Metro.co.uk

Son Heung-min’s father has been indicted on charges of abusing children at a training centre funded by the Tottenham Hotspur star.

Son Woong-jung is one of three coaches accused of physically and verbally abusing young players who are part of the Son Football Academy in South Korea.

The 32-year-old Spurs forward’s older brother Heung-yun was another of the coaches ‘summarily indicted’ by prosecutors today, according to the Yonhap news agency.

All three men have been ordered to pay an ‘undisclosed fine’ and must ‘complete a training program designed to prevent further child abuse’.

Woong-jung, 62, is well-known in South Korea for his time as a professional player, also as a striker, as well as his work at the training facility in the city of Chuncheon, around 45 miles north-east of Seoul, the country’s capital.

If he and his fellow defendants choose not to seek a public trial, the order put forward by the prosecutors will be finalised.

It comes after Woong-jung and two of his assistant coaches were reported to police by the parents of one of the players.

They claimed their son had sustained injuries to his thigh area and required two weeks of treatment after he was struck with a corner flag by Heung-yun at a training camp in Okinawa, Japan, in March this year.

The youngster’s parents also allege that Woong-jung hurled profanities at players for making mistakes during those sessions.

Video footage showed Woong-jung kicking a player during a match and other coaches swearing at the children, according to Yonhap’s report.

Woong-jung has denied the charges levelled against him and his staff, claiming that anything done at the academy was only out of ‘love for the players’.

He has previously admitted hitting a student with a corner flag for ‘coming last in a race’, for which he apologised but didn’t agree it amounted to ‘physical abuse’.

‘This incident was not corporal punishment but a mutually agreed event as part of fitness training,’ he said in a statement at the time, claiming the player was supposed to be ‘hit once’ on the thigh.

But the boy’s father told Yonhap: ‘Thinking about how frightened my son must have been makes me angry.

‘I decided to report the case to the police because I didn’t want to see another case like this.’

Son’s dad is credited with helping the Tottenham striker develop into one of the best players in world football, having scored 164 goals in 410 appearances for the north London club, as well as netting 48 times in 127 games for the South Korea national side.

The Son Football Academy – which boasts six pitches, a classroom and clubhouse – cost around £11million to construct, according to The Athletic.

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Ange Postecoglou has confirmed that Dominic Solanke will miss Tottenham’s trip to Newcastle this weekend due to an ankle injury.

Solanke made his debut for Spurs in their opening game of the Premier League season – a 1-1 draw at Leicester City – but missed their last outing.

Postecoglou’s side were fine without him, thrashing Everton 4-0 in north London, with Yves Bissouma, Son Heung-min (2) and Cristian Romero on the scoresheet.

He would have liked to have Solanke back in contention regardless, but he will not have that luxury on Sunday, nor will he have Richarlison available.

The Brazilian is going to be out for a number of weeks after suffering an injury in training.

Speaking at a press conference on Friday, Postecoglou said: ‘Dom is close but we’re going to be a bit cautious with him, we’ve got a big programme post the international break, so he’ll miss out on Sunday.

‘The only other one we got midweek is Richarlison, who unfortunately picked up an injury in training, so he’ll probably miss the next few weeks.’

The Spurs boss added that Rodrigo Bentancur is available again after a head injury picked up against Leicester.

‘Rodrigo is all good, he’s passed all the protocols we need to, and more importantly he feels really good and the medical team are really comfortable with him being available for Sunday,’ said the Australian.

Newcastle have started their Premier League campaign with a win over Southampton and a draw at Bournemouth, while the scraped past Nottingham Forest in the Carabao Cup in midweek.

Tottenham may be the fresher side after having a full week off following the resounding win over the Toffees.

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Manchester United and Tottenham have learned their opponents for the Europa League in this season’s revamped league format.

Like the Champions League, Europe’s second club competition has undergone a drastic overhaul. 36 teams will now each face eight different opponents – four at home and four away – with hope of progressing a more regular knockout format next season.

United will take on Rangers at Old Trafford in one of their eight games over the coming months and face a test on the road to Fenerbahce – where Jose Mourinho will be reunited with his former club.

Erik ten Hag will also take one of his former clubs in FC Twente, having ended his playing career with the Dutch club in 2002.

Tottenham will also play Rangers away from home and also face a trip to Galatasaray. Spurs welcome Serie A giants Roma to north London in one of the biggest ties of the league phase.

Rangers, in addition to ties with Premier League opposition, take on Lyon during their campaign.

No dates have been assigned to games as of yet with fixture confirmation to come this weekend.

What is the new Europa League format?

Like the Champions League, the old group stage phase has been done away with. 36 teams will now compete in a league format with each club facing eight different opponents, with four home fixtures and four away fixtures.

Once the dust settles on that packed schedule – each team will play two more games than they did in its previous guise – the top eight progress directly to the round of 16.

Teams that finished ninth to 24th head into knock-out play-offs with the remaining sides eliminated.

The knockout stage of the competition is a little more familiar, comprising of two-legged ties leading up to the final.

With the Champions League format undergoing major changes this season, the Europa League is also undergoing a makeover for the 2024-25 campaign.

Manchester United and Tottenham will be the Premier League’s representatives in Europe’s second tier competition this season with the competition format undergoing major changes.

The end goal is the same – a major piece of silverware and automatic qualification for next season’s Champions League.

But the road to the final is now rather different.

What is the new Europa League format?

Like the Champions League, the old group stage phase has been done away with. 36 teams will now compete in a league format with each club facing eight different opponents, with four home fixtures and four away fixtures.

Once the dust settles on that packed schedule – each team will play two more games than they did in its previous guise – the top eight progress directly to the round of 16.

Teams that finished ninth to 24th head into knock-out play-offs with the remaining sides eliminated.

The knockout stage of the competition is a little more familiar, comprising of two-legged ties leading up to the final.

When is the Europa League draw?

The Europa League draw takes place on Friday August 30 from Monte Carlo, Monaco.

Proceedings will get underway from 12pm.

How to watch the Europa League draw on TV

The Champions League draw will be available to watch live on TNT Sports 1.

The draw will also be available to stream for free on the TNT Sports YouTube channel, the UEFA website and the BBC Sport website.

Who can Man Utd and Tottenham face in Europa League draw?

United and Tottenham will each be drawn to face two teams from each pot. Clubs from the same nation cannot be drawn together and can only play a maximum of two teams from the same country.

Which teams are in the 2024/25 Europa League? Pots revealed

There is still quite a bit to be resolved tonight before pots are finalised.

Europa League play-offs to be decided tonight

A number of Europa League play-off games are still to be decided on Thursday night.

Neal Maupay has slammed the Everton fans who abused him and his teammates as they boarded a train on the way back to Merseyside following Saturday’s 4-0 defeat against Tottenham.

Sean Dyche’s side have endured a miserable start to the new campaign and are rooted to the bottom of the table having also been hammered 3-0 by Brighton at home on the opening day.

After overcoming a points deduction last term to comfortably stave off relegation, it had been hoped that Everton would resolve their ownership issues over the summer and build on the momentum they built during the second half of last season.

Instead, it has been another tumultuous close season for Dyche, compounded by the sale of key midfielder Amadou Onana to Aston Villa.

Although the club have so far resisted the temptation to cash in on defender Jarrad Branthwaite, who is wanted by Manchester United, Everton’s resolve is likely to be tested during the closing stages of the transfer window.

Chaos and uncertainty off the pitch is now being mirrored on it, highlighted by last weekend’s emphatic defeat against a rampant Spurs.

Anger turned to outright abuse at Euston on Saturday evening with players branded ‘rats’ by supporters who fear another season battling to beat the drop is already inevitable.

Maupay, whose Everton career appeared to be over having been farmed out to Brentford on loan a year ago, was one of those players who bore the brunt of the abuse.

Reacting to a video posted on X, the striker said: ‘Imagine another job where it’s normalised to get abuse like this.

‘Hanging around at a train station to scream at men who are trying their best!’

Back-to-back defeats at the start of the season for the third straight year does mean Everton are already slipping towards full crisis-club mode.

‘It’s a strange situation, here,’ said Dyche. ‘We kind of build something, and then we have to go down the hill and build it again. What about playing when it’s 0-0?

‘We’ve done well when the challenges have come our way. We’ve done great. So I reminded them of that afterwards. Reminded them that this is not our first rodeo.

‘We get written off and then we start changing the storyline again. It’s a never-ending challenge at Everton.’

Tottenham and Newcastle are being linked with a late move for Barcelona defender Andreas Christensen, who is open to leaving the Catalan club.

The 28-year-old has been at the Camp Nou since he joined from Chelsea in the summer of 2022 on a free transfer.

He has been a regular face in the first team, making 75 appearances in all competitions, but he looks unlikely to be in the starting XI under new manager Hansi Flick.

The Denmark international did feature in the opening La Liga game of the season, but it was a late appearance of the substitutes’ bench in the win at Valencia.

Sport report that Tottenham are interested in bringing him to north London, while Mundo Deportivo state that Newcastle are interested in his signature.

The Sport report also states that Manchester United are keen on Christensen, but a move from the Red Devils does not seem likely after they have signed Leny Yoro and Matthijs de Ligt already this summer.

€25m (£21.2m) is reportedly the price Barcelona will accept for the centre-back, with two years still left to run on his contract with the club.

Newcastle’s pursuit of a new centre-back has been well publicised, with four bids made for Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi, although none have been successful.

The Magpies may now turn to Christensen as Palace are even less likely to sell Guehi now they have allowed Joachim Anderson to leave for Fulham for £30m.

Spurs already have Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven as their first choice centre-backs, with Radu Dragusin next in line, but after that their squad looks quite thin in that key position.

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Former Tottenham defender William Gallas feels the absolute best Spurs can hope for this season is fourth and he is not convinced they will manage that.

Ange Postecoglou’s side looked great as they got their season underway against Leicester on Monday night, taking a first-half lead and dominating the contest.

However, it turned out to be a frustrating evening as they couldn’t convert any more of their numerous chances and switched off at the back, allowing Jamie Vardy to equalise and secure a 1-1 draw at the King Power.

It is hardly disastrous for Tottenham, but it was annoying for their fans and Gallas feels they have more frustration to come this season.

The Frenchman is not expecting big things from Spurs, and an outside chance of grabbing fourth place is as much as they can hope for.

‘I don’t want to burst the Tottenham fans bubble, but I’m not convinced that it will be a great season for the club,’ Gallas told Genting Casino. ‘I don’t expect Tottenham to challenge for the Premier League title.

‘Every season, it is always the same thing. They always come up short. I’m looking at the squad, and, yes, I like the signing of [Dominic] Solanke. They have signed a couple of talented young players, but other than that, it is the same team as last season.

‘I haven’t seen anything that makes me think “this is a Tottenham team that is ready to fight for the title”. Maybe they can finish fourth. Maybe they will finish fifth again.

‘I think Tottenham’s season will be determined by how Ange Postecoglou wants to play and how well the squad deals with the rigours of playing every Thursday and Sunday with the Europa League.’

Gallas, who also played for Spurs’ London rivals Chelsea and Arsenal, feels the element of surprise that Postecoglou’s tactics produced last season will have already worn off for this campaign.

‘The objective at the club will be to improve on last season’s fifth place finish,’ he said. ‘It’s as simple as that. I’m not sure if they will be able to do that because I still have some concerns about how Ange Postecoglou sets his team up to play.

‘Last season they surprised and startled some teams with the way they played with such a high line, I’m not sure if that will be as effective this season as managers know what to expect from Tottenham.’

On the draw at Leicester, Postecoglou said: ‘Yeah, look disappointing outcome. Very dominant first half, really wasteful in front of goal. We started the second half similar, first 15-20 minutes very dominant, wasteful, but you know at 1-0 there is always an opportunity for the opposition to come back into the game.

‘That’s what happened and we lost our way for 15 or 20 minutes. We lost our composure and the crowd got behind them, but again we finished strong.

‘Just really disappointed we lacked a little cutting edge in the front third, made some poor decisions, lacked some composure and didn’t get the reward our football deserved.’

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Jamie Vardy was up to his old tricks as a spirited Leicester held Tottenham to an entertaining 1-1 draw on their return to the Premier League.

The 37-year-old striker had been widely expected to start among the substitutes but was given the nod from the start by Steve Cooper and produced a typically industrious performance to help earn the Foxes a deserved point.

Spurs started promisingly and took an 29th-minute lead through Pedro Porro, who headed home a pinpoint cross from former Leicester midfielder James Maddison to break the deadlock.

Tottenham’s marquee summer signing, Dominic Solanke, spurned several inviting opportunities across the match and the visitors were made to pay for their wayward finishing, with Leicester displaying a real doggedness in the second period.

The newly promoted side drew level just before the hour-mark as Vardy nodded Abdul Fatawu’s cross beyond Guglielmo Vicario to take the roof off the King Power Stadium.

Cooper brought off a tiring Vardy with just over ten minutes remaining and the hosts held firm to frustrate Spurs.

After taking ‘a bit of stick’, the veteran forward simply couldn’t resist taunting Tottenham’s travelling support as he made his way off the pitch, reminding them that he had won the Premier League while their wait for a title goes on.

‘Yeah, yeah. Well you take a bit of stick during the game but it’s part of football,’ Vardy told Sky Sports when quizzed on his gesture to Spurs fans.

‘So as long as they can take it when I’m giving it back then that’s all that matters.’

Vardy felt Leicester gave Tottenham ‘too much respect’ throughout the first half but were able to force a momentum shift in the second period.

‘We just had a little chat between ourselves at half-time,’ he added.

‘Obviously Tottenham are a really good team but I think we probably gave them a bit too much respect.

‘We started the second half on the front foot, getting after them, and I think that’s what changed the momentum.’

Asked whether there were raised voices in the dressing room at half-time, Vardy replied: ‘No, very calm, very calm.

‘We said when it got to around 40 minutes to make sure we go in not conceding any more.

‘You always give yourself a good chance knowing that we’re going to create chances ourselves. That’s what we’ve gone and done and we’ll take the point and move on now.’

Vardy is clearly relishing his return to the big time and plans to continue playing for as long as ‘physically possible’.

‘Do you know what? I literally see it age as just a number,’ he continued.

‘As long as I keep looking after myself and as long as my legs still feel great when I come into training in the morning, games at the weekend, then I’ll carry on for as long as physically possible.’

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Gary Neville has surprisingly predicted that Chelsea will beat Liverpool and Tottenham to finish in the Premier League top-four.

But the Manchester United legend has revealed that his prediction changed while watching Tottenham’s 1-1 draw at Leicester City on Monday night.

Spurs dominated the first-half and deservedly took the lead through Pedro Porro but the Foxes fought back well, with Jamie Vardy equalising in the 57th minute.

After the match, Neville gave his predictions for the season where he once again reiterated his belief that Arsenal would end Manchester City’s title-winning run.

But it was his top-four prediction that raised eyebrows, with the Gunners and the Citizens joined by Manchester United and Chelsea, with the latter taking the place of his original pick Tottenham.

Explaining his change of mind, he told Sky Sports: ‘I wasn’t sure [about Tottenham]. I hope Tottenham finish fourth, I think they play good football.

‘But what I would say is when the subs came on tonight, I thought that could be a problem for them in the sense of the strength in depth.

‘I think Chelsea have the better squad. Chelsea could easily be an absolute mess because they could be.’

In regards to snubbing Liverpool, Neville added: ‘The impact of Jurgen Klopp [leaving] will take its toll, just off the evidence of history. That’s it.

‘Evidence of history when a manager like that leaves… at some point I think they’ll be pain this season for Liverpool and it could cost them.’

The three clubs in question have begun the season with very mixed fortunes, with Tottenham drawing at Leicester after Liverpool beat Ipswich Town 2-0 and Chelsea lost to City by the same scoreline.

Neville had earlier slated Chelsea’s transfer policy alongside Jamie Carragher, who was left staggered by his fellow pundit’s predictions.

The Liverpool legend has instead tipped the top-four to be City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham, with Chelsea not even in his top-six.

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Tottenham star Rodrigo Bentancur appeared to be knocked unconscious before being stretchered off during the Premier League clash at Leicester City.

In worrying scenes at the King Power Stadium on Monday night, play was delayed for eight minutes while medical staff treated the stricken Bentancur.

The incident occurred in the 70th minute of the sides’ first match of the season when the midfielder collided with an opposition player in Leicester’s box, falling hard and face first.

Bentancur appeared to be knocked out cold, with players from both teams instantly flagging for the game to be stopped with medical staff running onto the pitch to treat the Uruguay star and give him oxygen.

Players, coaching staff and fans were visibly upset and concerned by the situation but eventually Bentancur was able to sit up right before being moved onto a stretcher.

As the 27-year-old left the pitch, he received applause from supporters with Archie Gray taking his place.

With the match still ongoing, Sky Sports reported that Bentancur was ‘up and talking’ in the dressing room and will continue to be monitored by Tottenham’s doctors.

Post-match, Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou confirmed this news but was unable to offer much more of an update on his player.

‘I haven’t spoken to them [the doctors],’ the manager told Sky Sports.

‘It’s a head injury and we have to be careful. The good news is he was up and talking.’

He later added in his post-match press conference: ‘Look I don’t have a lot of information but I know he is up and he’s communicating so he’s fine from that point of view.

‘But obviously a head injury and I’ll leave it in hands of medical team now. The key thing is that he’s definitely conscious and communicating.’

The injury came when the score was 1-1 after Pedro Porro opened the scoring for Spurs in a dominant first-half, before the Foxes fought back with Jamie Vardy getting a shock equaliser after the break.

The match finished that way, with both sides spurning chances to steal all three points but this is a result that will suit Leicester far more than Tottenham.

Spurs will be in action on Saturday when they take on Everton at home.

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