I Dig Sports
Tower Tops Tumultuous, Rough-and-Tumble LMP2 Affair
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. Tower Motorsports found itself atop the pylon at the end of a competitive, chaotic and dramatic Rolex 24 At Daytona within the 12-car Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) class full of ORECA LMP2 07 cars.
The quartet of Sebastien Bourdais, John Farano, Sebastian Alvarez and Job Van Uitert shared the winning No. 8 ORECA, emerging almost clear of trouble while contenders rose and fell like the temperatures over the 24-hour endurance classic.
Three such challengers dropped out in the eighth hour when Louis Deletrazs No. 40 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac V-Series.R spun and came back on course exiting Turn 2. The resulting contact eliminated the No. 2 United Autosports USA and No. 73 Pratt Miller Motorsports ORECAs, while despite incurring damage the No. 8 Tower car kept going.
By the halfway point, it appeared the second United entry, the Motul Pole Award-winning No. 22 car, along with defending class champions Inter Europol Competitions No. 43 car and AO Racings Spike No. 99 car were set to challenge. Penalties took the No. 22 and 43 down the order and heartbreak befell the No. 99 once the final couple hours happened.
AOs No. 99 car, with Christian Rasmussen driving, dropped out of the fight with just over 80 minutes remaining. The car pitted with a low battery warning and the team diagnosed the issue under the rear deck lid, losing several laps and ending Spikes victory charge. This car led a race-high 280 of 765 laps.
Era Motorsport, then, appeared in position to repeat its 2024 win with an adjusted lineup in its No. 18 ORECA, courtesy of a strategic move to take fuel only on its final stop before the last 40 minutes. Those hopes went away when Mathias Beches No. 52 PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports car hit Paul-Loup Chatins No. 18 Era car into a spin at Turn 1. Beches No. 52 car was assessed a drive-through penalty for incident responsibility.
That promoted the Tower car, which kept enough relative momentum alive to stay in contention, back to the lead. Bourdais added his third Rolex 24 win, first in LMP2 to pair with a Prototype and overall win in 2014 and a GT Le Mans win with Ford in 2017, while his trio of teammates, Farano, Alvarez and Van Uitert all secured their first victories and combined to lead 118 laps.
Bourdais even admitted post-race that the rough-and-tumble affair extended to his co-driver Farano, who fought through back pain to keep driving and complete his stints.
I was part of the big one, big time, Bourdais explained. The car over my left fender, a car over my right fender and I dont think I had time to back off because I made contact because I was in the gearbox of the Pratt Miller car and it all came to a stop. It was like Days of Thunder.
Yeah, honestly, when it all cleared in front of me and the car still had four wheels on it and the steering wheel was straight, I was like, man, this is just a miracle.
For Bourdais, its also his second straight IMSA win albeit in a very different driving situation. With the end of the Cadillac Chip Ganassi Racing program in GTP after the 2024 Motul Petit Le Mans season finale, Bourdais shifted into the highly competitive LMP2 class to remain in the IMSA paddock.
Its almost like it was awarded to us in some respect because it seemed for a minute that nobody wanted to win it, Bourdais laughed. Ive rarely seen someone torpedo another car like Beche did with Paul-Loup. It was just one incident like this after another in front of us or behind us or around us.
It was a weird race, but we had hopes at times. Sometimes it felt like it was a bit hopeless, and to come out on top no matter how you got there at some point, its just one of those races where nobody remembers how you got there, and personally its my third, but it never gets old winning. Im really happy that we could bring the result for John whos been running after that Rolex for a little while.
Despite some setbacks throughout, the No. 22 United car rebounded to a runner-up finish, courtesy of polesitter Daniel Goldburg sharing the car with Paul Di Resta, Rasmus Lindh and James Allen. That car finished 44.697 seconds in arrear of the Tower car.
Riley completed the podium with its No. 74 LMP2 entry, co-driven by Felipe Fraga, Gar Robinson, Josh Burdon and Felipe Massa.
CHICAGO Before getting too far into the New Year, lets recognize Chicago area track and association champions for the 2024 season.
Eddie Hoffman racked up another late model championship at the Grundy County Speedway his record ninth at the third-mile paved oval. Piloting his familiar Chevy No. 8 to two feature wins during the campaign, the second-generation racer now has 155 career wins at the speed plant. Hoffman has won five of the last seven track championships at Grundy, including two-in-a-row.
Blake Brown, James Gregait, Dave Gentile Jr and D.J. Weltmeyer finished behind Hoffman in the standings.
Grundy crowned 10 track champions. In addition to Hoffman, champions were Kevin Murphy (Mid-Am sportsman) his third career title, Ryan Dawson (street stocks), Landon Hocking (pure stocks-four cylinders), Jake Gille (Big 8 late models), David Einhaus (Crown Vic), Alex Treptow (enduro), Jason Martindale (High School Racing Assn), Jason Van His (sixers) and Hocking again (super cup).
Austin McCarty captured six feature wins on his way to winning the DIRTcar Pro Late Model title at Kankakee County Speedway. McCarty won his first Kankakee championship ahead of Chase Osterhoff and two-time division titlist Matt Hammond. Steven Brooks was the tracks modified champion, winning five times at the quarter-mile dirt oval. Jason Hastings and Travis Kohler finished behind Brooks, who was the speedways champion in 2022.
Deece Schwartz became a four-time champion of the tracks DIRTcar Pro Modified class. Also winning the championship in 2023, 2022 and 2020, Schwartz, with six feature wins to his credit, bested Ryan Kohler and Tom Knippenberg in points. Schwartz was also the DIRTcar Racing Pro Modified national champion, winning 15 features in 33 starts and grabbing his fourth straight national title.
Other Kankakee track champions were Braiden Keller (stock cars), Trevor Bitterling (factory stocks), Evan Eckhoff (sport compact), Matt Prodehl (Crown Vic) and Shannon Shutter (vintage).
Veteran Titus Sneed took home top honors in the limited late model division at Sycamore Speedway. Sneed, whose racing experience dates back to Santa Fe Speedway, captured five feature wins on the three-eighths clay oval and finished ahead of Corey Trump and four-time division champ Greg Cantrell.
Zach Zuberbier won his fourth Sycamore street stock championship, repeating titles that he won in 2022, 2018 and 2017. Other Sycamore champions were Alex Adams (pure stocks), Kevin Wolf (spectators), Brandon Ricker (socker stocks), Jaime Ricker (powder puff) and Joe Jackson (bonestock demo).
Jamie Lomax was the modified champion at Indianas Shadyhill Speedway. Lomax claimed seven feature wins on the dirt quarter-mile oval, winning his fifth speedway crown since 2018. Lomax finished ahead of Jake Straka and Jordan Danford in the final points. Jace Owens was the tracks Rebel Late Model titlist, finishing ahead of Donita Hines and Chris Joseph.
Other Shadyhill champs were Lee Hobbs (stock cars), Hayden Lomax (bombers) and Ryker Shidler (four bangers).
In its third year back as a paved raceway, Plymouth (Ind.) Speedway saw Andrew DeVrees win the tracks outlaw late model crown. Other champions at the 0.375-mile paved oval were Cody Lollar (street stocks), Jonathon Gattor (modifieds), Zeek Gaeta (front wheel drive stocks) and Derek Danley (Factory Fords).
Fairbury American Legion Speedway crowned the following DIRTcar Racing champions: McKay Wenger (late models), Austin Freidman (modifieds), Steve Mattingly (sportsman) and Braiden Keller (street stocks).
The Interstate Racing Assn winged sprint car series saw Scott Thiel win the championship, scoring four feature wins along the way. Zach Raidart claimed the Wisconsin WINGless sprint car crown. Four feature wins propelled Wisconsin speedster Parker Jones to the Badger Midget Auto Racing Assn championship.
Jim Anderson won the Midwest Mayhem Midgets championship, winning five times and finishing ahead of Nick Grommes and Jim Hines. All 10 of the series programs took place at the Grundy County Speedway.
Wisconsins Gabe Sommers captured the ASA Midwest Tour late model championship for the second straight year, winning one main event on his way to another title. Michael Bilderback claimed his fifth career Big 8 Series late model crown.
Chicagoland driver Scotty Gardner captured the Mid-Am Racing Series stock car title and was also named the series rookie of the year. Gardner won two Mid-Am headliners in 11 starts. Chase Burda was the ASA CRA Super Series titlist with Blake Rowe winning the ASA CRA Jegs All-Stars championship. Casey Roderick was the ASA STARS National Tour titlist.
Illinois Jason Feger was the DIRTcar national late model champion for the second straight year. Winning the title also in 2009, Feger won 16 features in 61 starts. Another Illinois racer, Michael Long, won the DIRTcar national modified championship.
A high-profile performer was Illinois Bobby Pierce, who won 38 times in dirt late model action. Other notable performances were Mike McKinney capturing 18 main events in modified competition, Derek Losh winning 16 times in the modifieds and Brad DeYoung visiting 15 different tracks in eight states and winning eight modified features.
The year was not without sorrow as several members of the racing community passed away including legends Fred Lorenzen and Paul Goldsmith, who both had roots in the area. Others that passed included stock car drivers Dan Herhold, Tom Pasek, Dean Cicuto, Chuck Bostick, Terry Hull, Tootie Weyrauch, Dave Pries, Rick Wilson, Larry Steen, Roger Myers, Jim Henson, John Garrett, Denny James (Kwiatkowski), Merle Perzee, Tommy Kroll, Jack Annen, Jerry Welch, Bob Meyer, Mel Dorland and Joe Brueggmann.
Midget racers and supporters who left us include Dennis Dorsey (Dori), Ed Harman, Jim Piccirilli, Bob Guess, Al Harris, Laura Shreffler, Bernie Shreffler, Mark Schuck, Eleanor Vogler and Mickey Mikuska in addition to stock car owners, mechanics and sponsors Junior Marino, Bob Suttner, Bob Doherty and Fred Roempler.
Add to the list race official George Kuecker and members of the press Phil Rider and Pete Vercauteren, along with race car lettering artist Art Dexter.
Porsche Penske Claims Historic, Back-to-Back Rolex 24 Wins
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. Its the era of back-to-back for Team Penske.
In a two-year period where Roger Penskes racing teams and drivers have claimed a Rolex 24 At Daytona victory, the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) title, and back-to-back wins in the Indianapolis 500 and the NASCAR Cup Series championship, Felipe Nasr, Nick Tandy, and Laurens Vanthoor clinched a second consecutive overall and GTP class victory for Porsche Penske Motorsport in the Rolex 24 At Daytona.
Nasr crossed the finish line of Daytona International Speedways famed 3.56-mile tri-oval in the No. 7 Porsche just 1.335 seconds ahead of Tom Blomqvist in the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian Acura ARX-06 he shared with Colin Braun, Scott Dixon, and Felix Rosenqvist. The No. 6 Porsche with a driver lineup of Mathieu Jaminet, Matt Campbell, and Kevin Estre finished third, 4.423 seconds back after 24 hours of hard racing.
Blomqvist passed Campbell for second with just over four minutes remaining, denying Porsche its first 1-2 overall finish at the Rolex 24 since 1987, when the German marques iconic 962 model swept the first six places. Porsche has scored overall victory at Daytona on 24 occasions.
The modern iteration of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championships GTP class with its hybrid-powered prototypes is proving to be every bit as compelling as the legendary original, which ran from 1981 to 93. The Porsche 962 took overall victory at the Rolex 24 five times in that period.
Now the Porsche 963 could be on its way to compiling a similar record. The No. 7 car made the trip to Daytonas Victory Lane for the second consecutive year, on the heels of Nasr and Dane Cameron winning the GTP class championship in 2024.
Winning the championship last year was just the start of it, said Penske. This Porsche car we have has just been amazing, and to think we did it two years in a row is a credit to all the people from Porsche in Germany and our team here. Were truly one organization.
Nasr qualified the No. 7 Porsche third fastest and took the lead for the first time midway through the third hour. Meanwhile, the No. 6 moved up quickly after starting 10th. Once they reached the point, the Penske Porsches stamped their authority on the event, leading 517 of the 781 laps completed.
The No. 7 ran out front through most of the night before the No. 6 took command, leading a total of 210 laps to pace the field into the final hour.
Nasr lined up in third place for what turned out to be the final restart of the race (there were 14 caution periods). He pushed the No. 7 past Dries Vanthoor (the younger brother of Laurens) in the Motul Pole Award-winning No. 24 BMW M Team RLL BMW M Hybrid V8 with 38 minutes to go.
A furious battle between the two Porsches ensued until the 20-minute mark, when Nasr slipped past Campbell in the No. 6 at the Le Mans Chicane to take the lead. Campbell fought hard before finally conceding the position, causing some discomfort on the timing stand for Penske.
READ: Ford Mustang GT3 Claims First Global Win at 63rd Rolex 24
We had talked to the drivers about not racing each other, but obviously these guys are racers, Penske said. Fortunately, we didnt get into trouble.
Nasr said that electing to take four Michelin tires during the final pit stop was an important factor in the No. 7 cars win. The No. 6 had a faster final stop to maintain the lead, but Campbell was unable to match Nasrs pace down the stretch.
Nasr now owns the last two overall Rolex 24 wins and a Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) class triumph in 2022.
Its always hard to know what its going to end up like, but thats what I love about the IMSA racing, Nasr said. I felt like I had the pace to go forward, and thats what I did. The clock was running, so I had to go for it. I could see that the Acura was coming quick behind us, so we had to go. I made a clean pass (on Campbell), and that was it.
I wanted to win this race for sure, and I wanted to win for the team; on a personal level, doing it back-to-back is incredible, he added.
Sundays victory helped Tandy secure an unprecedented grand slam in endurance racing, with 24-hour overall race wins at Daytona, Le Mans, Nurburgring, and Spa-Francorchamps.
Records never really dawned on me until Laurens and I won at Spa in 2020 (in a GT-class Porsche), said Tandy, who also boasts a GT Le Mans class victory in the 2014 Rolex 24. Since that day, its definitely something I wanted to check off the list. To be the first person ever to do something is quite unbelievable, really.
Winning Daytona alone anyway is a massive standalone event and Im very proud to be sat here again, he added. Just winning one of those races overall would be an incredible career, so to get four, along with a few (Motul Petit Le Mans) and a few (Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of) Sebrings, is dream come true stuff.
Without Campbell as a buffer, Nasr had to watch his mirrors over the closing three laps. But Blomqvist was not able to get his Acura close enough to launch an attack.
We kind of struggled to be honest, especially with our rear tires and traction, said Blomqvist, the 2022 and 2023 Rolex 24 winner. At one point we thought it was going to be a real long day.
For the last stint, the car was just better not much to say, really, he continued. I didnt think I was going to have anything for them, but you never give up, right? I gave it all I had, and I think that was the best we could have done today. The Porsches were really strong.
Nine of the 12 entries in the GTP class were running at the end of the 24 hours, with three on the lead lap. The pole-winning No. 24 BMW claimed fourth, while the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac V-Series.R rounded out the top five.
The next round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is the 73rd running of the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, set for March 12-15 at Sebring Intl Raceway.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. In GTD, behind the class-winning No. 13 AWA Corvette were the No. 120 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) and the No. 27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo. AWA, which also won the Rolex 24 in Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3) in 2023, added a fifth win for a Corvette Racing-affiliated team to the Rolex 24.
Corvette driver Bell was admittedly emotional with his first victory in the famous race. As with the GTD PRO class, the final laps and closing minutes were both dramatic and challenging.
READ: Ford Mustang GT3 Claims First Global Win at 63rd Rolex 24
It means absolutely everything to me and this team, said Bell, who co-drove with Orey Fidani, Lars Kern and Marvin Kirchhoefer. The minute the checkered flag flew at Petit Le Mans (2024 season finale), its been 24-7 putting a car together to win the Rolex 24. The Porsches gave us quite a run and I give it to the competition for that.
Asked about the race-winning move, taking the lead with 10 laps remaining, Bell joked with a smile, I dont remember a damn thing.
His co-driver, Kirchhoefer conceded it was a competitive field, but the team also insisted the GTD class kept things a little cleaner than the GTD PRO class.
It was quite intense in every category especially the 30 minutes after a restart, we know restarts are crucial in IMSA race and what the fans love to see which can be nice or sometimes not nice, Kirchhoefer said.
The emotions were running very high, and you can tell how much it meant to the whole team. Everyone was super, super happy for the result. For the fans, for everyone I think it was kind of the best race finish you could ask for.
NEW YORK -- Jack Drury, one of the key acquisitions in the Colorado Avalanche's major trade last week, scored his first goal in his new uniform as his club outlasted the New York Rangers 5-4 on Sunday.
Artturi Lehkonen scored the tiebreaking goal with 14.7 seconds left and Mackenzie Blackwood made 33 saves for the Avalanche, who were playing on the back end of back-to-back games, having lost to the Boston Bruins on Saturday.
"It was pretty big," Colorado coach Jared Bednar said of the effort. "Just because, coming off two losses, it's not our most consistent segment. And tonight, in Game 51, with new guys in the lineup, we want to begin feeling good about our game, and tonight, [we had] good defensive conscience, good work in the offensive zone and created a bunch of chances."
Defenseman Cale Makar scored twice and assisted on the winning goal, while Juuso Parssinen also scored for the Avalanche, who won for the first time since acquiring Martin Necas and Drury in the league-rattling trade Friday that sent top Colorado scorer Mikko Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes.
Necas and Avalanche captain Nathan MacKinnon each had two assists in the victory.
"I thought he was great, I thought that whole line was good," Bednar said of Necas. "I think that Marty could have had three goals himself. He did a lot of good things."
MacKinnon concurred with his coach.
"He's been awesome," he said of Necas. "Pretty quick turnaround for him. So, with those circumstances, he's still looked unreal. The plays that he made tonight, with his speed, he's a great passer ... and he was everywhere."
The Rangers trailed 4-2 late in the second before defenseman Will Borgen scored at 18:05 followed by Artemi Panarin's 21st goal of the season to tie it at 15:02 of the third.
But after the Rangers failed to score on a late third-period power play, Lehkonen beat Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin to finish a slick passing play with Makar for his 20th goal.
"I thought we got good contributions throughout our lineup," Bednar said. "And to be able to stay with it, and end it that way, was nice."
Sam Carrick and Vincent Trocheck also scored for the Rangers, who lost for the first time in regulation since Jan. 4.
Drury opened the scoring with his fourth goal of the season. Makar made it 2-0 just 43 seconds later.
Carrick answered with his fifth of the season at 7:10. Trocheck followed with his 15th of the season at 8:36.
Makar scored his second of the game and 18th this season on the power play at 14:36 of the first. Makar leads all NHL defensemen with 56 points.
Shesterkin made 16 saves for the Rangers, who saw their four-game home winning streak snapped. New York is 8-2-3 in January.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Tottenham Hotspur head coach Ange Postecoglou has admitted that his job is not safe after the team succumbed to a 13th Premier League defeat of the season against Leicester City on Sunday.
Spurs took the lead through Richarlison in the first half, only for Jamie Vardy and Bilal El Khannouss to both net within five minutes after the restart.
Ruud van Nistelrooy's team, who had lost their previous seven league games, held out for the rest of the contest to earn a notable three points that moved them out of the relegation zone and piled more pressure on the Spurs' Australian coach, who saw his own team's winless streak in the division extend to seven.
Asked whether he should remain in the hot seat, Postecoglou said: "Who knows? A fair chunk will say no.
"When you are a manager of a football club, you can feel vulnerable and isolated, I don't feel that. The players are giving everything. I focus on that and try and support the players."
The former Celtic boss added that the defeat was a painful one, though he is not setting out to show critics that his methods work.
"Yeah, it hurts. It hurts a lot. The players gave everything again. We are going to look at a lot of things, but in terms of effort I can't ask any more of this group, things just didn't go our way today," Postecoglou said.
"It doesn't come into my conscious[ness] trying to convince people, I've been around long enough that people will judge where we are at the moment, which hasn't been good enough.
"In the next 10 days we should get some significant players back which will help. We still have fantastic opportunities to make an impact -- I'm sure that will happen."
The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium's atmosphere was souring even before the full-time whistle, with fans in some sections unfurling banners calling for change regarding the manager and at board level.
Protests against chairman Daniel Levy have grown louder in recent weeks as the team's form has slumped, though Postecoglou said he considered unifying the club as part of his remit.
"When I took the role I wanted to unify the club, focusing on the one thing. It hasn't worked out that way. It's understandable the fans aren't happy with the situation," he said.
"I don't speak regularly to [Levy] -- we have regular contact in particular during the January period. Players and staff are united in what we're trying to do. I'm not trying to convince people about we're heading. That's where I get the solace to say we can believe."
Spurs are 15th in the league table with 24 points from 23 games, eight points above the relegation zone. They play Elfsborg in the Europa League on Thursday before a trip to Brentford on Sunday.
Manchester United laboured to a 1-0 win away at Fulham on Sunday via Lisandro Martínez's deflected long-range effort.
Martínez's speculative strike in the 78th minute bounced off Sasa Lukic and looped over Bernd Leno in the home side's goal.
The win will come as welcome domestic respite for United head coach Ruben Amorim, who saw his team handily beaten by Brighton last weekend for a sixth defeat in nine games in the division.
GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images
Fulham came close to an equaliser in the final minutes, with academy graduate Toby Collyer clearing Joachim Andersen's header from a corner off the line.
Substitute Rodrigo Muniz had one final chance in stoppage time, but the striker blasted well over the bar from inside the penalty area.
Immediately afterwards, Amad looked to have sealed the three points in the dying moments after combining neatly with Kobbie Mainoo, but the goal was ruled out for offside.
"I think I was lucky, but an important win," Martinez told TNT Sports. "I am happy with the way we won the game. It doesn't matter who scores -- the most important is the three points.
"It means a lot. Not only to the fans, but for us because we have suffered a lot. It is a hard win, at this club the pressure is hard, but we are here. We know how difficult it is. Even a game like today we have to win and be humble after winning."
The result moves United into 12th in the league standings, four points behind Fulham in 10th.
"One shot on target from Man Utd -- a lucky deflection," Fulham coach Marco Silva said after the loss.
"We were the team that dominated more. We had two or three good moments to score but I don't remember one dangerous moment from Man Utd."
Barcelona snapped their four-match winless streak in LaLiga with an emphatic 7-1 victory over Valencia on Sunday, with Fermin Lopez scoring an impressive double and adding two assists.
De Jong opened the scoring after just three minutes with a right-footed shot that found the bottom left-hand corner.
Ferran Torres doubled the lead five minutes later when he latched onto Alejandro Balde's through ball. Raphinha then capitalised on a defensive error to make it 3-0 before the 15-minute mark.
Lopez added a fourth on 24 minutes and a fifth before the break with a powerful shot from the right.
Hugo Duro grabbed a consolation for Valencia after the break with a shot from close range. But Barcelona continued to dominate and substitute Robert Lewandowski added a sixth before an unfortunate own goal from Cesar Tarrega secured Hansi Flick's side victory.
Barcelona sit third in the standings with 42 points, three behind second-placed Atletico Madrid and seven behind leaders Real Madrid.
The police have launched investigations into "threats and abuse" aimed at referee Michael Oliver and his family after Myles Lewis-Skelly controversial red card in Arsenal's 1-0 victory at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday.
Oliver sent off Lewis-Skelly in the 43rd minute, with the Arsenal full-back deemed to have committed a serious foul play challenge on Matt Doherty.
The decision, which was supported by the VAR, received widespread criticism from pundits and supporters. Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta said he was "absolutely fuming" about Lewis-Skelly's dismissal.
Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), the body in charge of refereeing in English football, issued a statement on Sunday evening to reveal that Oliver had been subjected to attacks.
"We are appalled by the threats and abuse directed at Michael Oliver following the Wolverhampton Wanderers v Arsenal fixture," PGMOL's statement read. "No official should be subject to any form of abuse, let alone the abhorrent attacks aimed at Michael and his family over the past 24 hours.
"The police are aware, and a number of investigations have commenced. We are supporting Michael, and all those affected, and are determined to tackle this unacceptable behaviour.
"Sadly, this is not the first time a match official has been forced to deal with threats in recent times. We will continue to support all investigations."
The Premier League shared a statement of their own in support of Oliver.
"The Premier League strongly condemns the threats and abuse directed at Michael Oliver," it read. "No official should be subject to any form of abuse. We will continue to support Michael, PGMOL and all investigations."
Mike Dean took a step away from refereeing for a short period in 2021 after reporting death threats to the police. It came after a controversial decision to send off West Ham United midfielder Tomás Soucek against Fulham.
Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim said he would rather play his 63-year-old goalkeeper coach Jorge Vital in his team than Marcus Rashford unless the out-of-favor forward starts to "give the maximum every day in training and in life."
England international Rashford was left out of the team for the 11th successive game by Amorim during United's 1-0 Premier League win at Fulham on Sunday.
The 27-year-old said last month that he was ready to seek a "new challenge" away from Old Trafford after being dropped for United's 2-1 win against Manchester City at the Etihad on Dec. 15, but Rashford has so far been unable to find a new club during the January transfer window.
And despite strikers Rasmus Højlund and Joshua Zirkzee scoring just one goal between them since the beginning of December, Amorim said he would not restore Rashford to the team unless he changes his attitude.
"It's the same, it's always the same reason," Amorim said when asked why he continued to overlook Rashford. "The reason is the training, the way I see what footballers should do in training, in life, it's every day, every detail.
"So if things don't change, I will not change. It's the same situation for every player. If you do the maximum, if you do the right things, we can use every player. And you can see it today on the bench, we miss a little bit of pace to go and change the game, move some pieces.
"But I prefer it like that. I will put Vital on before I put a player on that don't give the maximum every day. So I will not change in that department."
Amorim, who arrived from Portuguese champions Sporting CP in November, celebrates his 40th birthday on Monday. But after the Fulham win, he said he feels much older after his brief stint at United.
"It's not 40 ... I'm 50!" he said. "After two months at Manchester United, it's 50. It's a privilege to spend my 40th birthday here. That feeling of winning and three points is really important for us. You cannot see a great improvement in the team and that is a fact, but to win helps us to improve.
"We've had some lack of luck in some games. Today, was not the best match but we managed to win. The important thing is I have a clear idea of what I want to do. Sometimes I'm frustrated. We want to play a different style and we are going to play a different style in the future."
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