Sport

NEW Former England batsman Kevin Pietersen has been charged with misconduct for his on-air comments criticising an umpiring decision. Pietersen said the not out verdict was 'an absolute shocket'

CHARLES SALE - SPORTS AGENDA: English football’s crazy finances are such that even Middlesbrough’s new £6million striker Patrick Bamford could make grand demands.

CHRIS FOY: England's players have been placed on a war footing ahead of Saturday's RBS 6 Nations opener with France after orders to heed the warnings of centuries of Anglo-French conflict.

NEW Tiger Woods appeared to be in some discomfort as he walked around the course on Thursday as he shot a round of 77, his worst ever score at the Emirates course, and has withdrawn.

Sportsmail's chief sports reporter Matt Lawton, who was named Sports News Reporter of the Year for 2015, has been nominated for two awards. Martin Samuel and Oliver Holt are also nominated.

The FA will open their doors to Frank Lampard after the Chelsea legend announced his retirement following a glittering career that saw him lift 11 major trophies, including the Champions League.

Jurgen Klopp was seen screeching in the face of fourth official Neil Swarbrick during Liverpool's 1-1 draw with Chelsea on Tuesday but escaped without censure.

When Manchester City have been at their best under Pep Guardiola it is like watching a military plan being put into action such is the urgency. We saw that against West Ham on Wednesday.

UEFA has shared a record £32.8million of revenue from Euro 2016 with 60 English clubs, from the top flight to the eighth tier. In total, £128m was distributed between 641 European clubs.

Aitor Karanka says his criticism of Middlesbrough's hierarchy was not an attempt to get the sack and insists he would walk away if he wasn't happy.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger says they are interested in signing Monaco's teenage prodigy Kylian Mbappe, who he compared to the club's greatest goal scorer, Thierry Henry.

The Somerset left-arm spinner was given the all-clear following a re-test at the ECB’s national performance centre in Loughborough — one of world cricket’s accredited testing facilities.

Frank Lampard has retired from playing. Three of Sportsmail's pundits, Jamie Redknapp, Chris Sutton and Martin Keown, have penned their own tributes to the former England midfielder.

Clement has revealed he tried to sign Lampard before the former England star announced his retirement. Clement worked with the midfielder when he was Chelsea's assistant manager.

RORY JENNINGS: February 2, 2017 is a date that the Premier League should always look on with sorrow. The greatest player to have graced the league has retired.

ASHLEY CLEMENTS: It was during a tense West Ham United fans' forum 21 years ago that the club's then manager Harry Redknapp predicted Frank Lampard would go 'right to the very top'.

Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas will forever be grateful to Arsene Wenger and Arsenal. The 29-year-old made over 300 appearances for the Gunners during an eight-year spell.

Barcelona have confirmed the return of Ronaldinho, with the Brazilian set to take up a role as a club ambassador at the Nou Camp. He enjoyed a trophy-laden five year spell at Barca.

The Toffees fanbase have been invited to take part in a survey on what is important to them in an Everton strip. Everton and kit manufacturer Umbro are keen to get supporter opinion.

Uruguayan defender Sebastian Coates has been on loan in Portugal for more than a year and Lisbon have decided to take advantage of their option to make the deal a permanent one.

CHRIS FOY: What a difference a year makes. 12 months ago, Europe's battered elite were limping into the RBS Six Nations on the back of a southern eclipse at the World Cup, but now the north is rising.

SIR CLIVE WOODWARD: Eddie Jones' expert coaching, good selection and man-management turned England around almost overnight. They are the tournament favourites and rightly so.

With World Rugby clamping down on high tackles, World Cup final referee Nigel Owens explains what may receive red and yellow cards in the Six Nations. 

NIK SIMON - EXCLUSIVE: All Blacks coach Steve Hansen has backed England to win this year's Six Nations but he has decided not to fly out a scouting team to prepare for the Lions series.

WILL KELLEHER: It is apt that Huw Jones plays for the Stormers in Cape Town, as his rise from gap-year student to RBS 6 Nations starter has been rapid, stunning and powerful.

DOMINIC KING: Liverpool's manager was captured on camera roaring at Neil Swarbrick after Diego Costa had a penalty saved by Simon Mignolet late in the game.

Alexis Sanchez is 'very demanding' of his Arsenal team-mates and regularly leaves the field unhappy about something, even if they have won the game, according to team-mate Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Manchester United drew another blank on Wednesday night in what is becoming an all-too-familiar tale of wastefulness in front of goal for Jose Mourinho and his team.

Ross McCormack has admitted his inability to make a training session at Aston Villa on time because of a broken gate ‘sounds ludicrous’ but said he will not apologise over the incident.

Wilson has already missed a significant amount of football with medial ligament damage to his other knee back in 2015 which ruled him out for six months and now faces another long spell out.

PETER CARLINE IN HOUSTON: Lady Gaga did not mention Donald Trump, but promised 'high-adrenaline' action during her 13-minute half-time show.

City, with a 4-0 win at West Ham, were the only top-six team to gain ground this week and their playmaker has stressed it only takes three games to turn everything on its head.

Real Betis' players have condemned the 'public lynching' of team-mate Roman Zozulya after his loan stint at Rayo Vallecano was brought to an abrupt end.

After another round of games in the Premier League and beyond, RALPH ELLIS has studied all the stats and facts to bring you the 10 things we learned from it all.

Jez Moxey arrived at Norwich in August last year from Wolves but departs with chairman Ed Balls admitting things have 'not worked out satisfactorily for either Jez and his family or for the football club'.

Borussia Dortmund officials have told star striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to give fewer interviews about his uncertain future and focus on helping the club achieve their targets.

Like a cricket player in sight of edging towards a century, there were doubts over whether Peter Crouch would reach 100 Premier League goals before he hit his ton against Everton on Wednesday.

Leeds United defender Pontus Jansson has committed his long-term future to the club until at least the summer of 2020. Jansson is currently on loan from Torino and will join Leeds officially in June.

Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu will serve a four-month ban imposed by FIFA for breach of contract - ruling him out for the rest of the Bundesliga season.

Man City defender Bacary Sagna has failed in his appeal against a £40,000 fine from the Football Association for a social media post that appeared to question referee Mason's impartiality.

SIR CLIVE WOODWARD: I know Conor O'Shea well from way back with London Irish and there is no bigger enthusiast in rugby. He will bring some much-needed energy and optimism to the Italy team.

Venus Williams lost her first match since the Australian Open final to Kristina Mladenovic 6-3, 6-1 in the St Petersburg Ladies Trophy on Thursday.

In a period of growing uncertainty surrounding Cook's future, Jimmy Anderson believes that Cook's calm influence has had a major effect on the team's ability to play their natural game.