‘I won’t accept it’

‘Shame’ of penalty pantomime overshadows big Chelsea win for Pochettino

Mauricio Pochettino said he will not accept seeing his players squabble over penalty duties after his biggest win as Chelsea boss was marred by teammates fighting to take a spotkick on Monday night.

Cole Palmer eventually took responsibility to score his fourth goal in a 6-0 rout of Everton to move the Blues to within three points of the Premier League’s top six.

However, a night to savour for Pochettino was soured by Noni Madueke and Nicolas Jackson having to be forcibly removed by captain Conor Gallagher to allow Palmer to continue his perfect record from the spot this season with the score at 4-0.

“It’s a shame,” said Pochettino. “I was telling the players. We had a meeting with all the staff, I think we cannot behave in this way.

“I told them this is the last time I accept this type of behaviour. It’s impossible after a performance like this to show this kind of behaviour.

“If we want to be a big team fighting for big things we have to think more of the collective ... I won’t accept that this happens again.”

Palmer’s ninth successful penalty of the campaign took him level with Manchester City striker Erling Haaland on 20 Premier League goals in the battle to win the Golden Boot.

Raheem Sterling pulled rank on his former City teammate when he missed a penalty in Chelsea’s FA Cup quarter-final win over Leicester last month.

Chelsea’s Argentinian head coach Mauricio Pochettino gestures on the touchline during the English

Premier League football match between Chelsea and Everton at Stamford Bridge in London on Monday.

Palmer was adamant he would remain on spot-kicks, but tried to play down the significance of the incident.

“Other players wanted to take it, but I am the penalty taker and I wanted to take it,” said Palmer.

“I think we are showing everyone is wanting to take responsibility. It may be a bit over the top, but everyone wants to win — we are laughing and joking about it.”

Meanwhile, Manchester United have spoken to Alejandro Garnacho after the winger liked social media posts criticising manager Erik ten Hag over his handling of the player.

The Argentina international, taken off at half-time in their 2-2 draw at Bournemouth on Saturday, liked two messages on X, by United fan and YouTuber Mark Goldbridge.

One post accused Ten Hag of “throwing [Garnacho] under the bus” because of comments the United boss made about the 19-year-old’s performance.

The other said Garnacho “had a poor first half, but taking him off at half-time and holding him up as the problem is a joke”.

Garnacho swiftly “unliked” both messages, an action the club believes shows contrition, and a United source told the PA news agency the matter had been dealt with internally.

The teenager has become a key player for United this season, scoring nine goals and providing four assists in 42 games.

The incident follows one in September when Jadon Sancho said on X that he had been made a “scapegoat” after being left out of the squad for the Arsenal match, with Ten Hag saying he had trained poorly.

Sancho said he would “not allow people saying things that [are] completely untrue”, interpreted as accusing Ten Hag of misrepresenting reasons why he was not in the side.

The 24-year-old was banished from the first team before being loaned to Borussia Dortmund in January.

Ten Hag’s position has come under renewed pressure after the draw against Bournemouth, which left United seventh in the Premier League table — 13 points off the top four.

The FA Cup is the only silverware that United can win this season — they take on second-tier side Coventry in the semi-final at Wembley on Sunday. — SuperSport.

Michael Foster (pictured) “grew up with sani2c”, and next week the 22-year-old heads to the 20th edition of KAP sani2c as a pro rider with the PYGA Euro Steel team of Phil Buys, Pieter du Toit and Jaedon Terlouw, as partners for the race.

“I just want to ride my bike fast,” he said.

The fascination with speed hit him at an early age, where, as a schoolboy volunteer standing on the finish line of day 1 at Mackenzie Club handing out Super Ms, he heard the announcer say that the record had just been broken for the first stage.

“I think it was two hours 40 something, and I remember so clearly thinking that I would break that record one day,” he said.

The Fosters are neighbours of the Haw family in Ixopo, and living next door to sani2c founder “Farmer Glen” Haw and attending Lynford school, Foster was bound to be exposed to the excitement of the event from an early age.

Lynford school is the original beneficiary of sani2c — started in 2005 to raise funds for the school that Haw’s children attended at the time.

Foster said that in the early days, the school closed for the week during sani2c so that the whole community could help: “When you got to Grade 5, 6 and 7 you could help at a water table, but when I was younger we were not in school so I went with my parents to help.

“My dad delivered drinks to the water stations really early in the morning and I can remember nodding off in the car.

“Once I fell asleep and fell off the tailgate of his bakkie, into the icy trough filled with Super Ms and water! From when I was in Grade R to now, the school has changed so much because of sani2c. Classrooms were built, and then a pool, and now there is a big hall, it’s a different place.”

Foster attended high school at Maritzburg College, and as a boarder in Pietermaritzburg he was less involved at sani2c for a few years as he pursued hockey and other school sports. College is also a beneficiary school of sani2c. They have run the water table at St Josephine Bridge from the beginning.

It wasn’t until he joined the school canoe club that Foster was back at sani2c: “I remembered the excitement from those days, and was in awe of the front guys who raced past and did not even stop for our sweets or water.

“I helped lube bikes again and chatted to the mechanics who were at the water table.”

Foster was in his matric year in 2020 when Covid-19 restrictions saw him at home on the farm, where he rode his bike, a lot: “When we eventually went back to school, team sport was not yet allowed, but we were able to run or bike around the school property.

“Brandon van der Walt, the canoeing coach, was a talent scout for Euro Steel and he noticed that I was riding about 40 km most days, and he introduced me to the PYGA Euro Steel guys.”

In 2021 and 2022 Foster began competing at as many races as he could, including his first KAP sani2c in 2021, when there was a solo category.

He came third in the solo race, with Nico Bell and Tristan Nortje ahead of him — both of whom have won sani2c in the past. Foster enjoyed local successes like winning the KZN XCO title in 2022, the Karkloof Classic, and the Ilovo Eston Classic.

After he placed U23 at the African XCO Champs in Windhoek in 2022 and then won the title in 2023, PYGA Euro Steel invited Foster to join their development team.

Foster partnered with Terlouw at Wines2Wales last year where they placed ninth and established a solid partnership, which continued at the Cape Epic in March, where the pair were 25th overall.

The KAP sani2c Race, from April 25 to April 27, now has a prologue taking place ahead of the start as the race is now UCI sanctioned. Only UCI-registered riders may take part in the prologue.

The trail — from April 23 to April 25 — is the e-bike race, with a podium and leader jerseys. E-bikes are not allowed to enter the race or adventure events.

The adventure starts on Wednesday, April 24, at Glencairn and finish on April 26 in Scottburgh.

— Supplied.