Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta rejected the term 'bottlers' ahead of Sunday's Premier League visit to Tottenham Hotspur, as the title race heats up after their lead was cut short by successive Premier League draws at Brentford and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Paris Saint-Germain have decided against appealing a French labour court ruling that forced them to pay their former forward Kylian Mbappe up to 61 million euros ($71.8 million) in unpaid wages and bonuses, the club told AFP on Friday.

Former Brazil captain Neymar said he is thinking of retiring at the end of the year after being hampered by injuries but hopes to go to the World Cup first.

The Bangladesh Football League (BFL) is set to resume on March 6, two months after the completion of the first phase of the country’s top-tier football competition, but several clubs are unhappy with the revised schedule.

The Bangladesh women’s football team arrived in Sydney today for their maiden appearance in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup, which kicks off on March 1.

Michael Carrick praised Manchester United's "diversity" after the club's co-owner Jim Ratcliffe caused controversy by claiming the United Kingdom has been "colonised by immigrants".

Vincent Kompany has criticised Jose Mourinho's handling of the racism controversy involving Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior, saying the Benfica coach's comments after the midweek Champions League match were a "huge mistake".

An increased number of MLS players are expected to play in the World Cup.

Pereira became Forest's fourth boss this season after agreeing an 18-month deal to replace the sacked Sean Dyche on Sunday.

Bangladesh now gear up for six days of training, including a practice match against Australian side Western Sydney Wanderers on February 26 before the Asian Cup proper.

Later Thursday, FIFA issued a statement providing more details, including plans to construct a football academy, a new 20,000-seat national stadium and dozens of pitches.

Chelsea head coach Liam Rosenior has said anyone in football found guilty of racism "should not be in the game" after Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior was allegedly racially abused during a Champions League match.

Bangladesh women’s football team coach Peter Butler has admitted his side head into their maiden AFC Asian Cup appearance undercooked and playing “catch-up”, warning that only their very best will prevent “cricket-score margins” against Asia’s elites.

The Champions League playoff first leg clash was suspended for 11 minutes after Vinicius accused Prestianni of using the slur after Vinicius scored for Real five minutes into the second half.

The Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) on Thursday announced a 26-member final squad for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup, including Sweden-based forward Anika Rania Siddique, U-19 team players Alpi Akter and Sauravi Akanda Prity.

Vinicius Junior scored a brilliant goal, but the focus after Real Madrid's win at Benfica on Tuesday was on another incident of alleged racist abuse aimed at the Brazilian.

Elsewhere Atletico Madrid were held by Club Brugge in a thrilling 3-3 draw, while Bayer Leverkusen took a big step towards reaching the last 16 by beating Olympiacos 2-0 away in Greece.

"Incredibly disappointed. We need to accept it. We need to be critical of ourselves because it was not good enough," Arteta said.

Bilal Erdogan, son of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was also present

"I want to clarify that at no time did I direct racist insults to Vini Jr, who regrettably misunderstood what he thought he heard," Prestianni wrote on his Instagram account.