Stuttgart said Friday they have fined their ex-Germany goalkeeper Jens Lehmann for publicly criticising his club bosses for giving in to fan pressure prior to sack coach Markus Babbel.

Our players can freely express themselves, but what he said was not to be tolerated and damaged the image of the club, chairman Erwin Staudt said, without specifying the amount of the fine.

Anyone can have an opinion and voice criticisms but that must not be done through the media, Staudt told broadcaster Sky.

New coach Christian Gross said for his part: I need players who roll their sleeves up. Jens knows the situation in which we find ourselves.

Babbel was fired on Sunday and replaced by former Tottenham Hotspur boss Gross before the side s impressive 3-1 win over Rom…

Massimiliano Allegri believes coaches who are shown red cards should pay fines that are then passed to charities, rather than face touchline bans.

The Juventus head coach was sent off in stoppage time of his side s dramatic 2-2 draw with Salernitana on Sunday after protesting the referee and VAR overturning what would have been a last-minute winning goal from Arkadiusz Milik, who was also dismissed for taking his shirt off during the initial celebrations.

Speaking at a press conference ahead of the Bianconeri hosting Benfica in the Champions League group stage, Allegri said he considers the chapter closed , but raised his idea that coaches pay fines rather than face bans following such incidents.

I have never expressed any judgements of the referees, he said…

Juventus are confident that Paul Pogba will extend his contract with the Serie A club and are planning a pay rise for the Frenchman.

Pogba, 20, has been linked with a move away from Turin, with Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain said to be interested in acquiring the talented midfielder.

The former Manchester United man still has over two years left on his current deal with Antonio Conte s side.

And club direcor Giuseppe Marotta is adamant that Pogba will agree to an extension, despite the speculation surrounding his future.

Pogba is happy at Juventus and he has no intention of leaving, he told Sky Sport Italia.

We will soon meet with the Frenchman’s agents to extend our agreement and, at the same time, give him a pay rise for the growth he has shown.

…

Inter advanced to the last 16 of the UEFA Europa League as Fredy Guarin s stunning goal earned them a 1-0 (4-3 agg) win over 10-man Celtic.

Fredy Guarin s superb late goal was enough to see Inter through to the last 16 of the UEFA Europa League with a 4-3 aggregate success over 10-man Celtic.

The two sides played out an enthralling 3-3 draw in the first leg at Parkhead last week and, although Thursday s fixture at San Siro lacked that goalmouth action, the two sides still produced an entertaining affair.

Celtic saw defender Virgil van Dijk dismissed for receiving two cautions in the first half the first of which seemed somewhat harsh.

From that point on, Inter were well on top and only some last-ditch defending and a fine goalkeeping display from Craig…

Thomas Muller says he is not interested in returning to the Germany squad after Joachim Low rated his chances of a recall as relatively low .

Head coach Low shocked German football in March 2019 when he announced World Cup-winning stalwarts Muller, Mats Hummels and Jerome Boateng were no longer in his plans.

Muller, who has 100 caps for Germany, said at the time he was totally dumbfounded by this decision out of the blue .

The 30-year-old has been in fine form since the turn of the year, scoring in four consecutive games for Bayern before Sunday s 0-0 draw with Bundesliga title rivals RB Leipzig at the Allianz Arena.

Some had suggested this could be enough to persuade Low to reconsider his position on Muller, but the Germany coach told Sky on Sunday: Th…

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The Premier League is back in action once again this week with a host of entertaining fixtures as we continue to steamroll towards the last few months of the season. There are a few clear races in which the favourite is becoming clear but in equal measure, there s also a great deal of uncertainty still in the mix as we head into the month of March. Today, we re going to take a look at a clash between two teams with very different aspirations this season Burnley and Arsenal.

Burnley

The Sean Dyche effect has taken Burnley to heights previously unknown, but now is the time for them to kick on as they try and push away from the relegation battle. The problem they have is that they just don t have the sustai…

West Brom have confirmed the signing of French striker Nicolas Anelka on a one-year deal with a further year s option.

Anelka will move to The Hawthorns from Chinese Super League side Shanghai Shenhua having spent time on loan at Juventus too.

The 34-year-old has had a hugely successful career since joining Paris Saint-Germain at the age of 16, having won 17 different trophies with five different clubs.

The signing of Anelka is something of a transfer coup for West Brom, with head coach Steve Clarke delighted to have signed a player of the Frenchman s calibre.

Clarke told the club s official website: We are missing a bit of firepower from last year – we re trying to put that right – and to kick off with the signing of Nicolas at the start of the summer is a g…

Jermain Defoe has called on Tottenham to reinforce their forward line before the start of the new Premier League season.

Along with Defoe, Emmanuel Adebayor is the only other recognised striker currently considered a first-team regular at White Hart Lane and he has been linked with a move away from the club.

Tottenham are reportedly interested in wantaway Aston Villa forward Christian Benteke after coming close to signing Internacional s Leandro Damiao during the January transfer window.

And England international Defoe believes the club need to make additions to their squad if they are to break into the UEFA Champions League.

I m a forward but I can t be the only forward at a club. Over the years, the clubs who ve
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won titles have had several strikers,…

According to Sky Italia, Newcastle United defender Achraf Lazaar has arrived in Italy for his medical ahead of a proposed move to Genoa. The 26-year-old Moroccan international, who has been with the Magpies since 2016, has only made a handful of appearances for the club and will be hoping that he can play a starring role for Genoa this season.

The impending deadline for the Italian transfer window has led to a series of clubs making late deals, with Genoa being particularly busy. After finishing down in 12th in Serie A last season, they ll be doing everything in their power to force their way into the top half and beyond over the course of the next nine months or so.

Newcastle, on the other hand, appear to be much more comfortable with sending players away from the club…

Italian champions Juventus have all but agreed a transfer for FK Partizan Belgrade defender Nikola Milenkovic, according to former Bianconeri striker Valeri Bojinov.

The 19-year-old has been mentioned as a possible target for the Italian giants and he was also linked with a winter exit.

However, despite staying at the club, his teammate Valeri Bojinov believes that the youngster will soon become a Juventus footballer.

“Partizan have a lot of good young players. Milenkovic, Mihajlovic and Vlahovic, among others,” Bojinov told Gazetta dello Sport.

“But, as far as Milenkovic is concerned, I think all that’s missing is the official confirmation, I believe a summer transfer has been agreed.

”Milenkovic is a very good centre-back. He has alre…