SPORTS

Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong faces fresh charges by US Anti-Doping Agency.

The 2012 European Championships has already seen its fair share of upsets, great goals and wonderful performances. We now arrive at the 13th fixture of the competition, to be played between 2006 World Cup champions Italy and Euro 98 runners-up Croatia, at the Poznan Municipal Stadium

Former Republic of Ireland international Niall Quinn believes Giovanni Trapattoni's side can pull one of the biggest shocks of Euro 2012 and beat Spain in Gdansk on Thursday evening.

For many, the image of a footballer is not the same than that of any person they know or know of, with sportsmen often taking a much more emotionless, hero-like picture in fans' minds as they play week in and out and enjoy pleasures in life that the majority of the population won't ever experience.

The fall-out from Harry Redknapp's sacking as manager of Tottenham Hotspur could impact as early as this summer, with both Luka Modric and Gareth Bale considering their future at White Hart Lane.

The rain has been pouring all week in Krakow, and it couldn't be a better time to head for the beach coast of Gdansk as the Republic of Ireland prepare to prove the critics wrong and show up tournament favourites Spain (I still have hope!).

Check out a full tactical preview and analysis ahead of Thursday evening's game between defending champions Spain and the Republic of Ireland, as well as information on where to watch live and what time it kicks off

Former England captain Alan Shearer has implored Roy Hodgson to start Andy Carroll against Sweden on Friday, after their Group D opponents struggled to contain Ukraine's Andriy Shevchenko in their opening game.

Roberto Di Matteo has finally been rewarded for his excellent work with Chelsea as he has been offered a permanent two year deal at Stamford Bridge.

Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp, after denying rumours that he had left the club on Tuesday, has been officially sacked by the Spurs, according to the clubs official web site.

Holland's hopes of advancing to the Euro 2012 knockout stages have suffered a potentially fatal blow, after a 2-1 loss to Germany.

Portugal edged closer to the Euro 2012 quarter-finals after a hard-fought win against Denmark in Lviv.

Premier League sells domestic broadcast rights for 2013-16 for £3.02bn to BSkyB and BT - an increase of £1.25bn on current deal.

Chelsea have confirmed the appointment of Roberto Di Matteo as their permanent manager and first-team coach on a two-year contract.

Roy Hodgson has taken just six weeks to realise the limitations of this England team

Russia have been handed a suspended six-point deduction from their next European Championship qualifying campaign in the wake of disturbances by their fans before last Friday's opening Group A match against the Czech Republic.

David Millar has been selected in Great Britain's provisional 18-strong cycling team for the London 2012 Olympics.

Former Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish believes Patrice Evra's criticism of England's dour performance on Monday night was unjustified and insists manager Roy Hodgson would have been delighted with the draw in Donetsk.

Glen Johnson was an injury doubt ahead of Euro 2012 with a toe injury and has to endure injections to be on the field for England.

Celtic midfielder Victor Wanyama would consider an offer to leave Celtic Park should one come from a big named overseas club.

Holland coach Bert van Marwijk is facing questions from within the squad regarding the role of team captain Mark van Bommel, who happens to be his son-in-law.

Former Germany midfielder Dietmar Hamann insists there is nothing to separate Germany and the Netherlands ahead of their crucial encounter in Kharkiv on Wednesday night.

Harry Redknapp describes his exit rumours as "scandalous"

Not much, apart from pure rivalry, comes to mind when one thinks about football matches contested between Holland and Germany. It is after all one of the fiercest rivalries in the history of European football. However, ahead of this 12th fixture for the 2012 Euros, both sides will be planning a very different approach due to the contrasting results in their respective opening game.

Italian international Antonio Cassano has apologised for claiming he hoped none of his team-mates were homosexual.

Cage cricket seeks to open game up to urban youths living in confined areas.

Portugal know that there is no margin for further errors in the 'group of death' and a loss to Denmark would eliminate them from the tournament with a game to spare.

Poland's Interior Minister Jacek Cichocki rejects media reports suggesting one football supporter has died after violent clashes between rival Russian and Polish fans prior to European Championship group match.

Czech Republic finally got the right result in the 2012 Euros following their 2-1 win against Greece at Wroclaw on Tuesday. Two early goals from Petr Jiracek and Vaclav Pilar helped the Czechs keep their hopes of reaching the final eight alive after their disastrous 1-4 loss to Russia in the first game.