Daily Mail

West Ham forward Mohammed Kudus has been handed an extra two-game ban after accepting a charge of improper conduct.

Kudus was sent off in the Hammers’ 4-1 defeat by Tottenham on October 19 following two separate violent altercations with Micky van de Ven and Pape Matar Sarr.

The forward received a red card for his first offence, shoving Van de Ven in the face, before being charged retrospectively for a similar incident involving Sarr.

Kudus accepted the Football Association’s charge but put forward mitigation where he apologised for his actions, insisting they were out of character.

He also referenced his previously clean disciplinary record and stated that his preparation for the match had been mentally and physically challenging because he had travelled for a midweek international fixture and had received various negative comments on social media.

Kudus also referred to his work within the community and in his home country of Ghana, stressing how he tried to be a role model.

The forward also stated he felt that Van de Ven had exaggerated the incident as there was minimal contact from him and that he had been reacting to a push from the Tottenham defender.

He said he felt that the referee’s original decision to give him a yellow card was correct and that his actions in relation to Van de Ven did not merit a red card.

Kudus accepted he should not have pushed Sarr in the face and that his action merited a red card.

A regulatory commission decided the FA had been right to treat the two violent incidents as separate and to retrospectively charge Kudus for his violence towards Sarr.

The commission noted that Kudus should be issued with a separate three-game ban, but reduced this to two matches after taking into account his apology and previously clean disciplinary record.

Kudus has already served two of his original three-game ban. The extra sanction means, as well as sitting out Saturday’s game with Everton, he will not be available for fixtures against Arsenal and Newcastle.

The forward has also been fined £60,000 while West Ham have also been fined £30,000 for failing to ensure their players did not act in an improper way.

The Korean assisted Brennan Johnson and was then taken off after 56 Minutes

Ange Postecoglou moved to quell any drama over his decision after the game

LISTEN NOW: It's All Kicking Off!, available wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes every Monday and Thursday

Ange Postecoglou moved quick to quell any drama over his decision to substitute a visibly exasperated Heung-min Son in the resounding win over Aston Villa.

Son made his first appearance since mid-October following a thigh injury in the win over Unai Emery’s side and assisted Brennan Johnson’s equaliser before being substituted in the 56th minute by Postecoglou.

The Korean was clearly shocked by the decision, looking perplexed as his number was held up by the fourth official before exuding clear frustration as he sat down on the bench.

But the Spurs head coach insists there are issues, saying: ‘No, I didn't see any difference in Sonny. I'd be surprised if any player likes coming off when they're feeling all right.

‘I didn't need to discuss it with him. What's more important is the overall picture.

‘He was never going to play more than that today because he had an injury.

‘So he was never going to play more than sort of 55/60 minutes irrespective of how the game was going.

‘The great thing was that he made a pretty important contribution, the great ball in for our first goal and we got our equaliser.

‘We have got more battles ahead and we're going to need him.’

Dominic Solanke emerged as Spurs’ match-winner, scoring twice to take his season’s tally to five.

‘I just think the enormous effort he put in on Wednesday night (against Manchester City) to help us win a game of football, not just physically but mentally and his capacity to help the team in every way he can,’ said Postecoglou.

‘To back that up today with such a massive effort again against a pretty difficult team to play against in that sense, it's just unbelievable.

‘Yes, the goals are great and of course as a striker I am sure he loves the fact he can score a couple of goals, but even if he didn't, I can't speak highly enough of what he is contributing to our team at the moment.’

Postecoglou also revealed that his No 2 Matty Wells helped inspire the victory over Villa with a speech to the squad about former Spurs coach Ugo Ehiogu, who would have celebrated his 51st birthday on Sunday.

Ehiogu, who played for Villa, died in April 2017 after suffering a cardiac arrest at Spurs training ground and Postecoglou added: ‘It's also the birthday of the late Ugo Ehiogu and he had a big influence on Matty Wells here at the club.

‘Matty spoke really strongly about him. When you hear things like that, and how people affect your life, it helps give clarity to the players about what we're trying to do here. Obviously for his wife and his son probably a tough day, but hopefully they get a little bit cheer from the fact Wellsy made it a really important point, that he may be gone but he's not forgotten.’

On Villa’s performance, head coach Unai Emery said: ‘We know how difficult it is against Tottenham. It is a tough result but the match we played was more or less in line with the expectation I had before the match.

‘We are disappointed, frustrated but we are accepting it. We know our way, it is 38 matches, the league is very tight.’

Tottenham Hotspur fans demanded the release of a British Hamas hostage as they chanted 'she's one of our own' over a year after she was captured by the militant group.

Football fans gathered outside the Tottenham Hotspur's stadium in north London on Saturday as they called for the release of Emily Damari.

Sharing leaflets with the hostages photo, the Stop the Hate UK rally involved some 70 campaigners and took place between 11:30am and 2pm.

Damari, who marked her 28th birthday in captivity this year, was a big Spurs fan and, according to the Jewish Chronicle, enjoyed watching the football and drinking beer with her friends.

'When we say "she's one of our own", we're referring to the fact that she's not only a Spurs fan, she's a fellow Briton,' said Stop the Hate UK organiser, Itai Galmudy.

'She likes dry humour, she likes a cup of tea with milk, she likes downing pints in the pub, and she happens to like Spurs as well,' he added.

The campaigners at Saturday's Spurs match wore yellow ribbons around their necks, a common symbol displayed by campaigners for the hostages in Israel.

Outside the stadium in the run-up to the match, the echoes of their chant rang out: 'She's one of our own, she's one of our own, Emily Damari, bring Emily home.'

Following the powerful display of solidarity with Damari, the 28-year-old's mother shared her gratitude for those who came out to demand the immediate release of her daughter.

Mandy Damari said: 'I want to extend my heartfelt gratitude to everyone who came together at the Spurs stadium to raise awareness for Emily.

'The unity and dedication shown in sharing her story was both powerful and deeply moving.

'The chant, the stickers, the spirit, and the energy at the stadium were incredible, creating a moment that not only went viral here in Israel but also touched hearts across the world.

'From the opening to the closing moments of the match, Emily's spirit truly resonated, bringing hope and positivity to all of us. And let's not forget—she certainly brought Spurs the luck they needed! 4-1!

'This was a beautiful display of solidarity and kindness, reminding us of the power we have when we come together for a meaningful cause.

'Thank you to every single person involved, from those who organised to those who chanted, shared, and supported. You've made an incredible impact, and I couldn't be more grateful.

'Maybe Emily come home soon!'

Alongside 100 other captives, the Tottenham Hotspur fan is still being held under the watch of Hamas terrorists.

On October 7 last year Damari was taken from her home of Kibbutz Kfar Aza near the Gaza border, where she was born and raised.

Her beloved golden cockapoo, Choocha, was shot dead in her arms, while the attack left her with a gunshot wound to the hand.

She was kidnapped alongside twin brothers Ziv and Gali Berman, 27, and remains somewhere in the Gaza Strip, deep underground in a tunnel.

Just months before the terror attack, Emily travelled to White Hart Lane to watch her beloved Tottenham Hotspurs play.

A spokeswoman for Israel's UK embassy earlier this month urged the international community to do more to influence Hamas into releasing Emily and the other hostages.

Orly Goldschmidt told Sky News: 'Emily Damari, 28-year-old British-Israeli citizen, is still in the dungeon of Hamas, and we are asking for the international support, for the British support, to put pressure on Hamas to release her and the other 100 hostages.'

'We're talking about a festival that was here for people from all around the world - Israelis, Muslims and other faiths.

'They came to celebrate love and to dance, and they were targeted by Hamas terrorists in such a brutal way that I think no one will ever forget.'

When asked whether the Israeli military could have arrived sooner on the day, she said: 'I understand the trauma of those families, and that's something that will be investigated.

'All I can say for now is that we mourn with those families and our thoughts are with them.'

Morgan Rogers gave the Villans a first-half lead as Spurs failed to defend corner

But strikes from Solanke, Maddison and Brennan Johnson blew Villa away

SOCCER A-Z: Listen now wherever you get your podcasts, or watch on YouTube. New episodes every Wednesday

What is it about teams that play in claret and blue and second-half capitulations here at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium?

Here, just two weeks ago, West Ham were ahead 1-0 at the break only to be pummelled for four without response in the second half.

Today, Morgan Rogers' first-half effort had Aston Villa on course for victory at half-time only to be dished out the same four-goal treatment as Brennan Johnson, Dominic Solanke's brace and James Maddison guided Spurs to another another stirring comeback.

Ange Postecoglou deserves his drop of claret tonight. In contrast, Unai Emery will be blue all the way back to the Midlands, his team lost their way inexplicably here; totally out of character with the formidable side he has built.

Not that any of that is Tottenham's concern, as the north London side backed up their Carabao Cup win over Manchester City on Wednesday with another delirious victory over one of England's Champions League contingent.

Tottenham hope to be where Villa are next season - back among European football's elite. More performances like their second half showing here, they will go very close.

That positivity must be tempered, though, with a semblance of realism. Their first-half display lacked any gusto, Morgan Rogers firing home from close range from Lucas Digne's corner to inflict on Spurs their latest set-piece aberration.

The delivery, in fairness, was wicked. Guglielmo Vicario, in fairness, did well to react to team-mate Pedro Porro's miscued header before Rogers smashed home the rebound from a yard.

Nonetheless, Tottenham's record from defending set pieces under Postecoglou goes from bad to worse.

The Australian continues to hold firm in his refusal to appoint a specialist set-piece coach to his staff.

There is no right or wrong answer, of course. But you do wonder if Tottenham would benefit from an addition to Postecoglou's staff given their struggles at defending dead ball situations.

All that is inconsequential to Rogers, of course. This, his third goal of the season, further tangible proof of his emergence as one of English football's most promising attacking talents.

A timely reminder, too, for England interim head coach Lee Carsely who selects his squad for the games versus Ireland and Greece on Thursday.

You'd imagine Rogers is knocking on the door. His pass into Ollie Watkins' path in the 43rd minute to send his Villa colleague clean through another example of his quality.

Watkins couldn't provide the finish the pass deserved, the Villa striker firing wide of the far post.

Emery's animated reaction to the miss told its own story. Opportunities like that are hard to come by, what followed in the second half would only have compounded the Spaniard's irritation.

Elsewhere for Villa, Amadou Onana was having a storming game in central midfielder.

The Belgian was unlucky not to get on the scoresheet, too; a combination of Vicario's hands and the foot of the post preventing Onana from opening the scoring in the 30th minute with a towering header from another dangerous Digne delivery from wide.

As for Spurs, the fact they were booed off at half-time summed up their first half.

Dominic Solanke cut an isolated figure at No 9; while Onana and Youri Tielemans controlled the game from midfield for Villa.

Postecoglou - at this point - may have been regretting his decision not to start chief creator Maddison in favour of Rodrigo Bentancur and Papa Matar Sarr in search of greater defensive balance.

Indeed, his side looked void of any attacking ingenuity in the opening 45 minutes, toiling to breach a Villa back-line drilled within an inch of their lives by Emery.

But there was nothing Villa's defence could do to prevent the quality of Son's delivery into the box that allowed Johnson to trigger the second half revival.

The Korean, positioned out on the left, popped his head up before arcing a sumptuous ball that Johnson prodded home for his seventh of the season in the 49th minute.

The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium erupted. They weren't at the races in the first-half. They were back on the horse early in the second.

Not only that, but in ascendancy, Solanke forcing Emi Martinez into a smart save in the 51st minute.

So you can imagine the surprise when Postecoglou hooked Son before the hour mark.

Sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind; this was Son's first game back after injury. But the look on the Tottenham captain's face was picture.

The miffed reaction that followed froth forward on the bench merely re-affirming his ire. Moments later Postecoglu was forced into another change, Cristian Romero limping off in place of Ben Davies, who took his place in the heart of Spurs' defence alongside Radu Draguin - who was only in the team to replace the inured Micky van de Ven - to make up a makeshift centre-back pairing.

Emery, too, wasn't without his issues; Matty Cash also walked delicately off to be replaced by Diego Carlos.

Ultimately, it was Tottenham who stormed to huge three points.

Solanke's delightful finish over Martinez in the 75th minute was exquisite but the pass from Dejan Kulusevski to unlock the Villa defence was just as delicious.

Spurs endured a nervy VAR check for offside - but that just prolonged the agony for Villa.

Indeed, Solanke smashed home Spurs third 11 minutes from time as Pau Torres gifted the ball to Sarr, who released to Richarlison who put the ball on a plate for the club's record signing to ease any late tensions.

Worryingly for Spurs, Richarlison - who has only just returned to from a long-term injury absence - limped off immediately after supplying the killer pass for Solanke's second with what appeared a hamstring problem.

But that didn't kill the victorious vibe here in north London as Maddison, off the bench, curled home a peach of a free-kick in injury time to ensure Tottenham emulated their four-goal salvo against the other team in claret and blue.

Follow Mail Sport's live blog for the latest score, team news and updates as Tottenham host Aston Villa in Premier League action at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Ange Postecoglou responded to criticism over Tottenham's inconsistent performances by declaring: 'If you want to grow a beautiful garden, you have to handle some fertiliser!'

Tottenham will welcome Aston Villa on Sunday on the back of two defeats in their last three Premier League games.

Spurs produced one of their worst performances of the season against Crystal Palace in last weekend's 1-0 defeat, only to knock Manchester City out of the League Cup three days later.

Those recent results have seen the age-old criticisms of Tottenham's character and consistency rear their head despite Spurs winning eight of their last 10 matches in all competitions, reaching the quarter-final of the Carabao Cup and sitting second in the Europa League.

'Until we have success, that is always going to be the first thing people come at us about as a club and you have got to accept that,' said Postecoglou. 'It is part of our journey and part of us becoming stronger.

'Whether it is deserved or not, criticism and scrutiny is healthy because it allows you to reflect on your beliefs and your convictions.

'If you flinch at the first time people are critical or want you to change your path then it probably means you are not definite about what you are doing.

'It is up to us how we behave. Even if we went on another fantastic run, at the first sign of us faltering the same questions would come because it is kind of where we are at as a club at the moment.

'I said to the players, if you want to grow a beautiful garden you have to handle some fertiliser. That is the only way it will happen.'

Tottenham's victory over City set up a Carabao Cup quarter-final clash with Manchester United and left Postecoglou just three wins from his first trophy with the club.

Would Postecoglou take a trophy instead of a place in the top four? 'I want it all, mate,' he said.

'I want everything. And it sets me up for people to maybe ridicule me at the end of the year because I said I want it all and I fall short of that, but I'll take the biggest bite I can and see what comes out of it. We'll go for everything.'

Postecoglou also confirmed that Micky van de Ven will be out until after the international break after he suffered a hamstring injury against City.

James Maddison and Mikey Moore were forced to walk to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Wednesday after getting stuck in traffic.

Spurs entered their EFL Cup clash with Manchester City in need of a response after falling to a disappointing defeat to Crystal Palace just days earlier.

However, Ange Postecoglou was nearly without two of his stars for the game as Maddison hilariously revealed on his Instagram story.

In a series of posts on Friday the England international detailed how he and Moore were forced to complete the journey to the ground on foot but were able to arrive undetected amongst hordes of supporters.

He wrote: 'Traffic was that bad, me and @mikeymoore_10 had to walk the last mile as we got stuck in standstill traffic and weren't moving.'

Maddison added that the experience of being around the stadium on matchday reminded him of travelling to watch his boyhood club Coventry as a youth.

'Actually loved walking past the pubs and on the streets to the ground with fans.' He continued.

'Reminded me of going to watch Coventry with my dad as a boy. No one had a clue did they @mikeymoore_10.'

Despite their unconventional arrival, the pair had a night to remember as Spurs defeated Pep Guardiola's side.

Timo Werner fired the hosts into the lead after just five minutes before Pape Matar Sarr doubled their advantage.

The Citizens fired back on the brink of the interval through Mateus Nunes and Spurs faced a nervy second-half as City chased an equaliser.

As City continued to press, the 17-year-old Moore was handed his first appearance in the competition as a second-half substitute, coming on to replace Brennan Johnson with 20 minutes remaining as his side held on to win.

The appearance off the bench comes after Moore was handed his first Premier League start in the defeat at Selhurst Park on Sunday.

Spurs will now face Manchester United in the EFL Cup quarter-finals next month as they look to move one step closer to ending their 16-year trophy drought.

Bale spent six years at Spurs before making £85m move to Real Madrid in 2013

The Welshman scored 26 - largely exceptional - goals in his final season

SOCCER A-Z: Listen now wherever you get your podcasts, or watch on YouTube. New episodes every Wednesday

A Premier League legend has revealed he once tested out Gareth Bale's unusual diet in a bid to reach the performance levels of his Tottenham Hotspur teammate, only to realise the Welshman's methods 'didn't quite work' for him.

The prolific striker scored 199 goals in a stellar career, acting as an imposing figurehead for a number of successful Premier League attacks over the years.

The Englishman was a popular character on and off the pitch, thrilling fans with his famous celebrations and entertaining post-match interviews.

The star joined Spurs from Portsmouth in 2009 and played with Bale at White Hart Lane for two years until his £10million move to Stoke City.

Impressed by the Welshman's performances on the pitch and on the training field, the lofty centre-forward decided to copy his pre-match eating habits, to limited effect, and has now detailed the experience on his podcast.

He told That Peter Crouch Podcast: 'You know, what changed for me was watching Gareth Bale.

'I've talked about this before, watching Gareth be the most intense runs, the most distance covered, it was ridiculous.

'He was one of the most fittest players I've ever seen.

'He'd just literally have baked beans on toast every time. And I thought, "what is in those beans?"

So I started doing it. I started doing baked beans on toast.

'I thought it must be the difference. It didn't quite work for me!

'But you know when you see other people doing different things and, certainly later on in your career, you see definitely the chefs and stuff at the training ground has changed.'

Crouch also told co-presenter Steve Sidwell that his typical pre-match dish consisted of chicken, pasta and boiled potatoes.

But his habits were not completely normal either. The striker used to sometimes tuck into this bulky snack at 9am if his side were playing in the early kick-off.

Bale followed Crouch in leaving White Hart Lane in 2013 but, thanks to a 2012-13 season where he scored 26 - largely exceptional - goals, he commanded a much higher transfer fee of £85m.

He went on to score 106 and assist 67 more in 258 matches at the Bernabeu before returning to Spurs for one season in 2020 and eventually retiring at Los Angeles FC in 2023, aged 33.

An absolute refusal to send for Erling Haaland told the story. The last remaining unbeaten run in the whole of England and Europe’s biggest leagues is finally over, at the end of October, but of more importance to Manchester City was no more injuries.

It is eight stricken first-team stars and counting after a costly night when, for all the inexperience out there, Tottenham preyed on the older heads to set up a quarter final meeting with Manchester United.

A crestfallen Savinho looks like he’s done his ankle and Manuel Akanji complained of meniscus pain in the warm up, adding to the absence of Kevin De Bruyne, Jack Grealish, the new Ballon d’Or winner and a few more.

Pep Guardiola needs that international break quickly but has three games to navigate before then. Three long trips, too – Bournemouth and Brighton sandwiching Sporting in the Champions League.

‘We’re in trouble,’ Guardiola said. ‘I’ve never had this situation in nine years. We don’t have alternatives. I went to the massage table but it was too busy. Tomorrow we have two keepers and Erling to train. It's been getting more difficult game by game but maybe one day we will be altogether.’

And yet, with a team half made up of kids at the end, they almost forced penalties.

Teenager Jacob Wright twice went close, another teenager Nico O’Reilly was thwarted on the goal line by Yves Bissouma. City were actually better for the additions of youth but couldn’t quite complete a comeback against a club whose manager Ange Postecoglou has heaped pressure on himself to lift something this year. ‘I’m really optimistic and bullish about this group, they’ve got a high ceiling,’ the Australian said. ‘We’re growing, developing. I’ve seen progress but we’re going to have stumbles along the way.’

Their opening goal, after only five minutes, will make 18 other teams in the Premier League smile. Spurs manoeuvred a half-baked City press, four passes from goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario to Timo Werner sweeping past Stefan Ortega. Rival managers will have noticed Nathan Ake not pushing on to Archie Gray in the build-up and certainly jot down how Dejan Kulusevski left Ilkay Gundogan for dust. Still, it required a perfectly zipped cross by the Swede – cutting out Rico Lewis – to find Werner.

Gundogan gifted Werner another chance, misplacing a pass straight at him, but the effort was weak. Yet Spurs had a second midway through the first half. Again, a nicely planned move. Again, suspect defending.

No away player fancied racing out to meet Pape Sarr, 25 yards from Ortega, after Spurs had worked a short corner. With room to breathe, Sarr wonderfully bent round a jogging Matheus Nunes into the near post. The only real issue for Postecoglou up until that point was the worrying hamstring injury that reduced Micky van de Ven to tears as he trudged off. Werner later hobbled out too.

City reduced the deficit seconds before the break. Nunes has stepped up a level in recent weeks and looked City’s main threat even before marching onto a super Savinho ball towards the back stick.

Brennan Johnson and Werner should have added a third between them in what became a mini-classic. End-to-end, suiting Spurs, and Kulusevski ought to have made the game safe.

City rallied, debutant centre half Jahmai Simpson-Pusey peerless off the bench, yet the lack of real appetite to embarrass Spurs – because given the circumstances, that is what a result would have amounted to – was obvious as their hulking No 9 sat on the bench. He didn’t even go for a jog down the touchline.

Former Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho has admitted that he wishes to work in England again before he retires.

The 61-year-old is currently in charge of Fenerbahce in Turkey and his team played out a 1-1 draw with former club United in the UEFA Europa League last week.

Mourinho was sent to the stands in the second half of that match after being shown a red card for his reaction to Fenerbahce unsuccessfully appealing for a penalty kick.

Speaking in a post-game press conference, Mourinho reacted to his dismissal by suggesting that he might like his next job to be with an English club that does not play in a UEFA competition - so that he can swerve UEFA officials.

However, in an interview with Sky Sports on Tuesday, Mourinho clarified: 'I made a joke. I'm never going to a team fighting relegation. I will never go.'

Explaining why he had said that he would like to manage an English team 'from the bottom of the table', Mourinho added: 'I get upset, and I'm not in the period of my career to get upset. I'm in the period of my career to be happy all the time and at this moment playing in European competitions, I am getting upset all the time.

'But I'm not going to fight relegation. It's too hard! Honestly, I believe that has to be the hardest thing. It's more difficult than playing for titles. It has to be very hard emotionally, because it's something that changes lives. I think it's brave guys that do it.'

Mourinho then cracked another joke as he told Sky Sports reporter Gary Cotterill: 'Millwall. Millwall. I just cross the bridge from my house. Millwall!'

Millwall's New Den stadium may be geographically close to Mourinho's London home, but the Lions are far below his usual level in terms of stature - having never competed in the Premier League.

But while a move to Millwall is not seriously on the cards, Mourinho made it clear that he would love to return to England before his managerial career is over.

He concluded: 'I had three clubs in England, so four different periods I've coached in England, and I love it. And by the social point of view, I've been lucky enough to live in so many cities, but my family lives in London.

'London is home, so one day I have to be back, unless no one wants me. But one day I would like to go back.

'But don't get me wrong, and let's make it very very clear, for the next two years, this season and next, no one will take me from Fenerbahce.'