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The WNBA is back for another edition and, following an off-season filled with drama and a superb women's March Madness to keep hoops fans entertained, it is set to be bigger and better than ever.

Thomas Frank said Ivan Toney’s future will be at Brentford after the striker was handed an eight-month ban for gambling offences. The 27-year-old was found by the Football Association to have committed 232 breaches of its betting rules between 2017 and 2021. It means Brentford’s top scorer will now not play again until January 2024, with the suspension also prohibiting him from working with his team-mates at the club’s training ground until September. The FA indicated on Thursday it will apply to FIFA to have the ban extended worldwide, thereby ruling out the possibility of Toney being loaned abroad for the duration. He has scored 20 of Brentford’s 54 Premier League goals this season as well as having made his debut for Gareth Southgate’s England side in what has been a breakthrough year for the former Peterborough forward. Despite the suspension, Frank indicated that Toney will still have a future at the Gtech Stadium, though the club are awaiting clarification on the finer points of the punishment. “I’ve been in contact with him. He’s disappointed and sad about the situation,” said Frank. “His future is with Brentford, there’s no doubt about that. “We are waiting for the information so we know what we can do. What he’s allowed to do, especially for the first four months. “One thing is for sure, we will do everything to be there for him, support him and be aware of the mental health in it. “He’s made some mistakes, but we need to be there, and want to be there, for him and help him. We just need to know what we are allowed to do.” Toney was first charged with 262 betting offences in November and December, with the FA later withdrawing 30 of the charges. He admitted to the remaining 232 in February, but it took a further three months for the punishment to be decided upon. The charges stretch back to when he was a Newcastle player on loan at Scunthorpe and cover his time at Peterborough and his first years at Brentford. Frank was asked for his views on the link between football and the gambling industry, particularly since Brentford carry the name of an online gambling site on their shirts. He said that owing to the length of the ban, it was important that the club consider the mental health implications for the England striker. “It is a challenge, for me personally, all the advertising for gambling done by clubs (and) individuals in the game, I think that’s an issue,” he said. “I don’t know the full details of how much support or education the authorities provide. I know the Premier League and FA have a lot of initiatives in place that try to educate people out there. “Education is the key thing. Across the world, education is the number one thing if you want to change a culture and mindset. That takes a lot of hard work and patience. “We need to be aware of the mental health in this. Ivan is a footballer but he is also a human being that has family, a partner, young children, a mum and dad, siblings and friends and he has been on the front pages quite a lot. “We need to do whatever to support him in that aspect.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Michael Vaughan to return to BBC cricket coverage this summer Concerns raised over Sheikh Jassim’s bid to buy Manchester United Michael Vaughan to return to BBC cricket coverage this summer

An LGBTQ+ activist from Qatar says “people need to be worried” about Sheikh Jassim’s bid to buy Manchester United. Dr Nasser Mohamed, who now lives in San Francisco in the United States, sees the efforts to acquire United as part of a “pattern” of purchases by individuals or funds connected to Qatar, and says global brands in multiple sectors are “surrendering control to an authoritarian regime”. Sheikh Jassim made an improved fourth bid to buy 100 per cent of the club and clear United’s debts on Tuesday but faces competition from chemicals billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe. Sources close to Sheikh Jassim have repeatedly insisted he is bidding alone as a private individual, without any direct or indirect support from the Qatari state or any of the country’s sovereign wealth funds. Many United fans appear to see Sheikh Jassim’s bid as preferable, amid reports Ratcliffe’s bid would be structured to allow current co-owners Avram and Joel Glazer to maintain a minority stake. But Dr Mohamed, whose Alwan Foundation seeks to advocate on behalf of the LGBTQ+ community across the Middle East, told the PA news agency: “The sad reality is that everybody has a price. “People need to be worried. Surrendering control to an authoritarian regime, giving them more and more with the money that they have… (Qatar) is doing this everywhere. By controlling a big team like (United), they will continue to grow in their influence and their voice and their presence. Dr Nasser Mohamed “They’re doing it through real estate. They’re doing it in fashion, they’re doing it in sports, they’re doing it in tech, and they’re gaining control. And you really need to be worried. “It’s the same pattern, right? It’s establishing dominance and having influence over people. And by controlling a big team like (United), they will continue to grow in their influence and their voice and their presence. “As a global community, should we let people with money basically do what they want to unchecked, with nobody stopping them? “Can anybody stop them from doing anything? People want oil and gas from the region and that is impacting our ability to push back on it. “There are people with this insane amount of power that can just go in and do whatever they want, and nobody can stop them.” Even if the Premier League did establish there was state involvement or control of United, it is unclear if new rules around human rights in the league’s owners’ and directors’ test would be a barrier, because Qatar and members of its government are not the subject of human rights sanctions from the UK government. Dr Mohamed says conditions in Qatar for its LGBTQ+ community have returned to how they were prior to the World Cup. Dr Mohamed, who says he is directly in contact via social media with more than 100 members of the community, spoke prior to the World Cup about the persecution he alleges the community faced from the country’s Preventive Security Department, including detention, beatings and forced conversion therapy. He said there had been a period of calm in the two months immediately after the World Cup, but said shortly before the start of Ramadan in March “the crazies came back out”. “Arrests happened again, another round of them,” he added. “And the intrusive searches in the airports, the hunting, all of the things that they were doing (before the World Cup) are back again as of a month and a half ago.” The Qatar government said in October last year that claims of mistreatment of the LGBTQ+ community contained in a report by Human Rights Watch were “unequivocally false” and that the country “does not tolerate discrimination against anyone”. He also criticised the countries involved in the OneLove campaign during the World Cup for failing to offer practical support to the Alwan Foundation, which recently was able to provide a scholarship for a transgender person from Qatar who has resettled in England. FIFA threatened the seven European nations involved, including England and Wales, with sanctions starting at a yellow card for their captains if the rainbow-coloured armbands were worn. Germany’s players covered their mouths in a team photograph prior to their match against Japan, with their coach Hansi Flick saying they had wanted to convey the message that FIFA was silencing them. “I did meet the presidents of the FAs who were going to wear the OneLove armband. I gave them an hour’s talk about driving change. They were like, ‘cool, that’s good to know’ – and they just walked away,” Dr Mohamed said. “You have the Germany team, they made the whole gesture – they didn’t put a single dollar towards the cause. Why are you making a scene? What’s the point? “If you’re going to speak about an issue that’s difficult, let’s be solution-oriented. Let’s not just be provocative for the sake of being provocative. You know, like that just is not helpful.” The Football Association declined to comment. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Michael Vaughan to return to BBC cricket coverage this summer Manchester United could be without Marcus Rashford for Bournemouth game Sam Allardyce wants positive Patrick Bamford response to social media threats

Katie Taylor and Chantelle Cameron will clash in a huge fight in Dublin this weekend, as the latter defends her undisputed super-lightweight titles against the home fighter. Taylor, the undisputed lightweight champion, and Cameron will both enter the 3Arena undefeated, with Taylor’s record reading 22-0 (6 knockouts) and Cameron’s at 17-0 (8 KOs). Last time out, Taylor outpointed Karen Carabajal in October to retain her four lightweight belts, and now she challenges for the four held by Cameron, who beat Jessica McCaskill on points in November. Taylor is still eyeing a rematch with unified featherweight champion Amanda Serrano, but she cannot afford to overlook her British opponent this weekend. Here’s all you need to know. We may earn commission from some of the links in this article, but we never allow this to influence our content. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent. When is it? The fight will take place at the 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland on Saturday 20 May. The main card is due to begin at 7pm BST (11am PT, 1pm CT, 2pm ET), with ring walks for the main event expected at approximately 10pm BST (2pm PT, 4pm CT, 5pm ET). How can I watch it? The event will be streamed live on Dazn, a subscription to which is available at three different price points: Monthly Saver (£9.99 per month, with a 12-month commitment), Flexible (£19.99 per month, and can be cancelled at any time), and Annual Super Saver (£99.99 as a one-off payment). Odds Taylor – 8/13 Cameron – 7/5 Draw – 11/1 Full odds via Betway. Full card (subject to change) Katie Taylor vs Chantelle Cameron (for Cameron’s IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO women’s super-lightweight titles) Terri Harper (C) vs Cecelia Braekhus (WBA women’s super-welterweight title) Dennis Hogan vs James Metcalf (super-welterweight) Gary Cully vs Jose Felix (lightweight) Thomas Carty vs Jay McFarlane (heavyweight) Caoimhin Agyarko vs Grant Dennis (super-welterweight) Maisey Rose Courtney vs Kate Radomska (flyweight) Click here to subscribe to The Independent’s Sport YouTube channel for all the latest sports videos. Read More Katie Taylor and Chantelle Cameron are shaming their male counterparts Why Katie Taylor vs Chantelle Cameron could be won and lost before the first bell Haney vs Lomachenko live stream: How to watch fight online and on TV Why Katie Taylor vs Chantelle Cameron could be won and lost before the first bell Who is fighting on Katie Taylor vs Chantelle Cameron undercard? How to watch Katie Taylor vs Chantelle Cameron online and on TV

Katie Taylor’s success has been paving the way for young Irish fighters as women’s boxing gains popularity around the world

Katie Taylor and Chantelle Cameron will clash in a huge fight in Dublin this weekend, as the latter defends her undisputed super-lightweight titles against the home fighter. Taylor, the undisputed lightweight champion, and Cameron will both enter the 3Arena undefeated, with Taylor’s record reading 22-0 (6 knockouts) and Cameron’s at 17-0 (8 KOs). Last time out, Taylor outpointed Karen Carabajal in October to retain her four lightweight belts, and now she challenges for the four held by Cameron, who beat Jessica McCaskill on points in November. Taylor is still eyeing a rematch with unified featherweight champion Amanda Serrano, but she cannot afford to overlook her British opponent this weekend. Here’s all you need to know. We may earn commission from some of the links in this article, but we never allow this to influence our content. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent. When is it? The fight will take place at the 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland on Saturday 20 May. The main card is due to begin at 7pm BST (11am PT, 1pm CT, 2pm ET), with ring walks for the main event expected at approximately 10pm BST (2pm PT, 4pm CT, 5pm ET). How can I watch it? The event will be streamed live on Dazn, a subscription to which is available at three different price points: Monthly Saver (£9.99 per month, with a 12-month commitment), Flexible (£19.99 per month, and can be cancelled at any time), and Annual Super Saver (£99.99 as a one-off payment). Odds Taylor – 8/13 Cameron – 7/5 Draw – 11/1 Full odds via Betway. Full card (subject to change) Katie Taylor vs Chantelle Cameron (for Cameron’s IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO women’s super-lightweight titles) Terri Harper (C) vs Cecelia Braekhus (WBA women’s super-welterweight title) Dennis Hogan vs James Metcalf (super-welterweight) Gary Cully vs Jose Felix (lightweight) Thomas Carty vs Jay McFarlane (heavyweight) Caoimhin Agyarko vs Grant Dennis (super-welterweight) Maisey Rose Courtney vs Kate Radomska (flyweight) Click here to subscribe to The Independent’s Sport YouTube channel for all the latest sports videos. Read More Katie Taylor and Chantelle Cameron are shaming their male counterparts Why Katie Taylor vs Chantelle Cameron could be won and lost before the first bell Haney vs Lomachenko live stream: How to watch fight online and on TV Why Katie Taylor vs Chantelle Cameron could be won and lost before the first bell What time does Katie Taylor vs Chantelle Cameron start in UK and US? How to watch Katie Taylor vs Chantelle Cameron online and on TV

A top contender has been scratched from the Preakness 36 hours before the Triple Crown race

Manchester United could again be without Marcus Rashford for their Premier League trip to Bournemouth on Saturday. The forward missed last weekend’s victory over Wolves with a leg injury but has trained all week and had been expected to be available before going down with illness. Manager Erik ten Hag said: “Rashy trained well the whole week but today he reported he doesn’t feel well, so he is ill. We have to see how he recovers during the day and then see tomorrow.” Defeats against Brighton and West Ham prior to the victory over Wolves coupled with Liverpool’s strong finish to the season have put United’s Champions League hopes in some jeopardy. They have a one-point advantage and a game in hand on their big rivals but can ill afford any more slip-ups. Ten Hag only has to look across the city to see the level United are aspiring to return to, but he knows finishing in the top four is key to everything. “When I see this project, first of all it’s important to get in the Champions League,” he said. “I don’t think today at that standard, I look to the next game, and that’s Bournemouth. When I see this project, first of all it's important to get in the Champions League Erik ten Hag “We have to win that game to get in the Champions League. We have everything in our hands so focus on the game, the games coming up, the first game is the most important.” The ongoing takeover process is also creating a cloud of uncertainty over United’s plans for next season, but Ten Hag said only of the club’s hierarchy: “We are talking every day.” Bournemouth hovered near the bottom of the table for much of the season but have pulled themselves out of trouble impressively, boasting recent wins over Liverpool and Tottenham. Ten Hag praised the job done by Gary O’Neil, saying: “As far as I can see, I think it’s really brilliant a club as Bournemouth, they are in the Premier League and already three games before the end of the season they are definitely next season in the Premier League as well. “It’s a massive performance from them. It’s a good team, there’s a really good structure. You can see clear patterns, so well done.” Scott McTominay is expected to be available to face Bournemouth but on-loan midfielder Marcel Sabitzer will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury. Asked whether the Bayern Munich player could have a future at Old Trafford, Ten Hag said: “We will see. It’s not our main focus, the main focus is Bournemouth.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Sam Allardyce wants positive Patrick Bamford response to social media threats Roberto De Zerbi: Brighton will be ready for fixture pile-up next season A look at the greatest comebacks in sporting history

A West Ham fan has gone viral after single-handedly defending a section of the club’s fans against violent rival hooligans. The unsavoury scenes unfolded at the AFAS stadium after the Premier League side beat Dutch team AZ Alkmaar in the Europa Conference League semi-final 1-0. In videos capturing the incident, the West Ham fan could be seen defending an area of the stand from a large group of AZ Alkmaar “ultras” who wore dark jackets with their hoods up. According to reports, the area of the stand they were trying to invade housed the family and friends of West Ham players and staff. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Footage showed the fan standing at the top of the stairs bravely preventing the mob from reaching them in an incident that caused West Ham players to also rush into the stands. The fan, reportedly called 'Knollsy' was widely praised online for his actions and one person even called for him to receive a “lifelong season ticket”. One person joked: “No amount of stone island and balaclavas is a match for TK Max and 20 pints.” “What a guy,” another commented. Someone else said: “About 50 ultras getting held at bay by a steak bake inhaling cockney geeza, fairs.” Another said: “Give the blokes a lifelong season ticket!!!” Following the match, West Ham manager David Moyes said: “I can't explain what happened and why it happened. “Players were involved because it was the family section… that was probably the reason for the reaction. “I don't want that in any way to blight the night because the West Ham fans weren't looking for trouble. Hopefully, they'll look into it.” Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi is confident his players will be ready for a first European adventure if they manage to grasp the prize dangling before them. The Seagulls suffered a setback on Thursday evening when they went down 4-1 at Newcastle in the battle of the Premier League’s top-six gatecrashers. However, they return to action against relegated Southampton on Sunday knowing wins in two of their last three games – against the Saints, champions elect Manchester City and Aston Villa – will secure a place in the top six and the rewards that would bring. Reflecting on a bruising evening on Tyneside, De Zerbi said: “We are not used to playing three games in a week and we suffered a lot. “There are many players – for example Moises Caicedo, Pervis [Estupinan] in the first half – they didn’t play well, but I love them. They have to learn to play two games in four days. “Next year we will be better, we will be ready to play every day.” The defeat at St James’ Park came in Brighton’s fourth game in 15 days, a run which includes famous victories over Manchester United and Arsenal, but also a 5-1 home drubbing by Everton. De Zerbi felt he had no option but to leave on-loan Chelsea defender Levi Colwill out of the matchday squad in the north east with Alexis Mac Allister, Julio Enciso and Evan Ferguson starting on the bench. With injuries biting deep into his squad – he was also without Solly March, Adam Lallana, Adam Webster, Joel Veltman, Jakub Moder, Jeremy Sarmiento, Enock Mwepu and Tariq Lamptey – the Italian admitted he had been presented with a selection headache. However, he added: “Yes, but we have to be strong in a difficult period, a tough period. I don’t like making any excuses, but we have eight, nine, I don’t know, I don’t remember how many injuries we have now. “We are playing four games in 12 days. The first XI today, Colwill wasn’t available to play, Mac Allister can’t play 90 minutes today and 90 minutes on Sunday, Welbeck, Buonanotte, Gilmour and Undav the same.” De Zerbi expects to have 20-year-old Colwill, who was rested at Newcastle as a result of fatigue, back in the fold for Sunday’s game. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

Leeds boss Sam Allardyce has urged Patrick Bamford to respond to threats made on social media by scoring the winner at West Ham on Sunday. Allardyce also wants “the police to do a lot more” after Bamford’s penalty miss in last week’s home draw against Newcastle prompted online abuse directed at both the striker and his family. Leeds issued a statement this week condemning the threats posted on Twitter and Allardyce said: “He’s been OK, he’s obviously extremely upset about the situation. It’s something which leaves a very, very bad taste indeed. “I would like the police to do a lot more, but it appears when it’s social media, they rule and run the world and can say and do what they want unfortunately, which is why the world is in such a big mess, isn’t it? “He’s handled it pretty well, I think the club gave him as much support as he needed, particularly security-wise. “It wasn’t just about him, it was about his family. The best way to respond is to go out on the pitch on Sunday, perform to his highest level, try and score. “And it would be even greater if he scored the winner. Hopefully it won’t affect his performance.” Leeds are desperate for all three points at West Ham in their bid to climb out of the relegation zone and cling on to their top-flight status. They sit third from bottom, one point from safety, with Sunday’s trip to the London Stadium followed by a home game against Tottenham on the final day. West Ham reached the Europa Conference League final with victory over AZ Alkmaar on Thursday and Allardyce hopes his former club’s success could play to Leeds’ advantage. He said: “They’ve got a final to think about, haven’t they? Subconsciously, you’ll never know whether that may affect the players in terms of when they go out and play. “They’ll go out and play and try their best, (but) subconsciously, they won’t want to get injured. “So they might be a little more tentative, who knows? But my job is about my team playing to the best they possibly can play.” Leeds will be without suspended defender Junior Firpo on Sunday, but skipper Liam Cooper has returned to training and could be included in the squad. Tyler Adams (hamstring), Luis Sinisterra (ankle) and Stuart Dallas (fractured femur) remain long-term absentees. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Roberto De Zerbi: Brighton will be ready for fixture pile-up next season A look at the greatest comebacks in sporting history Mikel Arteta: Granit Xhaka’s future at Arsenal to be decided at end of season

Eddie Howe has admitted Newcastle will need two XIs of equal quality to cope with the rigours of European football next season. The Magpies secured a Europa League campaign at worst with Thursday night’s 4-1 Premier League victory over Brighton, and will play in the Champions League if they win one of their two remaining games of the current campaign, which continues with struggling Leicester’s trip to St James’ Park on Monday. Asked what that would mean for the summer transfer window, Howe, who has been allowed to spend in excess of £250million to date, replied: “It’s a good question. We need to figure that out. “If you have a strong squad, rotation will be important. Rotation is going to be important, utilising the whole squad is going to be important. “We haven’t felt the necessity to necessarily do that on a consistent basis because we’ve been in one competition – of course, we had the cup run. We have rotated to a degree, but maybe not in the numbers that we might need to next year. “If you’re going to do that, then the squad needs to be strong enough, so if you put out two XIs, they’re of equal strength.” The strength of Howe’s current squad could be put to the test on Monday evening with his midfield resources stretched severely in the aftermath of an energy-sapping clash with the Seagulls. Joe Willock was helped from the pitch in some discomfort with a hamstring injury which the Magpies fear will end his season with two games to go, while Bruno Guimaraes has been nursing a persistent ankle problem in recent months. Howe said as he conducted his pre-match press conference: “Today I’ll be going straight to the physio room, to be honest, after this to see how everybody is. We’ve got a few concerns. “The lads gave so much yesterday to the game, they’ve given a lot to the season physically and I just hope there’s no serious effects. “It looks like Joe Willock may be in trouble with his hamstring – we might lose him for the season, but that’s unclear as I sit here now. Fingers crossed our team will still be strong.” He succumbed to that brick wall last night, it seemed to hurt him. Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe Even redoubtable Brazilian Joelinton is feeling the effects of a gruelling campaign after running himself into the ground in the club’s cause. Howe, who is not anticipating having either Sean Longstaff or Jacob Murphy back available to face the Foxes, said: “He’s a machine. He’d literally – it’s a well-used phrase in football – run through a brick wall for the team, the club and I think he does every game. “He succumbed to that brick wall last night, it seemed to hurt him, but we hope he’s okay. He’s just been incredible for us this year.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Mikel Arteta: Granit Xhaka’s future at Arsenal to be decided at end of season Sean Dyche: The only table that matters is the one at the end of the season Julen Lopetegui thrilled with Wolves progress since his first clash with Everton