hello and welcome to sportsday, i'm katherine downes. it's only football — liverpool managerjurgen klopp condemns violence at matches, as the club holds meetings with police in italy ahead of wednesday‘s champions league tie with roma. steven gerrard will be the next manager of rangers, if he wants the job. he's the favourite at ibrox, and the decision is in his hands. and the rocket fails to launch — its a slow start for ronnie o'sullivan, he trails ali carter at the crucible. hello and welcome to sportsday, i'm katherine downes. after violence earlier this week,

liverpool have sent representatives to the italian capital for an extraordinary meeting with european football's governing body, uefa, and italian police. it comes ahead of the second leg of a champions league semifinal between them at roma on wednesday. our sports correspondent andy swiss reports. it was, liverpool said, a positive and productive meeting. they met with officials, seeking reassurance over the safety of their fans next week and said they had established important guidance, especially over transport arrangements, to try to make sure this doesn't happen again. tuesday night's violence, in which liverpool fans were attacked, had prompted concerns over the return leg, but the club's immediate thoughts remain with the injured that opel fan sean cox, still in a critical condition in hospital, and this morning the manager said he was shocked by what had happened.

when i first heard about it, i cannot describe my emotions in english, to be honest. it is hard still. that should never have happened. it should never have happened before, and it should never happen in the future. and we all have to do everything to make sure that things like that yesterday, two italian men appeared in court in liverpool after being charged over tuesday night's violence. and ahead of the return leg, there is more concern, especially over roma's reputation — travelling english fans have been targeted in the past, including manchester united in 2007. and despite the occasion, safety is the priority. i really ask for responsibility of everybody, it is a football game, not more, not less, so let's play foot ball.

liverpool's players will head to rome with high hopes after their thrilling win at anfield, but the safety of the club's thousands of fans means the focus will be off the pitch as well as on it. andy swiss, bbc news. gareth roberts from the liverpool fanzine the anfield wrapjoins me now. thanks so much for giving up your friday evening, i know you were there on tuesday, you didn't directly see the violence, but you have surely heard about sean cox, still in hospital with that injury after he got caught up in the violence. you are going to go to rome on wednesday, has it made you think twice, are you concerned about travelling? i am a little bit concerned, yeah, ithink travelling? i am a little bit concerned, yeah, i think it is only human that you would be after that. with the sean cox attack, the thing that shocked the most, really, was that shocked the most, really, was that it felt pretty indiscriminate, it could have been anyone, it could have been me or one of my friends,

it simply happens to him, but i think it could happen to any of us. so you are of course worried going to rome, as mentioned on the report, have :;~;= 71 inmizxing rama stabbings in the past involving roma and their ultras. so there is a worry travelling over there, but you have just got to crack on with it, there have been meetings, and hopefully between merseyside police, liverpool football club and as roma, hopefully they can guarantee our safety. the advice is, if you don't have a ticket, don't travel. have you been given any other advice about how to stay safe? because once you are heading towards the stadium, you are heading towards the stadium, you are heading towards the stadium, you are even easier to pick out, wearing liverpool colours, people will know who you are. yeah, that is one straightaway that i would not be doing, not wearing my colours over there, i don't want to stand out as a potential target. we are still waiting on actual advice around travelling, expecting something

soon, but i would date expected to be that there will be said answered areas where we can go. i would expect there to be a shuttle service between certain areas and then straight into the ground, that is what has happened in the past in rome, so are those things are set up, if the police are visible, if they are on the streets, than i expect us to be able to get in and out quite safely, and common sense has got to be applied by everyone, including liverpool fans on this trip. there are people take things over the line in rome, we know that, roma themselves denounced that, obviously we do too, so if you follow common—sense and follow, you know, a bit of nous, it is easy enough to get in and out safely. shame that it has come to that, gareth, thank you for speaking to us, good luck on wednesday. sticking with liverpool, theirformer captain, steven gerrard, is now the front—runner to take over as manager of rangers. bbc scotland understands that thejob is his — if he wants it. liverpool bossjurgen klopp has given gerrard his backing, as he sets out on his managerial career. our scottish football reporter

chris mclaughlin reports. from shortlist to frontrunner, is this the new rangers manager? is old manager had this to say today. this the new rangers manager? is old manager had this to say todaylj this the new rangers manager? is old manager had this to say today. i was a little bit surprised when i seen him, buti a little bit surprised when i seen him, but i think the most important thing when you are starting out, it is about when you feel the time is right, and when you feel ready. especially when it is your first job, it is not necessarily about a club, it is about the right club. this is his current club, the liverpool legend is now a development coach, and of those at anfield wouldn't stand in his way. if he thinks he is ready, he is ready, that is how it is. and if he wa nts, ready, that is how it is. and if he wants, something different, really big if, i wants, something different, really big if, iwould be wants, something different, really big if, i would be completely happy for him and would support him. so for him and would support him. so for a story that has been rumbling for a story that has been rumbling for a story that has been rumbling for a few days, we know that gerrard

is indeed on a shortlist here created by the rangers board. he has been told of the job is created by the rangers board. he has been told of thejob is his if he wanted. gerrard himself and his agent as saying absolutely nothing, but you do get the sense there are those at the club, at boardroom level, who think he might welljust say yes. today, the man currently in charge came out fighting. i think i have done a good job so far, the clu b have done a good job so far, the club knows i want thisjob, there has never been any doubt about that. if you are graeme murty and you know steven gerrard gets the job, if you are graeme murty and you know steven gerrard gets thejob, you if you are graeme murty and you know steven gerrard gets the job, you say to yourself, you know, he is no more qualified than i am for the job. to yourself, you know, he is no more qualified than i am for thejob. in fa ct, qualified than i am for thejob. in fact, graeme murty has boldly coached for longer than steven gerrard, so you may be thinking, is just because of his name? of ice that is the question, but the man himself is yet to provide rangers with an answer. chris mclaughlin, bbc news, glasgow. let's look ahead to this weekend's premier league action, and it could be a bleak one

for west brom and stoke fans. they could become the first sides to be relegated to the championship depending on how results go over the next few days. joe lynskey has been doing the maths. now the premier league title has been decided, the focus which is to the bottom of the table and who will drop out of the division. relegation from the premier league has taken an even greater significance in recent yea rs, even greater significance in recent years, because when clubs go down, they give up the slice of that enormous tv rights package that every premier league club gets. they'll so drop into the championship, a division that has become even more competitive in recent yea rs, become even more competitive in recent years, so much so that one of the sites to be relegated last year has now been relegated again — sunderland will start life in the third tier of english football next season. this is what it meant to huddersfield when they scored a late winner against watford last weekend to edge closer to safety, and if you look at the table and what it has done to the table, it leaves three teams cut adrift, west bromwich

albion, stoke and southampton are now looking like they could be destined for relegation. indeed, two of them could go down this weekend. a crucial weekend for all of them, and west brom could go down if results go against them and if they fail to beat newcastle, they would be relegated. stoke can also go down if those results go against them. for the bottom side, west brom, this season has been a struggle, winning just four matches, and they have changed manager twice as well. a com pletely changed manager twice as well. a completely different story to last season, this is the premier league table for 2016—17, you can see west brom in 12th position. we can talk to richie anderson, who has been following the baggies this season and works for bbc wm. reggie, the difference in how it has gone for albion between last season and this season, what for you and you pinpoint what has gone wrong?|j season, what for you and you pinpoint what has gone wrong? ijust think the poor appointment of alan

pardew, think the poor appointment of alan pa rdew, really. think the poor appointment of alan pardew, really. you mention that last season we finished tenth, we we re last season we finished tenth, we were seventh and eighth with ten games to go, then we didn't win again for the final ten games. but the appointment of alan pardew was so lazy from the club, as if they had looked at this managerial conveyor belt of has—been managers and thought, he is on the telly, he isa and thought, he is on the telly, he is a pundit, a big—name, we will bring him in, and hejust offered knocking. he was so uninspiring from the second he came through the door, and the atmosphere got more apathetic by the week. you mentioned the apathy, where do you see yourself going with this club, are the teams set to bounce back from this? i think we are going to lose 60% of the squad when we go down next season, so we're putting together a new team, will they gel, will they clicked, will we find ourselves this time next in mid table, licking our wounds, thinking, how have we ended up in this position? tens two seasons ago, how are we here now? thank you very

much, ritchie, we wish you the best for the rest of the season. a bit further up the m6 at stoke city, they are also in real trouble, and they are also in real trouble, and the potters could be relegated this weekend if they lose against liverpool and results go against them. at the start of the season, they were hoping to finally see some goals from a man they spent £15 million on. this is saido berahino, the man they signed from west bromwich albion, called up to the england squad in 2014, but he has now not scored in the premier league in more than two years. the has—been extricated from the first steam because he turned up late to a reserve match earlier this month. his team—mate is also not being considered for starting line—up softer failing to turn up for training, and the stoke manager, paul lambert, says even though his side are struggling for goals, he won't bring the players back into his squad. are you determine that the two players who are out for disciplinary reasons will not be involved? 0h, disciplinary reasons will not be

involved? ch, 100%. disciplinary reasons will not be involved? 0h, 10096. 10096. i have got no qualms whatsoever. it is my decision, i think it is right for the football club. and yeah, that is the football club. and yeah, that is the decision i made. not what stoke city need in their predicament, former manager mark hughes is now at southampton, trying to stop them from falling out of the division. this weekend they will have to recover from the defeat in the fa cup semifinal against chelsea, have to pick themselves up from that as they play bournemouth in what is arguably an even more important match for the saints. with the focus we have got, the situation we find ourselves, we have got to step up and front up, really, and see we can do this. i have got a really good feeling in terms of what i am hearing from the group, and individuals, when we speak to them one—to—one, there is a real determination to turn this around.

swa nsea determination to turn this around. swansea city were bottom of the table on christmas day, people usually look at that statistic because it often means that club is destined for relegation, but their new manager, carlos carvalhal, has worked a miracle to turn it around, and now the bottom three clubs will hope for a resurrection of their own to get out of trouble and avoid relegation to the second tier. i am responsible for mo salah — that'sjose mourinho's claim today. the manchester united manager was asked about salah in his weekly press conference and was quick to remind us that while at chelsea it was he who bought the egyptian to this country. everybody knows that i bought salah, everybody knows that. everybody knows that. i was at chelsea, he was at basel. and i am responsible for the players i bring to the clubs, if they come to the clubs in my period, so yes, i was the person that you can say brought salah to the country. absolutely fantastic season, more than deserved, player of the year,

and who knows if something more important is waiting for him? jose mourinho taking a slice of the glory. newcastle united manager rafael benitez has revealed today that talks over his future at the club are under way. fans are concerned that since owner mike ashley has admitted there's no money available to fund a push towards the top of the table next season, benitez may be lured away from st james's park. former newcastle star paul gascgoine is among them. rafa is an unbelievable manager and coach, what he has $ rafa is an unbelievable manager and coach, what he has fig is rafa is an unbelievable manager and coach, what he they $5 is rafa is an unbelievable manager and coach, what he they have g is rafa is an unbelievable manager and coach, what he they have gots incredible, and they have got to keep what he incredible, and they have got to keep - what he says, i think i keep going. what he says, i think i read a bit in the paper, you have got to give him money to spend. if you want to match man city and man united, teams like that, they have got to give him money to spend. they

have got the money, and he's not going tojust buy have got the money, and he's not going to just buy players for the sake of it, he will buy players for different positions to strengthen the team, so they need to give him the team, so they need to give him the money, otherwise they will lose an unbelievable manager, as far as i am concerned. he's been at barcelona since his was 12 years old, but andres iniesta has announced today that he'll leave at the end of the season. he's made 669 appearances, and it's thought he'll sign in china, having today said he couldn't play in europe because he couldn't play against barca. he said he wants to be remembered as a great player, and here's a little peek into iniesta's trophy cabinet — eight spanish league titles, his first back in 2005. he has six copa del rey triumphs with barcelona, four european champions league wins, and he's won the club world cup three times. here's fellow spaniard and former coach pep guardiola. you just can say thank you, because he helped me, the people believes the manager helps the players, but

inafew the manager helps the players, but in a few cases, and this is one of them, he helped me to understand the game better. just watching him, what he does on the football pitch. in spite of the amount of tackles, it is the way he played, the way he was an example for us to be a professional on and off the pitch, and if he decides to retire, hopefully he can come back in football, barcelona especially, and he can teach to the young, young players, or even the professional players, or even the professional players, what he showed on the pitch. yesteday on sportsday, we brought you the news that an offer has been made to buy wembley stadium by the owner of fulham fc shahid khan. he also owns the jacksonville jaguars nfl team and has said he'll pay £900 million. today the fa's chairman, greg clarke, has written to fa council members. the letter suggests the sale of wembley has been in discuccion for months, and insists that the proceeds of the sale would be put in a trust —

watched over by football stakeholders, the government and sport england — to ensure the money is spent on facilities and grassroots football. lets hear the thoughts of wembley‘s current and former tenants. i think every english player feels pa rt i think every english player feels part of wembley. and i think the football people around the world the same. it is an icon, a massive icon for everyone all over the world. all ican for everyone all over the world. all i can say, really about the subject, is that i am a massive supporter of wembley as the national stadium, and england playing there, but i also have great faith in the fa, that they won't be making decisions lightly, and if they think this is a good deal, a deal that will bring in money that they can spend in a better way, then i would be behind

that. also coming up in the programme: max verstappen crashes out, as mercedes top the timesheets in practice at the azerbaijan grand prix. and we'll show you the best goal you'll see this season. this is how it starts — stay tuned to see how it ends. we're a week into snooker‘s world championship, and the five—time winner ronnie o'sullivan has work to do this evening. he currently trails ali carter 5—3 in his second—round match. meanwhile, masters champion mark allen is locked at 8—8 withjoe perry. hazel irvine and the team are at the crucible for us this evening. a real blockbuster of a match we have been enjoying today, ronnie o'sullivan against ali carter, repeat of two finals here in the past. in fact, this is the fifth time they have met at the crucible,

and carter has made an excellent start. certainly has, never beaten ronnie at the world championship, but somewhere down the line you would expect him to do it at least once, because even though ronnie o'sullivan can turn matches around, ali carter is a superb cures. i think you probably have to be a great cures to overcome the neil sullivan over three sessions, he has got the ability. —— cueist. sullivan over three sessions, he has got the ability. -- cueist. there is a bit of previous, comments that carter made prior to the match. bit of needle, and i do not know whether ronnie will be informed during the break before the session, whether to gm up or his friends will keep him away as if nothing has happened, but he was a little bit lacklustre this morning, we are expecting him to up the tempo, go through the gears, and it will be a different session, but ali carter is playing some good snooker, it will be very interesting. carter lead 5-3 going into the second session, but one will finish this evening, joe perry against mark allen, 8—8, will

you call this one, steve? yes, 13-12! it has you call this one, steve? yes, 13—12! it has got that written all over it because neither player looks to be giving an inch, great tacticians, great opportunist. i don't think it will be slow, but it will be so hard—fought. very hard to pick a winner. five times mark allen as had a two frame advantage, five timesjoe perry has come back at him. very high quality stuff, some great breaks in that match as well, andl great breaks in that match as well, and i am with steve on this one, i think it will go down to the wire, another late finish. we love it, you will love it, it will be online and on the red button, these matches do catch them, back to you. onto formula 1, and red bull topped the time sheets in second practice ahead of this weekend's azerbaijan grand prix, thanks to daniel riccardo. valtteri bottas of mercedes was quickest in the morning session. it was a better session for his fellow red bull driver

max verstappen too, who crashed during first practice, but finished third this afternoon. he was behind kimi raikkonen's ferrari, who was edged out byjust over 0.06 of a second by riccardo, who won the last grand prix in china. one of the features of the season so far has been the disappointing form of britain's lewis hamilton — no wins so far for the four—time world champion. the bbc‘s f1 team ofjennie gow and jolyon palmer have been looking at the reasons why. well, lewis hamilton definitely need a good weekend in baku, he hasn't won since america last year, and he mustn't let that be the thing that gains moment. oh, you are right, but he should have won already in melbourne he was the quickest man all weekend, did a dominant pole position, and he was unlucky with the safety car, otherwise he would have won. after that, bahrain and

china, more mediocre from lewis, and he has followed it up today, he is in the mixu paatelainen bit behind team—mate valtteri bottas, so he needs to respond this weekend. —— he is in the mix a little bit. nine points does not seem like much of a lead for the unhappiness of hamilton. no, but lewis is not happy when he's not winning, nine points is flattering to hamilton, because vettel should be ahead after winning the first two matches, coming second in china as well before he was hit by max verstappen. hamilton, in some ways, was unlucky not to win the first race, but then likely to be nine points away. all in all, a nice mix in the championship. 17 points separate the top four drivers, a healthy place to be at this point in the season. it is exciting for watching formula one this season, three cars, six divers battling for

each win, and this weekend, red bull looking strong, we don't know who will win the race, so an exciting time to be watching. the other thing to throw into the mix is the weather, this race is earlier than the last couple of years, so we have the last couple of years, so we have the possibility of rain and strong winds forecast, how hard is it to be a driverfacing winds forecast, how hard is it to be a driver facing those conditions? winds forecast, how hard is it to be a driver facing those condition57m is tricky, you are right, this one is tricky, you are right, this one is april, it was in june is tricky, you are right, this one is april, it was injune last is tricky, you are right, this one is april, it was in june last year, so is april, it was in june last year, so much colder, less grip, and the wind will make it much tougher as well, very exposed out by the sea in baku. i'm expecting lots of thrills and spills, usually the kc appliance, maybe even more so this year. fingers crossed for a cracker. -- usually the case here. this sunday, two london rugby clubs will go head to head in first ever women's premier 15s final. harlequins and saracens will meet at the ealing trailfinders' ground with hopes the match will sell—out. the revamped league has seen record crowds since it launched in september. sara orchard has more. england's red roses have been

lifting trophies at a pretty consistent basis for a few years, but now the club game takes centre stage, harlequins ladies against saracens women in the inaugural final. it is going to be really exciting, they are a really good side, so it should be a great showcase. the significance of the final? everyone is talking about it. lots of my friends did not know there would be a women's league, people didn't really know much about it, andl people didn't really know much about it, and i think that this has made it, and i think that this has made it visible, people are talking about it, they know it is there, it is on the bbc website, i think it has been fantastic for the game. women's team sport has boomed in the last decade with football, cricket and hockey all keen for a bit of the pie, and by all keen for a bit of the pie, and rugby doesn't want to be left behind. this is the trophy the teams are playing for this weekend, but already discussions are taking place about how the premier 15s as a

league could develop in the future. those discussions are based around if it could increase up to 12 teams, and also if players could get paid to play club rugby in the future.|j think definitely there will be a point where that does happen. you know, it is possibly ultimately sooner rather than later, but that is very much down to the clubs to drive that. when you look at the whole of women's sport, that is the direction things are moving, and we don't want to be left behind. direction things are moving, and we don't want to be left behindm direction things are moving, and we don't want to be left behind. it is something that i have always dreamt of, it would be really great to see. i know i am currently a student, i have to go through what some of the girls have to, working 9—5, so it would be great to see it one day sunday's final at ealing is on course to sell—out for a very special london derby. sara orchard, bbc news. we were hearing earlier in the programme how west brom and stoke will be battling to avoid relegation this weekend — they'll be hoping for a touch of magic like this one. in australia, 19—year—old riley mcgree produced this. a backheel overhead kick

to equalise for newcastle jets in their a—league semi—final against melbourne city. mcgree's goal inspring them to go on and win 2—1. have you ever seen anything like that?! not bad at all! look at the celebrations, well—deserved. that's all from sportsday. best of luck to west brom and stoke fa ns best of luck to west brom and stoke fans this weekend, we'll be thinking of you, but from ian the team, thanks macro for watching and enjoy your weekend, bye. —— thanks macro for watching and enjoy yourweekend, bye. —— from me thanks macro for watching and enjoy your weekend, bye. —— from me and the team. good evening. it's been a bit of a mixed day today, we have had a lot of cloud around, some outbreaks of rain across much of england and wales, a bit more sunshine for part of scotland and northern ireland, but also some showers around. this picture was taken by one of our weather watchers in perth & kinross earlier in the day. now, heading on through this evening and tonight, then, we'll keep the cloud across much of england and wales with

patchy rain easing towards the east. further north, though, clear skies for the far north of england, scotland and northern ireland, it's here that were likely to see a fairly chilly and frosty start to saturday morning, milder in the south with a lot of cloud around. now, what is the weekend looking like? well, it is looking fairly cool and cloudy overall, some sunshine for northern and western parts, the potential for really heavy rain in the south—east later on sunday. we'll look at that in a moment. for saturday, then, not a bad day for the north—western of the country, some sunny spells, a few showers for scotland, northern ireland too. england and wales keeps the bulk of the cloud with some outbreaks of showery rain, so if we focus in on the regional view, for southern england and wales, some showers around, north wales, through the midlands as well during the afternoon, a bit more brightness breaking through for northern england and northern ireland, a scattering of showers here, more showers feeding into northern and western parts of scotland, the best of the brightness towards the likes of aberdeenshire and five too. now, temperatures on saturday still struggling for the time of year, particularly when you got all that

cloud, just eight or nie degrees through part of the midlands, north england too. a little bit warmer than that where you see sunny spells. now, most of the showers and the rain in the south should ease away through the course of saturday night, so again quite a chilly start to sunday, particularly across parts of scotland, where were likely to see me frosty start, gardeners, take note. not as cold further south, because there will be quite a lot of rain, especially for central and eastern parts of england, towards the north—west of uk more pretence of catching some sunshine and a few showers. temperatures generally between eight and 13 degrees, but more rain arrives in the south—east late on sunday, and that's all part of this area of low pressure, which is set to push up from france into southern and eastern parts of the uk, bringing notjust some pretty heavy rain, but also strong winds. so for monday, the potential of localised flooding with that heavy rain, and disruption as possible. do keep tuned to bbc local radio. looking for good news. join us

tonight at 7:45pm on bbc news. this is bbc news. the headlines at 7pm. a historic meeting between the leaders of north and south korea — as they promise complete denuclearisation. kim jong—un and moonjae—in vow to end to decades of conflict between the two countries. translation: we cannot be separated. we are one nation. when we met, we realised we cannot be parted. we are one nation. translation: there will be no korean war.

a new era of peace will open. also in the next hour. disappointing economic figures. the british economy grew at its slowest rate for more than five years in the first three months of the year. the two young brothers killed in a hit and run crash in coventry. the driver is sentenced to nine years in prison.