Category News

‘Football risks losing generation of black managers’

By in News, Sports News
Getty Images
Sean Kearns

BBC Sport

English football is at risk of losing a generation of coaches from a black, Asian or mixed heritage background, according to anti-discrimination charity Kick It Out.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s sacking by Nottingham Forest this week means there is no longer a black manager in charge of a Premier League club.

The last time the Premier League was without a black manager was between March and August 2023, following Patrick Vieira’s departure at Crystal Palace and before Vincent Kompany’s promotion to the top flight with Burnley.

“We know that diverse talent exists, and clubs must be transparent and fair with their recruitment practices.

“We cannot lose another generation because of a lack of coordinated action.”

Kick It Out’s Football United strategy, set-up earlier this month, aims to tackle a lack of representation in leadership positions at football clubs as they do not “reflect their local communities”.

A 2022 report from the Black Footballers Partnership found 43% of Premier League footballers were black – but only 4.4% of the the managerial positions for former players were taken by black applicants.

In executive, leadership and ownership positions, the figure drops to 1.6%.

Former Chelsea manager Ruud Gullit became the first black manager to take charge of a Premier League club when he was appointed as player-manager at Stamford Bridge in 1996.

Ex-England midfielder Paul Ince was the first black British manager to be appointed head coach of a Premier League club when he took charge of Blackburn in 2008.

Ashvir Singh Johal recently became the first Sikh manager in English professional football following his appointment at Morecambe.

The Football Association (FA) launched the Football Leadership Diversity Code initiative in 2020, with a view to increasing diversity in senior leadership, team operations and coaching roles across English football clubs.

More than 50 clubs, including 19 from the Premier League, have signed up to the scheme.

In doing so, the clubs agree that:

However, while the FA has put in place a number of programmes such as the England Elite Coach Programme to diversify coaching workforces, they still have limited influence over the recruitment process at clubs.

The Premier League established the No Room For Racism Action Plan in 2021, which aimed to increase opportunities for black, Asian and minority ethnic individuals.

The plan funds two coach inclusion programmes – the Professional Player to Coach Scheme and the Coach Inclusion Diversity Scheme – to help coaches from under-represented groups into roles.

Related topics

  • Premier League
  • Football

British horse racing stages Westminster protest

By in News, Sports News
Getty Images
Mandeep Sanghera

BBC Sport journalist

Jockeys Hollie Doyle, Tom Marquand and Oisin Murphy took part in a protest by the British horse racing industry against the government’s proposed tax rise on betting on the sport.

Leading jockeys, trainers and owners descended on Westminster to lobby MPs and show their opposition to possible changes, which the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) says would cost millions in revenue and lead to thousands of job losses.

The protest took place amid a one-day strike across British horse racing, with four meetings at Lingfield Park, Carlisle, Uttoxeter and Kempton Park being rescheduled by the BHA.

It is the first time the sport has voluntarily refused to race in its modern history.

Jockeys Paul O’Brien, Saffie Osborne, Kieran Shoemark, Lilly Pinchin and former rider Richard Johnson were also at Westminster.

They were all wearing ‘Axe The Racing Tax’ silks provided by the BHA, while there was also a statue of a horse with the same slogan.

The Treasury is proposing to introduce a single remote gambling tax, which would increase the 15% tax rate paid by bookmakers on racing and align it with online gambling, which is currently taxed at 21%.

The BHA says this would have a “destructive impact” on the industry, with its economic analysis predicting an estimated £330m loss in revenue and putting 2,752 jobs at risk in the first year alone.

“Racing has always been treated differently and, therefore, should continue to be treated differently because of the wider economic impact that British racing has,” Louise Norman, chief executive of the Racehorse Owners Association (ROA) told BBC Radio 5 Live.

“This isn’t about a game of chance – it is skillful. There is time, effort and contribution emotionally, financially across the sport, whether that’s through the trainers, owners, jockeys, staff [and] the wider impacting relationships that racecourses have with communities.

“By unifying that approach, racing will be negatively and unfairly impacted.”

The strike is taking place a day before the start of the four-day St Leger festival at Doncaster Racecourse.

“I understand the action,” said Labour MP Alex Ballinger. “I’ve seen the consultation that has gone out to harmonise tax rates.

“I represent a group of MPs who think the opposite should happen. That we should be having more harmful forms of gambling – online casinos, online slots – more addictive and dangerous forms paying more taxation.

To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.

Related topics

  • Horse Racing

Ex-Premier League Referee Coote Charged With Making Indecent Child Image

By in News, sport-news

Former Premier League referee David Coote has been charged with making an indecent image of a child.

Coote, 43, was sacked from his officiating role in December after a video showing him making derogatory remarks about former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp in 2020 came to light.

(from L) German football coach and global head of Football at Red Bull, Jurgen Klopp, Paris FC’s French President,Pierre Ferracci, French representative of the Agache family holding company, Antoine Arnault, Pfc’ assistant sport director, Quentin Rauzier and German football player and member of the board of Paris football Club, Mario Gomez pose ahead of the French L1 football match between Paris FC and FC Metz at the Stade Jean-Bouin in Paris on August 31, 2025. (Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP)

READ ALSO: Nottingham Forest Sack Manager Nuno Espirito Santo

The charge of making an indecent image of a child refers to activities such as downloading, sharing, or saving abuse photos or videos.

Coote, who was charged on August 12 and is on conditional bail, is set to appear at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court on Thursday.

The allegation relates to a video recovered by officers from Nottinghamshire Police in February, the force said.

Coote was also banned from officiating by European governing body UEFA until June 2026 after a different video emerged of him snorting a white powder through a bank note while in Germany for Euro 2024.

In a January interview he came out as gay and said his struggle to hide his sexuality had contributed to bad choices.

Margot Robbie’s ‘mushroom blonde’ hair is perfect for autumn – here’s how to copy it

By in Entertainment News, News

Margot Robbie has debuted a new, muted blonde hair transformation, and I was desperate to copy this colour myself, says beauty editor Laura Mulley. Here’s how…

How to copy Margot’s mushroom blonde(Image: Instagram: @patidubroff / Laura Mulley)

If she wasn’t already my ultimate girl crush, Margot Robbie’s new hair colour has certainly now put her at the top of my list.

While promoting for her new film A Big Bold Beautiful Journey, which also stars Colin Farrell, Margot debuted a new hair hue, swapping bright Barbie blonde for a cooler-toned, lived-in, ‘mushroom’ shade that’s perfect for autumn.

Desperate to copy the look myself (and to be honest, look even a little bit like the Wolf Of Wall Street actor), I headed to my favourite salon, Haug London Haus, to see if my highlighted hair could be made to look anything at all like Margot’s.

Margot Robbie
My hair inspo(Image: Instagram: @patidubroff)

After showing her my inspo photo of Margot above, the salon’s co-founder and award-winning colourist Siobhan Haug explained that the star’s new look featured a lived-in, rooty effect featuring tones of taupe and beige, with brighter pieces around the front to shape and flatter the face.

On my hair, this could be achieved in two ways, she explained: either by leaving some of my natural colour at the roots around the crown and blending my existing full head of highlights into it (which would be a lower-maintenance method in the long run), or by taking the highlights all the way up to my roots, then cleverly creating the ‘rooty’ look with two different toners. As my hair is naturally very fine, it really benefits from the little added volume that bleaching my roots gives, and so I opted for this (Siobhan also explained that with this second technique, once the toner fades, I would still feel ‘blonde’, rather than my usual dark mousey brown shade coming completely through).

My hair before (left) and after (right)
My hair before (left) and after (right)(Image: Laura Mulley)

Following a full head of foils, Siobhan then applied a darker toner to my crown and lengths at the back-basin, and a lighter, beige-toned one to the front sections, followed by a bespoke hair mask and hot towel draped over the head. It’s worth mentioned here that Haug London Haus’s hair treatments are the best I’ve ever had; usually after having a full head of highlights my hair is incredibly knotty for months afterwards, but after the bespoke mask that they apply at Haug, my hair feels soft and easily detangled for weeks – a feeling that even lasted throughout a holiday during which my hair was subjected to plenty of chlorine, sun and seawater.

Article continues below

I was thrilled with the result: a gorgeous new tone for autumn – natural, neutral and grown up, yet still undeniably blonde and fresh. Now if only every other part of me could look like Margot too…

NTAs host Joel Dommett clarifies ‘divorce’ comment after awkward mishap on anniversary

By in Entertainment News, News

Joel Dommett, returning to screens tonight to host the 30th National Television Awards, swiftly clarified his comments after causing confusion live on air

Joel Dommett and Hannah Cooper married in 2019

The National Television Awards presenter Joel Dommett mistakenly insisted that he and wife Hannah Cooper had split, while discussing their wedding anniversary on Tuesday. Before hosting the live ITV ceremony for the fifth consecutive year tonight, the 40-year-old appeared on Amanda Holden and Jamie Theakston’s Heart Breakfast Show to chat about the annual bash.

During their conversation, Joel said it had been “the maddest week” due to preparations for the awards ceremony, marking his wedding anniversary and his baby son’s birthday.

Amanda and Jamie went on to offer their congratulations on his anniversary, but what Joel said next caught them off guard.

“Do say congrats, but we’re not together,” he responded, before chuckling: “It’s ended right now today.”

Quickly clarifying his words, he continued: “That sounded like we’ve got divorced.”

Offering him an opportunity to set the record straight, Jamie asked: “Just so we’re clear, you are still together?”.

Joel Dommett and Hannah Cooper
Joel Dommett and Hannah Cooper clarified his comments

“Yes we are definitely still together guys,” the NTAs presenter reassured.

Amanda playfully remarked: “That’s a shame, that would’ve looked good on our socials.

“What a forum to announce it on,” Jamie additionally quipped.

Joel and wife Hannah Cooper married at a beach ceremony in Mykonos, Greece, back in 2019. Four years on, they welcomed their first baby together, a son called Wilde.

Just days prior to the birth, Joel presented the 28th National Television Awards and had prepared an “escape route” incase Hannah went into labour.

Speaking to Amanda and Jamie, he recalled of the moment: “If the baby was born on that day, then I would’ve just had to not be there, or halfway through I would’ve had to go.

Joel Dommett
Joel Dommett will return to host the National Television Awards(Image: ITV)

“And basically I would’ve had to have looked down at the 100 celebrities there and be like, ‘Anyone want to finish this off?’ So, it’s mad, but genuinely I love hosting the show.”

During their conversation, the trio also touched on this year’s nominations.

Amanda, who is a judge on Britain’s Got Talent, expressed scepticism about the programme’s chances of winning, highlighting its repeated losses to Strictly Come Dancing in the Talent Show category.

She did, however, suggest that Claudia Winkleman might become the first presenter to eventually end Ant and Dec’s lengthy winning run in the Best Presenter category.

Gary Lineker is also in contention for the accolade for the first time, hoping to defeat Ant and Dec, Claudia, Alison Hammond and Stacey Solomon.

Should Stacey fall short of claiming the prize, she has additional opportunities of triumph in the Factual Entertainment category.

Two of her programmes, Sort Your Life Out and Stacey and Joe, her BBC series with husband Joe Swash, encounter rivalry from; The Martin Lewis Money Show Live, Gogglebox, and Clarkson’s Farm.

Article continues below