Pochettino: PSG failures in Europe in the past
Mauricio Pochettino insists he is not burdened by the history of Paris St Germain's European failures as his new club prepare to face Barcelona in the Champions League tonight.
Pochettino's predecessors have fallen short of delivering the trophy the club craves after huge Qatari financial backing that has brought the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Neymar to the French capital.
Thomas Tuchel guided PSG to their first-ever Champions League final last season, but they came up short in losing 1-0 to Bayern Munich.
Asked how he felt ahead of his biggest test as PSG boss, Pochettino said: "I am very calm. We are excited because there is so much passion around the club and this is a special game. We would so like to win this coveted trophy . History is in the past and we are now in a different reality with different players. We joined the club 40 days ago and we started to feel that the Champions League is important for the club .”
FIFA president Gianni Infantino has hit back at reports he instructed female referees not to greet a Qatari delegate during the Club World Cup medal ceremony as "false rumours".
The Brazilian officials, Edina Alves Batista and Neuza Back, did not receive the fist bumps from Sheikh Joaanbinhamadalthani, which he gave to their male counterparts.
It had been reported that Infantino, whom the officials passed before the Sheikh, had given them instructions not to greet him, but he insists he simply offered them his congratulations.
"Given the lies that have been spread online in relation to what I said to the female officials during the FIFA Club World Cup final medals ceremony, I would like to issue a clarification," he said.
"I used the opportunity to congratulate them for the great job that they performed throughout the competition.
"This was a landmark for Fifa – the first time that female officials were appointed to, and officiated at, a men's senior Fifa competition.
"As everyone knows, I am a strong advocate of women's rights and equal treatment of every human being – regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion or physical ability.
"Fifa's statutes explicitly state it is committed to respecting all internationally recognised human rights, and shall strive to promote the protection of these rights.
"Those who have been spreading false rumours should be ashamed of their actions."