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The Premier League have issued a statement regarding tonight’s match between Tottenham Hotspur and Nottingham Forest following Pope Francis’ death.

Pope Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, passed away at 05:35 am (BST) on Monday (April 21), according to a statement released by Cardinal Kevin Farrell on behalf of the Vatican.

"This morning at 07:35 local time (05:35 GMT) the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the home of the Father," read the statement.

"He taught us to live the values ​​of the Gospel with fidelity, courage and universal love, especially in favour of the poorest and most marginalised.

"With immense gratitude for his example as a true disciple of the Lord Jesus, we commend the soul of Pope Francis to the infinite merciful love of the One and Triune God."

Shortly after, it was confirmed by Serie A that all four of Monday's scheduled fixtures - Torino vs Udinese, Cagliari vs Fiorentina, Genoa vs Lazio and Parma vs Juventus - had been postponed.

A statement posted to the league’s official social media channels read: “Following the passing of His Holiness, Lega Nazionale Professionisti Serie A can confirm that today's league games in Serie A and Primavera 1 have been postponed. The date of the rearranged fixtures will be announced in due course.”

Tributes from several football clubs from around the world began pouring in, with AS Roma stating that “his legacy of peace and solidarity will remain an enduring example.”

Real Madrid's squad held a minute silence at their Real Madrid City training centre, and a statement posted to the club's website described the late Pope as an "enormous spirit of solidarity and support for the most disadvantaged and vulnerable people".

While Barcelona, Lazio and Juventus also expressed their condolences, just to name a few of the many clubs that paid homage to the 88-year-old.

Later this evening, Tottenham Hotspur will host Nottingham Forest at the Tottenham Stadium in the Premier League.

When SPORTbible contacted the Premier League about whether a tribute would take place, the organisation issued the following statement:

“We are not planning anything centrally, but the clubs can of course decide if they want to do any tributes.”

This is a breaking news story from the team at SPORTbible and will be updated in due course. In the meantime, please follow us on our various social channels for the latest information on this story. You can find the latest SPORT news on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Stay tuned for the latest and follow all the latest developments below.

Featured Image Credit: Getty

Tottenham have 'opened talks' with a Premier League manager to replace Ange Postecoglou but face paying a 'record compensation' fee.

Spurs have struggled for form under Postecoglou this season as they have recorded just 37 league points and sit in 14th place in the Premier League table.

Pressure is mounting on the 59-year-old, who was appointed in the summer of 2023.

Spurs, though, remain in the Europa League and face Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt in the quarter-finals, with the first-leg taking place on Thursday.

But the Australian gaffer believes he won't win over his critics even if he does win the Europa League.

"I just think you can't win the argument of convincing people. Even if we win [the Europa League], I am gone anyway," he said in his pre-match press conference. "That's just the general sentiment of the people. If you try to use that as a motivation, you are not going to win anyway.

"It's got to be something more in it for us. For us, what's most important is that we have been through a tough time but we are still in a position to make an impact."

Should Spurs relieve Postecoglou of his duties, then Daniel Levy will be tasked with making a huge appointment.

And it appears Levy's search won't leave the English capital as German outlet Sport Bild claim the North London outfit have 'begun talks' with Oliver Glasner's representatives.

Crystal Palace boss Glasner is also wanted by RB Leipzig, who sacked Marco Rose last month.

But the report claims Spurs 'can offer a higher salary' to Glasner than Leipzig.

However, Spurs face paying Palace a 'record compensation' of £86 million, which was the figure mooted when Bayern Munich were keen on bringing Glasner to the Allianz Arena.

A similar fee would likely be demanded by Palace chairman Steve Parish if he were to let the Austrian join Spurs.

Glasner arrived at Selhurst Park in February 2024, replacing Roy Hodgson. He is contracted until June 2026.

This season, Palace have won 11 league games and sit in 11th place in the table. The Eagles are also in the semi-finals of the FA Cup.

Manchester City star Jack Grealish has been linked with a shock club ahead of the summer transfer window.

Back in the summer of 2021, Grealish left boyhood club Aston Villa to join City for a reported fee of £100 million, which was the most expensive transfer of an English player in history.

Since then, the 29-year-old has struggled to rediscover his best form.

So far, Grealish has only scored 16 goals in 151 appearances for City.

This season, the Englishman only has two goals and five assists in 26 matches across all competitions.

As a result, Grealish has been linked with a move away from City ahead of the summer transfer window.

As reported by Give Me Sport, Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur have shown interest in signing Grealish.

The report stated: "Jack Grealish’s valuation and ongoing role at Man City are being assessed and the club are expecting suitors to knock at the door this summer, with Tottenham among those most interested parties.

"Tottenham are being linked with a surprise move this summer, and explorations into that have been interesting."

It has been suggested Spurs were interested during the January transfer window but there was 'never a real chance' of a deal happening in the winter.

In addition, the report stated that although Spurs' interest in Grealish is genuine, it relies on City's valuation being more reasonable than it has been over the last 12 months.

Spurs have a strict wage structure in place with their star players reportedly earning no more than £200,000 per week.

This could be a problem as it has been claimed that Grealish is currently taking home around £300,000 per week at City.

Aside from Spurs, Italian Serie A giants AC Milan are also said to be interested in the Englishman.

Spurs have so far had a season to forget as they are currently sat in 14th place in the Premier League.

Manager Ange Postecoglou is under increasing pressure to turn the club's fortunes around.

Mathys Tel was forced to apologise to Spurs fans and delete a social media post after accidentally 'crossing the line' with some of the club's fanbase.

The 19-year-old joined Spurs in January after initially turning them down in one of the more eventful Premier League transfer sagas in recent times which also linked Tel to Man United.

Despite being hailed as a major coup when putting pen to paper, Tel hasn't really had the impact expected with his only goal for the club coming in an FA Cup defeat to Aston Villa.

The Frenchman's off-field antics also haven't been too successful as his latest social media post has created uproar in sections of the Spurs faithful.

The Bayern Munich loanee posed on Instagram wearing a 'Willian' Fulham shirt, a player who has rather controversial links to the North London club.

Back in 2013, the Brazilian looked certain to arrive at White Hart Lane, before the deal was hijacked by local rivals Chelsea where Willian would play until 2020.

The Fulham man would even go on to describe snubbing Spurs as the 'best decision' of his career.

To rub salt into the wounds of Spurs fans, Willian then went on to join Arsenal for the 2020/21 season, so it's no real surprise Tel's post didn't go down too well.

Following the backlash, Tel replied to fans saying 'Ahaha sorry my bad guys I didn't know', before swiftly deleting the post.

Despite Tel's apology it didn't stop fans from slamming the star on social media.

One fan posted on X: "How do footballers not realise that this goes down like a lead balloon..."

Another called for his loan to be terminated, writing: "Send him back to BM asap. Give Moore some playing time please, Mr. Ange."

A third added: "People trying to defend him looooool, we’ve recently lost 2-0 to Fulham, to then rep William who mugged us off for Chelsea."

However, it wasn't all negativity from the Spurs fanbase, with a lot of fans believing Tel had no ill intentions due to his age and lack of connection to the club.

One fan defended Tel: "Who cares lol why would he know the connotations William has with our club."

Another explained: "How would he know about a transfer that happened 12 or 13 years ago when he was a literal child and lived in a different country?"

Tel even received praise from some fans, with one posting: "Fair play to him for deleting it straight away. The guy clearly didn't know. Top geezer."

Tottenham Hotspur have reportedly picked out two leading contenders to replace under-fire Ange Postecoglou.

On Sunday afternoon, Spurs returned to Premier League action as they travelled to Craven Cottage to take on London rivals Fulham.

Postecoglou's men produced a below-par display as goals from Rodrigo Muniz and Ryan Sessegnon sealed a vital 2-0 win.

The defeat meant that Spurs are now 14th in the Premier League table, a long way off their rivals.

After the match, under-pressure boss Postecoglou had to be held back by his own player as he confronted an angry fan in the stands.

"What was that?!" A fan could be heard shouting at the Australian manager, who fired back.

As Postecoglou delivered his own outburst, he was held back by Djed Spence and Mathys Tel, who could be heard asking for respect.

On Monday, it was claimed that Spurs have identified two potential replacements if they are to part ways with Postecoglou.

Spurs indentify two potential replacements for Ange Postecoglou

As reported by The Telegraph, Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola and Fulham manager Marco Silva will be among the leading candidates to replace Postecoglou.

The report stated: "Bournemouth are expected to fight to try to keep Iraola, but there are doubts emerging over Silva’s future at Fulham, despite the superb job he has done at Craven Cottage."

It has been suggested that the Europa League is a critical factor in deciding Postecoglou's future, with Spurs set to take on Eintracht Frankfurt in the last eight.

Iraola is also the bookies' favourite to replace Postecoglou, having been priced at 2/1, the Spaniard is followed by the likes of Mauricio Pochettino (7/2), Thomas Frank (4/1), Silva (8/1) and Kieran McKenna (8/1). All odds were correct at the time of writing.

Speaking after the match against Fulham, Postecoglou said: "I said to the players I'm not going to allow anyone to think about Europa and nothing else.

"We can't let this league season go the way it has. We have lost way too many games. Unacceptable."

Ange Postecoglou clashed with Tottenham fans following their latest defeat as his own players were forced to pull him away from the ugly incident.

Spurs suffered their 15th league defeat of the season following their 2-0 loss against Fulham on Sunday.

Goals from Rodrigo Muniz and Ryan Sessegnon condemned Postecoglou to yet another setback in the Premier League.

Pressure is mounting on Postecoglou, who has faced heavy criticism for this season's domestic failings.

Spurs languish in the bottom half of the table and tensions boiled over following the result at Craven Cottage.

As Postecoglou and the players returned to the dressing room after the final whistle, the 59-year-old was grilled by a travelling supporter.

"What was that?!" A fan could be heard shouting at the Australian manager, who fired back.

But as Postecoglou delivered his own outburst, he has held back by Djed Spence and Mathys Tel, who could be heard asking for respect.

Tel continues to exchange words with the fan before a club personnel attempted to defuse the situation.

Speaking after the game, Postecoglou bemoaned a key decision going against his way.

Asked about a contentious challenge from Calvin Bassey on Lucas Bergvall inside the penalty area, he replied: "I'll leave that to the officials, but I will say that we don't carry on like a lot of other clubs and I think that hurts us for sure.

"I don't think there's ever any noise around us and decisions. We get one slightly in our favour and there's national headlines for a week."

He added: "I said to the players I'm not going to allow anyone to think about Europa and nothing else.

"We can't let this league season go the way it has. We have lost way too many games. Unacceptable."

Despite Spurs' underwhelming domestic campaign, the club remain in the Europa League and can still claim a trophy.

They beat AZ Alkmaar in the last-16 and face Eintracht Frankfurt for a spot in the semi-finals.

Tottenham Hotspur captain Son Heung-min had to separate two of his teammates as they clashed during the Europa League win over AZ Alkmaar.

On Thursday night, Spurs booked their place in the Europa League quarter-finals after a 3-1 home win over Dutch side AZ Alkmaar.

The Premier League side went into the match 1-0 down but a pair of goals from Wilson Odobert and one from James Maddison ensured that Ange Postecoglu's side progressed.

However, the main talking point in the match came earlier as Tottenham Hotspur star Son Heung-min was forced to step in and split up two of his teammates as they argued during the game.

Just before half-time, Spurs were awarded a crucial free kick as they were 1-0 up against AZ Alkmaar, taking the aggregate score to 1-1.

As expected, star player Maddison picked up the ball ready to take the set piece, but his routine was interrupted as teammate Pedro Porro stepped up and tried to take the ball off of the Englishman.

The pair then began exchanging heated words, eventually forcing team captain Son to step in a split the pair up, before letting Maddison take the free kick as planned

Reacting to a clip of the moment on social media, one fan wrote: "I don’t get why this happens, clubs will have their designated set piece takers this isn’t just disrespectful to the taker but also the manager. It’s playground stuff!"

While another added: "Son is practically babysitting a bunch of kids. All the time these two fights on free kicks. Gotta feel sorry for the guy, he has too much on his plate."

And one joked: ""Why do they have to keep embarrassing me."

However, it appears that the bad blood between the two Spurs teammates didn't take long to settle, as Porro was spotted celebrating with Maddison after the midfielder doubled the home side's lead in the 48th minute.

Tottenham Hotspur’s supporters may have spotted James Maddison sending Ange Postecoglou a damning message during their Europa League round of 16 clash against AZ Alkmaar on Thursday - but fans have different takes on the incident.

Spurs put in a poor performance overall, and Lucas Bergvall’s own goal on 18 minutes was the only strike of the game as the Premier League outfit fell to a 1-0 defeat at the AFAS Stadion.

Of course, they do have the opportunity to turn it around in the second leg, which will take place in north London on Thursday, 13 March.

Nonetheless, fans were not pleased with Postecoglou’s side, as they registered just one shot on target despite dominating the ball with 62 percent possession compared to AZ’s 38 percent - although the home side registered five shots on target.

Several fans on social media called out Spurs' supposed lack of effort, but Postecoglou leapt to his players’ defence when speaking after the match.

"I don’t think it’s a matter of effort or attitude, I don’t think it is going out there and not trying, but we didn’t really come to grips and have the right mindset to tackle an away fixture in Europe,” said Postecoglou.

However, during the night, fans think TV cameras spotted Maddison, 28, questioning his manager’s tactics while sat on the bench alongside captain Son Heung-min.

Although exactly what the England international said is unclear, but fans on social media think they have figured it out.

One said: "Clearly mutters, 'it’s the same play style all the time, what’s he seeing'.

"We can see it as fans, the results show it, and the players on live T.V."

Another added: "The problem yesterday is the players don't know what the plan is."

A third explained: "I think (being serious) he's saying 'player'.

"Watching it back he's either referring to one of theirs who was constantly getting away with small fouls."

As a fourth commented: "Perhaps they were still discussing possibly the worst free kick routine I've ever seen."

Spurs will return to Premier League action when they play hosts to Andoni Iraola's in-form Bournemouth team on Sunday 9 March.

Roy Keane has responded to James Maddison after he dedicated a celebration to him against Manchester United.

On an episode of Stick to Football, the former United skipper issued a brutal put-down Maddison, dismissing his ability to make a difference and questioning his impact when it matters.

Though he called the England international a "good, talented player", Keane claimed that anyone who thinks Maddison can come back and move Spurs into the top six is living in "cuckoo land".

Having been injured with a calf issue, Maddison returned and scored the winning goal against United - performing his usual darts celebration and adding a shush gesture which he later confirmed was directed at Keane.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Maddison said there was a "little bit of outside noise this week" and added he hoped "there's a certain few that enjoyed me being the match-winner today!".

He then posted a viral TikTok trolling Keane, who has now had his reply teased by The Overlap on social media.

When asked by Gary Neville, Keane said: "Good on him. Absolutely. No problem. I still go to what I said, I don't think he does enough of that. But when he scored, I was at home with my cup of tea and I went, 'Good on you'.

"People have a go at you, you answer them back."

"I was hoping he was going to do the same the other day but he was sub against Ipswich."

The panel were left in hysterics, with Neville addressing Maddison and telling him that his long-time teammate is "now monitoring your every move".

Keane then mimicked Maddison's dart-throwing antics for further laughs, with Ian Wright interjected, adding: "You can't win James. Just do your stuff James because you can't f***ing win!".

What Maddison said about Keane criticism

One of the most switched-on and honest footballers around, Maddison revealed he and teammates are told by Ange Postecoglou to ignore any comments in the media.

However, he admitted that it is not an easy task - particularly when someone of Keane's status is weighing in with criticism.

"The gaffer always talks about blocking the outside noise but sometimes it's difficult," he told Patrick Davison of Sky Sports.

"It's constantly in your face. You can use it but I think gaffer prefers when you're just in our own little bubble and listening to him.

"Sometimes it's difficult, it's constantly in your face these days - social media and WhatsApp with people sending you stuff and you do see it - especially when it's a big high-profile name."

Maddison was named as Spurs' captain for the visit of Manchester City, who they have already beaten twice this season.

Tottenham have sent a letter to Premier League broadcasters stating that they want to be referred to as a different name, it has been revealed.

Like many clubs in the Premier League and EFL, the club are often referred to as a shorter version of their official full name - Tottenham Hotspur.

There are a number of other examples of this both in the Premier League and further down the pyramid. West Bromwich Albion, for instance, are often referred to as West Brom, with Queens Park Rangers known as QPR.

On televised broadcasts and in the wider media, Tottenham are often referred to as 'Tottenham', or 'Spurs', but more rarely are they referred to as their full name.

Now, in a letter addressed to Premier League broadcasters and both seen and reported by The Athletic, the north London club have stated they want that to change.

The club now wants to be referred to as 'Tottenham Hotspur' or simply Spurs, with mentions of 'Tottenham' taken out of future coverage.

The letter reads: "Tottenham Hotspur have provided clarification regarding the club's name.

"They have requested that the club are primarily known as Tottenham Hotspur, with Spurs being the preferred short version.

"The club have requested that they are not referred to as Tottenham."

The Premier League website has been updated to reflect this change, with no mention of 'Tottenham' except within the club's current three-letter abbreviation.

And overseas broadcasters have also begun to include the 'new' name in their coverage of English football.

While clubs have, in the past, requested that broadcasters refer to their official names in a certain way - and fans have certainly made their feelings clear on social media - this appears to be the first time that such a request has been viewable publicly.

The Spurs name change will no doubt surprise fans, although The Athletic note that the club hasn't referred to itself as 'Tottenham' internally since 2011 as per official policy.

And a brand document unveiled by the club in November reads: "In a world full of Uniteds, Citys and Rovers, there is only one Hotspur, Tottenham Hotspur."

Another reason, it is indicated, is to avoid the perception of 'Tottenham' referring solely to the area of Tottenham, instead of to 'Tottenham Hotspur' the football club.

It is indeed true that there isn't another Hotspur in English football - at least as far down as the upper reaches of the amateur game - with fans having to travel to Wales or Malta if they wanted to see another team with the same name in action.

Holyhead Hotspur has represented the Welsh town of the first name since 1990, while there are two different teams in Malta who use the name ending.