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West Bromwich Albion have sacked head coach Eric Ramsay after only nine games in charge, with the club only one point above the Championship relegation zone.

The 34-year-old was appointed on a two-and-a-half-year deal on 11 January following the departure of Ryan Mason.

Former Manchester United coach Ramsay took over with Albion 18th in the table, seven points clear of the bottom three.

But the Baggies failed to win under him and Tuesday’s 1-1 home draw with Charlton proved to be his last.

A club statement said: “West Bromwich Albion have parted company with men’s first team head coach Eric Ramsay. Assistant head coach Dennis Lawrence has also departed The Hawthorns.

Ramsay joined West Brom following a spell in Major League Soccer with Minnesota United, who he led to back-to-back Conference play-off semi-finals.

Prior to his move to the United States, the Shrewsbury-born Welshman was a first-team coach at Manchester United under Erik ten Hag and took on an assistant coach role with the Wales men’s team.

However, his time at The Hawthorns began with 3-2 loss to Middlesbrough before a 5-0 thrashing by Norwich – the club’s biggest-ever home defeat outside the top flight.

Albion rescued a late point from a 1-1 draw at Derby to stop the rot and also picked up points from goalless draws against Stoke and Birmingham.

However, they were well beaten by fellow strugglers Portsmouth and knocked out of the FA Cup by the Canaries before Saturday’s defeat by leaders Coventry.

Following the draw against Charlton, the only one in which the team took the lead under Ramsay, he told BBC WM: “The question around my job and the future is never one I can ever answer or attempt to answer.

“I can only do what I can do over the course of a day and put my head on the pillow at night feeling I’ve turned over every stone.

“I’m not saying I’m blameless – I can only feel I’ve controlled what I can control.”

It was a surreal scene.

Snoop Dogg walking around the Swansea.com Stadium to the soundtrack of his greatest hits blaring from the sound system, waving a Snoop and Swansea City-branded towel above his head while the capacity crowd did the same and chanted “Snoop Dogg’s barmy army”.

This was not a fever dream, nor was it the effect of “the smell of weed in the tunnel” as visiting manager Paul Heckingbottom put it.

No, this was a midweek Championship fixture between Swansea and Preston North End.

Snoop is used to rolling up at some of the biggest sporting events in the world.

He was an ‘honorary coach’ for the United States at this month’s Winter Olympics in Italy, having fulfilled a similar role at the Paris summer Games of 2024.

Two years before that, he was one of the performers in the Super Bowl half-time show. Global audiences do not get much bigger.

So, a meeting between teams 14th and eighth in the Championship was not the most obvious next destination for Snoop’s sporting bucket list.

But these are strange times. Wrexham are owned by Hollywood actors and Swansea count former Ballon d’Or winner Luka Modric and US television personality and billionaire Martha Stewart among their minority investors.

In terms of fame and worldwide reach, however, Snoop is on another level.

Fans had been lining up outside the stadium five hours before kick-off to get a glimpse of Snoop, who signed autographs and posed for photographs in the kind of sunshine that will have made the Californian feel at home.

Inside the ground, he had arranged for every single seat to have a Snoop and Swansea-branded towel inspired by those waved by supporters of his beloved American football team, the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Once darkness had fallen, the show began.

Swansea and Preston’s players were still warming up when Snoop emerged to an explosion of noise and colour.

Preston had only brought around 200 fans for what was a sell-out. With tickets in the away end sold to Swansea supporters, this was a record number of home fans at a game in this stadium.

Yet the away fans were loudest during a first half in which their team led to puncture the party atmosphere.

“Snoop Dogg, what’s the score?” sang Preston’s travelling contingent, before later chanting: “Where’s your towel gone?”

Sat in the directors’ box in a long Swansea puffer coat, which would not have looked out of place on the slopes of the Winter Olympics in northern Italy, this was Snoop’s first experience of football’s tribal fan culture.

Fortunately for him, he got to sample the soaring high of an injury-time equaliser as well, as substitute Liam Cullen headed the Swans level in the 95th minute.

“After the game, he [Snoop] came to the dressing room, spoke with the players,” said Swansea head coach Vitor Matos.

“He’s someone that likes to be involved. He was involved not only with us, but as well with the [US] Olympic team. He really loves sports.

“It’s good for him to be involved. I’m happy that we have someone like him who loves the club, loves the city, wants to be here.”

When Swansea’s American owners Brett Cravatt and Jason Cohen brought Snoop in as a minority investor in July, the idea was not that the rapper would spend large amounts of his own enormous wealth on the club.

Instead, the Swans wanted to increase their global appeal by tapping into Snoop’s huge reach which includes more than 100m social media followers.

Some at the club believe that could create business and sponsorship opportunities which could outstrip those they had when they were in the Premier League.

Getting back to the top flight is the aim. After such a spectacular preamble, this first act at least produced a dramatic finish.

Fifa president Gianni Infantino says he feels “very reassured” that co-hosts Mexico can still stage “spectacular” World Cup games despite an outbreak of cartel violence.

The Jalisco New Generation (CJNG) drug cartel – one of the country’s most feared criminal organisations – has engaged in gun shootouts with the Mexican military, blocked roads and burned vehicles in response to the killing of its leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as ‘El Mencho’, in an army operation.

Mexico will join Canada and the United States in hosting the World Cup between 11 June and 19 July.

“Very reassured, everything’s good. It’s going to be spectacular,” Infantino told news agency AFP.

Guadalajara, the capital city of Jalisco where the violence began, is scheduled to host four matches at this summer’s tournament.

Fifa said it was “closely monitoring” the situation in Mexico earlier on Tuesday.

A Fifa spokesperson said the governing body “remain in constant communication with the authorities”.

“We will continue to follow the actions and directions from the different government agencies, aimed at maintaining public safety and restoring normalcy, and we reiterate our close collaboration with federal, state, and local authorities,” they said.

At least 25 National Guard officers were killed in the first 24 hours after El Mencho’s killing.

Violence began in the central-western Jalisco state – where a code red security situation has been declared – and has now spread to at least a dozen more regions, with videos posted online showing gunmen patrolling streets and smoke billowing over cities.

Security at this summer’s tournament could be compromised if the violence becomes a protracted cartel conflict, experts have told BBC Sport.

“When you push down on the cartels you do get pushback – the danger is that it can be very difficult to manage a security situation that spirals out of control,” said Javier Eskauriatza, assistant professor of criminal law at the University of Nottingham.

The power vacuum created by El Mencho’s killing could lead to a period of instability and further conflict as contenders vie to replace him.

“In general the cartels have an economic interest in making sure the World Cup is peaceful,” Dr Eskauriatza added.

“Yes they pay off politicians and local police forces, but they also buy restaurants and own hotels. They are part of the economic system.

The CJNG is estimated to be worth more than £10bn and has tens of thousands of members. It has been responsible for a series of killings of politicians, massacres and kidnappings since its formation in 2009.

But some cartel figures retain a level of popularity within local communities in Mexico, as they provide financing for local infrastructure and facilities.

“The response by the CJNG is, in a way, required by the rules of the game – if you have your leader nabbed, you have to respond, otherwise you look weak,” said Dr Eskauriatza.

“They are not idiots – they know that social media will film and amplify these videos for them and and they have made sure the response looks national.”

The US government has advised Americans in Jalisco to shelter indoors until further notice, while fellow World Cup co-host nation Canada has cancelled flights to the Puerto Vallarta airport, and flight tracking apps showed many aeroplanes returning to their departure destinations around the world.

“In terms of tourists, I would say there will be a moderate risk for them,” said Karina Garcia-Reyes, senior lecturer in criminology at UWE Bristol.

Security planning for the World Cup has already been under scrutiny over the deployment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers to major US cities by President Donald Trump, leading to the killings of two US citizens by federal agents so far this year, and a series of mass protests.

Last month, Football Supporters Europe said it was “extremely concerned by the ongoing militarisation of police forces in the US”.

Now eyes are on Mexico and whether it can guarantee the safety of travelling fans.

Four football matches – two in the top flight and two in the second division – were postponed on Sunday because of the violence.

“People in Mexico are hoping that this is a one-off retaliation and that as the cartel reorganises itself, things will settle down,” said Monica Serrano Carreto, professor of international relations at El Colegio de Mexico.

“But there is also a risk that this leads to a new period of instability, unpredictability and the violence continues.

“The type of weapons that the cartel has access to means that a military-style confrontation in the aftermath is inevitable – the government would have known that. We have seen in the past they [the cartel] even have weapons capable of shooting down helicopters.

Mexico has been under increased political pressure to take action against cartels in the past year.

“This response is not unique but is very serious and very high scale,” said Jon Benjamin, UK ambassador to Mexico between 2021 and 2024.

Christian Horner says Max Verstappen and his camp were “not responsible” for his exit from Red Bull in 2025.

The 52-year-old left his roles as team principal and chief executive last summer following months of team decline and internal disputes.

Jos Verstappen, Max’s father, said Horner was “driving people apart” before his departure from Red Bull, while many suggested that Horner’s exit was an attempt from Red Bull to convince Verstappen to sign a new deal.

Verstappen, who is contracted until 2028, only committed to racing for Red Bull in the 2026 season after Horner’s exit.

But speaking publicly for the first time about his departure, Horner dismissed any suggestions that Verstappen and his camp were responsible for his dismissal.

“[Max Verstappen’s] father has never been my biggest fan,” Horner told Netflix’s Formula 1: Drive to Survive, which is released on Friday.

Horner, who joined the team in 2005, led Red Bull to eight drivers’ championships and six constructors’ championship titles.

He was dismissed after a controversial 18 months that started when a female employee accused him of sexual harassment, an allegation that was made public in February 2024.

He was twice cleared of the claims, firstly after an internal investigation conducted by a lawyer, then by another lawyer who dismissed the complainant’s appeal.

The Briton left with a £52m payout but he said he felt a “real sense of loss”, and blamed Red Bull managing director Oliver Mintzlaff and Red Bull advisor Marko Helmut for his exit.

“It was all rather sudden. I didn’t really get the chance to say a proper goodbye,” he said.

“I think this was a decision that was made by Oliver Mintzlaff with Helmut advising from the side-line.