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• John Fury appears to headbutt member of Team Usyk ahead of undisputed bout

  Tyson Fury's father John Fury was left with a nasty cut on his face after appearing to headbutt a member of Oleksandr Usyk's entourage at a pre-fight media day on Monday.

  WBC belt-holder Fury will face Usyk for the undisputed world heavyweight title in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Saturday, with both men defending undefeated professional records.

  With both fighters and their camps present at a hotel in the city for media duties on Monday, the build-up to their bout – the most eagerly anticipated in the heavyweight division in recent years – got off to a chaotic start.

  Fury's father was pictured with blood running down his forehead after becoming involved in an altercation with a man wearing a Team Usyk tracksuit.

  Widely shared footage on social media appeared to show him headbutting the man, who then had to be restrained by other members of Usyk's entourage.

  It was later reported that the Saudi Arabian authorities were aware of the incident but did not plan to take any action.    

• Zenden: Off-the-field uncertainty at Man Utd unhelpful for Ten Hag

  Boudewijn Zenden believes ongoings off the pitch at Old Trafford have not made Erik ten Hag's time at Manchester United any easier.

  Ten Hag's first season at Old Trafford was promising, finishing in the top four and ending the club's trophy drought as the Red Devils lifted the EFL Cup.

  However, Ten Hag's second season in Manchester has not reached the same standards, and though the club will face rivals Manchester City at Wembley in the FA Cup final later this month, United currently sit eighth in the Premier League, 14 points off the Champions League places.

  Ten Hag's tenure at Old Trafford has included a number of off-the-field incidents, with a fallout between himself and Jadon Sancho leading to the winger going out on loan to Borussia Dortmund, while Jim Ratcliffe also became co-owner of the club earlier this year.

  Zenden feels that events off the pitch have not made Ten Hag's job easy, as well as the lofty expectations that managing a club the size of United comes with.

  "I have a feeling a bit that at United, there's more going on than just the results, and that doesn't make it easy for Ten Hag," Zenden told Stats Perform. "As I said, you have the press, the pundits that all have their view on United.

  "That also comes probably with the frustration of the fact that United are one of the biggest clubs in the world that also had their time in Europe where they were very strong.

  "For that matter, they were a little bit off the pace, and that upsets people of course. You have to be able to guide the club, the team, the players, the crowd, everybody through that particular period and seize out the storm."

  With United stumbling in the Premier League, Ten Hag has come into increasing conflict with reporters of late.

  Ten Hag's countryman Arne Slot is reportedly in the frame for the Liverpool job with current incumbent Jurgen Klopp leaving at the end of the season.

  Zenden believes Slot's composure with the media will serve him well should he join Liverpool, an area where he feels Ten Hag has sometimes been lacking.

  "I think what could be in Slot's favour is that I think he's relatively calm in his press conferences," Zenden continued. "I don't think he will get tempted quickly to start an argument with the press.

  "I'm sure the press will be happy to try and lure him out to get a few controversial phrases out, but the way I look at it now, I think he's a little bit more composed.

  "This is something that maybe Ten Hag didn't help himself with also a few times this year. There's been a lot of upset. The results have not been what probably everybody would have expected."

• Desailly calls on LaLiga to do more to protect Vinicius Junior

  Marcel Desailly has called on LaLiga to do more to protect Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior and other players who have been targeted by racist abuse.

  Vinicius broke down at a press conference earlier this month as he opened up about the abuse he has received from the stands while representing Madrid.

  The Brazil international is not alone in that regard, with team-mate Aurelien Tchouameni another example, and World Cup winner Desailly wants more to be done.

  "Vinicius has spoken out, but it's not about him - it's about LaLiga and the people who can take action," he told Stats Perform.

  "We have the power to change things, but we are not doing enough. Samuel Eto'o had the same issue before.

  "Vinicius is one of those who is suffering because the administrative people in charge are not willing to hit harder than they are."

  Vinicius has been a key player for LaLiga champions-elect Madrid once again this season with 13 goals and five assists in 23 outings.

  Desailly regards Vinicius, who scored the winning goal in the 2022 Champions League final, as one of the finest players of his generation.

  "He's a very ambitious player," Desailly said. "I think he's improved a lot because he is now clinical in assisting and finishing.

  "When you look at someone like Ousmane Dembele, his stats are not as good.

  "Then you look at Jadon Sancho, Bukayo Saka, another who has improved - there is potential for each of those to get close to Vinicius."