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Joao Palhinha scored a stunning equaliser as Fulham held Brighton and Hove Albion to a 1-1 draw at the Amex Stadium. The Seagulls were the better team in the early stages and were rewarded through Evan Ferguson’s neat finish before Palhinha’s superb strike secured a point for the Londoners. The result extended Brighton’s winless run to three as they rued missed chances in front of goal. Roberto De Zerbi’s side showed little signs of fatigue following Thursday’s 2-0 Europa League win over Ajax and nearly took an early lead. Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno kept out Carlos Baleba’s shot from range in the seventh minute and saved Simon Adingra’s effort inside the six-yard box moments later to keep it 0-0. Baleba was pulling the strings for Brighton as his vision and inch-perfect passes picked out the pacey Adingra, who enjoyed runs into space. The hosts got the goal they deserved after 26 minutes. Igor Julio drove the Seagulls up the pitch and when Ferguson retrieved the ball outside the box he showed excellent composure to slide the ball past Leno with his left foot into the bottom corner. The goal highlighted a gulf in quality between the two sides and the lethargic Cottagers were fortunate not to concede again immediately after the kick-off when their defence was caught napping by Adingra. A rain-soaked Marco Silva cut a frustrated figure and his pleas to his Fulham players were left unanswered as Willian’s wasteful free-kick put an end to the first spell of meaningful possession the visitors had enjoyed in the Brighton half since the opening minutes. Left-back Antonee Robinson was struggling to cope with Adingra and the American then gifted Ferguson a back pass, but the Seagulls’ goalscorer failed to double his tally when he was denied by Leno after 40 minutes. Brighton started the second half quickly and Lewis Dunk was unfortunate not to score in the 49th minute. The skipper lined up a set-piece and his side-footed effort dipped onto Leno’s crossbar. Fulham made Brighton pay for their missed chances as they made it 1-1 in the 65th minute through Palhinha. The visitors threw men forward in numbers and the Portugal international got the ball out of his feet on the edge of the box and blasted an effort past Jason Steele. The goal swung the momentum in the Londoners’ favour and substitute Rodrigo Muniz nearly punished Brighton from the restart through an audacious back heel that was kept out by Steele. Both teams had opportunities to win it with Robinson clearing an effort off the line before Harry Wilson came close to grabbing a winner at the other end. Read More Republic of Ireland heading in the right direction – striker Callum Robinson Mikey Johnston issues Netherlands warning as Ireland look to finish on high Ireland beat Gibraltar to spare Stephen Kenny further questions over immediate future Stephen Kenny puts speculation to one side for Gibraltar clash Talking Points as Republic of Ireland seek win against minnows Gibraltar Manchester United v Man City LIVE: Latest Premier League updates

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LaLiga will request greater jurisdiction to punish clubs whose fans are guilty of racist abuse after feeling “powerless” at the lack of current sanctions in the wake of the latest Vinicius Jr incident. The Spanish league is engulfed in a racism scandal after Real Madrid forward Vinicius was allegedly subjected to racist chants during Sunday’s game at Valencia and later claimed it was an example of “continuous episodes spread across several cities in Spain”. LaLiga, according to the country’s law, can currently only identify and report incidents, and punishment is rarely handed out. Now it wants legislation changing so that it has the power to impose punishment such as forcing games to be played behind closed doors or financial penalties. It said in a statement: “LaLiga will request more sanctioning powers, with the aim of being more agile and effective in the fight against violence, racism, xenophobia and intolerance in sport, where LaLiga has been leading the identification and reporting of such behaviour in football stadiums for years, but feels powerless when observing how its reporting ends. “Despite its intense and continuous fight against violence and racism to the full extent of its powers (currently, according to Spanish legislation, limited to identifying and reporting the facts that occur), LaLiga feels tremendous frustration at the lack of sanctions and convictions by the sports disciplinary bodies, public administrations and jurisdictional bodies to which it reports. “Faced with this serious situation, in the coming days LaLiga will formally request the amendment of Law 19/2007 of July 11, against violence, racism, xenophobia and intolerance in sport and Law 39/2022 of December 30, on sport. “The purpose of the proposal is to request that LaLiga may exercise disciplinary authority over incidents of this type which occur in matches of the professional competition, so that the disciplinary bodies of LaLiga may proceed to sanction them, among other things, with the total or partial closure of the sports venue, the prohibition of access to it in the case of members/fans and the imposition of financial penalties, without prejudice to the adoption of provisional or precautionary measures that may be appropriate, depending on the nature and seriousness of the incidents. “As we have been repeating in recent days, LaLiga has been leading the fight against violence, racism and intolerance on football pitches, both inside and outside the stadium, identifying such behaviour through its match directors, security officers and television cameras, and subsequently reporting it to the relevant bodies.” It comes on the day four people were arrested in Spain under suspicion of hanging an effigy of Vinicius off a bridge in January. An inflatable doll dressed in a Vinicius shirt was hung from the railings with a banner that read ‘Madrid hates Real Madrid’ ahead of Real’s Copa del Rey game with city rivals Atletico at the start of the year. And Spanish police confirmed on Tuesday that four suspects had been apprehended. They tweeted: “Arrested in #Madrid 4 people who allegedly hung a mannequin with the #Vinicius shirt on a bridge near the Ciudad Deportiva del @realmadrid.” The arrests follow the latest racism scandal that has engulfed Spanish football, with Vinicius targeted by racist chants during Sunday’s LaLiga game with Valencia. The Brazil international threatened to leave the pitch in the second half after being subjected to alleged monkey chants at the Mestalla. Real Madrid said the abuse constituted a “hate crime” and filed a complaint with the Spanish State Attorney General’s Office. Valencia on Tuesday confirmed that police have identified three fans suspected of racial abuse, but denied their fanbase is racist. In a statement, the club said: “The match against Real Madrid was broadcast live and it is totally false that the entire stadium was shouting racist remarks. “There has been a lot of confusion and misinformation in the last few days. Valencia demand a responsible and serious approach to the matter. “This is a very sensitive issue and everyone must remain factual. We cannot accept the labelling of Valencia fans as racist. It is not true. We call for respect. “Racism has no place in football or in our society. Valencia strongly condemn racism.” Vinicius tweeted on Monday night: “Every round away from home is an unpleasant surprise. And there were many this season. Death wishes, hanged doll, many criminal screams… All registered. “But the speech always falls on ‘isolated cases’, ‘a fan’. No, these are not isolated cases. They are continuous episodes spread across several cities in Spain (and even in a television programme). “The evidence is there in the video. Now I ask: how many of these racists had names and photos exposed on websites? I answer to make it easier: zero. None to tell a sad story or make those fake public apologies. “What is missing to criminalise these people? And punish clubs sportingly? Why don’t sponsors charge LaLiga? Don’t televisions bother to broadcast this barbarity every weekend? “The problem is very serious and communications no longer work. Not blaming me to justify criminal acts either. You are not football, you are inhuman.” Read More Vinicius Jr news LIVE: Four arrested over racist effigy as La Liga request more powers to fight abuse Vinicius Jr needs protecting — or racism will drive him from LaLiga Commentator sparks outrage for criticising Vinicius Jr reaction after facing racist abuse

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