Gareth Southgate criticised the wide-reaching nature of Ivan Toney’s eight-month betting ban and told the suspended England striker he can still make next summer’s Euros. The 27-year-old made his international debut as a substitute against Ukraine in March’s Euro 2024 qualifier but the Brentford star will not be able play for club or country again this year. Toney was charged with 262 betting offences at the end of 2022 and was last week hit with an eight-month Football Association ban after admitting 232 breaches. The striker starts the suspension by watching the end of the campaign and England’s June qualifiers from afar, with Southgate raising concerns about the sweeping impact of the ban. “I have spoken with him,” the England boss said. “I don’t know if that’s allowed, by the way, but f it isn’t then they can ban me and not add to his. “Look, the ban is the ban. It is what it is. I think he recognised and accepted the punishment. “What bothers me is we’ve got to look after people. He’s injured at the moment, what does he do about getting fit? What does he do? I don’t like the idea that we just leave somebody, so that they are not allowed to be a part of the football community. Gareth Southgate “How do we give him some structure over the next few months that he can develop himself or be a better person at the end of it? Or have experiences that he might not experience? “I don’t like the idea that we just leave somebody, so that they are not allowed to be a part of the football community. “I don’t think that’s how we should work, I don’t think that’s how the best rehabilitation programmes would work. “But he knows that we picked him because we felt until there was a charge, he should be allowed to play. “When he comes back, if he plays well then we’ll pick him. “It won’t have any bearing but I think he’ll have additional motivation through what he is experiencing. I think he is a resilient guy with great character and we are here to support him.” Toney is prohibited from training until September 17 and cannot play football again until January 17, 2024. There is only four-and-a-half months between the striker’s return and the Euros kicking off in Germany, but Southgate says the door remains open for him. Asked if Toney can still make the tournament in Germany, the England boss said: “Yeah, without a doubt. “It is not ideal because he is going to miss a large chunk of the season and you don’t know after that sort of period out how physically he’s going to adapt and how he’s going to play. “But it’s possible for him. There would still be time. “He’s really impressed us with the way he’s played. “I like personality, I like his belief and the way he goes about his job, so everything is still possible for him I think.”

There’s a reason a statue of Rafael Nadal stands outside Court Philippe Chatrier on the southwest outskirts of Paris

Philadelphia Eagles general manager Howie Roseman wasn't happy with Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio.New Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon, formerly the defensive coordinator of the Philadelphia Eagles, admitted that the tampering by folks in the desert was "a mistake&qu...

The Florida Panthers have a chance to close out the Eastern Conference Final tonight in Game 4 against the Carolina Hurricanes.In the first round of the NHL Playoffs, the Panthers took out the Stanley Cup favorites in the Boston Bruins. In the second round, they beat the new betting favorites, t...

Borussia Dortmund defender Mats Hummels has extended his deal by one year until the summer of 2024, the...

Auto racing's biggest weekend looms with the 107th Indianapolis 500, Coca-Cola 600 in NASCAR and Formula One's Monaco Grand Prix

German league leader Borussia Dortmund has signed defender Mats Hummels to a one-year contract extension ahead of a game which could see the club end Bayern Munich’s decade-long title reign

A return to the Champions League was widely regarded as the minimum requirement in Erik ten Hag’s first year in charge of Manchester United

It took 3,787 regular-season games and 29 trips to the playoffs, countless ripoffs of rainbow uniforms and even more ‘yeah, buts’ than any city should have to stomach

Erik ten Hag responds transfer rumours linking Neymar with Man Utd.

Valencia head coach Ruben Baraja has said his club will fight back against “smears” after they were handed a five-game partial stadium closure and hefty fine following the racist abuse aimed at Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior. Speaking at a press conference, Baraja stressed he was “absolutely against racism”, but echoed Valencia’s earlier claim that the sanction was “unfair and disproportionate”, and added: “I am not going to allow the Valencia CF fans and Mestalla to be smeared with labels that do not represent us. “Just as a player rightly fights back against insults and I support that with all my might, we as a club and a fanbase rebel against those who, during the days since the game, have accused us of being what we are not.” Vinicius threatened to leave the pitch in the second half of Sunday’s LaLiga match at the Mestalla after being subjected to alleged monkey chants from the crowd and Real Madrid, who said the incident constituted a “hate crime”, filed a complaint with the Spanish State Attorney General’s Office. In response, Valencia have been ordered to shut the Mario Kempes south stand, where the alleged abuse happened, for five matches and have also been fined 45,000 euros (£39,000) by the Spanish football federation (RFEF). Reacting to that sanction, Valencia said in a strongly worded statement on Tuesday evening: “Valencia CF wishes to show its total disagreement and indignation at the unfair and disproportionate penalty imposed by the competition committee on the club with the closure of the stand for five games. “Valencia CF wants to publicly denounce that in this resolution of the RFEF competition committee they show evidence that contradicts what the national police and LaLiga say. “In addition, this sanction is based on evidence that the club has not been able to see and without giving us a hearing. “Valencia CF has condemned, condemns and will condemn in the most energetic way any act of racism or violence. These behaviours have no place in football or in society and we will continue to act in the most forceful way to eradicate this scourge. “For this reason, Valencia CF is collaborating from the first minute with the police and all relevant authorities to clarify the events that occurred last Sunday. “In addition, it has applied the maximum possible sanction with the expulsion for life from our stadium to the fans that the police have identified for their racist behaviour. “For this reason we consider that penalising and depriving all the fans who were not involved in these unfortunate incidents from seeing their team is a totally disproportionate, unfair and unprecedented measure against which we will fight. “The fight against racism requires the real commitment of all the parties involved without using it as a pretext to incur serious injustices. “Valencia CF will appeal to the last instance the closure of the stand, a sanction that it considers totally unfair and one more offence in the latest disciplinary decisions that have been taken against the club. Valencia CF asks for the utmost respect and rigour for our institution and fans.” In announcing the punishment against Valencia, the RFEF said in a statement: “The competition committee has sanctioned Valencia CF with the partial closure of the Mestalla stadium for five matches, more specifically the Mario Kempes south stand, following the events that occurred during the league match between the local team and Real Madrid CF. “It is considered proven that, as reflected by the referee in his minutes, there were racist shouts at Vinicius, a Real Madrid CF player, during the aforementioned match, altering the normal course of the match and considering the infractions very serious.” LaLiga players and officials called for racism to be tackled in Spain in the wake of Sunday’s match. Before Tuesday night’s games between Real Valladolid and Barcelona, and Celta Vigo and Girona, players from both sides, as well as the match officials, stood behind banners which read ‘Racism, out of football’. LaLiga shared a pre-match clip from the Celta-Girona game on its official Twitter account with the hashtag #JUNTOSContraElRacismo (#TOGETHERagainstRacism). The footage also showed a supporter holding up a placard with ‘No Al Racismo’ (No to Racism) written on it. There were similar sentiments at the Valladolid-Barcelona game as fans showed their support for Brazil international Vinicius. Barcelona forward Raphinha removed his shirt when substituted to show a message which read: “As long as the colour of the skin is more important than the brightness of the eyes, there will be war.” Vinicius was not included in Real’s 23-man squad for Wednesday night’s LaLiga match against Rayo Vallecano at the Bernabeu. The forward’s red card against Valencia had been rescinded by the RFEF but the 22-year-old did not train on Tuesday, with Real coach Carlo Ancelotti saying the winger had some discomfort in his knee. Read More Jordi Alba to leave Barcelona at end of season Valencia appeal stadium closure for racist chants and demand ‘respect’ for fans Valencia stadium partially shut after racist chants at Vinicius Jr ‘Powerless’ La Liga calls for radical change after Vinicius Jr racist abuse Real Madrid file hate crime complaint after Vinicius targeted by racist abuse Commentator sparks outrage for criticising Vinicius reaction to facing racist abuse

No team has ever come back from a 3-0 series deficit in the NBA playoffs but after their win at the Miami Heat on Tuesday, the Boston Celtics...