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Three Arsenal fans who plead guilty to tragedy chanting against Liverpool have been handed three-year football bans.

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Three Arsenal fans banned for three yearsWere part of the Ashburton Army groupTragedy chanting against Liverpool in the FA CupWHAT HAPPENED?

Following the team's FA Cup third-round loss to Liverpool in January, three teenagers, who the Daily Mail reports are members of the Ashburton Army fan group, were each given a three-year football ban for their chants associated with the Hillsborough tragedy.

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Ellis Chandler, George Oxley, and Joshua Ricca entered guilty pleas to a section five public order offence (tragedy chanting). Chandler and Oxley are prohibited from being within 1.5 miles of the Emirates due to their bans.

WHAT THE ARSENAL STATEMENT SAID

Arsenal released a statement after the punishment was announced: "We strongly condemn this abhorrent behaviour. We have worked closely with the police to ensure swift action was taken and we welcome the football banning orders handed out.

"We have a zero-tolerance approach to tragedy chanting and will always ensure strong action is taken against those found guilty of such behaviour."

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The Gunners will next be in action after the international break when they take on title rivals Manchester City on March 30 at the Etihad. Their next game at the Emirates Stadium will be against Luton Town on April 3.

Earlier, Andrew Tye and Cameron Green picked up three wickets each to bowl New South Wales out for 204

Daniel Brettig18-Sep-2018Ashton Turner bunts one away en route to his rapid fifty•Paul Kane/Getty ImagesWestern Australia captain Ashton Turner guided his side home to an opening win in the domestic limited-overs tournament, after a disciplined bowling display restricted New South Wales at the WACA Ground.The Blues, who lost their captain Peter Nevill for the entire competition due to a broken thumb on match eve, had the benefit of winning the toss, but could never get momentum going against the Warriors.Joel Paris struck a key early blow to dismiss Ryan Gibson with the new, swinging ball, before Jhye Richardson broke a key middle-order partnership between Nick Larkin and Jack Edwards, and then followed up with a swift away swinger to dismiss the still jet-lagged Jay Lenton.Daniel Sams then defied his inability to win a state contract by husbanding the resources of the lower order to take NSW beyond 200, despite their dismissal with plenty of their allotment remaining.On a pitch with some assistance for the seamers, early WA wickets were likely. This was borne out by the early exits of Josh Inglis and the injury replacement Sam Whiteman at the expense of well-directed deliveries from Sams. Josh Phillipe and the sometime Test-allrounder Hilton Cartwright steadied the innings before their wickets gave the Blues a chance.However, Turner and Ashton Agar, a curious selection for the Australian team to go to the UAE to face Pakistan, established a match-sealing partnership to make the game safe. Turner stayed at the crease to ensure the win, with Cameron Green at his side.

Back in League Two, Wrexham have shaken off the rust to get off to a blistering start. The Welsh side sit as high as third, level on points with fellow newly-promoted side Notts County and five points adrift of table-toppers Stockport.

If their form remains impressive throughout the season, too, instant promotion will become more of a reality than an unlikely dream, as Wrexham's Hollywood story alongside Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney continues to provide drama. That said, it's not all good news for Phil Parkinson, who is set to be without one of his star men after recent injury news emerged. Now, the League Two side must find a solution to keep their promotion hopes alive.

Wrexham injury news

When it comes to injuries this season, Wrexham received the most frustrating news before the campaign even got underway when Paul Mullin was ruled out for the first six League Two games. Without their star striker, The Red Dragons won just two games, drew twice and lost once in a chaotic opening period. If ever Mullin's importance to Wrexham was doubted, those concerns have been put to rest ever since his return. Parkinson's side have lost just once in their last ten games after the return of their forward.

In Mullin's absence, former Premier League striker Steven Fletcher arrived to spark dreams of a potential strike partnership, only for Wrexham to suffer another injury blow. Parkinson confirmed that Fletcher will undergo knee surgery which could keep him out until 2024. The Wrexham boss said via Goal: "Steven has had a problem with his knee and the specialist has decided he needs an operation. He just hyper-extended it after being here three or four weeks and has been trying to get on with it but unfortunately it has got to the point where he can't carry on any longer so he is having surgery. We won't know the extent of the time he is going to be out until the surgeon has performed the operation."

"Fantastic" Steven Fletcher potentially sidelined until 2024

It's some blow for Wrexham, given how rare it is for a League Two club to have a player with such experience at their disposal. The former Stoke City man could have really kicked on for The Red Dragons, forming a partnership with Mullin in the process. Fletcher's wages, which place him third in Wrexham's list of highest earners, mean that Reynold and McElhenney will be even more frustrated by the injury. Having scored twice in ten games, the 36-year-old may have been hoping to have a greater impact in the coming weeks, before being sidelined.

In a long career, Fletcher has received plenty of praise, including from former Stoke City assistant manager Dean Holden, who said via Stoke on Trent Live: "He’s given everything over two seasons. Last season was difficult with Covid and the second season was like a second debut for some players. It’s been a bit stop-start with injuries but he’s a player who’s had a fantastic career and he’s fantastic behind the scenes working with the younger players.

"I saw him talking to Emre Tezgel before the (Coventry) game and they are the personalities the gaffer has brought to the club who are really important.”

Since the arrival of Unai Emery, Aston Villa have been closer than ever before to returning to the great heights they once found themselves at. The Midlands club are back in Europe, having qualified for the Europa Conference League, and have enjoyed a fine start to the Premier League season, in which they sit as high as fifth – just two points adrift of the top four.

Emery won't want to just ensure that the current Villa side are competing among English football's elite, however. Instead, the former Sevilla boss and the rest of those at Villa Park will want to create a permanent seat for the club at the Premier League's top table. Helping to ensure that rise to the top could be one particular January target, too.

Aston Villa transfer news

The Villans enjoyed another successful transfer window during the summer, as they proved their new-found attraction by welcoming Bayer Leverkusen winger Moussa Diaby, who has hit the ground running in the Midlands. Meanwhile, they also brought in the likes of Nicolo Zaniolo and Clement Lenglet in what have proved to be excellent coups so far. Now the focus turns to the January transfer window, though, where Emery is reportedly looking to sign a future star.

According to TeamTalk, Aston Villa are interested in Sam Curtis, who has already made over 50 senior appearances for St Patrick's Athletic, despite being just 17-years-old. The right-back has reportedly attracted the interest of several Premier League clubs, with Tottenham Hotspur, both Manchester clubs, Newcastle United and Everton all eyeing moves, as well as Championship sides Middlesbrough, Sheffield United and Hull City.

So, it's fair to say that the race to secure the Irishman's signature is a busy one, giving Villa plenty to think about when the winter window swings open. If they can beat their Premier League rivals to Curtis' signature, it would be some coup.

Aston Villa interested in "fantastic" Curtis

Given the fact that Curtis is already making his mark on first-team football in the League of Ireland Premier Division, where he helped St Patrick's Athletic to a third place finish, the interest in the right-back comes as little surprise. What will impress Villa the most too, is the fact that the teenager has already made two appearances in Europe, having played twice in Europa Conference League qualifying.

Curtis has already earned plenty of deserved praise throughout what is still a young career, including from St Patrick's Athletic manager Jon Daly, who told the Irish Independent:

“We’ve been delighted with him getting called up to the U-21s as well, it’s a fantastic achievement for someone so young. He’s fantastic and a great talent. He has an aggression in his game that you don’t really see in younger players. Quality-wise, he's been very good. He’s still learning the game and we’re hoping he keeps improving. He’s done well and he’s made that spot at right wing-back his own. We’ve been more than happy with him.

“He’s 17-years-old and could probably play 90 minutes every day. He’s fit and he’s available for selection which is a positive after international duty. I’d imagine there have been enquiries already. He’s just got to keep focused on playing his football for us. The most important thing for people his age is to play first-team football at a good level and play against men. It’s massive for him that he’s in the first team environment on a daily basis."

Cristiano Ronaldo revelled in another hat-trick as he fired Al-Nassr to a Saudi Pro League victory against Al-Tai on Saturday.

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Ronaldo scored hat-trick vs Al-TaiHelped fire Al-Nassr to 5-1 victoryStar took to social media to celebrateWHAT HAPPENED?

The Portuguese icon netted three times in the second half as the Riyadh club beat Al-Tai 5-1 in Riyadh. The win keeps them 12 points behind unbeaten Saudi Pro League leaders Al-Hilal after 25 matches.

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Ronaldo took to social media to share his joy after another treble in the Saudi top-flight. The 39-year-old wrote alongside images from the match: "This is how we do it. Amazing victory and another hat-trick!"

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The hat-trick is Ronaldo's second in the league this season and he has now scored 26 goals in 22 league matches and 33 in 34 in all competitions. However, his exploits have not been able to lift his team to the top of the table, with unbeaten Al-Hilal on track to win the title.

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Al-Nassr and Ronaldo will hope to keep their titles hopes alive at least when they come up against Abha in the Pro League on Tuesday, that game will be followed by a trip to Damac on April 5.

The Queensland duo is looking increasingly likely to join Aaron Finch and Travis Head for debuts in the first Test against Pakistan

Daniel Brettig in Dubai05-Oct-2018Australia may field as many as four debutants – Aaron Finch, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne and Michael Neser – at the start of their first Test series since the Newlands ball-tampering scandal, the most in a single match since the World Series Cricket split four decades ago.Two days out from the opening Test against Pakistan in Dubai, Finch and Head are certain to play, while the Queensland pair of Labuschagne and Neser are looking increasingly likely to join them.It would be a particularly swift rise for Labuschagne, once again due to Renshaw’s misadventures. He was only included in the first-class portion of the recent Australia A tour of India when Renshaw strained a hamstring, and a pair of handy scores in the last match before the squad was picked vaulted Labuschagne above the likes of Peter Handscomb and Glenn Maxwell.Last week, Renshaw’s concussion when struck on the helmet at short leg meant Labuschagne batted in his place in Australia’s only warm-up fixture for this series, leaving the opener short of the preparatory batting time in the middle, much valued by the new coach Justin Langer.Labuschagne’s inclusion would necessitate a reshuffle of the batting order, with Finch opening alongside Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh at No. 3, vice-captain Mitchell Marsh at No. 4 and Head followed by Labuschagne at Nos. 5 and 6. This would also create a right-left mix well down towards the tail, with captain Tim Paine and spearhead Mitchell Starc at Nos. 7 and 8.”If we can continue to do what we’ve been doing over the last couple of weeks here with that middle-order group and especially the way we played in the tour match, there’s no reason why we can’t do that in the two Test matches in the next couple of weeks and really put a stamp on it,” Head said. “We’re here to win games of cricket. We’re here to perform. It’s really exciting for the core bunch of guys in that middle order to really step up and do the job.Tim Paine and Justin Langer pose during a portrait session•Getty Images”I think the message is always pretty simple. You want to go out and perform and win games of cricket for Australia. I know from the one-day team and that’s traditionally how it’s always been for the Australian cricket team. It’s always tough for spots and those guys are unlucky to miss out and have been in really good form, but in the tour match we were 4 for 500 [494]. The guys are in form, it’s always tough to get into the Australian cricket team and the fight for spots is always up.Head, who struggled notably against spin in the past, including against the left-arm spinner Jon Holland in a pair of Sheffield Shield finals, said that a strong defence would enable the tourists to spend enough time at the crease to overcome the radical differences to Australian conditions.”It’s challenging over here. We’ve had a lot of experience now. Obviously IPL, Australia-A tours, the Australian tour just gone in India. The guys played exceptionally well,” Head said. “Watching that, the way guys went in and played to the conditions and took it on, probably seemed a different kind of style to really grind it out. We’ve seen that again in the tour match.”I think we’ve developed over a little bit and we can continue to get better. The same thing personally as well. I’ve really worked hard on my forward defence. I’ve spoken a lot about that over the last couple of months. It’s been really consistent in my game and it has meant that I’ve been able to spend time out in the middle. Once you get a feel for the conditions, especially over here once it starts turning, if you get a feel for that and spend lots of time out in the middle, you need to go on with it and bat long periods of time. I’ll try and continue to do that and so will everyone else.”Neser, meanwhile, impressed in the tour game as a foil for Starc, and is duelling with the well-travelled Peter Siddle for the second pacer’s spot. Siddle, Starc and Nathan Lyon are the only members of the squad who took part in Australia’s last series in the UAE, a 2-0 defeat to Pakistan in 2014.

Australia’s Player of the Tournament Alyssa Healy showed she was human, after all

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Nov-2018Sloppy at first
1.4 Schutt to Wyatt, 1 run, fractionally short and outside off, Wyatt leans back and carves it in the air behind point. Haynes throws herself to her left and drops a tough catch but saves three runs for Australia2.2 Perry to Wyatt, 1 run, edged and dropped by Healy Would you believe it? This flies to the right of the keeper. She’s late to react and the ball clangs out of her gloves. Short and outside off, Wyatt flashes and gets away Then the sublime 4.5 Perry to Jones, OUT, Direct hit at the non-striker’s end, and Jones is gone. Bulls Eye: Wareham collects the ball at mid-on and nails the stumps. Full-toss on middle, hacked away to the right of Wareham, she swoops down on the ball and catches the in-form Jones short. Miles short Back to the slip-ups 7.5 Kimmince to Wyatt, no run, Kimmince drops a return catch. Fairly tough chance as it has hit hard. Pushed through outside off, drilled back to the bowler, she’s late to react and lets it burst through her hands8.2 Molineux to Knight, no run, Australia miss a run-out chance. Their fielding has veered from sublime to sloppy. This is tapped to short third man, the fielder collects the ball and throws it to Healy, the keeper, who turns around rather slowly and gets into a rather side-on position. Too slow and England get away again10.2 Gardner to Wyatt, FOUR, steps out to have a wild wallop, but ends up toe-ending it. Rolls to long-on alright but Mooney in trying to get to the ball slips, perhaps because of the dew, and the ball skids to the boundary. Australia have been quite poor on the field Captain says this is how it’s done! 10.6 Gardner to Wyatt, OUT, absolutely drills this to cover and Lanning takes an excellent catch airborne. Wyatt has run out of luck, finally. This was nicely tossed up by Gardner, Wyatt couldn’t hold back when she saw the flight and absolutely went after that one. Healy’s poor day continues 12.4 Wareham to Winfield, 2 byes, another miss by Alyssa Healy behind the stumps! Drifted in and spun away between the gap between bat and pad as she looked to flick across the line. Oh, dear. Lanning successfully reviews 12.5 Wareham to Winfield, OUT, excellent delivery, the flipper this time. Winfield lucky to get some bat on it as she tried to make room and cut. Just as the 15 seconds were about to lapse, Lanning asked for a review despite there not being an appeal of any kind. Replays confirm there was pad before it smashed the bat. It comes back with ball tracking confirming the ball would’ve smashed middle. Great review by Australia! Perry switches on and off 15.2 Gardner to Shrubsole, 1 run, the drops continue, it’s Perry this time!This was whipped uppishly, Perry coming in from deep midwicket miscalculated a little as it was dying on her17.5 Gardner to Knight, SIX, muscled and this one bursts through Mooney’s hands at long-on! Strong bottom-hand as she got to the pitch to drill this down the ground.18.3 Molineux to Ecclestone, 2 runs, hit hard, hit flat, long-on comes around but Kimmince misfields to concede the second to raise England’s 10018.5 Molineux to Ecclestone, 1 run, hit hard, a direct hit at the bowler’s end from mid-off and Ecclestone would’ve continued to run to the dug out. Also, the bowler didn’t put her left hand out to try and catch that.19.2 Schutt to Ecclestone, 1 run, OUT, drags this slower delivery down to long-on and looks to scamper a second, but can’t beat Perry’s rocket throw as she comes around from deep midwicket to intercept that. Straightforward decision for the third umpire as Healy collects the throw and whips the bails off.

Manchester City are expected to wrap up a long-awaited deal to sign Lucas Paqueta from West Ham after agreeing personal terms with the midfielder.

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City attempted to sign Paqueta last yearProbe into betting activity ended pursuitMidfielder agrees to summer transferWHAT HAPPENED?

City have a personal agreement with the Brazilian in place over his wages as they prepare to sign him in the summer transfer window, reports. However, the reigning European and English champions are still to strike a deal with the Hammers over a transfer fee.

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City attempted to sign the midfielder from the east London team last summer, but they pulled out of the reported £85 million deal because an investigation into alleged betting breaches was opened up by the Football Association (FA).

DID YOU KNOW?

Paqueta, who has scored eight goals and registered seven assists in all competitions this season, recently opened up about the investigation into his alleged betting activity, saying: "It’s been seven months since it’s been happened and I’m co-operating, doing what’s in my power so that it can be resolved."

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Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR WEST HAM?

Paqueta's current contract at West Ham runs until 2027, though there is an option to extend his stay for another year. West Ham, then, could hold out for a similar £85m ($108m) fee from City this year before they agree to let him go.

Sheffield Wednesday will hope that they can put together a positive sequence of results and fast to get out of the mess they're currently swamped in, the Owls rooted to the bottom of the Championship on six points with Huddersfield Town on 15 points a place above the relegation spots in 21st.

Danny Rohl was meant to be the breath of fresh air that kickstarted a meaningful run of wins to get Wednesday up and running in the league, but the new German manager at Hillsborough has only managed to steer his side to one win from his opening five games to further pile on the misery in south Yorkshire.

You'd hope that certain players within the downbeat Owls group would want to turn around their fortunes to instil some pride back into proceedings, on top of the fact the majority of them are currently fighting it out for their long-term futures at the club.

Here are five players fighting for their respective careers currently at Hillsborough under their new 34-year-old boss…

1 Mallik Wilks

The penny has to have dropped for Wilks by now looking at how his time with Wednesday has gone over the past few seasons, consistent injury issues leaving him out of many first-team squads over his disappointing two years at Hillsborough but his lack of quality when fit has also seen managers before Rohl decide not to pick him anyway.

Wilks has mustered up a pitiful two goals from 28 appearances for the Owls in a move that now feels ill-fated from Hull City, the Leeds-born attacker playing at the peak of his powers with the Tigers with 30 goals from 91 appearances.

Rohl has given Wilks opportunities since coming into the building, but the 24-year-old continues to underperform for Wednesday.

He has averaged a dire 6.23 Sofascore rating from his fleeting appearances in an Owls shirt this season, his display as a substitute away at Watford recently in league action saw him attempt zero shots on goal from a 25-minute spell on the pitch alongside losing six of his seven ground duels at Vicarage Road as per Sofascore.

Wilks could be moved on soon from Yorkshire, with Rohl's patience presumably already growing thin when it comes to his misfiring number seven.

2 Marvin Johnson

Frozen out of the team much like Wilks under ex-boss Xisco Munoz, Marvin Johnson has been reintroduced into the first-team set-up under Rohl's management and will want to fight for his spot and make it his own again after being ostracised.

Wednesday's number 18 was key last season to the Owls winning promotion to the Championship, always a creative outlet for his team to rely on from down the left wing – finishing the normal campaign with ten assists to his name, and then adding a further assist to his impressive tally in the famed playoff semi-final clash against Peterborough United at Hillsborough.

Lacking confidence at this point in time – and sharpness by being out of the first-team picture for so long – Rohl will hope Johnson's effectiveness in swarming forward down the channels in League One can reappear in the now for Wednesday.

He has to plenty to work on however if his Millwall performance recently is anything to go off of, inaccurate with all eight of his crosses versus the Lions as per Sofascore.

3 Ashley Fletcher

Joining on loan from Watford this summer, Ashley Fletcher is yet to really get going in an Owls strip this season since relocating to Sheffield.

Not helped by his side's clear lack of creativity and incisiveness in other positions, Fletcher is still without a Wednesday goal from 13 appearances.

The 28-year-old has only averaged 29 minutes of action per 90 minutes this season according to Sofascore, but if he was showing glimpses of brilliance in these cameos, he would play himself into the first eleven as a result.

Instead, he finds himself on the periphery with the Owls away from Watford in a loan deal that isn't really benefitting anyone.

Substituted off at half-time in the 4-0 Millwall loss last time out, the 6 foot 1 attacker couldn't even muster up a single shot to test the opposing goalkeeper before being hauled off by Rohl.

Fletcher will continue to fight for a spot in his current manager's first-team plans, but it could be a case of Wednesday cancelling this loan deal come January if he remains as toothless as he has been over the weeks to come.

4 Lee Gregory

Now 35 years of age, Gregory was seeing out his career at Sheffield Wednesday in fine form when you cast an eye over last season's statistics for the veteran forward.

Gregory managed 11 goals up top for the Owls under Darren Moore, the ageing attacker combining with strike partner Michael Smith to devastating effect in the third tier.

Now, however, the former Stoke City man is enduring a barren goalscoring spell in the division above.

Scoring on the opening day versus Southampton to open Wednesday's account in the league, the Sheffield-born striker hasn't found the back of the net since to the dismay of the Owls masses who once viewed Gregory as a reliable source of important strikes.

The weeks leading up to January could be make or break for Gregory, with the very real possibility of the 35-year-old being phased out of the first team completely creeping up on the experienced figure if he isn't careful.

5 Liam Palmer

A part of the furniture at Hillsborough in a similar way to Gregory – the 32-year-old a dedicated servant to Wednesday with 407 appearances notched up since joining in 2010 – Palmer has also struggled with the ferocity of the Championship when playing this season for the beleaguered Owls.

Only starting five times for Wednesday this campaign, the right-back hasn't come onto the pitch at all for the Owls in their last five Championship encounters under Rohl.

His displays prior to being dropped didn't exactly inspire confidence that Palmer was the right man to continue starting at right-back, an 11-minute spell against Sunderland in mid-October saw the Scotsman lose possession a remarkable six times as per Sofascore.

Palmer will hope that he can come good again, loved by the Wednesday masses when on song for his passion and ability on the ball.

Soccer and NFL royalty crossed paths prior to Inter Miami’s MLS clash with Sporting KC, as Patrick Mahomes had an exchange with Lionel Messi.

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Argentine superstar attracts A-list guestsSuper Bowl winner at Arrowhead StadiumAll-time great put on show for record crowdWHAT HAPPENED?

The record books were rewritten at Arrowhead Stadium when the Herons rolled into Kansas City, with a crowd of over 70,000 making the most of an opportunity to catch eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi in competitive action.

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Inter Miami’s travelling circus remains the biggest draw in MLS, with A-list guests flocking to their fixtures across the United States. Mahomes is among the latest to catch the Messi show, with the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback boasting strong ties to soccer alongside his wife Brittany – as co-owners of the Kansas City Current NWSL side.

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GettyWHAT MAHOMES SAID TO MESSI

Three-time Super Bowl winner Mahomes briefly met with Messi ahead of the Argentine’s latest outing, while also catching up with Benjamin Cremaschi, and told the all-time great to “have fun” before a ball was kicked in anger.