Chelsea fans have been left stunned by the shock news that the club have sacked manager Thomas Tuchel. 

The Blues confirmed that they had relieved the German boss of his duties on Wednesday morning following the 1-0 defeat to Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League. 

Tuchel departs after 20 months at the helm but just 100 days into Todd Boehly’s ownership. Chelsea are currently sixth in the Premier League table after the first six matches of the season. 

The Blues, who have already been given permission to speak to Graham Potter by Brighton in their search for the German’s replacement, will have to pay £13m in compensation to Tuchel – plus an added £2m to his backroom team.  

Chelsea fans have been left stunned by the news that the club have sacked Thomas Tuchel

‘Our fanbase is as fickle as they come,’ one fan wrote on Twitter. ‘People are actually celebrating this. Thomas Tuchel won the Champions League, dealt with sanctions, his personal relationship with his wife broke down while he focused on guiding us through as best he could. It’s mental.’ 

‘This is genuinely one of the most upsetting things I’ve read in a while,’ another added.

‘We are a joke club,’ a third said.

‘In as much as I’m a big critic of Thomas Tuchel, I feel this is a bit hasty and harsh decision,’ a fellow supporter wrote.

The Blues made the decision following their 1-0 defeat to Dinamo Zagreb on Tuesday evening

Former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich earned a reputation for having little patience with managers and it appears that Boehly is taking a similar approach.

‘Todd Boehly might even be more dangerous and ruthless than Roman Abramovich,’ one fan wrote. ‘This guy is on a scary mission.’

‘Same old Chelsea, new owners no difference,’ another said. ‘Disappointment.’

Chelsea spent more money than any other club in the summer transfer window, splashing out more than £260million to bring in Raheem Sterling, Kalidou Koulibaly, Marc Cucurella, Wesley Fofana, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Denis Zakaria. 

‘Why would you sack the manager after 2 games the window closed and backing him in the entire transfer window?’ one fan fumed. 

‘This is madness,’ another wrote. ‘Pure madness you spent over 300m to sign players from his list only to sack him.’ 

However, some fans were in support of sacking Tuchel following a disappointing start to the season. The Blues suffered surprise defeats to Leeds and Southampton in the Premier League before losing in Zagreb last night. 

‘The right decision, but people were calling me a plastic for wanting him out,’ one supporter wrote on Twitter.

Another said: ‘Champions league 2 was up there with best nights of my life thank you Thomas Tuchel but I think the correct decision #CFC. Boehly as ruthless as Roman it seems!!’

Stats and insight provided by sofascore.com

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Thomas Tuchel: Chelsea fans RAGE at Todd Boehly for ‘joke’ decision to axe manager

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Of all the strange things you have heard about the World Cup, all the weird and wonderful stories about how this daft old sport can influence human behaviour, is there anything quite so perplexing as what is currently happening in Bangladesh?

“It can be crazy,” says Soumik Saheb, one of the Bangladeshis who admits having the symptoms of what appears to be a very strong dose of World Cup fever. “Every time there is an Argentina game, big screens are put up. It’s like a festival.

“It doesn’t matter that the games often don’t start until 1am for us, because of the time difference. There are tens of thousands of people outside and, if Argentina win, it ends each time with a rally through the streets. It’s 3am, everyone is asleep, all the shops are closed. But everyone is woken. Even the dogs who literally have nobody but themselves past midnight must be thinking, ‘Why on earth are so many people on the streets at this time?’.”

This, you quickly learn, is not your usual story.

Bangladesh, a nation of 169 million people bordered to the north, east and west by India, has always been famous for cricket rather than anything to do with football. So, can someone explain why, on the streets of capital city Dhaka in particular, you might easily think you were in a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires?

Something strange has been happening. Rows and rows of apartment blocks in Dhaka are festooned in Argentina’s national colours — sky blue and white. Wall murals pay homage to Diego Maradona. The Argentine national flag, the Bandera Oficial de Ceremonia, is everywhere — balconies, spires, lamp-posts. You can even get an Argentina-themed rickshaw if you fancy a ride on a seat decorated with the image of Lionel Messi holding the Copa America.

Not that this is just a one-sided love-in. Argentina’s football federation has already sent one message, via Twitter, to thank the Bangladeshi people for their support. Some Argentine journalists have started posting tweets in Bengali, as well as Spanish, so their new audience can find out the latest news.

Lionel Scaloni, Argentina’s manager, has been asked about it in news conferences. “What the national team shirt transmits is crazy,” he said. “It makes us proud that the people in Bangladesh are supporting Argentina like this.”

Even more curiously, Argentina’s fans have decided to do something in return.

One set up a Facebook group last Friday to support Bangladesh’s national cricket team. It is called “Fans Argentinos de la seleccion de cricket de Bangladesh” and its members have spent the past couple of days celebrating the team’s one-wicket victory over India in a one-day international. OK, some of the participants might not have the first clue about the rules of cricket but you can’t fault their enthusiasm. Five days since its launch, the group had 119,000 followers, and the number is rising all the time.

If you are struggling to understand where all this originates, perhaps it is worth remembering that Bangladesh’s national football team is, without being too cruel, pretty lousy.

Bangladesh are 192nd (of 211) in FIFA’s world rankings, though they have been even lower and have never got near to qualifying for a World Cup. So in the absence of football heroes of their own, the people of Bangladesh have had to find other teams to support passionately.

Traditionally, that meant Brazil, whose matches also attract huge audiences and street parades, from Dhaka to Khulna, Chattogram to Rangpur, and lots of places in between. If you don’t see Argentina’s colours decorating a street, you are likely to come across Brazil’s yellow, green and blue. Often, it is both.

Now, though, one guy in particular sways opinion.

“Because we love Messi,” explains Shahbaj Ahmed, a Bangladeshi shopkeeper who moved to Qatar in 2017. “It’s Argentina first, then Brazil, because everyone loves Messi so much.”

Ahmed runs a perfume store in Souq Waqif, among the labyrinthine shops in downtown Doha where you can buy everything from shisha pipes to spices and football shirts that, ironically, might have been made in Bangladesh. He wears an Argentina one behind the counter. “I have been to every Argentina game so far,” he says proudly. “I was behind the goal for the game against Australia, when Messi scored. It was emotional, my favourite moment so far.”

It was the same at the fan zone on Saturday when Messi helped to put Argentina into the quarter-finals at the expense of the Australians. Thousands of fans celebrated on the Corniche, the promenade stretching around Doha’s waterfront. Many were wearing Argentina shirts and waving Bangladesh flags.

Yet the origins of this devotion actually goes back further. “I’ve been watching Argentina since my childhood, even in the 2002 World Cup, when there was hardly any kind of internet,” says Saheb. “What is happening now isn’t just because of Messi, despite what many people think.”

The truth, he says, is that it been passed through various generations, gaining momentum all the time. “In the early 1980s, there were no colour televisions in Bangladesh. For a lot of people, the only way to find out about the World Cup was through the newspapers. Then the 1986 tournament came along and there was Maradona — in colour. It was the tournament of Argentina. It was the tournament of Maradona. We were hooked.”

You can say that again.

Videos posted on the internet show thousands of Argentina fans flooding through Bangladeshi streets to celebrate wins. And maybe, some people believe, it helped that Maradona’s Hand of God goal in that tournament in Mexico came against England, the nation that once colonised Bangladesh. Some Bangladeshis had empathy, it is said, for Argentina over the Falklands conflict four years earlier.

All that can really be said for certain is that these guys are devoted.

“These are people who wake up at 2am to watch Argentina play,” says Roy Nemer, the founder of Mundo Albiceleste, a website for Argentina supporters. “People who paint their houses in the colours of sky blue and white to show their support. It’s mind-boggling.

“Scaloni spoke about the support in his press conference, which is absolutely unheard of. There were even people in Buenos Aires who were celebrating the win against Australia by waving the flag of Bangladesh. Imagine that. Sport truly can unite different cultures and bring people together.”

Nemer can probably be forgiven for sounding slightly bemused: it takes a bit of time to get used to the idea that “fans from a completely different culture, who speak a completely different language, adopt a country as their own”. He also makes the point that there are other Asian countries, such as Nepal and Malaysia, where Argentina are the team of choice.  It is a source of pride, he says, for the 1978 and 1986 World Cup winners: “There are more people in Bangladesh and India who support Argentina than there are Argentines in Argentina.”

The relationship is now so firmly established that El Destape, one of the media outlets in Argentina, covered that Bangladesh-India cricket international on Sunday. “From Argentina, we congratulate Bangladesh for this tremendous victory,” the station cheerily announced.

One television presenter in Bangladesh read out the news in the first week of the World Cup while wearing Argentina’s team shirt. Another Bangladeshi created an Argentina flag that is — no kidding — over half a mile long. He and a small army of fellow enthusiasts paraded it through the streets of Dhaka.

In Doha, one of the reasons why Argentina’s fans have possibly the largest and loudest following of any team at this World Cup is because of the considerable Bangladeshi population living in Qatar. Brazil’s fans are also here, en masse, and have huge backing of their own from the local Bangladeshi community.

Almost 2,500 miles (4,000km) away in Bangladesh, meanwhile, special measures are being put in place for a possible Argentina vs Brazil semi-final next Tuesday (or 1am next Wednesday, Dhaka time).

When those two countries played one another in the Copa America final last year, there were reports of clashes between rival fans. Several people were injured. This was not, however, outside the Maracana, the stadium in Rio de Janeiro where the game was actually played. No, these flashpoints were in Bangladesh, 9,500 miles away.

“The police will have to divide Dhaka into different areas,” says Saheb. “There will be an area for the Argentina fans and another for Brazil fans.

“The rivalry is very strong. We are just a long way away from where the games are being played.”

(Top photo: Zabed Hasnain Chowdhury/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Carles Puyol has moved to apologise for his reply to Iker Casillas, after the Real Madrid legend tweeted that he was gay.

The Spanish goalkeeper later deleted the tweet and claimed he had been hacked, but not before Carles Puyol engaged with him on social media and joked about their relationship. The Barcelona legend replied: “The time has come to tell our story, Iker” with pictures of them celebrating together.

It saw Puyol and Casillas come in for huge criticism and the former has since apologised for any hurt he caused. The former defender said: “I have made a mistake. Sorry for a clumsy joke with no bad intentions and totally out of place. I understand that it may have hurt sensitivities. All my respect and support for the LGTBIQA+ community.”

Casillas too has had to clarify his comments, having originally said: “I hope you respect me: I’m gay,” on social media. He later deleted his tweet and said: “Hacked account. Luckily everything in order. Apologies to all my followers. And of course, more apologies to the LGBT community.”

Josh Cavallo, an Australian player who came out as gay last October, is among those to hit out at the pair who made light of the situation on social media. He said: “Iker Casillas and Carles Puyol joking and making fun out of coming out in football is disappointing. It’s a difficult journey that any LGBTQ+ ppl have to go through. To see my role models and legends of the game make fun out of coming out and my community is beyond disrespectful.”

GETTY)

Cavallo’s post was shared by Jake Daniels, the Blackpool star who became the first current player in the UK to come out as gay since Justin Fashanu in 1990 when he made his announcement back in May.

Former Liverpool defender Jose Enrique also slammed his fellow Spaniard, saying on social media: “Instead of apologize and recognize the mistake rather lie to everyone.” Reports in Spain claimed that Casillas was frustrated by recent speculation surrounding his dating life. AS reported that Casillas’ post was a response to rumours regarding a new relationship with Alejandra Onieva – 18 months after separating fromSara Carbonero, the mother of his two children.

Casillas called time on his playing career in 2020 after a hugely successful career that lasted more than two decades. The goalkeeper came through the ranks at Los Blancos and established himself as their No.1 at a young age. His career in Madrid saw him play 725 times. During that period he won three Champions League titles, starting in their La Decima triumph of 2014. He also won 167 caps over a 16-year period with his country.

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KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI – JANUARY 16: Chris Jones #95 of the Kansas City Chiefs celebrates defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers 42-21 in the NFC Wild Card Playoff game at Arrowhead Stadium on January 16, 2022 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by David Eulitt/Getty Images)

Kansas City Chiefs defensive lineman Chris Jones was robbed of a strip sack of Derek Carr by the most ridiculous call by the officials in Week 5.

We wouldn’t blame you if you threw a few things around your house or at least woke up some of your neighbors by yelling on Monday night. That’s because the officials made several ridiculous calls against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 5 including one that robbed defensive lineman Chris Jones of a strip sack against Derek Carr and the Las Vegas Raiders.

The Raiders are visiting the Chiefs in Week 5 and are currently up by multiple possessions on the road in primetime. They deserve plenty of credit for that, despite some weird officiating against the home team, because they clearly came to play. Until the second quarter, the Chiefs looked completely uninspired and the Raiders were physical and owning the trenches on both sides of the ball.

However, just before halftime, things got insane when Jones was able to finally collapse on Carr with a stellar move and display of strength and athleticism. The result was a strip sack and a key turnover that would have given the Chiefs the ball before halftime at a key point. it also would have kept the Raiders from adding to their lead with a field goal before heading to the locker rooms.

Instead, the refs conspired together and ended up calling Jones for a roughing the passer penalty for coming down on Carr with all of this weight instead of giving him credit for the sack and coming up with the ball at the same time.

Check out the play here:

i mean this roughing the passer call might mean the whole game… fumble versus first down

What in the heck is Chris Jones supposed to do? He makes an incredible play, even takes the football away, and then gravity does its thing and that’s a penalty?pic.twitter.com/VDRoUxdGvQ

— Billy Heyen (@BillyHeyen) October 11, 2022

What is Jones supposed to do there? What sort of move can be possibly made to still get the sack, the fumble recovery, and somehow avert any contact with Carr while falling? Andy Reid was wondering himself.

Andy Reid didn’t go into the tunnel, instead took off his mic stuff and called Carl Cheffers to him along the sideline. Reid let Cheffers have it.

— Herbie Teope (@HerbieTeope) October 11, 2022

The officials are just asinine here with their expectations and it was maddening for Chiefs Kingdom watching the game.

Chris Jones was called for roughing the passer on this play. #MNF pic.twitter.com/Y2a2qyyvZS

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 11, 2022

What should’ve Chris Jones done? Stopped gravity? pic.twitter.com/1Ll7myCC4S

— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) October 11, 2022

The NFL should hold a summit where refs have to sack a NFL QB.

— The Cookie Expert (@JeffAllen71) October 11, 2022

Whether Chris had the ball or not, that still shouldn’t have been roughing. So the “but he even had the ball!” arguments are just the cherry on top, it was egregious even before they realized that.

— Mitchell Schwartz (@MitchSchwartz71) October 11, 2022

This roughing the passer call is trash!!! Do you want Chris Jones to lay a pillow down and tuck him in? #ChiefsKingdom pic.twitter.com/GS3rwYI2aA

— Emmanuel Acho (@EmmanuelAcho) October 11, 2022

Take notes Chris Jones. This is how you have to tackle the QB in 2022 pic.twitter.com/V7rHUNY5S1

Derek Carr getting the Tom Brady treatment while Chris Jones is just trying to recover the fumble he forced. Brutal call

Seriously what is he supposed to do? Until a team literally walks off the field this will continue to happen. Refs need to be held accountable.

— Sterling Holmes (@HomestretchKC) October 11, 2022

That is literally the worst call I’ve ever seen.