Melvine Malard came off the bench to score a late equaliser as Manchester United drew 1-1 with Arsenal in the Women’s Super League, preserving the hosts’ unbeaten start to 2024-25.

The France international cancelled out a strike from Alessia Russo as the former United striker found form against her old club, keeping the sides fourth and fifth in the table respectively.

Russo had failed to find the net through Arsenal’s first five games of the campaign but looked sharp from the off at Leigh Sports Village. 

Moments after Lia Walti had struck the post, Russo fired home a 63rd-minute opener against the club she represented from 2020 to 2023, scoring 22 league goals.

However, that goal was not enough to give Renee Slegers’ side victory, as Malard’s header bobbled past goalkeeper Daphne van Domselaar with eight minutes to play.

Though United remain one of three sides yet to lose in the WSL this campaign, the result leaves them five points adrift of leaders Manchester City, with the Gunners one point further back.

Data Debrief: Chance missed for Gunners

While Marc Skinner will take the plaudits after introducing Malard to change the momentum of the game, Arsenal’s interim boss Slegers was left to rue her team’s lack of ruthlessness.

Arsenal fired off 19 shots to United’s six, yet only hit the target on one more occasion than their hosts (four to three), only just edging the expected goals (xG) battle 1.62 to 1.18.

The Gunners have now dropped four points from winning positions in the WSL this term, with only Aston Villa (eight) and Liverpool (seven) giving up more.

Ange Postecoglou saluted an "outstanding effort" by Tottenham after they came from behind to beat Aston Villa 4-1.

Spurs scored four second-half goals as they got back to winning ways in the Premier League, following last weekend's 1-0 defeat at lowly Crystal Palace.

Postecoglou's side notched up an impressive 2-1 victory over Manchester City in the EFL Cup on Wednesday, but fell behind against Villa to Morgan Rogers' first-half effort.

Nevertheless, the hosts responded well after the break. Dominic Solanke scored twice, while Brennan Johnson and James Maddison were also on target in what was eventually a commanding victory.

And Postecoglou by the positive manner in which his players have responded to their setback at Selhurst Park.

"Seven days is a long time in football," he said. "Seven days ago, I was a grumpy old so and so. We have to stay true to the course we're on. We made sure not to feel sorry for ourselves and get back to the team we want to be.

"The first half was a bit of an arm wrestle. [Villa] have a consistent level of performance. We have other gears in us, which we showed in the second half. After the performance in midweek, I thought it was an outstanding effort.

"I felt the momentum was going our way, we knew we would finish strong and if we upped it a couple of gears like we can, we knew we would be hard to stop."

The head coach also paid tribute to Solanke, who became the first Spurs player to score at least four goals in his first eight Premier League appearances for the club since Rafael van der Vaart in 2010-11.

"The amount of work the guy did for us over the week - goals are great, but his capacity to do everything he can for the team in every area - I can't speak highly enough of him," Postecoglou added.

"We stuck with it," Solanke told Sky Sports. "A few times this season, we've gone a goal down. Against Palace, we didn't react in the right way, but today we did.

"We always believe we can score many goals. It all came together today in the second half. We had to adapt to the way they were playing. At half-time, we had time to regroup and discuss what we had to do.

"We've had some great games, but haven't managed to do it the whole season, but we think we're capable of it."

Atletico Madrid returned to winning ways in LaLiga as Giuliano Simeone and Alexander Sorloth earned them a 2-0 triumph over Las Palmas on Sunday. 

Atletico's sixth win of the season moved them up to third in LaLiga after 12 games, while Las Palmas remain inside the bottom three in the Spanish top-flight. 

Diego Simeone's side started strongly at the Metropolitano Stadium, with Antoine Griezmann and Julian Alvarez going closest to netting the first goal. 

But their dominant opening was rewarded in the 37th minute when Simeone was sent through by Nahuel Molina, with the Argentine slotting past Jasper Cillessen for his first LaLiga goal. 

The hosts threatened to extend their advantage before the break, but Samuel Lino and Pablo Barrios saw their efforts unable to trouble Cillessen.

Simeone's side continued to dominate proceedings, finally getting the goal their display merited seven minutes from time, with Sorloth beating the offside trap before curling the ball home to seal the victory.

Data Debrief: Like father, like son

Simeone followed in his father's footsteps against with his goal against Las Palmas, netting his first strike for Atletico in his eighth LaLiga match, almost 20 years after his father and manager, Diego, scored his last goal for the club against Real Madrid. 

But Sorloth also impressed. Since his arrival in LaLiga in the 2021-22 season, only Karim Benzema (46), Vinicius Junior (47) and Robert Lewandowski (56) have scored more goals than the Norwegian (43, level with Iago Aspas). 

Atletico have now won nine of their last 11 matches against Las Palmas in LaLiga (L1), keeping a clean sheet in nine of those games. 

Atletico Madrid returned to winning ways in LaLiga as Giuliano Simeone and Alexander Sorloth earned them a 2-0 triumph over Las Palmas on Sunday. 

Atletico's sixth win of the season moved them up to third in LaLiga after 12 games, while Las Palmas remain inside the bottom three in the Spanish top-flight. 

Diego Simeone's side started strongly at the Metropolitano Stadium, with Antoine Griezmann and Julian Alvarez going closest to netting the first goal. 

But their dominant opening was rewarded in the 37th minute when Simeone was sent through by Nahuel Molina, with the Argentine slotting past Jasper Cillessen for his first LaLiga goal. 

The hosts threatened to extend their advantage before the break, but Samuel Lino and Pablo Barrios saw their efforts unable to trouble Cillessen.

Simeone's side continued to dominate proceedings, finally getting the goal their display merited seven minutes from time, with Sorloth beating the offside trap before curling the ball home to seal the victory.

Data Debrief: Like father, like son

Simeone followed in his father's footsteps against Las Palmas, netting his first goal for Atletico in his eighth LaLiga match, almost 20 years after his father and manager, Diego, scored his maiden goal for the club in his ninth game in the competition against Real Madrid. 

But Sorloth also impressed. Since his arrival in LaLiga in the 2021-22 season, only Karim Benzema (46), Vinicius Junior (47) and Robert Lewandowski (56) have scored more goals than the Norwegian (43, level with Iago Aspas). 

Atletico have now won nine of their last 11 matches against Las Palmas in LaLiga (L1), keeping a clean sheet in nine of those games. 

Ademola Lookman scored a first-half brace as Atalanta stunned Serie A leaders Napoli with a 3-0 away win on Sunday, moving up to second in the table.

Lookman – who this week finished 14th in the voting for the Ballon d’Or – opened the scoring after 10 minutes with a volley from close range after being teed up by Charles De Ketelaere.

He then doubled La Dea’s lead after the half-hour mark with a long-range strike from another De Ketelaere pass, after Scott McTominay had rattled the post for Napoli.

Substitute Mateo Retegui added the third in stoppage time, sweeping home from Raoul Bellanova’s cross as Gian Piero Gasperini’s men extended their winning run to five league games.

Atalanta, provisionally second on 22 points, have cut the gap to their opponents at the summit to three points. 

They are one point above third-placed Inter – who have a game in hand – and Juventus in fourth.

Data Debrief: Lookman deals Conte reality check

Napoli entered Sunday’s game with the only 100% home record in Serie A this season, having won five of five on their own turf under new boss Conte.

However, they were given a harsh reality check by a potential Scudetto rival as the former Chelsea and Tottenham coach lost a home Serie A match by a three-goal margin for the first time since 2009, when he oversaw Atalanta’s 5-2 defeat to Juventus.

Lookman was the architect, and he has now been involved in more goals across all competitions in 2024 than any other Serie A player (28 – 17 goals, 11 assists).

Lionel Messi endured an outing to forget as Inter Miami suffered a dramatic 2-1 defeat at Atlanta United, sending their MLS Cup Playoff tie to a deciding third game.

Having recorded a 2-1 victory at home in Game 1, the Supporters’ Shield winners had a chance to book their place in the Eastern Conference semifinals on Saturday.

However, they were punished for a lacklustre performance at Mercedez-Benz Stadium, only recording two shots on target throughout the match.

The Herons did take a 40th-minute lead when David Martinez scored a bizarre opener, dinking his shot into an empty net following a slip from Atlanta goalkeeper Brad Guzan.

However, Derrick Williams headed a 58th-minute equaliser and Atlanta struck the decisive blow four minutes into stoppage time, Xande Silva coming off the bench to fire home from the edge of the box and prevent a penalty shoot-out.

The teams will now reconvene for a third game next week, with Messi and Miami requiring a home win to keep their campaign alive.

New York City also forced a decider in their series against FC Cincinnati, clinching a 3-1 home victory with goals from Alonso Martinez, Thiago Martins and Santiago Rodriguez.

Martinez put them ahead with a cool finish midway through the first half, with Martins adding a deserved second just before the interval, taking advantage of some poor defending to score with a free header at the far post.

Cincinnati were given hope of a comeback when Luca Orellano curled a wonderful strike into the top-left corner, but Rodriguez converted a stoppage-time penalty to ensure NYCFC kept the tie alive.

In the last of Saturday’s games, Minnesota United recorded a second penalty shoot-out win over Real Salt Lake in the space of four days to advance to the Western Conference semifinals.

Joseph Rosales’ placed effort gave Minnesota a second-half lead just four minutes after Brayan Vera’s deflected strike was disallowed for an offside in the build-up at the other end. 

Emeka Eneli prodded home 15 minutes from time to take the game to spot-kicks, but Real Salt Lake came up short from 12 yards once again, failing to score with three straight kicks in a 3-1 loss.

Minnesota goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair repelled efforts from Diogo Goncalves and Diego Luna either side of Matt Crooks blazing over the top, allowing Jeong Sang-bin to score the decisive kick for the Loons, who will face the LA Galaxy in the next round.

Borussia Dortmund's 2-1 comeback win over RB Leipzig to snap a three-game losing run was a reward for their hard work, coach Nuri Sahin said.

Dortmund, who face Sturm Graz in the Champions League next week, were without nine injured players but dug deep to score twice after visitors Leipzig took the lead.

They came into Saturday's Bundesliga match against second-placed Leipzig having lost three straight games across all competitions, and fell behind to Benjamin Sesko's thumping strike.

But goals from Maximilian Beier and Serhou Guirassy completed the turnaround and saw Sahin continue his strong home form, having won each of his first five league matches in charge at Signal Iduna Park.

"An important win, and in my opinion a deserved win," Sahin told reporters. 

"We started well and the goal did not knock us down. We were rewarded with a goal before half-time and then again after the break. Sometimes you suffer, but with suffering you learn. We are now on a better track and won't veer away."

Sahin had been under mounting pressure following a loss in the Champions League to Real Madrid after leading 2-0, and defeats by Augsburg in the Bundesliga last week and Tuesday's DFB-Cup exit to Wolfsburg.

"On Tuesday I also saw a team that gave everything but were not rewarded in the end. Today we were," Sahin said.

"The boys applied what we planned. The belief in this team is the same even if we had lost seven in a row."

Michel believes Girona's LaLiga match against Leganes should not have been played following flash floods that have devastated parts of eastern Spain.

Girona won a thrilling contest 4-3 on Saturday.

However, the match came after several days of flooding that has left over 200 people dead, with dozens unaccounted for.

Barcelona boss Hansi Flick and Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone earlier criticised the decision to hold most of the LaLiga matches this weekend, a sentiment echoed by Michel.

"We shouldn't celebrate anything since this match shouldn't have been played," the Girona boss said.

"Taking three points after the physical and mental toll of playing in different competitions and travelling, the team gives everything, and that's very positive."

Girona's Miguel Gutierrez, who opened the scoring, marked the goal by holding up a shirt that read: 'This is for you, Henry. Go Valencia'.

"The first shirt I lifted was for my friend Enrique, whose mother is missing. She was swept away by the current, and they’re still trying to find her," he said.

The 23-year-old said the past few days had been emotional.

"I believe the match takes a backseat. Aside from Madrid, the city I've spent the most time in where I have the most friends and connections is Valencia," Gutierrez said.

"I can assure you that I’ve seen videos and been on video calls with friends and it’s a complete disaster, an absolute nightmare." 

Focusing on the match, Michel acknowledged the defensive performance was not good enough from his team, who conceded only eight shots, though five of those were on target, with Leganes scoring three goals from an expected goals (xG) of just 0.4.

"We competed well; the first half was very good, but we conceded two goals from situations we could have defended better," he said.

"Even though I wanted to make changes to bring in the young players at 4-2, the 4-3 score complicated things. It was a tough situation for them. As coaches, we want to control the game more, but it turned out this way."

Wolves head coach Gary O’Neil was unfazed by supporter criticism after his team saw their winless start to the season continue with Saturday’s 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace.

Marc Guehi netted a late equaliser as Palace took a point at Molineux, where Wolves had previously been on course for victory after fighting back from 1-0 down to lead 2-1.

O’Neil’s side have now earned just three points from 10 matches, failing to win any of their first 10 games to start a league campaign for just the third time after 1926-27 (10 games) and 1983-84 (14).  

O’Neil responded to Trevoh Chalobah putting Palace ahead on the hour mark with a triple substitution, introducing Mario Lemina, Goncalo Guedes and Jean-Ricner Bellegarde.

Though the former duo impressed after coming on, supporters loudly booed O’Neil’s decision to replace midfielder Tommy Doyle, as speculation regarding his future continues to mount.

Asked about supporter discontent after the game, O’Neil said: “I’m fine, it’s my job. The three substitutes made a big difference, I thought we were excellent from then.

“They can voice their opinions, of course, it’s my job. Mario made us an awful lot better, he snuffed out so many balls and turned them into attacking situations for us.

“We need to be better, of course. A lot of it ends up being my responsibility, which I’m happy to take. Criticism around subs, goals can land on my doorstep, that’s what I’m here for.”

O’Neil then added: “I’m disappointed because it was a really brave fightback to spin the game from 1-0 down to 2-1 up, it took a lot of effort.

“Disappointed because having worked so hard to get in front, once we got in front I thought we had a good chance of seeing it out.

“I thought we’d have to defend a couple of moments but not be under any sort of siege, so we’re disappointed we came up short with one.”

Palace have now won more points from their last two matches (four) than they did through their first eight of 2024-25 (three), but boss Oliver Glasner was frustrated that they failed to put Wolves away when 1-0 up.

“It was our third game in six days with a very tight squad. The only thing we can blame ourselves is for not deciding the game when we could’ve done,” he said.

“We had the momentum with the crowd booing, this is what we could and should have done better. All of a sudden Wolves went 2-1 up and then it was back to the players who reacted, they came back again and what makes me proud is we went for the win.”

Excelsior High and St Catherine High consolidated their positions atop Groups Two and Four after registering contrasting performances against Jonathan Grant and Jamaica College, respectively, on the final day of the Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA)/Digicel Manning Cup Round of 16 encounters on Saturday.

Excelsior High registered a commanding 5-1 win over Jonathan Grant to finish at the summit of Group Two with maximum nine points.

They will be joined in the quarterfinal by Tivoli Gardens, who ended second with four points and a slightly better goal difference ahead of Eltham (four points) after they played out a lively 2-2 stalemate in the other group fixture.

Over in Group Four, St Catherine’s 1-1 stalemate with former champions Jamaica College saw them top the group with seven points, two points ahead of their Old Hope Road-based opponents, who ended with five points to also progress to the quarterfinal.

Calabar ended third on four points after they defeated Charlie Smith 3-0 in a game of academic interest.

The quarterfinal groups will see Mona High, Tivoli High, Jamaica College and Kingston College crossing swords in Group A, while St Catherine, Excelsior High, Campion College and Hydel are set to do battle in Group B.

Meanwhile, all other teams that failed to progress from the Round of 16 will contest the Walker Cup knockout competition.

Saturday’s results

St Catherine 1, Jamaica College 1

Eltham 2, Tivoli High 2

Excelsior 5, Jonathan Grant 1

Calabar 3, Charlie Smith 0

A new champion will be crowned in the Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA)/Wata daCosta Cup as defending champions Clarendon College were knocked out at the competition following a 1-2 loss to Cornwall College in their final Round of 16 contest in May Pen on Saturday.

Deshaun Talbert (33rd) and Dante Escoffery (44th) got the goals in the consolation win for Cornwall College in Zone Two, while Nicholy Forbes pulled one back for Clarendon College in the 73rd.

The result saw both teams being eliminated from the daCosta Cup as Zone winners Munro College (seven points) and Frome Technical (five points) secured the quarterfinal spots after a goalless stalemate in the other zone contest.

Cornwall College and Clarendon College ended on three points and one point, respectively. However, both teams will have a shot at the Ben Francis knockout title.

Theodore ‘Tappa’ Whitmore was pleased with the fact that his team ended the daCosta Cup on a high.

“I think it was more the desire and commitment with which we played. The second half of the season has been lacking but they came out this afternoon and we could see the fight and commitment from the players. The Ben Francis Cup is still a trophy to play for so we are looking forward to it, but it is a game-by-game situation so we just want to get the first game out the way and then see where we go from there,” Whitmore said in a post-game interview.

Though Clarendon College had a slight chance of progressing, provided they won and Frome Technical lost, it was Cornwall College, playing for pride, that looked more purposeful from the start.

Kayvon Donaldson proved troublesome to the opponent’s defence as he got the first two warning shots off from distance, the first of which went straight at Lydel Rodney in goal for Clarendon College, while the second sailed over the crossbar.

Donaldson, sporting the number 14 jersey, continued to lead Cornwall College’s attacking line and his persistence proved rewarding when he won a penalty after being taken out inside the 18-yard box. Talbert later converted the 12-yard kick.

With Clarendon College looking deflated, Cornwall College doubled their lead when Escoffery produced a well-timed run to meet a weighted pass inside the 18-yard box and head past Rodney, who should have done better.

Clarendon College showed more life on the resumption and created a few decent opportunities, with Forbes at the forefront of each attack.

The player sporting the number nine jersey first went close in the 71st when he was played in behind defenders, but his first effort came back off the upright, while the follow-up attempt was kept out by Carlyle Tinglin in goal for Cornwall College.

Forbes again went close soon after, but again failed to beat Tinglin, who was well-positioned to stop the effort.

He inevitably hit the back of the net when he finished a rebound after substitute goalkeeper Jerome Bernard spilled the ball from Nashon Bolt’s freekick.

Clarendon College’s Head coach, Lenworth ‘Teacha’ Hyde, felt his team underperformed this season.

“We didn’t do well this season; we lost some players last year, so we are basically on a rebuilding process. We have some Under-16 players to look at to gel with these current players. So it is a rebuilding process but I think we played well today, we had possession, it is just that we are not scoring, hence we lost the game,” Hyde said.

Saturday’s results

Alphansus Davis 0, Garvey Maceo 0

Kemps Hill 0, STETHS 2

Clarendon College 1, Cornwall College 2

Frome Technical 0, Munro College 0

Ocho Rios 2, Dinthill Technical 2

Happy Grove 0, Glenmuir 1

Central High 2, McGrath 1

Manchester High 2, Denbigh High 2

Paulo Fonseca downplayed the significance of next week's Champions League clash with Real Madrid following Milan's gritty 1-0 away win over Monza.

Milan are seventh in Serie A following Saturday's win, which came courtesy of a Tijjani Reijnders header.

The Rossoneri, who have been crowned champions of Europe on seven occasions, are 25th in the new-look Champions League standings, having taken three points from their opening three matches.

But Fonseca did not think his team would be overawed at the prospect of facing 15-time European champions Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday.

"I am always fired up for every game and do not think that Real Madrid is any more important than what we played tonight," Fonseca told Sky Sports Italia.

"I strongly believe in teamwork. Nowadays, football is challenging; we need to function as a team at all times, and that’s what we’re striving to achieve."

Speaking to DAZN, Fonseca added: "On Tuesday, we face Real, but it doesn't matter if it's Real Madrid or any other team; we need points to improve our position in the standings. I hope it will be a great night for all of us."

While Monza dominated the first half, they could not find the margins to score. Milan rallied in the second half, with Fonseca acknowledging that the first-half performance was below par.

"I was concerned in the first half as we weren’t aggressive enough and didn’t win enough individual duels, but I don’t really remember Monza's chances in the second half," Fonseca said.

"We adjusted what we needed to do during the half-time break and it was a totally different game after that."

Substitute Rafael Leao entered the match late and came close to scoring twice in the closing stages.

"He came on well, it is important to have this reaction from Rafa and that's what I want to see. I think he is ready to play in Madrid," Fonseca said.

Milan managed a 1-0 win at Monza thanks to a first-half header from Tijjani Reijnders on Saturday.

Midfielder Reijnders scored two minutes before half-time in the Serie A contest when he nodded home after Alvaro Morata's header was blocked.

Monza had wasted some decent openings before Milan went ahead, with Mike Maignan making a fine save to deny Pedro Pereira while Dany Mota had a goal disallowed.

Reijnders almost made it 2-0 after the break, but his deflected effort was kept out by Stefano Turati.

Monza goalkeeper Turati made another stop later on, this time to deny Rafael Leao, who scuffed his finish at the end of a mazy run.

Milan, who had 18 shots and accumulated 2.5 expected goals (xG), were not made to pay for that profligacy, though, as they got back on track after their defeat to Napoli, though the Rossoneri sit seventh, eight behind the Serie A leaders.

Data Debrief: Reijnders on a roll

After netting twice against Club Brugge in the Champions League, Reijnders, who did not play against Napoli on Tuesday, has now scored in two matches in a row for Milan for the first time.

It was the Dutch international's first league goal of the season, and capped a fine performance in which he also played two key passes and completed 44 of his 46 passes, with a team-leading 14 of those played in the final third.

Thiago Motta hailed Juventus’ 2-0 triumph at Udinese as a real “team victory” as the Bianconeri snapped their three-match winless streak.

Following a Champions League defeat and two league draws, Juve moved up to third in the Serie A standings with a comfortable triumph at Bluenergy Stadium.

An own goal from goalkeeper Maduka Okoye and a strike from Nicolo Savona handed Juve victory, as they went unbeaten through their first 11 matches of a Serie A season for the first time since 2020-21.

"This is a team victory, because we interpreted the match in the best way," Juve coach Motta told DAZN. 

"In the first half, we could have played a bit more because Udinese allowed us to build from the back, the initial build-up.

"We moved the ball around and sometimes found some very interesting situations, but we lacked some depth at that moment, especially with our wingers

"Udinese have great confidence at the moment, we were good at compacting and playing."

Juventus next play at Lille in the Champions League on Tuesday before hosting cross-city rivals Torino in next Saturday's Turin derby.

"Today we have to enjoy this important victory for us and recover in view of Tuesday when the Champions League returns," Motta added.

"It will be very interesting to play against Lille. They have an extra day of recovery because they played yesterday, we will have to rest well to face this match well." 

Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) General Secretary Dennis Chung has defended the decision to rehire Hubert Busby Jr as the senior Reggae Girlz Head coach, as he pointed out that the country’s governing football body conducted due diligence before moving forward.

Chung’s declaration is in response to an article published by British daily newspaper The Guardian, alleging that the JFF misrepresented Busby’s reinstatement, stating that he was cleared of sexual misconduct allegations by Fifa’s Ethics Committee.

He dismissed the article published on Friday and headlined “Jamaica FA falsely claims women’s team coach was cleared of alleged sexual misconduct” as a “witch hunt” and accused the outlet of distorting facts and overlooking critical details.

This, as the article cast doubt on Busby’s “clearance,” noting that Fifa’s Ethics Committee had closed the preliminary investigation due to a statute of limitations without formally exonerating him.

SportsMax.Tv obtained a copy of the correspondence from the Investigatory Chamber of Fifa's Ethics Committee stating that the investigation against Busby was closed based on information available. An email titled 'Fifa Clearance Letter' was also obtained, the content of which clarified that Busby was clear to seek employment.

Since the article surfaced, SportsMax.Tv has been reliably informed that Busby is in the process of filing a defamation lawsuit against someone in the UK. It is not clear if the individual is an employee at the British newspaper.

Busby was reappointed Reggae Girlz Head coach earlier this year, after he was initially suspended by the JFF in 2021, when the allegation of sexual misconduct was brought against him by former player Malloree Enoch.

Enoch alleged that Busby made sexual advances towards her during his time in charge at the Vancouver Whitecaps women’s outfit between 2010 and 2011. Busby denied the allegations.

“Do you think that the JFF, which is the organisation that dismissed Busby when the allegation was made, wouldn’t have done our due diligence? The technical committee received information to say that the investigation has closed and there was nothing based on the information that they had; there was nothing to support what was alleged,” Chung told SportsMax.Tv.

“The letter had stated that Fifa closed the investigation based on the information available. They never referred to any statute of limitations, as the article said. In addition to that, there was an email that Busby forwarded from Fifa stating that he could share it with us for employment purposes,” he added.

Chung clarified that contrary to the statement that he declined multiple requests for interviews and comments, he only received one call from a Guardian journalist, whom he directed to Busby or his legal representatives.

“They said that they reached out to me multiple times; that is not true. They called me once, and I told them, just like any organisation would, that Busby is a staff member and I am not at liberty to discuss his situation or give out any information on him. I told them they should call Busby, as it is he they need to get that information from,” Chung shared.

Chung also rubbished the claim in The Guardian article that several witnesses—including Enoch—were not interviewed by Fifa’s Ethics Committee.

“Does that make sense? If she is the one that made the allegations, do you think Fifa wouldn’t interview her? So what it is, it’s a witch hunt that they are on; it is almost as if they are saying he is still guilty even though the investigation is closed, and that is totally ridiculous,” Chung opined.

Finally, Chung said he is deeply disappointed by the article, which he believes unfairly targets Busby. He also expressed the view that the report adds unnecessary scrutiny to an issue that the JFF and Fifa have already addressed through established protocols.

“I don’t understand what it is about, but there is obviously something behind it. Because the letter never said the investigation was closed based on the statute of limitation, it said the investigation was closed based on the information that they had,” he noted.

“Not because an allegation is made means you’re going to hold it against a man for the rest of his life. Allegations are made against politicians all over, and they are still in positions of authority. You can’t because an allegation is made against a man; hold it against him, and there is nothing to prove that it happened,” Chung ended.