The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has suspended Yorkshire from hosting international and major matches in response to the club's "wholly unacceptable" handling of Azeem Rafiq's racism allegations.
Gary Ballance has also been indefinitely suspended from international selection after the former England batsman admitted he was responsible for some of the offensive and inappropriate language Rafiq was subjected to when they were Yorkshire team-mates.
An independent report into Rafiq's allegations of institutional racism at Yorkshire upheld that the spinner had been victim of "racial harassment and bullying".
It also emerged the independent panel had deemed repeated use of the "P***" word against Rafiq was "in the spirit of friendly banter", according to ESPNcricinfo.
Yorkshire last week stated that the club had carried out their own internal investigation following the findings of the report and concluded no conduct or action taken by any of its employees, players or executives that warranted disciplinary action.
The ECB board met on Thursday and has vowed to hold Yorkshire to account, ordering the club to deal with the matter "robustly", stating it is clear there are "serious questions" regarding the governance and management of the club.
The governing body stated Yorkshire's "failure in relation to actions and responses to their own report represent a significant breach of its obligations to the game."
England are scheduled to face New Zealand in a Test and an ODI against South Africa at Headingley next year, while the Leeds venue is also due to host an Ashes Test in 2023, but may lose all three.
An ECB statement said: "It is clear to the Board that YCCC's handling of the issues raised by Azeem Rafiq is wholly unacceptable and is causing serious damage to the reputation of the game. The ECB find this matter abhorrent and against the spirit of cricket and its values.
"There is no place for racism or any form of discrimination in cricket and where it is found, swift action must be taken. This matter must be dealt with robustly if the sport is to demonstrate its commitment to truly being a game for everyone.
"As a governing body with duties to act for all in cricket, the ECB Board reaffirmed its commitment to taking decisions in the best interests of the whole game."
The statement continued "It [the board] also agreed that sanctions including, but not limited to, financial and future major match allocations may be considered at the conclusion of our investigations.
"In the meantime, YCCC are suspended from hosting international or major matches until it has clearly demonstrated that it can meet the standards expected of an international venue, ECB member and First Class County.
"The ECB Board has asked the ECB Executive to commission a review of Yorkshire CCC's governance to consider whether the existing arrangements are fit for purpose.
"The regulatory processes already underway into the allegations brought by Azeem Rafiq will ultimately be determined by an independent tribunal (The Cricket Disciplinary Committee).
"Before any regulatory investigation is complete, the Board wishes to take immediate action in relation to Gary Ballance. While Mr Ballance has not been selected to play for England since 2017, he will be suspended indefinitely from selection. This position will be reviewed following the ECB regulatory investigation into his conduct."
Rafiq stated earlier on Thursday that cricket desperately needs "reform and cultural change".
"I'm not intending to say very much until the [Department for Culture, Media and Sport's] select committee hearing later this month. However, I wanted to stress this is not really about the words of certain individuals," he tweeted.
"This is about institutional racism and abject failures to act by numerous leaders at Yorkshire County Cricket Club and in the wider game. The sport I love and my club desperately need reform and cultural change."
Rafiq and Yorkshire chairman Roger Hutton are due to appear in front of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport's select committee to give evidence on November 16.
Publishing company Emerald and Nike are among the sponsors Yorkshire have lost due to their handling of the Rafiq case.
Charith Asalanka further enhanced his burgeoning reputation as Sri Lanka ended West Indies' reign as T20 World Cup holders with a 20-run victory on Thursday.
The Windies needed two resounding wins to have any chance of reaching the semi-finals, but a third loss from four games dashed the holders' hopes of qualifying.
Asalanka (68 from 41 balls) became the leading run-scorer in the tournament as Sri Lanka posted an imposing 189-3 at Zayed Cricket Stadium.
Pathum Nissanka (51 from 41) and Asalanka put on 91 for the second wicket, with the Windies bowling attack lacking potency in a must-win game.
Dasun Shanaka also made a quickfire unbeaten 25 for a Sri Lanka side already out of the running to qualify from Group 1.
The holders fell short on 169-8 in their run chase despite a T20I-best of 81 not out off 54 balls for Shimron Hetmyer and Nicholas Pooran's 46 in their penultimate match of the Super 12 stage in Abu Dhabi.
Sri Lanka were excellent in the field, Wanindu Hasaranga (2-19) once again the pick of the bowlers as they moved two points ahead of fifth-placed West Indies with a victory in their final game of the tournament.
A third loss from four matches for the two-time champions ensured the Windies will head home after facing Australia on Saturday, leaving Aaron Finch's side, leaders England and South Africa to fight it out for a top-two finish.
Asalanka and Nissanka leave Windies facing tall order
A semi-final spot proved to be beyond Sri Lanka, but they bow out with positives to take from the tournament, Asalanka and Nissanka standout performers with the bat.
The 24-year-old Asalanka struck a brilliant unbeaten 80 in the defeat of Bangladesh and gave another demonstration of his class, hitting a six and finding the rope eight times.
Asalanka moved above England wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler - who has only been at the crease four times - to become the highest run-scorer in the tournament so far with 231 at an average of 46.20 from six innings and Nassanka is second with 221, averaging 27.62 from eight knocks.
Hetmyer fireworks in vain as Sri Lanka sign off in style
With Chris Gayle falling for only one, Andre Russell only making two and captain Kieron Pollard out for a golden duck, it was left for Hetmyer and Pooran to give the Windies some hope.
The defending champions never really looked like chasing down their target, but Hetmyer produced some fireworks as he blasted four sixes and hit eight fours.
Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Chamika Karunaratne took brilliant catches, with Sri Lanka superb in the field. Hasaranga, the top-ranked T20I bowler in the world, leads the way in the tournament with 16 wickets.
Didier Deschamps has told his France players to end their year of mixed fortunes on a high note as the World Cup holders attempt to seal their Qatar 2022 place.
A dismal Euro 2020 effort, where pre-tournaments favourites France were knocked out in round two by Switzerland, was followed in October by Les Bleus winning the Nations League.
Now they can make sure of a return to the biggest stage as the final internationals of the year loom. France have a home game against Kazakhstan on November 13 and go away to Finland three days later. If they beat Kazakhstan, their place in next year's finals will be secure.
Deschamps wants that put to bed as soon as possible, saying: "You know what happened this summer, with our early elimination at the Euros. That didn't stop us from doing good things with the joy of winning the Nations League.
"If you add in the qualifiers, that made it three goals for us in the same year, which is rare.
"Let's make sure we get two out of three to have the peace of mind to go into next year, which will be a special year with the World Cup in November."
There were no great surprises in Deschamps' 23-player squad, which was revealed on Thursday, with veteran striker Olivier Giroud not yet back in favour. The 35-year-old striker, who sits second on France's all-time list of leading scorers, last featured in the penalty shoot-out defeat to the Swiss in Bucharest back in June.
Deschamps said Giroud, who is building up his fitness at Milan, is "doing some interesting things" when he plays with the Rossoneri. He started against Porto in the Champions League on Wednesday evening.
"He is not there, but he is one of the serious candidates," Deschamps said. "I can only encourage him to keep doing what he does very well."
West Ham defender Kurt Zouma earns a recall after impressing since leaving Chelsea for their London rivals, and he was joined by Hammers goalkeeper Alphonse Areola, who is on loan from Paris Saint-Germain and has yet to feature in the Premier League this season. He comes in for the injured Mike Maignan.
Manchester United's Anthony Martial and Raphael Varane miss out, with the former coming back from injury and the latter newly sidelined with a hamstring problem.
France squad: Alphonse Areola (West Ham, on loan from Paris Saint-Germain), Benoit Costil (Bordeaux), Hugo Lloris (Tottenham); Lucas Digne (Everton), Leo Dubois (Lyon), Lucas Hernandez (Bayern Munich), Theo Hernandez (Milan), Presnel Kimpembe (Paris Saint-Germain), Jules Kounde (Sevilla), Benjamin Pavard (Bayern Munich), Dayot Upamecano (Bayern Munich), Kurt Zouma (West Ham); Matteo Guendouzi (Marseille, on loan from Arsenal), N'Golo Kante (Chelsea), Paul Pogba (Manchester United), Adrien Rabiot (Juventus), Aurelien Tchouameni (Monaco); Wissam Ben Yedder (Monaco), Karim Benzema (Real Madrid), Kingsley Coman (Bayern Munich), Moussa Diaby (Bayer Leverkusen), Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid), Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain).
Marcus Rashford and Jude Bellingham have been recalled to Gareth Southgate's England squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers, but Jadon Sancho and his Manchester United team-mate Jesse Lingard miss out.
England require just four points to qualify for Qatar 2022 from the visit of Albania on Friday November 12 and their final qualifier away to San Marino three days later.
It is Rashford's first call-up since his missed penalty in the Euro 2020 final shootout defeat to Italy as he has only recently recovered from shoulder surgery, while Bellingham comes back into the squad after being left out for previous games against Andorra and Hungary.
A lack of game time at club level appears to have cost Sancho and Lingard their places in the squad as the United duo miss out.
Speaking after making the squad announcement, Southgate said: "With Mason [Greenwood] I discussed the situation last time, with Jesse and Jadon they just aren't playing a lot of football compared to the other players in their positions.
"I know people will say I'm inconsistent, but I don't think I am. If you're playing regularly for your club you've got a much better chance of us assessing your level compared to the rest of the group."
Elsewhere, Harry Maguire, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Reece James and Kalvin Phillips also come back into the 25-man squad, while Kieran Trippier, Fikayo Tomori and Ollie Watkins are left out.
England squad in full:
Sam Johnstone (West Brom), Jordan Pickford (Everton), Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal); Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Ben Chilwell (Chelsea), Conor Coady (Wolves), Reece James (Chelsea), Harry Maguire (Manchester United), Tyrone Mings (Aston Villa), Luke Shaw (Manchester United), John Stones (Manchester City), Kyle Walker (Manchester City); Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Mason Mount (Chelsea), Kalvin Phillips (Leeds United), Declan Rice (West Ham), James Ward-Prowse (Southampton); Tammy Abraham (Roma), Phil Foden (Manchester City), Jack Grealish (Manchester City), Harry Kane (Tottenham), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Raheem Sterling (Manchester City).
Barcelona have announced that Ousmane Dembele has sustained a hamstring injury, just two days after the Frenchman made his return from five months out following knee surgery.
Dembele made his first appearance of the season when he replaced Gavi in the 65th minute of Barca's 1-0 Champions League win against Dynamo Kiev on Tuesday.
However, the club announced on Thursday that the 24-year-old "has a strain in the semimembranosus muscle of his left hamstring," adding that Dembele "is unavailable for selection and his recovery will dictate his return."
The former Borussia Dortmund forward has been plagued by injury issues since his big-money move to the Catalan giants in 2017.
The club also confirmed that Sergino Dest will miss the weekend's trip to Celta Vigo with lower back pain. It is unclear whether he will be fit for the upcoming international break, with the United States set to take on Mexico and Jamaica in two World Cup qualifiers next week.
Barca currently sit ninth in the LaLiga table and have won just one of their past five league games, losing three.
Defending champions Wales are set to be without captain Alun Wyn Jones for the Six Nations due to a shoulder injury.
Jones was ruled out of the remainder of the Autumn Nations Series, as he requires surgery due to the damage done in a crushing 54-16 defeat to New Zealand last weekend.
Wales head coach Wayne Pivac does not expect the most capped player of all time to play any part when the holders bid to retain their Six Nations title next year.
Pivac said on Thursday: "I don't think he'll be available for the Six Nations.
"You learn a lot about the worth of people when they're not there. I think a lot of people take Alun Wyn for granted – he's always been there and got seniority.
"That leadership is really important. The essence is on others to step up and take that role on."
Jones, who astonishingly recovered from a shoulder injury to captain the British and Irish Lions in South Africa, is in the twilight of his career at the age of 35.
Pivac believes the inspirational towering lock, who won a world record 149th Wales cap in the loss to the All Blacks, can play in the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France.
"The intention is always to see if Al can get to the World Cup. I think it's a realistic goal personally," the New Zealander said.
"You've just got to see him in training and when he's playing, the efforts he puts in. I don't see anything going anywhere near backwards in terms of his performances.
"A bit of time off, we spoke about this before Al left camp. It's not ideal for him. We're all looking forward to him playing 150 Test matches for Wales, but that is still a goal and I'm sure he'll get there."
Pivac has made six changes to the starting XV for the showdown with South Africa at the Principality Stadium on Saturday, with Ellis Jenkins replacing Ross Moriarty (shoulder) in what will be his first Test for three years after recovering from a knee injury.
Dan Biggar returns at fly-half, while wing Louis Rees-Zammit, centre Nick Tompkins and prop Rhys Carre also start and Jonathan Davies takes over as captain.
Wales team: Johnny McNicholl, Louis Rees-Zammit, Jonathan Davies (captain), Nick Tompkins, Josh Adams, Dan Biggar, Tomos Williams; Rhys Carre, Ryan Elias, Tomas Francis, Will Rowlands, Adam Beard, Ellis Jenkins, Taine Basham, Aaron Wainwright.
Replacements: Bradley Roberts, Wyn Jones, WillGriff John, Ben Carter, Seb Davies, Gareth Davies, Gareth Anscombe, Liam Williams.
Australia's Adam Zampa let team-mate Matthew Wade off the hook after the wicketkeeper failed to take a catch that would have brought up a hat-trick against Bangladesh.
Zampa starred with the ball on Thursday, taking 5-19 as Australia skittled Bangladesh out for just 73.
It was the fourth-lowest total of the T20 World Cup so far, with Zampa taking five wickets in the format for the first time.
Indeed, it is only the second time an Australia player has taken a five-for in a T20 World Cup match, after James Faulkner (5-27 v Pakistan, 2016).
However, Zampa's day could have been even better had Wade held on to an edge by Taskin Ahmed, but the wicketkeeper could only get his fingertips on the ball.
Three overs had passed since Zampa dismissed Shamim Hossain and Mahedi Hasan, however, and the spinner joked that perhaps only he knew that a hat-trick was on the cards.
"It's a pretty nice feeling, I've been playing five or six years now and that one had eluded me," Zampa said at the post-match presentation.
"I think I had like three overs between my [second] wicket and the next ball, so I don't know if anyone knew, I thought I was the only one that knew!
"If it wasn't for Wadey's hands at the moment then I wouldn't have as many wickets as I do. It was a tough catch but just happy to have taken five to be honest."
Australia surpassed the target with ease, Mitchell Marsh hitting a huge six to settle the contest after only 6.2 overs of the chase.
Captain Aaron Finch top-scored with 40 from 20 balls, a total that included four sixes and two boundaries at a strike rate of 200.
Finch, whose side moved above South Africa into second place in Group 1, as the qualification battle goes down to the wire, spoke of "a really clinical performance".
He added: "We thought we would take the opportunity to win big if we got the chance, but you can't plan for that. At the halfway mark, we knew we could get past South Africa.
"When you have that opportunity, you have to take it. Zampa's five for 19 was outstanding."
Gael Monfils has withdrawn from the Paris Masters due to an adductor problem, handing world number one Novak Djokovic a walkover into the quarter-finals.
Djokovic has played only once on the ATP Tour since losing the US Open final to Daniil Medvedev on September 12.
That defeat at Flushing Meadows ended Djokovic's hopes of achieving a calendar Grand Slam, though the Serbian has returned to action for the final few weeks of the 2021 season.
With the ATP Finals coming up, Djokovic headed to Paris looking to regain the title he claimed in his last appearance in the tournament back in 2019. He needed three sets, but overcame Marton Fucsovics 6-2 4-6 6-3 in his first match.
He has won the Paris Masters on five occasions and is the top seed this time around, with defending champion Medvedev seeded second.
Monfils, seeded 15th, beat Miomir Kecmanovic and Adrian Mannarino en route to the last 16, but confirmed to the media on Thursday that he had been advised not to continue.
Djokovic will face the winner of Cameron Norrie, who recently triumphed at Indian Wells, and Taylor Fritz in the quarter-finals.
The field has already been cleared of third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, who retired hurt when facing Alexei Popyrin on Wednesday.
Adam Zampa claimed the best bowling figures of this T20 World Cup as Australia took a step towards the semi-finals with an eight-wicket thrashing of Bangladesh.
Bangladesh had won four of their last five T20Is against Australia, including a 60-win when they last met in August, but they were hammered at Dubai International Stadium on Thursday.
Zampa took a maiden five-wicket T20I haul of 5-19, and could have had a hat-trick if not for a dropped catch from Matthew Wade, in a brilliant bowling display from Australia, who skittled out the Tigers for a measly 73.
The spinner dismissed Afif Hossain (0), Shamim Hossain (19), Mahedi Hasan (0), Mustafizur Rahman (4) and Shoriful Islam (0) as sorry Bangladesh could only muster the fourth-lowest batting total of the tournament,
Aaron Finch (40) and David Warner (18) then set about making light work of the chase, with Australia reaching 67 inside the powerplay, bettering the previous tournament high, set by England in their demolition of the men in green and gold on the same ground on Saturday.
With Finch and Warner falling in quick succession to Taskin Ahmed (1-36) and Shoriful (1-9), Mitchell Marsh smashed 16 off five deliveries, including a huge six to get Australia home off just 6.2 overs.
The victory lifts Australia into second place with a better run-rate than South Africa in the tussle for the top two places in Group 1, with England top.
Finch's side face West Indies in their final Super 12 match on Saturday, with the Proteas up against England.
Zampa leads brilliant bowling attack
Zampa had to remind Wade he had dropped a catch on a hat-trick ball, but it was still a wonderful day for the spinner. He took his best figures in a T20I, tops the bowling charts in the Super 12 stage and became just the second Australia player to take a five-for in a T20 World Cup, after James Faulkner did so against Pakistan in 2016.
New-ball Mitchell Starc (2-21) and Josh Hazlewood (2-8) also capitalised on the Tigers' frailties with the bat, with Glenn Maxwell collecting the other wicket.
Bangladesh heading home winless
Bangladesh head home after failing to claim a win in the Super 12 stage and will finish rooted to the bottom of Group 1.
Mahmudullah went into the game needing an innings of 76 runs to become the 14th player in T20I history to log 2,000 runs in the format. However, the captain had been dismissed for ducks in two of his previous four T20I innings against Australia, and managed just 16 this time around.
Azeem Rafiq says cricket desperately needs "reform and cultural change" after Gary Ballance admitted using a racial slur towards his former Yorkshire team-mate.
Ex-England batsman Ballance on Wednesday released a statement admitting he was responsible for some of the offensive and inappropriate language Rafiq was subjected to during his time at Headingley.
Ballance, 31, said he deeply regrets some of the language he used in his younger years, describing Rafiq as his "best mate in cricket".
The Zimbabwe-born former Yorkshire captain claimed he and Rafiq had "said offensive things to each other which, outside of that context, would be considered wholly inappropriate".
An independent report into Rafiq's allegations of institutional racism at Yorkshire County Cricket Club upheld that the spinner had been victim of "racial harassment and bullying”.
It also emerged the independent panel had deemed repeated use of the "P***" word against Rafiq was "in the spirit of friendly banter", according to ESPNcricinfo.
Rafiq on Thursday responded to Ballance's statement by posting on Twitter: "I'm not intending to say very much until the [Department for Culture, Media and Sport's] select committee hearing later this month. However, I wanted to stress this is not really about the words of certain individuals.
"This is about institutional racism and abject failures to act by numerous leaders at Yorkshire County Cricket Club and in the wider game. The sport I love and my club desperately need reform and cultural change."
Rafiq and Yorkshire chairman Roger Hutton are due to appear in front of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport's select committee to give evidence on November 16.
Publishing company Emerald has been among the sponsors Yorkshire have lost due to their handling of the Rafiq case.
Xavi looked set to take a significant step towards becoming Barcelona's new coach on Thursday.
The former Barcelona captain appears to be the only candidate the club have in mind to replace the sacked Ronald Koeman.
This has led a delegation from Barcelona to travel to Qatar in an effort to persuade Al Sadd, where Xavi is head coach, to release the former Spain midfielder from his contract.
Talks have taken place between senior officials from both sides and are said to have been convivial, and now it will reportedly fall to Xavi to take the next step.
Al Sadd chief executive Turki Al-Ali said earlier this week that the Stars League side remained "committed to keeping our coach Xavi with us".
However, Xavi told Mundo Deportivo he was "very eager and excited" about the prospect of a Barcelona return, insisting: "I really want to go home."
What could prove telling are discussions between Xavi and club president Mohammed Bin Khalifa Al Thani, with the 41-year-old expected to tell the sheikh his heart is set on moving to Camp Nou. According to widespread reports in Spain, those talks will take place on Thursday.
The cash-strapped Blaugrana are reluctant to pay a €5million release clause for Xavi, Barcelona-based newspaper Sport reported.
It has been suggested in Spain that Al Sadd players are expecting Xavi to move on, with a 3-3 draw with Al Duhail on Wednesday followed by several messages on social media.
Rodrigo Tabata re-posted a video from supporters bearing the caption "Thanks Xavi", and team-mate Baghdad Bounedjah did likewise with a post from Al Sadd's official account that showed him embracing the coach.
Yet those appear tenuous and could also be interpreted as messages of support, to show how the players value Xavi, with Al Sadd's stance showing little sign of shifting.
World Cup winner Xavi has spent the past two and a half years in charge of Al Sadd and still has two more years to run on his deal.
As a player, he racked up 767 appearances for Barca during his playing career – a tally only surpassed by Lionel Messi (778) – and won a glut of individual and team honours.
He won LaLiga eight times and the Champions League on four occasions before ending his 24-year association with the Catalan giants in 2015.
After seeing out the final four seasons of his playing career with Al Sadd and adding four more trophies to his collection, Xavi made the transition into coaching in May 2019.
Quoted in Mundo Deportivo on Wednesday, Xavi said: "I really want to go home. The two clubs are in talks and a resolution must be reached. I am very excited, but it's a matter of respect – I have a contract."
James Rodriguez has been named in Colombia's squad for the first time in 12 months.
The former Real Madrid playmaker, who left Everton to join Qatari side Al-Rayyan in September, won the Golden Boot at the 2014 World Cup and had been a mainstay in Colombia's side since.
However, with injuries plaguing his time at Goodison Park, restricting him to 26 appearances in all competitions, James was not selected for this year's Copa America squad.
James did not take the news well, disputing the claim made by Colombia's coaching staff that he was not fit enough to be relied upon.
However, coach Reinaldo Rueda still took a hard-line approach and, with James not featuring at all for Everton under Rafael Benitez this season prior to his switch to Qatar, the 30-year-old was left out for World Cup qualifiers in September and October.
Colombia went unbeaten across those six matches, though they won just once. After scoring his first goal for Al-Rayyan in a 4-2 win over Al Sailiya towards the end of October, James has earned a recall for this month's games against Brazil and Paraguay. His last appearance for his country was in a 6-1 defeat to Ecuador in November 2020.
Though injuries did limit his game time, James was a creative fulcrum for Everton last term, creating 54 chances, placing him second in the squad behind Gylfi Sigurdsson (60).
James led the way for Everton with chances created from open play (38) and when it came to crafting big chances (14).
Per 90 minutes played, James forged 0.56 big chances in the Premier League, putting him just below Jack Grealish and Bruno Fernandes (0.58), ranking sixth in the competition among those who played 20 or more matches.
He finished the season with six goals and eight assists and when he was fit and available, James proved his quality for Carlo Ancelotti's team.
However, he has had a stuttering start to life in Qatar. After taking time to get up to full speed, he made his debut in disappointing fashion, with Laurent Blanc's side going down 3-0 to Al Duhail.
Following his goal against Al Sailiya, James was then sent off for dissent in his third appearance for Al-Rayyan, having reacted angrily to a decision going against him.
James subsequently posted a photo to his official Instagram account, showing evidence of facial injuries sustained during the match.
"After the blow I suffered in the game I am already a little better," James wrote. "As you can see, my nose and jaw suffered a bit in the blow.
"The rib took the worst part but nothing to worry about. All of this is part of our job. A few more days and I'll be training again."
Inter have slammed the door shut on the prospect of stars leaving in January to be reunited with former boss Antonio Conte at Tottenham.
Just six months have passed since Inter were celebrating Serie A title success under Conte's leadership, only for the head coach to leave the club within weeks.
He has this week returned to the Premier League as the new Spurs head coach, in what has the makings of a stellar appointment by the north London club.
A patchy Tottenham squad may need urgent reinforcements, but Inter – who sold Achraf Hakimi and Romelu Lukaku in the last transfer window amid financial difficulties – are adamant none of their players will be available to Conte, or any other boss, in January.
Inter sporting director Piero Ausilio told Sky Italia: "The intention is to move forward with this squad and in January no requests for possible transfers will be taken into consideration.
"We know this it is a team that has quality and that has a new coach who has taken over the group for a few months, so in the next transfer window we will only give continuity to what started in June. Then in the summer we will make other assessments, which will be the time to strengthen Inter, not to weaken."
Simone Inzaghi was selected as Conte's successor and Inter have moved on quickly, heading the pack chasing fast-starting Napoli and Milan.
Ausilio backed Conte to do well in England, however, as he embarks on a second Premier League stint after previously coaching Chelsea.
"I can say that I am happy, and I wish him the best for this new adventure," Ausilio said. "I know how pleased he is to be able to work in the Premier League, how much passion and how many skills he has, and I'm sure he will do well with Spurs."
Ausilio also confirmed new contracts for midfielders Marcelo Brozovic and Nicolo Barella are in the works.
Indeed, the latter could sign before Sunday's derby against Milan. "We are talking about more formal aspects than anything else, so I am fully confident that the deal will be closed," said Ausilio.
The 28-year-old Brozovic scored his first Champions League goal in his 27th appearance in the competition in Wednesday's 3-1 win over Sheriff.
Ausilio said of the Croatian: "He is certainly an important player who we hope will be part of our project also in the future , but we need to hear what the other side thinks and we will do this in the coming days."
Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers hailed Joel Embiid for taking an "Alonzo Mourning approach" with his decisive block on DeMar DeRozan in a 103-98 win over the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday.
With less than 10 seconds left and the 76ers leading 102-98, DeRozan drove to the bucket for a dunk that would have ensured a tense finale but was blocked by Embiid. It was a play that Rivers labelled "game-saving" and likened to a move by Miami Heat great Mourning.
Embiid has not been at his best this season, averaging 21.0 points and 8.7 rebounds per game. He finished this game with 18 points, nine rebounds and seven assists but stood up when it counted.
"Big play at the rim. Really big play," Rivers told reporters after the game. "I love when bigs go after dunks. Half these guys in the league won't go after it because they are worried if they get dunked on.
"I love the Alonzo Mourning approach. I thought Joel took it. Going after DeRozan, that's a big play, that's a game-saving play."
Seth Curry top-scored for the Sixers with 22 points, shooting nine from 14 from the field, including a clutch two-pointer to put them 102-98 up.
The result improved Philadelphia, who are still without Ben Simmons, to 6-2 and completed a run of four home games with four wins.
The 76ers were also missing starters Tobias Harris (COVID-19) and Danny Green (hamstring), making their run of victories more impressive having been 2-2 after a 112-99 loss to the New York Knicks.
"It was huge. We talked about it after the New York game. We had a four-game home stand, we had to win them all," Rivers said.
"We obviously didn’t know we'd have all these guys out. The fact we still won them all with all these guys out was pretty cool."
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