Vinicius Junior watched on from the stands as his fellow Brazilian Rodrygo sealed a 2-1 victory for Real Madrid against Rayo Vallecano in LaLiga.

Madrid winger Vinicius was racially abused by Valencia supporters during Los Blancos' defeat at Mestalla Stadium on Sunday, with the winger then sent off.

With that red card rescinded, injury kept Vinicius from featuring against Rayo on Wednesday, though Karim Benzema's finish had seemingly set Madrid on their way to a comfortable victory.

Raul de Tomas' excellent strike pegged Madrid back, but Rodrygo lashed home in the 89th minute to lift Los Blancos, temporarily at least, into second place.

Rayo were the more threatening in the opening exchanges – Alvaro Garcia heading over between Unai Lopez and Santi Comesana forcing Thibaut Courtois into action.

Yet Madrid went ahead just after the half-hour mark as Rayo were caught napping at a drop-ball, which was taken quickly by Toni Kroos. Federico Valverde and Benzema combined brilliantly to put the latter through and, after coolly rounding Stole Dimitrievski, he tucked home.

Moments after an untimely slip from Rodrygo saw a golden chance go begging for Madrid, Dimitrievski brilliantly denied Benzema a second, instinctively sticking out a hand to keep a close-range shot out.

Dani Carvajal volleyed wide from Luka Modric's chip as Madrid looked to put the game to bed, a wise decision given their record of two defeats from their previous four meetings with Rayo.

Madrid's failure to add to their lead looked to have proved costly with six minutes remaining, substitute De Tomas thumping in a brilliant equaliser.

But Rodrygo had the last laugh with his powerful last-gasp strike, with the 22-year-old raising his right fist in a celebration synonymous with the "black power" salute.

LaLiga president Javier Tebas has apologised for suggesting Vinicius Junior was being “manipulated” when the Real Madrid winger called out racism he has suffered in Spain.

The Brazil international took to social media to speak out after being abused in Sunday’s game at Valencia, saying it was a problem he had endured throughout the league.

Tebas’ response on Twitter, in which he said “Before you criticise and insult LaLiga, you need to inform yourself well, Vini Jr. Don’t let yourself be manipulated”, was roundly criticised for not addressing the issue and the LaLiga boss has now said sorry.

“I think that the message, and the intention I had, was not understood by a significant number (of people), especially in Brazil,” he told ESPN Brazil.

“I did not want to attack Vinicius, but if most people understood it that way, I need to apologise. It was not my intention, I expressed myself badly, at a bad time.

“But I had no intention of attacking Vinicius, but rather clarifying a situation, because Vinicius had recorded a video supporting LaLiga’s actions.”

Tebas, in defending the league’s approach – especially in relation to Vinicius – added: “If I hurt someone, they thought I was racist, it’s far from reality.

“I feel sorry for what happened, and that’s why we denounced it. And we didn’t just denounce it, we took special actions at his games.

“We spoke to the clubs, so that they could provide more security, identify fans. LaLiga takes care of Vinicius. And, if they misunderstood what happened I have to apologise.”

Vinicius threatened to leave the pitch in the second half at the Mestalla after being subjected to alleged monkey chants and Real, who said the incident constituted a “hate crime”, filed a complaint with the Spanish State Attorney General’s Office.

Valencia were given a partial stadium ban for five matches and fined 45,000 euros (£39,000) – a punishment the club called “totally disproportionate” as they confirmed they would lodge an appeal, while head coach Ruben Baraja vowed to fight back against “smears”.

England manager Gareth Southgate has led calls for stricter punishment since his side came close to walking off the field after players were subjected to racial abuse during a match in Bulgaria in 2019.

“It is a disgusting situation. I think it is so bad that it looks like it is going to force change. I am hoping there will be something positive to come from it,” Southgate said on Wednesday.

“If anyone suggests to me we don’t have a problem in society with racism then there is another example of what we are dealing with, and more examples of people burying their heads in the sand, quite frankly.

“Hopefully it is a story that doesn’t just disappear in 24-48 hours without there being some significant change.”

Vinicius, whose red card against Valencia on Sunday was rescinded, missed Real’s game at home to Rayo Vallecano with a minor knee complaint but was at the ground to see his team-mates wear shirts with his number and name on the back before kick-off.

Kieran Dowell is relishing the pressure after signing for Rangers.

Ahead of their home cinch Premiership game against Hearts on Wednesday night, the Light Blues announced the pre-contract capture of the 25-year-old midfielder from Norwich on a three-year deal.

Dowell, who will officially become a Rangers player on July 1, told the club’s official website: “I’m buzzing and really glad to get it done early towards the end of the season.

“I know a lot of Rangers fans and Scottish lads from my previous clubs, and they just speak so highly of Rangers – the intensity of it, the pressure of it – and that is a really good pressure as you are expected to win every game.

“There were so many positives for me to come here.”

Dowell, who has had various loan spells at Nottingham Forest, Sheffield United, Derby and Wigan, becomes Michael Beale’s first signing of the summer as preparations begin for the 2023/24 campaign.

Dowell represented England at youth level and played his part in winning the Under-20 World Cup in 2017.

Beale said: “I am delighted to welcome Kieran to Rangers. He already has great experience in his career, with a number of Premier League appearances, and he is a player we feel will fit well into our squad and our style of football.

“I have seen him develop as a young player through the Everton academy and also through the England junior and under-21 team.

“He is a good fit for our squad and has already been a team-mate of Tom Lawrence, John Lundstram and Todd Cantwell in previous clubs.

“It is fantastic, as a club, to be able to complete our first signing ahead of the summer break and I am excited to see what the future holds for Kieran at Rangers.”

Carlisle boss Paul Simpson insists he never thought his side would be in the fight for promotion as they prepare for their Sky Bet League Two play-off final with Stockport on Sunday.

The Blues qualified for the play-offs after finishing the regular campaign in fifth position and came from behind in the tie against Bradford to book their place at Wembley, with a 3-2 aggregate win.

Simpson took over at Brunton Park in February 2022 with the club battling against relegation to the National League and has gone on to lead them to within one game of promotion.

The 56-year-old is aiming for his third promotion with the Cumbrian club, having been player-manager from 2003 to 2006, but admitted a lot of work needed to be done when he walked through the door.

Simpson told the PA news agency: “No, I did not think we would have been in this position.

“There were lots of things that needed to be changed. I didn’t think it was an absolute disaster but certain issues needed to be resolved.

“It was a big challenge to try bring all the different factions of the football club back together – there was a big difference between the office staff and players, there was not a good feeling with that, dislike towards the directors, no local businesses involved. I wanted to bring everyone back together.

“Everyone has pulled together over the last five home games where we are getting big crowds and that has been really satisfying.”

The Blues come up against Stockport, who are aiming to make it back-to-back promotions after they were crowned champions of the National League last season, and will aim to do what Simpson did with Carlisle in his previous spell in charge, taking them from non-league to the third tier in consecutive years.

The United boss knows his side were under-estimated heading into the post-season, but has acknowledged the size of the task in hand if they are to stop Stockport – a side that finished the season unbeaten in 13 before coming from behind to beat Salford in their respective play-off semi-final.

Simpson continued: “Some of our local media were saying that we are the team that everyone wanted to play.

“I find it disappointing and disrespectful to the players that have been outstanding all season.

“We haven’t achieved anything apart from getting to Wembley and now we have to try and get a promotion. When you get to a play-off final there is nothing for coming second.

“I’m sure the stadium and surroundings will get to the players – I know from experience what Wembley does to players and staff so it’s our job to help each other.”

Callum Guy helped put Carlisle in front with a terrific strike in extra-time last weekend against one of his former teams, scoring just his fourth goal in Blues colours.

The 26-year-old is aiming to win his first promotion as a player.

He said: “The weekend can’t come quick enough.

“I’ve not scored a league goal before this year but I’ve managed to score four this year. I think I’ve just taken a few more risks this year, obviously it helps when my team is doing really well.

“We’ve showed over the two legs against Bradford, with the crowds that have been there, we can handle the big occasion and we can score goals in them.”

Crystal Palace have confirmed captain Luka Milivojevic and midfielder James McArthur will leave at the end of the season.

The duo are two of the most experienced members of the Eagles’ squad with McArthur joining the club in 2014 while Milivojevic signed during the 2016-17 campaign.

Former Serbia international Milivojevic has played 198 times for Palace and scored 28 goals, which puts him third in the club’s all-time Premier League goal-scorer standings.

Chairman Steve Parish told the official club website: “We have been lucky to have a professional like Luka at the club for so long.

“He has contributed an immense amount to the team both on and off the pitch and is a crucial figure in our long stay in the Premier League.”

Milivojevic added: “It has been a privilege to spend almost seven years at such a special club.

“When I look at the club now compared to when I arrived, I see a team full of ambition to reach higher and higher – you can be sure I will be following the results from afar.

“To play in the Premier League is every player’s dream and to do it for so long at Crystal Palace has been an honour. I hope that I have made you all proud.”

Meanwhile, McArthur will depart after racking up 252 appearances for Palace since he joined from Wigan nine years ago.

Parish added: “An absolute stand-out professional, on and off the pitch, James’ leadership and character will be hard to replace.

“I’d like to personally thank him for his contribution to the club and wish him and his family nothing but the very best for the future. We look forward to one day welcoming him back; he will always be welcome at Selhurst Park.”

McArthur said: “If you’d have told me when I first came to Crystal Palace that I’d be here for nine seasons, I’d have found it hard to believe because it’s rare in football to spend so long at such an amazing Premier League club.

“The support that I’ve had personally and the support that they give the team is like at no other club.

“When times are tough, Palace fans really get behind the team, and that’s so important to all of us. I will always be a fan of the club.”

Palace have several other players out of contract this summer, including Wilfried Zaha, and finish their season at home to Nottingham Forest on Sunday.

Raheem Sterling was the headline absentee as Gareth Southgate handed Eberechi Eze his first England call-up and ended Lewis Dunk’s time in the international wilderness.

Having kicked off Euro 2024 qualification with wins over Italy and Ukraine, attention turns to June’s straightforward-looking doubleheader against Malta and North Macedonia.

Sterling is the most eye-catching absentee for those games as a difficult first season since swapping Manchester City for Chelsea comes to a frustrating conclusion.

The 28-year-old has not played for England since the World Cup quarter-final exit to France – when a burglary at home disrupted his preparations – as injury ruled him out of the March camp.

“I spoke with him a week or so ago – a general catch-up,” England boss Southgate said.

“He’s not happy physically with his condition, having been carrying a hamstring problem. He really wasn’t in consideration.

“So, we didn’t get to the point of whether he should be in or out. He doesn’t think he is operating at the level he needs.”

A representative for Sterling called it a “mutual decision” that allows the player to focus on “recuperating his body in preparation for the upcoming season”.

The 28-year-old is determined to play a key role for England next term and Southgate says he can get back into the fold ahead of next year’s finals, as can omitted Tottenham defender Eric Dier.

“As we’ve shown with Tyrone (Mings) coming back (this time) and other players like Trent (Alexander-Arnold) coming back in, the door is always open when players are playing well,” Southgate told BBC Radio 5 Live.

“Eric and Raheem both have physical issues really at the moment that they’re dealing with, so there’s part of that is behind that decision as well.

“But there’s another year to go before the Euros and it’s possible for everybody to get in that squad.”

Mings, Alexander-Arnold, Callum Wilson and Sam Johnstone returned to the England squad as Southgate has largely stuck with the tried and tested for the Group C games, with Crystal Palace attacking midfielder Eze the only uncapped player named in the group.

The 24-year-old finally get his shot with England after an Achilles injury cost him a place in the provisional Euro 2020 squad.

“We have liked him for a long time,” Southgate said.

“He was very unfortunate just before the Euros. We were going to call him into a prep camp to have a look at him and he got a bad injury.

“I remember talking to Roy Hodgson about him then and Roy telling me he’d picked up an injury in training that day.

“I think he has finished the season really strongly, he can play in a couple of positions across that attacking line.

“He’s a goal threat, he’s got nice ability and bursts of speed to go past people and to take people out of the game with dribbling skills.

“We’re looking forward to seeing him a bit closer and everybody I speak to talks brilliantly about him as a person as well.”

Dunk has played for England but the Brighton captain has not been selected since winning his first cap against the United States in November 2018.

“Brighton’s football this year has been exceptional and Lewis Dunk and Levi Cowell have been a big part of that,” Southgate said.

“He’s shown great composure with the ball, he’s asked to defend very often one against one situations and he thoroughly deserves his call.”

The squad also includes Marcus Rashford, who missed March’s fixtures and last featured for England in a qualifier in the run to the last Euros.

“He’s a super player who’s had a really good season, so he’s an important player for us,” Southgate told talkSPORT.

“We’ve not been blessed with having him to be able to put in the team too often but we’re hoping that’s different. And we’re looking forward to seeing him again.”

There is no place for Ben White, who has not featured for England since leaving Qatar after the World Cup group stage due to personal reasons.

“I spoke with Ben before the camp in March,” Southgate added.

“But at the moment, we’ve got (Kieran) Trippier and (Kyle) Walker in that area of the pitch.

“He’s had a very good season, as have the whole Arsenal team, but he’s not ahead of those guys at the moment.”

Reading boss Kelly Chambers has challenged her players to leave everything on the pitch when they host Women’s Super League title chasers Chelsea looking to pull off a shock result to stay up.

The Royals remain bottom on the back of a 4-1 defeat by Tottenham, but still with a mathematical chance to retain their top-flight status after Leicester were beaten at home by West Ham.

It would take an unexpected victory at the Select Car Leasing Stadium over the Blues, who are out to clinch a fourth successive title, coupled with Leicester losing at Brighton for Reading to extend their eight-year stay in the WSL.

Chambers, though, maintains her squad simply have to produce the required performance against Chelsea on Saturday – which was distinctly lacking last weekend.

“As tough as the challenge ahead is for us, it is a game of football,” said Chambers, who has been with the club for more than 20 years both as a player and in her coaching roles.

“We need to prepare well, to do everything we can and training has been really good this week in terms of energy and just making sure that we work tactically.

“As much as it is a hard position to be in right now, the players have really attacked the week in a positive mindset to try to do everything they can for the weekend.”

Chambers added: “I have probably been saying this for a couple of games, but however it has come about, we are still in the fight.

“It is an opportunity which we have to give 100 per cent, which we didn’t do against Tottenham. We have to leave everything out there.

“We are where we are and for different reasons, and I suppose honest conversations have happened.

“But we can’t come off disappointed that we haven’t given our best and I think that is how we felt against Tottenham, that we didn’t put ourselves in a good light in that game.

“If we do that and we get beaten by a better team on the day, then we can hold our hands up – but we can’t let it be down to ourselves again.”

Chambers confirmed Wales midfielder Rachel Rowe will miss Saturday’s final match of the season as she continues her recovery from injury.

“We are only looking at probably about eight weeks,” Chambers said.

“Obviously it being at the end of the season, we have got time to take with her and haven’t got to rush her back for big games.

“It is more of a plan that we can take the time with her and make sure that everything for her is 100 per cent right before she comes back into pre-season.”

Chelsea must move beyond football’s tendency to be reactionary if the club hope to create a long-term vision for their future, according to Frank Lampard.

Co-owner Todd Boehly has sacked two managers this season in what has been the team’s poorest campaign of the Premier League era, with a record low number of points won and a first bottom-half finish since 1996 now certain.

They are one of 11 top-flight clubs to have changed manager at least once this season, with themselves, Leeds and relegated Southampton having dispensed with two, as the average tenure for a Premier League coach has shrunk to just over 18 months.

Chelsea’s previously indifferent form has plummeted since Graham Potter was removed on April 2, with one win in 10 games in all competitions. The team has failed to score in six of those matches following Potter’s sacking.

Lampard takes his team to face Manchester United at Old Trafford on Thursday looking for only his second win in his 10th game since taking charge, having lost seven of the previous nine.

With Mauricio Pochettino expected to be confirmed imminently as the manager for next season, the outgoing interim coach suggested a resistance to modern trends must prevail if Chelsea are to challenge once more.

“That stat (11 clubs having sacked their manager) says it, I presume it’s a record,” said Lampard. “There are understandable factors, the Premier League brand and what it means to teams to stay in there.

“The first person that receives the blame is the coach, if you understand that going into the job that’s probably a good thing.

“Or course there’s lots of other factors. You wonder how successful always it is to changes those things. It’s clear it’s become that kind of a job and a situation and there are many teams that are fighting with expectations that might not be exactly stable.

“We’re in a very reactionary world anyway. In years gone by the reaction to one, two, three defeats might have been different. Now we have this explosion very quickly and you just have to understand it when you’re doing this job.”

The job of finding Potter’s permanent replacement has been carried out by co-sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart, who themselves arrived at the club only during the last year.

Previously Boehly held the role of temporary sporting director and was hands-on in player recruitment and in the doomed appointment of former Brighton boss Potter.

Lampard said he had enjoyed working with Winstanley and Stewart and that the pair have created a working environment around the club to help his successor succeed.

The new manager’s first job will be trimming a bloated first-team squad before setting about making up a gap to the top four that could hit 30 points this campaign.

“The dialogue has been really good from the moment this opportunity came up for me,” Lampard said. “I’ve been able to get on well with them on a personal and professional level and it’s nice to have that close communication.

“Working in this job you understand when you don’t have communication on the footballing side, you miss it. With both of them, Paul and Lawrence, I’ve had that in their own ways and that’s been a good thing and I appreciate that.

“Their big job is to bring Chelsea back to where we want to get it to. The responsibility isn’t all theirs but they play an important role in it. I’ve been impressed by how our interactions have been and I wish them well going forward.

“There’s a real alignment of thinking through (successful clubs). Where we are at the minute, that would be the work process of trying to see where are we aligned and where do we want to get to and what does it look like? There’s a lot of work in that and in Paul and Laurence we have good people to do that.

“It’s hard in the modern world because everything’s very reactionary. If you want to go in a certain direction and you don’t get any joy for a while, people react to that. For Chelsea it has to be a longer picture than that to get us a bit more of a process. People have to stick with that along the way.”

Gareth Southgate criticised the wide-reaching nature of Ivan Toney’s eight-month betting ban and told the suspended England striker he can still make next summer’s Euros.

The 27-year-old made his international debut as a substitute against Ukraine in March’s Euro 2024 qualifier but the Brentford star will not be able play for club or country again this year.

Toney was charged with 262 betting offences at the end of 2022 and was last week hit with an eight-month Football Association ban after admitting 232 breaches.

The striker starts the suspension by watching the end of the campaign and England’s June qualifiers from afar, with Southgate raising concerns about the sweeping impact of the ban.

“I have spoken with him,” the England boss said. “I don’t know if that’s allowed, by the way, but f it isn’t then they can ban me and not add to his.

“Look, the ban is the ban. It is what it is. I think he recognised and accepted the punishment.

“What bothers me is we’ve got to look after people. He’s injured at the moment, what does he do about getting fit? What does he do?

“How do we give him some structure over the next few months that he can develop himself or be a better person at the end of it? Or have experiences that he might not experience?

“I don’t like the idea that we just leave somebody, so that they are not allowed to be a part of the football community.

“I don’t think that’s how we should work, I don’t think that’s how the best rehabilitation programmes would work.

“But he knows that we picked him because we felt until there was a charge, he should be allowed to play.

“When he comes back, if he plays well then we’ll pick him.

“It won’t have any bearing but I think he’ll have additional motivation through what he is experiencing. I think he is a resilient guy with great character and we are here to support him.”

Toney is prohibited from training until September 17 and cannot play football again until January 17, 2024.

There is only four-and-a-half months between the striker’s return and the Euros kicking off in Germany, but Southgate says the door remains open for him.

Asked if Toney can still make the tournament in Germany, the England boss said: “Yeah, without a doubt.

“It is not ideal because he is going to miss a large chunk of the season and you don’t know after that sort of period out how physically he’s going to adapt and how he’s going to play.

“But it’s possible for him. There would still be time.

“He’s really impressed us with the way he’s played.

“I like personality, I like his belief and the way he goes about his job, so everything is still possible for him I think.”

Gareth Southgate believes the fight against racism in football may have reached a defining moment as the fall-out from the abuse levelled against Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior in Valencia last weekend continues.

The England boss has led calls for stricter punishment since his side came close to walking off the field after some players were subjected to racial abuse during a match in Bulgaria in 2019.

Vinicius threatened to leave the pitch in the second half of Sunday’s LaLiga match at the Mestalla after being subjected to alleged monkey chants from the crowd and Real Madrid, who said the incident constituted a “hate crime”, filed a complaint with the Spanish State Attorney General’s Office.

In response, Valencia were given a partial stadium ban for five matches plus a fine of 45,000 euros (£39,000) – a punishment the club called “totally disproportionate”, while Valencia head coach Ruben Baraja vowed to lead the fight back against what he described as “smears”.

Southgate said: “It is a disgusting situation. I think it is so bad that it looks like it is going to force change. I am hoping there will be something positive to come from it.

“If anyone suggests to me we don’t have a problem in society with racism then there is another example of what we are dealing with, and more examples of people burying their heads in the sand, quite frankly.

“Hopefully it is a story that doesn’t just disappear in 24-48 hours without there being some significant change.”

The action by the Spanish football federation (RFEF), who order that Valencia shut the Mario Kempes south stand, where the alleged abuse happened, for five matches, was strongly criticised by the club, who vowed to appeal.

That criticism was echoed by Baraja in a prepared statement prior to a press conference on Wednesday, in which he stressed he was “absolutely against racism”, but added: “I am not going to allow the Valencia CF fans and Mestalla to be smeared with labels that do not represent us.

“Just as a player rightly fights back against insults and I support that with all my might, we as a club and a fanbase rebel against those who, during the days since the game, have accused us of being what we are not.”

Earlier, Valencia had issued a robust statement against the ruling, saying: “Valencia CF wishes to show its total disagreement and indignation at the unfair and disproportionate penalty imposed by the competition committee on the club with the closure of the stand for five games.

“Valencia CF wants to publicly denounce that in this resolution of the RFEF competition committee they show evidence that contradicts what the national police and LaLiga say.

“In addition, this sanction is based on evidence that the club has not been able to see and without giving us a hearing.

“Valencia CF has condemned, condemns and will condemn in the most energetic way any act of racism or violence. These behaviours have no place in football or in society and we will continue to act in the most forceful way to eradicate this scourge.

“For this reason, Valencia CF is collaborating from the first minute with the police and all relevant authorities to clarify the events that occurred last Sunday.

“In addition, it has applied the maximum possible sanction with the expulsion for life from our stadium to the fans that the police have identified for their racist behaviour.

“For this reason we consider that penalising and depriving all the fans who were not involved in these unfortunate incidents from seeing their team is a totally disproportionate, unfair and unprecedented measure against which we will fight.

“The fight against racism requires the real commitment of all the parties involved without using it as a pretext to incur serious injustices.

“Valencia CF will appeal to the last instance the closure of the stand, a sanction that it considers totally unfair and one more offence in the latest disciplinary decisions that have been taken against the club. Valencia CF asks for the utmost respect and rigour for our institution and fans.”

In announcing the punishment against Valencia, the RFEF said in a statement: “The competition committee has sanctioned Valencia CF with the partial closure of the Mestalla stadium for five matches, more specifically the Mario Kempes south stand, following the events that occurred during the league match between the local team and Real Madrid CF.

“It is considered proven that, as reflected by the referee in his minutes, there were racist shouts at Vinicius, a Real Madrid CF player, during the aforementioned match, altering the normal course of the match and considering the infractions very serious.”

Valencia head coach Ruben Baraja has said his club will fight back against “smears” after they were handed a five-game partial stadium closure and hefty fine following the racist abuse aimed at Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior.

Speaking at a press conference, Baraja stressed he was “absolutely against racism”, but echoed Valencia’s earlier claim that the sanction was “unfair and disproportionate”, and added: “I am not going to allow the Valencia CF fans and Mestalla to be smeared with labels that do not represent us.

“Just as a player rightly fights back against insults and I support that with all my might, we as a club and a fanbase rebel against those who, during the days since the game, have accused us of being what we are not.”

Vinicius threatened to leave the pitch in the second half of Sunday’s LaLiga match at the Mestalla after being subjected to alleged monkey chants from the crowd and Real Madrid, who said the incident constituted a “hate crime”, filed a complaint with the Spanish State Attorney General’s Office.

In response, Valencia have been ordered to shut the Mario Kempes south stand, where the alleged abuse happened, for five matches and have also been fined 45,000 euros (£39,000) by the Spanish football federation (RFEF).

Reacting to that sanction, Valencia said in a strongly worded statement on Tuesday evening: “Valencia CF wishes to show its total disagreement and indignation at the unfair and disproportionate penalty imposed by the competition committee on the club with the closure of the stand for five games.

“Valencia CF wants to publicly denounce that in this resolution of the RFEF competition committee they show evidence that contradicts what the national police and LaLiga say.

“In addition, this sanction is based on evidence that the club has not been able to see and without giving us a hearing.

“Valencia CF has condemned, condemns and will condemn in the most energetic way any act of racism or violence. These behaviours have no place in football or in society and we will continue to act in the most forceful way to eradicate this scourge.

“For this reason, Valencia CF is collaborating from the first minute with the police and all relevant authorities to clarify the events that occurred last Sunday.

“In addition, it has applied the maximum possible sanction with the expulsion for life from our stadium to the fans that the police have identified for their racist behaviour.

“For this reason we consider that penalising and depriving all the fans who were not involved in these unfortunate incidents from seeing their team is a totally disproportionate, unfair and unprecedented measure against which we will fight.

“The fight against racism requires the real commitment of all the parties involved without using it as a pretext to incur serious injustices.

“Valencia CF will appeal to the last instance the closure of the stand, a sanction that it considers totally unfair and one more offence in the latest disciplinary decisions that have been taken against the club. Valencia CF asks for the utmost respect and rigour for our institution and fans.”

In announcing the punishment against Valencia, the RFEF said in a statement: “The competition committee has sanctioned Valencia CF with the partial closure of the Mestalla stadium for five matches, more specifically the Mario Kempes south stand, following the events that occurred during the league match between the local team and Real Madrid CF.

“It is considered proven that, as reflected by the referee in his minutes, there were racist shouts at Vinicius, a Real Madrid CF player, during the aforementioned match, altering the normal course of the match and considering the infractions very serious.”

LaLiga players and officials called for racism to be tackled in Spain in the wake of Sunday’s match.

Before Tuesday night’s games between Real Valladolid and Barcelona, and Celta Vigo and Girona, players from both sides, as well as the match officials, stood behind banners which read ‘Racism, out of football’.

LaLiga shared a pre-match clip from the Celta-Girona game on its official Twitter account with the hashtag #JUNTOSContraElRacismo (#TOGETHERagainstRacism).

The footage also showed a supporter holding up a placard with ‘No Al Racismo’ (No to Racism) written on it.

There were similar sentiments at the Valladolid-Barcelona game as fans showed their support for Brazil international Vinicius.

Barcelona forward Raphinha removed his shirt when substituted to show a message which read: “As long as the colour of the skin is more important than the brightness of the eyes, there will be war.”

Vinicius was not included in Real’s 23-man squad for Wednesday night’s LaLiga match against Rayo Vallecano at the Bernabeu.

The forward’s red card against Valencia had been rescinded by the RFEF but the 22-year-old did not train on Tuesday, with Real coach Carlo Ancelotti saying the winger had some discomfort in his knee.

A woman bombarded Chelsea midfielder Mason Mount with messages in a four-month stalking campaign after he broke off their relationship, a court has heard.

TikToker Orla Melissa Sloan, 21, pleaded guilty to stalking the 24-year-old and his former team-mate Billy Gilmour, 21, as well as harassing fellow Blues star Ben Chilwell, 26, at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.

The court heard she slept with Mount, who had surgery on a pelvic injury last month, after they met at a party at his England team-mate Chilwell’s home in November 2020.

Prosecutor Jason Seetal said they stayed in contact for around six months before Mount “decided that the relationship was not going to progress”.

“Upon informing Miss Sloan of this, he has been subjected to a bombardment of messages,” he said.

“He began asking her to stop messaging him before blocking the number.

“He then began to receive messages from new numbers and each time he would block those numbers there would be messages from a different number.”

Mr Seetal said a total of 21 different numbers were used to contact Mount with some messages including collages of photos of the player with other women.

The court heard that in one message from an Instagram account using the name ‘Devil Baby’, she said: “I can morph at any time so let me apologise and set things right.”

Another showed an Apple account buying a new number for £12.99 with the words: “I’m not buying food anymore so I can get more numbers. I will be faster than you.”

Mr Seetal said Mount was “concerned she had an obsession or fixation with him and he didn’t know what she was capable of”.

In a statement, Mount said: “Miss Sloan knows roughly where I live and where I train.

“I’m worried as if she is unable to contact me she might turn up at my training centre.”

The court heard other messages were aimed at professional footballers, friends and family members, including left-back Chilwell.

He told how he found Sloan’s behaviour “erratic”, while Scotland midfielder Gilmour said her messages had a “huge impact” on his life, after he joined Brighton from Chelsea last September.

“I have not been able to sleep and have had to take sleeping tablets,” he said.

“It’s had a negative effect on my performance and professional life.”

“Being in a new town where I don’t have my friends or family, it’s really upsetting.”

The court heard Gilmour had initially exchanged messages with Sloan before telling her he did not want their contact to continue and did not have a relationship with her.

But she claimed to have fallen pregnant in allegations described in court as “completely fictitious”.

“I don’t know who I can trust anymore,” Gilmour said.

“Some of the information would only have been known by people close to me.”

Sloan, from Exeter, pleaded guilty to causing “serious alarm or distress” by stalking Gilmour between September 10 and October 28 last year.

She also admitted stalking Mount between June 19 and October 28 last year, as well as causing harassment to Chilwell between October 20 and October 29, 2022.

District Judge Neeta Minhas adjourned sentencing to June 20 for reports to be prepared, telling her the most serious offence, against Gilmour, crossed the custody threshold.

She was granted unconditional bail.

Jordi Alba’s glittering Barcelona career will come to a close at the end of the season after the LaLiga giants announced they had reached an agreement to terminate his contract.

The 34-year-old, who current deal was due to expire at the end of 2023/24, has made 458 appearances for the club and won 19 major trophies since he made his official debut against Real Sociedad in 2012.

Barcelona said in a statement: “FC Barcelona would like to publicly express its gratitude to Alba for his professionalism, commitment and dedication, and his ever-positive and friendly relationship with all members of the Barca family, and wishes him every fortune in the future.

“Barca will always be a home for you, Jordi.”

Alba was born in Barcelona and moved through the club’s youth ranks before being allowed to leave in 2005.

He moved to Valencia for whom he became a first-team regular before Barcelona brought him back to the Nou Camp in 2012.

Nick Pope is to undergo an operation on his left hand and looks set to miss Newcastle’s final game of the season against Chelsea.

Pope, an ever-present in the Premier League in his first season at St James’ Park following his £10million move from Burnley, has been instrumental in the Magpies guaranteeing a top-four finish.

The 31-year-old goalkeeper made a fine save on Monday to deny Leicester’s Timothy Castagne and ensure Eddie Howe’s side got the point they needed to guarantee Champions League football next term for the first time in 20 years.

A goalless draw against the Foxes was Pope’s 14th clean sheet in the top flight this season but it seems likely to be his final match of the season, with his left arm bandaged when he attended an event in Northumberland on Wednesday afternoon.

And Newcastle confirmed Pope has withdrawn from the England squad for next month’s Euro 2024 qualifiers against Malta and North Macedonia next month as he is set to have surgery on his hand.

“Nick Pope – who withdrew from the last Three Lions squad due to injury – is not involved as he is set to undergo an operation on his hand,” a statement on Newcastle’s website read.

Eberechi Eze received his first call-up and Lewis Dunk returned four-and-a-half years after his only cap as Gareth Southgate named the England squad for June’s Euro 2024 qualifiers.

Having kicked off Euro 2024 qualification with wins over Italy and Ukraine, Group C continues with next month’s double header against Malta and North Macedonia.

Southgate has named a 25-man squad, with Eric Dier and Raheem Sterling the high-profile absentees and Crystal Palace attacking midfielder Eze the only uncapped player in the group.

Brighton captain Dunk returned for the first time since making his debut against the United States in November 2018.

Callum Wilson, Tyrone Mings, Sam Johnstone and Trent Alexander-Arnold also returned to the fold.

Sterling, who has won 82 caps, has endured a difficult first season since joining Chelsea from Manchester City.

A representative for the forward said: “Following a private conversation between coach and player, a mutual decision has been made for Raheem Sterling to sit out the upcoming internationals, focusing instead on recuperating his body in preparation for the upcoming season.”