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The Mayor of Liverpool has written to the Premier League over what he says is the “excessive” 10-point penalty handed to Everton for breaching league financial rules. An independent commission imposed the sanction on the Toffees after the club were found to have exceeded permitted losses over a three-year period by £19.5million, with the decision announced on Friday. Liverpool Mayor Steve Rotheram has now written to the league’s chief executive Richard Masters to express his “deep concern” over the sanction. “The decision to deduct 10 points from Everton is excessive considering the club’s willingness and proactivity in collaborating with the Premier League to ensure all dealings were FFP compliant when it was clear they were close to breaching the rules,” Rotheram wrote. “There are a number of mitigating factors in Everton’s transgression in relation to debt ceilings that are in effect geo-political and therefore outside of their control. “As many people have pointed out, the punishment imposed appears severe for the charge in question and sets a new precedent. “When compared to sanctions handed to other clubs for financial infringements it surpasses previous penalties. “In 2010, when Portsmouth entered administration, a case of serious mismanagement, they were hit with only a nine-point penalty. For falling into administration a second time in three years, in 2012, they faced a 10 point deduction. The implication that Everton’s actions are somehow more egregious is frankly ludicrous. As a founding member of both the Football League and the Premier League, Everton are an important part of the fabric of English football. They deserve to be treated with respect. Liverpool Mayor Steve Rotheram “I completely support the club’s appeal and would urge you to take a more balanced approach and consider alternative forms of punishment that do not unfairly penalise the club’s players and supporters. “As a founding member of both the Football League and the Premier League, Everton are an important part of the fabric of English football. They deserve to be treated with respect.” The club immediately indicated they would appeal against the sanction, with the appeal process expected to be completed within the course of the current season. Everton could also now face compensation claims against them over the case, however no club has so far commented publicly to indicate their intention to make a claim. Read More 5 talking points ahead of Republic of Ireland’s friendly against New Zealand Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds push on with Wrexham’s Racecourse Ground plans Talking points as Wales look to pip Croatia to Euro 2024 spot in final round Australia handle pressure as India come up short – Cricket World Cup uncovered On this day in 2015: Eddie Jones appointed England’s first overseas head coach The sporting weekend in pictures

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Barcelona midfielder Gavi has torn the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, the club have confirmed. The 19-year-old suffered the injury playing for Spain in their Euro 2024 qualifier against Georgia on Sunday, limping off the pitch in the opening 25 minutes. Barca said in a statement that tests carried out on Monday morning have shown he has “a complete tear of the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee and an associated injury to the lateral meniscus”. He will undergo surgery in the coming days. The extent of the injury is a big blow for Barcelona, who are currently third in LaLiga, with Gavi having established himself as a key player in their squad since making his debut at 17 years old in August 2021, making 111 appearances already. He won the league title with Barca last season and has played 15 times for them this term. Spain went on to win the match against Georgia 3-1 and Barcelona team-mate Ferran Torres celebrated his second-half goal by holding Gavi’s shirt up. Speaking after the match, Spain boss Luis de la Fuente described the win as “bittersweet”. He said: “It’s one of the most bittersweet victories I’ve ever had. As far as I can remember, it’s the hardest, the bitterest of moments, to see an important player like Gavi sustain an injury like that. “It’s a very difficult moment for the player, for his club, for the RFEF (Spanish Football Federation), for the national team and for all his team-mates. In the dressing room it felt like we had lost. This is the ugly side of football. “Football is a risky activity occasionally, something we often forget to appreciate. It was an unfortunate incident, but Gavi was perfectly fit to play the game and it was just unlucky, really, really unlucky.” Read More Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds push on with Wrexham’s Racecourse Ground plans Talking points as Wales look to pip Croatia to Euro 2024 spot in final round Australia handle pressure as India come up short – Cricket World Cup uncovered

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Wrexham owners Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds have welcomed the decision for the club to take over the Racecourse Ground lease and allow them to push ahead with stadium development. The lease is currently held by Wrexham Supporters Trust, who wanted a binding covenant that the Hollywood-owned League Two club could not be moved away from the ground. WST members have now agreed to surrender the Racecourse lease under the terms of a deal that will see Wrexham continue to play at the ground until at least June 30, 2115. Wrexham will also make a payment of £187,000 upon surrender of the lease. Co-chairmen McElhenney and Reynolds said: “We were delighted to receive the support of the directors of the WST and share their understandable desire to protect the long-term future of the club. “Our legacy at the club will not be defined while we are its custodians, so we wanted to address the anomaly in the WST lease for the Racecourse Ground that did not include the requirement for the team to actually play at the stadium, only not allow it to be used for any other purpose. “We didn’t want anyone in the future to be able to exploit that position. “The payment of £187,000, is an equivalent amount to that contributed by fans to save the club. “To know that we will provide the funding to effectively pay everyone back who contributed to save the club is worth every penny and gives us a great deal of satisfaction. “We would appeal to the 824 members who have a vote, to do so in favour of the proposal and allow the club to continue on this wonderful journey we are all on.” Wrexham plan to redevelop the Kop stand – the site currently stands empty – and boost capacity to around 15,600. It had been hoped to be built in time for the start of the 2024-25 season, but funding issues have meant the project will be delayed. Wrexham expect the stadium development will see the men’s national team to play at the Racecourse – the world’s oldest international football stadium that still hosts matches, having staged its first Wales home game in 1877 – more often. Wales visited Wrexham last month – a friendly against Gibraltar – for only the second time since 2009. A Wrexham statement read: “The club were delighted to be informed that the Directors of the Wrexham Football Supporter’s Society Limited (‘WST’) would be recommending to their membership that they should accept our proposal to surrender the lease for The Racecourse Ground. “The surrender of the lease is required by the club to enable the funding for the Kop Development/UEFA Stadium Category 4 status to be secured. “The negotiations between the club and those representing the WST have been undertaken against the backdrop of wanting to ensure that everyone’s interests were protected. We believe that we have achieved this objective. “As part of the deal, the club will make a payment of £187,000 upon surrender of the lease, a payment of £1,000 per annum (increasing by 3% per annum) and meet the legal costs of the WST connected with the surrender of the lease. “The most significant non-financial commitment made by the club was the positive commitment that the men’s first team will continue to play at the Racecourse Ground until at least June 30, 2115.” The news comes after Wrexham’s 2-0 defeat at Accrington and the club’s continued war of words with Stanley chairman Andy Holt. Wrexham condemned Accrington’s decision to increase matchday ticket prices by £5 for Saturday’s league game. Holt took a swipe at Wrexham and their successful docu-series on social media after the game, saying: “Accrington 2 Hollywood nil. I think @VancityReynolds should cut prices by a tenner @ Wrexham_AFC. “Safe journey home folks. Get that on @netflix Ryan lad.” Read More Talking points as Wales look to pip Croatia to Euro 2024 spot in final round Australia handle pressure as India come up short – Cricket World Cup uncovered On this day in 2015: Eddie Jones appointed England’s first overseas head coach The sporting weekend in pictures Steve Clarke happy to toast Scotland fans after ‘strange’ draw with Norway Gareth Southgate targeting top of the world as England drive for Euros glory

England conclude their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign as they travel to face North Macedonia on Monday night. Gareth Southgate’s side laboured to a 2-0 draw against lowly Malta at Wembley on Friday night and will be looking for a much-improved performance in what is one of their last competitive fixtures before next summer in Germany. North Macedonia sit fourth in Group C although they gave Italy a scare on Friday night before eventually fading to a 5-2 defeat to leave the Azzurri on the brink of qualification for Euro 2024. Here’s everything you need to know. Get all the latest football betting sites offers here. When is North Macedonia vs England? North Macedonia vs England is due to kick off at 7.45pm GMT tonight, Monday 20 November, at the National Arena Tose Proeski in Skopje. How can I watch it? Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch the match live on Channel 4, with coverage on the channel from 7pm GMT. A live stream will be available via the Channel 4 website and app. If you’re travelling abroad and want to watch the event, you might need a VPN to unblock your streaming app. Our VPN round-up is here to help and includes deals on VPNs in the market. Viewers using a VPN need to make sure that they comply with any local regulations where they are, and also with the terms of their service provider. Team news Gareth Southgate has had to deal with a host of injuries in this camp with Jude Bellingham, James Maddison, Levi Colwill, Callum Wilson and Lewis Dunk all pulling out, while Kalvin Phillips was unavailable for personal reasons. Kieran Tripper has since also departed the squad due to a personal matter, Jarrod Bowen is injured, while Marcus Rashford might not be risked on Monday after being substituted following a collision with Trent Alexander-Arnold in the game against Malta. North Macedonia head coach Blagoja Milevski, meanwhile, may look to rotate his team following their defeat against Italy, with Jani Atanasov - scorer of a brace off the bench against Italy - potentially in line for a start. Predicted line-ups North Macedonia XI: Dimitrievski, Ashkovski, Serafimov, Musliu, Dimoski, Atanasov, Elezi, Alioski, Ristovski, Bardhi, Elmas. England XI: Pickford; Walker, Konsa, Maguire, Lewis; Alexander-Arnold, Rice, Gallagher; Grealish, Kane, Saka. Odds North Macedonia win 18/1 Draw 13/2 Malta win 1/7 Prediction A much-improved England performance, albeit against sterner opposition. North Macedonia 1-4 England. Read More Scotland sign off on successful Euro 2024 qualifying campaign with six-goal thriller Gareth Southgate wants vastly-improved display from England in North Macedonia Jarrod Bowen adds to England withdrawals after injury in training Kieran Trippier withdraws from England squad ahead of trip to North Macedonia Is Scotland vs Norway on TV? Channel, time and how to watch Wales relying on a Croatia slip-up after only drawing in Armenia

Wales welcome Turkey to Cardiff for their final Euro 2024 qualifier on Tuesday.Rob Page’s side must win and hope Croatia do not beat Armenia in order to secure automatic European Championship qualification and avoid the play-offs in March. Here, the PA news agency studies some of the main talking points surrounding the game. Favour needed Wales’ disappointing 1-1 draw in Armenia on Saturday took automatic qualification out of their hands heading in to the final round of matches. Croatia seized advantage by winning 2-0 in Latvia to move in to the box-seat and claim the second spot behind Turkey. The mathematics for Wales are simple: nothing other than beating Turkey will do, while praying Croatia do not finish with victory. Armenia have been Wales’ bogeymen in this group by taking four points from them, but they now need a huge favour from the team ranked 95 in the world. Play-off lifeline Amid the gloom of a flat performance against Armenia in Yerevan and Croatia’s subsequent success a few hours later, it was overlooked that Wales actually secured a play-off spot on Saturday due to other results across Europe. Wales would have suffered the agony of missing out on the play-offs had three from Italy, Netherlands, Switzerland and the Czech Republic missed out on automatic qualification. While Italy and the Czechs await their fate on Monday, Netherlands’ 1-0 win over the Republic of Ireland and Switzerland’s 1-1 draw with Kosovo secured their places at Euro 2024 and gave Wales a play-off safety net. Wales now hope Italy and the Czech Republic confirm their places in Germany next summer and provide them with a home play-off semi-final in March. Will the real Wales stand up? Two months, two games, two very contrasting displays. October saw Wales produce one of their best performances of recent times as Croatia, World Cup semi-finalists less than 12 months ago, were downed in 2-1 in Cardiff. Confidence was running high going into November’s camp but, having been stunned by an early Armenia goal, Wales were disjointed and fortunate not to lose again to a team ranked 67 places below them in FIFA’s world order. Boss Rob Page’s task now is to rediscover the fizz and fluency that swept aside Croatia and shelve the anxiety and hesitancy that bedevilled them in Armenia. Defensive Locks? Wales must make at least one change with defender Chris Mepham suspended after collecting a third booking of the campaign in Armenia. Tom Lockyer has had an eventful time over the last six months – winning promotion with Luton and requiring heart surgery after collapsing on the Wembley turf in the Championship play-off final. But Lockyer, known as ‘Locks’, might get the nod over Ben Cabango to join Joe Rodon and skipper Ben Davies in Wales’ three-man central defence against Turkey. Tottenham’s Brennan Johnson could also be restored to the attack, despite an underwhelming second-half performance off the bench in Armenia. Talented Turkey Turkey are on the rise again after missing out on the 2022 World Cup and underperforming at the last two European Championships when exiting at the group stage. Having sacked Stefan Kuntz and appointed Vincenzo Montella as head coach halfway through Euro 2024 qualification, Turkey have won five of their seven games and sewed up a top-two spot last month. Turkey avenged a solitary defeat to Croatia by winning 1-0 in Osijek, and their soaring confidence was underlined by a 3-2 friendly victory over Germany in Berlin on Saturday. Real Madrid’s Arda Guler, who scored in sensational style against Wales in June, and Kenan Yildiz, of Juventus, are both 18-year-old attacking midfielders and rated two of the brightest prospects in European football. Read More Australia handle pressure as India come up short – Cricket World Cup uncovered On this day in 2015: Eddie Jones appointed England’s first overseas head coach The sporting weekend in pictures Steve Clarke happy to toast Scotland fans after ‘strange’ draw with Norway Gareth Southgate targeting top of the world as England drive for Euros glory Rico Lewis hopes his versatility helps him make late push for Euro 2024 squad

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Steve Clarke savoured the chance to celebrate Scotland’s Euro 2024 qualification with the Hampden crowd after his side rounded off their campaign with a “strange” 3-3 draw against Norway. Scotland had qualified with two games to spare and finished second behind Spain in Group A after a second consecutive draw ensured they have only lost once in the section. The players, including injured captain Andy Robertson, did a lap of honour afterwards to mark their achievement. Clarke said: “It was nice – and nice for the supporters – to say thank you to the team, a nice night for the team and staff to thank the supporters. “It’s always nice to qualify for a major tournament. Obviously the last one was Covid-restricted so we missed that connection and that feel with the fans. “It’s great for everyone in the country that we have something to look forward to next summer.” Clarke’s side twice came from behind in the first half through John McGinn’s penalty and an own goal before Stuart Armstrong netted a well-worked goal to out them in front just before the hour mark. However, former Celtic winger Mohamed Elyounoussi came off the bench to head home in the 86th minute as Norway scored their third goal from a cross originating from right-back Julian Ryerson. “It was a strange game,” Clarke said. “I need to go away and analyse it. “What we have worked really hard at is being competitive, being a competitive team every time we go on to the pitch. “That’s why I was a little bit disappointed with the first half, I didn’t think we were competitive enough. Much more competitive second half. “We are Scotland, we have a certain way of playing, we like to play on the front foot.” A two-goal win would have put Scotland in pot two for the December 2 draw, although they are arguably better off in pot three given they will now avoid the likes of the Netherlands, Italy and Croatia. “I’m not bothered,” Clarke said. “I don’t know even know who else is in pot three and pot two. I’m sure I will find out when I get to Hamburg.” Norway head coach Stale Solbakken felt his side should have been ahead at half-time but feels Scotland will pose problems in Germany. “Overall we were the better team and should have won but it’s not easy, Scotland are always very well organised,” he added. “They have a great coach and have very disciplined players who know their strengths and limitations. That’s very important – they play to their strengths and don’t pretend to be something else. “They also have tournament experience so I think they can be a handful for everyone next summer. They also play two systems which is valuable. “There will be no easy games for those teams who meet Scotland.” Read More Gareth Southgate targeting top of the world as England drive for Euros glory Rico Lewis hopes his versatility helps him make late push for Euro 2024 squad Declan Rice putting pressure of price tag behind him to pursue biggest prizes Trevor Lawrence leads Jacksonville Jaguars to victory against Tennessee Titans Scotland sign off on successful Euro 2024 qualifying campaign with six-goal thriller Ludvig Aberg keen to ‘love golf for long time’ after clinching RSM Classic title

Declan Rice went to the World Cup surrounded by England team-mates who had won the biggest prizes in the game – now he is a £105million player who insists he is not fazed by the price tag having lifted European silverware and instantly taken to Champions League football. The 24-year-old admitted a year ago in Qatar that he wanted to play at the highest level and left West Ham in the summer after captaining them to Europa Conference League glory. Rice moved across London to Arsenal, joining the Gunners for a club-record fee and has hit the ground running with a run of fine performances for Mikel Arteta’s side. While previous big-money signings have seemingly been weighed down by hefty price tags, Rice has flourished in spite of it. “When the transfer was going through I was very nervous because of the price tag,” he said. “It’s natural to think about that. You’re a human being bought for £105m, it doesn’t feel very normal. But that was because of what I’d done at West Ham, what they valued me at. “When I signed for Arsenal, I just thought I just need to be Declan Rice, be myself, don’t be any different, everything will go smoothly. You’re a human being bought for £105million, it doesn’t feel very normal Declan Rice “The first three weeks of pre-season were really tough in terms of the change. When you’re at a new job you start to feel really settled after a few weeks. “That really feels the case now. In terms of the price tag, I don’t really think about it, I just play the games and try to play as well as possible. “Honestly, I just try to play my football. I don’t let it affect me in any way, shape or form. I just go to training, try to train as well as possible.” Rice’s England colleague Jack Grealish admitted he found talk of his £100m move to Manchester City “annoying” and that more was expected of him as a result of the big fee. “It’s £100m, it’s a lot of money, I could understand the pressure that comes with it,” added Rice. “Not only the pressure you put on yourself but there’s an expectation of being bought for that much money we need to see performances straight away. “I want to repay the club back straight away, they have invested a lot of money in me, I need to prove why I can go there and change things. “I can see why Jack struggled maybe at the start – mentally. He was a £100m footballer but as he wasn’t playing as much, it was probably as bit different for him. Now he’s flying and it’s the same for me.” Rice insists he always had faith in his ability to step up to the highest level and he has shone particularly brightly on Arsenal’s Champions League nights so far. “I won the trophy at West Ham, which was another level. It was incredible for me and the club. Now I’ve been playing on Champions League nights and been playing relatively well, but it’s something I always believed I could do,” he said. “It was just waiting for my chance and my opportunity. Every game that’s coming now, I’m just trying to take it step by step and perform on the biggest stage. “Speaking honestly, I feel I was playing as well at West Ham in my last season. Even though we didn’t have the best season as a team, I feel like I kicked on again. You never want to stay stale as a footballer. “You’re always looking to improve, always looking to get better. I still feel there’s so many more levels I can get to. It’s just about being eager to learn, practising on the training pitch, and always listening as well.” Rice has also called on England to end an unbeaten 2023 with a “bang” by winning their final Euro 2024 qualifier away to North Macedonia on Monday. England have not suffered defeat since their World Cup quarter-final exit at the hands of France last December and sealed their spot at next summer’s finals with two games to spare. After a drab 2-0 win over Malta on Friday, Rice is keen for England to put in a better showing to bring the curtain down on a strong calendar year. “I think especially the other night after Malta there is just a bit of pride in ourselves that we need to raise our level,” the Arsenal midfielder said. “We need to put out a statement and it would be a good way to end the year. We are currently unbeaten since the World Cup so it is down to us to go out tomorrow night, put on a performance.” Read More Gareth Southgate targeting top of the world as England drive for Euros glory Rico Lewis hopes his versatility helps him make late push for Euro 2024 squad Trevor Lawrence leads Jacksonville Jaguars to victory against Tennessee Titans Scotland sign off on successful Euro 2024 qualifying campaign with six-goal thriller Ludvig Aberg keen to ‘love golf for long time’ after clinching RSM Classic title Luke Humphries continues stunning rise with Grand Slam of Darts success