and the risk of injury ahead of the World Cup.

The Switzerland international has started all but one of the Gunners matches across all competitions this season, combining with Thomas Partey or Albert Sambi Lokonga in midfield.

Xhaka s influence has played a huge part in Arsenal s fine start to the season, including scoring the only goal of the game in Thursday s victory over PSV in the Europa League – sealing qualification for the knockout stages.

A packed schedule ahead of the World Cup, where Switzerland face Brazil, Serbia and Cameroon, will test the fitness limits of players this season, but that does not come into Xhaka s thought process.

I m not wo…

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In a real battle between two Italian giants this weekend, Napoli will make the trip to the Stadio Olimpico and face off against Roma on Sunday evening.

Starting with the hosts, while Roma might have enjoyed an immediate boost when they appointed Jose Mourinho over the summer, the Giallorossi are showing some worrying signs of a struggle. Putting in what was a woeful display on Europa Conference League duties earlier in the week, the former Manchester United boss saw his side get hit with a stunning 6-1 defeat against little known Norweigan outfit Bodø / Glimt. Suffering his worst European managerial defeat in what has been a record-break career, Mourinho will be demanding a response on Sunday evening. Only managing to mark their return…

Hong Kong club Kitchee will host the Barclays Asia Trophy in July, the only Premier League-affiliated competition held outside England.

Kitchee will welcome 2009/10 champions Chelsea, as well as Aston Villa and Blackburn Rovers for the biennial pre-season tournament, which kicks off on July 27.

Matches are set to take place in the Hong Kong Stadium, with a final to determine the winner and a playoff for third place.

Kitchee play Chelsea, while Villa take on Blackburn, who could lose their top-flight status if results on the final day of the Premier League season go against them.

It is exciting to think that the next stop for the Barclays Premier League after the end of the season on Sunday is Hong Kong, Kitchee chairman Ken Ng said.

For Kitchee…

Sjoeke Nusken scored her second brace in as many games as Chelsea beat Ajax 3-0 in the first leg of their Women’s Champions League quarter-final.

Emma Hayes’ side continued their search for European glory as they flexed their attacking pedigree at Johan Cruijff ArenA.

Lauren James was among the scorers again before summer signing Nusken was on hand twice to extend their advantage ahead of the return leg at Stamford Bridge later this month.

Chelsea took the lead after 19 minutes. James and Nusken, who had starred in the Blues’ 3-1 win over Arsenal in the Women’s Super League last week, combined again.

In the form of her life!

Back-to-back braces for Nusken!

— Chelsea FC Women (@ChelseaFCW)

Nusken tried to thread a ball …