Off the Pitch

Borussia Dortmund took down two opponents on Tuesday during the Champions League as the players on the field destroyed Celtic 7-1 and the fans in the stands blasted UEFA with a strong message.

Prior to the game Dortmund fans made their voices heard with a massive tifo and banner denouncing the new Champions League format being used this season.

UEFA expanded the competition from 32 teams to 36 and got rid of the six-game group stage, replacing it with a league table. Each club will now play eight games in the initial phase.

Canada's Christine Sinclair, the world's top international goal scorer among both women and men, said on Friday she will retire from professional soccer at the end of the 2024 NWSL season in November.

Sinclair, whose 190 international goals is the most among both men and women, retired from the Canadian team last December. She is currently in her 12th season with the NWSL's Portland Thorns, who wrap up their regular season on Nov. 1 and are currently sitting in a playoff spot.

Christine Sinclair retires

France's World Cup-winning defender Raphaël Varane announced his retirement from football at the age of 31 on Wednesday, bringing down the curtain on his successful career after suffering a serious knee injury.

Varane made 93 appearances for France from 2013-22, playing a key role in their victory at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, as well as their runners-up finish four years later in Qatar. He retired from international football in 2023.

Varane retires

Former Arsenal and Ipswich Town forward Jay Emmanuel-Thomas has been charged after he was arrested by Scotland's National Crime Agency (NCA) in connection with the seizure 132 pounds of cannabis worth $793,620 at Stansted Airport.

The 33-year-old, who now plays for Scottish second division side Greenock Morton, was detained by NCA officers on Wednesday in an operation supported by Police Scotland.

Former Arsenal player arrested

MANCHESTER — Players could be close to strike action over the amount of games they are required to play, Manchester City midfielder Rodri warned on Tuesday on the eve of their Champions League opener against Inter Milan.

Expanded Champions League and FIFA Club World Cup formats, alongside enlarged national team competitions, has made for a greater number of games for top teams and players, and Rodri is the latest to say the workload is too great.

Rodri strike claim

Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo crossed one billion followers across his social media accounts, aided by his newly-launched YouTube channel that has attracted more than 60 million subscribers in just over three weeks.

Ronaldo, who scored his 900th career goal last week to help Portugal beat Croatia 2-1 in the Nations League, is the first human being to reach a billion followers on social media, global media reports said.

Cristiano Ronaldo 1 billion followers

The Football Association have charged Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur after the Uruguayan made a racist remark about South Korean people when talking about his teammate Son Heung-min during a television appearance.

Bentancur, 27, has until Sept. 19 to respond to the charge.

Rodrigo Bentancur charge