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Le nouveau patron des arbitres de Premier League, Howard Webb, veut que les anciens joueurs deviennent arbitres

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Le nouveau chef des arbitres de Premier League, Howard Webb, veut encourager les anciens joueurs professionnels à devenir arbitres.

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Webb est revenu au football anglais après cinq ans aux États-Unis, après avoir été nommé premier arbitre en chef de Professional Game Match Officials Limited.

Le joueur de 51 ans, qui a arbitré la finale de la Coupe du monde 2010, s’est engagé à augmenter le nombre d’arbitres, notamment en essayant d’attirer davantage de femmes officielles et d’autres personnes d’horizons divers.

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Cependant, il estime également que les rangs professionnels sont une source inexploitée et pense que certains joueurs pourraient trouver l’arbitrage attrayant comme cheminement de carrière alternatif.

Webb a encadré l’arbitre de la finale de la Coupe du monde 2022, Szymon Marciniak, au début de sa carrière et beaucoup a été fait après la victoire de l’Argentine sur la France au sujet des antécédents de jeu du Polonais.

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“Nous devons voir comment nous pouvons attirer les gens. Nous avons toujours eu du mal à impliquer les anciens joueurs”, a déclaré Webb, qui supervisera tous les officiels de la Premier League et de la Ligue anglaise de football.

“Mais je suis sûr que quelqu’un voudra être un pionnier.

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“Quelqu’un qui a joué dans la Ligue de football – je ne m’attends pas à ce que des joueurs qui ont joué au plus haut niveau aient d’autres opportunités d’entrer [refereeing] – mais quelqu’un qui a joué une carrière décente, qui a une bonne connaissance du jeu, peut-être la fin des années 20, souffrant d’une blessure ou quoi que ce soit qui signifie qu’il ne peut pas jouer aussi régulièrement.

“Je pense qu’il y a une opportunité pour quelqu’un de vraiment ouvrir la voie et nous l’accueillerions de tout cœur avec les compétences qu’il a acquises au cours de cette carrière de joueur, à condition qu’il ait les autres compétences dont il a besoin pour réussir.”

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Webb accepte que les 13 ans et demi qu’il lui a fallu pour atteindre la Premier League risquent de repousser les candidats potentiels du jeu professionnel.

Cependant, il a déclaré que le processus avait maintenant été rationalisé pour réduire le temps nécessaire pour acquérir l’expérience appropriée.

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Il a ajouté: “Vous devez encore faire certains de ces chantiers difficiles pour acquérir l’expérience dont vous avez besoin pour survivre à des niveaux élevés et vous y épanouir, mais vous pouvez créditer l’expérience que vous avez déjà acquise dans le jeu en jouant ou quoi que ce soit. puis construisez là-dessus aussi vite que vous le pouvez et faites-les monter aussi vite que possible, et cela attirera les gens.”

“Si vous avez les compétences, vous aurez l’opportunité”

S’adressant à BBC Sport, Webb a souligné son désir de recruter plus d’arbitres d’horizons divers, notant également l’émergence de plus de femmes officielles.

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Stéphanie Frappart devenant la première femme à arbitrer un match de Coupe du monde masculin au Qatar, Rebecca Welch sur la liste EFL et Sian Massey-Ellis s’étant imposée comme l’une des meilleures arbitres assistantes de la Premier League, Webb estime que ce n’est qu’une question de temps avant que les femmes ne prennent en charge les plus grands matchs.

“C’est fabuleux que nous ayons ces talentueuses arbitres qui ont suivi le même chemin que les autres arbitres et qui ont montré qu’elles avaient de la qualité”, a-t-il déclaré.

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“Il n’y a pas de limite ces jours-ci. Nous le constatons au plus haut niveau de la Coupe du monde et au niveau national, où de plus en plus de femmes arrivent aux plus hauts niveaux du jeu masculin et féminin et font un très bon travail.

“Quel que soit votre parcours, si vous avez les compétences dont vous avez besoin et que vous avez la qualité, des opportunités se présenteront. Je suis ravie de voir des arbitres féminines se développer et prendre en charge certains des plus grands jeux de notre pays et du monde à l’avenir. .”

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Respectez les réfs

Au cours de la saison 2021-22, des interdictions ont été infligées à 380 joueurs et entraîneurs pour avoir attaqué ou menacé des arbitres et des officiels de match dans le football de base anglais.

Webb admet que “ce qui est vu au plus haut niveau du jeu a un impact sur d’autres niveaux”, le patron de Liverpool, Jurgen Klopp, devant s’excuser pour la manière agressive dont il a réagi à l’arbitre assistant Gary Beswick lors de la victoire de son équipe contre Manchester City en octobre.

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Klopp a d’abord échappé à une interdiction de ligne de touche et alors que l’Allemand a finalement purgé une suspension d’un match après que la Football Association a fait appel de la clémence de la sanction, Webb a déclaré que les officiels à tous les niveaux du jeu devaient savoir qu’ils étaient protégés.

“Le pouvoir de l’exemple est fort”, a-t-il déclaré.

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“Nous ne voulons pas que les gens abandonnent parce que l’expérience qu’ils ont n’est pas bonne.

“Nous comprenons les émotions et la pression que subissent les gens à ce niveau, mais lorsque les limites sont franchies, nous avons la responsabilité d’être forts. C’est ce que nous continuerons à viser.”

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Essayer de faire fonctionner le VAR

En une semaine où il a été confirmé que les arbitres assistants vidéo sont devenus six décisions correctes en décisions incorrectes jusqu’à présent cette saison, Webb dit qu’il veut démystifier le processus d’arbitrage.

Il souhaite utiliser ses expériences dans la Major League Soccer et la manière plus ouverte dont ils traitent avec VAR pour améliorer le système actuel.

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Webb dit “tout est sur la table” lorsqu’on lui demande si cela peut impliquer que les supporters puissent entendre les échanges entre l’arbitre et le VAR, même si ce n’est pas en temps réel.

“Nous examinons tous les moyens possibles pour tirer ce rideau, pour montrer au monde les processus qui entrent dans la prise de décisions, la justification des décisions prises”, a-t-il déclaré.

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“Les gens ne sont peut-être pas toujours d’accord avec le résultat final, mais s’ils comprennent comment nous en sommes arrivés là, le niveau d’acceptation est beaucoup plus élevé.”

Il accepte qu’il soit impossible d’obtenir une précision à 100% dans le processus de prise de décision et a utilisé l’exemple du penalty donné lors de la demi-finale de la Coupe du monde pour l’Argentine contre la Croatie qui a divisé les opinions des équipes de commentateurs et d’experts d’ITV.

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“Vous avez affaire à des êtres humains, qui émettent des jugements qui divisent l’opinion, dans un jeu qui soulève beaucoup, beaucoup de subjectivité”, a-t-il déclaré.

“Si nous essayons d’utiliser VAR pour rectifier ce genre de décisions, quelqu’un va être déçu.”

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Webb souhaite que l’utilisation du VAR se concentre sur les erreurs “claires et évidentes”, admettant que, mis à part les cas compliqués impliquant de nombreux incidents, “si quelque chose est clair et évident, cela ne devrait pas prendre quelques minutes pour le résoudre”.

“Beaucoup de conseils et de coaching que je donnerai consisteront à ne pas trop y penser”, a déclaré Webb.

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“Nous ne voulons pas que les VAR recherchent trop. Nous voulons qu’ils recherchent simplement les erreurs qui vous sautent aux yeux.”

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Premier League fantasy football tips: Mohamed Salah, Erling Haaland, Son Heung-min

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Alistair Bruce-Ball

The fixture calendar for the rest of the Premier League season is pretty much set so now it’s up to you to decide on your strategy depending on what chips you have left in the game.

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We know there are seven teams with a double gameweek 34 – Arsenal, Liverpool, Wolves, Bournemouth, Crystal Palace, Everton and Sheffield United.

Tottenham don’t have a fixture in gameweek 34, which makes things slightly trickier if you don’t have a Free Hit chip, because they will then have two double gameweeks before the end of the season.

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Chelsea will also double twice in the last four gameweeks of the season, while Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle and Brighton will all have a double gameweek, which is almost certainly going to be in gameweek 37.

Managers who still have their second wildcard available will rightly be debating whether to play it now, either in gameweek 30 or 31, or in gameweek 35 to really attack the last four weeks of the season with a potential Bench Boost in mind for gameweek 37.

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If you’ve still got that Free Hit chip then the earlier wildcard could be tempting because you can bring in as many Tottenham and Chelsea players as you like without having to worry about gameweek, 34 when Tottenham blank and Chelsea are away to Arsenal.

I like that strategy because the fixtures look good for both Tottenham and Chelsea in the next few weeks – but if you’ve already used your Free Hit then you might want to hold on to the wildcard until gameweek 35 and focus your transfers on Liverpool and Arsenal in the short-term as we start to build up towards gameweek 34.

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Captaincy

Those managers who can get Mohamed Salah into their squads this week will certainly want to consider him for Liverpool’s game against Brighton at Anfield on Sunday as his ownership is relatively low.

Many will be taking a points hit to get him because they can’t afford him in a straight swap or they may decide to wait until next week, which will give those of you who get him on the wildcard a nice little edge.

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If you don’t own Salah then I would suggest a Tottenham attacker for their game at home to Luton, preferably Son Heung-Min, or the man I’m looking to as a slightly differential captaincy pick this week in Cole Palmer, who has a home game against Burnley.

Fixtures to target

This is one of those gameweeks when two of the best teams in the Premier League go head-to-head and we own four or five of their players, in this case Manchester City and Arsenal, who face each other at Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

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I would be very happy to field my attackers in this game, the likes of Bukayo Saka and Erling Haaland, but I would try to bench my defenders if I could.

Arsenal’s defence has been superb this season and we know all about their prowess at set-pieces so fielding one of Gabriel, William Saliba or Ben White isn’t really too much of a problem, but I wouldn’t want to have two of them in my starting line-up if I could avoid it.

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If you’re looking for a defender to bring into your squad this week then Statman Dave and Chris Sutton each had a suggestion in this week’s Fantasy 606 podcast – Dave has gone for Chelsea’s Malo Gusto, while Chris likes the look of Conor Bradley for Liverpool – and both come in at only £4.2 million.

Bradley has the advantage of the double gameweek 34 but if Trent Alexander-Arnold returns to fitness in the next few weeks then he is less likely to start every game. Gusto looks undroppable for Chelsea at the moment and we still don’t know when Reece James may return to action to provide competition for him.

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Differentials

Fulham striker Rodrigo Muniz was one of the rare successes in gameweek 29, his two goals in Fulham’s 3-0 win against Tottenham taking his tally to seven goals in his past seven games and his next three matches are against Sheffield United, Nottingham Forest and Newcastle.

He only costs £4.6 million, which also makes him a great makeweight if you’re having to use two transfers to get to Salah this week.

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Gamble of the week

We run a listeners’ team on the Fantasy 606 podcast whereby a different listener comes on each week to manage the side. This week’s listener, Alex from Vancouver, has taken the gamble to remove Haaland from the squad to enable the signing of Salah.

Haaland obviously has the tougher fixture this week, he doesn’t have a double like Salah in gameweek 34 and it enables the listeners to have Salah, Son and Saka in their midfield.

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It comes down to your budget – if, like me, you can’t afford to have all four of Haaland, Salah, Son and Saka then which one makes way? It’s Son for me, who will be replaced by Salah next week, but I might then have to turn to a cheaper Tottenham attacker to try to fill Son’s boots.

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My Mate’s A Footballer: Patrick Bamford tests podcast co-host Joe Wilkinson’s free-kicks

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Leeds United striker Patrick Bamford meets up with his My Mate’s A Footballer podcast co-host, comedian Joe Wilkinson, for a free-kick challenge.

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Can Wilkinson finally prove himself to be the elite free-kick “specialist” that he claims he is?

Listen to episodes of ‘My Mate’s A Footballer’ here

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Chelsea expect to be in Women’s Champions League semi-finals, says boss Emma Hayes

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Chelsea celebrate
British record signing Mayra Ramirez scored as Chelsea drew 1-1 with Ajax on Wednesday night to progress 4-1 on aggregate

Emma Hayes says Chelsea “expect to be” in the semi-finals of the Women’s Champions League after securing their spot for a second season running by dispatching Dutch side Ajax.

Chelsea were beaten in the semi-finals by champions Barcelona last season.

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“We expect to be here, I should say that,” said Hayes.

“If you look at our record in the Champions League, even in the last five years, it was only once we didn’t qualify from the group. We’ve made the latter stages every [other] year.

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“I don’t make any excuses, we should be at this level and we should be at the semi-finals. Of course we have a little bit more depth to be able to do things like make more changes [on Wednesday] than we’ve ever had.

“But we haven’t won anything, we’re in the place we want to be. I don’t know who the opponent will be – but we’re ready.”

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Chelsea could set up another meeting with Barcelona in the last four. The Spanish giants have a 2-1 aggregate lead going into the second leg of their quarter-final tie with Brann on Thursday.

Hayes, who leaves Chelsea in the summer to manage the United States women’s national team, hopes to guide her side to the quadruple this season but will need to rely on every member of the squad after being hit with long-term injuries.

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As well as chasing a first European crown, Chelsea are top of the Women’s Super League, face Arsenal in the Women’s League Cup final on Sunday and play Manchester United in the Women’s FA Cup semi-finals next month.

“We love winning. I always say this to the players. No-one cares who scores. Everyone has a role to play,” said Hayes.

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“We have to count on each other. Some will play more than others throughout the season. I trust the squad, I trust the players. We’re in the place we want top be.

“There were some that absolutely needed to recover [on Wednesday] so I’m really happy with the whole squad.”

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Thursday’s gossip: Sesko, Branthwaite, Guimaraes, Alexander-Arnold, Diaz, Paqueta, Anselmino, De Zerbi

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Benjamin Sesko

Arsenal have a 10-man shortlist for a new striker this summer with RB Leipzig’s Slovenian Benjamin Sesko, 20, Sporting Lisbon’s Viktor Gyokeres, 25, and his fellow Sweden international, Newcastle’s Alexander Isak, 24, among those being monitored. (Mirror)external-link

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Manchester United are keen on Everton centre-back Jarrad Branthwaite, 21, as they prioritise improving their defence next season. (Telegraph)external-link

Pep Guardiola is “obsessed” by Newcastle midfielder Bruno Guimaraes, 26, but Manchester City would have to pay 100m euros (£85.7m) to sign the Brazil international. (Fichajes – in Spanish)external-link

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West Ham expect Manchester City to move again for their Brazil midfielder Lucas Paqueta, 26. (Football Insider)external-link

Chelsea are among the clubs interested in Athletico Paranaense goalkeeper Bento, 24, who made his Brazil debut against England last week. (Globo – in Portuguese)external-link

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Tottenham want to sign Feyenoord’s Mexico striker Santiago Gimenez, 22, as their replacement for Harry Kane this summer – one year after the 30-year-old England striker’s departure to Bayern Munich. (Caught Offside) external-link

Liverpool forward Luis Diaz, 27, has not given up hope of moving to one of the big Spanish La Liga clubs in the future, according to the Colombia international’s father. (Daily Mail)external-link

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Manchester United are interested in signing Argentine defender Aaron Anselmino, 18, from Boca Juniors. (Ole – in Spanish)external-link

Brighton manager Roberto de Zerbi is Bayern Munich’s leading managerial candidate if they cannot persuade their former midfielder Xabi Alonso to join from Bayer Leverkusen. (Florian Plettenberg)external-link

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Tottenham, West Ham, Brighton and Everton are all plotting moves for Juventus and England Under-21 winger Samuel Iling-Junior, 20. (Football Insider)external-link

Italy midfielder Jorginho, 32, could leave Arsenal this summer to return to his homeland. (Football London)external-link

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The Gunners’ hopes of signing winger Xavi Simons, 20, have been hit because Paris St-Germain want to give the Netherlands international more game time when he returns from a loan at RB Leipzig. (Express)external-link

Manchester United will let Denmark midfielder Christian Eriksen, 32, leave this summer. (Football Insider)external-link

Real Madrid cannot afford a rumoured move for Liverpool and England full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold, 25. (Goal)external-link

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Germany midfielder Toni Kroos, 34, is set to sign a one-year contract extension to stay at Real Madrid. (Fabrizio Romano)external-link

Liverpool assistant coach Pep Lijnders is a contender to take charge at Ajax next season. (Telegraph – subscription required)external-link

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Steph Houghton: Manchester City defender and ex-England captain to retire

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Steph Houghton claps the Manchester City fans
Steph Houghton has won 121 caps for England, while representing Sunderland, Leeds, Arsenal and Manchester City at club level

Manchester City defender and former England captain Steph Houghton will retire at the end of the current Women’s Super League season.

Houghton, 35, is City’s record appearance holder and is part of the squad in contention to win the WSL title this season.

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Houghton has 121 England caps but has not played for her country since 2021.

“I hope I leave the game in a better place than when I started,” Houghton, who began at Sunderland in 2002, said.

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“And [I hope] I have contributed in some small way to giving the girls of tomorrow a better future in football.”

Centre-back Houghton spent five years at Sunderland, followed by three-year spells at Leeds and Arsenal, before joining City in 2014.

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She made her England debut against Russia in March 2007, going on to appear at two World Cups and two European Championships.

However, Houghton missed out on a place at Euro 2022, having not played for eight months because of an Achilles injury, and was also left out of Sarina Wiegman’s squad for last year’s World Cup.

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Houghton also represented Team GB at London 2012 and Tokyo 2020.

“Taking the decision to retire, is such a difficult thing to do,” said Houghton, who was awarded an MBE in 2016 for her achievements in women’s football.

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“Whilst age comes to every player, it makes it no easier having to say the words out loud. Football has been my life; my passion and I have loved the career I have had.”

The Lionesses posted on X: “We wish you all the best in your retirement.

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“From leading the Lionesses to growing the women’s game – your impact will never be forgotten.”

How Houghton become an ‘icon of the game’

Houghton has played 241 games for City and is their most decorated player having won eight major trophies – four Continental Cups, three Women’s FA Cups and the FA Women’s Super League title in 2016.

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She also won two WSL titles with Arsenal in 2011 and 2012, also helping the Gunners to five cup victories.

“Steph is – without question – an icon of the game,” said City head coach Gareth Taylor.

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“Although her professional career on the pitch is now coming to an end, her legacy will be felt for so many years to come.

“She’s paved the way for so many to thrive in the future.”

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City captain Houghton signed a new one-year deal in June 2023, taking her into a 10th year at the club during which she will stop her playing career.

“I feel incredibly privileged to have been able to work with her since 2020 and know her name will be written into the history books as a true footballing great,” added Taylor.

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City are level with leaders Chelsea with five matches left in their WSL season, which is set to conclude on 18 May against Aston Villa.

“I am excited for whatever comes next,” said Houghton, who is married to former Liverpool defender Stephen Darby and helped him complete a 178-mile march for ex-players with motor neurone disease this week.

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“In the meantime, I remain focused on giving everything I have left for Manchester City, over the next two months.”

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Stoke City supporters banned for tragedy chanting at Elland Road

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The force said the two men were in the away supporters’ section of the upper West Stand at the time, which is immediately above home fans.

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Turner, 44, of Longport Road, Stoke-on-Trent, was fined £553 and ordered to pay £85 in costs and a £221 victim surcharge.

Lawton, 28, of Johnson Place, Stoke-on-Trent, was fined £120 and told to pay £85 in costs and a £48 victim surcharge.

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Kevin Speight and Christopher Loftus were both fatally stabbed in April 2000, on the eve of Leeds’ UEFA Cup semi-final tie with Galatasaray.

Follow BBC Yorkshire on Facebook, external, X (formerly Twitter), external and Instagram, external. Send your story ideas to yorkslincs.news@bbc.co.uk.

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Nottingham Forest: Steven Reid guilty of expletive-laden abuse of referee Paul Tierney

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Nottingham Forest first-team coach Steven Reid is sent off by referee Paul Tierney after Premier League game against Liverpool
Steven Reid was sent off after the final whistle after confronting referee Paul Tierney

Nottingham Forest first-team coach Steven Reid has been given an extended two-match touchline ban and fined £5,000 after being found guilty of misconduct by the Football Association.

Reid confronted referee Paul Tierney following Forest’s defeat by Liverpool earlier this month.

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It was found he had used an expletive phrase towards Tierney on more than three occasions.

Forest have also been fined £75,000 for their part in the incident.

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The Premier League side were punished for failing to ensure their players and technical staff “did not behave in an improper way after the final whistle”. The club admitted the charge.

The incident followed Darwin Nunez’s 99th-minute winner at the City Ground.

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What happened?

Forest had control of the ball outside the penalty area when the game was stopped following a head injury to Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate in second-half stoppage time.

The home side were left incensed by Tierney’s decision to hand possession back to Liverpool via a drop-ball, from which Nunez went on to score.

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Mark Clattenburg, Forest’s referee analyst, criticised the decision post-match, telling BBC Radio 5 Live: “If the referee stops the game, he has to give the ball back to the team in possession. That was Forest.”

In his report of the incident, Tierney said: “Following the final whistle I was surrounded by members of Nottingham Forest’s substitutes and backroom staff on the field of play.

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“One of those who approached me was Steven Reid, who was not listed on the teamsheet.

“He asked me about a decision and I said to him that I will speak to him inside and not outside on the field of play. He then continued to question me and I repeated that I would speak to him inside. He then said, ‘it’s the same every week, you [expletive]’.”

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Tierney showed him a red card for his comment, which Reid admitted was abusive and insulting. However, Reid, 43, denied that he continued to use such language towards Tierney after he was sent off.

But Tierney said Reid went on to repeatedly swear and call him the expletive term at least twice more as they left the field of play, while reports from the assistant referees said that Reid “continued to confront” Tierney. The charge was proven.

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After the match, Forest confirmed their owner Evangelos Marinakis did approach Tierney after the match but dismissed reports that he had to be restrained.

It is the fourth time in 18 months that Forest have faced a sanction for surrounding a match official.

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In its conclusion, the regulatory commission that imposed the latest sanction said “future breaches of the rules may be treated more severely”.

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