Aston Villa will be braced for a Football Association investigation after their FA Cup triumph over West Brom ended in alarming crowd scenes on Saturday.
Albion manager Tony Pulis criticised the stewarding at Villa Park after ugly scenes involving both sets of supporters of the local rivals disrupted the home side’s 2-0 quarter-final win.
Albion fans threw seats on to the pitch and celebrating Villa fans caused a short interruption in play by invading the playing surface in the dying minutes.
They were desribed as “mindless idiots” by Pulis.
At the final whistle, a full-scale pitch invasion saw the players of both teams engulfed by fans in what Villa captain, Fabian Delph, described as “very scary” scenes.
Company says sorry for sexist slur
An Indonesian sports apparel manufacturer apologised yesterday after coming under attack for printing washing instructions deemed sexist on the shirt of a local top flight club.
“Washing Instructions. Give this jersey to your woman. IT’S HER JOB,” Salvo Sports printed on the inside of the shirt they designed for Pusamania Borneo.
Salvo were hit with complaints on social media before they issued an explanation and unreserved apology yesterday.
“The message is simply, instead of washing it in the wrong way you might as well give it to a lady because they are more capable,” Salvo posted.
“There’s no intention to humiliate women.”
Inzaghi has no thoughts of quitting
Milan coach Filippo Inzaghi had not thought of quitting after his stuttering side were held 2-2 at home by modest Verona.
“It’s not a question that should be directed at me, I’m going to carry on with my head up, trying to do my best,” he told Sky Sport Italia after being asked about his future.
“I’m looking ahead to the next match against Fiorentina which will be difficult.
“There is determination and the right spirit but, of course, we have to do better. We are not the Milan that everyone expects,” he added.
Montella reassures Fiorentina fans
Fiorentina coach Vincenzo Montella has reassured his club’s supporters ahead of today’s game at Lazio that he will remain at the club next season.
Montella is being linked with a summer switch to Milan should the Rossoneri decided to part company with coach Filippo Inzaghi.
However, the former Roma forward has no intention to leave Fiorentina any time soon.
“My rapport with the club remains the same,” he said.
“We will move forward together, I see no reason why it should be otherwise.”
Lack of team work cost us says Ancelotti
Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti blamed his players for being too individualistic following their surprise 1-0 defeat at mid-table Athletic Bilbao in La Liga on Saturday.
The pressure on the Italian has been growing since Real were hammered 4-0 by Atletico Madrid at the start of February and his team again lacked drive and a battling edge especially in the first half against Bilbao.
“We were too individualistic and the players were looking to find solutions on their own when we needed to play quicker and with fewer touches,” Ancelotti told a news conference.
Aritz Aduriz headed Bilbao in front after 26 minutes and Real were able to create little at the other end despite the quality they have in attack.
Hecking vows to keep fighting
Wolfsburg coach Dieter Hecking refused to concede the Bundesliga title after his side’s 1-0 defeat to Augsburg on Saturday.
That defeat left the Wolves 11 points adrift of Bayern Munich at the top of the standings with 10 games of the season remaining.
“If we want to be playing in Europe, then that cannot be an excuse,” he said. “We were just sloppy. You should still be able to play cleverly when you are tired, but we just made the wrong decisions too often.
“Have they already won the title?” he asked. “I will only be congratulating them when it is mathematically certain. There are still 10 games to go.”
Kane focusing only on Tottenham
Playing for England is a “dream” Harry Kane is putting to the back of his mind, such is the striker’s determination to propel Tottenham forwards.
Saturday’s brace in Spurs’ 2-1 win at QPR increased Kane’s goal tally to 26 in all competitions – a remarkable haul which is likely to earn a first senior call-up this month.
Roy Hodgson could not fail but to be impressed by Kane’s latest display, but the front man is trying not to think about the potential of facing Lithuania or Italy this month.
“I’ve always said, I’ve got to keep doing what I am doing,” he said.
“There are still a few more games until the international break and I want to do the best I can for Tottenham Hotspur.”