Kategori: Soccers

This week’s NFL Sunday action live on Sky Sports sees Lamar Jackson’s Baltimore Ravens host the Cleveland Browns in an AFC North rivalry clash, followed by the Seattle Seahawks at the Los Angeles Chargers – live on Sky Sports NFL, from 6pm, Sunday

Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens host the Cleveland Browns in an AFC North rivalry clash, while Geno Smith and the red-hot Seattle Seahawks offense are also in action as part of the Week Seven double-header live on Sky Sports this Sunday.

The Ravens (3-3) have been a thrill-a-minute so far this season, with Jackson and the offense back to their explosive best, but the team has also shown a fair amount of fragility in repeatedly blowing leads. They now host a talented Browns (2-4) team that are badly underperforming in 2022 and desperate for a win to begin to turn things around. The action gets under way live on Sky Sports NFL from 6pm on Sunday.

Then, following on from that mouth-watering match-up, the Seahawks (3-3) are headed to Los Angeles to take on the Chargers (4-2). Not much was expected of Seattle this season after the exit of their Super Bowl-winning quarterback Russell Wilson, but Pete Carroll’s team have exceeded expectations so far, thanks in large part to the play of former backup Smith at QB – this one gets under way at 9.25pm from SoFi Stadium.

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Miami Dolphins Tua Tagovailoa was taken to hospital with head and neck injuries after being forced out of the game against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week Four of this season.

Rounding off the Sunday night action, we join our friends at NBC for Football Night in America and Sunday Night Football, with Tua Tagovailoa’s anticipated return at quarterback for the Miami Dolphins (3-3) as they host the Pittsburgh Steelers (2-4) – kick-off is at 1.20am, early on Monday morning.

Elsewhere, the Week Seven action gets under way with the traditional Thursday night fare as Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals (2-4) host the New Orleans Saints (2-5) – live on Sky Sports NFL from 1.15am on Friday morning.

Then, on Monday night, Week Seven concludes with the Chicago Bears (2-4) on the road at the New England Patriots (3-3), with the hosts riding a two-game win streak under rookie quarterback Bailey Zappe coming into the contest. Watch live on Sky Sports NFL from 1.15am, Tuesday.

Sky Sports NFL is your dedicated channel for NFL coverage through the season – featuring a host of NFL Network programming. Don’t forget to follow us on skysports.com/nfl, our Twitter account @SkySportsNFL & Sky Sports – on the go!

John Rahm reacted to Liv Golf’s Phil Mickelson, who said the PGA is on a downward trend. Rahm also said he feels a happy Europe Team is more important than an unhappy one; watch live coverage of the CJ Cup in South Carolina on Sky Sports Main Event from Thursday at 8pm.

Jon Rahm has rejected Phil Mickelson’s claim that LIV Golf is on the rise while the PGA Tour is on its way down.

The world number five was asked about Mickelson’s comments ahead of the CJ Cup in South Carolina.

“I mean, I love Phil, but I don’t know what he’s talking about. I really don’t know why he said that. There’s been some changes being made, but it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going down,” he said.

“Right. I really don’t know why he said that. I don’t know. I really. I really don’t know.

Mickelson, a six-time major champion, was among the initial wave of players to switch from the PGA Tour to the LIV Golf Invitational Series, which is bankrolled by Saudi Arabia’s PIF and offers prize incentives significantly bigger than anything available in the professional game elsewhere.

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Phil Mickelson says he believes he’s on the ‘winning side’ of the current divide within the sport, having chosen to play in the LIV Golf Invitational Series.

His previous admissions the Saudis were “scary m************” to get involved with had threatened the launch of the breakaway circuit, leading to a public apology, although the 51-year-old praised their support to golf ahead of the LIV Golf Invitational Series event in Jeddah.

“The game of golf is very lucky to have the PIF invest in the game,” Mickelson said in a press conference at Royal Greens Country Club. The sport of golf has had an influx of billions of dollars now. And the ability to go global and make golf a truly global sport is really beneficial for the game,” he said.

“Now the United States and the UK are not favourable to this, but everywhere else in the world, LIV Golf is loved. And eventually, they will come around and they will be accepting of it.

“The United States and the UK, where it’s very negatively viewed currently, that has been changing and evolving already and in time in a few years it will be not only accepted but appreciated [because of] the involvement and the influx of capital into this sport and what it’s doing.”

LIV Tour players joining the Ryder Cup squad could lead to disharmony

Sergio Garcia looks unlikely to feature in next year’s Ryder Cup and he said last week that he doesn’t feel welcome in Team Europe.

“It was a hard decision. “But unfortunately, it doesn’t feel like I’m very welcome there, so I don’t want to be a bother to anyone. I’ve always said I love the Ryder Cup too much. I obviously would love to keep being a part of it.”

Rahm was asked about Garcia’s comments and described it as an “unusual situation”.

“Once you arrive and you’re on that team environment – It’s an unusual situation where everybody can be truly themselves with players that they maybe usually are not. So you need to have that welcoming aspect, right?

“If this is there’s some animosity in between players, it’s just not going to work out. I know team very few teams can succeed when players don’t get along. So it’s I don’t know if you can really make that happen.”

Rahm calls for longer breaks in golf

The Spaniard said golf organisers should consider giving players a month off during the season.

“In an ideal, let’s say, golf schedule. In my mind, we would have September off,” he said.

“That would be amazing. Like every other sport to have a nice break. But I understand golf is different and you have to work things out, but ideally three to four months off.

“I don’t know if I could do it because I’ve never done it, but it would be, on paper, it sounds amazing.”

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Jonas Eidevall believes Arsenal’s upcoming Women’s Champions League clash against eight-time champions Lyon will be a “reality check” for his side.

Arsenal are currently unbeaten in this season’s Women’s Super League after three matches, having scored nine goals and not conceded any so far in the campaign.

Beth Mead was also on Monday named the runner-up for the women’s Ballon d’Or after her impressive performances for club and country in the past year.

Despite Arsenal’s prolific league form, Eidevall expects a very different match against the current Champions League holders on Wednesday night.

“It’s a very good reality check to see where we are at the moment and that is always very exciting to see because no matter what (happens) tomorrow we know exactly where we are at and what we need to continue to improve, and what we are already good at so I’m really looking forward to it,” the Swedish manager said.

He added: “This game I think will be very different than for example the game against Reading. We have to expect that we will be in control for some parts of the game but so will Lyon.

“We need to deal with facing more shots on target than we have been doing recently, facing more set-pieces than recently so the game is very different to the games that we will be playing in the league.”

In last year’s group stage, Arsenal were thrashed by Barcelona, losing 4-0 at home and then 4-1 away, but managed to qualify from their group only to go out in the next round against Wolfsburg.

Caitlin Foord believes the club has learned from their experiences last year, but believes Lyon could be even tougher opponents than Barcelona.

She said: “I think we had a lot of learnings from those games and I’ve looked at those games a lot as well leading into the big games and I think it purely comes down to us, I think we have to be up for the challenge and we have to be ready for these games.

“I think because of those previous games that we’ve had we’ve obviously seen that now and we don’t want that to happen again and we’ve improved and learnt where we went wrong in those games. So this game tomorrow will be a big challenge for us to see how far we’ve come.”

She added: “It’s going to be a huge game. For us I think it will be the biggest challenge we’ve faced yet so obviously if we can get a win there and a good performance it will be massive for us moving forward and obviously to kick off the Champions League with a win.”

Mead named women’s Ballon d’Or runner-up

Arsenal’s Beth Mead was named as the women’s Ballon d’Or 2022 runner-up after guiding the Lionesses to the European Championships title in the summer, with Chelsea’s Sam Kerr having to settle for third.

Spain international Alexia Putellas claimed top prize, but suffered a long-term injury earlier this year which ruled her out of the European Championship and is still out of action.

She helped Barcelona to a historic Spanish league title before the setback, with the Catalan club winning all 30 matches last term. During that campaign, Putellas scored 18 goals and registered 15 assists to help her team to glory.

Two more England players made the shortlist of the top 20 female players in the world, with right-back Lucy Bronze – who moved from Manchester City to Barcelona over the summer in tenth – while Chelsea defender Millie Bright finished in 15th place.

But Mead led the way for English players at the ceremony in Paris, with the Arsenal attacker adding the runner-up Ballon d’Or status to the Player of the Tournament award at this summer’s European Championships.

A young woman allegedly raped at an “after party” at Manchester City defender
Benjamin Mendy’s house told a court she had sex with two other men afterwards, including Mendy’s team-mate Jack Grealish.

Later she sent a text to a friend saying: “Ha ha ha I have slept with Jack Grealish”, the jury at Chester Crown Court heard.

The woman, aged 23 at the time, had gone back with other young women to Mendy’s mansion for a party, after clubbing with the footballers in the VIP area of China White nightclub in Manchester on August 23 last year.

While at the party, the young woman said she was raped in a Mercedes car by Mendy’s friend and “fixer” Louis Saha Matturie, 41, after they left the house to buy more alcohol from a local garage.

A second woman, aged 17 at the time, claims she was also raped twice at the party by Mendy, 28, in his office and trophy room and raped twice more by Matturie afterwards, once in the cinema room and later at a flat in Manchester.

The 23-year-old told police when she got back to Mendy’s house after the alleged rape she felt, “vile, dirty, disgusting” and spent the rest of her time in the house sitting on a sofa talking to two other girls before going to sleep upstairs in a bedroom with another man she did not know.

Lisa Wilding KC, defending Matturie, asked the witness: “That was not the truth was it?”

The witness replied: “No”.

Ms Wilding said the 23-year-old got back from the garage to the house in Mottram St Andrew, Cheshire, with Matturie at 5.38am and left the house at just after 10am, and questioned what she had been doing in those four hours.

The witness admitted she had not told police about having sex with another male, ‘Ghost’, in the swimming pool area of the house.

Ms Wilding said: “What did you do after that finished?”

The witness replied: “I said I was sat on a sofa, I was sat with Jack Grealish, I know what you are going to say.”

Ms Wilding said: “Do you remember kissing Jack Grealish in the kitchen, on the sofa in the living room?”

She replied: “Yes.”

Ms Wilding said: “Did you have sex with Jack Grealish that night?”

The witness replied: “Yes. I don’t have a memory of what room I was in. I don’t remember anything that happened. I remember something happened.”

Ms Wilding said: “Do you remember telling police last month, ‘I’m 80 per cent sure I have had sex with Jack Grealish but I’m not sure because I fell asleep and woke up fully naked’.”

She replied: “Yes, I’m fully sure we had sex. I’m certain that we did.”

The woman then admitted she told police she went to sleep upstairs in a room and another man was there but she did not know who it was.

Ms Wilding continued: “Was it Benjamin Mendy?”

“Yes,” she replied.

Ms Wilding said: “Did you have sex with Benjamin Mendy?”

“No,” she replied, adding: “Sexual activity.”

She added: “I just didn’t want to be judged. It just doesn’t look good does it?”

As she left Mendy’s house just after 10am the next morning she sent text messages to a friend about her night, the court heard.

The first read: “Ha ha ha I have slept with Jack Grealish.”

Her friend replied: “Oh God. Lol. What the f***. OMG. Proud of you. He was good lol?”

The woman replied: “Yes, very good.”

Another message read: “Yes he has a girlfriend” followed by a ‘sad face’ emoji.

Ms Wilding asked if she was “boasting” or “flexing” about what she had done.

“I wouldn’t say flexing,” she replied.

Timothy Cray KC, prosecuting, asked the witness why she had not told police about having sex with ‘Ghost’, Grealish and sexual activity with Mendy.

She said: “These are people in my age bracket, I’m attracted to. I just didn’t want to be judged.”

The witness insisted unlike the other times that night, the sex with Matturie was not consensual and she had been raped.

Prosecutors have alleged Mendy is a “predator” who “turned the pursuit of women for sex into a game”, while Matturie, his friend and “fixer”, is alleged to have had the job of finding young women for sex.

Mendy denies seven counts of rape, one count of attempted rape and one count of sexual assault against six young women.

Matturie of Eccles, Salford, denies six counts of rape and three counts of sexual assault relating to seven young women.

Both men say if any sex did take place with women or girls it was consensual.

The trial was adjourned until Wednesday morning.

The RFU is speaking daily to the administrators of Wasps Holdings Limited

The Rugby Football Union are in daily discussions with the administrators of Wasps Holdings Limited about the possibility of a buyer for Wasps and are working to find the ‘best way’ for the women’s team to continue to play in the Allianz Premier 15s, a statement said.

Wasps Holdings Limited is the holding company for Wasps men’s and women’s rugby teams, and Wasps netball ceased trading on Monday. Andrew Sheridan and Rajnesh Mittal of FRP were appointed as administrators and 167 employees were made redundant.

The RFU released a statement on Tuesday providing an update regarding ongoing discussions, as buyers are sought for the club and in relation to the women’s rugby team.

“Following confirmation that Wasps Holdings Limited has entered administration, the RFU is speaking daily to the administrators and will be working with them and Premiership Rugby in the coming days to understand whether there is any possibility of a buyer taking over the club,” the statement said.

“The RFU is also working with the administrators, the management of the Wasps women’s team and with Wasps FC to find the best way for the women’s team to continue to play in the Allianz Premier 15s. The RFU is also fully committed to ensuring local academy opportunities are provided for pathway players.”

Tom Illube, the RFU chair, expressed his empathy for everyone involved with Wasps.

“The news Wasps are now in administration is desperately sad,” Ilube said.

“We believe it is right to keep working with all parties to give the club the best chance of long-term survival if at all possible. We all feel for the fans, players, volunteers and everyone with a connection to the club.

“The importance of financially robust and transparent professional leagues has never been more apparent, and we will continue our work with Premiership Rugby to improve the structure, governance and business model of rugby union in England.”

Bill Sweeney, the RFU’s CEO, also stated that continuing to work towards a sustainable future for English rugby is of the highest priority.

“This is a very sad time for everyone at Wasps and a challenging time for the sport,” Sweeney said.

“The RFU and Premiership Rugby have been working for some time to develop a sustainable model for rugby to deliver long-term prosperity for the sport. Wasps and Worcester entering administration has accelerated these plans and reinforced their importance.”

Debts including unpaid taxes to HMRC and £35m to bondholders regarding ownership of the stadium have ultimately put Wasps into administration

CEO: Decision-making structure of Premiership needs to change; Other clubs will be next

On Monday, Wasps Chief Executive Stephen Vaughan said there had been dialogue with the RFU and Premiership Rugby regarding the relegation of Wasps from the Gallagher Premiership.

“They’ve been very good with us, very honest with us. They understand the situation and the difficulty the RFU face is, I guess, the precedent that it may set with other clubs.

“But yes we are in dialogue with them now to see what we can possibly do. And of course, we’ve gone into administration, but that doesn’t mean we’re not still having conversations with people and we will still do that.

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Wasps CEO Stephen Vaughan confirms the club are in dialogue with the RFU over their potential relegation from the Premiership after entering administration

“We understand we’ll probably have to come back in at the Championship next year, but there’s a lot of players in there that would love to stick with Wasps, whether it’s in the Championship or the Premiership.

“This club has been going for over 155 years, if it means six months elsewhere to bring it back with really good solid, honest ownership, a great leadership team and the core group that’s in there now, then I think we’d take that today.

“Hard to say [how close a takeover is]. People are aware that we’ve been on the market for a long time now, so it’s not like this is a surprise to anybody.

“We are in genuine dialogue with people, we’ve got more conversations happening tomorrow (Tuesday) and the day after, and we really hope we can get the right people involved.

“If it’s going to happen we imagine there will be a decision and announcement in the next three or four days.

“No [the P-share is not the key]. It’s not a red herring, but is something that makes the club much more attractive for an investor to come in. However, it isn’t the only thing.

“We understand why it’s there, and why the other investors [in the Premiership] may not want to help Wasps or Worcester out, especially.

“And we have to understand that the way Premiership Rugby is set up, the owners and investors have all the power, and I’m not sure that’s right, but that’s how it is set up. So we can’t rely on the P-share.

Haskell: Wasps administration a dark day for rugby | ‘We need a franchise model’

James Haskell believes Wasps and Worcester entering administration is indicative of wider issues in professional rugby.

“All of the conversations we’re having at the moment do not rely on the P-share. It’s a very honest conversation about what the financial outlook looks like.

“What I’d really like to see is for Premiership Rugby to have a real accountability with regards to the leadership group that are allowed to make decisions.

“Currently the way it is set up, and it’s no fault of Premiership Rugby, is the owners of all of the clubs get to make decisions on all of the other clubs. And that’s just not right.

“A bit like the NFL and NBA, I think we should have a commissioner, that would be essential, so decisions could be made for the greater good.

“Because for an amazing institution like Wasps, with some really great, talented people here, to not be able to continue when there are people that want to invest but because of particular parts of governance or contracts don’t allow that to happen, that’s pretty difficult to deal with.

“It won’t just be Wasps. It’s Wasps today, Worcester a couple of weeks ago and it will be other clubs in the future. We need strategic governance that allows the CEO of Premiership Rugby to make decisions.”

Manager Ange Postecoglou is confident the upcoming World Cup break will not have an adverse effect on Celtic’s season.

The Hoops boss admitted there are a lot of “unknown” factors related to how teams will cope with having the campaign interrupted for around a month from mid-November onwards to accommodate the finals in Qatar.

When asked if he had any concerns about his side being negatively impacted by the break, which comes almost a month-and-a-half prior to when the cinch Premiership usually has its January winter shutdown, Postecoglou said: “I hope not, I’m a bit more optimistic than that.

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“It’s obviously a bit different but here in Scotland we usually have a break around that time of the year.

“The only difference is that some of our players will be at a World Cup. There are a lot of unknowns, not just for us, but for every club around the world, about what impact a mid-season World Cup has, but I tend to focus on the stuff that’s known and what we can do to control the environment and make sure we’re ready.

“That’s what we’ll do and I’m optimistic that it won’t all fall apart in the second half of the year.”

Postecoglou explained Celtic are well prepared for how to manage their squad through the break.

“It’s been part of our planning from pre-season,” he said. “You kind of work with the things that are known, and that is that we’re going to Australia straight after the last league game for a week for a couple of games there.

“Then the players will have a mini-break for about a week or so and then we head to Portugal for a camp before the resumption. They’re the knowns.

“The unknowns are which players end up going to the World Cup, where the other players are physically and it’s likely we’ll have to have individual programmes for some of them.

“For instance, if they go to the World Cup, when do we give them a break? When do they come back in? If they’re in rehab, what sort of time off are we giving them? We’ve got a plan for the collective, but within that there will be some individual programmes.”

Prior to the break, Celtic still have eight games to negotiate in a 24-day period, starting with Wednesday’s Premier Sports Cup quarter-final away to Motherwell. Postecoglou has demanded his team maintain maximum focus against a side currently eighth in the Premiership.

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“There are always teams that go on cup runs, sometimes belying their league form,” said the Hoops boss. “Cup competitions sometimes free teams up a bit and give them licence to be a bit more aggressive in their approach.

“From our perspective, it’s about playing our football because we know that when we play well, we’re hard to stop.”

Celtic will continue to be without Callum McGregor, Jota, Carl Starfelt and David Turnbull for the trip to Fir Park.

“Jota’s progressing, he’s out training, but won’t be right for tomorrow,” Postecoglou said on Tuesday. “Jota and Turnbull are closest to coming back but they’ll miss tomorrow then we’ll see about the weekend. Cal and Carl are still weeks away.”

McKinstry confident Motherwell can cause upset

Stuart McKinstry feels Motherwell’s last two displays against the Old Firm show they are perfectly capable of springing a surprise at home to Celtic.

The Steelmen lost 2-1 to the Hoops at Parkhead in the cinch Premiership at the start of this month and then were defeated by the same scoreline at home to Rangers on Sunday.

McKinstry, who scored against Gers, believes Motherwell performed strongly enough to take something from both games.

The winger is confident that a repeat performance – with greater focus at both ends of the pitch – could see Stevie Hammell’s team make things difficult for Postecoglou’s champions in this week’s quarter-final at Fir Park.

“We were unfortunate against Rangers, but we have a big game to look forward to on Wednesday and we can take confidence into the Celtic game,” McKinstry said.

“You never know what can happen. We just need to go out and play our best to show we can compete with them.

“We did that a few weeks ago away from home, where I felt we could have got something from the game.

“This time we’ll have the fans at our backs and they’ll have less numbers in their crowd, so we want to go and get something from the game.

“No team is going to go in thinking about just getting through it. We’re not going to do that. We’ll be coming out to win the game, we are capable of winning the game.”

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has been charged by the Football Association following his red card in Sunday’s 1-0 win over Manchester City at Anfield.

Klopp has until Friday to respond to the charge of improper conduct.

The Liverpool manager was sent off after fuming at assistant referee Gary Beswick for not flagging for a foul on Mohamed Salah during the 1-0 victory at Anfield.

Speaking after the game, Klopp said it was “about emotion” and took blame for the sending off, saying he “went over the top” but that he felt he had not disrespected the official.

Ahead of the visit of West Ham on Wednesday night and the FA charge, Klopp said he expected to lead his team at Anfield before accepting he could have handled the situation better.

“I think I will be there tomorrow because nothing has really happened yet. I don’t think something will happen tomorrow a few hours before the game,” Klopp said.

“I think I should have dealt with it differently, with the situation, which I do normally. It was a very intense game with a lot of decisions that the managers on both sides didn’t understand.

“In German we say with one drop the bucket overflows, I hope that makes sense?

“I’m not happy with my reaction but that’s the way it was and everybody saw it. That’s the situation, I got the red card but now we wait for the process I suppose.”

Reflecting on the fallout from their intense clash with City, Klopp said: “We don’t have to be best friends, but I am sure anyone wants to be with us. It’s normal competition. It started here with the question, I answered, the rest was made of it.

“I said I respect what they are doing but my answer was still not right to some people. If a guy throws a coin, it’s a massive mistake. It was a brilliant performance against an incredibly strong side. I saw situations I didn’t want to see in a football game.”

Should managers like Klopp be setting an example?

Klopp and Pep Guardiola’s angry touchline rants during Sunday’s stormy Premier League clash between Liverpool and Manchester City has put the behaviour of managers in the spotlight ahead of a midweek round of fixtures.

In a game beamed to hundreds of millions around the world, Liverpool’s Klopp was shown a red card for angrily berating match officials in the second half after a foul was not given on Salah.

Guardiola, whose side lost 1-0, was equally furious when a goal by Phil Foden was ruled out for a foul following a VAR check, yelling at referee Anthony Taylor.

The antics of both managers attracted criticism from Ref Support UK, a leading charity which offers support to referees in grassroots football where abuse is common.

“When you see world recognised figures like Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola behaving like that, it is then replicated by people in youth football and perpetuates the idea that it is OK to do it,” Ref Support UK CEO Martin Cassidy said.

Klopp apologised after the game, saying he probably deserved his punishment and he received some backing from fellow managers on Tuesday, with West Ham’s David Moyes saying he hopes the German would be on the touchline on Wednesday when his side travel to Anfield for a Premier League fixture.

“For 90 minutes or so, it becomes a really emotional game. Sometimes, you can change your character from what your true character is. If you look at the incident, he was probably right,” Moyes said.

“I hope Jurgen is in the dugout. We want to play against the best. We have great respect for referees, but I hope they understand that for 90 minutes we can lose our heads a bit.

“First thing I’ll say is that I hope he is in the dugout opposite

“Part of this job is you want to play against the best, compete against them and Jurgen is up there with them all with what he has done for Liverpool over the years.

“His actions are part of it, we are really het up and if you were in that position you would probably feel the same.”

Everton manager Frank Lampard said that 99.9 per cent of the time managers conduct themselves properly but that key decisions going against his team could “throw you”.

“We have a responsibility, I understand that. There’s also a microscope put on managers in the modern day and we’re in highly pressurised jobs,” Lampard, whose side face Newcastle on Wednesday, said. “The amount of pressure we come under and the decisions that go against you can throw you.”

Newcastle’s Eddie Howe, usually one of the calmer managers, said he was aware his behaviour needed to set an example.

“I can’t say I will never lose my emotions because you never know what the future holds but I certainly try not to,” he said.

“I am very aware that I am going to be looked at by millions of children and you have an expectation to make sure the game is upheld in the right way with the right spirit.”

“We have all got great respect for referees and the work they have to do. I hope in their way they will understand that for 90 minutes and a bit longer we might lose our heads a little bit.”

Liverpool’s match against City was not the only top-flight game in which referees were harangued by players at the weekend, with incidents at Manchester United, Southampton and Leeds.

The Premier League has been a melting pot of footballing brilliance since its inception 30 years ago, yet few compare with the mesmeric flare exhibited by Jay-Jay Okocha.

Okocha’s freedom and expression on the pitch bordered on ridiculous – he did things with a football few could, or even thought possible. To this day, such talent is seldom seen at the highest level of the game, but for him it was the mere continuation of the footballing philosophy he nurtured on the streets of Enugu, Nigeria.

“I think it was my background, my upbringing, playing for the love of the game as a child,” Okocha exclusively told Sky Sports, reflecting on what made him the player he was. “I wasn’t taught how to play football; I went out there and just started playing because I love the game.

“It was our only toy, it was where we could express our joy, our freedom without any manager, anybody nagging you, telling you what to do. Taking football on later as my profession, you can imagine [how good it was] having your toy and being paid to have it.”

Okocha’s introduction to European audiences came completely by chance. A holiday to Germany in 1990 presented an opportunity to train with Borussia Neunkirchen. He grasped it, and a pioneering spell in German football, which would see him play alongside Tony Yeboah at Eintracht Frankfurt, took root.

“Yes, it’s true,” Okocha recalled. “I was there on holiday; Germany had just won the World Cup at Italia 90. Of course, wherever I go, I go with my football boots.

“One day I met with the manager, I asked if I could train with them, he asked if I was sure I could cope, and I said just give me a chance. After the training he asked me if I could come back the next day.”

Moves to Fenerbahce and then Paris Saint-Germain would follow before Okocha’s career reached an unexpected crescendo in the north west of England.

Sam Allardyce’s squad at Bolton saw the likes of World Cup winner Youri Djorkaeff, Champions League winner Ivan Campo, Finnish goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen and English striker Kevin Nolan come together to rip up the Premier League rulebook in the early 2000s, and Okocha provided the magic as the club’s marquee attacker.

“It is amazing when you see people who have got different mentalities, different cultures [working together],” Okocha said.

“It was like a multi-cultural team, but what made us strong was that we had the same goal. We managed to change our mentality to suit each other. At some point we started playing snooker on Thursdays – I never played snooker before, I was rubbish!”

From his spectacular solo run and finish against West Ham, his personal favourite, to an outlandish free-kick double against Aston Villa, Okocha earned a fearsome reputation at Bolton for delivering goals and moments in his trademark dazzling fashion.

“Well, that’s me,” he replied when asked why he even considered going for goal before firing that outrageous free-kick around the Aston Villa wall with the outside of his right boot with an effort which was quickly coined as the ‘banana shot’.

“Youri was by my side, and I said, ‘step back, I want to try something’. He said, ‘are you mad?’ and I said, ‘don’t worry’. When it works it looks great, if it doesn’t you look stupid, but I was never shy of taking risks and trying things.”

Risk and reward is a essential component of football. Striking the right balance with one of the games fundamental principles is what separates good footballers from the very best. Okocha embraced it with a smile on his face.

After a career which took him to so many dressing rooms and countries, saw him sample so many cultures and deliver so many memorable moments, it was a balance Okocha struck just right. It typified his footballing journey.

“I look at that as me being lucky, fortunate,” Okocha said. “It made me a better person, I learned a lot and saw the world in a different perspective. Being almost everywhere in the world helped me be the person I am today.”

Celebrate the Premier League’s African Heroes throughout Black History Month and beyond across Sky Sports and the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel.

Haas team owner Gene Haas: “I think Mick has got a lot of potential, but you know he costs a fortune and he’s wrecked a lot of cars that have cost us a lot of money that we just don’t have.”; Watch the United States GP live on Sky Sports F1 this weekend

Mick Schumacher still doesn’t have a contract at Haas for 2023

Mick Schumacher must score points over the final four races of the season to show he deserves a new Haas deal, says the team’s owner.

Gene Haas also told reporters that Schumacher “costs a fortune” with his crashes and confirmed the team had spoken to other drivers about 2023 but that “Mick’s future is going to be decided by Mick.”

Schumacher is the son of seven-time F1 champion Michael Schumacher and has scored 12 points through 18 races ahead of this weekend’s race in Texas, live on Sky Sports F1. There are four races remaining on the schedule.

“We’re just waiting,” Haas told The Associated Press. “We need Mick to bring some points and we’re trying to give him as much time as possible to see what he can do.

“If he wants to stay with us, he’s got to show us that he can score some more points. That’s what we are waiting for.”

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Haas’ Mick Schumacher aquaplanes and crashes in the barrier after the end of Practice One at the Japanese F1.

The 23-year-old Schumacher is 16th in the standings out of 20 full-time F1 drivers and has one less race this season than the rest of the field. He missed the second race of the season after a crash in qualifying at Saudi Arabia required a short hospital stay for the German driver.

Kevin Magnussen, who was brought back to Haas this season after his 2021 firing and a year spent racing in the United States, has 22 points and is ranked 14th in the standings.

“We started off the year with resounding success and I think the middle season wasn’t too good, and we just seem to fall back into our usual way of running,” Haas said.

“We’ve just got to get out of that. And Formula 1 is so tough. When I started there was six seconds between the leaders and the backend and you had a 107 per cent rule. Now we’re all within two seconds, so it’s gotten a lot tougher and there are no bad teams anymore.”

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Mick Schumacher’s car split in two in a high-speed crash at the swimming pool chicane, leading to a red flag at the Monaco Grand Prix.

Schumacher’s crashes have tested the patience of Haas and the team leadership.

“In this sport, being kind of a rookie driver, the sport just doesn’t allow it – it’s just too expensive,” Haas added. “If you make any mistakes in driver selection, strategy or tire selection, it is costing you millions of dollars.

“I think Mick has got a lot of potential but you know he costs a fortune and he’s wrecked a lot of cars that have cost us a lot of money that we just don’t have. Now, if you bring us some points, and you are (Max) Verstappen and you wreck cars, we’ll deal with it. But when you are in the back and you wreck cars, that’s very difficult.”

Asked if Schumacher has the full final four races to prove himself to Haas, the team owner said: “Well, if he wins the next one, he’s in. Somewhere in between there is a grey area.”

The drivers being mentioned to replace Schumacher include Antonio Giovinazzi and, more recently, Nico Hulkenberg, who made two starts this season as a substitute driver for Aston Martin.

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Following Mick Schumacher’s frustration after the sprint race, Guenther Steiner reveals what the team dynamics are like behind the scenes within Team Haas.

Live United States GP schedule on Sky Sports F1

Thursday
9pm: Drivers’ Press Conference

Friday
7pm: The F1 Show
8pm: United States GP Practice One
10.45pm: United States GP Practice Two (session starts 11pm)

Saturday
7.45pm: United States GP Practice Three (session starts 8pm)
10pm: United States GP Qualifying Build-up
11pm: UNITED STATES GP QUALIFYING
12.45am (Sunday): Ted’s Qualifying Notebook

Sunday
6.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: United States GP Build-up
8pm: THE UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX
9pm: Chequered Flag: United States GP Reaction
11pm: Ted’s Notebook
11.30pm: United States GP Highlights

Paris Saint-Germain forward Neymar Jr told a court on Tuesday he did not participate in negotiations over his transfer to “childhood dream” club Barcelona from Santos in 2013, but had signed what his father had told him to.

Neymar’s parents, former Barcelona president Sandro Rosell and representatives for both the Spanish club and the Brazilian team have also appeared in court, after a complaint brought by Brazilian investment group DIS regarding the amount of the player’s transfer.

Along with Neymar, 30, eight other defendants are on trial on fraud and corruption charges over the transfer, including his parents, representatives of the two clubs, former Barca presidents Josep Maria Bartomeu and Sandro Rosell, and former Santos president Odilio Rodrigues.

All defendants have denied wrongdoing.

“I didn’t participate in the negotiations. My father always took care of it and always will. I sign everything he tells me to sign,” Neymar told the court in Barcelona in his first testimony in the trial that began on Monday.

“Playing for Barcelona was always my dream, a childhood dream.”

What is the background to the Neymar trial?

The case centres on an allegation made by Brazilian investment firm DIS, which owned 40% of the rights to Neymar when he was at Brazil’s Santos, that it lost out on its rightful cut from the transfer because the value of the deal was understated.

The alleged offence of which Neymar Jr and his family are accused of is also not punishable by law in Brazil.

Neymar and his father could face a prison sentence of up to two years if found guilty. They could also face a fine of more than £8.7m (€10m).

Rosell could face a five-year jail term and Barcelona an €8.4m fine.

A court document released in July alleges that Barcelona initiated negotiations in 2011 with the player, paying him €40m to ensure his move when his contract with Santos expired in 2014 and thereby preventing other clubs from signing him.

“Our intention was to prepare a career plan for him in Europe, in which we had in place already established, could learn the language, etc. And knowing his dream to play for Barcelona, we signed that priority agreement with them,” the player’s father, Neymar da Silva Santos, told the court.

None of the defendants who are representatives or former figures at the clubs have yet given their evidence. Neymar and his parents had the right not to testify but decided to do so, answering questions only from the prosecutor and from their own layers.

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez, appearing as a witness via videolink, told the court his club had made offers of €45m in 2011 and €36m in 2013 to sign Neymar but the player chose to join Barcelona instead.

Law firm Baker McKenzie, which is defending Neymar, who joined Paris St Germain in 2017, and his family, has said in a statement it will argue that the Spanish courts lack jurisdiction because the transfer involved a Brazilian national in Brazil.

Neymar’s lawyers say that competition rules relate to products and services and do not apply to the transfer market.

The trial comes nearly a month before the World Cup opens in Qatar and is expected to last until the end of the October.