Ukraine has threatened to boycott the 2024 Paris Olympics if the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decides to include Russian and Belarusian athletes.

The two nations are currently banned following the IOC calling on federations to exclude them after the former's invasion of Ukraine last year.

The IOC confirmed on Wednesday its intention to uphold sanctions against state and government officials ahead of next year's games, but added it would explore opportunities for athletes from both nations to compete in France under a neutral flag.

The move has been met with criticism, coming just weeks after Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky called for athletes to remain barred.

The country's sports minister took to social media on Thursday to reiterate Ukraine's official stance on the matter.

"Our position is unchanged," said Vadym Guttsait.

"As long as there is a war in Ukraine, Russian and Belarusian athletes should not be in international competitions... If we are not heard, I do not rule out the possibility that we will boycott and refuse participation in the Olympics."

Guttsait is also president of Ukraine's National Olympic Committee, and added that consultation has begun with national sports federations over a possible refusal to participate in Paris.

"I hope all the federations, athletes and the entire civilised world pay attention now and we won't have to resort to extremes," Guttsait added.

Frank Lampard has thanked Everton fans and hailed a "special club with a huge heart" after his sacking earlier this week.

Lampard was dismissed on Monday following a 2-0 defeat at West Ham, which left Everton in 19th place and level on points with Southampton below them.

Chelsea's record goalscorer Lampard joined Everton in January of last year, replacing Rafael Benitez – an unpopular and divisive figure with the Toffees' fanbase.

Lampard formed a connection with Everton's fanbase but could not avoid a relegation scrap. However, a run of three wins from Everton's final six games of the season ensured their survival, with a 3-2 comeback win over Crystal Palace at Goodison Park guaranteeing their long run in the top tier continued.

The sale of talisman Richarlison in June, and the continued injury issues of Dominic Calvert-Lewin, hindered Everton this season. They have won just three times in the league, and Lampard paid the price, becoming the sixth manager to be dismissed by Farhad Moshiri since he invested in the club in 2016.

On Thursday, Lampard posted a goodbye message on his official Instagram account, with the statement also shared by the League Managers Association (LMA).

"Coming into Everton last year I knew we were in a tough moment and I will always be proud of the incredible work and support from everyone involved to keep the team in the Premier League last season," Lampard wrote.

"Thanks to everybody that played their part as the whole club came together. I will never forget the incredible night against Palace that we shared.

"I want to thank all Evertonians for the welcome that you gave to myself, my staff, and my family. It truly is a special club with a huge heart, and an incredible history.

"I'm disappointed that we couldn't achieve more together and wish all the players and everyone at Everton FC the very best for the future."

Lampard, who spent just under a year in charge, won only nine of his 38 Premier League matches, meaning his win percentage (23.7) is better than only that of Mike Walker (19.4) when it comes to Everton managers to have overseen at least 10 games in the competition. He won a further three cup matches.

It has been a whirlwind week at Everton. Following Lampard's dismissal, they had expected to announce the signing of Arnaut Danjuma on loan from Villarreal.

Yet Danjuma failed to complete the formalities of the transfer and instead joined Tottenham.

Owner Moshiri has denied reports that the club is up for sale, though acknowledged he is looking for investment. MSP Sports Capital, an investment firm with stakes in several European teams as well as Formula One's McLaren Racing, are reportedly interested.

Meanwhile, Everton's search for Lampard's replacement is gathering pace. Former Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa flew into London on Thursday for talks with the club's hierarchy and is said to be Moshiri's first choice.

Ex-Burnley boss Sean Dyche is reportedly a reserve candidate, while Ralph Hasenhuttl, West Brom's Carlos Corberan and Davide Ancelotti, assistant to his father Carlo at Real Madrid, have also been linked.

Stats Perform understands that academy graduate Anthony Gordon has not attended training this week, with Newcastle United reportedly hoping to sign the winger.

The Carolina Panthers have reached an agreement with Frank Reich to take over as their new head coach.

Reich, a former Panthers quarterback who started the first three games of the franchise’s inaugural season in 1995, spent four seasons as the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts before being fired nine games into the 2022 campaign.

The 61-year-old becomes the sixth permanent head coach in Panthers history and the first with an offensive background, a likely selling point for an organisation that has been marred by instability at quarterback since it last reached the playoffs in 2017.

Reich compiled a 40-33 regular-season record with Indianapolis and reached the playoffs in 2018 and 2020.

The Colts finished 9-8 in 2021 but failed to make the postseason after a stunning loss to a 2-14 Jacksonville Jaguars team in the finale, and got off to a 3-5-1 start this season when Reich was dismissed on November 7.

Prior to taking over the Colts, Reich served as the offensive coordinator during the Philadelphia Eagles' 2017 championship season and was instrumental in the development of quarterback Carson Wentz, who finished third in MVP voting after throwing for 3,296 yards and 33 touchdowns in his second NFL campaign.

The Panthers own the number nine pick in this year's draft and are expected to strongly consider taking a young quarterback after finishing 27th in the NFL in passer rating while starting three players (Baker Mayfield, P.J. Walker, Sam Darnold) at the position.

Mayfield was ultimately released in December and Darnold is an unrestricted free agent this offseason.

Reich fills a void created when Matt Ruhle was fired five games into the season after going 11-27 in two-plus years.

Interim coach Steve Wilks, who went 6-6 after Ruhle's ousting to move Carolina within one game of NFC South champions the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, reportedly was a finalist for the permanent job before team owner David Tepper decided on Reich.

According to NFL.com, Wilks is expected to pursue other opportunities and will not remain on staff.

The Panthers are the first of five teams that let go of head coaches during or after the 2022 season to name a replacement. The Colts, the Arizona Cardinals, the Denver Broncos and the Houston Texans are still looking to fill vacancies. 

Kolo Toure has been sacked by Wigan Athletic less than two months after taking charge of the Championship club.

Toure, the former Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool defender, was appointed Wigan manager on November 29. It was his first job in management.

However, the 41-year-old was sacked on Thursday after just 59 days having failed to win any of his nine games in charge.

Toure's Wigan lost six of those fixtures and sit bottom of the Championship with 25 points from 28 matches.

The Latics' chief executive Malachy Brannigan said: "Firstly, I'd like to thank Kolo [for his] efforts during [his] time at the football club. 

"Unfortunately, the results on the field have not been as we would have liked and as tough a decision as this was, the Board felt it necessary to give us the best possible chance of remaining a Championship club next season."

Malo Gusto will remain at Lyon despite interest from Chelsea, with club president Jean-Michel Aulas claiming the right-back will stay in Ligue 1.

The youngster has been linked with a switch to the Premier League heavyweights, who have presided over a high-spending January transfer window.

France youth international Gusto is the latest to be touted for a move, and has reportedly already agreed personal terms on a six-and-a-half-year deal.

But reports also said Lyon knocked back a £17.6million (€20m) offer from the Blues on Wednesday, and Aulas has claimed the 19-year-old will not be going anywhere this month.

"I have the pleasure to explain that Malo Gusto, one of Lyon's big talents, will continue to play for Lyon until at least June 30," he wrote on Twitter.

Gusto is out of contract at the end of next season with the Ligue 1 outfit, who currently ninth with just one win from their last five top-flight matches.

The club reportedly value him closer to £35m (€40m) and may well be playing hardball in order to convince Chelsea to either up their offer or wait for the end of the campaign.

With 47 appearances for his hometown club, Gusto is already knocking at the door of the France senior team under Didier Deschamps.

If he was to move to Chelsea, he would become their seventh arrival of the transfer window, and second from Ligue 1 after Monaco defender Benoit Badiashile.

David Datro Fofana, Andrey Santos, Mykhaylo Mudryk and Noni Madueke are the other permanent arrivals at Stamford Bridge, while Joao Felix also joined on loan from Atletico Madrid.

Liverpool's teenager midfielder Stefan Bajcetic has signed a new long-term contract with the club.

The 18-year-old arrived from Celta Vigo in late 2020 and has worked his way through to the first-team picture at Anfield.

Having trained with the senior team ahead of the 2022-23 season, Bajcetic has 10 appearances to his name this term.

His breakthrough performances have seen him earn a fresh deal with Jurgen Klopp's men, and Bajcetic acknowledges he is enjoying a campaign that has outperformed his expectations.

"It's crazy [how quickly things have happened]," he told the club's official website. "A year ago I was playing Under-18s football, and now I've started some games [and] made my debut.

"[I have] even scored a goal. That was something I never expected to happen this year. It's amazing to see how fast it went.

Bajcetic made his senior debut in late August during the Reds' 9-0 rout over Bournemouth in the Premier League.

He has gone on to make several more appearances in the top flight for Liverpool, while he was also a goalscorer in their Boxing Day win over Aston Villa.

His renewal marks the latest piece of business for Klopp's side, who signed Cody Gakpo from PSV in their only major transfer of the mid-season window.

Liverpool will be in FA Cup action this weekend with a fourth-round trip to Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday.

Gareth Southgate described the England manager job as "the greatest privilege" of his life and said he wanted to make sure he was "fresh and hungry" before committing to remain in the role after the Three Lions' World Cup exit.

A year-and-a-half on from reaching the Euro 2020 final on home turf, England were edged out 2-1 in the quarter-finals of Qatar 2022 by France.

The tournament nevertheless marked a turnaround in form for the Three Lions after a dismal Nations League campaign, underlining Southgate's record in his role.

But the former Middlesbrough boss acknowledged he needed time to ensure he made the right call in choosing to remain on board.

"I never want to be in a position where my presence is affecting the team in a negative way," he told BBC Sport.

"I didn't believe that was the case, but I just wanted a period after the World Cup to reflect and make sure that was still how it felt."

"Is it the right thing to keep taking this project on? I wanted to make sure I'm still fresh and hungry for that challenge. [It is] the greatest privilege of my life.

"The quality of performances and the progress that we're making [shows] the team [is] still improving. We're all gaining belief in what we're doing."

England face a banana-skin qualification pathway for Euro 2024, with defending champions Italy, Ukraine, North Macedonia and Malta in their group.

The Three Lions will play the former two sides in March as they begin their campaign working towards next year's tournament in Germany.

Jofra Archer is poised to return to international cricket with England on Friday as Jos Buttler's team tackle South Africa in the first of three ODIs.

The 27-year-old fast bowler has been building up form and fitness by playing for MI Cape Town in the SA20 series, having played no international cricket since March 2021 due to injury.

Major elbow and back problems put Archer's blossoming career on hold, but he is back now.

Although Archer is only around 80 per cent of the way through his recovery, by his own estimation, all that is lacking is "fine-tuning", he said this week.

This is music to the ears of captain Jos Buttler, who said on Thursday: "It's great to have Jofra back, fit and playing cricket again. He's such an exciting guy to have back on the field. As an England captain, to have him back in your squad and in your team is brilliant.

"He's only just coming back to competitive cricket, this will be his first international game for a long time, so there's always going to be a level of expectation on Jofra because we all know what he's capable of. But I'm sure he's just going to get better and better as he comes back and gets back to performing at such a high level."

Buttler says Archer may need "a little bit of time" to fully return to where he was before injuries began to take their toll.

But at the start of a World Cup year, with England preparing to defend their 50-over title in India in October and November, Buttler said: "It's just fantastic to see him fit and back playing again."

Ahead of the opening match in Bloemfontein, England know a 3-0 series win would see them jump back above India to the top of the ODI rankings.

Former skipper Kevin Pietersen made an appearance at the team's training session on Thursday, with England looking to get back to winning ways after failing to win any of their last three ODI series, losing to Australia and India and drawing at home against South Africa.

The Proteas continue to be led by Temba Bavuma, and this series could be a key one in terms of his future as white-ball captain.

A shock defeat to the Netherlands knocked South Africa out of the T20 World Cup in November, with Bavuma signalling he will concur with whatever decision is made about the team's future leadership.

Rob Walter is due to take over as coach of the ODI side from the start of February, with Shukri Conrad overseeing this series.

"If the team wants to go in a different direction with a different leader, I am happy to step away," Bavuma said. "Ultimately it's up to the coach. We have got a new coach now and might be a new coaching staff.

"The coach will have his vision and he will need someone to drive that vision. At the moment the coach has entrusted me with that role, so I will continue doing my best. I'm fortunate I have got a bunch of guys that support me. For me, it's business as usual for now."

Milestone in sight for Roy

England batter Jason Roy is seven away from reaching 4,000 runs in ODIs. If he reaches the milestone in his first match of this series, his 105th innings, it would make him the second-fastest player to achieve it for England, Joe Root got there quicker than anyone, in just 91 innings.

Parnell on brink of century

Wayne Parnell, set to win a 70th ODI cap, will be hoping to complete 100 scalps in the 50-over international game during this series. He is on 97 at present and can become the 13th player to reach 100 wickets in the format for the Proteas. He has taken three or more wickets in three ODIs against England, including his career-best figures of 3-48, all the way back in November 2009.

The Dallas Cowboys have confirmed the exit of six members of their staff roster, including assistant head coach Rob Davis and offensive line coach Joe Philbin.

The Texas franchise saw their NFL season come to a close in a 19-12 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Divisional round last weekend.

That has signalled the start of an offseason shuffle among head coach Mike McCarthy's ranks, with half-a-dozen faces among those who will depart the team.

Alongside Davis and Philbin, running backs coach Skip Peete, defensive assistant George Edwards, analytics coach Kyle Valero and assistant defensive line coach Leon Lett are also leaving.

"We thank these men for their hard work, dedication and contributions to the Cowboys," McCarthy issued in a statement.

"Each of them represented our team and organisation at a high, professional level with class and commitment to making our team better.

"These were difficult decisions to make because of the great respect I have for each of them as a coach and person of character, combined with the experiences we've all gone through together.

"This is the hardest part of the business, and we wish them nothing but the best."

With a 12-5 winning record in the regular season, the Cowboys finished second in the NFC East behind the Philadelphia Eagles.

They defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a resounding 31-14 Wild Card round victory to start their postseason campaign, but will now continue their wait for a first Super Bowl appearance since the 1995 season.

Real Madrid have called on authorities to hold those responsible for the abuse of Vinicius Junior to account.

Madrid host rivals Atletico Madrid in a Copa del Rey encounter on Thursday.

In the build-up to the match, pictures were shared on social media showing a mannequin, wearing a Vinicius shirt, hung by the neck from a bridge in the Spanish capital.

This was condemned by Atleti, who released a statement saying: "Such acts are absolutely repugnant and inadmissible and shame society. Our condemnation of any act that attacks the dignity of persons or institutions is categorical and unreserved."

Madrid have now joined their neighbours in condemning what they label as a "repugnant act of racism, xenophobia and hatred".

A statement read: "Real Madrid would like to thank you for the support and expressions of affection received after the regrettable and repugnant act of racism, xenophobia and hatred against our player Vinicius.

"We would like to express our strongest condemnation of these acts which are an attack on fundamental rights and the dignity of people, and which have nothing to do with the values that football and sport represent.

"Attacks such as those suffered by our player, or those suffered by any sportsperson, have no place in a society such as ours

"Real Madrid trust that those who have participated in such a despicable act will be held accountable."

The Confederacao Brasileira de Futebol (CBF) also joined in the condemnation.

"The CBF vehemently repudiates the racist acts suffered once again by Vinicius," a statement read.

"Intolerance and discrimination are not part of sport and must be eliminated from society. We hope that those responsible are identified and punished under the law."

LaLiga called for a full investigation to be launched and criminal sanctions issued against guilty parties.

Aryna Sabalenka made a giant career breakthrough by reaching the Australian Open final, revealing: "I've dropped my psychologist and appointed myself."

One year on from being near the lowest ebb of her career, struggling to hit a serve into court, Sabalenka is a changed player after working on the biomechanics of her game.

Three times a losing grand slam semi-finalist, she got over that hurdle for the first time by beating Magda Linette 7-6 (7-1) 6-2 in Thursday's second semi-final, setting up a title showdown with Elena Rybakina on Saturday.

Hard work has brought about this change in Sabalenka, who was stacking up double-figure match totals of double faults as a matter of course in the early stages of last season.

There was work with a psychologist in the background, too, but Sabalenka feels that has run its course, and that nobody understands her better than herself.

It is a gamble, but it also seems to be paying off handsomely.

The 24-year-old fifth seed said: "To be honest, I decided to stop working with a psychologist. I realised that nobody other than me will help, you know?

"In the pre-season I spoke to my psychologist saying, 'Listen, I feel like I have to deal with that by myself', because every time I'm hoping that someone will fix my problem, it's not fixing my problem.

"I just have to take this responsibility and I just have to deal with that. I'm not working with a psychologist any more. I'm my psychologist."

The experiment is working just fine so far, with Sabalenka having a perfect run through her first 10 matches of the year, picking up an Adelaide International title and powering through the grand slam rounds in Melbourne.

She has yet to drop a set this season, and now a first grand slam singles title is tantalisingly close.

Wimbledon champion Rybakina stands in her way, with Sabalenka disclosing she mostly ignored the grass-court slam last year after Russian and Belarusian players were banned from competing.

"I didn't watch Wimbledon last year. I was feeling really bad about that, and I didn't watch Wimbledon at all," the Belarusian said.

"A little bit the final just because I was working out in the gym. I saw a little bit. It was great tennis."

Sabalenka, who is not known for hiding her emotions, appears to be on a sturdy keel in Australia and said she kept the celebrations low-key after beating Linette because "there is one more match to go".

She has won all three of her past matches against Rybakina, but they all came before the Kazakhstani became a major champion.

It is Rybakina who carries the experience of winning in a slam final into Sunday's trophy match, which can be seen as an advantage.

The psychologist lurking within Sabalenka has delivered impressive results so far, and the on-court focus she has demonstrated suggests the woman from Minsk is unlikely to lose any mental battle.

"To be honest, I think I'm not going to do something extra," Sabalenka said. "I think it's okay to feel a little bit nervous. It's a big tournament, a big final. If you're going to start trying to do something about that, it's going to become bigger, you know?

"I'll just leave it like that. It's okay to feel nervous. She's playing great tennis, serving well. I just have to be there and have to work for it and put her under pressure. Yeah, that's it."

Former Denver Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett has been hired as the new offensive coordinator for the New York Jets.

The experienced 43-year-old, who previously worked with Jets head coach Robert Saleh at the Jacksonville Jaguars, struggled in his maiden year in Colorado.

That saw him relieved of his duties before the close of the campaign.

Now though, Hackett will head back to New York, where he will reunite with Saleh after the Jets limped to a miserable end in his sophomore season.

The Jets went 5-2 across their first seven games of 2022, but then lost all but one of their final eight to post a 7-10 losing record for the campaign.

Hackett will bring him a storied career that has seen him help lead teams to three Conference Championship games in his role as an offensive coordinator (Jaguars in 2017, Green Bay Packers in 2019 and 2020).

The move also sees him follow in the footsteps of his father Paul, who spent a stint between 2001 and 2004 with the Jets under Herm Edwards.

Under Hackett's watch as OC, the Packers led the NFL in scoring in 2020 with a 31.8 points per game average, while his 2017 Jaguars offense led for rushing yards per game at 141.

His arrival comes alongside the announcement that Keith Carter will also join the Jets as their offensive line coach and run game coordinator.