Dwight Yorke stepped down as Macarthur FC head coach after barely six months in charge as the former Manchester United striker was linked with another A-League post.

Yorke, 51, has been suggested as the man to take over from Steve Corica as boss of Sydney FC, the club where he spent a year as a player.

Macarthur said the club and Yorke had "mutually agreed to part ways, effective immediately".

According to Macarthur, the agreement will allow Yorke "to pursue other opportunities".

His assistant, fellow former Trinidad and Tobago international Russell Latapy, has also left Macarthur.

Macarthur, based in the south-west suburbs of Sydney, are competing in their third A-League campaign. They won the Australia Cup under Yorke's leadership in October.

Yorke said of his departure: "I want to thank the chairman Gino Marra, CEO Sam Krslovic, all the ownership group as well as all the staff and fans of Macarthur FC.

"I leave the football club with a great team that will continue to challenge for more silverware."

Macarthur sit sixth in the A-League but have lost six of 13 games this season, while Sydney FC are worse off, in ninth place in the 12-team competition.

The News.com.au website said Yorke was set to step in at Sydney, although Corica remains in charge there for now, with his team suffering a 1-0 defeat to Western United on Saturday.

The A-League's official website reported Yorke and the Macarthur board clashed after Friday's 1-0 defeat to Adelaide United.

Melbourne Victory have been hit with a range of attendance-related sanctions following their fans' pitch invasion during Saturday's Melbourne derby, though more penalties are to come.

Football Australia's (FA) sanctioning of the club began on Friday with the announcement of restrictions over attendances at all Victory games until January 15 inclusive.

The club will be unable to sell tickets, with only members able to attend the matches.

Additionally, the "active supporter bays" at both ends of AAMI Park are to be shut, and Victory fans will be unable to attend away games unless they appear on a pre-approved FA list of individuals who can qualify for complimentary tickets, though there will only be 1,000 of those available.

Even more significant punishments are still expected to be dished out to Victory, however, with FA adding "no determination regarding the final sanctions" had been made yet, with potential fines or points deductions reportedly on the table.

But FA hoped the imposition of initial punishments would give peace of mind to stakeholders in the short term.

A statement read: "As part of Football Australia's ongoing investigation into the events that unfolded during the A-League Men's match between Melbourne City and Melbourne Victory at AAMI Park on Saturday, December 17, the governing body has [Friday] confirmed that a number of sanctions are being imposed on Melbourne Victory FC for their continued participation in the A-League Men's competition whilst the show cause process continues.

"As the regulator of the A-Leagues, Football Australia considers these sanctions are necessary to give immediate confidence to the fans and participants in this interim period."

The A-League clash between Victory and Melbourne City saw flares thrown by both sets of fans during the opening quarter of the contest at AAMI Park.

Trouble escalated when a flare appeared to hit a pitchside cameraman before exploding, with City goalkeeper Tom Glover throwing another flare back into the crowd.

Fans behind the goal stormed the pitch and Glover was hit in the face with a metal bucket, while referee Alex King was also struck, leading to the game being brought to an end.

Three men were charged for attacking Glover, and FA chief James Johnson vowed to impose the "harshest of punishments" in response.

Johnson is confident FA's action on Friday will help to prevent a repeat ever occurring.

He added: "These sanctions come into immediate effect starting with Melbourne Victory's A-League Men's match on Boxing Day away to Western United, and follow the sanctions issued against individuals earlier this week as part of a package of sanctions in response to the incidents witnessed at the Melbourne derby last weekend.

"These measures are an essential step for Football Australia, as it considers further sporting and financial sanctions that may apply to Melbourne Victory in the show cause determination process.

"Football Australia does not wish to penalise football fans during this time; however, our priority is to ensure the safety and enjoyment of everyone within the venue on match days and that any unacceptable behaviour by spectators are not repeated at any football match or event ever again. We believe these measures will achieve this."

Three men have been charged by Victoria Police following the violent pitch invasion that forced Saturday's Melbourne derby to be abandoned.

The A-League clash between Melbourne Victory and Melbourne City saw flares thrown by both sets of fans during the opening quarter of the contest at AAMI Park.

Trouble escalated when a flare appeared to hit a pitchside cameraman before exploding, with City goalkeeper Tom Glover throwing another flare back into the crowd.

Fans behind the goal stormed the pitch and Glover was hit in the face with a metal bucket, while referee Alex King was also struck, leading to the game being abandoned.

Football Australia chief James Johnson hit out at the "horrific" scenes and vowed to hand out the "harshest of punishments" to those involved.

Victoria Police confirmed on Monday that a 23-year-old has been arrested in relation to allegedly striking Glover with the sand-filled bucket.

The other two men are aged 18 and 19, with their charges relating to separate alleged assaults on Glover. The 19-year-old is also accused of assaulting a security guard.

All three men self-presented to police stations on Monday and have subsequently been bailed to appear at Melbourne Magistrates' Court on February 27.

"The charges come as detectives from the north west metro regional crime squad continue to investigate the entire incident as part of Operation Astute," said a police statement.

"More than 150 football fans ran on to the field during Saturday night's match after a significant number of flares were ignited and thrown through the crowd."

The charges come on the back of Glover, who was left with a cut to the side of his face and concussed, discussing the unsavoury scenes for the first time.

"I think it is very disappointing for Australian football in general," he told the Nine Network. "I'm okay. I can't train today because of protocols but I'll be back on the pitch tomorrow.

"The Socceroos (Australia men's national side) were on a high and we were kind of riding the wave of that. It was just a small minority which kind of ruins it.

Glover added that his "intentions were never to throw [the flare]" into the crowd, an incident that is being fully investigated by Football Australia and may lead to sanctions.

"The police are doing their thing. It's just getting back on the pitch and being ready for next week," he added. "Police will be chasing that up so it's kind of out of my control.

"Sanctions are out of my control. My main focus is helping Australian football go in the right direction and not giving it a bad light."

Football Australia (FA) chief James Johnson was "horrified" at the scenes from Saturday's Melbourne derby pitch invasion and is ready to hand out the "harshest of punishments" for those involved.

Saturday's game at AAMI Park between Melbourne Victory and Melbourne City saw flares thrown by both sets of fans during the first 22 minutes, before trouble escalated when a flare appeared to hit a pitch-side cameraman before exploding.

City goalkeeper Tom Glover threw another flare back into the crowd, inflaming the situation, before fans behind the goal stormed the pitch, with Glover being hit in the face with a metal bin that had been used for other flares. Referee Alex King was also caught up in the incident, before taking the two teams off the pitch, with the game later abandoned amid unruly scenes.

Glover was left bloodied with a cut to the right side of his face, with City stating he had been concussed from the incident.

"I'll start with saying that I'm horrified, I'm irritated, I'm angry at the scenes witnessed at AAMI Park last night," Johnson told reporters on Sunday. "A full investigation will take place and those responsible will face the harshest of punishments."

The ground invasion comes amid rising tensions between administrators and fans in Australian football following the Australian Premier Leagues' decision to sell the men's and women's A-Leagues grand finals the rights to their grand finals to the New South Wales government, having previously been hosted by the highest-ranked team.

Johnson said the fans who ran onto the AAMI Park pitch were an unwanted "element" in the game, insisting the code was "safe" in Australia.

The FA boss strongly condemned their behaviour and made clear that heavy sanctions would be forthcoming.

"We will be moving swiftly and we will be taking the strongest sanctions that are available," Johnson said. "This is an element that goes beyond football, it’s an element that infiltrates our game, and that really tried to ruin it for the two million people who love our sport. It's those people that we will be targeting in this investigation and who we will weed out of the sport.

"There is no justification for the behaviour we saw last night. I don't care about people that think the decision for the GF is wrong or right. Anyone who thinks that justifies behaviour is completely out of touch.

"People that behave like this, I don't call them fans and I won't call them fans. What is important is our response – that is simple, there is no place in our sport for that behaviour and people that act like that will be weeded out and weeded out quickly."

Several other fan groups held "peaceful protests" about the grand final decision at the 20th-minute mark at A-League games across the competition over the weekend.

Johnson added: "Football is very safe. Two million people play it week in, week out. We saw in all the other A-League games that were played over the weekend, peaceful protests, and that’s OK – fans have are OK to express their views in a peaceful way.

"The way that some individuals conducted themselves at the Melbourne Victory game is not acceptable, and I think that is specific to that match.

"I don’t think that it is a reflection on the broader game. We're the biggest sport country in terms of participants. This does not happen in local football. It doesn’t happen at national team level. It doesn’t happen at the NPL level, and it hasn’t happened in the other A-League games.

"I don't think though that a group of individuals that participated in unacceptable behaviour in one match is a reflection of how the broader sport is.

"The small group of people, the 100-150 odd people that invaded the pitch, they need to be the target, not the broader sport. We will be targeting those individuals and ensuring that they no longer participate in our sport."

Johnson said the FA would work with the Australian Premier Leagues (APL), who run the A-Leagues, on appropriate sanctions for Victory, whose fans flooded the pitch.

Victory managing director Caroline Carnegie also strongly condemned the fan behaviour when speaking to reporters on Sunday, insisting it "has no place at our club".

Jude Bellingham is attracting plenty of admirers with his impressive performances for Borussia Dortmund and England.

The 19-year-old midfielder joined Dortmund from Birmingham City in 2020.

Bellingham is contracted until 2025, but clubs are queueing up to sign the young prospect.

TOP STORY – BLUES JOIN QUEUE FOR BELLINGHAM

Chelsea are the latest club to join the race to sign Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham, reports the Telegraph.

Fabrizio Romano claims that Liverpool, Manchester City, Real Madrid and Manchester United along with the Blues are all pursuing a deal for the teenager.

Romano reports that Dortmund are not in talks with any clubs yet, instead deferring any discussions and decision on a price tag until after the 2022 World Cup. The Telegraph claims that Bellingham will cost around £130 million (€145m).

ROUND-UP

– The Daily Mail reports Manchester City want assurances from Bernardo Silva that he will not push for a move at the end of this season following links with Barcelona during the last transfer window. City are said to be planning talks with Silva in the coming months.

– Barcelona are interested in Ilkay Gundogan, who has less than a year remaining on his Manchester City contract, reports Sport. The German midfielder, who turns 32 in October, has been with City since 2016.

– Karim Benzema and Real Madrid are close to agreeing to an extension on his contract, locking him down at the club until 2024, reports Italian journalist Nicolo Schira.

– Tuttosport claims Milan have offered Rafael Leao an improved contract worth €6million per season plus bonuses, as they attempt to fend off interest from Chelsea and Manchester City.

– The Sun claims Arsenal will make a January move for Aston Villa midfielder Douglas Luiz after failing in an attempt to sign him on deadline day.

– Socceroos 18-year-old forward Garang Kuol has flown to England to sign with Newcastle United having reached an agreement with his Australian club Central Coast, claims Fabrizio Romano. Sky Sports reports that Kuol will be loaned out in January.

Nani has implored Manchester United to do all they can to ensure Cristiano Ronaldo stays at the club amid speculation linking him with a move away.

Ronaldo has reportedly asked to leave Old Trafford in this transfer window, with Chelsea rumoured to be among the early frontrunners for his signature before the Blues signed fellow forward Raheem Sterling.

Chelsea's new owner Todd Boehly was said to have held talks with the Portugal captain before the American and coach Thomas Tuchel opted to resist the temptation to launch a bid.

Bayern Munich, who have lost talisman Robert Lewandowski to Barcelona, were another side linked with Ronaldo, but Julian Nagelsmann and chief executive Oliver Kahn were quick to rule out a move.

Erik ten Hag has repeatedly insisted Ronaldo is not available for transfer, though, with the new United coach making it clear he wishes to keep the 37-year-old at the club.

While United failed to secure Champions League qualification last season, reportedly a decisive factor in Ronaldo's dissatisfaction, former Red Devils winger Nani has urged his compatriot to stay with Ten Hag's side.

"I hope [he stays]," said Nani, who recently signed for Melbourne Victory and played a late cameo in their 4-1 friendly defeat to United on Friday.

"He's an important player and a player who always makes a difference. I hope he's in a good mood to help the club so hopefully [he'll stay]."

Nani also revealed he had tried to contact Ronaldo to discuss his future, but the five-time Ballon d'Or winner is busy on holiday.

"When he's on vacation he doesn't answer the phone to anybody," added Nani, who won four Premier League titles and one Champions League at United. "I tried to talk to him, but he said: 'I'm so busy now, we'll talk soon.'"

United will hope to have Ronaldo available to call upon when they begin their Premier League campaign at home to Brighton and Hove Albion on August 7.

Nani is relishing the prospect of a Manchester United reunion after joining A-League side Melbourne Victory.

The 35-year-old former Portugal star has moved to Australia on a two-year contract, with his Victory deal announced on Tuesday.

Nani left United eight years ago and has since had spells at Sporting CP, Fenerbahce, Valencia, Lazio, Orlando City and Venezia.

He could line up against United on Friday, however, with his new team facing the Premier League giants in a friendly at the MCG.

Nani, who won the 2007-08 Champions League and four Premier League titles with United, was asked about his prospects of playing in that game.

"I would like to, I don't know. I just arrived in the country, and it's a long flight, so there are lots of things to do," Nani said.

"The body must be ready to compete. I think the fans and everyone expecting me to be able to perform with all my qualities, so playing that game could be not a good idea, but as a player I always want to play, so give me five minutes and I will be ready."

Nani won 112 caps for Portugal, scoring 24 goals for his country.

As his international career was winding down, so Bruno Fernandes was emerging as a candidate to come into the Portugal side and stamp his own mark.

The pair were team-mates at Sporting for a short time and could now go head-to-head, with Nani saying he had yet to speak to Fernandes about his Melbourne move.

"Not yet, we had to be a little bit quiet about this transfer," Nani said. "I know there will be time for us to meet here and talk about everything."

Nani was impressed with Melbourne boss Tony Popovic's plans, persuading him to try his luck in Australia for the first time.

He said: "I had some clubs interested in me, but Melbourne Victory is a club that has been trying to contact me for a long time. I had the opportunity to talk with the coach and had great feelings, and that was one of the good reasons to make me come here."

Daniel Sturridge has been released by A-League outfit Perth Glory after spending one goalless season with the side.

Sturridge, who scored 50 Premier League goals for Liverpool between 2013 and 2019, averaging a strike every 135.9 minutes under the management of Brendan Rodgers and Jurgen Klopp, joined the Australian team in October 2021.

But despite Glory chairman Tony Sage describing the acquisition of Sturridge as one of the biggest signings in A-League history when his arrival was confirmed, the striker struggled for form and fitness, failing to score a single goal in eight months with the team.

The club released a statement on their website on Friday to confirm the departure of Sturridge, who has earned 26 senior caps for England, scoring eight goals. 

The 32-year-old only made one league start as the team finished bottom of the A-League in the 2021-22 season, with Sturridge's six appearances amounting to just 139 minutes of action.

Sturridge has endured a frustrating few seasons, being relegated from the Premier League during a loan spell at West Brom in 2018, before being released by Turkish club Trabzonspor in 2020 after receiving a four-month playing ban for breaching the Football Association's betting regulations.

Both Barcelona's Adama Traore and Western Sydney Wanderers' Adama Traore got on the scoresheet as the Blaugrana saw off the A-Leagues All Stars in a 3-2 friendly win on Wednesday.

Xavi's men beat their hosts at Accor Stadium in front of an engrossed local crowd in New South Wales, as Ansu Fati's strike with 13 minutes to go claimed victory for the visitors.

In just the third-ever A-Leagues All Stars game – and first since 2014 following the format's revival – Dwight Yorke's side fell behind to the Spanish heavyweights just past the half-hour mark.

Ousmane Dembele – potentially playing his final match for Barca – latched on to a throughball before striking a clean left-footed strike into the bottom-right corner to ensure the visitors were ahead at the interval.

But Wellington Phoenix midfielder Reno Piscopo bundled home early in the second half to level matters after Barca were sliced open at the back, and he then teed up Ivory Coast international Traore to take a surprise lead.

Hopes of a shock scalp were dashed though when the latter's namesake – in possibly his last Blaugrana game as well – equalised as the goalkeeper failed to keep out his ferocious drive.

Fati then got the winner five minutes later, providing a cool finish after Antonio Aranda's solo run.

Former Trinidad and Tobago and Manchester United striker Dwight Yorke has signed a deal to coach Macarthur FC in Australia’s A-League. Yorke replaces Ante Milicic and will lead the Bulls for the next two seasons in what will be his first role as a senior coach.

“Having played in the augural A-League Men’s season I have continually followed the competition and am aware of both the footballing and fan demands in Australia,” said Yorke, who played for Sydney FC in the augural season of the A-League.

“I look forward to adding a positive contribution and improve the game at all levels. Of course, my primary focus will be with the Bulls, to deliver them success and a style of football that defined me as a player.”

Yorke, 50, enjoyed a successful career as a player. He won the treble – Premier League, FA Cup and  Champions League in his first season with Manchester United in 1999 when he scored 18 goals to be the leading scorer in the league.

He represented Trinidad and Tobago on 72 occasions scoring 19 goals.

Dwight Yorke is determined to achieve success in style in his first head coach role with A-League side Macarthur.

The former Manchester United and Aston Villa striker was on Sunday confirmed as Ante Milicic's successor, signing a two-year deal with the Bulls.

Trinidad and Tobago legend Yorke, who spent a spell with Sydney FC during his illustrious playing career, is ready to take his long-awaited opportunity with both hands.

He told the club's official website: "I am extremely excited in what is my first-ever senior full-time head coaching role, to take the reins at Macarthur FC.

"Having played in the inaugural A-League men's season, I have continually followed the competition, and am aware of both the footballing and fan demands in Australia.

"I look forward to adding a positive contribution and improve the game at all levels, however of course my primary focus will be with the Bulls, to deliver them success and a style of football that defined me as a player."

Macarthur chief executive Sam Krslovic said: "On behalf of the board of Macarthur FC, I would like to welcome Dwight to the club.

"Dwight's football exposure and achievements speak volumes for themselves. As a young club, the appointment of Dwight is synonymous with our evolution."

Moresche was influential as Central Coast Mariners raced into an early 2-0 lead against struggling Sydney FC on Sunday and protected that advantage to return to winning ways.

The Mariners had lost their previous two A-League matches – last losing more in succession in a miserable 11-game stretch in 2020 – but Moresche made sure that short run came to an end.

The Brazilian did not get on the scoresheet himself but laid on the opener for Marco Urena after 13 minutes.

No player in the league has aimed more shots on target this season than Urena's nine, with his latest steered past Andrew Redmayne from Moresche's measured pass.

Three minutes later, it was two. Fine work from Lewis Miller on the right was followed by a low cross that sought out Moresche, only for Anthony Caceres to turn into his own net under pressure in front of the goal line.

Winless Sydney could not recover and extended their worst start to a season since 2010-11, when they had to wait 11 matches for their first victory.

Nishan Velupillay came off the bench to score the winner as Melbourne Victory defeated Adelaide United 2-1 in a thrilling A-League encounter.

One of the fiercest rivalries in the A-League served up a treat on Saturday, as Victory came away with Original Rivalry spoils.

There was no shortage of action – the match seeing 35 goal attempts in total and an 88th-minute red card for Victory full-back Jason Davidson.

His dismissal for a second yellow-card offence came 10 minutes after Velupillay was teed up by fellow substitute Robbie Kruse to tap in from close range and decisively restore Victory's lead.

Francesco Margiotta put the visitors ahead in the 59th minute, but Adelaide had responded through Jacob Tratt 11 minutes later.

Melbourne's win ended a run of three A-League defeats to Adelaide and brought up their first win at the home of their rivals since January 2017.

While Adelaide are still winless, Victory's success sees them move onto nine points in second place, behind Macarthur FC, who made it three wins on the bounce with a 2-0 triumph at Western Sydney Wanderers.

Tomislav Uskok and Jake Hollman got on the scoresheet for the league leaders, who are the only unbeaten team so far in 2021-22.

Bottom side Brisbane Roar's dismal start to the campaign continued in the early game, with Connor Pain's goal delivering a 1-0 win for Western United.

Beka Mikeltadze scored twice and set up another goal as Newcastle Jets ended a long home winless streak in the A-League with a 4-0 thrashing of Wellington Phoenix.

Newcastle had not won a home league game since beating Melbourne City 1-0 in February, a run of 10 matches.

However, that poor streak was ended in emphatic fashion as they claimed their first win of the 2021-22 season in style.

A wonderfully crafted team move was finished off by Mikeltadze in the 32nd minute, with the forward doubling his tally with another close-range effort following the restart.

Left-back Dylan Murnane drove into Wellington's area to prod home the Jets' third, before Mikeltadze teed up Daniel Penha to round things off.

Penha and Mikeltadze had the visiting defence on the back foot throughout – the former leading the way with five attempts and the latter playing a game-high six key passes.

Newcastle's win takes them onto five points and into fifth, while Wellington sit eighth.

Nathaniel Atkinson's late strike gave Melbourne City a 1-0 victory over Perth Glory at AAMI Park on Wednesday.

Defending champions City, smarting from a first defeat of the A-League season at the hands of Western United, dominated the game but Glory goalkeeper Cameron Cook denied them time and again.

Atkinson finally broke the deadlock in the 88th minute, nodding home from close range after Connor Metcalfe timed his run to perfection and headed into the substitute's path.

Melbourne had 23 attempts and thought they had opened the scoring in the first half, but Andrew Nabbout's deflected strike was ruled out for offside.

While Melbourne will point to their domination of the game, Atkinson's winner was a cruel blow for Cook, who made six saves.

Victory for Patrick Kisnorbo's side moved them up to second place, with Perth sitting into sixth spot after four matches.