Livermore to escape action
JAKE LIVERMORE will not face any FA punishment over his row with an abusive West Ham fan.
The West Brom midfielder, below, has been gently reminded by the FA that he must not react to the actions of supporters whatever the circumstances, largely for his own safety.
Livermore leapt into the crowd and got involved in a confrontation with a spectator while being substituted in last week’s 2-1 defeat at the London Stadium.
A Hammers fan reportedly told him “losing a baby is no excuse for failing a drugs test” in reference to Livermore testing positive for cocaine a year after losing his son during childbirth.
The player had to be restrained by stewards and led away to the dressing room to prevent the situation escalating. West Ham have identified the culprit and are now taking measures to ban him from home games for a lengthy amount of time. Livermore and West Brom sent their observations on the incident to the FA last week and the player has now been written to by the governing body. The FA also looked into West Ham’s conduct and are happy the club are dealing with the matter. ENGLAND will host Nigeria and Costa Rica in World Cup warm-up friendlies in June.
The Three Lions will take on Nigeria at Wembley on June 2 and then Costa Rica at Elland Road five days later, before heading to Russia.
Gareth Southgate, right, and his side are in World Cup Group G, along with Tunisia, Panama and Belgium. England already have two friendlies lined up for March, against Holland in Amsterdam and Italy at Wembley. WEST HAM have made a £19million bid for Anderlecht midfielder Leander Dendoncker, 22. Dendoncker, left, who has four caps for Belgium, is normally a defensive midfielder but can also play at centre-back. West Ham are also in advanced talks over an £11m deal for Newcastle’s Jonjo Shelvey, 25, but the North-east club will only sell if they find a replacement. ●SHEFFIELD UNITED have signed Wolves midfielder Lee Evans and completed a loan deal for Manchester United striker James Wilson.