Ronnie O’Sullivan has been accused of “disrespect” by the player whose dreams of facing the world number one were dashed at the Scottish Open in Edinburgh on Monday.

The seven-time world champion withdrew from the event citing medical reasons just hours before he was scheduled to face 19-year-old Liam Graham in a first round match.

Graham criticised the timing of O’Sullivan’s decision, telling the Daily Record: “It’s disrespectful, it’s not right.

“A lot of people took time off work to come and watch today and it’s disappointing.

“It’s not surprising given the things he does. I found out when I got to the venue this morning. I didn’t have much prior warning – I think he pulled out very late.”

O’Sullivan, who won his record-extending eighth UK title in York earlier this month, has now withdrawn from five of eight ranking tournaments this season, not including the Snooker Shootout.

Last month, he pulled out from the Champion of Champions event in Bolton due to “mentally feeling a bit drained and stressed”.

It comes amid a time of tension between the player and World Snooker Tour chiefs over his desire to have the freedom to play in lucrative exhibitions in China.

In the wake of his final win over Ding Junhui in York, O’Sullivan insisted officials “seem to want me to hand my resignation in” – a claim flatly denied by WST.

Graham, who is in his first year as a professional, added: “At the end of the day I want to play the best players in the world and I was really looking forward to it.”

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has told Emile Smith Rowe to use his latest injury setback as fuel to return to action better than ever.

Smith Rowe has been sidelined with a knee injury and has not featured since a 5-0 win over Sheffield United on October 28.

The England international is back among the squad and has travelled to the Netherlands for Arsenal’s Champions League group-stage dead rubber at PSV Eindhoven on Tuesday.

Both sides have already qualified for the last 16 and the Gunners are also assured of advancing in top-spot.

It remains to be seen what role, if any, Smith Rowe will fulfil on Tuesday but, asked if Smith Rowe needs to start again following another injury lay-off as he aims to keep fit for a prolonged period, Arteta replied:: “I think what he’s been through is part of the experience that 90 per cent of footballers have to go through.

“Difficulties, injuries, setbacks and different types of performances now. That’s all in his bag now. If he can use that in a powerful way he’ll be a much better player.

“The way he’s done his rehab, I haven’t seen him do it before like how he’s done it this time. You see the way his team-mates reacted to his comeback which is really positive as well.

“The moment we can give him chances, the better we’re going to be.”

While Arteta admits the job of qualifying for the knockout stages is “technically done” he insists he and his players have a “duty” to try and win every game.

Smith Rowe may have travelled but his England colleague and fellow academy graduate Bukayo Saka has stayed behind.

“He is fine,” Arteta told reporters during Monday’s pre-match media conference.

“With a few of them we decided to have another day recovery just 48 hours before and he has played a lot of minutes so it wasn’t worth exposing him.

“We have five or six big injuries so we are already a bit thin.

“I don’t know in another context what I would have done but I also want everyone together with the mentality to win. I want to see that in their tummies tomorrow.”

Among the next group of players progressing through Arsenal’s Hale End set-up, Reuell Walters, Ethan Nwaneri and Lino Sousa have all been taken to the Netherlands by Arteta.

Asked if it has become harder to blood youngsters while challenging for honours, the Spaniard replied: “It gets harder and harder. So the talent has to be really good.

“(They are) three big prospects. We want to keep developing players from our system.

“They deserve to be here. There are circumstances that have brought them here. We will try to give them the opportunity if we can in the right moment.”

Thomas Tuchel has warned Manchester United there will be no let-up as already-qualified Bayern Munich attempt to extinguish the Old Trafford giants’ European hopes.

The perennial Bundesliga champions opened Group A with a 4-3 home win against the Red Devils and went on to seal progress to the Champions League knockout phase with two matches to spare.

Bayern are among the favourites to win a competition that United will be out of on Tuesday unless they seal a home win while Copenhagen and Galatasaray draw in the other final group game.

Erik ten Hag’s men would be guaranteed of at least Europa League football if they win a match that Tuchel says his side will approach with full focus despite wrapping up top spot.

“I understand that some people thought that against Copenhagen it looked like we weren’t throwing everything into it,” the Bayern boss said, referring to the 0-0 home draw a fortnight ago.

“But when you sign for Bayern or United, you sign to give 100 per cent every day.

“When you wear the Bayern Munich jersey, you behave like champions, there’s no other way.

“We have high expectations, even if we are always under pressure. United will give everything tomorrow to get through.

“But we expect a top performance from us. I hope we can match United’s enthusiasm and energy, which I’m sure they’ll bring to the game.”

United are not only desperate to stay in Europe but also determined to atone for Saturday’s shocking 3-0 home defeat to Bournemouth, which saw Ten Hag’s inconsistent side booed off the field.

“They’re always a dangerous team, they have a certain aura about them,” said Tuchel of United as Bayern look to maintain their competition record unbeaten 39-match run in the group stage.

“It’s part of the club’s DNA that they can survive difficult moments. They have ups and downs in their game, but they’ve conceded a lot of goals recently.

“In strong moments, you can see what they’re really capable of. The stadium creates special moments. It will be a big challenge for us.”

Bayern are looking to bounce back from a shocking loss of their own, having lost 5-1 at Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday afternoon.

It was their first Bundesliga defeat of the season and third in all competitions – losses they bounced back from with 4-0 away victories on both occasions.

Bayern sharpshooter Harry Kane admitted their performance against Frankfurt “wasn’t good enough” and said the group was fully focused on showing the “right reaction” at Old Trafford.

The England captain has hit the ground running and scored 22 goals since joining from Tottenham during a summer he was strongly linked to long-term admirers United.

“Every fan wants Harry to play in their team,” former Chelsea boss Tuchel said. “We’re very proud we were able to sign Harry.

“He’s a great character and a great role model, a terrific player. He scores a lot of goals and will be very happy to play here tomorrow.

“It’s a great story that we were able to bring the England captain, your centre forward, to Germany.”

New York Knicks starting center Mitchell Robinson will undergo surgery on his left ankle and be re-evaluated in 8-to-10 weeks, the team announced on Monday.

The 2018 second-round draft pick sustained the injury in Friday’s 133-123 loss at Boston and will now likely be sidelined through the All-Star break.

Mitchell leads the NBA with 5.3 offensive rebounds per game, ranks 11th in total rebounding (10.3), is tied for 14th in steals (1.52) and sits 20th in blocked shots (1.29).

He’s a big reason why the Knicks (12-9) are ranked third in the NBA with 108.7 points allowed per game and sixth with an average of 44.6 points allowed in the paint.

Mateo Kovacic says Manchester City will need to raise their level while they are without key players if they are to remain in the Premier League title race.

The champions came from behind to win 2-1 at Luton on Sunday but did so without injured top-scorer Erling Haaland, who was out with a stress fracture in his foot.

The 23-year-old, who has scored 19 goals this campaign in addition to the 52 he netted in his debut season at City, is also likely to miss Wednesday’s Champions League trip to Belgrade to face Red Star and Saturday’s meeting at home to Crystal Palace.

In-form winger Jeremy Doku also sat out the win at Kenilworth Road with a muscular injury, joining long-term absentee Kevin De Bruyne among those unavailable to manager Pep Guardiola as his team looks to chase down a four-point gap to league-leaders Liverpool.

“Obviously we missed key players like Erling and Kevin, it’s never easy when you miss such big players,” said Kovacic. “But they are not in the moment here, we need everybody to give 10, 20 per cent more like we did (on Sunday) and then we can win games.”

The win was City’s first in five matches following draws against Liverpool, Tottenham and Chelsea, prior to last week’s loss to Aston Villa.

Defeat to Rob Edwards’ side would have left them seven points adrift of the Reds, but victory against Palace will move them to within a point of the top with the sides above them not playing until Sunday.

Bernardo Silva and Jack Grealish each scored in the space of three second-half minutes to turn the game around after Elijah Adebayo’s goal at the end of the first period had left them facing a fifth straight winless game.

“The team was confident because we were playing good,” said Kovacic. “We had not bad results, some draws where we could have won.

“This is football sometimes, then it’s about how you come back. Today we came back in a good way.

“A big three points. We showed overall great football, especially in the first half we played very well, we found a lot of players in the pockets which is what we want.

“When you do your thing and insist, the goals come. We could have scored even more, but I’m happy with the three points.

“We saw in recent games that big teams can struggle here. We showed that even when the circumstances are like this we can do our best and play good football.

“This team has shown over the years that in the tough moments, they are there, and they were there again (on Sunday).”

Chris Woakes is “at ease” with being left out of England’s Test tour of India in the new year.

Woakes collected the Compton–Miller Medal for player of the series in the Ashes, inspiring England’s comeback from 2-0 down to draw 2-2, but is surplus to requirements for the five-match series in India.

By the lofty standards he sets himself, the 34-year-old’s Test record overseas is modest as he averages 51.88 with the ball, exactly 30 runs per wicket higher than a superb resume at home.

Having been notified by England director of men’s cricket Rob Key and Test head coach Brendon McCullum ahead of time, Woakes is satisfied to focus on white-ball cricket for the next few months.

“It’s mixed emotions,” he said. “You’re always desperate to be in it, but at the same time, at my age, with my away record – particularly in the subcontinent – I feel like it’s a fair decision.

“We had conversations about where my best cricket is likely to be played moving forward and, naturally in Test cricket, it looks likely to be at home.

“It doesn’t mean to say that when there’s not subcontinent tours that I won’t be available, hopefully they’ll still potentially pick me in those.

“But I feel at ease with the decision, if that makes sense. The communication was good, I know where I stand so it’s fine by me.”

Woakes will instead go to the International League T20 in the United Arab Emirates, which starts in January, and hopes to be snapped up in the Indian Premier League auction for next year’s edition.

He was speaking in Barbados, having linked up with England ahead of their five T20s against the West Indies which act as reconnaissance for next year’s T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and United States.

His last visit to these parts in March 2022 was in the final throes of Joe Root’s captaincy, with a 1-0 Test loss compounded by a knee injury that needed surgery and left Woakes sidelined for several months.

“I wouldn’t want that to be the same case going to India, bowling on tracks which are unresponsive to my type of bowling,” Woakes said.

“Slamming the front knee down at 34 is not really ideal when I want to play a lot of white-ball cricket moving forward.

“It’s different when that’s just your sole focus, but when you want to play all forms, it makes it a wise decision.”

Despite being white-ball vice-captain, Moeen Ali seems set to be dropped by England in Tuesday’s opening T20, which marks the start of the International Cricket Council’s stop clock trial.

If a bowling team is not ready to start an over 60 seconds after the completion of the last one, they will be penalised five runs when it happens for a third time and on each occasion thereafter.

“We haven’t really spoken about it as of yet, but I’ve seen the idea of it and it kind of makes sense,” Woakes added. “It hopefully will speed the game up a little bit.

“When you’re out there in the middle, you don’t feel like you’re playing it slow, the game does feel fast. Guys might be taking drinks or swapping gloves and things, but the game does feel pretty quick.

“But we’re in the entertainment business and we need to make sure the viewers are happy as well. So I think it’s a good idea.”

Fergal O’Brien’s Dysart Enos will take another step in her hurdling career when she lines up at Cheltenham on Friday.

The five-year-old was unbeaten in bumpers, including taking the Listed Alan Swinbank at Market Rasen ahead of the equally-promising Queens Gamble and then the Grade Two Nickel Coin at Aintree by nine lengths.

Her hurdling debut came at Huntingdon in November, where the bay was the seven-and-a-half-length winner of a mares’ two-mile novice event.

Cheltenham is her next destination as she holds an entry for the British EBF “National Hunt” Novices’ Hurdle, a race in which she we take on geldings over two miles and a furlong.

“That’s the plan, to go and give her a spin around there,” O’Brien said.

“I know we’re against the boys, but fingers crossed it’ll be a good bit of experience for her.

“It’s a very competitive novice hurdle on paper, but we have to go and try these things, the main reason is to get her there and to see how she handles Cheltenham.”

Stablemate Bonttay is entered at the same meeting as she is due to run in the Virgin Bet Every Saturday Money Back Mares’ Handicap Hurdle after winning her seasonal debut at Hereford in early November.

The six-year-old has never been out of the top two in nine starts, winning six times with a record of two from three at Cheltenham.

“She’s in good form, we’re really happy with her,” O’Brien said.

“She won very well at Hereford and we were pleased with that, she loves Cheltenham – she’s run there three times and won two and was second in the other.

“If you could pick a track that wouldn’t suit her it would be Hereford over two miles, it was just a case of wanting to get a run into her and get the freshness out of her, then this race was always the target.”

Napoli boss Walter Mazzarri has warned his side not to rest on their laurels as they look to nail down a spot in the Champions League knockout stages, despite knowing they could lose their final group game and still progress.

The Italians are handily placed behind Group C winners Real Madrid, sitting three points and three goals clear of their Portuguese opponents Braga ahead of Tuesday’s clash in Naples.

Having also won the reverse fixture, the Serie A outfit know they can win, draw or even go down by a single goal in order to reach the last 16, but Mazzarri expects them to be on their game.

Since marking his return to the club a month ago with victory at Atalanta, he has overseen three successive defeats, with Real, Juventus and league leaders Inter Milan presenting a fiercely difficult sequence of opponents.

And that means finding their feet is crucial, regardless of the equation in front of them.

“I don’t want to even say that we can go through, even if we lose with a one-goal margin,” he told Sky Sports Italia.

“We are not a team that can make these calculations, but a team that must play its own game, have a little more balance than the last few outings and only think about this. If we were to do something different we would just have a bad game.

“It is fundamental to get through the round, without giving anything away, and play with solidity. Against Braga it is essential to regain certainties.”

Mazzarri will make a late decision on the role of striker Victor Osimhen, with the Nigerian having flown to Marrakech to be present for Monday’s African footballer of the year ceremony.

The six-goal top-scorer is making a swift return to rejoin his team-mates, but Mazzarri will need to judge whether or not to name him in the starting XI following his exertions.

“He’ll be back tomorrow, I’ll talk to him and we’ll see if he’ll be in a position to start from the first,” he said.

“The Africa Cup of Nations will take place soon and we will have to do without him then, but we have two important players like (Giacomo) Raspadori and (Giovanni) Simeone who have already demonstrated that they are important in the past.”

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia has been struggling with illness over recent days and could be a doubt, while Braga have Nigou Siakate, whose own-goal handed Napoli the win in the earlier fixture, suspended.

While the visitors face a stiff challenge trying to leapfrog their opponents, they have similar leeway of their own over Union Berlin.

A draw would be sufficient to send them into the Europa League play-offs and will take that spot even if they lose, providing Union do not upset Real.

Inter Milan defender Matteo Darmian insists they will need the “right attitude” to beat Real Sociedad and finish first in Group D of the Champions League.

Inter have already qualified for the last 16 of the tournament and came back from three goals down to draw 3-3 with Benfica last time out.

The comeback enabled them to keep their undefeated streak going in the competition this season but they will need victory to ensure they top the group.

Tuesday’s opponents have also qualified but need to avoid defeat at San Siro to ensure they go through as group winners.

Former Manchester United defender Darmian knows the hosts face a challenge.

He told a press conference: “Tomorrow, we’ll go out there, as we have always have done since the start of the season, and try to win, but we know it won’t be easy.

“We want to win and we’ll need the right attitude and desire to do so.

“We already knew before the start of the group how difficult it was to play against Real Sociedad. They are a strong, organised team with great pace and quality.

“They’ve shown this throughout the group stages and deservedly qualified, too. We want to win so we can finish top of the group.”

Inter reached the Champions League final last season before losing the final against Manchester City 1-0.

Darmian insists they are learning from what went wrong last season in a bid to go one step further.

He continued: “As I said before, we have tried to learn from last year’s mistakes and have been working in the best possible way since day one.

“We have a great squad; we have so far shown that, but the season is still long and we must keep pushing on as we are.

“I don’t think much has changed, we always try to play the best we can and with the right determination to take home the win.

“Last year, we couldn’t get a consistent run together but this year we’re trying not to repeat the mistakes of last season.”

The 34-year-old is one of the experienced members in the squad and has played his part in helping the club keep an impressive 12 clean sheets in all competitions so far this season.

Asked whether this period is the best moment of his career, Darmian said: “I don’t think there is a secret; I don’t know if this is the best moment of my career.

“I’m certainly pleased to receive this trust from everyone; it’s something that pushes me every day to give more and more.

“When the coach selects me to play, I always try to give my best and help the team achieve its goals.

“This is a healthy and strong squad; we feel good around each other and we also transmit that out onto the pitch. We are on the right path and we must keep carrying on as we are.”

Girona are continuing to upset the big guns in Spain’s top flight.

Sunday’s stunning 4-2 win at Barcelona means Real Madrid, city rivals Atletico, Barca and Real Sociedad – all leaders of their Champions League groups – continue to trail in the wake of the team from Catalonia.

Here, the PA news agency provides some detail about Los Blanquivermells, who have lost just once in 16 matches this season and top the table by two points.

– Do they have trophy-winning pedigree?

No, unless you count lower league titles and regional cups.

This is only Girona’s fourth campaign in Spain’s top flight, with last season’s 10th-placed finish equalling their previous best in 2013.

Who are the club owned by?
Girona are part owned by the City Football Group (CFG), who own Manchester City.

CFG bought a 44.3 per cent stake in the club in 2017 with the Girona Football Group and now own 47 per cent.

Have they spent much money?

Not a significant amount. Ukraine forward Artem Dovbyk, whose opener in Sunday’s win at Barca was his seventh goal in just 10 LaLiga matches, reportedly became the club’s record signing when he joined from Dnipro for around £7million in August.

Who is their manager?
Miguel Angel Sanchez Munoz, better known as Michel, led Rayo Vallecano to LaLiga in 2018 and repeated the feat two years later with another unfashionable club, Huesca.

As a player, he was a midfielder who played more than 180 games in LaLiga, most of them with Rayo.

Do they have any recognisable players?

Considering the ownership, a Manchester City link is not unexpected.

Defender Eric Garcia and midfielder Aleix Garcia played for the defending champions, while Brazilian Yan Couto – in his third stint on loan with Girona – is a City defender.

Former Tottenham goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga and ex-Manchester United defender Daley Blind are also regulars in the team.

And what about their captain?

Cristhian Stuani, now 37 and once of Middlesbrough, continues to catch the eye.

The Uruguayan international’s double in the closing stages of their last home match, against Valencia, turned defeat into another victory – their 12th in 15th games – and had most of the 13,343 fans at Estadi Montilivi continuing to dream of a top-four finish.

One in five players at this year’s Women’s World Cup were the targets of online abuse.

New data published by FIFA found 152 players out of 697 whose social media accounts were actively monitored received targeted discriminatory, abusive or threatening messaging during the finals.

Homophobic, sexual and sexist abuse accounted for more than half of the abusive posts identified by FIFA’s Social Media Protection Service (SMPS).

Players at the finals in Australia and New Zealand were found to be 29 per cent more likely to be targeted for online abuse than their counterparts at the men’s finals in Qatar.

Players at the finals were given the opportunity to opt in to the SMPS moderation service, which can intercept and hide abusive messages from view.

SMPS scanned more than five million social posts in total, with 102,511 posts flagged by AI for human review. Of those, 7,085 were subsequently verified as discriminatory, abusive or threatening and reported to platforms.

While United States and Argentina players suffered the highest volume of abuse, the FIFA data found there were 637 verified instances of abuse linked to the final between England and Spain.

The study found spikes in abusive posts and messages linked to the news that members of Britain’s Royal Family would not attend the match, and to a good luck message from Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

The conduct of Spanish FA president Luis Rubiales following the final created a significant spike in abusive and misogynistic content, FIFA found.

Rubiales was banned for three years in October after he kissed Spain midfielder Jenni Hermoso on the lips during the medal presentation, having earlier grabbed his genitals in celebration of Spain’s victory while stood in the stadium’s VIP box.

The report contained a quote from Colombia’s Leicy Santos which read: “If there is one thing that footballers suffer from the most, apart from losing, it is all the abusive comments – the taunts, the insults.

“Beyond what we do as professional footballers, we are people. Some players are able to put up with the outrageous abuse we receive online, but other
players aren’t. It is a very sensitive issue when it comes to mental health.”

FIFA president Gianni Infantino said: “There can be no place on social media for those who abuse or threaten anyone, be that in FIFA tournaments or elsewhere.

“Through the Social Media Protection Service – which was introduced one year ago, with the support of FIFPRO – FIFA has helped reduce the exposure of players, teams and officials to online abuse and hate speech by reporting and hiding more than 400,000 comments.

“Discrimination has no place in football and no place in society. Together, we say: No discrimination!”

The analysis found that 67 per cent of the abusive posts originated from North America, with 21 per cent coming from Europe.

FIFA said all of the verified instances of abuse were reported to social media platforms but said the platforms’ response to dealing with abusive content was “sporadic”.

Evidence on the identity of account holders, where viable, has been presented to member associations and law enforcement agencies, FIFA said.

Giovinco is likely to head for the Kauto Star Novices’ Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day after coming off second best in clash with Stay Away Fay at Sandown last week.

With The Changing Man unseating his rider and outsider Conkwell Legend unable to land a blow, it turned into a straight shootout between two of the country’s most exciting staying novices.

Lucinda Russell’s Giovinco appeared to be travelling better than the Paul Nicholls-trained Stay Away Fay for much of the home straight, but the latter ultimately outstayed his rival in testing conditions.

Speaking at Ayr on Monday, Russell’s partner and assistant Peter Scudamore revealed Giovinco’s preparation for Sandown had not been entirely trouble-free and hopes he can turn up in better shape on the King George undercard.

“I think he’ll go to Kempton on Boxing Day. He hadn’t had a straight run to get to Sandown, (but) I thought Stephen (Mulqueen) gave him the most magnificent ride and he jumped brilliantly,” Scudamore told Racing TV.

“I was disappointed given how well he was going at three out and two out that he didn’t actually win. If you’d said to me beforehand we’d finish that close to him (Stay Away Fay) I’d have bitten your hand off, but when you watch him three out and he’s still cantering I thought he would win.

“Kempton’s a little bit easier track and I hope we have a bit better preparation. I see Noel George’s horse from France (Il Est Francais) is coming across and I think Paul has got another very good one (Knappers Hill).

“It’s not going to be easy, but on the other hand there’s nowhere else we can go with these horses.”