Buffon joins PSG for final shot at CL glory

Turkey to introduce VAR next season

PARIS, July 7, (Agencies): Former Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon has signed for French champions Paris Saint Germain (PSG) on a one-year deal with the option of an extra year, the club said on Friday.

“It is with a great feeling of happiness that I join Paris Saint-Germain,” Buffon, who has played 176 times for Italy in a 20-year international career, told the Ligue 1 club’s website.

“For the first time in my career, I am leaving my country and only a project this ambitious could have encouraged me to make such a decision. I want to thank the club and the president for their confidence.”

The talismanic shot-stopper, now 40, said a tearful farewell to Juventus after 17 seasons at the club when he played his last match for them in a 2-1 win over relegated Verona in May.

Buffon, who made his professional debut for Parma as a 17-year-old in 1995, made his name at Juve, winning nine Serie A and four Coppa Italia titles.

He ended his Juventus career with 300 clean sheets in 655 matches in all competitions.

Buffon

Turkey will introduce the video assistant referee (VAR) system next season, the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) said on Friday.

VAR technology will be used in Turkey’s top flight Super Lig as well as in the promotion playoffs of the country’s second tier league, the TFF said in a statement.

VAR is already used in Germany, Italy, England and Portugal, and Spain is planning to introduce VAR in la Liga next season.

The system has also had a significant impact at this year’s World Cup in Russia, where a record number of penalties have been awarded for foul play.

New York Red Bulls coach Jesse Marsch has departed the Major League Soccer club to pursue other opportunities, the team announced Friday, promoting assistant Chris Armas to head coach.

The move came amid reports Marsch, an MLS midfielder for 14 seasons who twice played on the US national team, would take a new coaching role with Bundesliga side RB Leipzig, owned by the same group that runs the Red Bulls.

Marsch has the Red Bulls off to a strong start to the MLS campaign, with 10 wins and two drawn from 16 matches. They rank second to Atlanta United in the Eastern Conference but with three fewer matches played.

American defender Tim Ream has agreed to a new two-year contract with Fulham after helping the Cottagers gain promotion to the Premier League in May.

The deal announced Friday includes an option for the 2020-21 season.

The 30-year-old from St Louis played for Major League Soccer’s New York Red Bulls from 2010-11, then joined Bolton. He moved to Fulham in 2015 when the London club was in the second-tier League Championship and helped the Cottagers return to the Premier League after a four-season absence.