Dortmund Defender Suele to Retire at End of Season

Roma have a return to the Champions League firmly within their sights ahead of Sunday's trip to Parma as both Juventus and AC Milan's hope's of finishing in Serie A's top four are threatened by the resurgent capital club.

A hammering by new champions Inter Milan a month ago seemed to signal the end of Roma's hopes of ending a long absence from Europe's top club competition.

But 10 points from their subsequent four matches have taken Roma to within one point of fourth-placed Juventus, with Milan only two further points ahead in third, said AFP.

"We're going well, but we know that we cannot make any mistakes if we're going to have any chance of making the Champions League," coach Gian Piero Gasperini said after last weekend's thumping of Fiorentina.

"We've got three matches that we have to get right and hope that others don't."

Roma have found form at just the right time, and Gasperini has solidified his position at the helm after a battle with Claudio Ranieri seemed to have put his job at risk.

Ranieri was dismissed from his role as senior advisor to Roma's billionaire American owners a fortnight ago, after a spat between him and Gasperini boiled over in public just before the 3-0 thumping of Pisa which began this recent hot run of form.

The Friedkin family has decided to put their faith in Gasperini, who is liked by fans even after his row with local boy and lifelong Roma fan Ranieri, in the hope he can break the club back into the Champions League.

Roma haven't played in Europe's top club competition since being knocked out by Porto in the last 16 seven years ago but their prospects of doing so are looking up with three matches remaining this season.

Also playing into Roma's hands is how Milan's form has fallen off a cliff, Massimiliano Allegri's team picking up just seven points since beating Inter two months ago.

That derby win looked to have reopened the league title race but Milan have scored just once in five matches and are now looking over their shoulders at Roma, with Como also only three points off the top four.

Making things worse for Milan, who have Atalanta at the San Siro on Sunday night, is midfield lynchpin Luka Modric missing the rest of the season with a cheekbone fracture, and his absence was keenly felt at Sassuolo last weekend.

Parma have nothing to play for and Roma's final opponents Verona are already relegated, but sandwiched between those two fixtures is the Rome derby, with Lazio always keen to give their neighbors a bloody nose.

Player to watch: Donyell Malen

With 12 goals since arriving on loan from Aston Villa in January, Malen has been the star of Gasperini's Roma team in the second half of the season.

The Netherlands striker has become a key player and has provided cut and thrust to Roma's attacking in a similar way to some of the best players of Gasperini's nine hugely successful years at Atalanta, like Ademola Lookman or Alejandro Gomez.

Australian authorities on Thursday reversed a ban on public watch parties in Melbourne's Federation Square for the 2026 football World Cup after the decision sparked an outcry.

The Melbourne Arts Precinct, which manages the square, had said it would stop hosting the big-screen events because of the risk posed by unruly fans, who have used flares in the past, said AFP.

Jacinta Allan, premier of the state of Victoria, intervened to reverse the ban, which had been condemned by the country's football chiefs.

"I disagree with the decision -- and I am overturning it," Allan said in a statement.

"There's always a risk of bad behavior from a few dickheads at every public gathering, but police and security will be on site and there'll be zero tolerance for it," she said.

"The World Cup should bring us together, not keep us apart."

Football Australia had condemned the ban, saying it would rob fans of the chance to follow their team together.

The Socceroos begin their World Cup against Türkiye in Vancouver on June 13, followed by games against co-hosts the United States in Seattle six days later and Paraguay in California on June 25.

Melbourne Arts Precinct director Katrina Sedgwick said she "welcomed" the state's decision to help provide a safe site for watching the World Cup in Federation Square.

"We look forward to seeing the Socceroos back on the world stage, and on the Big Screen next month," she said in a statement.

Liga MX players who fail to attend Mexico's World Cup training camp starting on Wednesday will be dropped from the tournament squad, the Mexican Football Federation (FMF) said, essentially cancelling an exemption granted to players from Toluca.

Clubs had initially agreed with FMF that they would release all called-up players from May 6.

FMF later granted special permission to Toluca players to remain with their club for Wednesday's second leg of the CONCACAF Champions Cup semi-final against Los Angeles FC, in which they trail 2-1 on aggregate.

That exemption drew criticism from Amaury Vergara, owner of ⁠Guadalajara, which fields ⁠only Mexican players. Vergara later urged his club's five selected players to return for the Liga MX Clausura quarter-finals, with the team seeking to overturn a 3-1 deficit against Tigres UANL in Saturday's second leg.

"All players must report to the High Performance Centre in Mexico City," Reuters quoted the FMF as saying in a statement on ⁠Wednesday. "On the coaching staff’s instructions, any player who fails to attend the training camp today will be excluded from the World Cup."

The dispute highlighted growing tension between clubs and the national team over player availability ahead of the World Cup, with domestic and continental fixtures clashing with preparations for the tournament.

Toluca, the reigning Liga MX champions, had requested permission since the start of the season to keep players available. After the FMF statement, Toluca said they would release Jesus Gallardo and Alexis Vega to join ⁠the national team.

"Toluca ⁠acted at all times in compliance with FMF regulations," the club said in a statement. "A specific authorization was requested in advance ... and validation was granted by Liga MX and the FMF.

"The club will release their players and do without them for tonight’s crucial match in the second leg of the CONCACAF Champions League semi-final."

Mexico, co-hosts of the World Cup alongside the US and Canada, will complete their preparations with friendlies against Ghana on May 22, Australia on May 30 and Serbia on June 4, before opening the tournament against South Africa in Group A on June 11.

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