Real Madrid protest to Spanish FA over La Liga plans for Girona-Barcelona game in US

Barcelona played their home game with Girona in September, drawing the Catalan derby 2-2

Real Madrid have opposed staging a Spanish league game between Barcelona and Girona in the United States.

La Liga asked the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) for permission to hold the match in Miami on 26 January.

In a letter to the RFEF Real said it was "fundamental" teams play "home and away at each other's stadium" for "the integrity and equality" of La Liga.The RFEF president Luis Rubiales has spoken out against the game, as has the Spanish players' union (AFE).

European governing body Uefa, the US Soccer Federation and Concacaf, which governs the game in north and central America and the Caribbean region also need to give their permission for the game to happen.

The proposed 'home' match for Girona, a Catalan town situated around 60 miles north of Barcelona, would take place at Miami's Hard Rock Stadium on 26 January at 19:45 GMT.

La Liga, Spain's top division, has agreed to play one game a season in the US as part of a 15-year deal with media company Relevent.

In their letter, Real said: "First of all we would like to declare that Real Madrid were never informed that La Liga had requested to play the game nor of the intention to make the request, and we were never asked our opinion on it.

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Floyd Mayweather: Boxer responds to Khabib Nurmagomedov challenge with 'get the chequebook out!'

Mayweather (right) and McGregor met in one the richest bouts in boxing history

Boxer Floyd Mayweather could be open to a bout with Khabib Nurmagomedov after responding to the UFC fighter's challenge by saying: "Get the chequebook out!"

On Sunday the 30-year-old Russian called out American Mayweather, who is also undefeated, adding: "In the jungle there is only one king."

Mayweather, 41, beat Conor McGregor in a boxing bout in August 2017.

The Irishman's return to UFC ended in defeatby Nurmagomedov on 6 October.

That extended Nurmagomedov's unbeaten mixed martial arts record to 27-0.

Former five-weight world champion Mayweather, who is unbeaten in 50 fights, said on Twitter: "CBS, Showtime and MGM Grand get the chequebook out!"

It came after Nurmagomedov, in an Instagram video filmed with Leonard Ellerbe, the chief executive of Mayweather Promotions, said: "Let's go, Floyd, we have to fight now,

"50-0 v 27-0 - two guys who never lose. Why not?"

Nurmagomedov, renowned for his wrestling skills, caught McGregor with a punch before winning their contest with a choke as he forced his opponent to tap out.

Mayweather stopped McGregor in the 10th round in their fight, one of the richest bouts in boxing history.

"Of course I am the king because he could not drop McGregor and I dropped him easily," added Nurmagomedov, who retained his UFC lightweight title against McGregor.

Mayweather, who has not fought since the McGregor bout, has said he will come out of retirement to fight Manny Pacquiao in a rematch later this year.

Nurmagomedov and McGregor have both been temporarily suspended by the Nevada State Athletic Commission pending a full investigation into the scenes that marred the end of their fight in Las Vegas.

Following his victory, Nurmagomedov jumped the octagon fence and started fighting his rival's team. McGregor then fought with the Russian's camp as numerous brawls broke out.

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Jose Mourinho: Manchester United manager charged over Newcastle comments

The win over Newcastle ended a run of four games without a win for Jose Mourinho's team
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has been charged over comments he made in Portuguese to a television camera after his side's win over Newcastle.

It is claimed Mourinho used "abusive, insulting or improper language" after the 3-2 comeback victory at Old Trafford on 6 October.

The Football Association used a lip reader and the 55-year-old's remarks were interpreted as offensive.

Mourinho had been under pressure amid reports he would be sacked.

His side had been 2-0 down to winless Newcastle at half-time of the Premier League game, but they scored three goals in the final 20 minutes to turn the match around.

After the game, Mourinho said he could "cope with the manhunt" against him.

A 90th-minute winner from Alexis Sanchez ended a run of four games without a win, United have recorded their worst league start for 29 years and are eighth in the table.

Mourinho has until 18:00 BST on Friday to respond to the charge.

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Coinbase Announces New Office in Ireland as Brexit Woes Deepen

Coinbase Expands to Dublin Amid Brexit Woes
Coinbase, which is one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, already has a number of employees in Europe. While these employees are currently based in London, England, Coinbase’s new blog post announced plans to expand to Dublin as well.

The expansion came as a part of the plan to scale up in European Union (EU), due to the fact that the number of customers from this part of the world grew faster than any other market throughout 2017. As the process of scaling continues, Coinbase wishes to attract the best talents that will help with creating a superior financial system for the entire world.

After careful consideration of numerous cities throughout the EU, Coinbase deduced that Dublin is the best choice for their new branch. Apart from excessive growth in interest in cryptocurrencies, Dublin was also found to be a pool of talent, as well as support for new technologies. This also includes the emerging cryptocurrency economy, which is why Coinbase feels that Dublin might be the perfect location for the exchange to branch out from.

As mentioned, the exchange also has a small team in London, which will be supported by the new Dublin office. Additionally, Dublin will also open up a variety of career opportunities. Another reason why Coinbase is choosing Dublin instead of expanding its London business is the so-called Brexit. The exchange simply wishes to ensure that their services will still be provided to users that require them even in a post-Brexit scenario, as stated by Coinbase UK division’s chief executive, Zeeshan Feroz.

EU Still Not Regulating Digital Assets

The situation regarding cryptocurrencies in the EU is complex, especially since they are still not regulated assets. Even so, several digital currency exchanges managed to receive a traditional form of license for trading fiat currencies. As for Coinbase itself, the exchange is officially regulated by the UK’s FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) and has received an e-money license.

This allows it to carry out regular money-laundering checks whenever it signs up new customers. This is a process similar to the one that traditional banks are conducting. Additionally, the exchange also needs to comply with different capital requirements, as well as to ensure the protection of their customers.

Ireland itself seems to be welcoming and supportive toward Coinbase’s decision to open up a new office in its capital. The move is expected to highlight Ireland’s competitive offering, as well as attractiveness for financial services.

Coinbase itself sees the move as another step on the journey to ensure that their platform is viewed as a safe and trustworthy place of trade. With new talents from Ireland joining its crew, Coinbase seems to be excited about its future in Europe.

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'Only one king in the jungle': UFC's Khabib Nurmagomedov targets Mayweather bout

CNN)Fresh from defending his Lightweight title against Conor McGregor, the UFC's Khabib Nurmagomedov has set his sights on another undefeated fighter -- boxing's Floyd Mayweather.

In a video posted on Instagram by the flamboyant boxer's promoter Leonard Ellerbe, the Russian fighter challenged Mayweather -- who himself boxed McGregor in a unique head-to-head last August -- to take him on next.

"Let's go Floyd, we have to fight now," a smiling Nurmagomedov says in the video, which Ellerbe says was shot at a fight event in Russia.

"50-0 versus 27-0, two guys (who) never lose. Let's go, why not? Because, in the jungle (there's) only one king. Only one king... of course, I'm the king. Because, he cannot drop... McGregor but I drop him easily. That's why, let's go."

Mayweather has fought 50 professional fights without defeat; the younger Russian has a 27-0 record.

It was not clear from Nurmagomedov's challenge what the discipline -- MMA or boxing -- would be, should the two meet.

Heated matchup

Nurmagomedov's much-anticipated UFC bout against McGregor, ended earlier in October, with the ugliest scenes coming after the fight.

The 30-year-old Russian won the heated bout with a fourth round win via submission, but the headlines were made when Nurmagomedov went over the top of the octagon to attack someone in the crowd in the immediate aftermath of his victory.

This was followed by one of Nurmagomedov's camp seemingly entering the cage, to attack the beaten McGregor.

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‘Too Many Disappointing ICOs’. Crypto Payment Startup Launches With ‘No Funding’ Strategy

The team behind a new cryptocurrency platform designed to transfer the way consumers and businesses are paid, says it is putting its money where its mouth is – and has managed to launch without the need for an initial coin offering (ICO).

BLOC argues that too many ICOs have been popping up in the crypto world – disappointing users by failing to offer real products at their conclusion. By contrast, the startup says its platform already boasts “an exclusive set of mining tools, world-first features, and an unrivaled ecosystem to connect buyers and sellers.” The upbeat company has a “strong belief” in its no funding strategy, saying: “If we make a cool product, the value will create itself.”

The buzzwords BLOC uses to describe itself are “fully decentralized, secure, private, fungible, fast, and egalitarian.” It wants to help the crypto world shake off its image of only being suitable for investment by enabling individuals to use coins, as they would any other type of cryptocurrency.

QR codes would be one of the driving factors in making this happen, enabling consumers to offer it for scanning whenever they want to pay a merchant. BLOC says that these transactions would be processed instantaneously – offering security, not dissimilar, from contactless payments.

BLOC says that its platform is going to be open to developers, enabling companies to build their own products and engage with clients in a tailor-made way. Ideas proposed in its white paper include loyalty programs and automated regular payments.

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Bitcoin Price Watch: BTC/USD’s Upside Drift, Reversal And Tether’s Decline

Bitcoin Price Analysis

There was a major sell-off noted for Tether (USDT) pairs, which ignited an upward movein bitcoin price against the US Dollar. The BTC/USD pair also gained traction and moved above the 6,600 and $6,700 resistance levels. Earlier, there was a decent support base formed near the $6,150 level. The price started an upward move above the $6,300 level and the 100 hourly simple moving average.

The upside move was strong as the price broke an ascending channel with resistance at $6,300. Moreover, there was a break above a major bearish trend line with resistance at $6,310 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair. The pair rallied towards the $6,800 level and traded as low as $6,825. Sellers appeared and protected further upsides above $6,825. Later, there was a sharp reversal and the price trimmed most of its gains below $6,600. It even broke the $6,500 level and it is currently testing $6,400. The 61.8% Fib retracement level of the recent run from the $6,152 low to $6,825 high is also acting as a support.

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