Antonio Conte does not want Tottenham "to be silent" in the wake of recent decisions he feels have gone against his team.
The Spurs boss was infuriated twice in the last week, firstly by Newcastle United's opening goal in their 2-1 win at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last Sunday being awarded despite Conte's belief that scorer Callum Wilson obstructed goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.
Then in the final seconds of Wednesday's 1-1 home draw with Sporting CP in the Champions League, a Harry Kane goal was disallowed for offside after a lengthy VAR check, which enraged Conte so much he was shown a red card for his reaction.
"I spoke with the sporting director [Fabio Paratici] and also I sent a message to [chairman] Daniel Levy," Conte said at a press conference on Friday. "Also after what happened against Newcastle, we spoke about this, because there is an image very, very clear that it was a foul.
"Sometimes you can accept and say: 'OK, they made a mistake, we have to move on.' But at the same time I think that sometimes you have to try to go to speak and to protect your club. I have to protect my club and the club has to protect itself. To be silent is not good.
"From the start of the season, I always said that I don't want to comment on every decision. And what happened? Every decision has been a disaster from the start, between the Premier League and the Champions League. All I ask is to pay a bit of attention and to try to have the same evaluation for every team."
The draw with Sporting leaves Spurs with a crucial final group game away to Marseille on Tuesday, and Conte admitted that is the main focus for his team, despite a Premier League clash at Bournemouth taking place before then on Saturday.
"In the Premier League, we have a lot of games to play in front of us," he said. "In the Champions League we want to have more games to play but there is a final on Tuesday and this is the difference between the game tomorrow in the Premier League and a game in the Champions League.
"In the Premier League you can have time to recover. In the Champions League we are going to play a final. For this reason my decision is to try make the best decision to understand very well who are the players who are really tired because I don't want to take risks.
"For us, it is a final on Tuesday. I try to make my best selection tomorrow because we also want to have a good result against Bournemouth."
Serie A side Genoa confirm sacking of head coach Gilardino
Serie A side Genoa have confirmed the departure of their head coach Alberto Gilardino, with Patrick Vieira reportedly on his way in.
Gilardino, a World Cup winner with Italy in 2006, leaves the club with them sitting just one point above the relegation size with 10 points from 12 matches this season.
A former striker who played for clubs including Genoa, Parma, AC Milan and Fiorentina, Gilardino took charge of Genoa in 2022 and helped them earn promotion to the top division before a 11th-place finish during the 2023-24 season.
"The club thanks Gilardino for the goals achieved together over the years and wishes him the best for his career," Genoa said in a statement.
The 42-year-old saw his side salvage a late 1-1 draw against Cesc Fabregas' Como in their last match before the international break.
Genoa were also knocked out of the Coppa Italia in the second round following a defeat to Sampdoria on penalties in September.
Arsenal legend Vieira is set to replace him, according to multiple reports.
The former France midfielder has been out of work since leaving Strasbourg by mutual consent in July.
Doncic backs Mbappe to turn fortunes around at Real Madrid
NBA superstar Luka Doncic has backed Kylian Mbappe to "figure it out" after his underwhelming start to life at Real Madrid.
Mbappe has scored eight goals in 16 games for Madrid in all competitions since joining as a free agent following the expiration of his Paris Saint-Germain contract.
He has gone four matches without a goal – a run that includes losses to Barcelona and Milan – and has been left out of France's latest squad.
However, Dallas Mavericks guard Doncic – a Real Madrid supporter due to his previous ties with the sports club – can see Mbappe turning things around.
"Obviously [their season] could be better," Doncic told Managing Madrid after the Mavericks' win over the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday.
"But when you get a guy like Mbappe, it takes some time to get used to it. We'll figure it out."
Mbappe has scored six goals in 11 LaLiga appearances for Madrid but has underperformed his season's expected goals (xG) total by 2.04.
The forward is averaging a goal every 166 minutes in all competitions this term, compared to one every 88 minutes for PSG in his last of seven seasons in Paris.
Madrid thrashed Osasuna 4-0 last time out in the league to return to winning ways but still trail leaders Barcelona by six points.
Asked about his connections with Madrid, former Los Blancos basketball player Doncic said: "I follow Real Madrid every time.
"I grew up there. They taught me everything, so it's a part of my life. You can call it a secondary home.
"I learned a lot of stuff there and, especially, they gave me a way to be here right now [in Dallas]. I always appreciate that 100%."
Madrid return to action after the international break with a trip to Leganes on Sunday.
Tottenham's Odobert undergoes hamstring surgery
Tottenham have confirmed that Wilson Odobert has undergone surgery for a hamstring injury.
The 19-year-old joined Spurs from Burnley in August and made five appearances in all competitions for the north London side.
He managed just 162 minutes in his three Premier League matches, creating three chances in that time, but has not featured in the competition since their 1-0 loss to Arsenal in mid-September.
His last appearance was a two-minute cameo in the Europa League group stage amid ongoing hamstring problems.
"We can confirm that Wilson Odobert underwent surgery to his right hamstring yesterday (Saturday 16th November)," Spurs said on social media.
"The 19-year-old will continue to be closely monitored by our medical team to determine when he can return to training."
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