Multiple Olympic champion Usain Bolt will line up opposite British pop star Robbie Williams in a charity football match at Manchester United’s Old Trafford stadium, the Jamaican revealed yesterday. Now retired, Bolt had given a teaser of what was to come on Twitter on Monday, claiming that he had signed for a football club and would reveal all 24 hours later.
Well, his new team is the Soccer Aid World XI — a motley crew put together to help raise funds for the United Nations Children’s Fund, Unicef. Not only had football-mad Bolt, the fastest man alive, been recruited for the match, but he comes straight into the team as captain, with former Take That star Williams leading out an England side in opposition.
Speaking on a publicity clip published by Bolt, 31, on his Twitter account, Williams, decked out in an England shirt, says the match will feature “celebrities, legends and a brand new captain for Soccer Aid World XI”. Manchester United fan Bolt then appears and adds: “Robbie, let me entertain you,” in a reference to Williams’s hit 1998 song of the same name.
The promotional video features the likes of Brazilian great Ronaldinho and Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane, as well as American comedy actor Will Ferrell. Soccer Aid aims to raise money to help children around the world and organises charity matches featuring celebrities and former football stars.
This match will be played on June 10, just before the the World Cup gets underway in Russia. Bolt is an eight-time Olympic champion, 11-time world champion and holds the world records in the 100 and 200 metres. Williams is the best-selling British solo artist in the United Kingdom.

UEFA hit France’s Nasri with six-month doping ban
Former Manchester City midfielder and France international Samir Nasri was handed a six-month doping ban “for using a prohibited method” by European football governing body UEFA.  Nasri, 30, had appealed to UEFA for a therapeutic use exemption (TUE) following a multi-vitamin intravenous booster he received at a Los Angeles clinic in 2016.
That was rejected last March, as was an appeal in December to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
However, he still has the right to appeal against his ban, UEFA said. The method is on the World Anti-doping Agency’s prohibited list and carries a maximum ban of four years.
Nasri is currently without a club having left Turkish side Antalyaspor by mutual consent last month. The doping affair started when a Los Angeles clinic called Drip Doctors tweeted the fact they had treated Nasri with an intravenous vitamin booster whilst the player was on holiday there.
Nasri was at that time on loan from City at Sevilla, who expressed surprise when the story broke in the media — Spanish anti-doping authorities quickly took up the matter and opened an inquiry at the end of 2016.
After shining as a youngster at his hometown club Marseille, Nasri was recruited by Arsene Wenger at Arsenal and switched three seasons later to City for a then sizeable £25mn transfer. He won two Premier League titles at City but was loaned out to Sevilla and then sold to Antalyaspor at the end of last season.

Atalanta charged for alleged racist chants
UEFA have charged Atalanta for alleged racist behaviour after Borussia Dortmund striker Michy Batshuayi said he was racially abused by the Serie A side’s supporters in Thursday’s Europa League last-32 meeting between the two sides.
Batshuayi, on-loan from Premier League champions Chelsea, hit out at Atalanta fans for making monkey noises during the second leg of the tie, which ended 1-1 and saw Dortmund progress to the last-16 with a 4-3 aggregate win. The Italian team have been charged with violating several UEFA disciplinary and safety regulations including racist behaviour, setting off fireworks, throwing of objects and blocking stairways.
German side Dortmund have also been charged with their fans setting off fireworks and throwing objects.
Atalanta were previously handed a suspended one-game stand closure after Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly was subjected to racist chants during a league game between the two sides.