In the classic 1994 comedy film, Jim Carrey puts on a mask that gives him special powers. In the 2023 NBA playoffs, Jaylen Brown seemingly had the same effect after removing his.

With nine minutes left in the second period, and having only scored two points, Brown emerged from a timeout without the protective mask he has worn since fracturing his cheekbone in February.

He went on to finish with 31 points as the Boston Celtics beat the Atlanta Hawks 129-121 at State Farm Arena to go 3-1 up in their Eastern Conference first-round series.

"I was talking to [Marcus] Smart when JB took his mask off and was like, 'Oh, s***. It's go time,'" Celtics guard Jayson Tatum said, who also put up 31 points. "I knew he was going to turn it up a notch."

Brown had scored just one from seven field-goal attempts prior to taking off his mask, going on to net 11 from 15 after that.

"Maybe it was all in my head, but I just needed a different look," Brown said. "As soon as I took it off, things started to turn around a little bit."

It was an astonishing turn in form from Brown, who is averaging 23.3 points per game in the playoffs so far.

"I've just started getting comfortable with it since I've been wearing it," he added about the mask. "When I first put it on, I didn't like it too much, and I had to wear it.

"I just needed something different [on Sunday]. I don't know what it was: Change my shoes, wipe my hands off, take the mask off, whatever it is I needed to do, I needed to do to help our team get a win, and that's what I was trying to do."

The Celtics can clinch the series in Game 5 when they return to TD Garden on Tuesday.

Chris Paul said he has "never played with this much talent" after helping the Phoenix Suns to an imposing 3-1 lead over the Los Angeles Clippers in their first-round playoff series.

The Suns are among the favourites to reach the Conference Finals from the West given a stacked roster that now includes Kevin Durant alongside Paul and Devin Booker.

Paul (19 points), Durant (31 points) and Booker (30 points) all contributed in Saturday's 112-100 victory, which leaves the Suns one win away from progressing.

At 37, Paul – who spent seven years at the Clippers – has been around the block but this crop of Phoenix stars is among the best he has seen assembled.

"I've never played with this much talent," said Paul, who drained 12 of his points in the fourth quarter. 

"Where people are doubling off of me. I've never seen so many open shots.

"It's something that I'm getting used to. Trying to figure out when to pick your spots, when to be aggressive. We're figuring this thing out on the fly. I'm just happy that a few of them fell tonight."

The Suns were sloppy at the start of the second half, giving up seven straight points in the opening minute, leading to Paul aiming a few choice words at the team from the bench.

"I think the way the third quarter started, I was p*****. We all was," Paul added. 

"We were on the bench sort of going at each other. But it's healthy. Just trying to get us going. I tried to get myself going defensively. The shots, they're going to come."

One potential concern is a lack of depth, with Durant (45), Booker (42) and Paul (38) racking up big minutes – indeed the former two players are clocking an average of 43 minutes in the playoffs.

But Durant gave short shrift to the idea of being overworked.

"How'd I look tonight?" Durant said. "I felt great. I missed a lot of time this season. 

"I want to be out there every minute. I wish I could play 48 every game."

Durant also had high praise for Clippers star Russell Westbrook, who had a game-high 37 points.

Westbrook endured a tough spell at the Clippers' rivals the Los Angeles Lakers, but Durant said he is among the best in the business.

"People going to always criticise when you're successful and doing your thing for this long. Russ has been resilient his whole life. He comes to work, doesn't say much. Just come hoop," Durant added.

"When he retires, people are going to really tell the truth about his game. Right now, the fun thing to do is to make a joke out of Russ. But the way he's been playing since he got with the Clippers is showing everybody who he really is."

Romelu Lukaku was dramatically cleared to face Juventus in the second leg of Inter's Coppa Italia semi-final as Italian football chiefs rescinded the red card he received for standing up to racist abuse.

An intervention on Saturday from the president of the Italian FA (FIGC), Gabriele Gravina, brought about the cancellation of Lukaku's second yellow card in the first leg of the Juventus tie.

That was despite the FIGC on Friday announcing the ban would stand, which was followed by an outraged response from Inter.

Inter reacted with dismay and "great sorrow" to Friday's ruling, saying it appeared Lukaku had been judged "the only guilty party" despite being the victim.

Gravina's decision to subsequently quash the verdict was warmly welcomed by Lukaku, who said in a statement on Inter's website: "I am really happy about this decision from the president of the FIGC, who has shown great sensitivity to the situation.

"I believe that thanks to his intervention, justice has been done and this sends out a great message to the whole world of sport and beyond. This has shown that the desire is there to fight racism."

The initial decision to uphold the red card and suspension had all the attributes of an embarrassing own goal for the FIGC amid efforts to show they take racism seriously.

Belgian striker Lukaku converted a penalty in the fifth minute of stoppage time to earn Inter a 1-1 draw in the semi-final first leg on April 4 at the Allianz Stadium.

He then used his finger to shush the home fans' vitriol and that reaction was deemed a bookable offence by referee Davide Massa. Lukaku had already been booked for a foul in the 80th minute, so the second yellow card saw him dismissed.

The Inter frontman, who is on loan from Chelsea, subsequently demanded action from Italian authorities after the latest case of him being targeted for abuse, while team-mate Edin Dzeko described the treatment from the Juventus fans as something "that should never happen".

FIFA president Gianni Infantino labelled the abuse "unacceptable" and called for those responsible to be punished.

A partial stadium closure was initially imposed on Juventus as a result of Lukaku being targeted, with the section from where the abuse came ordered to be shut for one game, but that decision was overturned, without an explanation being offered.

The second leg will take place on Wednesday at San Siro, and Inter head coach Simone Inzaghi will be relieved to have Lukaku available.

Saturday's apparent common sense decision from the FIGC was announced in a statement to Italian media, which announced Lukaku had been pardoned "in an exceptional and extraordinary way".

The FIGC statement added: "The principle of the fight against all forms of racism is a fundamental element of the sports system."

LeBron James has done and seen it all during his 20-year NBA career, so the Los Angeles Lakers superstar was not about to be drawn into a war of words with Memphis Grizzlies forward Dillon Brooks.

James refused to respond when asked about Brooks' comments after practice on Friday before the teams meet in Los Angles for Game 3 of their first-round series on Saturday.

"I’m not here for the bulls***," James said before cutting off his media availability after sidestepping Brooks-related questions for roughly five minutes. "I'm ready to play and that's it."

Brooks took a shot at James after the Grizzlies’ 103-93 victory in Game 2 evened the series, doubting the veteran’s effectiveness at this point in his career.

"I don’t care – he’s old. You know what I mean?" Brooks said Wednesday after staring down James on the floor when he hit a three in the fourth quarter. "I was waiting for that. I was expecting him to do that Game 4, Game 5. He wanted to say something when I got my fourth foul. He should have been saying that earlier on. But I poke bears. I don't respect no one until they come and give me 40."

James didn’t place any significance on the extracurricular activity.

"The game is won in between the four lines. Always has been and always will be," James said.

Lakers forward Rui Hachimura weighed in on Brooks’ comments.

"I heard about. I’m not really into social media, but I heard about it," he said. "Honestly, that’s all they can do. They’re a young team. They just want to talk. We just don’t really care. We’re going to play our game and we’re trying to win the games."

Darius Garland says showing a more "aggressive" side to his game was the key to his inspirational display in the Cleveland Cavaliers' Game 2 victory against the New York Knicks.

After making a limited impact in Saturday's Game 1 loss, Garland was far more involved in Tuesday's contest at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

The 2022 NBA All-Star posted a game-high 32 points on eight-of-17 shooting, draining six-of-10 from long range, and he also chipped in seven assists in a masterful offensive showing.

Asked about the key to his improved performance in his side's 107-90 triumph to level the series, Garland said: "Everybody in the building told me to go be aggressive.

"They said to shoot the ball. So I watched the film from the first game and seeing some opportunities where I can and be aggressive, and that's what I just tried to do today.

"They showed a couple clips where I had open shots and I didn't shoot them. So it's really the entire organisation telling me to shoot the ball; it's not just one person."

Garland averaged 21.6 points during the regular season, with that tally bettered only by Donovan Mitchell (28.3) among Cavs players.

Mitchell, who added 17 and a career playoff-high 13 assists, praised the showing of young point guard Garland.

"That's the All-Star we all know, and it was great to see," Mitchell said. "I told him at the end of the day, that's what we're going to need, continue to be aggressive."

Garland became the third player in the Cavs' franchise history, after LeBron James and Kyrie Irving, to score 26 points or more in a half.

While the 23-year-old was widely praised for his performance, Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff was equally as impressed by what he saw from Mitchell.

"What he did tonight is make sure that everybody had belief, that everybody played to their strength," Bickerstaff said. 

"When they had it going, he could've very easily decided it was time for him to take shots, but he didn't; he made sure those guys kept going so they could keep that confidence.

"We have to continue to hammer this home. We got our a** kicked on the boards the other night, and tonight those guys took it personal and made a huge change."

Cleveland now travel to Madison Square Garden for Games 3 and 4, which take place on Friday and Sunday respectively.

The last time Chelsea binned off Frank Lampard, they won the Champions League four months later.

They brought him back, have immediately lost four games on the trot and won't be kings of Europe this year. Nor will they be contesting this competition next year.

Sometimes good things come to an end, but Chelsea and Lampard have past glories they can rely on and seem happy enough together again, so don't cry for them.

All those signings in January, and then this? All the brilliant leadership from Todd Boehly, and then this?

Real Madrid have more past glories than any club in the history of this competition, landing their 14th title last May, and they cleared the Chelsea hurdle after Carlo Ancelotti somehow outwitted Lampard.

Honestly, who saw that coming?

This was football as some sort of abstract performance art from the men in blue and their boss.

Stealth tactics, confuse the hell out of them. Play N'Golo Kante as a roving forward, why not? Have Conor Gallagher as the man nodding down crosses for the little Frenchman, why not? Madrid won't know what's hit 'em!

On seeing Chelsea's starting line-up, featuring world-beating holding midfielder Kante as the frontline attack dog, snooker star and Blues fan Neil Robertson tweeted: "I'm a little confused with this lineup. Hopefully a master plan!"

Sure Neil, let's call this a master plan. Just like playing a frame of snooker with the butt end of a cue would be considered a sound tactic, this was a master plan all right.

Eleven minutes in, this supreme strategy should have brought Chelsea a goal when Reece James' cross broke to an unmarked Kante.

From 12 yards the French World Cup winner surely would hit the opening goal and give Chelsea the dream start they were after.

Reader, he did not. A wild swing of the left boot sent the ball wide, but my word, did Madrid already look confused.

After playing 30 games in the Champions League without ever scoring, it was surely a matter of time before Kante broke that duck in this game. He was born to be the match winner.

James took a hapless touch on another Chelsea attack and Madrid's Vinicius Junior shepherded the ball out of play for a goal kick, being told to 'f*** off' by at least one Chelsea supporter for his efforts.

Madrid were surely on the ropes now with such vitriol adding to their woes.

Sure, Rodrygo whacked a shot against the outside of the Chelsea right post. But the home side were flying.

Kante had four touches in the first 20 minutes, the fewest of any player on the pitch. Madrid were being lulled into a false sense of security, their 2-0 first-leg lead suddenly so vulnerable.

Sure, Luka Modric’s sharp shot from a tight angle was then bundled behind by Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga.

Chelsea full-back James got in on the right and looked to play a quick ball to the striker attacking the near post, except that player unfortunately did not exist.

In the 38th minute, Kante was the man dashing down the right, and the makeshift winger’s cross would have been ideal if Chelsea had a striker in their ranks. As it was, it ran through the penalty area and out again before Madrid cleared their lines.

Kante then won a corner, and Kai Havertz flicked it on, Conor Gallagher headed it up, and nobody nodded it in.

In first-half stoppage time, Chelsea had the best chance of the half, when James' delicious low cross from the right inevitably missed the players in the middle and ran through to left-back Marc Cucurella.

The £55million defender was not necessarily acquired for his finishing, having only netted once for Brighton and Hove Albion, and he duly kept up his record of never having netted for Chelsea as Thibaut Courtois kept out his strike.

By half-time, Kante had pulled level with the goalkeepers on 17 touches each. Progress.

The chances kept coming after the break and Kante had another glorious opportunity when Gallagher nodded the ball down. Kante got to the ball and smacked his shot straight at defender Eder Militao.

Havertz trickled a low shot straight at Courtois, and Madrid were surely by now boggled by this master class in mind games. You could knock them down with a feather by this point.

Yet after almost an hour of banter-ball, Madrid scored when a short pass from Vinicius teed up Rodrygo to smash in from close range.

But wait! In the 67th minute, Lampard introduced three players with goals in their veins: Raheem Sterling, Mykhailo Mudryk and Joao Felix.

Hold them back until the game's lost, Frank, then unleash them, baby!

The Spanish giants withdrew Benzema after 70 minutes, sparing him from such advanced confusion tactics.

All Chelsea needed now was four goals.

Madrid scored next, Federico Valverde dancing past Thiago Silva and squaring for Rodrygo to net again. Two-nil on the night, four-nil on aggregate.

Just five goals needed now.

Frank, I don't think this is going quite to plan.

Nantes head coach Antoine Kombouare labelled his players "a sh***y team" on Sunday as he took a dramatic swipe at the group two weeks ahead of the Coupe de France final.

There will be glory in their sights at the Stade de France on April 29 when Nantes tackle Toulouse for cup honours.

However, former Paris Saint-Germain boss Kombouare tore into his side in a television interview after the 2-1 loss at Auxerre on Ligue 1 duty that left Nantes 15th in the table.

The 59-year-old told Prime Video: "Today the players aren't concerned by survival because, up to now... imagine, you got to the 16th finals of the Europa League, you're going to the Stade de France in two weeks.

"But apparently they would prefer for us to be up the creek and find ourselves 17th to be able to wake up.

"They like to play with the pressure so we're going to laugh. In any case today, I hear those from Auxerre say that we are a good team but no, we are a sh****y team!"

 

Nantes saw their Europa League campaign ended by Juventus in February when they lost 4-1 on aggregate to the Italian giants.

They have not won a domestic league match since February 12 when they scored a 1-0 home victory over Lorient, taking three points from a possible 24 since.

It is a run that has left relegation a distinct possibility, with Nantes just two points clear of the drop zone, which contains the bottom four sides for this season as Ligue 1 makes the change to an 18-team league from the 2023-24 season.

They will be seeking back-to-back Coupe de France titles, having beaten Nice 1-0 in last season's final.

Paris Saint-Germain head coach Christophe Galtier has found support after being accused of making racist comments about players during his time as Nice boss.

The allegations came in an e-mail allegedly sent by former Nice football director Julien Fournier at the end of last season.

According to The Athletic, the email's recipient was Dave Brailsford, director of sport at INEOS, the company that owns Nice.

The contents of the email were first reported on Tuesday evening, with Galtier alleged to have told Fournier – in Fournier's words – that the club "could not have so many blacks and Muslims in the team".

Fournier and Galtier both left Nice after the end of last season, with Galtier cherry-picked to be coach of champions PSG.

Galtier's lawyer, Olivier Martin, said the 56-year-old PSG coach "contests with the greatest firmness" the accusations made against him. In a statement to AFP, Martin said Galtier "learned with amazement of the insulting and defamatory remarks".

Fournier allegedly also mentioned John Valovic, the agent and adopted son of Galtier, in the e-mail.

Valovic responded on Instagram, writing: "Thanks to everyone for your support. The accusations against me are false and intolerable. They will not remain without consequences."

Veteran Turkish striker Burak Yilmaz, who played under Galtier at Lille, said the claims of racism did not tally with his own experiences.

In a message posted on Instagram on Wednesday evening, Yilmaz wrote: "I read the news today and I felt like I have to say something. I worked with Galtier and never felt any negative behaviour from him about my religion or nationality.

"He is a great coach as well as a great person."

Defender Jose Fonte, who along with Yilmaz won the 2020-21 Ligue 1 title under Galtier at Lille, also stressed the claims came as a surprise.

"In three years working with Mr Galtier, he was always close to his players and above all, very respectful," Fonte wrote. "It is upsetting reading some news today. I have only good things to say about this man."

Jean-Michel Aulas, the long-standing president of Lyon, said he was "very sorry" for Galtier.

According to the Nice-Matin newspaper and other French media, security around Galtier has been tightened up since the allegations came to light.

Aulas, quoted by RMC, said: "I am very shocked and very sorry for Christophe, whom I know personally.

"I cannot imagine this kind of thing, but it's not for me to pass judgement. We see things happening in the public square that are so different from what we advocate in football.

"From the moment Christophe expresses his refusal to accept this type of information, he has every right to do so."

Nice issued a statement on Wednesday that read: “The facts related concern two people who no longer work for OGC Nice. This situation was treated with the utmost seriousness at the time of the events. The club will not comment further."

Fournier has firmly denied leaking the email, saying in a statement to Nice-Matin: "I am in no way responsible for the dissemination of this year-old internal information at the time of my departure from the club. The timing of these revelations revolts me as much as their content."

Galtier is expected to make a routine appearance at a PSG pre-match press conference on Friday, ahead of his team's top-of-the-table Ligue 1 game against Lens the following day.

Jake Paul has lined up former UFC man Nate Diaz as his next opponent following his split-decision loss to Tommy Fury.

The former social media personality will face the MMA veteran in an eight-round cruiserweight bout at the American Airlines Center in Dallas on August 5.

Paul, who lost his previously unbeaten status against Fury in Saudi Arabia earlier this year, stands at a 6-1 record with four knockouts.

Diaz, who famously inflicted Conor McGregor to a first loss during his UFC days, is a 21-time winner in MMA but will make his professional boxing debut in Texas.

The pair's fight comes amid an escalating war of words between the two over recent months, and will see Paul sidestep a potential bout with fellow media personality-turned-boxer KSI.

The Briton previously defeated the American's brother Logan in his only professional fight in 2019, but Paul says he desires to test himself further after defeat to Fury.

"My last fight didn't end the way I wanted, but the result was the best thing that could have happened to my professional boxing aspirations," Paul said in a statement.

"Now, the world thinks I am vulnerable, when all I am is more focused than ever. My team wanted me to take an easy fight like KSI next, but that's not how I am built.

"Nate Diaz is considered one of the most bad-ass fighters of all time, but he and his team have been running their mouths for too long."

Diaz likewise threw down the gauntlet, adding: "I'm the king of combat sports. I f***** up Conor for acting out and now here I am again, like a superhero."

Israel Adesanya exacted some revenge on Alex Pereira with a brutal second-round knockout victory in Saturday's UFC 287 main event in Miami.

Adesanya floored the Brazilian at 4:21 in the second round in their middleweight fight, having come into the contest 0-3 against Pereira in their previous kickboxing and MMA bouts. Among those losses was a fifth-round TKO at UFC 281.

Pereira started well with Adesanya up against the cage, but the Nigerian responded emphatically, countering with some massive right-hand hits.

The Brazilian was hurt but finally put down by Adesanya with a left hook, before pummelling him with a hammer fist leading to referee Dan Miragliotta's intervention with Pereira unconscious.

"They say revenge is sweet," Adesanya said. "If you know me I've got a sweet tooth... you already know, this is f***ing sweet."

Adesanya, who said he was "playing possum" with Pereira early, was delighted to re-claim the middleweight belt.

"Alex is a great champion no matter what," Adesanya said. "He lost the belt tonight, but he’ll always be the champion. In his story I’m the antagonist, in his story I’m the bad guy but tonight it’s my story. History.

"I told you the hunter is now the hunted. Thank you for beating me. Beating me made me a better fighter, a better person. In this camp I didn’t f*** around. I stayed in the grind and put myself through it."

In the co-main event, Gilbert Burns beat Jorge Masvidal by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) in the welterweight division.

Burns, who trains in Florida, was the clear winner, with Masvidal declaring after the bout that he would retire.

Frank Lampard wants Chelsea to banish the lethargic moments that are costing them after seeing Wolves grit their teeth for a 1-0 win over the Blues at Molineux.

It took a stunning 31st-minute goal from Matheus Nunes to get the better of Chelsea in what was caretaker boss Lampard's first game of his second spell at the helm.

Lampard featured in the most successful team in Chelsea's history, with the Englishman ending his career as the club's record scorer, which was no mean feat for a midfielder.

He was a tireless presence in the Chelsea team, and he wants to see the same energy and concentration from the current breed of players, believing it has been lacking at times.

"We know we're not in the position we want to be and there is always a reason for it," Lampard said. "I was aware of that, and I did not expect to solve everything in one day.

"If you're analysing it, in a Premier League game you have to have more aggression in your game, more speed, more competitive duels that go your way, rather than the opposition.

"That is baseline stuff against a team fighting for their Premier League lives. It will always dictate the result of the game, regardless of the talent.

"There was a little bit of that today and the players need to be aware of that, because without that you can't win games and you can't be the team that Chelsea has been at different times, and we want to get back to."

He added: "I am here to help with that, and this is not stinging criticism, but what are the reasons we can be like that at times?

"I know there is a lot of talent there in the squad, I have seen that in the last couple of days, and I look forward to working more with it."

Chelsea's lack of a specialist striker once more cost them as they lacked a focal point for their attacking, with Kai Havertz again the nominal centre forward.

Havertz is arguably better deployed in a midfield role and gave Wolves few causes for concern.

Real Madrid will have hardly been petrified by what they saw either, ahead of their Champions League quarter-final first leg against Lampard's men on Wednesday.

Lampard rested N'Golo Kante, whose return from a hamstring injury lay-off is being carefully managed, but the Frenchman should line up at the Santiago Bernabeu.

There was a pre-match blow on Saturday when Mason Mount was ruled out by what Lampard confirmed was continuing pelvic trouble.

Lampard, having been sacked in January by Everton, relished his return to touchline duty with Chelsea, if not the result.

"I am very happy to be back," he said. "But I'm disappointed I could not give the fans a win in the first game back.

"But we go again and have a huge game waiting for us on Wednesday in the Champions League, and I am very excited about that."

Wolves, meanwhile, could face punishment from the Football Association after home fans were heard chanting "Chelsea rent boys" during the game.

The FA said in January it would consider the homophobic chant a breach of its rules that could lead to disciplinary action, while the Crown Prosecution Service has classed it as a hate crime.

Chelsea said in a statement on Saturday: "Chelsea Football Club finds all forms of discriminatory behaviour totally unacceptable.

"It condemns the homophobic chanting by some home fans at Molineux this afternoon. Chelsea will continue to work closely with Chelsea Pride and the broader football community to eradicate these vile chants from our game."

In a supportive message, the Premier League said the chant "has no place in football or society".

Juventus have been given a one-match partial stadium ban after their supporters racially abused Inter striker Romelu Lukaku.

Lukaku was targeted by opposition fans before and after scoring a penalty in the fifth minute of added time to earn Inter a 1-1 draw in Tuesday's Coppa Italia semi-final first leg.

The Belgium international was issued a second yellow card for putting his fingers to his lips to silence the Allianz Stadium crowd.

Serie A announced on Thursday that Juve must close the lower tier of the South Stand for their next home league game, which is against Napoli on April 23.

The judge overseeing the case stated that "the majority of the 5,034" spectators in that stand were guilty of racially abusing Lukaku.

Lukaku will still serve a one-match ban in the return fixture with Juve on April 26 for his sending off, which sparked a mass melee near full-time. 

Inter goalkeeper Samir Handanovic and Juve midfielder Juan Cuadrado were both dismissed for their parts in the scuffle, and will serve one and three-game bans respectively.

Lukaku, who is on loan at San Siro from Chelsea, has been subjected to racism on numerous occasions in Italy and this week called for more serious action to be taken.

"History repeats. [I've] been through it in 2019 and [now in] 2023 again," he posted on his official social media channels.

"I hope the league really take actions for real this time because this beautiful game should be enjoyed by everyone.

"Thank you for the supportive messages. F*** racism."

Juve intend to work closely with authorities to identify the fans responsible and issue bans.

Borussia Dortmund head coach Edin Terzic says his decision to leave out Jude Bellingham against RB Leipzig had nothing to do with recent criticism from Emre Can.

Bellingham was named among the substitutes for Wednesday's 2-0 loss at Red Bull Arena as Dortmund's DFB-Pokal hopes were ended at the quarter-final stage.

The England's international's omission came a day after Can publicly said his team-mate has "to learn a lot" after regularly letting his emotion get the better of him on the field.

But Terzic confirmed Bellingham was overlooked for a starting spot against Leipzig for fitness reasons, rather than any sort of falling out behind the scenes.

"Jude signalled after the game against [Bayern] Munich that he wasn't 100 per cent fit," Terzic told Sky Germany.

Asked about Can's criticism of Bellingham, Terzic said: "That has nothing to do with the decision."

Only Nico Schlotterbeck (37) has played more times for Dortmund than Bellingham (36) this season, with all but three of the midfielder's appearances being starts.

The 19-year-old, who has been linked with an array of Europe's top clubs, was introduced with an hour played against Leipzig but could not help Dortmund recover.

Will Orban scored in the 98th minute to add to Timo Werner's 22nd-minute opener in a deserved victory for Leipzig, who had 11 shots on target to BVB's one.

Dortmund have exited the DFB-Pokal and Champions League over the past month, while Saturday's 4-2 loss to Bayern saw them replaced at the top of the Bundesliga.

Terzic had no complaints over the loss to Leipzig and accepts his side's campaign is as good as over if they do not learn from their back-to-back defeats.

"It was a catastrophic game in the first half," he said. "It was basically a s*** evening because we did not advance to the next round of a cup we had a good chance of winning.

"It's now a matter of looking ahead. There's still an important competition in which we want to play a big role.

"But if you look at the performance against Leipzig and the performance in Munich, it will be difficult for us if we continue to play like this."

FIFA president Gianni Infantino condemned racist chants from Juventus fans towards Inter striker Romelu Lukaku during their Coppa Italia semi-final first leg.

Lukaku scored a penalty in stoppage time to earn visitors Inter a 1-1 draw in Turin on Tuesday, duly celebrating by holding a finger to his lips in front of Juve supporters as a response to abuse.

The celebration was deemed provocative and the Belgian was sent off for a second bookable offence, with the incident leading to a confrontation between the two sets of players.

Lukaku released a statement on Wednesday demanding action from Italian authorities, which has been widely supported by other big names in the football world.

Infantino labelled the chants "unacceptable" and called for those responsible to be punished.

Infantino said: "Football has no place for racism or any form of discrimination.

"It is simply unacceptable to see the racist abuse aimed by spectators at Inter forward Romelu Lukaku during the Coppa Italia match at Juventus in Turin.

"FIFA and I stand with Romelu Lukaku, just as we do with any other player, coach, match official, fan or participant in a football match who has suffered from racism or any other form of discrimination.

"Victims of those abuses must be supported, and the perpetrators duly punished by all authorities.

"I repeat the call made earlier this year for fans to stand up and silence the racists.

"Equally, in football, we need to ensure that strict sporting sanctions are applied to address such incidents and to serve as a deterrent."

In Lukaku's message earlier in the day, he was keen to highlight how such incidents are recurring rather than isolated.

"History repeats. [I've] been through it in 2019 and [now in] 2023 again," he said via Instagram.

"I hope the league really take actions for real this time because this beautiful game should be enjoyed by everyone.

"Thank you for the supportive messages. F*** racism."

His message has received support from the likes of Kylian Mbappe.

Mbappe wrote on Instagram: "2023 and still the same problems. But we are not going to let you get away with it."

Inter striker Romelu Lukaku has called for action from Serie A officials after allegedly being targeted by racist chants from Juventus fans following his equaliser at the Allianz Stadium.

The Belgium international netted a penalty in the fifth minute of stoppage time to earn Inter a 1-1 draw in Tuesday's Coppa Italia semi-final first leg, before using his finger to shush the home fans.

Referee Davide Massa booked Lukaku for the celebration and showed the goalscorer a second yellow card following a heated aftermath that spilled over past full-time, leading to Juventus winger Juan Cuadrado and Inter goalkeeper Samir Handanovic also seeing red.

Lukaku pointed to his previous experiences of racism in Italy as he responded to the events with an Instagram post.

He said: "History repeats. [I've] been through it in 2019 and [now in] 2023 again.

"I hope the league really take actions for real this time because this beautiful game should be enjoyed by everyone.

"Thank you for the supportive messages. F*** racism."

The post has received supportive comments from Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Mario Balotelli among others.

Jerome Boateng also tweeted in support, saying: "We'll always have your back Rom! F*** Racism!"

Earlier on Wednesday, Lukaku's agency ROC Nation Sports International also responded to the incident, calling for an apology from Juventus and action from Italian authorities.

Via a statement on Twitter, the agency's president Michael Yormark said: "The racist remarks made towards Romelu Lukaku by Juventus fans in Turin were beyond despicable and cannot be accepted.

"Romelu deserves an apology from Juventus, and I expect the league to condemn the behaviour of this group of Juventus supporters immediately.

"The Italian authorities must use this opportunity to tackle racism, rather than punish the victim of the abuse. I am certain that the footballing world shares the same sentiment."

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