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• Robbie Fowler sorry over 'gay' Graeme Le Saux taunts • Court move over Neymar purchase angers Barcelona Fowler: I learned lesson over homophobic abuse Robbie Fowler has insisted it would not be a problem for any footballer to come out as gay, and says he learned a valuable lesson from…

Saturday Sundae: Palace's Puncheon red-faced, Johnson lifts Sunderland

Sunderland's Adam Johnson hits three against Fulham; Crystal Palace's Jason Puncheon left looking a Twitter twit MAN OF THE DAY Sunderland's three-goal nearly man Adam Johnson : made the most of René Meulensteen's Fulham revolution. RUNNER-UP Big unloved Sam: took on and humbled in‑vogue…

Fifa's stance on homophobia is failing gay footballers | Observer editorial

Thomas Hitzlsperger's announcement should spur football's governing body into more positive action When the recently retired German footballer Thomas Hitzlsperger announced he was gay last Wednesday , there was an eclectic chorus of cheerleaders: David Cameron to Angela Merkel; Joey Barton to the…

From the Observer archive, 10 January 1971: George Best and Bobby Moore – peas in a pod?

Both players made headlines for the wrong reasons, but the parallels end there Bobby Moore and George Best have so much in common, especially in a week when their crass misdemeanours have forced them to share embarrassing headlines, that many people will fail to identify the vast dissimilarities in…

Can Manuel Pellegrini win all four trophies?

There was one conundrum waiting for Manuel Pellegrini when he first arrived in Manchester. How could a man who had never won a major trophy in European football meet chairman Khaldoon al-Mubarak's target of five in as many years?

Goals galore: Strikers in the top Leagues are hitting the net at a rate not seen since Greaves, Puskas and Di Stefano

Mark Hughes may be hoping to upset expectations against Liverpool today, but there is one inevitability he is resigned to.

Stoke City v Liverpool: Simon Mignolet keeping Liverpool in league title hunt ahead of Britannia Stadium test

The Belgian goalkeeper has kept six clean sheets already this season to keep Liverpool in contention towards the top of the table        

Culture shock for Solskjaer - Mackay

Malky Mackay feels Cardiff successor Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will face "a culture shock" as he adapts to the Premier League.

Manchester United manager David Moyes hoping close in on loan deal for Real Madrid defender Fabio Coentrao

Portuguese may join Premier League champions on loan from Real Madrid for rest of season. Jason Burt reports