Gianluigi Buffon is set to be sanctioned by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) after he was found to have used a "blasphemous expression" during Juventus' 4-0 win at Parma in December.

The FIGC's disciplinary committee will now consider Buffon's case, with the veteran goalkeeper expected to receive a one-match ban.

A statement from the federation said Buffon was caught on camera committing the offence when shouting instructions to team-mate Manolo Portanova during the 80th minute of the match.

Buffon, 42, has made six appearances in all competitions for Juve this season and has served as backup to Wojciech Szczesny since returning to Turin from Paris Saint-Germain in 2019.

Thomas Tuchel has been appointed Chelsea head coach following the dismissal of Frank Lampard.

Chelsea have handed former Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain boss Tuchel a contract initially until the end of next season.

The 47-year-old had been out of work since being sacked by PSG in December.

Chelsea confirmed on their official website: "Thomas Tuchel has been appointed as the new Chelsea head coach."

Tuchel said: "I would like to thank Chelsea FC for their confidence in me and my staff.

"We all have the greatest respect for Frank Lampard's work and the legacy he created at Chelsea. At the same time, I cannot wait to meet my new team and compete in the most exciting league in football. I am grateful to now be part of the Chelsea family - it feels amazing!"

Despite leading PSG to a first Champions League final, where they were defeated 1-0 by Bayern Munich in August, Tuchel was replaced by Mauricio Pochettino after overseeing four Ligue 1 defeats before the mid-season break. PSG were third, a point behind Lyon and Lille, when Tuchel was ousted.

The German won two Ligue 1 titles, the Trophee des Champions twice, the Coupe de France and the Coupe de la Ligue during his two and a half years at the helm in Paris.

Prior to that he spent two years with Dortmund, winning the DFB-Pokal in 2016-17 but failing to dethrone Bayern in the Bundesliga.

He left both his previous positions following a breakdown in relations with senior leadership figures.

Tuchel had a disagreement with Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke after a Champions League game against Monaco was pushed back by just one day after the Bundesliga side's bus was attacked.

At PSG he was involved in a public dispute with sporting director Leonardo over the club's transfer policy and reportedly claimed he felt more like "a politician rather than a coach", though he later said that remark was mistranslated.

Chelsea will be keen for Tuchel to make a quick impact on the pitch, with the Blues having let Lampard go after a run of two wins in eight Premier League matches.

They face Wolves at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday before entertaining Burnley in the top flight on Sunday.

Thomas Tuchel has been appointed Chelsea head coach following the dismissal of Frank Lampard.

Chelsea have handed former Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain boss Tuchel a contract initially until the end of next season.

The 47-year-old had been out of work since being sacked by PSG in December.

Chelsea confirmed on their official website: "Thomas Tuchel has been appointed as the new Chelsea head coach."

Tuchel said: "I would like to thank Chelsea FC for their confidence in me and my staff.

"We all have the greatest respect for Frank Lampard's work and the legacy he created at Chelsea. At the same time, I cannot wait to meet my new team and compete in the most exciting league in football. I am grateful to now be part of the Chelsea family - it feels amazing!"

Chelsea said there was a "possibility" of Tuchel securing an extended stay at Stamford Bridge, and director Marina Granovskaia urged him to grasp an opportunity to deliver instant success this season.

She said: "It is never easy to change head coach in the middle of the season but we are very happy to secure one of Europe's best coaches in Thomas Tuchel.

"There is still much to play for and much to achieve, this season and beyond. We welcome Thomas to the club."

Tuchel took training at Chelsea on Tuesday evening as he immediately began work with the squad.

Chelsea will be keen for Tuchel to make a quick impact on the pitch, with the Blues having let Lampard go after a run of two wins in eight Premier League matches.

They face Wolves at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday before entertaining Burnley in the top flight on Sunday.

Despite leading PSG to a first Champions League final, where they were defeated 1-0 by Bayern Munich in August, Tuchel was replaced by Mauricio Pochettino after overseeing four Ligue 1 defeats before the 2020-21 mid-season break. PSG were third, a point behind Lyon and Lille, when Tuchel was ousted.

The German won two Ligue 1 titles, the Trophee des Champions twice, the Coupe de France and the Coupe de la Ligue during his two and a half years at the helm in Paris.

Prior to that he spent two years with Dortmund, winning the DFB-Pokal in 2016-17 but failing to dethrone Bayern in the Bundesliga.

He left both his previous positions following an apparent breakdown in relations with senior leadership figures.

Tuchel had a disagreement with Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke after a Champions League game against Monaco was pushed back by just one day after the Bundesliga side's bus was attacked.

At PSG he was involved in a public dispute with sporting director Leonardo over the club's transfer policy and reportedly claimed he felt more like "a politician rather than a coach", though he later said that remark was mistranslated.

Andrea Pirlo warned his Juventus side they risk going the way of Real Madrid and Bayern Munich if they take SPAL lightly in Wednesday's Coppa Italia quarter-final tie.

SPAL knocked out Sassuolo in the last round and make the trip to the Allianz Stadium sitting fifth in Serie B as they seek a swift return to the top tier of Italian football.

Record 13-time Coppa winners Juve enter the game as strong favourites to progress to the semi-finals, where the winner of Tuesday's game between Inter and Milan would await.

However, in a month that has seen Madrid exit the Copa del Rey with defeat to third-tier Alcoyano and Bayern lose to second-tier Holstein Kiel in the DFB-Pokal, Pirlo is taking nothing for granted.

"There are a lot of possible risks because we are facing a Serie B team on paper. But if you look at the foreign cups, Bayern lost to a team from a lower division, as did Madrid," Pirlo told Juventus TV.

"We have to assume that it will be a difficult game. We need maximum concentration because we want to go through. They are a good team that are doing well in the league and cup.

"We of course have to be careful because the main objective is to pass through to the next round.

"They are a very good team that like to play football, play with three defenders and sometimes three forwards or half-strikers. It is a difficult team to face so we will have to be at our best to avoid losing."

Juve's Scudetto hopes took a major dent with defeat to Inter on January 17, but they have since responded with 2-0 wins over Napoli in the Supercoppa Italiana and Bologna in the league.

Pirlo now has near enough a fully-fit squad to choose from and believes that will be reflected on the results front.

"It means we can improve because we have great players back," he said. "I hope to finally have the whole squad available and we can then work on all the concepts, which we have not been able to do this season."

Rodrigo Bentancur will miss the cup tie but Matthijs de Ligt and Merih Demiral will return to the starting line-up after recovering from coronavirus and injury respectively.

"Bentancur will rest for sure because on Sunday he played the whole game with a hole in his foot," Pirlo said. "We had to put three stitches in - he made a big sacrifice and now he will need a few days of rest to absorb the bruise.

"Some players who played on Sunday will rest. De Ligt and Demiral will return and start from the beginning. Then for the rest we will have a competitive team.

Pirlo also confirmed Gianluigi Buffon will start against SPAL, with regular goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny being given a breather.

Szczesny has conceded 16 goals in 14 league matches this term for a save percentage of 68.63, which is below the 74.42 he managed last season and 75.61 in 2018-19.

He made three saves against both Napoli and Bologna to keep successive clean sheets, but Pirlo is after even more from the Poland international.

"He is giving us great confidence with his performances," the rookie head coach said. "We are more than satisfied with the displays he is putting in on the pitch.

"We know he can still improve because he's a world-class goalkeeper who plays for a great team. We are hoping that he can still do better."

Kobe Bryant was a man whose influence reached far further than the basketball court, though his extraordinary numbers in the NBA are what made him such a legendary figure.

The Los Angeles Lakers hero was tragically killed in a helicopter crash at the age of 41 on this day in 2020.

It was an event which led to an outpouring of tributes for one of the all-time greats.

"I don't think any of us will ever forget that day," Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr said, reflecting on when his team were starting a practice as the tragic news broke.

"Everything stopped. The music stopped. The players stopped. Nobody said a word.

"A lot of guys dropped to the floor and started crying. Nothing happened for 10 minutes. We all just sat there in silence. It was one of the worst moments of all our lives."

Bryant's list of achievements over a 20-year career with the Lakers are the stuff of legend and his numbers stack up against the best to have played the game.

Here we take a look at Bryant's scarcely believable statistics with the help of Stats Perform data.

5 - Bryant won the NBA championship five times with the Lakers, in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2009 and 2010.

2 - He was twice named MVP in the NBA Finals, in 2009 and 2010.

18 - Bryant was a fixture in the NBA All-Star team, named to that side in 1998 and then each year from 2000 to 2016, the year that he retired. Those 18 appearances put him second on the all-time list, with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar playing in 19 of the games.

4 - Bryant was four times the NBA All-Star Game MVP, in 2002, 2007, 2009 and 2011.

1 - He received his lone NBA MVP award for the 2007-08 season, during which he became the youngest player to reach 20,000 career points, at the age of 29 years and 122 days.

33,643 - He sits fourth on the NBA all-time list of points-scorers with 33,643 from 1,346 games. Only Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone and LeBron James are ahead of him on the list.

35.4 - In the 2005-06 season, Bryant recorded his highest points-per-game average for a single campaign, with 35.4. He led the NBA in scoring in that season and in 2006-07.

81 - On January 22, 2006, Bryant scored 81 points in a 122-104 victory over the Toronto Raptors at Staples Center. That is the second highest individual score in an NBA game, behind Wilt Chamberlain's 100 for the Philadelphia Warriors against the New York Knicks in 1962.

60  - In his final game, on April 13, 2016, Bryant scored 60 points for the Lakers in a 101-96 win over the Utah Jazz.

15 - Bryant received All-NBA honours in 15 seasons, being named in the first team on 11 occasions. Only LeBron, with 13 appearances in the first team, beats Bryant's total.

9 - He was named nine times to the NBA All-Defense first team, matching the all-time high. Kevin Garnett, Michael Jordan and Gary Payton achieved the same total.

17 - Bryant was an NBA player of the month 17 times, and 32 times the player of the week.

2 - Bryant's success was not limited to NBA action either. He won Olympic gold medals with the United States in 2008 and 2012.

1 - He won an Oscar too, after his playing career ended, landing the Best Animated Short Film prize at the 2018 Academy Awards for Dear Basketball.

Luka Jovic scored just two goals in 18 months with Real Madrid but still believes his time with LaLiga's champions has made him a better player.

Madrid reportedly shelled out €60million to sign Jovic from Eintracht Frankfurt after he scored 27 goals and supplied six assists in 48 appearances for the German club in 2018-19. No Frankfurt player had scored that many since Tony Yeboah registered 30 in the 1992-93 season.

However, he struggled to establish himself as part of Zinedine Zidane's squad, finding the back of the net twice and setting up two more in 32 outings for Los Blancos.

Jovic was allowed to return to Eintracht on a six-month loan and has made an instant impact. In just 76 minutes on the pitch across three appearances, he has scored three times from just four attempts on goal.

The 23-year-old admitted his transition to Madrid was difficult and a lack of time on the pitch made things harder, but he is confident he has taken steps forwards in terms of his ability.

"I had bad luck in Madrid, including injuries, and things didn't go smoothly privately," Jovic told a news conference on Tuesday.

"Nonetheless, it was an advantage to train with the best players in their respective positions.

"I also learned a lot of tricks from them. As a result, I am more experienced and have made progress. Although I had a lot of injuries and didn't do much on the pitch, I learned a lot during that time.

"I scored two goals during my time at Real Madrid, and I already have three here.

"I think it had to do with how little time I was able to play. It's never easy in a team like Real Madrid, where the style is different and the pressure is always very high."

Jovic is yet to be named in Adi Hutter's starting line-up since returning but hopes that will soon come once he has overcome some physical issues.

"I still need some time to get to my best. At the moment I'm still working on a few muscular things, but we'll see," he said.

"I trust the coach will use me when I'm in top shape and we can find the best solution and the right moment for it together."

The Serbia international is not thinking about what the future holds for him at Madrid, claiming his sole focus is doing his utmost for Eintracht.

"I don't want to look too far into the future. I am focused on Eintracht and my form in order to be able to play regularly again soon," he said.

"I don't have to prove anything to anyone. I know I am a good player and whoever sees me will know how to value that."

Sam Underhill is the latest player to withdraw from England's Six Nations squad due to a hip injury.

Jack Willis has been called up as a replacement for back-row Underhill, who is another big loss for the defending champions.

Underhill played a big part in England's Six Nations and Autumn Nations Cup triumphs last year but sustained an injury blow before he was due to link up with the squad at St. George's Park on Wednesday.

Willis made his Test debut against Georgia last November and will be hoping to make his Six Nations bow in the coming weeks.

Underhill's withdrawal comes a day after Joe Launchbury and Joe Marler were ruled out due to a fibula stress fracture and personal reasons respectively.

England head coach Eddie Jones' preparations had already been disrupted last week when he was forced to go into self-isolation after his assistant Matt Proudfoot tested positive for coronavirus.

The Red Rose start the defence of their title against Scotland at Twickenham a week on Saturday.

Barcelona head coach Ronald Koeman insists his players are not worried by the club's financial situation amid concerns around spiralling debts.

Barca's latest financial figures, dated August 17 but only released this month after their previous AGM was postponed, indicate their total debt has now exceeded €1.1billion.

Their short-term debt has risen to €730m, having increased by €225m since the 2018-19 season largely due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic: specifically, the lack of matchday revenue as games continue to be played behind closed doors, and the reduction in tourists visiting the Camp Nou facilities.

Although Barca top the 2021 Deloitte Football Money League with total revenues of €715.1m, the stark numbers released by the club paint a concerning picture for prospective new presidents Joan Laporta, Victor Font and Toni Freixa.

Last November, it was announced the players had agreed to a salary reduction that would save the club €122m and help to avoid widespread layoffs of non-playing staff, but interim president Carlos Tusquets claimed last month that the squad would not be paid for January due to the precarious financial situation.

Speaking ahead of Wednesday's Copa del Rey clash with Rayo Vallecano, Koeman stressed the senior squad was dully focused on keeping their trophy push alive.

"Barca is a great club that has been affected by COVID and suffers more than others, also from the tourism side of things," he said. "But all the big teams can take numbers that aren't good, not just here.

"The players are focused and not worried about this subject. We're concentrating on our work."

When asked if some Barca salaries were too high, Koeman replied:  "The club makes the contract and the player accepts it or not. We have to train and win games and trophies. We have all helped the club with the salary reduction."

He added on the subject of January wages not being paid: "I don't know if that's true. You'd have to ask."

Koeman is taking a strong side to second-tier Rayo, with the Copa del Rey looking likely to be Barca's best chance of winning silverware this season, with Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid both out.

While he may rotate his starting line-up, Koeman expects Lionel Messi to be raring to go after missing two games through suspension.

"It depends on the state of the players. If there are tired boys, we'll have to change," he said.

"We'll take a strong team to get through this tie. We know the road is shorter to winning something. The teams who are left are strong and we saw that in the Supercopa de Espana.

"[Messi] is really looking forward to playing and winning things. He's a winning player who wants titles. We have to wait until the morning to know if he'll play.

"To win something, we need Messi fit."

It was something only Kobe Bryant could have done.

At the end of an illustrious 20-year career that included five NBA championship wins, 18 All-Star selections and All-NBA First Team honours on 11 occasions, Bryant said farewell to the Los Angeles Lakers with a Hollywood ending.

He produced one of the most memorable final appearances the league has seen against the Utah Jazz on April 13, 2016.

On the anniversary of his death alongside 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others in a helicopter crash, we look back at one of the finest moments of his career.

POINTING THE WAY

After Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea's bizarre rendition of the United States' national anthem, the 18,997 fans inside Staples Center were treated to something far more familiar.

Bryant racked up 60 points against the Jazz, which was the most scored by a player in a single game in the NBA that season. However, it was the first time he had gone past 50 since 2009, when he poured in 61 against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

Bryant was 6-of-21 from three-point range and had plenty of joy in the paint, where he accumulated 22 points. He scored a total of 16 unassisted points, with his final seven baskets coming via his own work.

SHOOT YOUR SHOT

If you don't shoot you don't score, and Bryant did his utmost to get points on the board. His 50 field goal attempts eclipsed the record of 49 set by the great Michael Jordan against the Orlando Magic in 1993. The 2008 MVP took 15 more shots than the rest of his team-mates combined.

Bryant nailed 18 of 40 shots with a defender within 3.5 feet against the Jazz and despite his record-breaking number of attempts he still took care of the ball, committing just two turnovers.

SLOW START, STRONG FINISH

It was not immediately clear the game was going to go so well for Bryant. He missed his first five shots and did not have a make until after the first six minutes of the game.

However, he eventually found his rhythm and was flying by the time the fourth quarter came around, scoring 13 unanswered points after the Jazz moved 96-86 ahead with two minutes and 35 seconds remaining.

His final act was a length-of-the-floor pass to Jordan Clarkson – his fourth assist of the game – for a dunk to seal an iconic 101-96 victory that underlined his legacy as an all-time great.

Kobe Bryant forged a legacy in the NBA that will forever stand the test of time.

A year has passed since the Los Angeles Lakers legend and 13-year-old daughter Gianna were among those to tragically lose their lives in a helicopter crash.

Bryant was a star who transcended the game of basketball after entering the NBA in 1996, providing highlight after highlight up until his retirement in 2016, with staggering point hauls.

To mark the anniversary of his passing, we look at Bryant's five greatest games with the Lakers, where the five-time NBA champion spent his entire 20-year career.

65 points - March 16, 2007 v Portland Trail Blazers

Against the Trail Blazers at Staples Center, Bryant came close to reaching the career-high 81 points he had recorded just over a year earlier. The superstar guard lit up the Blazers with 65 points as the Lakers won 116-111. Bryant shot 23-of-39, including 11-of-12 from the free throw line, while he also made eight three-pointers.

Nate McMillan coached Portland that day and after Bryant's passing, he told reporters: "I've seen it first-hand. He lit us up and I remember, he was shooting threes and just on fire, and we had him in a trap, deep corner, he had nowhere to go, should have passed the ball. He's facing his bench and he just turns and shoots it and it goes in. He really became like Michael [Jordan], in the sense that when you watched him play, could he do it again? Could he create that magic again in the fourth quarter? And he did."

61 points - February 2, 2009 v New York Knicks

Madison Square Garden hosted one of Bryant's greatest performances almost 12 years ago. At the world-famous arena in New York, 'the Black Mamba' posted 61 points - a venue record for a visiting player - against the Knicks, who lost 126-117 to the Lakers. On 19-of-31 shooting, Bryant finished with three assists and one block. He scored 34 points in the first half alone en route to the record, which was matched by Houston Rockets star James Harden in 2019.

"Tonight was one of the nights he kind of showed why he's going to go down in history," Lakers team-mate Lamar Odom said after the game.

62 points - December 20, 2005 v Dallas Mavericks

Three quarters were all that Kobe needed to embarrass the Mavericks. Bryant outscored Dallas 62-61 at the end of the third quarter in Los Angeles as the Lakers eased to a 112-90 victory. The Mavericks were one of the best teams that season, going on to reach the NBA Finals before succumbing to the Miami Heat. However, the Mavericks were schooled by the unstoppable Bryant, who shot 18-of-31 from the field and 22-of-25 from the free-throw line. He sat out the entire fourth quarter.

"It was just one of those nights," Bryant told reporters as he reflected on the game in 2016. "Yes [I could have scored 80 points that night]. It sounds funny to say, but yes, I could have."

60 points - April 13, 2016 v Utah Jazz 

Bryant said farewell to basketball in the only way he knew how, with an exclamation mark. It was a true Hollywood goodbye as Bryant capped an illustrious career by scoring 60 final-game points in a 101-96 victory over the Utah Jazz at Staples Center. Bryant drained 23 points in the fourth quarter, posting his first 50-point game since February 2009.

"It's hard to believe it happened this way," Bryant, who played 42 minutes and attempted a career-high 50 shots, said. "I'm still shocked about it… The perfect ending would have been a championship. But tonight was [me] trying to go out, play hard and try to put on a show as much as I possibly could. It felt good to be able to do that one last time."

81 points - January 22, 2006 v Toronto Raptors

The highlight of a stellar career and the night Bryant threatened to surpass Wilt Chamberlain. Kobe played 1,346 NBA games but he was well and truly in the zone against the Raptors, scoring 81 points - just 19 short of Chamberlain's legendary 100-point outing in 1962. Bryant produced 42 minutes of pure brilliance to lead the Lakers past the Raptors 122-104. It was a display of efficiency as Bryant's outburst featured a 60.9 shooting percentage from the field and 53.8 per cent from beyond the arc.

"Not even in my dreams," Bryant said. "That was something that just happened. It's tough to explain. It's just one of those things."

Jake Brimmer opened his A-League account with a late double against his former club as Melbourne Victory came from behind to beat Perth Glory 2-1 on Australia Day.

Ex-Perth midfielder Brimmer scored twice in the space of four minutes to give the Victory their first win of the campaign – his second coming from the penalty spot in the final minute of regulation time.

Robbie Kruse made his first start for the Victory in almost a year and he was denied a goal to mark the occasion by a brilliant save from Tando Velaphi, who started in place of Liam Reddy for Perth after they conceded eight goals in their first two games.

Velaphi kept out Brimmer either side of half-time and the Glory took advantage by moving in front when Bruno Fornaroli nodded Carlo Armiento's left-wing cross in at the back post just after the hour mark.

The Perth goalkeeper made six saves but was finally beaten when Brimmer rose highest to head Adama Traore's cross into the bottom-right corner.

After Josh Rawlins handled a corner inside the box, Brimmer swept the spot-kick past Velaphi as the Victory avoided defeat at AAMI Park after a club-record three-game losing streak at the venue in the A-League.

LeBron James had a homecoming to remember and his inspirations in a 46-point showing against the Cleveland Cavaliers were Tom Brady, his mom's cooking and an over-excited executive.

Superstar James guided the Western Conference-leading Los Angeles Lakers to a 115-108 win on the road on what was his first return to Cleveland in two years.

James really turned it on in the fourth quarter, making nine of 10 shots including an outstanding 34-foot three-point effort that put the Lakers five points in front.

His last-quarter heroics followed James taking exception to an unidentified member of the Cavs' front office reacting a little too heartily to a missed shot towards the end of the third.

"It's someone I know for sure, I felt like he was just a little too excited about seeing me miss. That's what happened," James said. 

"I know who he is, he's part of the front office group. He was really excited about me missing that shot, a little bit more extra than I would have liked. He's gotta root for his team obviously, he showcased that. I knew I had another quarter and the fourth quarter is my favourite.

"The good thing for him is I only come here once. It's all good. He didn't say a word, he was just a little too excited about me missing a shot. There's a million cameras in these arenas, y'all just gotta find a shot of how excited he was. I didn't take it well."

But James, who was 73.1 per cent from the field and 63.6 per cent from the three-point range, also drew inspiration from seeing veteran quarterback Tom Brady lead the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to the Super Bowl, while enjoying some home comforts courtesy of his mother.

"Home cooking, the opportunity to see my mom and get a home-cooked meal," he replied when asked what inspired him against the Cavs.

"I saw my uncle too, it just felt good to be back in my haven, my rest haven, just being home.

"Also, you can be inspired watching the greatest play, watching Brady, that team, that inspired me too. It felt good from beginning."

Anthony Davis chalked up 17 points and 10 rebounds but was happy to just enjoy the LeBron show.

"When he's playing like that it's fun to watch, amazing to see the shots he makes and shots he takes. He's a hell of a player," Davis said.

"It was one of those nights for him, getting to the basket, hitting the three. He wasn't missing. From the first quarter I knew it was going to be a good night for him."

Head coach Frank Vogel described James' performance as "one of those nights for the ages for him" and added: "It was pretty awesome, just to see he can still turn it up like that.

"Obviously he wanted to win against his former team here, he came out the gates really strong."