Former football coach and serial paedophile Barry Bennell has died in prison, the Ministry of Justice has confirmed. The former Crewe Alexandra coach was serving a 34-year sentence after being convicted of a number of child sex offences. A spokesman for the Ministry of Justice said: “Prisoner Barry Bennell died at HMP Littlehey on September 16. “As with all deaths in custody, the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman will investigate.” Bennell, also known as Richard Jones, was jailed for 30 years in 2018 after being convicted of 52 child sexual offences against 12 boys. He was ordered to serve an additional four years in 2020 after pleading guilty to other offences against two boys. When he was sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court in 2018, Recorder of Liverpool Judge Clement Goldstone QC said he “may well die in prison”. His final prison sentence, in 2020, was the fifth time he had been jailed. At that hearing, the court was told he had a detached retina after being attacked in prison and was in remission from cancer. Bennell, a former Manchester City scout, abused boys he coached in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

Arsenal defender Oleksandr Zinchenko is closing in a return to action after playing 11 minutes in the Game4Ukraine at Stamford Bridge. The left-back has not featured for the Gunners in their pre-season campaign due to the calf injury he picked up at the end of last season, but he made a cameo appearance in the charity match he helped to organise. The Ukrainian teamed up with compatriot Andriy Shevchenko for the match in order to raise funds for those affected by Russia’s illegal invasion in his home country. He captained one of the star-studded teams and, just 24 hours before Arsenal take on Manchester City in the Community Shield, played in the opening exchanges before being replaced. A minute’s silence and video address from Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy preceded kick-off and an entertaining game, which also featured a 15-minute cameo from Chelsea’s Ukraine international Mykahilo Mudryk, ended 2-2. Mark Noble and Darijo Srna scored for Team Zinchenko while Clarence Seedorf and William Gallas bagged for Team Shevchenko.

Ryan Mason has trust in the key decision-makers at Tottenham to get the big calls right this summer. Spurs’ acting head coach Mason will take his squad to relegation-threatened Leeds on the final day in what is set to be his last fixture in charge. Eighth-placed Tottenham remain without a permanent manager or managing director of football and could miss out on Europe for the first time since the 2009-10 campaign unless they better Aston Villa’s result and match Brentford’s on Sunday. Crunch decisions are required by chairman Daniel Levy and the board, with a promise already made to supporters over the style Spurs will try to play next season. Last Saturday’s programme notes from Levy pledged the team will go back to “football you will love to come and watch” after the recent pragmatism and counter-attacking of Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte. Mason feels a stable brand of football will help, and he said: “We’ve probably had two or three different styles of football in the last two or three years and I don’t think that is good for any squad of players or for fans. “When you lose people, lose coaches, lose players, lose members of staff, the impact is huge if you keep going from different things. “Like I say, going forward it really is important and we see it in the Premier League, we see it across the leagues, I want people to know who Tottenham are, know what a Tottenham team looks like and certainly know what a Tottenham player looks like. “This is just how I view the situation as it is. Obviously there will be loads of conversations in the summer about going forward. “There is a lot of people here who really care and want the club to get back to where we want, where we expect and where we hope to be. “Them conversations and decisions I am sure will be made in the summer. I trust the people making them decisions.” Quizzed about how the managerial search could impact Spurs’ transfer business, Mason admitted the club need a new man in place before they can go after targets. If you want to be successful on the pitch then everyone working for the organisation within the football club has to be on board with what we are and who we are. Ryan Mason “There is work because we have a big squad, a lot of players on loan and decisions to make,” he said. “The most important work is probably away from the transfer window right now because you need a manager in place, you need commitment, you need an idea to know where you go. “You can’t do transfer business without a manager because it might not fit his idea. At the moment I believe we need an idea of what we want to do, who we want to be and stick to it. Recruit people for that and ultimately recruit players for that.” There remains uncertainty over the future of Harry Kane, who is approaching the final year of his Spurs contract. Mason would not be drawn on what next for the Tottenham forward but insisted it is imperative every club has a long-term plans in place. He added: “For any player, manager, member of staff at this football club, when one leaves it’s important to have a succession plan in place. “So, when people do leave, the next one comes in and the impact isn’t so big. That’s not just speaking about Harry. That’s speaking about other players. “For me, it’s really important that there’s an identity in all departments. “If you want to be successful on the pitch then everyone working for the organisation within the football club has to be on board with what we are and who we are. “I hope going forward that’s definitely the case.”

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