Sevilla claim they have suffered "alarming" treatment at the hands of LaLiga referees this season and said the number of red cards shown should serve as an "urgent wake-up call" to league chiefs.

In an extraordinary statement issued by the club on Saturday, Sevilla pointed to the team receiving 91 yellows and 11 red cards despite committing just 329 fouls.

That aggregate of 102 cards is the most shown to any team in the Spanish top flight this term, despite 13 teams having more fouls to their name.

Sevilla sat 13th in the table after a 2-2 draw with Celta Vigo on Friday, in which Pape Gueye and Marcos Acuna were both dismissed and a 2-0 lead was relinquished in the closing moments.

This season's performance has been a frustrating one, after three consecutive fourth-placed finishes.

The club stated: "Sevilla FC want to place on record its deep concern and opposition to many of the refereeing decisions taken this season regarding the yellow and red cards issued to our players."

Sevilla said they "cannot agree with many of the decisions regarding the cards issued to our players, which in the long run has seriously harmed us in the league".

No team heading into Saturday's LaLiga games had received more red cards this season than Sevilla (Elche also had 11), while only Real Mallorca had been shown more yellows (98), which might be expected given they topped the fouls table (449).

"On average, one in three fouls committed by Sevilla FC results in a card," the club's statement added.

"Focusing on the match against RC Celta, Sevilla FC committed 11 fouls in the match and received four yellow cards and two reds, while Celta received two yellows for nine fouls committed.

"Sevilla FC are clearly not an aggressive team which is why these statistics are alarming.

"It is clear that many of these cards may have been for protesting, something that all players from all teams do, which shows that there is a lack of consistency in relation to protests or, to put it plainly, an outrageous leniency with some and a heavy-handedness with others."

Heading into Saturday's games, LaLiga had seen 108 red cards this season, compared to 28 in the Premier League, 33 in the Bundesliga, 50 in Serie A and 81 in Ligue 1.

While it used to be customary for LaLiga to see over 100 red cards brandished in a campaign, the three-figure threshold had not been passed in each of the last six seasons, with 103 reds in 2015-16 the last time such a figure was reached.

"The average figures for the Spanish league should lead to an urgent wake-up call," Sevilla added.

"La Liga is by far the league where referees show the most cards. The comparison with the Premier League, where a physical and much more contact-based style is played, speaks for itself: in the Premier League, with more matchdays played, 29 red cards have been shown to date; in La Liga, 108. More than triple.

"This is a striking difference. From Sevilla FC, we demand that these figures be analysed and that measures be taken when the decisions go against the spirit of the game.

"It is not about making excuses for the season the team is having. If Sevilla FC is where it is, it is based on sporting performance throughout the 28 league matches played, but it is about demanding equal treatment for all La Liga clubs and fairness when making decisions, something that unfortunately is not observed anywhere today."

Tennis great Boris Becker has emerged from a spell in prison as "a stronger, better man", having been "humbled" by his conviction for concealing assets last year.

Six-time grand slam singles champion Becker was sentenced to two and a half years in jail last April, having been found guilty of concealing £2.5million worth of assets and loans to avoid paying debts when he was declared bankrupt in 2017.

The German was released after serving eight months of his sentence in December and was subsequently deported from the United Kingdom.

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, Becker said he had learned valuable lessons from his stint inside, where his legendary tennis achievements counted for nothing. 

"Whoever says that prison life isn't hard and isn't difficult I think is lying," Becker said. "I was surrounded by murderers, drug dealers, rapists, people smugglers… by dangerous criminals.

"You fight every day for survival. Quickly you have to surround yourself with the tough boys, as I would call it, because you need protection.

"If you think you're better than everybody else then you lose. It doesn't matter that I was a tennis player. The only currency we have inside is our character and our personality. That's it, you have nothing else.

"You don't have any friends at first – you're literally on your own and that's the hard part. You have to really dig inside yourself about your qualities and your strengths but also your weaknesses."

Becker – who was previously a regular on the BBC's coverage of Wimbledon – reportedly cannot return to the UK until October 2024.

Having worked as a commentator with Eurosport in Germany for the Australian Open earlier this year, Becker is eager to rebuild his reputation. 

"I'm usually good in the fifth set – I've won the first two sets, I've lost the next two and I'm planning to win that," he said.

"It certainly humbled me, it made me realise that whether you're called Boris Becker or Paul Smith, if you break the law, you get convicted and you get incarcerated, that goes for everybody.

"I never expected the good and I certainly didn't expect the bad but I'm a survivor, I'm a tough cookie. 

"I've taken the penalties, I've taken the incarceration but I've also taken the glory and if anything this made me a stronger, better man. With my decisions in the future you can see whether I have learned from it or I didn't."

Fabinho is optimistic Liverpool can replicate their strong finish to the 2020-21 season to secure a top-four Premier League finish this term, declaring: "We are still a big team".

Liverpool sit eighth in the table following a run of three league games without a win, 10 points adrift of Newcastle United and Manchester United in third and fourth respectively, with just 10 matches remaining this campaign.

Having gone close to winning an unprecedented quadruple last term, Liverpool are now in severe danger of missing out on Champions League football for the first time since an eighth-placed finish in 2015-16, but Jurgen Klopp's men have experience of snatching a top-four spot at the last.

Liverpool looked destined to finish outside the top four during an injury-hit 2020-21 season, only to win eight of their final 10 games to end the campaign in third.

Fabinho remains hopeful the Reds can put together a similar run this term, starting with Sunday's meeting with leaders Arsenal.

"We are still Liverpool, we are still a big team," Fabinho told the club's media channels. 

"The hope and the goal is to reach the top four, so if we want this we have to start winning games. It doesn't matter who is in front of us, we just have to try to win. 

"This is the goal. We had a similar situation two seasons ago. We have to keep believing, keep trying. It's not easy – at that moment we we're not too close to the top four.

"But it doesn't matter who the teams in front of us are – we have to try to win our games and the confidence will come back. I hope we will get to the top four."

Klopp's side have won their last six home league games against the Gunners, scoring at least three goals in each of those matches (22 goals in total).

Liverpool have also won five of their last six home Premier League games (D1), and Fabinho believes playing at Anfield could prove decisive against Mikel Arteta's men.

"This season when we play at Anfield, it's usually where we play our best football," he added. 

"We played good games against big teams this season – we beat [Manchester] City, we beat Manchester United at home. 

"So yes, we will try to use the crowd and try to play our best football again because if we don't play, we can't beat Arsenal." 

Mikel Arteta is confident his Arsenal players can cope with the "jungle" atmosphere Liverpool's supporters will generate at Anfield in Sunday's Premier League contest.

Arsenal have won seven Premier League games in a row to retain a healthy lead at the summit, but they have lost each of their past six top-flight visits to Liverpool.

Gunners boss Arteta was captured playing 'You'll Never Walk Alone' during training ahead of Arsenal's most recent trip to Anfield in November 2021, which resulted in a 4-0 loss.

Speaking ahead of his side's latest visit to the red half of Merseyside this weekend, Arteta explained that rather unorthodox ploy.

"You have to prepare the players, you have to tell them what they're going to be facing and you have to recognise that," he said. 

"An error and a mistake comes after an opportunity to do that and develop yourself. You have to expose yourself.

"You cannot train the players in the zoo and then go to the jungle on Sunday. It's impossible."

While Liverpool are struggling down in eighth place, 29 points adrift of Arsenal, they have won five of their past six home league games.

The Reds have won the past three of those games by an aggregate 11-0 scoreline and have not conceded at Anfield in their last seven hours and 26 minutes of league football.

But Arteta believes his side, who are looking to complete their first league double over Liverpool since the 2009-10 campaign, can cope with whatever is thrown at them.

"The team is full of enthusiasm and positivity," he said. "We know that we have a big challenge. 

"But it is a big opportunity to go to Anfield and do something we haven't done in many years and that is what [has been] driving the team the last few days."

Ja Morant allayed concerns about an injury he sustained in Friday's win over the Milwaukee Bucks that secured the second seed in the Western Conference for the Memphis Grizzlies.

Jaren Jackson Jr. top-scored with 36 points as the Grizzlies came from a point down at half-time to comfortably beat the short-handed Bucks 137-114.

Morant finished with 12 points and eight assists despite having to leave the court early in the game following a collision with Jae Crowder.

He was later seen with a protective wrapping on his right arm for a wrist and hand issue, but the 23-year-old dismissed the significance of the injury, saying: "I'm good."

Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins confirmed that X-rays had come back negative and revealed Morant should be able to "ice it up and be good to go."

The third quarter was where Memphis effectively won the game, outscoring Milwaukee 37-15, with Jackson crediting it to "better discipline, a little bit more effort."

He added: "We figured it out and I'm glad we did."

After sealing the second seed in the west for a second season in a row, the Grizzlies will have home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

"It's very important," Morant said. "We're a very good team at home, so we obviously want that home-court advantage. Definitely big time for us."

Ederson believes Manchester City can make this their greatest ever season by winning a famous treble.

City can reduce Premier League leaders Arsenal's advantage to five points by beating bottom-of-the-table Southampton on Saturday, with the Gunners taking on Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday.

Pep Guardiola's side then face Bayern Munich in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday.

City travel to Bavaria for the second leg on April 19 and face Sheffield United in an FA Cup semi-final at Wembley three days later.

Goalkeeper Ederson thinks the Premier League champions have a great chance of getting their hands on all three trophies.

The Brazil international told Sky Sports: "I think for me personally it has been a good season but for the team as well.

"We are still in three competitions and that is really important. We are still capable of winning them all.

"In the Premier League, we are behind Arsenal but with a game in hand and a game against them at home, so we are still in the race. In the Champions League, we have a really difficult game against Bayern Munich, a good team with experience in the competition.

"In the FA Cup, we are facing a Sheffield United team that are having a really good season in the Championship.

"But we are still alive in all those competitions and the team feels in a good way. We started the season really well, had that little dip, but now it feels like we are back to our best, and if we keep that up until the end of the season, I think we have a really good chance in all three competitions."

Anthony Joshua is hoping to carry momentum from his victory over Jermaine Franklin by returning to the ring within the next three months.

Two-time heavyweight champion Joshua ended a two-fight losing streak with last weekend's unanimous points triumph over Franklin at London's O2 Arena.

Joshua went eight months between losing his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk in Saudi Arabia and facing Franklin, but he does not expect the gap to be as long this time around.

"It's been nine months since I was last in the ring and I don't want to leave it that long again," he told BBC's One Show.

"I want to get back in there in the next three months, I'd say, and just kind of get the ball rolling."

Tyson Fury has been touted as the most obvious next opponent for Joshua, who called out his countryman after overcoming Franklin 118-111, 117-111, 117-111.

"I know who the fans want – they said Fury. The ball is in his court," Joshua told DAZN in his in-ring interview.

"I would 100 per cent be honoured to compete for the WBC heavyweight championship of the world. I stand here and I say that proudly. It would be an honour."

Drawn-out talks between the camps of Joshua and Fury have broken down on multiple occasions in the past.

Joe Joyce and Dillian Whyte have both called out Joshua over the past week, but the 33-year-old is still pondering his next opponent.

"I'm definitely going to be fighting in the next three months. But against who? It's still unknown," he said.

Jurgen Klopp accepts Liverpool's season has not been good enough but insists neither he nor his players are worse than last year.

Liverpool have collected one point from their past three Premier League matches and are down in eighth in the Premier League, 10 points adrift of the top four with leaders Arsenal to come on Sunday.

The Reds not only face missing out on the Champions League places for the first time in seven full seasons under Klopp, they will also finish the campaign trophyless.

It is a far cry from 12 months ago when they had already won the EFL Cup and were in contention for three other trophies, albeit ultimately only adding the FA Cup to their collection.

Klopp, who has regularly bemoaned his side's injury issues this season, is confident Liverpool can come back stronger with some smart recruitment in the transfer window.

"It is one of these moments where it is really not good – I am not native so I can't explain it better in English," he said of his side's season to date.

"You get in this whirlwind and it sucks you in that direction and all of a sudden it's like, 'wow, where are we?'

"I am not a worse manager than last year, definitely not. It doesn't mean the outcome is good enough, not at all. But I'm not worse.

"And the players are not worse players. They just play worse. That's definitely the case. But yes, with smart recruitment we will improve – definitely. That is the plan."

Liverpool have been linked with numerous players, Borussia Dortmund's Jude Bellingham among them, but Klopp is realistic about what is possible in terms of strengthening his squad.

"The difference is whatever we do next year will never be enough from people's point of view and your [the media's] point of view," he said.

"We cannot make 24 changes and say, 'here we go' – not even 10 [changes]. But it is just that we have to make changes, smart changes, and then we go again.

"We have other moments when we think about what happens next year but this is not the moment."

Sunday's opponents Arsenal provide a source of inspiration for Klopp, the Gunners having gone from finishing fifth last season to leading the division this time around.

"I said last week that I hate the fact that I have to rely on what we did in the past," Klopp said. "I couldn't care less what we did in the past, honestly. 

"But because we can't ignore the past, it's not like we can't forget it, but if we go through this together we can have a massive benefit next year, not guaranteed but a good chance.

"So it is like it is still hidden somewhere there and we have to let it out again. Next chance for us [to do that] is Arsenal."

LeBron James feels "it is pretty cool" the Los Angeles Lakers will finish with a winning record this season after a dismal start.

The Lakers are not assured of making the playoffs, seventh in the Western Conference and set for the play-in tournament as things stand, but they are 42-39 and will finish above .500.

This comes after the Lakers started 0-5 and then 2-10, records James recalled after Friday's 121-107 victory over the Phoenix Suns.

"I was just telling AD [Anthony Davis] – I was like, 'man, can you believe that we're going to finish this season above .500? After everything that's gone on this season?'" James said.

"We've turned this thing around. And it's the regular season, obviously – there's a lot more basketball to be played – but to know that we're going to finish a few games above .500? It's pretty cool."

Darvin Ham is in his first year as a head coach and has had to cope without James for 27 games and Davis for 26.

But he is slightly more reluctant to yet reflect on a job well done, adding: "Our work is not done by a long shot.

"It'll be great at some point to think back, but hopefully I'll be thinking about this first year after we're holding the trophy or something.

"In the short form, it's a lot to be proud of. And in the long form, we've got more work to do."

Kyle Walker's future at Manchester City could be in doubt after Pep Guardiola said he "cannot" play the way he wants his full-backs to play.

The 32-year-old has only started two of City's past seven games, with John Stones preferred at right-back.

Guardiola favours a system that sees his full-backs inverted, often coming inside to join the midfield as Stones did to good effect in last week's win over Liverpool.

Speaking ahead of City's Premier League trip to Southampton, the Catalan coach did not sugarcoat the reason why he has left Walker out in recent games.

"[Walker] cannot do it. To play inside, you have to make some educated movements," Guardiola said.

"He has other characteristics. He will always have pace. He will be the fastest in this room at 60 years old."

The City manager added: "The reason why is tactical. It's not because we lost faith in Kyle.

"He can play coming inside, and he has done it many times, but like in the position [against] Liverpool with Rodri and John, he will maybe need time to do it, and we don't have time."

While City have never shied away from moving on players who Guardiola feels no longer suit his team, the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss did offer Walker the chance to adapt to try to force his way back into contention.

"What they have to do is two things," he said. "Don't complain or there will be a problem. And try to do it better and better, so when I need them, they will be ready.

"Look at Nathan [Ake] this season. Last season, he didn't play one minute, and now he is undroppable. It happens.

"Nobody has a guarantee with me. They have to earn it, and sometimes we need a different shape for the way we build up or defend. Some players adapt better than the other ones.

"They take it personally, but we are not against them. We just need something and try to use it."

If the Golden State Warriors stay healthy, Klay Thompson sees a clear path to another title this year.

With a single game of the regular season remaining, the defending champion Warriors have not yet booked their playoff spot – in large part due to the key absences they have had this year.

Stephen Curry has been restricted to 55 games so far, while Andrew Wiggins will not add to his 37 games before the postseason, although he is then expected back.

Still, the Warriors have their destiny in their hands: they will avoid the play-in tournament by winning at the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday.

That is due to an impressive 119-97 victory at the Sacramento Kings on Friday, only their 10th road win of the year.

It is not a record that suggests the Warriors will be among the leading contenders in the playoffs, but Thompson is expecting improvement in the coming weeks.

"It always feels great to win," he said after making five threes and scoring 29 points. "I think it'll click even more when Andrew's in the lineup, because he's such an important player to what we do.

"We still have another level to reach, so I think we should just keep staying humble and working hard, and we'll get there. I know we will."

Health is a key factor, but it is not the only one; the Warriors rank third in scoring (118.5 points per game) but 22nd in defense (117.3 points).

"I always say we have to value the ball more, take great shots and communicate on defense," added Thompson.

"Do those three things, and I don't see a team who can beat us in a seven-game series when we're healthy. If we do those three things going forward, I think we'll be in a great position to repeat."

Thompson's fitness at least has not been a concern this year.

He missed two and a half years through injury before returning for last season's title run, and he is back to somewhere near his best in 2022-23, scoring 21.9 points per game and leading the NBA in made threes (295).

"I've played a full season. I've missed like 13 games or whatever, but to play in almost 70 games is a huge milestone for me," Thompson said.

"To shake off the early season rust and have the shooting year I did is even more impressive.

"I give myself a pat on the back for those years of so much hard work when nobody was watching. Those were really tough times for me, and I persevered and still am hungry to be even greater than I was."

Next, though, focus turns to a must-win game in Portland, where the Warriors are 2-7 since 2017-18 – their fourth-worst road record against any opponent in that span.

Thompson added: "Anything can happen in this league, but we've got to go up there and just take care of business and play with that Warriors brand of basketball that's made us the dynasty we are."

Pittsburgh Pirates left-fielder Bryan Reynolds showed why he is one of the hottest hitters in baseball as he batted in six runs during his side's 13-9 home win against the Chicago White Sox on Friday.

Reynolds came into the game batting .417 with an OPS (on-base plus slugging) of 1.444. He improved both those figures against Chicago as he went three-for-five at the plate with a single, a triple and a home run.

The 28-year-old had four home runs in his first six games this campaign, and he connected on his league-leading fifth with a three-run shot in the fourth inning. His triple came an inning later, when he also came around to score on the hit after a fielding error.

With his performance, Reynolds improved his batting average to .448 (fourth-best in the majors) and his OPS to 1.572 (third-highest).

It was part of an action-packed contest where the two teams combined for 30 hits, including six home runs. 

Exciting 25-year-old White Sox center-fielder Luis Robert Jr blasted two homers – doubling his tally for the season – while going three-for-five with five RBIs.

Pittsburgh right-fielder Connor Joe was the one of two players to record four hits, with three doubles and a single, and he was joined by Chicago lead-off hitter Tim Anderson (four-for-five with two doubles and four runs).

The win improves the Pirates' record to 5-2 as they seek their first playoff berth since 2015.

Trout blasts his first pitch at Angel Stadium this season

Mike Trout could not have made a better start to the Los Angeles Angels' home opener as he crushed the very first pitch he saw for a home run.

The Angels went on to lose to the Toronto Blue Jays 4-3 thanks to a big three-run homer from Bo Bichette in the seventh inning, but Los Angeles' three-time AL MVP still gave the home fans something to cheer for.

After Taylor Ward was issued a lead-off walk in the first inning, Trout stepped up second and sent a first-pitch fastball 441 feet over the wall at left-center. It was Trout's second homer of the season, and he is slashing .348/.531/.696 in a hot start.

Rays remain MLB's only unbeaten team

The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Oakland Athletics 9-5 to extend their perfect start to the season to 7-0.

After back-to-back series sweeps against the Detroit Tigers and Washington Nationals to open their campaign, the Rays made a winning start against Oakland thanks to more power hitting.

Tampa Bay hit five home runs in the contest, highlighted by an Isaac Paredes grand slam in the second inning. Harold Ramirez (second inning), Manuel Margot (third inning), Christian Bethancourt (third inning) and Wander Franco (eighth inning) also sent a ball each over the fence.