"Anything around the head has ramifications," said a disconsolate New Zealand captain Sam Cane of his red card for a high tackle that ruled him out of much of the Rugby World Cup final -- the problem for...

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Everton have been given a 10-point deduction after an independent commission found them guilty of breaching the Premier League’s financial fair play (FFP) rules. The club plan to appeal against what they regard as a disproportionate and “unjust” punishment and said they were “shocked and disappointed” by the decision and the sanction. But as it stands, Sean Dyche’s men will drop from 14th to 19th place in the Premier League table and be plunged into greater danger of relegation as they only stay above bottom side Burnley on goal difference. The Toffees become the first English top-flight club to receive such a punishment for falling foul of FFP guidelines. They are just the third club in the Premier League era to be deducted points for any reason: Portsmouth saw nine points taken away for entering administration in 2010 and Middlesbrough were slapped with a three-point deduction for illegally postponing a game in 1997 – both teams subsequently suffering relegation at the end of the season. A statement from the Premier League read: “An independent commission has imposed an immediate deduction of 10 points on Everton FC for a breach of the Premier League’s Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSRs). “The Premier League issued a complaint against the club and referred the case to an independent commission earlier this year. During the proceedings, the club admitted it was in breach of the PSRs for the period ending season 2021-22 but the extent of the breach remained in dispute. “Following a five-day hearing last month, the commission determined that Everton FC’s PSR calculation for the relevant period resulted in a loss of £124.5m, as contended by the Premier League, which exceeded the threshold of £105m permitted under the PSRs. The commission concluded that a sporting sanction in the form of a 10-point deduction should be imposed. That sanction has immediate effect.” Last month, the Premier League had recommended a deduction of up to 12 points for the Toffees, as they urged the independent commission to impose a severe sanction. Everton responded in a club statement that said: “Everton Football Club is both shocked and disappointed by the ruling of the Premier League’s commission. “The club believes that the commission has imposed a wholly disproportionate and unjust sporting sanction. The club has already communicated its intention to appeal the decision to the Premier League. The appeal process will now commence and the club’s case will be heard by an appeal board appointed pursuant to the Premier League’s rules in due course. “Everton maintains that it has been open and transparent in the information it has provided to the Premier League and that it has always respected the integrity of the process. “The club does not recognise the finding that it failed to act with the utmost good faith and it does not understand this to have been an allegation made by the Premier League during the course of proceedings. Both the harshness and severity of the sanction imposed by the commission are neither a fair nor a reasonable reflection of the evidence submitted. “The club will also monitor with great interest the decisions made in any other cases concerning the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability rules.” Manchester City face 115 charges for allegedly breaching FFP rules in a case that has not yet been heard while Chelsea could also face charges relating to former owner Roman Abramovich’s reign. Everton had announced a total loss of over £300m for the three-year period from 2019 to 2022, far above the £105m permitted. However, clubs were also permitted additional losses related to the Covid-19 pandemic and infrastructure costs are exempt, meaning there is a grey area in terms of interest payments on the costs of building Everton’s new stadium. Everton contend that that is where the discrepancy lies and that it is a matter of the interpretation of accounting. In addition, Everton had a £200m pre-agreement for a naming rights deal for their new Bramley-Moore Dock stadium with USM, Alisher Usmanov’s company, which they had to abandon after Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Everton have willingly operated under a de facto salary cap since then. The Premier League provided the club with financial guidelines and Everton have a net profit of £28m from the last four transfer windows – the third largest, after Leicester and Brighton, in that time. The Independent has previously reported that an extra layer of political pressure was exerted by the anticipated introduction of an independent football regulator – as laid out by prime minister Rishi Sunak in the King’s Speech earlier this month – with other figures in the sport believing the Premier League is attempting to show the government it can regulate itself. Eyes will now turn to Burnley, Leeds United and Leicester City, who had threatened to sue the Merseyside club for financial losses should they be found guilty of an FFP breach. Read More Watch: Everton CEO responds to Premier League after point deduction Everton vow to fight to ‘unjust’ Premier League points deduction Victor Lindelof: Scoring more goals is next step for Manchester United Sean Dyche: Everton are starting to show belief on the road after latest win Everton edge Crystal Palace in five-goal thriller On this day in 2014: David Moyes appointed Real Sociedad head coach

The Atlanta Braves have placed left-hander Kolby Allard on the 60-day injured list after he was diagnosed with nerve inflammation in his left shoulder

When Mauricio Pochettino was asked about Ange Postecoglou’s surprisingly high line at nine, he wasn’t too willing to get into it. The Chelsea manager instead pointed to his side’s own impact on proceedings, how proud he was. He probably wasn’t the only one unwilling to indulge too much praise of Tottenham Hotspur, after a 4-1 defeat Postecoglou’s side unnecessarily lost control of. There is already that sense of rival fans, if for rather obvious tribal reasons, bristling at the regular appeals to “mate”. The explanation of that high line was probably extreme Postecoglou, the Australian in his ultimate form. “It is just who we are, mate, it is who we will be for as long as I am here,” the Spurs manager said on TV. “If we go down to five men, we will still have a go.” And yet the last six words are why there was a sense of pride around the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, almost because of a 4-1 defeat where they went against the grain to their own cost. Postecoglou was willing to abandon himself to the “purity of the game”, as he actually said later about VAR. It is so different to what Spurs fans feel they have had to put up with over the past four years. As incredible as the sight of eight outfield players at the halfway line was, going against most football convention, it’s obviously more invigorating than just keeping 11 back as both Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte did. It wasn’t all self-defeating purism, either. There was some pragmatic logic to it, in the calculation that an inexperienced Chelsea weren’t guaranteed to take advantage. This wasn’t Manchester City, for all the post-game discussion of how Pep Guardiola’s side might have scored around nine in that situation. That appreciation could be sensed in the loud applause that went around the stadium after Nicholas Jackson’s first goal, and Chelsea’s eventual second. There was the feeling they’d made the best of a bad situation, and given themselves the best chance of victory. Spurs did waste one big chance at just 2-1, and it could have been very different had Eric Dier delayed his run for that offside goal by a millisecond. That doesn’t mean discussion should stray too far into describing this as a moral victory. It was a largely self-inflicted defeat. There’s even an argument that is Postecoglou’s very excitable approach with a young team maybe played into a certain recklessness. Spurs were in complete control at 1-0, only for an inexplicable series of rash challenges to see them lose the lead, two players and - eventually - the game. Through that, they have also lost crucial momentum, that had felt like it had been elevating what would still have been an encouraging start to the season even without the winning run. It’s difficult to argue Spurs haven’t been overperforming now. Within that applause was also the awareness this was also about to get a lot more difficult. As well as that emotional momentum, they won’t have Cristian Romero, Micky van der Ven, Destiny Udogie or James Maddison for a time. That is going to take some adjustment. It might represent the start of a period where things start going the other way. That doesn’t mean discussion should go too far the other way, mind. One temptation from Postecoglou’s line was to dismiss it as typical Spurs, all talk about romance and no victories. It’s abundantly clear that the Australian is changing things here. They have just been markedly overperforming, and ahead of schedule. They shouldn’t now be overly criticised for that, as they probably face up to a trickier period that was always going to come. Postecoglou’s approach will bring more wins than they would otherwise achieve. His willingness for adventure shouldn’t be confused with tactical naivety. There is a serious coaching mind underneath. That is something that has also become clear to everyone at the club. It was why the players, after the game, were only too content with the approach. They weren’t questioning it. Postecoglou, after all, has far more answers than just that high line. Read More Ange Postecoglou laments ‘theatre’ of VAR checks after Chelsea defeat Ange Postecoglou appears to aim barb at Arsenal and Mikel Arteta over VAR controversy Ange Postecoglou reacts to VAR calls as Spurs earn two red cards in defeat to Chelsea Chelsea triumph over Tottenham in Premier League clash that had everything and more Tottenham vs Chelsea LIVE: Premier League result and reaction Ange Postecoglou happy with Daniel Levy relationship but rules out rafting trip

Fernando Alonso insists he would keep Lewis Hamilton “until he’s 80 years old” over picking a young F2 driver after the seven-time world champion signed a new contract with Mercedes. Hamilton, 38, penned an extension until the end of the 2025 season – alongside team-mate George Russell – which will keep him racing in F1 into his 40s. Alonso, himself 42, has shown with his seven podiums for Aston Martin this season that age is no factor when it comes to performance – a point he reiterated when speaking to the press in Monza about Hamilton’s new deal. Asked whether age should count for something in a team principal’s decision for keeping a driver, Alonso replied: “No, I think they choose time, as has always been [the case] in motorsport. “I have never seen any rally, Moto GP or F1 team choose the slowest between two drivers. If I were a team boss now and I had to choose Hamilton or the youngest on the grid or a promising F2 driver, I’d stay with Hamilton until he’s 80 years old, until someone shows me that he’s faster than Hamilton. “In the case of Hamilton, who continues to perform at 100% and his only life concern is F1, as can be the case for me too, ‘when someone faster comes, we’ll talk’ but at the moment Hamilton is faster than anyone.” Alonso endured a tumultuous one-year partnership in Hamilton’s rookie season at McLaren in 2007, with the pair falling out as both fought for the world championship, eventually won by Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen. The pair have been rivals ever since but are now on cordial terms as the two elder statesman of the paddock. The duo are fighting for championship position again this season: Alonso, who joined Aston Martin from Alpine prior to this season, is in third place and is 12 points ahead of Hamilton in fourth. Hamilton emphasised after signing his new deal – reported to be worth £50m-a-year – that he has “unfinished business” in the sport as he continues to hunt for a record-breaking eighth world championship. Both Alonso and Hamilton have won at Monza before – Alonso twice and Hamilton five times – ahead of this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix. Read More Lewis Hamilton reveals reason for signing new Mercedes deal: ‘Unfinished business’ Lewis Hamilton signs new Mercedes contract Charles Leclerc speaks out about Ferrari future ahead of Italian Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton gives update on F1 movie starring Brad Pitt amid Hollywood strikes Charles Leclerc speaks out about Ferrari future How does Verstappen’s win-streak compare to fellow record-holder Vettel’s?

The big markets were expected to be all-in on Shohei Ohtani. That doesn't seem to be the case, early in free agency.

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France scrum-half Antoine Dupont may have broken his jaw in a high tackle that forced him off the pitch in the 96-0 World Cup thrashing of Namibia...