Month: January 2025

Video Assistant Referee Mike Dean has admitted he got it wrong by not encouraging referee Anthony Taylor to go to the pitchside monitor and consider sending off Tottenham defender Cristian Romero in the feisty 2-2 draw with Chelsea.

The hosts led 2-1 going into the dying seconds at Stamford Bridge, before Spurs were awarded a late corner with Argentina international Romero appearing to pull Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella to the ground by his hair during the build-up.

There was a pause in play while Dean took time to review the incident at Stockley Park, but he decided against sending Taylor to the pitchside monitor to consider a red card and play was restarted.

Harry Kane then headed in a dramatic late equaliser before head coaches Thomas Tuchel and Anto…

Chelsea boss Antonio Conte says he is waiting for clarity on Juan Cuadrado s future as he attempts to make further signings before the end of the transfer window.

The Colombia international spent 2015-16 on loan at Serie A champions Juventus but returned to Chelsea for pre-season, with Conte stating that he was keen to keep the winger at Stamford Bridge.

However, Juve CEO Giuseppe Marotta has claimed that the club are interested in another loan deal for Cuadrado, who was left out of Chelsea s 2-1 win over West Ham on Monday.

And Conte is keen for a resolution to the 28-year-old s future as he aims to bring in further reinforcements before August 31, with defenders Kalidou Koulibaly and Ricardo Rodriguez reported targets.

It s difficult to speak about th…

Harry Redknapp is keen to put a difficult fortnight behind him when QPR host Sunderland in the Premier League on Saturday.

Newly promoted QPR have endured a disappointing return to the top flight thus far, having opened with a home defeat to Hull City before suffering a 4-0 loss at Tottenham.

Redknapp s unhappy return to his previous club last Sunday will be of particular concern, as QPR looked out of their depth against a Tottenham side who were in control throughout and could have won by an even bigger margin.

A trip to fourth-tier Burton Albion in the League Cup on Wednesday should have provided the men from west London with a chance to boost their confidence ahead of Sunderland s visit this weekend.

However, it proved to be another humiliating outing …

Huddersfield Town have appointed Chris Powell as the club s new manager on a rolling contact.

Former England defender Powell replaces caretaker coach Mark Lillis, who had stood in for Mark Robins for almost a month.

Robins parted company with Huddersfield just one day after their season started with a 4-0 home defeat against Bournemouth.

The 44-year-old Powell last worked at Charlton Athletic but was sacked in March after reportedly falling out with the club s owner, Roland Duchatelet.

Huddersfield Town chairman Dean Hoyle said Powell s experience made him the right man for the struggling Championship club.

We re delighted to be able to welcome Chris to Huddersfield Town as the new manager, Hoyle told the club s official website.

We ve t…

Lyon midfielder Yoann Gourcuff says he is delighted to be re-called back to France squad for their friendly against Italy on Wednesday.

Despite not being included in Les Bleus last match, the 1-1 draw against reigning champions Spain in the World Cup qualifier, the ex-Bordeaux man is still grateful for the call-up this time around.

All selections are privileged, Gourcuff told the France Football website.

My career also depends on (how good) the team does. Everything is connected.

Hopefully my team-mates know that I play for them, and that should be enough.

Domestically, for Lyon, the midfield playmaker has seemingly returned to top form after knee troubles have disrupted his career since joining Les Gones in 2010.

His goal last week …

Rangers beat Hearts for the third time in six weeks with a first-half goal from Abdallah Sima at Tynecastle.

After a cinch Premiership defeat at Ibrox and a loss against the Light Blues in the Viaplay Cup semi-final at Hampden Park, Steven Naismith’s side again came up short against Rangers.

Having scored twice in the 2-0 home win over St Mirren on Sunday, Brighton loanee Sima struck again in the 34th minute to take the three points back to Govan.

With Celtic beating Hibernian 4-1 at Parkhead, Rangers are still eight points behind the leaders having played a game less with Philippe Clement extending his unbeaten run since taking over as boss to 11 matches.

The third-placed Jambos went into the game with four straight home league wins for the first time …

Liverpool were fuming as defender Andy Robertson appeared to be elbowed by an assistant referee at the end of the first half of Sunday s game against Arsenal.

The left-back approached the official, who was identified by Sky Sports as Constantine Hatzidakis, and seemed to be making a point to him.

It was unclear from a distance what was said, but television pictures then looked to show the assistant referee raise his right elbow and make contact with the Scotland international.

What was not obvious was whether the linesman had intended to catch Robertson.

Asked if he had ever seen anything like it, pundit and former Manchester United hard man Roy Keane said: No, not really, but Robertson, does he grab the linesman first? I m not sure, but Robertson then is…

West Brom and Leeds remain separated by three points in the Championship s automatic promotion places after each being held to draws on Boxing Day.

Leeds needed an 89th-minute equaliser from Stuart Dallas to earn a 1-1 draw at home to fellow promotion hopefuls Preston North End, while West Brom conceded in the 90th minute to share the same scoreline with Barnsley.

Brentford, 3-1 victors over Swansea City, were the only winners in the top six as Fulham came from behind three times in a thrilling 3-3 draw at Luton Town and Sheffield Wednesday conceded twice in stoppage time to lose 3-2 at Stoke City.

There was also late drama at Wigan Athletic, with Derby County s Martyn Waghorn snatching a 1-1 draw against the division s bottom side.

THREE DRAWS…

Richard Dunne has revealed that he bears no grudges over Manchester City s decision to offload him to Aston Villa.

Instead, the former City captain says he is happy to have had the uncertainty over his future ended so that he can concentrate on Ireland s important World Cup qualifier against Cyprus in Nicosia on Saturday.

Dunne was deemed surplus to requirements at City following the transfer window signings of centrebacks Kolo Toure and Joleon Lescott.

They told me they had accepted an offer so I said okay but what if I want to stay and fight for my place?’ Dunne said ahead of the Irish squad s departure for Nicosia. They said it s funny, we need the money .

But I am not bitter about leaving, I really enjoyed my time there and wish them all the succes…

Angola is on track to host the 2010 Nations Cup, African Football Confederation president Issa Hayatou said in Cairo Wednesday.

A South African media report suggested the biennial tournament might be moved to the hosts of the 2010 World Cup because Angola were battling to complete construction of four stadiums.

Danny Jordaan, a senior World Cup organising committee figure, said before the Cairo meeting that the readiness of Angola to stage the 16-nation African football showcase would be discussed.

Hayatou, a Cameroonian who has run the continental football body since 1988, congratulated Angola 2010 chief Antonio Mangueira for the efforts of his organising committee.

Luanda is scheduled to host a November 20 draw that will split the 16 qualifiers into fo…