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• Tonali set for August return after receiving suspended two-month ban from FA

  Sandro Tonali has been given a suspended two-month ban by the Football Association (FA) after admitting to breaching gambling rules.

  The sanction means the Newcastle United midfielder will be eligible to return to action on August 27, 2024, when his 10-month suspension issued by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) expires.

  FIFA ratified that ban, causing it to become applicable worldwide, after Tonali admitted to placing bets on matches as part of an investigation into unregulated betting platforms in Italy.

  In March, the FA charged Tonali with breaching English football's gambling rules 50 times between August and October last year, leading to fears his spell out of the game could be extended. 

  However, on Thursday it was confirmed that the FA had suspended Tonali's punishment for the duration of the 2024-25 season, meaning he can return in August if he does not reoffend.

  In a statement, Newcastle said: "Sandro Tonali has been given a suspended two-month ban from competitive football by an independent regulatory commission after self-declaring breaches of FA betting rules.

  "He has also been fined £20,000 and warned by the FA as to his future conduct.

  "Provided that he does not commit any further breach of the FA betting rules during the suspension period, Sandro will not serve any part of the two-month sanction.

  "As acknowledged by the FA in the independent regulatory commission's written reasons, the level of assistance Sandro has provided by self-referring and fully cooperating with a subsequent investigation is extraordinary and unprecedented. 

  "Sandro is continuing to follow a therapeutic plan and educational programme with the club's full support and will continue to train with his team-mates."

  Tonali's initial ban has limited him to just eight Premier League appearances since he joined Newcastle from Milan in a £55million deal, while he will also miss Italy's Euro 2024 campaign.

• Will Still leaves Reims job with immediate effect

  Will Still has left his role as Reims head coach with immediate effect, the Ligue 1 club announced on Thursday.

  Still took over as Reims boss – initially on an interim basis – after Oscar Garcia was sacked in October 2022 and went unbeaten through his first 19 league games at the helm.

  The 31-year-old was eventually handed the role on a permanent basis and led Reims to an 11th-placed finish in Ligue 1 in 2022-23, with his lack of a UEFA Pro Licence causing the club to be fined €25,000 per match until he began the course.

  Reims are currently 11th in Ligue 1 again, though they are winless in their last five games and have lost each of their last three. 

  In a statement, the club said: "Following a meeting this morning between president Jean-Pierre Caillot, general manager Mathieu Lacour and head coach Will Still, it was mutually agreed that the two parties would not continue the sporting adventure together next season.

  "In order to allow Reims to confidently look forward to the next year, it was also decided that Will Still and his deputy Nicolas Still would step down from their respective functions as of today."

  Still was linked with the Sunderland job earlier this season and said in February that he would be open to joining an "ambitious" Championship club. 

• Postecoglou praises Pochettino's success at Spurs

  Ange Postecoglou says Mauricio Pochettino’s time at Tottenham was a success despite him not winning any trophies.

  Spurs will face their former manager’s Chelsea side at Stamford Bridge on Thursday, with both teams needing points in the race for a top-seven finish.

  Pochettino led Spurs to a Champions League final and three consecutive top-three finishes in the Premier League during his five-year spell between 2014 and 2019.

  The Argentinian failed to lift a trophy in his time at the club, but Postecoglou thinks it is unfair to use that as a baseline for Pochettino’s success.

  "I mean it's a funny one you know because if all we measure sort of success on is just trophies, then okay. You know, but I don't think that's what life's about,” he said.

  "I think anyone who doesn't think that Mauricio's five and a half years here were successful, doesn't really appreciate, I think, football for what it is because, you know, to get to the Champions League final, to, you know, come runners-up in the toughest league in the world.

  "There's no silverware but in my mind, particularly the way he developed that group, I think he was a success.

  "This is the business we're in and we get measured by – most of us get measured by other things so we've got to accept that."

  Spurs have not won a trophy this season, but they are still in the race for a Champions League spot and sit seven points behind Aston Villa with two games in hand.

  Asked about his own success in his first season at the club, he added: "They're not questions I need to ask, or I need to sort of investigate.

  "As I said, I go by what I see now, today, what's important to me today. What's important to me is how the lads train and get ready for a big game."