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Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho has confirmed Serge Aurier’s availability for their Premier League outing against Chelsea on Thursday.

Aurier is in line to make his 12th league appearance of the season as Spurs aim to grab maximum points at home after conceding back-to-back losses in the English top-flight.

Last Thursday during Tottenham's 3-1 loss to Liverpool, Aurier was reported to be in hot water after he stormed out of the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium at half-time and he was consequently missing at Brighton.

Following their 1-0 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday, Mourinho said the Ivory Coast captain’s absence at the Amex Stadium was a technical decision.

Ahead of the encounter against Thomas Tuchel’s side, the Portuguese manager stated that the 28-year-old defender is in good condition and will return to his team while 16-year-old Alfie Devine who was an unused substitute at Brighton drops to the academy.

“Yeah, yes Serge is fine. He's the only player back to the group,” Mourinho was quoted by Football London. “He's the only one so it's Alfie Devine that leaves the group.

“In spite of working with us, he and Dane Scarlett now they work with us every day, now they go back to the academy to play, in this case Devine will not be involved because Serge will occupy his place in the squad.”

When Mourinho was quizzed further about Aurier’s absence in their last game, he said: “No, no, no, not injury.”

Tottenham are sixth in the Premier League table, level on 33 points with seventh-placed Chelsea who have played a game more than them.

The UK government has said it is prepared to "get tough" on social media companies over racial abuse, threatening fines that could reach "billions of pounds."

The issue of online racial abuse has been in the spotlight recently, as players from Manchester United and Chelsea have been victimised.

Marcus Rashford said his recent abuse was an example of "humanity and social media at its worst," just days after his Man Utd team-mates Axel Tuanzebe and Anthony Martial were also targeted.

Chelsea right-back Reece James was also racially abused online last week, saying at the time: "Something needs to change!"

Both United and Chelsea have called for harsher penalties for social media companies and it appears that the UK government is ready to answer those calls. 

In an interview with the BBC, Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden has said the government is ready to step up their efforts to stamp out online abuse.

"We are willing to take the harder, legislative measures," Dowden said. "I certainly am prepared to get tough.

"If you fail to enforce your own terms and conditions, stand up to your duty of care, then we will impose fines and we'll take the power to impose very large fines - indeed up to 10 per cent of global turnover.

"For some of these big tech firms that's running to billions of pounds."

Dowden even left open the possibility of charging senior figures at social media companies with crimes.

"As an ultimate pullback, I really don't want to have to do this, but we do reserve the right to criminal sanctions for senior management as well, in the most egregious cases," he added.

After seeing three of his players targeted, Man Utd boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer lamented the continuing displays of racism online.

"It's just incredible we have these scenes still, this abuse in 2021," Solskjaer said at a press conference last week.

"We've been campaigning for a long time now with the Premier League and I think it's working, but there are still some people that haven't got it.

"They hide behind social media, are anonymous and it's unacceptable, it's disgusting.

"The players and everyone we've spoken to, each other, and they're fine, to put it that way. They're not Manchester United fans when this happens. We're all standing behind every single one of our players."

Ajax have confirmed that they have accidentally left club-record signing Sebastien Haller out of their Europa League squad. 

Haller was brought in from West Ham last month , with the striker joining the Eredivisie giants in a €22.5 million (£20m/$28m) transfer from the Premier League outfit. 

The Ivory Coast international has started well for Ajax, scoring two goals and adding four assists in six league appearances thus far. 

But it appears that the 26-year-old is in danger of being unable to represent his new side in European competition this season, with the club confirming the mistake in a statement to AD .

“He is indeed not on the list, we are trying to find out what went wrong," said Ajax spokesman Miel Brinkhuis. "We have contacted the KNVB and UEFA."

Ajax are set to take on Lille later this month in the Europa League round of 32, with the first leg set for February 18 in France. 

Haller will at least be able to continue representing Ajax in the Eredivisie, where the club have opened up a seven-point lead atop the table.

Next up for Ajax will be a home match against Utrecht on Sunday, before a KNVB Cup quarter-final against PSV three days later. 

The Dutch giants also announced on Wednesday that highly rated teenage striker Brian Brobbey will leave the club when his contract runs out at the end of the season.

"We think it is too bad [that he's leaving] and have done everything to keep him at Ajax longer," director of football Marc Overmars told Ajax's official website . "He has chosen to play football elsewhere after the summer. It's difficult for me to accept, but it's his decision.

"Brian is still under contract with us for a few months, if we need him the trainers will call on him."

The 19-year-old, who has been compared to Romelu Lukaku and linked with a move to Real Madrid , has scored twice in six total senior appearances for Ajax this season after making his debut in October 2020.

Brobbey has also tallied 16 goals in 29 total games for the Ajax reserve side.

A Naby Laye Keita penalty secured Asante a 1-0 victory over Inter Allies in the Ghana Premier League on Wednesday.

The Guinean's 68th-minute effort, after Kwame Opoku was fouled in the box, proved the decisive factor in the match week 12 fixture at the Accra Sports Stadium.

The Porcupine Warriors are third on the league table, one point behind Karela United and Great Olympics, who are tied on 21 points at the top of the standings.

Elsewhere on Wednesday, Bechem United's hopes of possibly jumping to the top of the table were dashed by a 2-0 away loss to Berekum Chelsea, who scored through Collins Ameyaw and Kofi Owusu.

Bechem are left fourth on the standings while Chelsea have jumped out of the relegation zone to the 14th position.

After handing Liberty Professionals a 5-0 defeat on Sunday, Wafa suffered a humiliation of their own in a 3-0 away loss to Dreams FC in Dawu. Ibrahim Issah's double and Farhadu Suleiman's strike lifted Still Believe to the seventh spot, two places below Wafa.

At the Carl Reindorf Park in Dansoman, relegation-trapped Liberty and sixth-spotted Aduana Stars played out a 0-0 draw.

The result was not different from the score in Techiman where Eleven Wonders and Elmina Sharks settled for a goalless stalemate. The two clubs sit 12th and 10th, respectively, on the table.

A George Asamoah 77th-minute effort earned Ebusua Dwarfs a 2-1 home win over Ashanti Gold. Dennis Korsah-Akoumah gave the hosts the lead on the stroke of half-time before Hand Kwofie restored parity on 75 minutes.

Earlier on Tuesday, Charles Danso, Samuel Ashie-Quaye and Michael Yeboah scored to help Great Olympics to a 3-1 victory over King Faisal, whose consolation came from Boateng Frimpong.

On Thursday, 15th-placed Legon Cities will be aiming for a third straight win of the season when they host Karela at the Accra Sports Stadium.

At Akoon Park in Tarkwa, Medeama and visiting Hearts of Oak are set for a showdown, the two sides currently 13th and ninth on the table, respectively. 

Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Manqoba Mngqithi was a relieved man after his side secured a hard-fought win over Stellenbosch FC on Wednesday evening. 

The Brazilians claimed a 3-2 extra-time victory over Stellies in the Nedbank Cup Last 32 game which was played at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria. 

Sundowns looked destined to win 2-1 after Gaston Sirino scored in the first minute of stoppage time, but Stellenbosch grabbed a late equalising goal through Phathutshedzo Nange.

Brace-hero Peter Shalulile grabbed Masandawana's winning goal in the second-half of extra-time, and Mngqithi said Stellies always make the Brazilians sweat. 

What's been said

"It's one of those games we knew was going to be very difficult. We anticipated they would defend with a very low block and when they do that it demands a lot on us," Mngqithi told SuperSport TV.

"At times I thought we were moving the ball a little bit slow which did not help us to find the openings quicker. We kept demanding that. Which is why we brought on players that could play between the lines and also Thapelo [Morena] to offer us more width and speed on the side.

"To be honest, we knew it wasn't going to be an easy game. It was always going to be scrappy. But I think it was good for the viewers at home because a game with five goals is always entertaining but if you look at the goals we conceded they were very cheap goals."

"Ja, we anticipated that [Ashley] Du Preez would be a problem. I saw from the beginning of the match that he immediately occupied a position on one side of our central defence and I said 'here we go' because I knew they were looking for that space behind the defence," he continued. 

"Fortunately we dealt with those situations, but we gave away a very silly goal. But nobody will say we were not aware that Du Preez would cause problems in behind our defence, Skelem as well. Stanley [Dimgba] the Nigerian gives a very good account of himself behind the defence.

"But I must say they are a very difficult team to play. Every time we play Stellenbosch we always sweat. But I don't remember it being a five-goal game. I always remember it being one or two-goal game.

"I commend the hard work and the shift the boys put in. But we are still not assured enough in front of goal."

Why does it matter & what's the bigger picture?

Further reading

Kelechi Iheanacho scored his first Premier League goal of the season to help Leicester City secure a 2-0 victory over Fulham in Wednesday’s Premier League game.

The 24-year-old was handed his third league start of the season, spearheading the Foxes attack in the absence of Jamie Vardy.

The Nigeria international made the most of the opportunity to open his account in the English top-flight this term and helped the Foxes return to winning ways after suffering a defeat against Leeds United last time out.

Leicester started the game brightly and came close to opening the scoring in the ninth minute when Iheanacho fired a fine strike but his effort was blocked.

In the 17th minute, the Super Eagles forward then put Brendan Rodgers’ men in front when he powered home James Maddison’s cross.

Iheanacho almost doubled his side’s lead in the 25th minute when he dribbled his way into Fulham’s defence but failed to direct his shot on target.

Moments before the half-time break, James Justin doubled Leicester’s lead after a fine combination with Maddison.

Despite efforts from Fulham to try and avoid defeat, the Foxes held on to their first-half lead to secure all three points at Craven Cottage.

Iheanacho featured for the duration of the game while his compatriot Wilfred Ndidi was not listed for the encounter due to injury problems.

The Super Eagles attacker has now bagged four goals and provided four assists in 20 appearances across all competitions this season.

His compatriots Ola Aina, Tosin Adarabioyo and Ademola Lookman were on parade for the entirety of the match but could not help Fulham to avoid defeat.

With the victory, Leicester City moved to the third spot on the Premier League table after accruing 42 points from 22 games.

Fulham, meanwhile, dropped to the bottom three on the table after their failure to add to their existing 14 points.

Iheanacho will hope to continue his impressive performance when Leicester take on Wolverhampton Wanderers in their next outing on February 7.

On the other hand, Aina, Adarabioyo and Lookman will look to help Fulham end their winless run when they square off against West Ham United on Saturday at Craven Cottage.

Former Ghana and Cameroon assistant coach Ibrahim Tanko is the latest to hail Asante Kotoko's Brazilian marquee signing Fabio Gama Dos Santos.

The 28-year-old has become a fan favourite owing to a string of fine performances for the Porcupine Warriors in the Ghana Premier League.

He joined the club in a two-year deal in October last year, becoming the third Brazilian to sign for the Kumasi-based side in recent years.

"Undoubtedly, he [Gama] is a very good footballer. when you see him with the ball at his feet, you’re easily convinced he’s a good player,” Tanko told Kessben TV.

“What’s left is for him to improve on the physical aspect of the game. Ghana football is 80 per cent physical. Hopefully, he should get stronger in the second half [of the season]. Aside from that, he is a very good player."

On his full debut, Gama was at the thick of affairs in both of Kotoko's goals which ensured a 2-0 win over Liberty Professionals in Accra.

"He is a good player. He is a player with attacking instincts and always is on the front foot,” former Kotoko star Sarfo Gyamfi recently said of the Brazilian.

“If he continues to play the next five, six matches like this he will be the best. He is a very good player. You notice a quality player with how he controls and passes the ball."

Kotoko striker Kwame Opoku, who has struck a deadly partnership with the playmaker also added: "I am very excited to play with Fabio Gama because he is a very fine player and would love to see him feature in every match with me on the field.

"He's my best friend and we have good talking conditions on the training ground and this is just the beginning with a matter of time and fitness people see more than what they saw."

Gama follows countrymen Gleisson de Souza Ferreira (2005) and Hermes da Silva (2013) to play for Kotoko.

The former national U17 and U20 international previously played for Bahia, Botafago-SP, Botafago, Serrano-BA, Operario-MS, SE Gama, ABC FC, Itabaiana-SE and UR Trabalhadore in his homeland.

His last club before joining Kotoko was a stint with Jonkopings Sondra in the Swedish lower division.

Italian side Cagliari have announced the signing of Ghana international Kwadwo Asamoah.

The former Juventus and Udinese ace joins the Islanders as a free agent on a short-term deal which lasts until the end of the season.

He had been without a club since mutually parting ways with Inter Milan in October last year.

"Cagliari Calcio announces that it has acquired the signing of Kwadwo Asamoah: The player has signed a contract that binds him to the club until the end of the current season," Cagliari, currently trapped in the Serie A relegation zone in 18th position, announced on their official website.

"Asamoah combines flair, power and speed. Particularly flexible, thanks to his qualities he can play both the role of a defensive back and as a midfielder, out wide or central, making himself precious both at tackling and pushing forward.

"Temper and dynamism: as he played 270 games in Serie A, he is the African player – along as Sulley Muntari – who collected the most appearances in the top flight in the era of three point to victory. A player of big depth arrives to play for the Rossoblu, he will be able to put available all his skills and experience at the highest levels to the team.

"Welcome to Cagliari, Kwadwo!"

Asamoah is a six-time winner of Serie A, claiming the honours during his six-year stay with Juventus between 2012 and 2018. While with the Old Lady, he also won the Coppa Italia title on four occasions and the Italian Super Cup three times.

He joined Juve from Udinese, with whom he spent four years, and left for Inter in 2018 after finding himself out of Antonio Conte's plans due to a combination of injury setbacks and loss of form.

The utility player, who can play in defence and in midfield, spent two years with the Nerazzurri, helping the club finish as runners-up in the Europa League last year.

At international level, the Accra-born, who last featured for Ghana at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt, has featured in five editions of the continental showpiece with the Black Stars, in addition to playing at the 2010 and 2014 World Cup tournaments. 

Arsenal defender Hector Bellerin has vented his frustration at his side's continual struggles with red cards after two more cost them against Wolves on Tuesday.

The Gunners were up a goal at Molineux just before half-time when David Luiz conceded a penalty and was sent off for a foul on Wolves forward Willian Jose.

After Ruben Neves converted from the spot to equalise, Joao Moutinho scored for Wolves in the second half before the Gunners went down to nine men when Bernd Leno was shown a red card for a handball outside the box.

The German's sending off made a comeback nearly impossible and Arsenal fell 2-1 to Nuno Espirito Santo's struggling side.

The two red cards continued a concerning trend for the Gunners under Mikel Arteta. Since the Spaniard's first game in charge of Arsenal on Boxing Day 2019, the Gunners have been shown nine Premier League red cards, six more than any other side.

Bellerin believes that it's time for the Gunners to stop beating themselves after watching another golden opportunity to earn points on the road disappear. 

"One hundred per cent [we've had too many red cards]," Bellerin told Arsenal's official website.

"We've shown that when we're 11 against 11 on that pitch, it's completely different. We had complete control in the first half and we probably should have been 2-0 up by the end of it. We paid for those mistakes.

"I always say that teams are not beating us, we are losing against ourselves. It's for us to learn. Hopefully this will be the last time. We were on such a good run, great momentum, great confidence in the team.

"We just need to forget this step because situations like this are not going to happen very often. We'll go on to the next one."

On Wednesday, Goal confirmed that Arsenal will launch an appeal against Luiz's red card.

The Gunners believe the Brazilian's challenge was accidental and that Luiz was clearly trying to avoid any contact with Jose before the striker went down.

Arteta voiced his frustration over the decision post-match, telling reporters: "I've seen it 10 times in different angles and I cannot tell you where the contact is."

Roma general manager Tiago Pinto has confirmed that Edin Dzeko is no longer the club's captain following the striker's row with head coach Paulo Fonseca.

Dzeko clashed with Fonseca following Roma's Coppa Italia defeat to Spezia on January 19.

The Bosnian striker reportedly confronted Fonseca over the club’s decision to dismiss team manager Gianluca Gomber, which led to Dzeko being left out of the squad for Roma's two most recent Serie A matches.

Roma appeared set to move Dzeko on before the January transfer window closed, but a move away did not materialise. 

Though Dzeko will remain in the Italian capital, Pinto announced at a press conference on Wednesday that he would be replaced as captain by Lorenzo Pellegrini.

“Edin is a strong footballer, a great professional with great experience and personality and Fonseca is the leader of our project, he’s done a great job and he is the right person to build the future of the club,” Pinto said.

“Over the last few days, we’ve had meetings together in order to strengthen mutual trust. We came out happy and confident, now we must focus on the collective good which is more important than the interest of individuals.

“I am convinced a club must be based on rules, right now Edin is not the captain, but we are working for the club’s good and Dzeko will be the first one to work for this."

Pinto backed Pellegrini to shine as the club's new captain, and also revealed that Roma are working on a new deal for the 24-year-old, whose current contract expires at the end of next season.

"We all think he best represents the values ​​of our project: young, talented and with a strong identity," Pinto said of the Italy international. "Soon we will meet with his agent and we plan on resolving everything for a contract renewal."

Roma are set to face Juventus on Saturday and Pinto has said it will be up to Fonseca whether Dzeko will return to the squad.

"Dzeko on the pitch against Juve? The captain's armband involves the coach and the club, that is a shared decision," Pinto said. "On technical choices, Fonseca has full autonomy, it couldn't be otherwise."

Alisson has been ruled out of Liverpool's game with Brighton tonight.

There is no indication yet as to the exact nature of the Brazilian’s illness, or indeed its severity, but it represents another major headache for manager Jurgen Klopp ahead of what will be a pivotal few weeks at home and abroad for the reigning champions.

Klopp is already without all four of his first-choice centre-back options, with Joel Matip (ankle), Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez (both knee) all expected to miss the rest of the campaign.

Fabinho, who has stepped back from midfield successfully this season, has missed the last two games with a muscle problem, and is not part of the 20-man squad against Brighton.

Sadio Mane also misses the game having failed to recover from the injury which kept him out of Sunday’s win at West Ham. Both the Senegal star and Fabinho have a chance of being fit for this weekend’s crunch clash with Manchester City, though will need to prove their fitness at Kirkby in the next 48 hours.

The situation of Alisson, meanwhile, will be of equal concern. Caoimhin Kelleher will deputise against Brighton, the Republic of Ireland Under-21 international making only his ninth senior professional appearance in the process, and just his second in the Premier League.

Adrian will be on the bench for Liverpool, who signed Brazilian teenager Marcelo Pitaluga from Fluminense back in October.

The 18-year-old has been playing with Barry Lewtas’ U23 side in recent weeks, but trains with Klopp’s senior squad.

There was, at least, some encouraging news on the injury front with the sight of Diogo Jota back training outdoors on Wednesday.

The Portugal international has not featured since injuring his knee in the Champions League game with Midtjylland in December, but is edging ever nearer to a return.

Goal understands the 23-year-old is still a couple of weeks away from first-team consideration, however.

Uganda U20 recorded a 1-0 win over their Tanzanian counterparts in Wednesday's pre-African Cup of Nations showdown at Chamazi Sports Complex.

The Hippos’ Richard Basangwa scored the only goal that separated the two participants of the pre-Afcon tournament that also involves Namibia.

There was not much action in the first half as both teams played cautiously and few attacks were launched.

Tanzania and Simba SC’s David Kameta was yellow-carded in the 25th minute as Uganda looked determined to venture forward unlike in the opening matches.

They were rewarded with a rather deserving opener in the 43rd minute when Basangwa found the back of the net after he collected a cross from Bobosi Byaruhanga.

The Hippos were able to clutch unto the slim win until the end to condemn the hosts into an opening loss.

Confident Uganda’ head coach Morley Byekwaso had tipped the Tanzanian game to give side, especially the forwards, the best platform to sharpen their skills ahead of Afcon.

“We have worked well on our attacking department,” the coach said. “We need to practice more on scoring goals as it will help us a lot in the final tournament.

“The game against Tanzania in the mini-tournament will help us find out how much work has been done in the attack. There is no win that comes without scoring. 

“My boys are hunters, they are thirsty for goals and will score. Tanzania will be a good test.”

Uganda will leave for North Africa on February 10 before the tournament kicks off four days later.

When he named his final squad, Byekwaso retained 18 players who were part of the qualifiers in Tanzania.

The new players who were named to join the 18 are Derrick Kakooza of Police FC, Davis Sekajja of Bright Stars, KCCA FC’s Andrew Kawooya, goalkeeper Delton Oyo of Busoga United FC, Kibuli SS’s Simon Baligeya and Ivan Eyamu of Mbarara City.

The Hippos are in Group A with the hosts Mauritania, Cameroon and Mozambique. They will begin with a match against Mozambique on February 15 before facing Cameroon two days later.

The Cecafa champions will finish their group duties with a match against the hosts on February 20.

Tanzania, who lost the Cecafa finals to Uganda, are in Group C that also has Ghana, Gambia and Morocco while Group B has Burkina Faso, Tunisia, Namibia, and the Central African Republic.

The two winners from each group will be guaranteed a place in the quarter-finals of the biennial competition alongside the two best third-place finishers from any of the two groups.

The Council of Southern African Football Associations has announced plans to stage the inaugural regional Women's Champions League between May and August this year.

Cosafa had announced the introduction of a southern regional showpiece for women's clubs last August, following in the footsteps of Caf's plan to launch its Women's Champions League in 2021.

Goal understands that the Caf Women's Champions League finals will be held between November and December and Cosafa has selected mid-year for its regional playoff, with no host named yet.

While recounting its 2020 successes amid the pandemic, Cosafa general secretary Sue Destombes is relishing the prospect of the body's launching its women's club event in the sub-region.

“We are very pleased with how these events were organised under very difficult circumstances,” Destombes said in a statement.

"We take what we learnt in Nelson Mandela Bay into our planning for 2021. We have a full calendar of tournaments at this stage.

 "We are hopeful we will be able to stage them all, even in these most challenging of times.

"The highlight must the introduction of the regional Women’s Champions League, which will be a zonal qualifier for the new CAF Women’s Champions League which is coming later this year.

“We will be looking to roll it out between May and August, which will contain a preliminary round and then a final tournament. We are extremely excited about this new competition.

“We are planning for a busy year to fulfil our mandate as Cosafa, which is to develop the game on and off the pitch in the Southern African region.

"We are excited about what lies ahead for us over the next 11 months.”

According to Caf's format, this year's maiden edition will feature champions of each of the six African zones including Cosafa, along with the hosts and a wild card entry.

Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho revealed he has held talks with Dele Alli after the midfielder was a target for Paris Saint-Germain in January. 

Alli, who has been sparsely used by Mourinho in the 2020-21 season, emerged as a target at Parc des Princes when former manager Mauricio Pochettino took over from Thomas Tuchel. 

A loan switch failed to go through, however, leaving the midfielder in north London until at least the end of this season. 

Mourinho last started the England international in the Premier League on the opening day of the campaign, but following talks on Tuesday he believes there are no hard feelings between the pair.

"I had a good conversation with him yesterday, we spoke around this question that you ask me," Mourinho explained to reporters on Wednesday. 

"I think we found a very common ground, let's say. It's an important period of the season for the team, and for him also. We need him, we need a good Dele Alli. We are just waiting for him to be back to normality, training with the team.

"It's not just Dele. It's Dele, [Harry] Kane, Gio Le Celso. Without all three we miss some creation, some magic around the attacking areas.

"We need him back and I made that very sure to him.

"A conversation doesn't make miracles, it doesn't put a player in good form. But I believe the conversation was maybe the extra motivation he needed to be back as soon as possible and become available for the team."

Spurs are back in action on Thursday at home to Chelsea, where they will look to recover their best form after suffering back-to-back defeats against Liverpool and Brighton. 

They will have to do without the injured Harry Kane, but Mourinho is confident his star striker will make a rapid return. 

"He is happy with the progress; of course we are happy too," he added.

"I think it is not a very optimistic thing to say that next week he should be playing. It will just be a consequence of his good evolution.

"We are happy. We were a bit scared when everything happened but now we are much more positive.

"Next week we play Everton in midweek and Manchester City at the weekend. I believe for one of these matches he should be back."