Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho said Son Heung-min had suffered enough as he confirmed the club would appeal against the red card the South Korean received against Chelsea.

Mikel Arteta got off to an underwhelming start as Arsenal manager with a 1-1 draw at Bournemouth as Chelsea slumped to another shock home reverse, losing 2-0 to Southampton, on Boxing Day.

From the tragic death of Argentine footballer Emiliano Sala to motor racing legend Niki Lauda and South Africa's 1995 Rugby World Cup champion Chester Williams, AFP Sport looks at some of the notable sporting figures who passed away in 2019:

- Emiliano Sala, 28 -

Paul Pogba has been hailed as the "best midfielder in the world" by Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after the Frenchman returned from a long injury lay-off.

Matches held up by wildlife and underwear protests, chickens in danger in Croatian football and offside armpits.

The action was spectacular, exciting and colorful for 12 months around the globe, but the thrilling and sometimes surprising images also caught the wider significance of modern sport. 

Lazio returned to a heroes welcome in Rome on Monday after their thrilling 3-1 Italian Super Cup victory over Juventus in Riyadh which ended Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo's five-year victorious run in finals.

The British government called on football chiefs Monday to do more to rid the sport of racism, but stopped short of launching a full-scale inquiry demanded by the domestic players' union following the latest incident in the English game.

Kylian Mbappe is putting himself forward for the French team at next summer's Tokyo Olympics, while adding that he would not want to fight his club Paris Saint-Germain over participation.

Pep Guardiola has said he would back his players if they ever found themselves compelled to walk off during a game in protest against racist abuse.