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• West Ham offer reward for information after burglars raided Kurt Zouma’s house

  West Ham have offered a £25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of burglars who raided Kurt Zouma’s home on the eve of Sunday’s Premier League clash with Crystal Palace.

  Zouma and his young family were in the house during the break-in, and he missed the following day’s match against Palace, with his club saying at the time that he was absent for “personal reasons”.

  West Ham said the burglars took items of “significant value and of huge personal and sentimental importance to the family.”

  Hammers joint chairman David Sullivan said: “First and foremost, the thoughts of everyone connected to West Ham United are with Kurt and his family.

  “To have someone break into your home is a terrifying experience and I hope this reward will help bring the individuals to justice and prevent others from going through a similar ordeal.”

  Last year Zouma was ordered to carry out 180 hours’ community service and banned from keeping cats for five years after kicking and slapping his pet in a disturbing home video posted on Snapchat.

• Skelmersdale appeal after boss Pascal Chimbonda lands five-match stadium ban

  Skelmersdale United manager Pascal Chimbonda has been given a five-match stadium ban for improper conduct, his club have confirmed.

  The 44-year-old former Tottenham, Sunderland, Wigan and Blackburn player, who was also a member of France’s World Cup squad in 2006, took the reins at the North West Counties Premier League side in October.

  His club have appealed against the severity of the punishment, which follows an incident which saw him sent off when Skelmersdale faced Barnoldswick Town on October 21.

  A thread posted on the club’s official account on X (formerly Twitter) read: “Pascal Chimbonda has been served with a five match stadium ban for Improper Conduct which will take effect immediately. This is in relation to his sending off on the 21st October 2023 during the game against Barnoldswick Town.

  “Pascal would like to state that although he pleaded guilty to the offence of leaving his technical area, he did so with the sole intention of preventing his players from getting hurt in a melee which had developed on the field of play.

  “The club have appealed against the severity of the punishment as it doesn’t appear to be proportionate with the offence. Particular as his previous disciplinary record is totally unblemished. The club won’t be releasing any further statements until the outcome of the appeal.”

  Chimbonda also played for QPR, Carlisle and Doncaster, before playing for non-league Washington (Tyne and Wear) and Ashton Town.

• Manchester City charged by FA after players surround referee against Spurs

  Manchester City have been charged by the Football Association for failing to ensure their players behaved in a proper manner during added time in Sunday’s Premier League match against Tottenham.

  City’s players, and particularly Erling Haaland, reacted furiously when they were denied the chance to play advantage in the closing moments of a thrilling 3-3 draw after the Norwegian striker had been fouled.

  Haaland had shrugged off the challenge from Emerson Royal to play Jack Grealish through on goal, but referee Simon Hooper pulled play back to award the hosts at the Etihad Stadium a free-kick.

  Haaland continued to voice his anger as he left the field after the final whistle and he later went even further by posting a remark criticising Hooper on social media.

  “Manchester City have been charged with a breach of FA Rule 20.1 after their players surrounded the match official during their Premier League fixture against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday 3 December 2023,” read a statement posted on the FA Spokesperson account on Twitter.

  Bernardo Silva felt City suffered a “very, very bad” decision but admits the team also need to do their own job better.

  “It is a bad decision and everyone saw it,” said the Portuguese midfielder. “But at the end we are all humans.

  “The referee probably is the first one to know it was a very, very bad decision because he (Grealish) was one on one with the keeper and it could have given us the three points.

  “It is a tough one to take, but in the end it is what it is, it’s football, and sometimes people make mistakes.”

  The PA news agency understands Hooper will not be stood down from refereeing duties for the Sheffield United v Liverpool match on Wednesday.

  City also had themselves to blame after spurning a hatful of chances to claim what could have been a comfortable victory, with Haaland among the guilty parties.

  Haaland on Monday followed up his social media complaint, which simply read ‘Wtf’, with a good-natured response to a humorous tweet referencing him.

  The 23-year-old’s incredulous expression during Sunday’s match was edited into The Scream painting by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch.

  Reposting the image, Haaland wrote: “Wtf that made me smile for the first time today.”

  City led 2-1 at the break thanks to a Phil Foden goal after Son Heung-min had scored at both ends in the opening nine minutes.

  Jeremy Doku and Julian Alvarez also hit the woodwork in the first half, while Haaland missed an open goal after one of numerous Spurs errors.

  Spurs recovered to level through Giovani Lo Celso, but it seemed Grealish had won it in the 81st minute, only for Dejan Kulusevski to equalise again in the 90th minute.

  It was City’s third successive draw and saw them slip to third in the Premier League.

  Silva said: “We have been conceding late goals against Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and now Tottenham.

  “At the end it is seven points. We could be four points ahead on top of the league if we did our job properly, which is kill the game, or at least don’t concede in the last minute. At this level those little details matter.

  “We need to demand more from ourselves, each one of us.”

  Spurs’ late equaliser ended their run of three successive defeats.

  Kulusevski, who powered in the crucial goal off his shoulder, revealed the visitors’ stronger second-half showing came after some stern words from manager Ange Postecoglou during the break.

  The Sweden international told the club’s website: “The coach was very angry at half-time. It was the first time I have seen him like that but he did the right thing.

  “What we did was special in the second half. It is an unbelievable feeling. These moments in life are small. We have to enjoy them and just be thankful and be proud of the team.”