Football

Serie A's disciplinary tribunal said the Italian "made a derogatory remark to the fourth official when he was removed and then addressed the spectators with an insulting gesture".

Arsene Wenger will hope his Arsenal side can put a disappointing January behind them and get their Premier League title challenge back on track at home to Southampton on Tuesday.

Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 29th La Liga hat-trick as Zinedine Zidane's Real Madrid moved back to within four points of leaders Barcelona with a 6-0 thrashing of Espanyol on Sunday.

Carlisle United had dreamed of an FA Cup fairytale back at their Brunton Park home that had been so heavily damaged in December's floods, but Everton ruined the fourth tier side's big day with a 3-0 win.

Once again, it was Messi who snuffed out Atletico's promising initial push before Barcelona won the day and extended their undefeated streak to 26 consecutive matches.

Blatter and his lawyers believe FIFA rules mean only a meeting of the 209 member federations who elect a president can formally remove one.

Barcelona star Neymar on Thursday lost an appeal against a 112,000 fine slapped on him for tax evasion during his years with Santos in 2007 and 2008.

A Rodrigo Moreno strike gave Valencia a morale-boosting 1-0 second-leg victory away to Las Palmas and a 2-1 aggregate win on Thursday.

New Swansea coach Francesco Guidolin made his first signing for the Premier League club when 19-year-old Ryan Blair joined from Falkirk on a three-and-a-half year deal.

Emmanuel Adebayor has signed for Crystal Palace until the end of the season in a bid to resurrect his career in the English Premier League.

Iniesta's form dipped during coach Gerardo Martino's time at Barcelona in 2013 and was forced to adapt again under Luis Enrique last season.

Costa has struggled to recapture the form he displayed on his debut season, when he netted 20 goals in 26 league appearances to lead Chelsea to the league title.

"I've already done two months [of recovery] and I'm targeting the international break in March to be back properly with the squad," the City midfielder, recovering from a thigh surgery, said.

Atletico Madrid failed to regain the Spanish league lead from Barcelona after finishing goalless against 10-man Sevilla.

The stunning 84th minute goal struck from 25 yards, watched by England manager Roy Hodgson, put Spurs in front for the first time after Harry Kane had equalised with a thundering header past goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey in the 63rd minute.

Defending champions Mohun Bagan would be keen to extend their dominance in the I-League football competition when they take on traditional rivals East Bengal in a high-voltage Kolkata derby at the Salt Lake stadium on Saturday.