NowMyNews

Maicon has vowed to stay and fight for his place at Manchester City despite a desperately disappointing start to life at the Etihad. The Champions League-winning defender moved to the Premier League last summer, linking back up with Roberto Mancini, who initially signed him at Inter Milan. Out of sorts: Maicon's City career has been beset by injuries and poor form However, his time in England has been blighted by niggling injuries and inconsistent form, problems which were compounded by the excellence of Pablo Zabaletta at right-back. But the 31-year-old, who has made just 11 appearances this campaign, is determined to stay on. 'I can completely guarantee you that I’ll not leave,' he told Lancenet. 'I'm calm and I don’t care about what they wrote about me. 'My only objective is to help the team and don’t have any more injuries, as my goal is to return to the national team. 'I didn’t have one of my best seasons, I had physical problems that prevented

Juventus have been fined €30,000 (£25,685) after a section of fans directed racist abuse at AC Milan players during Sunday’s Serie A game. The league's disciplinary committee has taken exception to chants directed at black members of the Milan team, including striker Mario Balotelli, who was not playing due to suspension. Banner: Juventus supporters display a banner of Turin landmark Mole Antonelliana before the Milan clash Abuse: AC Milan players, including Kevin-Prince Boateng (right), were targeted by sections of the Juve support A statement published on legaseriea.it read: 'A fine of 30,000 euros is issued to Juventus because fans, in the 26th minute of the first half, directed expressions of racial discrimination towards an opposition player. 'In the second minute of the second half there were insulting chants directed at an opposition player not deployed on the field. Finally, between the 38th and 41st minutes of the first half, a large banner was unfurled disp

Former Brighton captain Tony Grealish has died at the age of 56, the club have announced. A statement on the club website read: ‘Brighton & Hove Albion are saddened by the news that former captain Tony Grealish has passed away at the age of 56. ‘The midfielder spent three seasons with the Seagulls between 1981 and 1984, during which time he captained the side to the 1983 FA Cup final against Manchester United. Club legend: Grealish captained Brighton in the 1983 FA Cup final ‘The Final finished in a draw, and the Seagulls lost 4-0 to the top-flight team in the replay, but the occasion stands as a highlight in the club’s history and will forever be remembered by the Albion faithful. ‘Former Republic of Ireland international Tony began his professional career at Leyton Orient in 1974, where he made over 170 appearances before moving to Luton Town in 1979. ‘He spent two seasons at Kenilworth Road before Mike Bailey signed Tony for the Seagulls, and he racked up over 120 appearance

Chelsea have found themselves at the centre of another race probe, only hours after it was announced that referee Mark Clattenburg will return to Stamford Bridge for the first time since he was wrongly accused of racially abusing one of their players. While Chelsea prepare for Clattenburg’s visit for the Premier League encounter with Swansea on Sunday, the club have also been forced to respond to claims Yossi Benayoun was the victim of anti-Semitic taunts from his own supporters. The Israel international was booed by Blues supporters as he came on as a late substitute during the 2-2 draw at Liverpool, but Stamford Bridge officials are looking into accusations that Benayoun was racially abused by members of the club’s travelling support. Controversy: This time Yossi Benayoun is alleged to have been the victim of anti-Semitic taunts Club staff have assured the midfielder that they will come down hard on any fan found guilty of racially abusing him. Benayoun alluded to the anti-S

A gang of hooligans who fought rival fans in a busy retail park as horrified families looked on escaped jail today. The violent bust-up unfolded at New Douglas Retail Park in Hamilton, Lanarkshire, between supporters of Hamilton Academical and Dundee. Two gangs of up to 30 'casuals' ran riot, battered each other and even spat at disgusted onlookers. Shaun Murray, 27, Liam Fullerton, 18, Daniel Weir, 21, Jamie Gilchrist, 29, all from Dundee, and Joseph Roeves, 19, from Hamilton, were on trial at Hamilton Sheriff Court last month. Walking free: (left to right) Shaun Murray, Liam Fullerton, and Jamie Gilchrist must do community service They had denied fighting and causing fear and alarm on the day of a Scottish First Division match on December 3, 2011. A jury found them guilty but on Tuesday they walked free from court after Sheriff Ray Small ordered each of them to perform 250 hours of unpaid work. However he refused to hand down Football Banning Orders despite prosecutors as

Indonesian soccer player Pieter Rumaropen could face heavy punishment after punching a referee in the face during a top flight Super League match at the weekend. Rumaropen's Persiwa Wamena were tied 1-1 with Pelita Bandung Raya on Sunday when referee Muhaimin awarded a penalty to Pelita with eight minutes left on the clock. Video replays of the incident showed Rumaropen running up behind Muhaimin and landing a swinging left hook on the referee, who had to be admitted to a hospital due to excessive bleeding from his nose. Scroll down for video Tackle: The referee awarded a penalty to Pelita after this challenge Charge: Incensed by the penalty award, Rumaropen runs towards the referee Punch: Rumaropen lands a swinging left hook which catches the referee by surprise The match was held up for 15 minutes before a replacement official took over and gave Rumaropen a red card. 'The case has been forwarded to the disciplinary committee,' said the league's communic

Troy Deeney's double helped Watford to a comfortable win over struggling Blackburn as Gianfranco Zola's men closed to within four points of Hull in the race for automatic promotion. The striker scored his 17th and 18th goals of the campaign within the space of nine second-half minutes while Almen Abdi and Matthew Briggs added further goals as the Hornets recorded a first win in four attempts, and consigned Rovers - who had Leon Best sent-off in stoppage-time - to a fifth consecutive away league defeat. With two games to go, Steve Bruce's Tigers remain favourites for second place, but Watford's much superior goal difference means Hull will need to win at least one of their remaining fixtures to prevent a late charge from the Vicarage Road club, who have now mathematically secured at least a play-off spot. Job done: Matthew Briggs (right) nets Watford's fourth goal of the afternoon MATCH FACTS Watford: Almunia, Doyley, Cassetti, Ekstrand (Briggs 69), Pudil, Anya (

Police have arrested three men in dawn raids in connection with violence at an FA Cup semi-final between Millwall and Wigan. The men, aged 21, 22 and 27, were arrested at addresses in London by officers from Operation Arrowtip, which targets football-related crime, Scotland Yard said. So far 23 people have been arrested in relation to violence at the semi-final at London's Wembley Stadium on April 13, during which Millwall fans attacked police and fought among themselves inside and outside the ground. Scroll down for video Something to hide? Police make an arrest during an early morning raid after violence at Wembley Flashpoint: Police clash with fans during the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley A further 17 pictures have been released of people at the match who police want to speak to. Detective Chief Inspector Andy Barnes said: 'Large-scale violence and disorder at football matches is completely unacceptable. People attending matches expect to be able to do so in a safe and

Woking midfielder and Fulham Academy coach Kevin Betsy returns for his latest Footballers' Football Column in which he looks at the struggles of relegation. The former Wycombe, Bristol City, Oldham and Barnsley midfielder recounts the pressures from his personal experiences and takes a look at the pros and cons of young players playing in front of big crowds... This is the business end. Dreams are made, hearts broken and lives can be changed. The financial consequences of success and failure in football are all too real for the chairman and boards of directors. This filters down through the management and players, on to the unsung heroes like kitmen/women, admin staff etc and out to the supporters. A relegation battle is without doubt one of the most stressful situations I have been involved in. You meet supporters and look them in the eye and realise their desperation for you to survive. Your performance and that of the team can affect the lives of others. We have chosen this p

Mansfield chief executive Carolyn Radford returns for her latest Footballers' Football Column with a celebration special after the Stags' promotion back to the Football League. She lifts the lid on the club's promotion party and bonkers final day of the season. Radford also explains why winning the league is only part of the reason she is celebrating at the moment. Saturday was just a sensational day. Getting promoted as champions was our aim all season, but when we did it, it almost didn't seem real. It was like being in shock. It came down to the last game of the season, and it was between us and Kidderminster at the top, but their game got delayed half-way through due to the crowd trouble. So we had the conference chairman sitting behind us telling us everything that was going on. Kidderminster had already scored three or four goals at that point but we were only one nil up so it was really touch and go. We needed a win to win the title but if Wrexham had equalise