Saudi Arabia’s football governing body, on Thursday, suspended Cristiano Ronaldo for one game over a gesture he made on the pitch last weekend that was judged a “provocation”. The Saudi Arabian Football Federation said the Al-Nassr captain and former Sporting Lisbon star was also fined a total of 30,000 riyals ($8,000) for the move, which broke rules against provoking the public during a match. The decision cannot be appealed. Video emerged after his side’s 3-2 win against Al-Shabab showing Ronaldo making a repeated thrusting gesture towards his groin in response to crowds taunting him by chanting the name of his longtime rival, Lionel Messi. The content quickly went viral and surged to the top of Saudi social media trending topics. Sports newspaper Al-Riyadiya reported Ronaldo as saying he respected all football clubs and that the gesture expressed “strength and victory” – not offence – and was considered acceptable in Europe. The 39-year-old, a five-time winner of the UEFA Champions

Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba has been given a four-year ban after the World Cup winner tested positive for doping. Football journalist, Fabrizio Romano, also confirmed this on his X account. Italy's National Anti-Doping Tribunal (TNA) accepted the request of the Anti-Doping Prosecutor's Office to hand out the four-year ban - which is the standard length of ban under the World Anti-Doping Code. The 30-year-old Juventus player was suspended as a precaution in September after being found positive for testosterone metabolites last August, following Juventus' game at Udinese on August 20. The France international did not play in the Serie A match but was on the Juventus bench. in October that Pogba would fight to clear his name, after testing positive for DHEA - a compound that promotes the production of hormones in the body including testosterone. Pogba's agent Rafaela Pimenta insisted "Paul never wanted to break the rules".

Liverpool  have submitted an initial request to speak with  Bayer Leverkusen  boss Xabi Alonso as they pursue a replacement for the departing Jurgen Klopp.  (Bild - in German) Tottenham  are targeting a wide forward as their major summer signing, with  Wolves'  Portugal winger Pedro Neto, 23, and  Crystal Palace's  England winger Eberechi Eze, 25, currently the two main targets.  (Independent) Manchester United  will make a decision on the future of 22-year-old English forward Mason Greenwood, who is currently on loan at  Getafe , by the end of May.  (Sun) Arsenal ,  Manchester United  and  Chelsea  are interested in signing German goalkeeper Diant Ramaj, 22, of  Ajax .  (Bild) Dele Alli's  Everton  career could be revived later this year as the Toffees are open to handing the former England midfielder, 27, a new deal.  (Express, via Athletic) South Korea forward Son Heung-min, 31, is happy at  Tottenham  with formal talks on a new contract set to get under way.  (Football

A thrilling fifth-round tie at Stamford Bridge looked to be heading towards extra time before the England international was free in the penalty area and lifted a finish past Illan Meslier. The win keeps Chelsea's hopes of winning a trophy alive after they  lost 1-0 to Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final  on Sunday. Mauricio Pochettino's side will return to Wembley for the FA Cup semi-finals if they win at home against Championship leaders Leicester City in the last eight in March. The Argentine began his role as manager in July and felt the performances were improving, but the squad needed more time. Nicolas Jackson made it 1-1 with a low strike from Moises Caicedo's pass before Mykhailo Mudryk gave Chelsea a 37th-minute lead, sweeping Raheem Sterling's pull-back into the bottom corner. Yet Leeds were the better team at the start of the second half and got a deserved equaliser as Joseph grabbed his second goal with a header at the back post to connect with Jaidon Anthony

  Teenager Jayden Danns called it "the best day of my life" after scoring twice off the bench as Liverpool beat Southampton to set up an FA Cup quarter-final tie with Manchester United. There was also a dream debut for Danns' fellow 18-year-old Lewis Koumas, who opened the scoring at Anfield when he collected Bobby Clark's pass and found the bottom corner with a shot that deflected off Saints captain Jack Stephens a minute before the break. After replacing Koumas in the second half, Danns ran on to Harvey Elliott's pass to score with a lovely dinked finish in front of the Kop. He struck again two minutes from time, thumping the ball home after Southampton goalkeeper Joe Lumley had parried Conor Bradley's shot into his path. After their Wembley heroics at the weekend, for much of the first 45 minutes, this looked like a game too far for an injury-hit Liverpool as their younger players struggled to make an impact. Southampton had also made eight changes from the

Manchester United booked an FA Cup quarter-final with old rivals Liverpool at Old Trafford next month thanks to Casemiro's 89th-minute winner against Nottingham Forest. The Brazilian dashed in to flick home Bruno Fernandes' free-kick, although the goal was only given after a lengthy Video Assistant Referee (VAR) check for a possible offside in the build-up. On the ground where he famously won an FA Cup third-round tie to save his own job in 1990, Sir Alex Ferguson sat next to new United director Sir Dave Brailsford as under-pressure current boss Erik ten Hag preserved his only remaining chance of marking his second season with a trophy. The visitors edged a game that did appear destined for extra time but wasted a string of excellent opportunities to break the deadlock. Looking to reach the last eight for only the second time since 1996, Forest sparked only sporadically, with Divock Origi and Taiwo Awoniyi both having decent efforts saved by United keeper Andre Onana. As it tur

  Nigeria's Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen made all the headlines on Wednesday in the Italian Serie A as he netted a hat trick in Napoli's 1-6 win over Sassuolo. After scoring during last weekend's game against Cagliari, all eyes were on the Nigeria International again and he didn't disappoints. Racic put Sassuolo ahead in the 17th minute before Rhamami equalised for Napoli in the 29th minute. Osimhen took over the show and scored 3 goals in the 31st, 41st and 47 minutes of the game. Georgian International Kvicka added 2 goals toward the end of the game as it ended 1-6 for the Naple-based club.

Bayer Leverkusen manager, Xabi Alonso is reportedly ‘not interested’ in making an audacious move to either of Liverpool, Bayern Munich or Real Madrid as he looks set to stay at the Bay Arena this summer. Jurgen Klopp revealed last month that he will be departing Liverpool to take a break from football, so the club are searching for a new manager.  In a similar situation, Bayern Munich’s current manager Thomas Tuchel mutually agreed to leave the Allianz Arena in the summer due to the team’s poor run of play. Alonso, a former midfielder of Bayern and Liverpool, is thought to be the early favorite for both positions following his performances this season with Leverkusen. According to Football365, legendary German Lothar Matthaus believes that Alonso will stay at Leverkusen for the upcoming season. Despite reports that Liverpool are now his “clear preference” over the Bundesliga giants this summer. Alonso has led Leverkusen to an unprecedented record as the first German team to go 33 games

Jose Peseiro says he will decide his future in the coming days. Peseiro’s contract with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) will run out at the end of this month. The Portuguese has been courted by different national teams and clubs after guiding the Super Eagles to second position at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations. The 63-year-old stated that he will decide his next move soon. “I told everyone to come back at the end of the month. What is certain is that I want to continue coaching and I need to choose wisely,” he told  Goal media. “At this moment, I repeat, all options remain possible. I received a lot of options, and a lot of contacts from national teams or clubs. “I would say 5, 6 or 7, he revealed, without revealing their identity. “I let them all know that I need to rest and that when my contract expires I will talk about it and start thinking about other projects. And decide my future. For now, I need to take a break and be calm.