CRAIG HOPE: It was after midnight when the bus carrying Newcastle's Carabao Cup-winning team pulled into The Grove, closer to Watford 's Vicarage Road than Wembley.

OLIVER HOLT: The whole Byzantine farrago has sometimes seemed eerily similar to episodes from Franz Kafka's The Trial. Resolution rests tantalisingly and torturously out of reach.

CHRIS FOY'S WORLD OF RUGBY: What a busy and confusing period it has been for Andy Farrell, the man charged with masterminding a series victory over Australia this summer.

Female player annual salary across globe averages $10,900 USDOne in five head coaches at professional clubs are womenThe average annual salary for a female professional football player globally is $10,900 USD (£8,400 GBP, $17,000 AUD), says Fifa’s annual report on the women’s game, a figure skewed by a small number of top clubs.Among the teams Fifa …

His mother, Nicky, joined BBC Radio Surrey on Monday morning to talk about the incredible achievement - and revealed she had quickly declined a call from Draper on her mobile,

Australian athletics great John Steffenson has publicly defended teenage sprint sensation Gout Gout, saying anyone who promotes the baseless claims is a 'muppet'.

Ronaldo, who turned 40 last month and continues to be a regular starter with Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League, is targeting the 2026 World Cup with country Portugal, when he will be 42.

The 30-year-old has missed eight of the Red Dragons' last nine League One matches including the crucial weekend win over promotion rivals Wycombe.

The Gunners beat the Blues - their London rivals - 1-0 in Premier League action, with Mikel Merino heading in the only goal of the game from a corner in the first half of the fixture in the capital.

After Bruno Fernandes put the gloss on yet another superb individual display for Manchester United in the 3-0 win at Leicester, the 3,000-strong away section serenaded him.