The 21-year-old promise claimed stomach troubles ruled him out of a recent Ligue 1 clash, an excuse that did not wash with his club Nice have punished reported AC Milan target Allan Saint-Maximin for missing Saturday’s 3-0 defeat at Angers without permission. Saint-Maximin, 21, joined Nice in a reported €10 million deal from Monaco in August 2017 and has developed well since, becoming a key part of the team. The forward is highly rated in France and is said to have attracted interest from Milan, Atletico Madrid and Borussia Dortmund, having scored six goals and set up another two in Ligue 1 this term. Article continues below Editors' Picks Sarri…

The Nerazzurri’s CEO of sport was incensed after Sunday’s opponents were awarded a spot-kick in controversial circumstances Inter chief Giuseppe Marotta believes the decision to award Fiorentina a late penalty in Sunday’s 3-3 draw is the biggest mistake since VAR’s introduction to Serie A. Inter were twice the benefactors of the video review system in the second half at the Stadio Artemio Franchi, with Edimilson Fernandes penalised for a handball in the area before Cristiano Biraghi had a thunderous strike ruled out at the other end. Fiorentina’s luck changed in the final minutes of stoppage time and, after Danilo D’Ambrosio was judged to have handled in Inter’s box, referee Rosario…

Emiliano Sala’s funeral will be attended by Cardiff manager Neil Warnock and chief executive Ken Choo. Sala became Cardiff’s club-record signing when bought by the Welsh club for £15million last month, but the 28-year-old was killed days later when a plane he was travelling on crashed in the English channel. A privately-funded search found the location of the plane and recovered a body from the wreckage, which was later identified as Sala. Pilot David Ibbotson, who was the only other person on the flight, remains missing with a crowdfunding campaign set up to ensure the search for him continues. Cardiff owner Vincent Tan has made a personal donation of £50,000…

Maurizio Sarri did not shake Pep Guardiola’s hand following Manchester City’s 6-0 thrashing of Chelsea on Sunday afternoon. The Blues boss walked straight down the tunnel after the full-time whistle, ignoring Guardiola’s outstretched hand, and the City boss spoke with Chelsea assistant Gianfranco Zola instead. Sarri is under immense pressure following the heaviest Premier League defeat in Chelsea’s history. They have now conceded an astonishing ten goals in their last two away games, including the 4-0 embarrassment at Bournemouth last week. Speaking after the game, Guardiola insisted Sarri simply didn’t see him, and even defended the Chelsea manager from calls for his sacking. “They beat us at Stamford Bridge. Against Napoli last…

There are a variety of factors that determine what makes a big club, trophies won, legendary players, stadium capacity and so on. The end result usually causes plenty of debate among supporters, keen to put forward their argument as to what makes their beloved club the best. Thankfully, France Football have managed to compile a list of the 30 biggest clubs in the world and have based the end results on ten specific reasons, with each worth points. They are: Number of players in the squad to have won a World Cup Continent level titles won (eg; Champions League), Shirts sold per year Annual revenue Record transfer fee paid Average…

Former England goalkeeper and 1966 World Cup winner Gordon Banks OBE has died, aged 81. Stoke City, with whom Banks spent six years as a player, released a statement from his family confirming the devastating news on Tuesday morning. “It is with great sadness that we announce that Gordon passed away peacefully overnight,” the statement read. “We are devastated to lose him but we have so many happy memories and could not have been more proud of him.” Banks played for Chesterfield and Leicester before joining Stoke in 1967, and also represented, Cleveland Stokes, Hellenic, Fort Lauderdale Strikers and St Patrick’s Athletic. He made his name as one of the…

Arsenal will not finish inside the Premier League’s top four as ‘it’s a straight fight between Chelsea and Manchester United’ for the final Champions League qualification spot, according to Graeme Souness. Souness, the former Liverpool and Scotland midfielder, insists only the Red Devils and the Blues can compete to finish fourth, with Arsenal out of the running. In his Sunday Times column, Souness writes: “It’s a straight fight between Chelsea and Manchester United for fourth now, but Chelsea will be looking over their shoulders because United are dangerous and, right now, the momentum is there with them and they are on a roll.” United moved into the top four on…

Eden Hazard played down an incident at the end of Chelsea’s defeat of Malmo which saw him manhandled by a pitch invader. The Blues emerged 2-1 winners in their Europa League last-32 first leg in Sweden thanks to goals from Ross Barkley and Olivier Giroud. However, the match was marred slightly by the events at the full-time whistle, as Chelsea’s star man Hazard had to deal with a supporter who stormed the field demanding his shirt. The 28-year-old was grabbed by the fan who only released his grip when given the impressive yellow souvenir. Despite stewards ultimately having to wrestle the man away, Eden Hazard later played down the confrontation.…

Roma edged the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie with Porto thanks to a Nicolo Zaniolo double. There was little to chose between the sides during the first half at the Stadio Olimpico and it took until 70 minutes before the deadlock was broken. Zaniolo struck again six minutes later but Lopez Adrian fired in a volley 11 minutes from time to give Porto something to take into the return leg. Both sides had seen plenty of possession during the opening stages, if without making much of an impact in the final third. On 12 minutes, Edin Dzeko broke clear and played a dangerous ball into the Porto…

Newcastle United could have a debut to club-record signing Miguel Almiron against Wolves tonight. The Paraguay international joined the Magpies from Atlanta United last month in a £20million transfer. But who is Miguel Almiron? talkSPORT has found out everything you need to know about the Toon’s newest recruit. Background Almiron started his playing career with Cerro Porteno in 2008. He spent five years with the youth team there before breaking into the senior side. Almiron struggled for playing time in his first season as his side lifted the Torneo Clausara – but the following season he made more of an impact, scoring five goals in 19 appearances. His impressive performances caught the eye…