Football news

Armenian journalist Khrach Khachatryan claims on Twitter that he has information about the transfer of a Russian footballer to Paris Saint-Germain.

It is reported that PSG has made a serious request for Krasnodar goalkeeper and so-called Russian national team player Matvey Safonov and is ready to sign him for €20 million. However, there has been no official offer yet.

Famous Ukrainian TV commentator Ihor Tsyganik told us what he expects from the match of the 30th round of the Ukrainian championship between Rukh Lviv and Dynamo Kyiv to be held next Saturday at the Arena Lviv.

- "The match is quite interesting, but it would be more interesting if Dynamo played with the first team. As far as I understand, Oleksandr Shovkovskyi has rested the national teams. We will see an experimental line-up from the White and Blues, which also arouses interest in the construction of the game from Kyiv, their tactics, and tasks for the game.

"Rukh has almost secured its participation in the European Cups. Today, the hosts only need to play better than Polissya in the parallel game between Zhytomyr and Shakhtar, who will also play with a non-strength line-up. They even have a chance to get ahead of 4th-placed Dnipro-1. "Rukh will be quite happy with a draw against Dynamo Kyiv, as they need one point to book their place in the Conference League. I think they can do it at home. I expect an exchange of goals and the home side to win. Bet: both will score," said Tsyganik.

Barcelona defender Marcos Alonso will become a free agent in a little over a month, as his contract with the Blaugrana will not be renewed. But the 33-year-old will not be without a club for long and has already decided on his future.

According to Diario Sport, if everything goes according to plan, the left-back will move to Atletico Madrid and will be called upon to replace Mario Hermoso.

It will be recalled that Alonso injured his back in late November. His recovery from the injury took more than three months, but after that Marcos lost his place in the team's starting line-up.

Next Saturday, 25 May, the final match of the 30th round of the Ukrainian Premier League between local side Rukh and Dynamo Kyiv will take place at the Arena Lviv stadium in Lviv.

The Ukrainian Premier League has already approved the teams' uniforms for the game.

"Dynamo will take to the pitch in a white kit. The Kyiv goalkeeper will play in a yellow outfit. The hosts will play in black and yellow, and their goalkeeper will wear green.

We would like to add that on 25 May in the evening, the weather is expected to be cloudy in Lviv, with light rain at a temperature of 23-24 degrees.

On 22 May, the Ukrainian Football Association and the All-Ukrainian Association of Professional Footballers signed a cooperation agreement at the Football House.

This agreement was concluded similarly to the agreement between FIFA and FIFPro to replace the previous agreement of 2019. It aims to help improve working conditions, protect the rights and interests of professional footballers in Ukraine.

The agreement was signed by UAF President Andriy Shevchenko and WAFP President Irek Gataullin. During the signing of the agreement, representatives of the UAF and the WAFP discussed deepening cooperation and agreed on future joint activities.

The day before, the Spanish As reported that Girona's Ukrainian Viktor Tsygankov has three bidders from the English Championship.

Fichajes deciphered this news, saying that West Ham, Wolverhampton and Aston Villa are in the running for the Dynamo player. The source notes that these clubs have already contacted the player's agent.

According to the press, apart from the English teams, Bayern Munich and Barcelona are also interested in Tsygankov.

Today, on 23 May, the U-17 national team of Ukraine (players not older than 2007) will play their second match at the European Championship. The match against the Czech Republic will take place in Paralimni and will start at 18:00.

At the group stage of the tournament, the Blue and Yellows are competing in Group A against Serbia, the Czech Republic and Cyprus. The forum itself with the participation of 16 national teams will take place until 5 June in Cyprus - at six stadiums in Ahna, Larnaca, Paralimni and Limassol.

The Ukrainian boys started the final tournament with a 0-1 defeat against their Serbian counterparts. Now our boys will try to rectify the situation in the game against the Czech Republic.

You can watch the Ukraine vs Czech Republic game on Suspilne Sport TV channel and Suspilne Sport YouTube channel.

Mauricio Pochettino will be the main candidate for the position of England coach if he loses his job and the position becomes vacant after Euro 2024, The Telegraph writes.

Pochettino left Chelsea by mutual consent on Tuesday and is likely to attract interest from Manchester United if the Old Trafford club sacks Eric ten Heg after the FA Cup final. Saudi club Al Ittihad also intends to hold talks with Pochettino through the club's sporting director Ramon Planes, who worked with the Argentine at Espanyol.

The England job has been attractive to Pochettino for some time, and he announced his interest during the World Cup in Qatar two years ago. When asked in an interview with The Athletic in 2022: "Of course, my relationship with England has always been very good. We have very good relations with the academies, we try to develop young players for the national team. I feel very comfortable here. You never know what will happen. I am open to everything."

As Sport.ua has learned, Kateryna Monzul will not officiate at the women's football tournament of the 2024 Olympics in France, as previously planned.

According to the source, the Ukrainian decided to say goodbye to her career as a referee for various reasons and associates her future in football with the role of an arbitration observer.

On 25 May, Kateryna Monzul, who heads the UAF Referees Committee, will make her debut as an arbitration observer in the match of the 30th round of the UPL Championship between Obolon and Oleksandriya.

In the short term, Kateryna Monzul will represent Ukraine in this role on the international stage, as her predecessor in the UAF Arbitration Committee, Italian Luciano Luci, has done for many years.

Monzul has been repeatedly recognised as the best referee in Ukraine. In February 2024, she became the chairman of the Arbitration Committee, which had been headed by Italian Luciano Luci since 2015. Kateryna Monzul also joined the new UAF Executive Committee.

Ukrainian striker Ruslan Stepaniuk of Vorskla Poltava has left the team.

It is reported that Stepaniuk, Vorskla's top scorer this season, has already said goodbye to the team and left the club. The experienced player has an offer from Metalist 1925.

It will be recalled that Stepaniuk's agreement with Vorskla expires on 30 June 2024. This season, he scored ten goals and made four assists in 33 matches in all competitions.

Rukh midfielder Talles Brenner shared his expectations for the match on Matchday 30 against Dynamo Kyiv.

"Rukh is very motivated. We have the final match of the season ahead of us against one of the giants of Ukrainian football. I think that the game against Dynamo is the most important one this season and could be historic for the entire club.

It will be a tense and interesting match against a strong opponent. At the same time, everyone at Rukh believes that we can achieve a positive result and make club history by qualifying for the European Cup for the first time," said Brenner.

The head coach of Rukh Lviv, Vitaliy Ponomaryov, shared his expectations for the match of the 30th round of the Ukrainian championship against Dynamo Kyiv.

"Despite the fact that Rukh will be playing against one of the flagships of Ukrainian football, the team is preparing as usual. Of course, we have a very serious game ahead of us and the tournament position also adds to the responsibility. However, we will try to play our usual football and not deviate from our game principles. The team will play for victory, just like in every match before, because Rukh wants to get a positive result and will do everything in its power to achieve it.

Our players have shown qualitative growth and progress during the season. They proved that they can compete for the highest places in the Ukrainian league and still play an interesting game. Each of our guys understands the importance of the upcoming match with Dynamo and they are ready to give their all on Saturday for a positive result.

Perhaps this is one of the most interesting championships in recent times, because we can see how interesting the fight for European Cup places and for survival is, as well as the long fight for the championship - almost to the last rounds. It is very interesting for fans to watch such matches and intrigue. If there is such competition, the Ukrainian championship will only progress and the players will develop better and faster. Youngsters get a lot of playing time and over time, these players will gain the necessary experience and grow as professional footballers, which is very beneficial for Ukrainian football," Ponomarev said.