The incident occurred in the 77th minute at Goodison Park with the visitors leading 1-0 and resulted in a red card for the South Korean.

Photo by Getty Images

Son Heung-min was “devastated” following his tackle that left Everton’s Andre Gomes with a horrific leg injury during Tottenham’s 1-1 draw at Goodison Park on Sunday, according to Dele Alli.

The incident occurred in the 77th minute at Goodison Park with the visitors leading 1-0, and resulted in a red card for the South Korean as horrified players were visibly shaken by the extent of Gomes’ injury.

Son went in with a lunging tackle on the midfielder as he sought to win back the ball, but failed to make contact with the ball as his opponent went down in pain.

Alli Sky Sports: “I didn’t want to look too much at what happened [to Gomes]. All I can do is send him my best wishes and wish him a quick recovery.

“Son is devastated, he’s in tears but it’s not his fault. He’s one of the nicest people you would want to meet and he’s not like that.

“He can’t even lift his head up he’s crying that much in the dressing room.”

The forward was originally shown a yellow card for the challenge, which was then changed to a red once the seriousness of the injury became apparent and he left the pitch in tears.

Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher told Sky Sports: “If you give a red card for that, every challenge is endangering the safety of an opponent. We didn’t want to show it on the replay but I could see it in front of me.

“He actually gets injured in between the two challenges in some ways, and the Son challenge does force him to fall as his leg, unfortunately, gets stuck underneath him just before Aurier comes in.

“I think in the future of this game and on the back of this injury, I don’t think it’s a red card for Son but maybe in the future, if anyone makes a challenge when they know they can’t win the ball, which is what Son has done, I think that may be the next step that we take the game in terms of red cards.”

Ex-Spurs striker Gary Lineker said on Twitter: “Son clearly massively upset. Without the injury he wouldn’t have been shown a red card. He’ll care less about that than injuring a fellow professional so seriously. Such a shame.”

Spurs looked to have done enough to see off the hosts thanks to a second-half goal from Dele Alli who fired home after a dire first 45 minutes.

But Everton hit back against the 10 men, with striker Cenk Tosun powering home a bullet header deep into stoppage time after the game had been badly disrupted by the injury to Gomes.

The result leaves Tottenham mired in the bottom half of the table and have now failed to win on the road since January, whilst Everton sit 17th, one position above the relegation places

Source – Goal.com

Manchester United have confirmed they will charter a plane to take fans to Kazakhstan for their UEFA Europa League fixture against FC Astana.

Fans who booked with Thomas Cook will fly free of charge

The club have laid on the flight in the wake of Thomas Cook going into insolvency and will allow fans with proof of a booking with the bankrupt holiday company to travel free of charge.

United were among a number of Premier League clubs who had a partnership with Thomas Cook Sports. They had pre-sold a small number of tickets and hospitality for a number of home matches this season, along with travel packages to the Astana UEFA Europa League away leg.

A United spokesperson said: “We have been working through a range of contingency plans to minimise the impact of the Thomas Cook situation for our supporters.

“We are pleased to be able to confirm that Manchester United will be operating a complimentary trip to the forthcoming match against FC Astana in Kazakhstan for those who were impacted by the insolvency of Thomas Cook.

“Beyond the Astana fixture, we are investigating longer term options around facilitating European travel for our loyal fans.”

Details of the flight and process for fans who had booked to fly to Astana with Thomas Cook can be found on the club’s website.

Source – Sky Sport

The club’s supremo will step down in November and hopes fans will accept that he always gave everything for the cause.

Photo by Getty

Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness has admitted that he ‘cried like a baby’ due to the support he received during his time in prison for tax evasion and stated that he knows that the club’s fans always knew that he would ‘rip his a** open’ for them.

Hoeness has spent 49 years on Bayern’s books, first as a player, then as general manager and finally as the club’s president, a position he will step down from on November 15 this year.

Various domestic and European honours have been won with Hoeness both on and off the pitch and the 67-year-old will doubtless go down as a club legend. However, being sent to prison for tax evasion in 2014 has left a stain on an otherwise successful career.

“My biggest mistake was my taxation,” Hoeness told Bayern’s official club magazine, 51. “I deeply regret it and criticism of it is highly justified.

“In hard times, I remember the fates of some of the people that I saw in there. One day, somebody sat in my cell, even though he was free to go. He said he did not know what to do. At some point, he was just sitting in a taxi with nowhere to go. Experiences like that are not lost on me.”

It became apparent to Hoeness and others in and around the Bavarian outfit that a trial might be forthcoming after police raided his house and arrested him in March of 2013.

Bayern went on to win the Champions League that year, but it was bittersweet as the threat of jail time loomed.

“I knew that I would have to go to prison,” he said of that night at Wembley, a 2-1 victory over Borussia Dortmund. “Franck Ribery cried and the fans sang my name. That moved me beyond belief.”

That unconditional support from the club’s faithful fans would continue even after Hoeness was prosecuted.

“Some of the letters I got in prison were so touching that I cried like a baby in my cell,” he said.

Hoeness has had his fair share of detractors over the years, but he remains wholly satisfied by his time with the club and feels that fans know he always had their best interests at heart.

“When I look out the window in the morning, I’m happy with my 49 years at Bayern,” he added. “I have not regretted a single day and I owe everything to this club – not even as an employee but I’ve always felt like the number one fan. I feel nothing but gratitude.

“I can only smile about [criticism]. I think the fans know that, deep down, I have always ripped open my a** and given everything for them.”

Source – Goal.com

The Switzerland international pointed to threats against himself and his family to explain why he reacted so furiously at the weekend to jeers.

Getty Images

Arsenal captain Granit Xhaka has offered an explanation to Gunners fans over the furious scenes that accompanied his substitution against Crystal Palace.

Xhaka was taken off by Unai Emery towards the end of Sunday’s draw, which saw the hosts throw away a 2-0 lead in the London derby.

With the Emirates Stadium’s jeers ringing in his ears, the Switzerland international offered an angry reaction, ripping off his shirt and marching straight down the tunnel.

Before leaving, however, he had a final message for fans, cupping his ear and mouthing “f*ck off” at the stands.

His actions have been widely condemned and now, four days after the incident, Xhaka has finally answered his critics with a statement published on Arsenal’s Twitter account.

“After taking some time to reflect on what happened on Sunday afternoon, I would like to give you an explanation rather than just a quick response,” the missive began.

“The scenes that took place around my substitution have moved me deeply. I love this club and have always given 100 per cent on and off the pitch.”

Xhaka continued to allege that threats directed against himself and his family may have motivated the outburst seen on Sunday.

“My feeling of not being understood by fans, and repeated abusive comments at matches and on social media over the last weeks and months have hurt me deeply,” he added.

“People have said things like ‘We will break your legs,’ ‘kill your wife’  and ‘wish that your daughter gets cancer’. That has stirred me up and I reached boiling point when I felt the rejection in the stadium on Sunday.

“In this situation I let myself be carried away and reacted in a way that disrespected the group of fans that support our club, our team and myself with positive energy. That has not been my intention and I’m sorry if it’s what people thought.

“My wish is that we get back to a place of mutual respect, remembering why we fell in love with the game in the first place. Let’s move positively forward together.”

Xhaka was absent on Wednesday as a second-string Arsenal side took Liverpool to a thrilling 5-5 draw in the Carabao Cup before going out on penalties.

Emery must now decide whether to keep faith with his captain in the Gunners’ next Premier League match, at the Emirates on Saturday at home to Wolves.

Source – Goal.com

Chris Smalling is expected to return to Manchester United once his year-long loan spell at Roma expires in the summer, Sky Sports News understands.

Chris Smalling will spend the rest of the season with Roma

Sources have told Sky Sports News there have been no such talks regarding Smalling, who has played six games for Roma and they have conceded just two goals in his last four league appearances.

Smalling appeared 323 times for Manchester United in nine seasons at the club

The 29-year-old was deemed surplus to requirements at Old Trafford in August, following the arrival of Harry Maguire and return of Axel Tuanzebe from a spell at Aston Villa, and subsequently moved to Roma for a loan fee of £2.71m.

Smalling produced a man-of-the-match performance in September as Roma beat Lecce 1-0, with the former England international leading in terms of clearances, recoveries, blocks, interceptions and even shots taken.

Roma are currently fifth in Serie A after their 2-1 win at home to AC Milan on Sunday.

Source – Sky Sport

Fiorentina’s Franck Ribery has been banned for three matches and fined 20,000 euros (£17,257) after pushing an assistant referee following his side’s 2-1 defeat by Lazio.

Franck Ribery (left) has scored twice in nine appearances since joining Fiorentina

The 36-year-old, who had been substituted in the 74th minute, remonstrated with officials at the final whistle.

He was restrained by team-mates before being shown a red card.

Ribery, who joined the Serie A club in the summer, apologised for his actions.

A Serie A disciplinary tribunal described Ribery’s conduct as “seriously disrespectful”, saying the midfielder approached the official with “threatening behaviour” and pushed him twice.

After the incident, ex-Bayern Munich winger Ribery tweeted: “I apologise to my team-mates, to the coach, to the fans.

“I apologise also to (the assistant referee) Mr Passeri because at the end of the game I was very upset and I hope he can understand what was my mood.”

Fiorentina claimed the move which led to Lazio’s winner, scored by Ciro Immobile, began with a foul by Jordan Lukaku on their winger Riccardo Sotil.

The club wanted to know why referee Marco Guida did not review the incident on the pitchside monitor and chose only to consult VAR officials.

The Welshman’s future remains a topic of discussion after he exercised his right to personal privacy over his latest lay-off with Los Blancos.

Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale has requested that the club do not publish his medical records, following previous public criticism over his injuries at Santiago Bernanbeu.

The Wales international has missed his side’s last two games in the Champions League and La Liga following a fresh problem suffered on the international break, but Los Blancos are yet to offer a fitness update.

The 30-year-old, who has been a key performer for Madrid this season despite ongoing speculation of an immediate exit, has reportedly exercised his right in the Spanish Law on Protection of Personal Data to keep the matter private.

Bale was close to agreeing a move to China after personal conflicts with manager Zinedine Zidane but the deal fell through at the last minute.

Speaking to ESPN FC, the former Tottenham star’s agent Jonathan Barnett stated that there was nothing out of the ordinary in the decision to keep the records out of the wider eye.

“Medical records are private. If every citizen’s medical reports are private, why should Gareth’s be public?” he stated.

Madrid last previously released a fitness statement on Bale in January, and before that, September 2017, with club sources stating that the request for privacy came after critical opinion over his lay-offs.

In addition, internal reports profess a “discomfort” over the frequency of the striker’s periods spent on the sidelines, attributing it to a low tolerance for pain.

Bale’s team-mates have reportedly expressed their respect for him however given his key role in Madrid’s campaign so far, with the club only two points off Granada at the summit of La Liga with a game in hand.

The Welshman was seen earlier this week heading to London, to which Madrid confirmed he had permission to travel, though they refused to reveal the reasons of his journey.

AS reported that Bale’s trip was in order to explore options for his future as the club consider selling him on in the January transfer window.

He has been frequently linked with a return to the Premier League, where he played for Tottenham between 2007 and 2013 following a breakout campaign with Southampton in the Championship.

Source – Goal.com

The club have responded to the backlash by calling the midfielder in for discussions with the coach and technical director.

Photo by Getty

Arsenal boss Unai Emery and technical director Edu have held crunch talks with Granit Xhaka after a volatile reaction towards fans in Sunday’s draw with Crystal Palace.

The club captain was booed by supporters as he was substituted during the 2-2 draw at the Emirates Stadium and reacted by cupping his ear and shouting expletives back at the crowd .

The midfielder’s furious reaction sparked controversy, with many former Gunners criticising Xhaka and one even calling for him to be stripped of the captain’s armband .

Arsenal responded on Monday by calling the 27-year-old in for a meeting to discuss his future, but won’t be releasing a statement on the situation before Tuesday.

The club are adamant that they cannot have their captain acting in such a way towards fans. Emery chastised Xhaka in the wake of the game, saying “he is wrong” to react to supporters ,

He said: “We are going to speak [internally] about that situation. I want to listen to him and also to be calm, but, really, he was wrong in this action.”

However, Xhaka is said to have the support of his team-mates. He is a popular figure in the Arsenal dressing room having been picked by players to lead the side in the summer.

“We are all humans, we all have emotions, and sometimes it’s not easy dealing with them,” right-back Hector Bellerin said on social media.

“It’s time to lift each other up, not to push each other away. We only win when we are together.”

Arsenal summer loan signing Dani Ceballos also called for Gunners unity amid increased pressure on the club and Emery to turn around their form.

He tweeted: “To be united is the start; to keep united is a progress; but to work together and united, will lead us to success. Let’s go boys! Together we can make it!”

However, Arsenal legend Ian Wright believes the former Borussia Monchengladbach star must say sorry to the club’s supporters and his team-mates.

“He should apologise,” the former striker said. “That’s the captain. He should have apologised already.

“[If he apologises] it’s not a case of that’s the end of it, but that’s the guy they’ve chosen as the captain and that’s not captain’s behaviour.

“Arsenal fans have showed a lot of patience with him and the performances he’s put in. He owes them a lot more than acting like that.”

The north London club, who are fifth in the Premier League, are back in action on Wednesday night in the Carabao Cup with a trip to European champions Liverpool.

Source – Goal.com

Mauro Icardi and Kylian Mbappe scored twice each as Paris St Germain extended their lead at the top of Ligue 1 to eight points with a 4-0 crushing of bitter rivals Olympique de Marseille at the Parc des Princes on Sunday.

Mauro Icardi and Kylian Mbappe share a hug during PSG’s rout of Marseille. Photo by MARTIN BUREAU/AFP via Getty Images

Argentine striker Icardi and France forward Mbappe netted all the goals in the opening half to put PSG on 27 points from 11 games, eight ahead of their nearest challengers Nantes, and leave OM in seventh place on 16 points.

Icardi has now scored seven goals in his last seven games while Mbappe has struck five times in two matches for PSG, who were without the injured Neymar.

OM have not won against PSG in all competitions in their last 20 meetings since 2011 – the year Qatar Sports Investment took over in the capital before investing more than a billion euros in transfers.

“We have been hammering you for eight years and it’s not over,” a banner in the Auteuil curve of the Parc des Princes read.

The banner was spot-on as PSG overwhelmed the visitors, their attacking trio of Mbappe, Icardi and Angel Di Maria proving impossible to handle.

“I’m happy to score those goals, that’s why I came here,” said man of the match Icardi.

Icardi told Canal+: “I came to give best and with a desire to score, so I am happy to be doing just that.

“To play for PSG, with these sorts of players… It is surely the best team I have played in. I feel very good and there is a good chemistry with my teammates — it enables me to score goals.”

OM coach Andre Villas Boas said PSG’s players were simply too good.

“The system is not the question, it’s their individual qualities that made the difference. There is no shame, I’m proud of my players,” he said.

Marseille’s Dimitri Payet made his return after a four-match ban for insulting a referee while Mbappe was handed his first start in two months after struggling with injuries.

The 20-year-old, who scored a hat-trick after coming on as a second-half substitute against Club Brugge in the Champions League this week, threatened early on but it was Icardi who found the back of the net first.

Steve Mandanda parried the Argentine’s header for Icardi to fire home from point-blank range shortly after Valere Germain had missed a great chance for the visitors.

The French international keeper was beaten by Icardi again in the 27th minute, the striker heading home from Marco Verratti‘s through ball.

Mbappe made it 3-0 five minutes later, tapping in from Di Maria’s cross.

The Frenchman was at it again one minute from the break, collecting a defence-splitting pass from Di Maria before curling a 16-metre shot past Mandanda.

PSG took a more casual approach in the second half but came close to adding another, Mbappe missing a sitter from Icardi’s pass and the opportunity to become the first player to score a hat trick in the French “classic”.

He was replaced by Edinson Cavani as the Uruguay striker made his comeback after a two-month injury layoff.

Earlier, Yann Gboho‘s last-gap goal earned Stade Rennais a 3-2 home victory over Toulouse which ended the Brittany side’s 10-game winless run in all competitions.

The result lifted Rennes up to ninth in the standings on 15 points, ahead of 12th-placed St Etienne on goal difference after Les Verts were held to a 2-2 home draw by Stade de Reims – the first time they dropped points in the league since coach Claude Puel took over three weeks ago.

Reims are fourth on 18 points.

Source – ESPN

A Uefa disciplinary panel will meet on Monday to decide Bulgaria’s punishment for the racist abuse England players suffered during the Euro 2020 qualifier in Sofia.

The Euro 2020 qualifier between Bulgaria and England was stopped twice under the new Uefa protocol for dealing with racism

Punishments range from a monetary fine to a stadium closure or even being thrown out of the competition.

England were 6-0 winners on 15 October, but the match was stopped twice for racist chanting by home supporters.

It could have been abandoned but England’s players decided to play on.

The president of the Bulgaria Football Union (BFU), Borislav Mihaylov, resigned the following day after Prime Minister Boyko Borissov called for him to quit.

Bulgaria manager Krasimir Balakov, who claimed not to have heard anything on the night, stood down a few days later.

Authorities in Bulgaria have so far identified 16 suspects and made 12 arrests after the England game.

Four supporters received fines and two-year bans, with others remaining under investigation.

In terms of a stadium closure, they are already halfway through a partial two-game ban after being found guilty of racist behaviour in matches against the Czech Republic and Kosovo in June.

Of the 46,340 seats at Vasil Levski Stadium in Sofia, 5,000 were blocked off for the game with England, while 3,000 are due to be blocked off for the return match with the Czech Republic on 17 November – their one remaining qualifier.

Bulgaria are bottom of Group A with three points from seven games and cannot qualify directly for next summer’s finals.

However, as things stand, they would be in line for a play-off spot due to their results in the League of Nations last year.

Tyrone Mings made his England debut in the 6-0 win but was subjected to racist chanting from a section of the home crowd

‘Sanctions and bans won’t change attitudes’

Before Monday’s disciplinary meeting, Ged Grebby, founder of anti-racism charity Show Racism the Red Card, has said education rather than severe penalties is the best way to try to tackle this problem within Bulgarian football.

“Ultimately unless they put more money into anti-racism education, all the sanctions in the world and all the bans in the world won’t change attitudes,” he told PA Sport.

“It would be simple to throw Bulgaria out of the tournament wouldn’t it? I notice the Bulgarians have already given out two-year banning orders.

“If you want to give out a strong message, two years is not a strong message.

“I don’t like lifetime bans, you’re not leaving yourself open to changing attitudes. It has to involve education and it depends how they react to that education.”

As well as the charges of racism, Bulgaria face punishment for throwing objects, the disruption of a national anthem and showing replays on a giant screen.

England will also learn if they are sanctioned for the disruption of a national anthem and with providing insufficient stewards.

Source – BBC News