After the two faced off on the touchline during the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia on Tuesday, Inter Milan manager Roberto Mancini accused his counterpart at Napoli, Maurizio Sarri, of hurling various slurs at him.

Mancini made the accusations during an interview with Italian broadcaster Rai TV (via Marcus Christenson of the Guardian—warning: link contains strong language):    

The confrontation on the touchline? You have to ask Sarri about that, he is a racist. People like him does not belong in football. He used racist words. I stood up to ask about the five minutes being added on and Sarri shouted ‘p–f’ and ‘f—-t’ at me. I would be proud to be that if he is what’s considered a man. People like him should not be in football. He is 60 years old. The fourth official heard but didn’t say anything. He came to see me in the changing room to apologise but he should really be ashamed of himself.

Sarri neither confirmed nor denied the allegations, per Rai Sport (via Italian football journalist Adam Digby):

Napoli goalkeeper Pepe Reina came to his manager’s defense.

“I don’t know precisely what the coach said, but when you are annoyed you say many things,” Reina said to Rai Sport (via Football Italia). “If he was wrong, he’ll be the first to admit that. Obviously these are things that should remain on the pitch. Many times people say things they don’t really believe.”

It’s no secret world football has a history with acts of racism and homophobia, particularly by supporters inside the stadium. The sport’s governing bodies can’t possibly eradicate what are societal issues, but they can deliver stiff punishments to those found guilty of committing the act(s).

Should the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) investigate Mancini’s claims and find Sarri did use homophobic slurs, then the Napoli manager deserves to be suspended.

Chalking up the transgression to a heat-of-the-moment mistake isn’t an excuse, and standing on the touchline of a football pitch doesn’t give a manager carte blanche to use offensive words or phrases.

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Manchester United are reportedly preparing a significant bid for Edinson Cavani in an attempt to prise the unhappy striker away from Paris Saint-Germain.

According to Italian newspaper Corriere Dello Sport (via Metro‘s Jamie Sanderson), United are set to make a “huge offer” for the Uruguayan as they look to see off interest from elsewhere.

Sport Witness provided some more specifics of the report, indicating that the Italian outlet quoted Cavani’s value at between €30 million (£22.9 million) and €40 million (£30.6 million), and that Juventus and Inter Milan are the interested clubs from Serie A:

Cavani has long been rumoured to be unhappy at PSG, where he is consistently in the shadow of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and is often forced to play on the left flank, rather than in his preferred centre-forward role.

He is still an efficient operator in front of goal, though, and he has netted 10 times in 17 Ligue 1 appearances this season, per WhoScored.com.

At United he could undoubtedly link up well with Wayne Rooney, while his arrival would take the pressure off Anthony Martial, the 20-year-old having been burdened with far too much responsibility in his first Premier League season due to a lack of alternative options.

However, Cavani is no spring chicken—in footballing terms—as he is set to turn 29 years old next month and likely has only a couple of years left at his peak.

Shelling out more than £20 million for him could prove to be bad business from United, but there would be definite benefits to adding more experience to the Red Devils front line.

He would surely also be a better proven strike addition than rumoured United target Yoshinori Muto, the Mainz striker whom Bleacher Report’s Dean Jones recently suggested would be a risky buy for the Red Devils:

Meanwhile, Martin Lipton in the Sun reported that Leicester City’s Kasper Schmeichel could be brought into Manchester United if David de Gea leaves the club for Real Madrid. 

According to the report, Los Blancos want to sign goalkeeper De Gea in the current transfer window before they are slapped with their registration ban, and United assistant manager Ryan Giggs sees Schmeichel as a possible successor.

The Welshman played with Schmeichel’s father, Peter, early in his career, but it is not necessarily just a nostalgic link.

The 29-year-old shot-stopper has been one of high-flying Leicester’s standout players this season, and he has established himself among the Premier League’s best, per the Times‘ Henry Winter:

However, it seems highly unlikely that United will be signing Schmeichel any time soon, not least because the chances of De Gea, 25, moving to Real in the current window are very slim, per Jeremy Cross in the Daily Star.

As one of the world’s best ‘keepers, De Gea will remain the No. 1 at United as long as he is fit and available, and the Red Devils do not need another backup stopper.

One player who could be on his way out of Old Trafford imminently, though, is Marouane Fellaini, who is reportedly a key target for AC Milan, with United asking for £19 million for the Belgian, per Italian source Calciomercato (via talkSPORT).

The towering midfielder was brought to Manchester by David Moyes for £27.5 million in 2013, but he has never really fit in at the club.

He is often used by Louis van Gaal as a utility player, but he is hardly a first-team regular and would not be hugely missed at Old Trafford—although their midfield depth would be affected.

However, United are clearly not eager to let him go on the cheap and Milan will have to shell out a decent chunk of cash to sign him up.

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Nemanja Vidic was officially released by Inter Milan on Monday, bringing the veteran centre-back’s tenure with the Nerazzurri to an unceremonious end.   

Per Football Italia, the club released a statement to clarify the decision was one of mutual consent.

Vidic joined Inter in 2014 after a lengthy and successful career with Manchester United, but he failed to replicate his form in Serie A. He had yet to appear in a match this season after undergoing hip surgery.

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Paris Saint-Germain and Toulouse meet for the second time in three days when the pair face each other in the Coupe de France round of 32 at Parc des Princes on Tuesday.

With a Coupe de la Ligue semi-final to come, this encounter is the second of three between the two clubs in the space of just 11 days.

Date: Tuesday, January 19

Time: 9:00 p.m. CET (8:00 p.m. GMT/3:00 p.m. EST)

Venue: Parc des Princes, Paris

TV Info: Eurosport (France) and beIN Sports/beIN Sports Ñ (USA)

Live Stream: beIN Sports Connect

Preamble

PSG and Toulouse met as recently last Saturday in Ligue 1, but they will face each other on the pitch again on Tuesday—this time in the Coupe de France.

The Ligue 1 leaders won 1-0 at Stadium Municipal last weekend, but Dominique Arribage’s men gave Les Parisiens’ heavily rotated side a stern test.

Laurent Blanc’s team will be expected to advance to the round of 16, but with Le President likely to field a weakened starting XI, Le Tefece will fancy their chances of springing a surprise in Paris.

PSG are the current holders of the Coupe de France, but Blanc has made it clear that the competition will not be a major priority for his players this season.

With this in mind, TFC may well be targeting this meeting as the most winnable out of the pair’s January trilogy.

Form Lines (all competitions)

PSG

W 0-1 vs. Inter Milan (Friendly)

W 0-1 vs. ES Wasquehal (Coupe de France)

W 2-0 vs. SC Bastia (Ligue 1)

W 2-1 vs. Olympique Lyonnais (Coupe de la Ligue)

W 0-1 vs. Toulouse (Ligue 1)

Toulouse

D 1-1 vs. Lille OSC (Ligue 1)

W 0-5 vs. Entente Sannois Saint-Gratien (Coupe de France)

W 1-3 vs. Stade de Reims (Ligue 1)

W 2-1 (AET) vs. Olympique de Marseille (Coupe de la Ligue)

L 0-1 vs. PSG (Ligue 1)

Predicted Formations

PSG (4-3-3): Sirigu; Van der Wiel, Aurier, Kimpembe, Kurzawa; Stambouli, Verratti, Rabiot; Lavezzi, Ibrahimovic (c), Cavani.

Toulouse (4-4-2): Lafont; Tisserand, Spajic, Diop, Matheus; Doumbia, Somalia, Akpa-Akpro (c), Trejo; Braithwaite, Ben Yedder.

Player to Watch Per Side

PSG got a good look at Toulouse’s danger man, Wissam Ben Yedder, when the pair met last Saturday. The French champions may well have won at Stadium Municipal, but the 25-year-old caused them plenty of problems in defence.

The Frenchman has 10 goals from his last 10 appearances across all competitions, and he will be trying to keep his current hot streak of form going in the capital on Tuesday.

As for PSG, Edinson Cavani will be the hosts’ player to watch. After a number of poor performances and complaints about his attitude, the Uruguay international has been dropped by Blanc for the last few games and needs to prove a point.

El Matador started on the bench for the 1-0 win over Toulouse over the weekend, but he was introduced after 18 minutes because of Javier Pastore’s injury.

Cavani failed to impress—again—so badly needs a good performance in front of goal to get some of his critics, not to mention the PSG fans, off his back.

Key Battle

If Toulouse can replicate their performance from last Saturday at Parc des Princes on Tuesday, then the big question will be whether or not they can penetrate PSG’s defence.

With Thiago Silva expected to be back from injury—although only on the bench—Marquinhos rested after suffering a knock over the weekend and David Luiz struggling with discomfort in his back, young Presnel Kimpembe should start for the hosts.

It could be a huge chance for the 20-year-old to impress, but equally, Toulouse’s Ben Yedder and Martin Braithwaite will see it as a chance for them to exploit a weaker than usual PSG back line and secure a surprise win for Le Tefece.

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Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema left the pitch with an ankle injury during Los Blancos’ La Liga match against Sporting Gijon on Sunday.

Continue for updates.

Benzema Injury Caused by Madrid Team-Mate

Sunday, January 17

Benzema’s outing against Sporting Gijon came to a sudden end when he took an accidental kick to the ankle from team-mate James Rodriguez, per ESPN FC’s Dermot Corrigan.

He was able to walk around, but manager Zinedine Zidane made the decision to take him off the pitch and bring on Mateo Kovacic regardless, per the club’s official Twitter account.

The France international’s absence would be a blow to Los Blancos as they vie for the La Liga title with archrivals Barcelona and Atletico Madrid.

The forward is a regular contributor of goals, so Real will miss his clinical finishing, not to mention his creativity and ability to link up well with Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo.

In his stead, Zidane has few forward options and could turn to the relatively untested Jese to fill in for Benzema.

Alternatively, the Frenchman could opt to field another midfielder and push Ronaldo into a central striking role—though that was something Zidane’s predecessor, Rafael Benitez, tried out with mixed results.

Ronaldo might just have to put up with a temporary switch to centre-forward, though, as adding another midfielder would allow Zidane to make more use of £24.5 million summer signing Kovacic, who has largely been restricted to the bench since arriving from Inter Milan. 

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