Fletcher hits out at Walker
Darren Fletcher has criticised Kyle Walker for stamping on Patrick Dorgu during Manchester United’s 2-2 draw at Burnley, with the interim manager saying “it didn’t look great”.
The incident occurred during the second half at Turf Moor on Wednesday. With the ball trapped between Dorgu’s legs, Walker stamped on the back of the Dane’s left thigh before offering a handshake, which was accepted. As the referee and video assistant referee missed it, Walker escaped censure.
When Fletcher was asked if Dorgu should have made more of it to ensure the officials did take notice, the Scot cited Walker going to ground in the first half when challenged by Lisandro Martínez in Burnley’s area before the United defender stood back up and scored. However, the goal was ruled out by VAR.
“So like Kyle Walker did when Licha didn’t touch him? Yeah,” Fletcher said. “That’s sort of the territory we’re getting into, but Patrick’s such an honest guy, he’s never going to do that.
“It didn’t look great from Kyle Walker’s point of view, but I like Kyle and I know him as a person, so I hope the intent was to get the ball. For me personally, I think VAR should have looked at it. They looked at the goal disallowed, which was ridiculous, so they should have been looking at that for me. And if they don’t, you’re just going to encourage players making massive dramas out of things and being theatrical, which is what we don’t want in the game.
“I don’t want that from my players. I’d strive [for] my players not to do it. But these two situations probably were massive influences on the game the other night, so it shows you how influential it can be.”
Fletcher will be in charge again for Sunday’s visit of Brighton in the FA Cup. With Ole Gunnar Solskjær and Michael Carrick the favourites to be employed in the caretaker role until the end of the season, the 41-year-old was asked if there had been any discussions about his role. “There have been no thoughts or conversation about my future,” said Fletcher. “I lead the team, guide the team, there’s been no conversations outside of those two people.” Jamie Jackson
Romero handed additional one-match ban
The Tottenham captain, Cristian Romero, has been handed a one-match suspension for his reaction to being sent off during last month’s 2-1 Premier League loss to Liverpool, the FA said on Friday. The centre-back, who received a second yellow card for kicking out at Ibrahima Konaté in added time, did not immediately leave the field after being shown a red card and argued with the referee, leading to a charge for acting in an “improper” manner.
“The defender subsequently admitted the charge, and an independent regulatory commission has now imposed a one-match suspension and £50,000 fine after a hearing,” the FA posted on X.
Romero, who served his automatic one-match suspension in the 1-0 win at Crystal Palace on 28 December, now faces an additional game on the sidelines. With Spurs 14th in the table and without a win in their past three games, Romero apologised to the club’s fans in a social media post, suggesting it should not be the players having to front up to the supporters.
The Tottenham manager, Thomas Frank, said on Thursday that Romero was a “young leader” who made a mistake, and that he and the club’s sporting director, Johan Lange, had met with him to discuss the post. Reuters
Howe hoping Schär’s injury won’t end season
Eddie Howe expects Fabian Schär to be sidelined for an extended period but is hopeful that the Newcastle defender will recover from an ankle ligament injury in time to play again this season. Schär was taken to hospital following a collision with Dominic Calvert-Lewin during Wednesday’s 4-3 home win against Leeds but Newcastle’s manager is optimistic that the damage is not quite as bad as initially feared.
“Maybe it’s not as bad as it first looked, there’s no fracture,” said Howe, whose side host his former club, Bournemouth, in the FA Cup third round on Saturday. “But Fabian will be seeing a specialist in the next few days to get some more definitive answers. At the moment we’re confident Fabian will be back before the end of season but let’s see. We still have to get a definitive assessment on the scale of the injury.”
With Dan Burn still recovering from a punctured lung and broken ribs, Howe has limited defensive options but will resist the temptation to rush into the transfer market. “It’s not ideal but at the moment we’re taking a watching brief,” said Newcastle’s manager. “We’ll see how we go in the next few games and that will have a bearing on what we do.”
One option is to recall the full-back Matt Targett from his loan at Middlesbrough but it is believed the player would be unhappy to leave the Riverside where he is playing a key role in Boro’s Championship promotion push. “We’re looking at all options,” said Howe. “But with Matt there is not just our wants and needs, there is his as well and we have to balance both.”
The Newcastle manger also revealed that Jamaal Lascelles, the club captain and once the mainstay of his defence, is unable to train and could leave St James’ Park this month. “Jamaal is not training with us currently,” said Howe. “He hasn’t felt well enough physically to train. I don’t think he’s injured particularly but his body isn’t ready. There is a possibility he could leave but Jamaal has been an excellent leader for us over the years behind the scenes.” Louise Taylor
Iraola eager to fill Semenyo gap
Andoni Iraola has said Bournemouth will act in the January window to replace Antoine Semenyo after his £62.5m move to Manchester City on Friday. The 26-year-old Ghana winger has scored 10 goals in 21 appearances this season, signing off with Wednesday night’s winner against Tottenham, and leaves a void in Iraola’s side. The issue is compounded by an injury to Justin Kluivert.
“Yes, of course we have to sign a winger,” Iraola said when asked if the club would be active in January. “Yes. Antoine has played almost every minute with us. So there is a hole there that we have to fill. Probably not with the same skills as Antoine. It can be a different type of player we can sign in the market. It’s a market that is not easy because there are not a lot of players available. No one wants to lose a good player in January, but I think we have to look at all the options we have available and try to get it right.”
Iraola said the injuries will mean a number of younger players will be in the matchday squad for Saturday’s FA Cup third-round tie away to fellow Premier League side Newcastle. “Some of the younger players will come with us, definitely, because we cannot fill the squad right now,” the manager said. “I think we have, depending on how we train …14 or 15 [outfield players] and it’s a matter of how you balance it in terms of how they recover from the other day, also thinking who can finish the game.” PA Media
Martínez to miss Villa’s Spurs tie
Aston Villa will be without goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez for the FA Cup trip to Tottenham. The Argentina World Cup winner came off at half-time of Wednesday’s goalless draw at Crystal Palace with a calf injury, although he wanted to play on. He will not recover in time for the trip to north London, with Marco Bizot set to deputise.
“He is really being in the commitment we need of him,” Villa’s manager, Unai Emery, said. “He played on Wednesday knowing he has a small injury and he did the effort to play. For him it is easier to decide not to play, but he played. The first half he was not feeling good.
“It was his choice to play the second half, but because he is in the risk to get the worse injury, we decided with the doctor to stop him. He is helping the team and now I am happy with him. I am seeing him like I want. After last summer, it was difficult for everybody and him as well. Now I can face him and see his eyes and trust him.”
Tyrone Mings is in contention but Amadou Onana and Ross Barkley are injured, while Evann Guessand is at the Africa Cup of Nations. PA Media
Le Bris will not rest players against Everton
Régis Le Bris plans to pick a strong Sunderland side in the FA Cup for Saturday’s tie against Everton. The Black Cats go into their third-round tie on Merseyside on the back of a 3-0 league defeat by Brentford on Wednesday night, ending their five-game unbeaten run which has seen the team play some games without six players on Africa Cup of Nations duty.
Asked about potential changes for the Everton match, Le Bris said: “New game, new energy. I think we want to go strong because we respect this competition and at the same time we’ll have to manage the load of a few players. We won’t take unnecessary risks, but we’ll select the best team as possible. So we’ll see.
“It will be a tough challenge once again. It’s important to respect the competition and knowing the fatigue we have in the squad because the festive period was busy, really demanding.”
Sunderland will assess striker Wilson Isidor, who trained with the team on Friday morning having missed the last two games through injury. PA Media
