Championship

BURNLEY are in trouble with the EFL after playing a weakened team against Reading last week.The Royals forced a draw and picked up a precious point in the relegation fight – and that has angered rivals Huddersfield.
Vincent Kompany’s Burnley could face a potential points deduction and fineCredit: Getty
The Terriers are in a battle with Reading to stay up an cried foul when they saw six change to the Clarets’ side last Saturday.
Burnley had already won promotion and Vincent Kompany threw in a handful of fringe players for a match during their busy schedule.
The EFL have written to Burnley who may be fined or even hit with a points penalty if found guilty.
The Clarets are adamant that they made changes because they were using their squad to the full and some fringe men needed a game.
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Ironically Burnley were at full strength against another survival fight QPR – and lost 2-1 at home.
Huddersfield are on 44 points while Reading are on 43. They play each other in the final match.
As for Burnley, they sealed promotion back to the Premier League at the first time of asking.
The league’s top scorers and tightest defence, Burnley have become a joy to watch under Kompany.
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They have played with a style and swagger rarely – if ever – seen at Turf Moor, with another £120million coming into the coffers now to splash this summer.
According to reports, Kompany’s rising stock has seen him become a wanted boss – with Spurs, West Ham and Chelsea have been linked to the Man City legend. More

BLACKBURN attempted to give their play-off chances a hilarious boost.That’s after one star attempted a diving “Hand of God” to leave fans in hysterics.

Sammie Szmodics had a ‘Hand of God’ goal ruled out in Blackburn’s draw with PrestonCredit: Reuters
Fans were left in hysterics by the blatant handball dive
Sammie Szmodics led the line for Rovers in their Championship clash at Preston on Saturday.
The visitors are dreaming of making the playoffs after an impressive season under Jon Dahl Tomasson.
And with the scores level after an hour, it appeared Szmodics had made that dream look like a reality.
A ball was swept in from the left wing as the striker charged towards goal.
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And he sent his effort sweeping into the Preston net before wheeling away in celebration.
However, the goal was swiftly ruled out.
That’s because video replays showed Szmodics had clearly handballed with an outstretched arm as he dived to make contact.
Incredibly, it was also spotted live by the linesman – none other than Constantine Hatzidakis, who was not punished by the FA for allegedly elbowing Liverpool star Andy Robertson.
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The incident came after Blackburn saw Coventry goalkeeper Ben Wilson score a controversial equaliser during the week, appearing to punch the ball in.
And fans were left in tears by Szmodics’ attempt, with one saying: “Blackburn player just punched it into the net, ironic.”
Another declared: “How could the Blackburn player run off and celebrate the most obvious handball known to man.”
One noted: “That Blackburn lad should be ashamed of himself for not just the handball, but for chasing down the ref in protest after.”
Szmodic’s fortunes changed late on as he finally did fire Blackburn ahead with an 80th minute strike.
The visitors looked set to nab all three points to rise up the table.
But disaster struck in the fourth minute of added time with Dominic Hyam equalised for Preston, forcing Blackburn to share the points. More

CHRIS WILDER launched an astonishing rant at his Watford players after their 3-1 defeat to Cardiff on Wednesday night.The Hornets led 1-0 through Ismaila Sarr’s 11th minute goal before things quickly went downhill.
Chris Wilder delivered a scathing assessment of his playersCredit: Getty
The Hornets lost 3-1 to Cardiff City on Wednesday nightCredit: Getty
Three goals in 11 minutes saw Cardiff go into the half-time break leading 3-1 at Vicarage Road.
The result saw Watford fall five points behind the play-offs with three matches remaining in a major blow to their promotion hopes.
After the match, Wilder ripped into his team – calling them “weak mentally and physically”.
He said: “We allowed the opposition to get back into the game.
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“They sniffed we were weak mentally and physically, and scored three.
“All of a sudden everybody wants to flick it and do their own thing. People are playing out of position, hitting cross-field balls… you lose your rhythm quickly.
“Basically, you say to the opposition: ‘There you go, there’s an opportunity to get back into the game’.
“And they took it. We gave a daft free kick away and we can’t defend set pieces.”
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Wilder, 55, then went on to accuse his players of lacking “courage” – while suggesting that some of them just simply don’t care.
He continued: “Players haven’t got the courage to dig each other out, they’ve not got the courage to say: ‘Get off my toes and go and play in your position’, and that’s basically because they’re individuals.
“It’s quite difficult to analyse 20-odd players. Some might just be not bothered and underneath their breath saying: ‘I’m not bothered, there’s no consequence for me as a player’.
“Some might care, they might take it on board. Some might not even know who I am.
“But I know who I am. I know what principles I’ve got and I know what I’ve achieved through being a team player and a team man.
“I’ll keep being that team man. I’ll sacrifice everything to be involved in the team.
“I don’t think anybody will be able to get a tune out of this firm if they go individual.”
Watford recently released a statement saying that Wilder would remain in charge until the end of the season, amid widespread reports that he was on the verge of being replaced by Francesco Farioli.
‘IT’S A STRUGGLE’
The former Sheffield United and Middlesbrough boss is Watford’s third manager of the campaign, after Rob Edwards and Slaven Bilic were both sacked earlier this season.
Asked if his players are unmanageable, Wilder assessed: “I think it’s a struggle. I think six have had a go now recently. It’s a struggle and it’s been difficult for the supporters.
“Two relegations, a mid-table finish and the Covid season, where it was good. I don’t think it is unmanageable, but there are certain things that really have to change, in my opinion.
“There has been the model and there has been success with it. The owners might try and recreate that.
“I personally think the supporters want something a little bit deeper than maybe what’s happened.”
Asked about his own future, Wilder replied: “I’m not going to talk about myself. It’s not about me or what I’m going to do next year.
“I’m not going to get caught up in any of that regarding me, I don’t think it’s right at this particular moment to talk about my future.”
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The Hornets are next in action on Saturday, when they travel to Hull City.
They then finish their season with an away trip to Sunderland and home clash with Stoke.
Slaven Bilic was sacked by Watford earlier this seasonCredit: PA More

A WATFORD fan stormed the pitch in an attempt to confront the players during a defeat to Cardiff.The Hornets took the lead against the Championship strugglers before falling to a 3-1 loss.
The fan invaded the pitch and began gesticulating towards the players
He lashed out after trying to return to his seat
The supporter was escorted away by stewards
In the second half a disgruntled Watford supporter went on to the pitch and began to calmly approach goalkeeper Daniel Bachmann.
He could be seen gesticulating towards the Watford players before stewards intervened.
The fan was then escorted off the pitch and headed for the direction of his seat.
And when the steward prevented him from stepping back over the advertising board the fan lashed out and almost hit the steward in the face.
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He was then taken to the side of the pitch but continued waving his arms angrily in the direction of the players.
Hertfordshire Police released a statement confirming an individual was arrested. It read: “A 37-year-old man from St Albans was arrested in connection with the incident and remains in police custody at this time.”
There is growing discontent at Vicarage Road with Watford 12th in the league after picking up just one win in six games.
That has led to speculation manager Chris Wilder could be sacked after just over a month in charge.
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Fans have had banners protesting against the owners confiscated, including one that read “Pozzo Out”.
One supporter named Richard was even thrown out of the recent 3-2 defeat to Huddersfield.
He attempted to display a towel with the words “Pozzo Out” and has subsequently been banned from purchasing tickets, according to The Athletic.
The report adds the fan must attend a meeting with the stadium operations manager before he is allowed to attend home or away matches.
Watford FC have been contacted for comment. More

A MASSIVE brawl erupted during the closing stages of Swansea’s clash with Preston. The Championship game had been full of action before the mass melee late on.
A huge brawl erupted at the Swansea vs Preston gameCredit: Getty
Which is said to have involved 30 peopleCredit: Getty
Ex-Liverpool star Joe Allen helped spark the incidentCredit: Getty
It came as Ryan Lowe and Allen squared upCredit: Getty
Preston were threatening to mount a comeback from three goals down when Swansea’s Jay Fulton went down nursing an apparent head injury in the final minutes of regulation time.
However, Swansea were left unhappy play had carried on rather than allow for Fulton to receive treatment, with the already substituted Joe Allen, in particular, voicing his displeasure.
His protest in front of the visitor’s dugout prompted a response before he was shoved by Preston boss Ryan Lowe.
Ex-Liverpool star Allen then reacted by barging into Lowe before numerous others got involved.
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Allen and Lowe were subsequently sent off in the 90th minute, with Lowe declining to speak to the media after the game.
On the incident, Swansea manager Russell Martin said: “It can be avoided. Ryan pushes Joe and chaos ensues.
“I’ve watched it back, I don’t think it’s pretty for anyone. Our job as a group of staff is to get players away from it. The situation could have been avoided, twice probably. It is what it is.
“When people are so passionate and care about what they’re doing, sometimes it boils over.
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“I don’t judge anyone for that, but it is a disappointing thing to happen.”
Swansea would go on to score a game-killing fourth deep into stoppage time to boost their promotion hopes.
And Swansea fans were left loving Allen and Co after the game.
Taking to social media, one fan summarised the crazy match, saying: “Three nil up. 3-2 up against it. Ball boy throwing the ball away. Dodgy Ref .
“Club Legend starting a 30-man brawl. Scoring a last-minute winner to seal the three points.
“If you didn’t love that there’s something wrong with you 😂.”
A second declared: “I love this football club.”
A third typed: “Joe Allen masterclass, and a scrap to top it all off. some boy.”
A fourth joked: “Three points, Joe Allen goal, Joe Allen assist, Joe Allen starting ww3 and entering the playoff race????”
“Joe Allen is my hero,” declared another.
However, one Preston fan hit back, saying: “The professionalism of the Swansea players at the end/for the last goal was abysmal.”
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A second added: Just when we get going the professionalism goes out the window. Swansea you should be ashamed of yourself, that was shockingly poor.”
Meanwhile, Preston missed the chance to move to within a point of the Championship play-offs after failing to earn at least a point. More

WEST BROM’S Brandon Thomas-Asante has revealed he has spoken to injury-stricken Ben Wilmot.Wilmot was left needing oxygen following a sickening fall after Thomas-Asante pulled his shirt while in mid-air.
Brandon Thomas-Asante has revealed he has spoken to Ben WilmotCredit: Getty
Wilmot broke his back after a mid-air fall when Thomas-Asante pulled his shirtCredit: Getty
The 23-year-old defender was stretchered off and was ruled out for the seasonCredit: Getty
The 23-year-old was revealed to have broken his back following the incident, ruling him out for the rest of the season.
Thomas-Asante, 24, faced jeers from Potters fans after Wilmot was stretchered off.
And while he has declared the incident to be totally unintentional, he admitted he could understand the negative emotions of the crowd before revealing his exchange with Wilmot.
He told BBC Radio West Midlands: “First of all, we’re all humans.
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“I can understand where they’re coming from. I don’t think Stoke fans are all horrible people, I think there are great people there.
“I have spoken to Ben, I messaged him the next day and said ‘I’m sure you don’t want to hear from me, I just wanted to check in’.
“It’s not something which happens intentionally. You can’t bank on someone jumping just as you’re pulling him. There are 1,000 pulls a game, it’s a contact sport.
“With that said, I’m very sorry it happened. As I’ve said I’ve spoken to him.
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“He says he’s looking to recover quite quickly and be back in training in the next few weeks, so that was encouraging to hear from him.
“Credit to him as well, can I just say, because he could’ve taken it a different way but he was really positive.
“I look forward to seeing him again in the future and in better circumstances.”
Ex-Salford ace Thomas-Asante is the Baggies top goalscorer after netting his ninth goal of the campaign against Blackpool on Tuesday.
His goals have helped West Brom to keep pace in the hunt for a spot in the play-offs, with the club sitting one point behind Blackburn and two behind Millwall with four games to go. More