Forest lodge complaint over officiating in Man City defeat - reports

Nottingham Forest have filed a complaint with England's professional referees body (PGMOL) over the officiating in their 2-1 Premier League defeat at Manchester City on Saturday, British media reported, Reuters reported. 

The club contacted PGMOL on Monday to request the VAR audio from the match, the reports said.

Forest manager Sean Dyche said after the match that Rayan Cherki’s 83rd-minute winner should have been disallowed for a foul on Morgan Gibbs-White in the build-up, according to Reuters. 

South Africa edge Zimbabwe 3-2 to book knockout place

Oswin Appollis scored a penalty in the final 10 minutes to hand South Africa a 3-2 victory over Zimbabwe in Marrakech on Monday and seal second spot in Group B at the Africa Cup of Nations, dumping their southern African rivals out of the tournament, Reuters reported. 

South Africa finish with six points in the group, one behind winners Egypt. Both of those advance to the last 16 as Angola (2) finish in third and face an anxious wait to see if that is enough as one of the four best third-placed sides.

South Africa led three times in the game thanks to a first international goal from Tshepang Moremi, as well as strikes from Lyle Foster and Appollis, but coach Hugo Broos will be concerned by how open his side were at times at the back, according to Reuters. 

Unbeaten Egypt find balance under Hassan at Africa Cup of Nations

When Hossam Hassan was appointed Egypt coach in early 2024, taking charge of a team largely accustomed to foreign managers over the past decade, serious questions were raised about his credentials, Reuters reported. 

Egypt's all-time leading scorer enjoys iconic status as a former prolific striker with a glittering playing career, but he had achieved little success as a coach at a handful of Egyptian clubs.

Almost two years into his tenure, however, Egypt appear to be heading in the right direction. They sealed smooth passage to the Africa Cup of Nations knockout stage with seven points in their group, ending a run of six successive draws across the past two editions of the tournament, according to Reuters. 

FIFA received 150 million World Cup ticket requests, Infantino says

FIFA President Gianni Infantino defended the ticket prices for next year's World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico, citing heavy demand for them and the revenue generated for the sport around the world, Reuters reported. 

This month fan groups criticised the cost of tickets , which were several times more expensive than those for similar matches at the 2022 tournament. FIFA then launched a $60 ticket tier to make the games more affordable for fans of qualified teams.

"We have six-seven million tickets on sale ... in 15 days, we received 150 million ticket requests. So, 10 million ticket requests every single day. It shows how powerful the World Cup is," Infantino said on Monday at the World Sports Summit in Dubai, according to Reuters.