Police released a statement on Thursday after Real Madrid‘s team bus was involved in a collision on the M40 near Warwick a day after their Champions League defeat against Liverpool at Anfield. People passing the scene alerted the local authorities by posting footage on social media after seeing the coach stationary on the side of the motorway behind the lorry it seemingly crashed into.

Warwickshire Police then responded to the reports claiming a collision occurred between a car, a lorry and the coach. However, no serious injuries resulted from the incident.

None of Madrid’s players were on their bus and presumably flew back to the Spanish capital hours after the match. The vehicle was only transporting equipment the club brought over for the game.

Warwickshire Police have since released a statement. “Our officers responded to reports of a collision involving a car, a lorry, and the coach of a well-known football team on the M40 southbound between junction 16 for Hockley Heath and junction 15 for Warwick,” it explains.

“Fortunately, nobody was seriously injured. The players from the well-known football team were not on the coach at the time.”

The club only unveiled the bus last month, rebranding it to align with the design of the £1.5billion rebuild of their Bernabeu Stadium. However, the incident on the M40 is not even its first this year after being involved in a crash while in Germany during February for Madrid’s Champions League round of 16 first leg against RB Leipzig.

For that tie, the team had to fly into Erfurt rather than Leipzig because of a strike at the city’s airport. That necessitated a 100-mile journey in their coach, during which time, as the German tabloid Bild reported at the time, they collided with a white Toyota.

Frank Lampard has been announced as the new Coventry City head coach following a year-and-a-half away from management.

Lampard’s return to management has been confirmed by Championship side Coventry, who have appointed the England and Chelsea legend on a two-and-a-half-year deal. The 46-year-old has been without a job since 2023 but is now being called to action by the struggling Sky Blues.

Coventry have won just four of their 17 games so far in 2024-25, which led to the sacking of Mark Robins. Sitting just two points above the drop zone, Lampard will be eager to get straight to work and push the club much higher up the table.

Club owner Doug King said in a statement: “I am delighted that Frank Lampard has agreed to join our club as Head Coach. Frank cut his teeth in the Championship and knows what is needed in this League to be successful. His experiences thereafter at Chelsea and Everton will ensure he brings to our talented squad clear understanding of exactly what is needed to succeed at the very top level that we as a Club are striving to reach.”

Lampard’s last experience as a manager came as Chelsea’s interim boss, seeing out the 2022-23 campaign at Stamford Bridge. He has also managed at Derby and Everton, meaning he returns to the Championship vastly more experienced than when he started his managerial journey with the Rams in 2018. It was only 18 months ago that Coventry made it to the play-off final and Lampard would love nothing more than to get them back into a position that would allow them to challenge for a place in the Premier League once again.

A press conference is set to be held on Thursday afternoon for Lampard to make his first appearance as Coventry manager. He will then get his first taste of life in the dugout when the club host Cardiff on Saturday

Bayern Munich apologised to Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday for the presence of banners with offensive messages aimed at the French club’s president Nasser al-Khelaifi during their Champions League clash.

PSG visited Bayern’s Allianz Arena on Tuesday and a section of the home support unveiled a banner with a profanity aimed at the “plutocratic Al-Khelaifi”.

A separate banner with a picture of Al-Khelaifi’s head crossed out was also displayed, as well as two banners reading “Minister, club owner, TV rights holder, UEFA EXCO member & ECA chairman all in one”.

Some Bayern fans also reportedly sang insulting chants about the French club itself after the match, which the hosts won 1-0.

“FC Bayern would like to apologise when its opponents and their representatives in its stadium feel personally attacked in this manner and tone and are offended as a result,” read a statement on Bayern’s website.

“The club would like to make it clear that these banners were not authorised by FC Bayern and do not reflect its stance.”

“They are not in keeping with the good and long-standing relationship between the two clubs. The tone of these banners also goes against the style of FC Bayern and the respectful relationship the club has with its international partners,” the Bavarian club added.

Al-Khelaifi became president of PSG in 2011, following the acquisition of the club by Qatar Sports Investments (QSI).

The 51-year-old has also been the president of the European Club Association since April 2021, and was reelected in September of last year on a four-year mandate.

In addition, Al-Khelaifi is the chair of beIN Media Group, which holds distribution rights for various football competitions, including France’s Ligue 1 and Germany’s Bundesliga.

QSI is a subsidiary of the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) — the country’s sovereign wealth fund which has assets worth hundreds of billions of dollars.

AFP