Sports
Chelsea goal ‘shouldn’t have stood’ vs West Ham after Prem statement | Football | Sport

The Premier League have issued a statement to explain why Chelsea‘s equaliser against West Ham was allowed to stand after Sky Sports co-commentator Gary Neville felt the Blues were very fortunate Pedro Neto‘s finish was not ruled out.
Neto made it 1-1 at Stamford Bridge with a 64th-minute rebound to cancel out West Ham captain Jarrod Bowen’s opener which came shortly before half-time.
But there was controversy surrounding the build-up to substitute Neto’s finish. Levi Colwill appeared to foul Hammers goalscorer Bowen off the ball at the start of the hosts’ attacking move.
VAR checked whether Marc Cucurella was in an offside position before Neto fired beyond Alphonse Areola but did not go back to Colwill’s foul.
It was judged that Marc Guiu did not touch the ball from the initial cross into the box, meaning Cucurella wasn’t offside, and the goal stood.
The Premier League said via their Match Centre account on X: “The referee’s call of goal was checked and confirmed by the VAR as there was no factual evidence that Guiu made contact with the ball in the build-up, therefore there was no offside offence.”
But Neville argued on commentary that referee Stuart Attwell missed a clear foul on Bowen and said he would be fuming if he was the Hammers: “I actually thought there was a foul on Bowen a lot earlier in the move.
“I think it was a foul, look at that, Colwill stepping across Bowen. I think it’s considered to be too far back but I think that is an obvious foul. I thought so at the time. The Bowen foul has to be spotted.
“I would be furious if I was West Ham. I think the referee and assistant referee are both looking at the game from that side, they should spot that. Colwill just goes and takes him out so he can’t get towards [goalkeeper Filip] Jorgensen.”
Sky Sports later confirmed that VAR deemed the apparent foul on Bowen to be outside the attacking phase of play given it came well before Neto’s eventual shot.
Chelsea made it 2-1 just 10 minutes later after Cole Palmer‘s cross deflected beyond Areola courtesy of Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s deflection. The Premier League put it down as an own goal.
The home team went on claim the full three points against their former manager Graham Potter and his West Ham team. Victory leaves the Blues fourth in the table on 43 points, two clear of fifth-placed Manchester City.
West Ham sit 15th on 27 points, leaving them 10 clear of the relegation zone but seven away from the top 10.
Maresca’s Chelsea face Brighton in their next match in the FA Cup fourth round on Saturday at the Amex Stadium.
West Ham do not play against until February 15 against Brentford in the league having been dumped out of the cup by Aston Villa.
Sports
Man Utd made to regret snubbing £14.6m striker who would be huge help to Ruben Amorim | Football | Sport

Manchester United have been left ruing their decision to snub a swoop for Serhou Guirassy last year amid Ruben Amorim’s continued attacking deficiencies. Only Everton, Leicester City, Ipswich Town and Southampton have scored fewer goals than the Red Devils’ 28 in 24 Premier League games this season.
United have splashed £108.5million to sign Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee in the past two summer transfer windows, but neither has been regularly productive.
Amad and Bruno Fernandes are Amorim’s top scorers this season but have netted just nine each. Hojlund has notched seven and Zirkzee five – but those tallies become two and three in the league.
United are expected to pursue a new striker in a third successive off-season later this year, potentially cashing in on either of Amorim’s current options to fund a move.
The Old Trafford giants’ failure to replace Marcus Rashford after his late loan switch to Aston Villa in January sparked uproar among concerned supporters.
Amorim suggested that the call was with the summer in mind amid financial restrictions imposed by the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules (PSR).
There was also a lack of realistic options, but the same can’t be said about 12 months earlier when United, again, were short of goals.
Guirassy was enjoying an astonishing season in front of goal for Stuttgart, which he ended with 30 strikes in as many appearances, including 28 in 28 in the Champions League.
And the Guinean’s relentless goalscoring habits were made all the more eye-catching by the £14.6million release clause in his Stuttgart contract.
However, according to The Athletic, United considered the fee too high for a 27-year-old who hadn’t previously enjoyed as prolific a campaign.
Stuttgart’s Bundesliga rivals Borussia Dortmund took a chance, activating his exit in the summer, and have been handsomely rewarded.
Guirassy has scored 19 goals in 28 games in all competitions this season, providing a further six assists.
The 28-year-old, who turns 29 next month, is currently the top goalscorer in this term’s Champions League, netting 10 times in nine outings, seven of them starts.
Guirassy has found the net against Club Brugge, Celtic, Dinamo Zagreb, Barcelona, Bologna, Shakhtar Donetsk and Sporting, only drawing blank against Real Madrid and Sturm Graz.
Amorim is relying on Hojlund and Zirkzee, as well as his entire attack, to increase their output across the remainder of the season.
United are still challenging for the FA Cup and Europa League but are slumped in 13th in the Premier League.
Sports
Tennis icon confirms final match with Novak Djokovic before emotional retirement | Tennis | Sport

Spanish tennis legend Fernando Verdasco has confirmed he will bow out from the sport playing alongside Novak Djokovic. The 41-year-old is in his 24th season as a professional player, and reached a career-high ranking of world No.7 in 2009.
That was the same season he produced his best showing at a Grand Slam, reaching the semi-finals of the Australian Open before losing to eventual winner Rafael Nadal.
And the curtain will now come down on his career at the Qatar Open in Doha next week, where he has entered into the men’s doubles alongside the Serbian icon.
Verdasco announced his decision on Instagram, posting a video of himself alongside Djokovic to explain his reasoning. And he also wrote an emotional caption revealing that Djokovic had previously agreed to his special request.
“After so many incredible years on the ATP Tour, the time has come for my final tournament at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open 2025,” he said. “And what better way to finish than playing doubles with my friend Novak Djokovic , a true legend of our sport and one of the best athletes of all time
“Novak thank you so much for saying yes since the first moment I told you. I’m going to enjoy every moment and give it my all one last time.”
Referencing the fans, he added: “Thank you, everyone, for being there for me throughout my career, in the good times and in the bad times. Let’s make this week unforgettable.”
Verdasco’s career appeared in danger of petering out in late 2022 when he received a two-month ban after testing positive for the prohibited substance methylphenidate. However, authorities did show leniency, having accepted Verdasco’s argument that he had forgotten to renew his therapeutic use exemption for the medication.
The following year, he dropped out of the world’s top 500. But he has now seemingly found the perfect way to bow out by sharing a court with one of the all-time greats.
After uploading his video, Verdasco’s post received more than 25,000 likes in just over an hour. And many of his 282,000 plus followers also recated with comments congratulating him on his career.
The star was also a quarter-finalist in Wimbledon and 2013, famously losing to eventual champion Andy Murray after leading by two sets. He also became an established doubles player and that same year, triumphed at the ATP Finals with David Marrero.
Sports
Michael Oliver ignored rule and ‘wanted Arne Slot confrontation’ as ex-Prem ref speaks out | Football | Sport

A former Premier League referee has blasted Michael Oliver for his role in the controversy that followed Wednesday’s Merseyside derby. In a chaotic finale, James Tarkowski scored a 98th-minute equaliser despite Liverpool’s complaints over a push in the area.
But the potential missed foul was far from the biggest talking point, as both sets of players became embroiled in a brawl after the final whistle.
As a result, Everton’s Abdoulaye Doucoure and away player Curtis Jones were both sent off after receiving a second yellow card each, while Liverpool manager Arne Slot and assistant Sipke Hulshoff also saw red.
The FA have since confirmed that both clubs, as well as Slot and Hulshof, have been charged over the unsavoury scenes. But Hackett believes that Oliver, long regarded as one of England’s leading officials, was responsible for instigating his confrontation with the Dutch manager.
“I cannot see why, after the game is over, he has to stand with his colleagues in the middle waiting for confrontation,” he told the Daily Telegraph. “Whether this is instruction or advice from the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) or not, the game is over.
“The referee can monitor Doucoure’s actions, creating mass confrontation from a distance. But he is stood there. My view is that he should leave the field of play as quickly as possible to avoid the confrontation with the Liverpool manager.”
After Jones, who had reacted angrily to Doucoure celebrating in front of Liverpool fans, had been shown red Slot appeared to aggressively shake the hand of Oliver before having words with the referee. And Hackett also believes that situation should have been handled better.
“The confrontation between Oliver and Slot could have been avoided,” he continued. “Because there is the 30-minute arrangement in place where a manager can knock on the door, and the referee can invite him in and clarify any situation rather than produce a red card.
“If you have got a manager inflamed, you recognise and are aware of that and say ‘30 minutes after come and see me’. If you are stood there, you are inviting that problem.”
Hackett also branded Oliver “arrogant,” although in his press conference on Friday, Slot did concede he had let his emotions get the better of him. He now faces the prospect of a touchline ban, and has until February 19 to appeal.
Only last month, police in the UK launched an investigation over Oliver being subjected to threats after taking charge of Arsenal’s 1-0 win at Wolves. It followed him issuing a dubious red card to Myles Lewis-Skelly during the first half.
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