Fulham have appointed Alvaro Arbeloa as their new manager on a three-year contract.

The former Real Madrid boss, 43, succeeds Marco Silva after he agreed to join Benfica.

“It is a real honour for me to be embarking on this new stage at Fulham FC, the oldest club in London,” he said. “I feel a great sense of responsibility and I’m deeply grateful to [chairman] Mr [Shahid] Khan and [vice-chairman] Tony Khan for the trust they have placed in me with Fulham in the Premier League.”

Chairman Shahid Khan said: “Alvaro is, by his own admission, very ambitious. He has spent quality time around the best players, clubs and methods in the game, experiences which will serve him well here at Fulham.

“Alvaro also has great interest in our academy set-up and believes in giving young players a chance. I loved hearing that from Alvaro, as well as his intent on playing attacking football.”

Arbeloa’s candidacy was supported by excellent references from recently re-elected Real Madrid president Florentino Perez and the Spanish club’s new manager Jose Mourinho, who he played for at Santiago Bernabeu.

The former full-back left Real Madrid at the end of last season and was replaced by Mourinho, who left Benfica. Silva then opted to move to the Portuguese side as Mourinho’s replacement despite contract offers from Fulham.

In an interview last month, Fulham’s vice-chairman said Silva had previously “indicated he wanted to stay” but that “Marco changed his mind” and surprised the board by leaving Craven Cottage after five successful years.

Arbeloa was a youth coach in Madrid before taking over as interim manager following the departure of Xabi Alonso in January.

He led Real Madrid for the last 28 games of the season as they finished second in La Liga and were knocked out of the Champions League at the quarter-final stage by Bayern Munich.

Arbeloa is keen to bring players with him, including attacking midfielder Franco Mastantuono, full-back Fran Garcia and forward Gonzalo Garcia.

The Senate has called on the Federal Government to stop its policy of rehabilitation and reintegration of repentant Boko Haram members and other insurgents into society.

The call followed a motion on escalating attacks, abductions and killings of serving and retired military personnel, including former Director of Defence Information, Retired Major General Rabe Abubakar.

The motion which was sponsored by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Army, Senator Abdulaziz Yar’Adua (APC, Katsina), during plenary came up for debate on Tuesday at plenary.

The Senate condemned the rehabilitation of Boko Haram insurgents, bandits, kidnappers, and other criminals under the government’s deradicalisation and rehabilitation programmes.

Some lawmakers linked the unending insurgency crisis in the country, particularly in northern Nigeria, to the constant release of “repentant” criminals back into society.

The Senate also expressed deep concern over the worsening security situation in the country, warning that the recent abduction and killing of retired military officers signals a dangerous shift in Nigeria’s security challenges.

The Red Chamber also highlighted what it described as a disturbing pattern of attacks on serving and retired military personnel.

It cited several incidents recorded between January 2023 and May 2026, including the killing of retired Major General Richard Duru in Owerri after a $50,000 ransom was reportedly paid and the murder of retired Brigadier General O.M. Harlord Udokwere in Abuja.

Others are the 56-day captivity of former NYSC Director-General, retired Brigadier General Maharazu Tsiga and the death in captivity of retired Major Aja in Kogi State.

The lawmakers warned that the growing trend poses a serious threat to national security, as many of the victims previously occupied sensitive intelligence, operational and command positions.

It stressed that insecurity now extends beyond individual victims, carrying severe implications for national unity, democratic stability, and public confidence in the government.

The Upper Chamber observed a minute of silence in honour of late Major General Rabe Abubakar and all Nigerians who have lost their lives to terrorism, insurgency, banditry, kidnapping and other forms of violent criminality across the Federation.

It urged the Federal Government to ensure that perpetrators of these deadly acts are arrested and made to face the full wrath of the law.

It called on all security and intelligence agencies to significantly strengthen intelligence gathering, intelligence sharing, surveillance operations, threat assessment mechanisms and early warning systems to prevent attacks and improve response effectiveness.

The lawmakers called on the Federal Government to accelerate the deployment of modern security technologies required to combat terrorism, banditry and kidnapping.

The Egyptian Football Association has reportedly filed a formal complaint with FIFA and demanded that the officiating team be removed from the World Cup following their controversial quarter-final defeat to Argentina.

Egypt’s hopes of a historic upset were dashed as the reigning world champions, led by Lionel Messi, staged a dramatic comeback.

Argentina scored three goals in the final 15 minutes to overturn a two-goal deficit and secure a place in the semi-finals.

Enzo Fernandez’s late header sealed the victory for Argentina, but the Egyptian camp believes referee Francois Letexier heavily influenced the result.

According to reports from Diario AS, Egyptian FA president Hany Abo Rida has submitted a formal protest over two key decisions that went against his team.

The Pharaohs had a second goal disallowed by VAR due to a foul committed in the build-up. However, they allege that a similar infraction was overlooked by the officials just before Argentina scored their winning goal.

Furthermore, Egypt felt they were denied a clear penalty moments before the decisive goal when Mohamed Salah was challenged in the box by Julian Alvarez.

In their complaint, the Egyptian federation is seeking an explanation for what they term “controversial decisions” and has called for a full investigation.

They have also officially requested that the French refereeing team be barred from officiating any further matches in the tournament.