
Mauricio Pochettino rules himself out of contention for Tottenham job
Mauricio Pochettino has dismissed the idea of a return to former club Tottenham to replace Ange Postecoglou as 'not realistic'.
Spurs are seeking a new head coach having sacked Postecoglou just 16 days after leading the club to Europa League glory, their first trophy in 17 years.
United States boss Pochettino ended a five-year stay at Tottenham in November 2019, having helped Spurs reach the final of the Champions League that year.
The Argentinian signed a two-year contract to become US head coach last September and is expected to lead the team into next year's home World Cup.
Speaking after his side's 2-1 friendly defeat to Turkey in Connecticut, Pochettino told reporters: 'After I left in 2019, every time that I was free, and the place of the position of the manager or head coach in Tottenham Hotspur, my name is appearing on the list.
'If you have seen the rumours, I think there are 100 coaches in the list. I think, don't be worried about that.
'If something happened, for sure you will see, but we cannot talk about this type of thing, because I think today, it's not real. It's not realistic.
'Look at where I am, where we are. And the thing is, the answer is so clear, no? But we're talking about it because it's my club, like Newells or Espanyol.'
Brentford boss Thomas Frank is reported to be the leading contender to replace Postecoglou, with Crystal Palace's Oliver Glasner, Fulham manager Marco Silva and Andoni Iraola of Bournemouth also linked with the post.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Daily Mail
30 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Olympic legend Simone Biles says Riley Gaines looks like a man in furious attack on anti-trans commentator
has launched a scathing attack on Riley Gaines, comparing her to a man after the former swimmer criticized a Minnesota high school softball team for competing with a trans player. Gaines, 25, has forged a career as a political commentator following her time as a swimmer, where she competed against trans athlete Lia Thomas. On Friday, Gaines retweeted a picture of Minnesota team Champlin Park celebrating the state high school title that they won with transgender pitcher Marissa Rothenberger on the team. 'Comments off lol,' Gaines wrote in response to the post. 'To be expected when your star player is a boy.' It sparked a blistering response from Biles, 28, who first criticized Gaines's view and then compared her appearance to a man. Biles wrote: 'You're truly sick, all of this campaigning because you lost a race. Straight up sore loser. 'You should be uplifting the trans community and perhaps finding a way to make sports inclusive or creating a new avenue where trans feel safe in sports. Maybe a transgender category in all sports!! 'But instead… You bully them… One things for sure is no one in sports is safe with you around!!!!! She then tweeted at Gaines again, saying: 'Bully someone your own size, which would ironically be a male.' Critical: Biles attacked Gaines on X on Friday night after her latest remarks on trans athletes Gaines replied: 'This is actually so disappointing. It's not my job or the job of any woman to figure out how to include men in our spaces. 'You can uplift men stealing championships in women's sports with YOUR platform. Men don't belong in women's sports and I say that with my full chest.' She continued: 'My take is the least controversial take on the planet. Simone Biles being a male-apologist at the expense of young girls' dreams? Didn't have that on my bingo card. Maybe she could compete in pommel horse and rings in 2028.' Gaines then addressed Biles mocking her appearance, saying: 'And the subtle hint at "body-shaming" ???? Plzzzz I'm 5'5".' Sage Steele, the former ESPN reporter who has also been a vocal critic of trans athletes, backed Gaines up with a fiery tweet of her own. She wrote: 'Easy to say this Biles when you only had to compete against fellow women. Every one of your Olympic medals came competing against fellow women. 'Riley Gaines was not only forced to compete against a man, but forced to share a locker room with a man. That is sick. Shocked and disappointed that you'd attack another woman who has done nothing but uplift other women. 'If you think it makes sense to create a league for trans people, go for it! Use that huge platform of yours! But to attack Riley for what she has done for little girls who want to be the next Simone Biles is……..sick.' Biles also gave a savage reply to a Trump voter that wrote back to her: 'Simone, there is a reason they have rings in men's gymnastics, and not women's. Male athletes have a biological advantage over female athletes. That will never changes.' Biles wrote back: 'Can you even read? I see we are lacking comprehension skills as well…..' The gymnast has offered no further comment other than to retweet her original post calling Gaines 'sick'. It came as Gaines also referenced the horrific abuse Biles and other gymnasts suffered at the hands of pedophile doctor Larry Nassar in her comments. 'All the horrific sexual abuse Biles witnessed and spoke out against caused by one man, yet believes women should be forced to strip naked in front of men to validate the man's feelings,'she posted on X following the gymnastics legend's attack. 'You know how many gold medals you'd have if your "inclusive" dream came true? Zero.' Gaines doubled down, sharing a clip of Biles testifying before Senate about the abuse suffered at the hands of the former team doctor. Alongside it, she posted a screengrab of Biles's tweet. She wrote: 'Simone Biles when she had to endure a predatory man Vs Simone Biles when other girls have to endure predatory men.' Gaines later clarified her position, insisting that she hopes Nassar 'spends the rest of his life rotting away and miserable in prison'. She said that the gymnasts were 'failed by a system that protected an abusive man at the expense of the girls' safety.' However, she claimed that female athletes were equally being failed by the same system amid the gender row sweeping through sport. Nassar was a leading doctor at Michigan State and with USA Gymnastics, but used his position within those organizations to sexually abuse young women under the guise of treatment at the now-closed Karolyi Ranch National Team Training Center in Huntsville, Texas. He was sentenced in federal court in 2017 to 60 years in prison on charges of possessing child sex abuse material. The following year, Nassar was sentenced to up to 175 years and up to 125 years, respectively, in two separate Michigan courts for molesting female gymnasts under his care. Biles publicly broke her silence in January 2018, revealing in a powerful tweet that she was one of Nassar's victims. In 2019, Biles revealed that the trauma of the assaults had left her struggling with suicidal thoughts.


The Guardian
40 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Booming US gambling industry a ‘highway without speed limits', top regulator warns
The US gambling industry has become a 'highway without speed limits', according to a top state regulator, as the nationwide gambling boom continues at pace. Jordan Maynard, chair of the Massachusetts gaming commission, urged lawmakers in Washington to consider nationwide rules on advertising by betting firms. Operators have spent years lobbying against a federal crackdown. Nationwide exclusion lists, blocking gamblers who encounter problems like addiction from placing a bet anywhere in the country, are also 'ripe for a federal conversation', Maynard said in an interview with the Guardian. Like most gambling policies, such lists are currently state-focused, and often easily circumventable by crossing state lines. Maynard joined Massachusetts's gambling commission in August 2022, the same month sports betting was legalized in the state, and became the regulator's interim chair last spring. A permanent appointment followed in the fall. His relationship with operators has, at times, been strained. 'When I think about the industry right now, I see a highway without speed limits, cars without seatbelt dingers,' he said. 'Regulators are who put the seatbelt dingers in. I don't think the car manufacturers just woke up one day and decided to annoy whoever's driving the car until they put their seatbelt on. 'And so I think that's the perfect place for a regulator to be: to come in and say, you know, we're not going to prevent every crash that could happen, right? But what we're going to do is make sure that people are educated in what they're doing; that they're trained up to a certain standard before they ever do it; make sure that those who seek to benefit economically from this industry are held to high standards.' Online sports betting has surged since 2018, when the US supreme court struck down a decades-old law that prohibited the practice across much of the country. 'And we're really early on in this process,' said Maynard. The industry has moved fast – sports betting is now legal in 37 states – and pushed back hard against many proposed regulations. While lobbyists for legal operators insist they are heavily regulated, they have bluntly dismissed calls for federal action, and resisted restrictions put forward by states. Legal online gambling operators have spent years pushing to attract millions of users to their platforms, and generate more money from those users, as the nascent market continues its rapid expansion. 'I do want to construct a partnership,' Maynard said, of his work with the industry. 'But there is a [need to be] regulated, and there is a regulator.' Gambling regulators typically have two primary goals: to protect the legal betting market, which generates welcome tax dollars for their state; and shield the state's citizens from harm, amid mounting concerns over the social impact of gambling's rise. 'A lot of people try to figure me out as a regulator. It's really, really simple,' said Maynard. 'I'm not thinking about big business … I'm thinking about: how does this affect the patrons and the citizens of Massachusetts?' Operators have not always welcomed his scrutiny. A year ago, two months into Maynard's interim stint as chair, the commission hosted a public roundtable on how, when and why betting platform operators placed limits on gamblers, amid claims that some who routinely won had faced restrictions. At the last minute, the industry swerved en masse. Ten gambling firms operating in Massachusetts, after initially signaling they would attend, turned down the invitation and requested a private meeting instead. 'Transparency is key to integrity,' Maynard said, as he opened the roundtable. When another was held last fall, the industry showed up. 'They were worried about having the conversation in public,' reflected Maynard. 'My job is not to increase profits for the operators. That's not my job. My job is to balance the equities and to cure any inequities. And so I didn't take it personally.' Artificial intelligence is, meanwhile, transforming the gambling sector. 'If operators are using technology to target bettors, that technology can be used to promote healthy behaviors,' said Maynard. 'And I believe that a way that happens quicker is for regulators to get involved on the issue.' But when regulations and restrictions are proposed on sports betting, from curbing bets on specific student athletes to bans on in-game betting, the industry's legal operators and their representatives often warn such measures will create friction for gamblers – and risk driving them to illegal, unregulated platforms. Maynard has grown tired of this refrain. 'I don't like the unregulated market being used as the boogeyman to every operator for every reason,' he said. 'I don't want the legal market to race to be the illegal market. I want the illegal market to either not exist, or if it does exist, it's in a highly competitive space with what's regulated.' 'Some reasonable, rational friction is a good thing,' he added, citing the introduction of weapons detectors in casinos across Massachusetts. 'We did have to work on that. I mean, listen, it created friction. And we were told by the operators that it would create friction. I think a vast majority of patrons in Massachusetts would say that friction is well worth it to ensure that no guns hit the floor of the casino.' On college campuses and even in high school classrooms nationwide, concern has risen over the prevalence of underage gambling. 'This is a good opportunity for the operators,' observed Maynard, who has welcomed some adverts funded by industry. No one under the age of 21 in Massachusetts is supposed to wager on sports betting. 'I don't bury my head in the sand. I know that it's happening,' said Maynard. 'The question becomes: what can I do to ensure that it's not happening? And we are doing the best we can.' 'No kid wants to hear me lecture them on why they shouldn't be doing this,' he said. 'But you know, when the operators get involved … when athletes get involved, when the leagues get involved, I believe – and we're testing this, but I believe – that's where we can see some changes.' Officials across the US have struggled to gauge the scope and scale of offshore, illegal sports betting. Some studies have indicated the black market is vast, despite the legal market's boom in recent years. 'We're going to have to play Whac-a-Mole a little bit,' said Maynard, 'to combat the illegal market, while promoting the fact that the legal market has protection and oversights by the state that the illegal market doesn't have.' On this, and so many other issues, however, gambling regulators face an uphill battle. At times, Maynard sounded despondent. 'There are days I don't know if anyone cares about what we're doing,' he said, during one interview. Regulators across the board 'are not being respected' right now, he suggested, saying: 'I think that trickles across and down. It can be as wide as the industry, and down to the average citizen.' Ultimately, he believes the time has come to find gambling's speed limits and seat belts. 'When I lay down, I sleep really well,' he said.


BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Pochettino rules out Spurs return
Mauricio Pochettino has ruled himself out the running to succeed Ange Postecoglou, saying a return to Tottenham at this point is "not realistic".Postecoglou was sacked on Friday, despite leading the club to their first piece of silverware in 17 years with victory in the Europa whose five-year stay at Spurs came to an end in November 2019, has been linked with a return to north the Argentine, who was appointed United States manager in October 2024, says he is happy in his new role."Today it's not realistic," said Pochettino. "Look where I am. Look where we [his backroom staff] are. The answer is so clear."Since I left in 2019, my name has always been on the list [of rumours]. I've seen the rumours."If something happens [in the future], you for sure will see, but I am so happy in this moment and we cannot talk about this type of thing."