Riyad Mahrez ended an 10-day standoff with Leicester City on Friday when he was pictured returning to the club s training ground. The Algerian was pictured arriving in a black people carrier at the club s training ground on Friday morning, less than 24 hours after manager Claude Puel appealed to him to "get his head right" and return.

Morocco local-based national team coach Jamal Salami praised the "shining performance" of Ahly striker Walid Azaro, saying his compatriot has more to achieve in his career and deserves to wear the jersey of the European top flights. "Walid is a brilliant player and he can join one of the big European teams, I can liken him with Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy, he is a strong and talented player," Salami told a radio station on Thursday.

Leicester City forward Riyad Mahrez will miss Saturday s game against Manchester City, the club he had hoped to join last month, his manager Claude Puel said on Thursday. Algerian Mahrez has neither trained nor played with the Leicester team since transfer deadline day, when he failed to secure a move to the Premier League leaders.

Al-Ahram s weekly sports magazine Al-Ahram Al-Riyadi, held a celebration ceremony on Tuesday in Cairo to honor the best Egypt-based footballers of 2017 in what the magazine dubbed its first sports "Oscars." "We are very happy with our first ever Oscar ceremony. It is a great honor to give the credit to those who made achievements in the field of sports over the past year," said Al-Ahram Al-Riyadi editor-in-chief Mohamed Shabana as he opened the ceremony.

Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has said he is ready to extend his contract with the Premier League club despite the fact that his heart is in Madrid for personal reasons. Since breaking into the Chelsea team in 2014 the Belgium international has frequently been linked to Real Madrid, however he said negotiations over a new deal with the English champions are imminent and all being well he will put pen to paper.

Egypt s Sports Minister Khaled Abdel-Aziz said on Tuesday that fans will be allowed to attend Egypt Cup games, a move that will end the five-year ban on crowds at domestic football matches. "The Egypt Cup quarters will witness the return of the fans to the stands," Khaled Abdel-Aziz told a radio station on Tuesday.

Barcelona defender Gerard Pique s goal celebration against Espanyol in their 1-1 draw at the weekend will be examined to see if he was provoking the fans at the RCDE Stadium in Cornella, La Liga president Javier Tebas said on Monday. If the Spanish football federation s competition committee deems Pique s actions punishable, the Spanish international could face a suspension of up to three games.

Liverpool coach Juergen Klopp heaped praise on star winger Mohamed Salah after seeing the Egyptian international scoring twice in Sunday s 2-2 draw against Tottenham Hotspur. "It was a fantastic goal (the second one), an outstanding goal. It was an outstanding performance, [he was] a threat the whole 90 minutes, that s true," Klopp said in the press conference after the match.

Ahly coach Hossam El-Badry has expressed delight at the team s 3-0 victory over Ittihad of Alexandria on matchday 22 of the Egyptian Premier League, describing the game as important and "tough". "Thank God, we won a tough game in very difficult circumstances as half of the team is in Saudi Arabia for a friendly," the 57-year-old told the club s official website.

Egyptian winger Mohamed Salah scored twice in Liverpool s 2-2 draw with Tottenham at Anfield on Sunday. The 25-year-old capitalised on a mistake from Eric Dier to put Liverpool in front in the third minute, taking his tally to 20 league goals for the season.

Ahly made it eight wins in a row after convincingly seeing off Alexandria s Ittihad 3-0 in the Egyptian league at Borg El-Arab Stadium on Sunday. A first-half goal from Moroccan striker Walid Azaro in the 39th minute was followed by another two after the break from Abdallah El-Said and Junior Ajayi in 78 and 81 minutes respectively.

The first of February marks a very dark night in Egyptian football history, when 72 Ahly team supporters died and dozens were severely injured in 2012 in bloody clashes against rival fans from Port Said s Masry following a league game. Seventy-three defendants, including nine police officers, were charged for involvement in the incident, and after a long process – which caused riots in the coastal city, leaving even more causalities – 10 defendants received final death verdicts last year, while another 25 received between 5 and 15-year prison sentences.

Ahly striker Emad Meteb, who is currently on loan to Saudi side Al-Taawoun, has shown interest in joining the Egyptian national team for his first appearance at the World Cup since 1990. "I am focusing on my current team at the moment. My target is to join the national team. It will be a very great honor to play at the 2018 World Cup," the 35-year-old forward told an Egyptian radio station Thursday morning.

Veteran midfielder Hossam Ghaly has officially rejoined boyhood club Ahly on Wednesday on a six-month contract after his recent departure from Saudi side Al-Nassr, the Cairo giants announced. "The technical staff agreed to the return of Ghaly until the end of the current season," Hossam El-Badry was quoted as saying by the club s official website.

German World Cup winner Mesut Ozil gave Arsenal a big boost on Wednesday by finally agreeing a new contract which will see him become the highest paid player in the club s history, according to the BBC. The broadcaster reported that the 29-year-old playmaker -- who has been with the Gunners since joining from Real Madrid for a then-record club fee of £42.4million ($60million, 48.2million euros) in 2013 -- signed a three-and-a-half year contract and will earn around £350,000 a week.

An Egyptian economic court has handed down a hefty EGP400 million fine to Qatari beIN Media Group, the parent company of beIN Sports, over monopolistic practices. A case was filed by the Egyptian Competition Authority against the Qatari group and its CEO Nasser Al-Khelaifi in October last year over what the authority said was repeated violations of an Egyptian law on competition and the prevention of monopolistic practices.

Football clubs across the world splashed out a record $6.37 billion on players during 2017 with English teams again the biggest spenders, FIFA s Global Transfer Market Report said. The total paid out was about 33 percent more than in 2016 as English clubs led the way with a net spend of $988 million on squad improvement.

Ahly coach Hossam El-Badry has pointed out the importance and the difficulties of the Ismaily game on Tuesday, the Egyptian Premier League s 21st match-day. "Ismaily are always powerful opponents and the game is expected to be very tough. Ahly technical staff members are aware of the importance of winning the three points in order to ensure the league lead," El-Badry, 57, told the club s official website on Monday.

Gerard Pique says he does not regret his comments mocking Barcelona s rivals Espanyol after eliminating them from the King s Cup last week, stoking up the rivalry ahead of another visit to Cornella on Sunday in La Liga. Barcelona beat Espanyol 2-0 at the Nou Camp last Thursday to qualify for the semi-finals (2-1 on aggregate) and Pique repeatedly referred to the visitors as "Espanyol de Cornella" when speaking to the media afterwards.

Egypt winger Mohamed Salah netted his 25th goal for Liverpool but it was enough to prevent them from suffering a surprise 3-2 defeat by West Bromwich Albion to exit the FA Cup at the fourth round on Saturday. Liverpool suffered their first defeat at Anfield this season, a double from Jay Rodriguez inspiring West Brom to triumph against all the odds - and VAR.

Manchester United midfielder Ander Herrera has said the Premier League club will continue fighting for every trophy after reaching the fifth round of the FA Cup with a 4-0 win over Yeovil Town on Friday. Herrera, who made his 150th appearance for the club, struck after forward Marcus Rashford s opener while late goals from midfielder Jesse Lingard and striker Romelu Lukaku sealed an emphatic victory over the League Two (fourth-tier) club.