There is no doubt that half-century knocks by Kavem Hodge and Justin Greaves in the ongoing three-day warm-up match against Cricket Australia’s XI, have put them at the front of the line to earn their first Test cap, but both remain grounded and focused on the immediate task at hand.
In fact, while both admit that it would be a dream come through to earn their first Test cap in the upcoming two-match series against Australia, they were quick to point out that readiness will be key should Head coach Andre Coley call upon them.
Greaves and Hodge, who are among seven uncapped players in the 15-man squad Down Under, posted scores of 65 and 52 respectively, on the first day of the warm-up contest to assist West Indies to 251-8 declared in Adelaide. Cricket Australia's XI were 52-1 at the time of writing.
After captain Kraigg Brathwaite scored 52 at the top, the Caribbean side lost wickets in quick succession, before Greaves and Hodges anchored the innings with a 120-run, fifth wicket stand, which unfortunately, was followed by another collapse.
Still, Greaves, who recently recovered from a hamstring injury took the positives from the innings, which obviously was his partnership with Hodge.
“It has been an enjoyable one (journey); sometimes plagued by injury, but you know, just try to make the most of it when you get opportunity on the field. So, to be on my first Test tour is great and I'm really looking forward to it. Spending some time with Kevin in the middle last season as well, gave me a bit of confidence up in the middle and our thing is always just try to be as positive as possible,” Greaves said.
The 29-year-old right hand batsman, while declaring that he still enjoys bowling, pointed out that even with runs on the board, it offered very little comfort about whether or not he will get the nod next week.
“No, not really. Just taking it one game at a time. You know, coming here, you just wanted to be able to get into your work and if you're selected for that first Test, you know, just make sure you're prepared,” the Barbados-born Greaves said.
“Anyone coming up in the Caribbean playing cricket, dreams of playing Test, so if I'm selected for the first Test, receiving a cap is always a very big thing. So, for me, being in this group, I've played with most of the guys as I've been travelling a bit in the Caribbean, but I am just trying to enjoy my game as much as possible,” he added.
The Dominican-born Hodge, 30, echoed similar sentiments.
“It was really nice to get some time out in the middle, as a batsman you know that is worth its weight in gold, so I'm really happy for that.
“The partnership with Justin, we understand each other's game pretty well; obviously spending some time in the middle at this level is pretty good and we're really happy for that. It's just unfortunate that we couldn't push on and bat out the rest of the day. But you know, you know, we have a lot of positives from that inning,” Hodge shared.
And like Greaves, Hodge remained modest when asked if he believes the opportunity to possibly earn his first Test cap comes at a time when he is ready.
“Yeah, I'm a firm believer that everything happens on its own timing and what's meant to be, will be. For me, it's just a matter of being ready, whenever that time comes and you know, control what I can control. So, like I said, my big, my biggest thing is just preparing and making the most of whenever the opportunity is there,” the right-hand batsman, who also bowls slow left-arm orthodox spin, declared.
“It would mean a lot to me, obviously, you know, as a little boy growing up, I wanted to play Test cricket, so it's been a dream of mine, and it would definitely be a dream come true. So, until then, you know I'm keeping my fingers crossed and just try and be ready for it,” Hodge ended.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp insists his belief is endless in his forwards whether they score or not after Darwin Nunez had an impactful but not ultimately decisive role in the 2-1 Carabao Cup semi-final first-leg win over Fulham.
After coming off the bench in the 56th minute, the Uruguay international provided the assist for Curtis Jones’ deflected equaliser and then the cross from which fellow substitute Cody Gakpo swept home the winner.
On another day Nunez, who has scored just once in the last 16 matches, could have had a late hat-trick after being denied by goalkeeper Bernd Leno which would have virtually put Liverpool in the final ahead of the second leg in a fortnight.
“He plays outstanding, I have to say it. There are so many things I love about his game,” said Klopp.
“The first year was a year to adapt and he scored here and there but now he contributes in all games.
“The boys don’t start because they score or not score. My belief and trust in them, as long as they behave properly, is endless. They deserve it because of the effort they put in.
“I don’t know how to explain the Darwin situation. I’m so happy about Darwin’s reaction and how he takes it but you cannot be more unlucky in these finishing situations, that’s not possible.
“He does absolutely everything right, yet ball not in. And then he still sets up the other goal. I think that is really special to do that again.”
Liverpool’s substitutes have contributed 15 goals and 15 assists in all competitions this season, 12 better than any other Premier League team, and Nunez has been responsible for three goals and four assists.
His contribution was crucial as Klopp had no other options as the six other outfield substitutes were all academy graduates, the oldest of whom was 21-year-old left-back Owen Beck, recalled from a loan spell with Dundee.
The players currently absent, either with injury or international duty, are Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Thiago Alcantara, Dominik Szoboszlai, Joel Matip, Andy Robertson, Wataru Endo, Kostas Tsimikas and Stefan Bajcetic.
“We have more players available usually but the boys who came on have real quality, obviously, already,” added Klopp.
“That we can bring Cody and Darwin from the bench, that is a proper change. On top of that, we changed the system and the formation and the set-up.”
Fulham boss Marco Silva was grateful to still have a chance in the second leg after they failed to capitalise on Willian’s 19th-minute opener.
“Two different halves. It wasn’t our best performance, even so first half we had a plan. We were ruthless from the first moment and really good from Willian when we scored,” he said.
“The second half was different, we struggled a bit more. We should manage them in a different way.
“They were a bit lucky the first goal, a deflection that changed completely the game, and the only thing that is disappointing is the way we managed the next 10 minutes.
“In a competition where we are playing two legs we cannot concede a fast attack like that. Liverpool had one or two chances to score the third and the reality is that Leno kept us in the game.”
Three-time winner Mark Selby cruised through to the last eight of the Masters with a 6-1 victory over Robert Milkins at Alexandra Palace.
World number five Selby, who won the tournament in 2008, 2010 and 2013, raced into a 4-0 lead and although Milkins briefly stemmed the tide by taking the fifth frame, the result was never in doubt.
Selby produced a 119-break in the second frame of the evening match to assume control and compiled four more frame-winning half-century breaks to seal a convincing win.
The four-time world champion made scores of 70 and 74 in the final two frames to stay on course for a sixth appearance in the Masters final.
Mark Allen had earlier conjured a break of 86 in the final-frame decider to oust John Higgins and advance to the quarter-finals.
A week after 16-year-old Luke Littler thrilled during the World Darts Championship it was two old-timers that were starring at Ally Pally.
Higgins, a two-time champion, looked to be in control as back-to-back 80-plus breaks put him 3-1 up.
But world number three Allen won the next two scrappy frames, thanks to some wayward potting by Higgins to draw level.
The Northern Irishman had to wait until frame seven to make his first half-century break as he took the lead for the first time and then a sumptuous 123 clearance – the best of the match – put him one frame away.
Higgins had been looking beaten for the previous 30 minutes but summoned his renowned fighting spirit to reduce the deficit after winning the tactical battle and then sent it to a decider with a 61 break.
But hopes of a comeback were put to bed as Allen produced his decisive break to set up a last-eight tie with Selby.
He said: “It wasn’t a phenomenal contest, we were both a bit edgy, but any win against John is a good win so I will take it.
“Strangely I didn’t feel too bad in the last frame because 5-3 to 5-5 I didn’t feel like I’d done much wrong.
“I missed two really tricky shots, so I was looking forward to getting a chance and when John missed that long red I was fearing the worst but I got another chance and I made the most of it.”
Coco Gauff's emergence as arguably the biggest star of American tennis since Serena Williams is great for the women's game, says former British number one Laura Robson.
Gauff captured the imagination of the American public by winning the US Open last September, the 19-year-old fighting back to beat Aryna Sabalenka in a memorable final at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
That made the teenager the first American – male or female – to win the tournament since Williams, who won the event for the sixth time in 2014. Gauff, Williams and her sister Venus are the only American women to claim the trophy in the 21st century.
Gauff will look to back up that success at the Australian Open when the first major of the year begins on Sunday, and Robson is delighted to see her thriving after being criticised earlier in 2023.
"I love what she's done in the last three months in particular, because over the clay courts and the grass-court season, everyone was writing her off," Robson told Stats Perform.
"She just went back to the drawing board, got a new team around her, played unbelievably at the Cincinnati Masters and came into the US Open with confidence.
"You could tell, with the way that she played the longer matches, she just felt so good about her game. You could see how she was moving out there.
"She is definitely the fastest out on tour at the moment on the women's side. I'm just super pumped for her.
"To be in the stadium and to feel the energy when she won the US Open was crazy.
"I'd say 99.99 per cent of the stadium was going for her and it's going to be a huge boost for women's tennis to have an American superstar like her."
Asked whether Gauff was the natural successor to Williams – who finished her glittering career one major title shy of Margaret Court's record of 24 – Robson said other players' efforts to push American tennis forward should not be overlooked.
"I definitely feel like Jessica Pegula and Madison keys and people like that don't quite get enough credit for how much they've pushed American tennis," Robson continued.
"Even going into the US Open, Pegula was the number one American, but Coco definitely had more attention on her, which is great because their different profiles are being raised, but at the same time they were still pushing each other along and playing doubles together almost every week.
"It's just fantastic to see and the fact that there's now another name that you're throwing into the mix just makes everyone feel better."
Gauff currently sits a career-high third in the world rankings, though she has plenty of ground to make up on the top two, with Iga Swiatek currently edging out Sabalenka.
Robson expects that duo to trade places often as they battle to dominate the women's game, saying: "You definitely struggle to see Swiatek losing at Roland Garros, with the way that she goes on clay.
"I think it's going to be quite nice because they each have different strengths. You would almost say Sabalenka goes slightly better on a hard court and Iga is better on clay.
"I can see it almost swapping back and forth over the next few years, but Iga is going to be right in there, for sure."
Teun Koopmeiners fired a double as Atalanta dumped AC Milan out of the Coppa Italia after a 2-1 win at the San Siro.
The Netherlands midfielder struck a superb equaliser just 90 seconds after Rafael Leao had opened the scoring for Milan at the end of the first half before converting a penalty in the second period.
Atalanta’s surprise win secured them a semi-final tie against Fiorentina and is the second time they have beaten Stefano Pioli’s side in just over a month, following their 3-2 home Serie A victory on December 9.
The Rossoneri entered the cup tie in top form, winning five and drawing one of their six matches in all competitions since their league defeat to Atalanta, but the visitors fully deserved to progress.
A first half of few chances burst into life just before the interval when Leao combined with Theo Hernandez at pace down the left and brilliantly converted the latter’s ball inside from the edge of the penalty area.
Atalanta’s response was immediate. With the clock ticking into first-half stoppage time, Emil Holm burst clear on the right edge of the area and his pin-point cut-back was expertly swept home by Koopmeiners.
The visitors then went close to snatching the lead when substitute Mario Pasalic’s effort was blocked by Milan captain Davide Calabria.
Up until a frantic finale to the first half, Milan midfielder Yunus Musah was the only player to have a shot on target, with his 19th-minute shot saved by Marco Carnesecchi.
Milan defender Matteo Gabbia and Atalanta midfielder Marten de Roon had both been forced off following a heavy 38th-minute collision and replaced by Simon Kjaer and Pasalic respectively.
Koopmeiners forced Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan into a fine low save with a low effort from outside the box at the start of the second half and threatened again as he fired wide soon after.
Atalanta were awarded a penalty – confirmed by the video assistant referee – after Aleksey Miranchuk went down under Alex Jimenez’s challenge and Koopmeiners converted into the bottom corner in the 59th minute.
Carnesecchi turned away Christian Pulisic’s goalbound shot from the edge of the area as Milan chased an equaliser.
Musah’s long-range shot was also saved by Carnesecchi and Milan substitute Jan-Carlo Simic headed wide from a late corner as Atalanta held firm.
The visitors were given a scare in stoppage time when VAR checked for a possible handball moments before the final whistle, while Milan’s unused substitute Antonio Mirante was shown a red card as the players left the field.
Real Madrid struck twice deep into extra time to book their place in the final of the Spanish Super Cup with a thrilling 5-3 victory over rivals Atletico Madrid in Riyadh.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side looked to be heading out of the competition after Antonio Rudiger’s 78th-minute own goal put Atletico 3-2 up but Dani Carvajal struck with five minutes remaining to send the match into extra time.
The derby seemed destined for a penalty shoot-out until Joselu’s header deflected off Atletico defender Stefan Savic and into the net before Brahim Diaz’s late breakaway goal sealed Real’s spot in the final.
Antione Griezmann had earlier become Atletico’s all-time record goalscorer by netting his 174th goal for the club to make it 2-2 after a pulsating first half which also featured strikes from Mario Hermoso, Rudiger and Ferland Mendy.
Diego Simeone’s men had the first big chance in the sixth minute as Samuel Lino’s whipped effort looked to be heading into the top corner from the edge of the box but goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga was on hand to tip over the crossbar.
The save counted for very little as Atletico hit the front from the resulting corner when Hermoso was left unmarked at the back post to nod into the net from Griezmann’s delivery.
Real swiftly equalised in similar fashion from a corner when Rudiger headed home from Luka Modric’s cross.
Ancelotti’s side turned the game on its head just before the half-hour mark as Carvajal’s pass into the area was cleverly flicked home by Mendy to make it 2-1.
But Atletico responded just seven minutes later when Griezmann slammed into the bottom-left corner from outside the area to seal his place in the club’s history.
Real had a golden opportunity to retake the lead as Rodrygo picked up the ball inside the area and pulled off a clever fake shot to open up the space for him to shoot at goal but Jan Oblak brilliantly dived in front of the effort to somehow keep the scores level.
Atletico came closest to the opening goal of the second period when Lino capitalised on some sloppy play from Real Madrid and burst forward to strike just wide of the far post.
But they did take the lead with 12 minutes left as Kepa failed to deal with a ball into the box which bounced off Rudiger and into the net.
Real were not to be denied though as Carvajal hit back with five minutes to go. Vinicius Jr’s initial effort was kept out by Oblak but the ball fell to Jude Bellingham whose drilled shot was cleared off the line before Carvajal slammed into the top corner.
As spot-kicks loomed on the horizon Real found the killer blow.
Joselu’s flicked header was bundled into his own net by Savic and Ancelotti’s side added the icing on the cake when Diaz won a foot race with Oblak and slotted into an empty net to book Real’s place in the final against either Barcelona or Osasuna.
Substitutes Cody Gakpo and Darwin Nunez came off the bench to help turn around Liverpool’s Carabao Cup semi-final first leg at home to Fulham and ensured they will take a 2-1 lead to Craven Cottage.
The pair were introduced early in the second half with the hosts trailing to Willian’s 19th-minute goal after a Virgil van Dijk error.
Liverpool were struggling for creativity without the injured Trent Alexander-Arnold – who helped turn a 3-2 Fulham lead into a 4-3 Reds win in last month’s Premier League meeting – but as at Arsenal in the FA Cup at the weekend Jurgen Klopp’s changes altered the game.
Nunez added a directness which had been lacking while Gakpo brought the composure and control to midfield Ryan Gravenberch had not before he was replaced by his Netherlands team-mate.
And the pair combined for Gakpo to score in the 71st minute, just three minutes after Curtis Jones’ deflected equaliser.
The last team to win at Anfield was Real Madrid in February. Before that it was another side in white, Leeds in October 2022, and Fulham – in their first League Cup semi-final – must have been encouraged by the start they had.
Klopp made six changes from the weekend and while that saw 20-year-old Conor Bradley deputise for Alexander-Arnold in only his second start of the season, it also included the return of Van Dijk.
The Netherlands captain was back after illness but his decision to head a ball aimlessly sideways on the edge of his area proved costly.
Andreas Pereira nipped in behind and cut the ball back to the penalty spot where a couple of neat touches from Willian opened up the space for him to fire through the legs of the recovering Dutchman and give goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher little chance.
Moments later Van Dijk was booked for catching Pereira in the face with an arm as his travails continued.
But his personal difficulties were matched by his team, who were too one-paced in their build-up.
Harvey Elliott was given Mohamed Salah’s position on the right wing but his role often seemed to require filling the space usually occupied by Alexander-Arnold, which meant dropping deep with Bradley pushing forward as an orthodox over-lapping full-back.
But apart from an early Jones attempt straight at Bernd Leno and a Diogo Jota narrow-angle shot across the face of goal chances were rare with Fulham having more on target in the first half.
The tempo increased after the break with Gravenberch shooting wide and Jota delaying a fraction too long having created space for himself with a square run across the penalty area allowing Antonee Robinson to block.
But as the hosts pressed for the equaliser Fulham were able to expose the space opening up in Liverpool’s defence and Kelleher got down low to parry a Bobby Decordova-Reid shot.
Alexis Mac Allister’s cross was turned over by Leno but the equaliser had an element of good fortune when Jones took aim from distance and went in off Tosin Adarabioyo’s back.
Leno was beaten again when Gakpo turned home Nunez’s near-post cross after linking with Jota.
Liverpool’s all-action Uruguay international could have all-but sealed Liverpool’s passage to Wembley before the return leg but a full-stretch Leno tipped over his header, pushed away a fierce drive and blocked his close-range effort.
Coco Gauff has every chance of adding to her 2023 US Open triumph by winning further grand slam titles in the coming years.
That is the view of former world number four Johanna Konta, who also believes it is "only a matter of time" before the American rises to the top of the WTA rankings.
Having lost the French Open final to Iga Swiatek as an 18-year-old in 2022, Gauff went one step further on home soil last September, becoming the first American teenager to win the US Open title since Serena Williams in 1999.
Gauff is looking to add to that triumph when the Australian Open begins on Sunday, and she is considered one of the favourites to claim the trophy after making a flying start to 2024.
The teenager captured her second straight Auckland Classic title on Sunday, fighting back to beat Elina Svitolina and make it seven wins from eight tour-level singles finals in her career.
Konta believes last year's US Open victory was just the start for Gauff, telling Stats Perform: "She's already a grand slam champion. So, she's got every possibility to win multiple grand slams.
"Once you're winning those tournaments, then it's only a matter of time before you get to world number one."
Gauff is up to third in the world rankings – the highest position of her career – though she has work to do to overhaul world number one Swiatek, who has won three of the last seven grand slams and is targeting her first Australian Open success after going out in the fourth round last year.
Konta, who failed to win a major during her own career despite reaching the last four at Melbourne Park, Roland Garros and Wimbledon, thinks the 22-year-old will be a force to be reckoned with for the foreseeable future.
"I think she's an incredibly consistent player, the level is just very consistent," Konta said of Swiatek.
"I think she will be one of the ones that will be there for a long time if she's just able to sustain that. I think she'll be one of the top handful."
The Los Angeles Clippers signed star forward Kawhi Leonard to a contract extension on Wednesday, with ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reporting the deal is worth $153million for three years.
Without announcing terms of the contract, Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank issued a statement saying "we're thrilled to continue our relationship with Kawhi.
"He is an elite player, a terrific partner and a relentless worker who knows how to win and makes it his first priority.
“He elevated our franchise from the moment he arrived. We feel fortunate that Kawhi chose to join the Clippers five years ago, and excited to keep building with him."
The 32-year-old Leonard declined his $48.8million player option for 2024-25 as part of the extension and is slated to earn $52million next season and roughly $50million in both 2025-26 and 2026-27.
Leonard signed with Los Angeles in July 2019 after leading the Toronto Raptors to their first NBA title.
He was named MVP of the 2019 NBA Finals, the second such honour of his career after guiding the San Antonio Spurs to the championship in 2013-14.
A five-time All-Star and two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year, Leonard leads the Clippers (23-13) this season with 23.8 points and 1.75 steals per game.
He is also tied for second on the team in rebounding (6.1) and ranks fourth with 3.4 assists per game.
Pete Carroll is no longer the coach of the Seattle Seahawks.
After 14 seasons as the team's coach, the 72-year-old is moving into an advisory role with the organisation.
"After thoughtful meetings and careful consideration for the best interest of the franchise, we have amicably agreed with Pete Carroll that his role will evolve from Head Coach to remain with the organisation as an advisor,” the team said in a statement.
The Seahawks made the announcement on Wednesday, three days after the team concluded the season with a 21-20 win over the Arizona Cardinals. They finished the year 9-8, and would've made the play-offs had the Green Bay Packers lost to the Chicago Bears in Week 18.
As the coach of Seattle since 2010, Carroll led the Seahawks to the franchise's only Super Bowl title, two conference championships, five division crowns and 10 play-off berths. Overall, he went 137-89-1 with Seattle.
Although he is the winningest coach in franchise history, the Seahawks missed the play-offs in two of the last three seasons, and have only advanced to the divisional round of the post-season once in the last seven years.
He had prior NFL coaching stops with the New York Jets and New England Patriots, and his 170 career wins are tied with Tom Coughlin and Mike Shanahan for the 14th most in NFL history.
"His expertise in leadership and building a championship culture will continue as an integral part of our organisation moving forward," the statement read. "Pete will always be a beloved member of the Seahawks family.”
Trinidad and Tobago’s bobsleigh team will use the next 18 months to develop a well-oiled four-man team ahead of qualifiers, as they set their sights on the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Italy.
Piloted Axel Brown, the Soca Sliders, which also comprises Shakeel John, Xaverri Williams and Du Aundre John, is expected to feature more athletes, courtesy of a recent recruitment drive for potential bobsledders. For the first time in the nation’s short Winter Olympic history, Trinidad and Tobago will be chasing a spot in the four-man event.
The twin island republic's previous appearances in 1994 (Lillehammer, Norway), 1998 (Nangano, Japan), 2002 (Utah, USA) and 2022 (Beijing, China), were in the two-man bobsleigh. The 2026 Olympic qualifiers slide off from November 2025 to January 2026.
But until then, Brown believes the team has a lot of work to do and, as such, pointed out that the focus for this year will be on development and continuity.
“It’s a growing year so we’re not so much looking at results, we’re looking at the future and what we can do now to help the next couple of years. Yes, most of our 2023 results were good but we’re really looking at growing the team, getting better and laying the groundwork for the other teams,” Brown told Trinidad and Tobago Newsday in a recent interview.
While he is grateful that the country's bobsledders more or less come from a track and field background, Brown stressed the need to improve on their push power at the start of the race.
“If they train day-in, day-out they can get a lot stronger and a lot closer to the proverbial perfect bobsledder. Because that’s where they’re lacking right now, they’ve never truly hit the gym really hard in order to gain strength," he said.
“We’re trying to reframe their priorities to show them what it means to be and train like a bobsledder. We had some really good opportunities over the past three weeks to train alongside them. Normally, on the ice, the driver has to operate a little bit separately because of the different responsibilities, so to train alongside them for the last three weeks has been really beneficial," Brown added.
Mark Allen produced a break of 86 in the final-frame decider to oust John Higgins and advance to the quarter-finals of the Masters.
A week after teenage sensation Luke Littler thrilled during the World Darts Championship it was two old-timers that were starring at Alexandra Palace.
Higgins, a two-time champion, looked to be in control as back-to-back 80-plus breaks put him 3-1 up.
But world number three Allen won the next two scrappy frames, thanks to some wayward potting by Higgins to draw level.
The Northern Irishman had to wait until frame seven to make his first half-century break as he took the lead for the first time and then a sumptuous 123 clearance – the best of the match – put him one frame away.
Higgins had been looking beaten for the previous 30 minutes but summoned his renowned fighting spirit to reduce the deficit after winning the tactical battle and then sent it to a decider with a 61 break.
But hopes of a comeback were put to bed as Allen produced his decisive break to set up a last-eight tie with either Robert Milkins or Mark Selby.
He said: “It wasn’t a phenomenal contest, we were both a bit edgy, but any win against John is a good win so I will take it.
“Strangely I didn’t feel too bad in the last frame because 5-3 to 5-5 I didn’t feel like I’d done much wrong.
“I missed two really tricky shots, so I was looking forward to getting a chance and when John missed that long red I was fearing the worst but I got another chance and I made the most of it.”
Nottingham Forest defender Harry Toffolo hopes his experiences coming through mental health problems and gambling can help others tackle their own issues.
In September 2023, Toffolo was handed a suspended five-month ban after admitting 375 breaches of FA betting rules and was also fined just under £21,000. The investigation related to his time as a young player at Norwich and took in loan spells at Swindon, Rotherham, Peterborough and Scunthorpe between 2014 and 2017.
According to an independent regulatory commission, Toffolo’s deteriorating mental health and belief his football career was over were “very substantial mitigation” for him breaching the FA’s betting rules at that time.
The commission found Toffolo began placing bets on football, as well as other sports, when he was 18 and stopped at 21, with stakes “generally small”. Those included two 25p wagers on himself to score in the 2015 League One play-off final at Wembley for Swindon, who lost 4-0 to Preston.
The 28-year-old told BBC Radio Nottingham of how he felt “mortified and ashamed” when he received an e-mail from the FA outlining the breaches, which saw him drop to the floor in a “full-on panic attack” as he “felt like I lost everything”.
Toffolo faced mental health struggles and loneliness during his spells away from Norwich, later moving to Millwall in 2018 and then Lincoln before joining Huddersfield during January 2020.
Having signed for Forest in July 2022, the defender helped them win promotion in the the Championship play-off final under former boss Steve Cooper and has since gone on to play regular Premier League football.
Toffolo is now an ambassador of Tricky to Talk, which is a club community trust programme aimed at getting people to speak openly about their mental health.
“Some people might get down by it (the FA’s disciplinary process), but I feel like I have more energy from it,” Toffolo said in an interview with BBC East Midlands Today.
“I feel strong, but I also feel a sense of responsibility now to try help and hope it never happens again to anybody else.
“It’s now down to me as a person to say ‘what can I do to help, how can I protect my children from putting them in this position?’. I feel inspired by it.
“Every day for five months, it was just about getting through them one by one.
“I got through it and my career has never been at such a high than it has been in the past two or three months.
“I feel the most complete I have ever felt in my life at this moment in time, on the basis that I feel I have almost nothing to lose because I thought I had lost everything.
“I feel extremely humbled that I have the opportunity to keep playing.
“I just go out there and I fight for the fans and fight for my family because I’m sitting here now and I’m extremely grateful to even have this opportunity to talk about it.”
Guenther Steiner, the star of Formula One’s ‘Drive to Survive’ series, has been sacked by Haas.
The 58-year-old Italian earned a cult following his X-rated outbursts on the successful Netflix show.
But Steiner’s reign as team principal for the American team is over after owner Gene Haas dispensed of his services with immediate effect.
Steiner had been team principal at Haas since the team entered F1 in 2016. But they finished 10th and last in the most recent constructors’ championship, scoring points at only four of the 22 races.
He will be replaced by Ayao Komatsu, the Japanese Loughborough University graduate who is promoted from his role as trackside engineering director.
“Moving forward as an organisation it was clear we need to improve our on-track performances,” said Gene Haas.
“In appointing Ayao Komatsu as team principal we fundamentally have engineering at the heart of our management.
“We have had some successes, but we need to be consistent in delivering results that help us reach our wider goals as an organisation.
“I’m looking forward to working with Ayao and fundamentally ensuring that we maximise our potential – this truly reflects my desire to compete properly in Formula One.
“I’d like to extend my thanks to Guenther Steiner for all his hard work over the past decade and I wish him well for the future.”
Off the back of his newfound Netflix fame Steiner released his own book last year, while it was also reported that he is set to be involved as a producer on a sports-based fictional comedy show with US broadcaster CBS.
Speaking on Sky Sports last month, Steiner insisted his extracurricular activities were not hindering his role as team principal.
“It is a balance, and you have to be careful it doesn’t take too much time,” he said. “But writing the book didn’t take time.
“I always tried to do it while I was doing other things. I try to be very efficient and if there is a comedy with CBS I will not be performing in it.
“Everybody in the team is in a good place, financially as a business, and technically, too. We had a tough last year, but we could end up at the top of the midfield in 2024.”
The new season starts in Bahrain on March 2.
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