you're watching bbc news. the headlines. there is a is on her way to strasbourg for talks with the president of the european commission, jean—claude juncker, in an effort to secure a last—minute concessions over the eu withdrawal deal. it comes as mps at westminster prepare for a crunch vote on the prime minister's plan. prepare for a crunch vote on the prime minister's planli prepare for a crunch vote on the prime minister's plan. i don't know what the outcome is. all i know is that now i think they are reaching a point where they are about to have some kind of agreement. i'm speculating, but that is my indication. investigators found the voice and data recorders of the ethiopian airlines plane which crashed yesterday with the loss of all 157 people on board. the murder

ofa all 157 people on board. the murder of a 17—year—old in east london, a teenager and a man have appeared in court. now on bbc news, it is time for sportsday. hello and welcome to sportsday — i'mjon watson. jail for the fan who attacked jack grealish in yesterdays bimingham derby. it was one of three incidents over the weekend that have sparked serious concerns about player welfare. also coming up in the programme, zidane is back at the bernabeu. ac the man to revive real madrid? and safety will be back in the spotlight at the cheltenham festival. and we meet the manager

taking on one of the most glamorous jobs in women's football. it was an unprecendented weekend. three separate incidents of fans running onto football pitches and approaching players. the worst saw aston villa midfielder jack grealish attacked on the pitch at st andrew's. he was punched from behind in the early stages of sunday's derby with birmingham city. he was fine, and went on to score the winnerfor villa. both clubs condemnded the incident at the time. on the same day, at the emirates, manchester united defender chris smalling was confronted by an arsenal supporter. he's been charged with common assault and the club said he will be banned for life.

and 48 hours earlier on friday in scotland, at easter road, james tavernier retrieving the ball for a throw—in, was confronted by a hibernian fan, in a 1—1 draw with rangers. he has admitted breach of the peace. the man who attacked jack grealish — 27—year—old paul mitchell from rubery in worcestershire — admitted assault today, and has been sent to jail for 1h weeks. he's also been banned from all football for ten years, and banned for life by birmingham city. in a statement that was read out in court grealish said he was "lucky the supporter wasn't carrying a weapon". amanda jacks from football supporters' federation. what's driving it is that football ultimately reflect society and within society unfortunately we have idiots, people are inclined to break the law, and with any large event there is always a risk, no matter how well people prepare for that event that u nfortu nately how well people prepare for that event that unfortunately people are going to do things such as you have seen at the weekend.

let's reflect on all of this with chris sutton, the former norwich, blackburn and celtic striker who's played north and south of the border is with me. he is well placed to add to this debate that we've been having today, just how do you solve this problem, chris? do you ban the fines or should the clubs take some responsibility? you are calling them fans, i would responsibility? you are calling them fans, iwould not responsibility? you are calling them fans, i would not call the birmingham supporter who ran onto the pitch to attack jack grealish a birmingham city fan. he has an association with the club. i think proper prison sentences would be a start. 1a weeks doesn't seem the punishment to fit the crime. there must be more of a deterrent. and i think stadium fans —— stadium bans, ban the fines from their own and away stadiums. they must find a way of hitting the clubs in the pocket because what is needed is increased security at stadiums and clubs will have to find the money for that. do

you think that deterrent could be seeing games played behind closed doors for example, because if the fa ns doors for example, because if the fans knew that the potential risk of seeing an incident like this happen again was the fact that they could not watch their team play on a weekend, would that see other fine stepping in as the supporters were heading onto the pitch? then we would have elements of self policing in that respect, which i think will be needed, but certainly, in the situation with what happened at the weekend, i'll be at garry monk apologised, living city have apologised, living city have apologised for that, but they need to be tough measures and stadium bans and hopefully that will then a deterrent. as a former player, whether any times during your career when you feared for your safety on a football field? it was something, when i played i didn't really think about it, but do i think about it

now? absolutely. football this season now? absolutely. football this season has been heading in a dangerous direction, a bad direction, north and south of the border, we've seen racism, sectarianism, bottles and coins thrown onto the pitch, and things need to change, so how are things going to change? they need to be strong going to change? they need to be strong measures going to change? they need to be strong measures imposed on these people who misbehave. how concerned you think the current crop of players will be? what conversations will have been had on training grounds around the country today? the current crop of players will have to trust their clubs to have the right level of security. i'm sure that clubs will be thinking about this now. three occasions over the weekend when fans have entered the weekend when fans have entered the field of play. players shouldn't feel threatened, official student, so feel threatened, official student, so security clearly needs to be increased, and i actually feel sorry for the stewards at football clubs.

they are they are to point people to their seats, they couldn't have expected what was going to happen at the weekend but clearly, the security levels need to be raised, so security levels need to be raised, so people cannot enter the field of play. we have seen a prison sentence handed out to that fan who approached jack grealish, but what other assurances need to come from the authorities to the players to ensure that we don't see any incidents like this going forward? first and foremost, tougher prison sentences will act as a deterrent, but in terms of what happens in the stadium, the fa needs to take strong measures, the band fans from football grounds, then maybe we will see things start to change. chris totten, thank you forjoining us on sportsday, with your thoughts on that debate that has been raging over the weekend.

zinedine zidane is returning to manage real madrid just ten months after leaving the club. an early exit in teh champions league and a considerable gap between real and barcelona in the league this season will see santiago solari replaced. patrick gearey has the latest on the managerial merry—go—round at madrid. so, the wheel of real turns again. a club stuck on a loop. in less than a year, they've gone back to where they started, to zinedine zidane, who felt he had done all he could at the end of last season. his arrival means the departure of boss number three of the past ten months. santiago solari, appointed in november as a quick fix, now given the quick ditch. his last match was a 4—1 defeat over valladolid but it was a 4—1 defeat in the champions league last tuesday that effectively ended his reign and real madrid's season. they were the first reigning champions to grab before the quarterfinals before since 2013,

with the spanish media morning one of its greatest ever teams. a woeful few weeks for real madrid. this was more than just a defeat. the spanish papers fulminated. the champions, humiliated. real, supposedly football's ultimate winning machine, had lost twice to barcelona in the week before the ajax game, ending their interest in the spanish league and cup. the criticism stung. real captain sergio ramos sending 11 tweets in one hour responding to some of this. as for solari, he was obliged to face the media for surely the last time on sunday night. translation: of course there is a lot of speculation, i think it is normal after the week we have had. it was a difficult week. but it is also difficult to see the character of the players on a day like today. it was important notjust of the players on a day like today. it was important not just for me of the players on a day like today. it was important notjust for me but for them to see how they managed everything in this difficult moment. zinedine zidane will at least know the problems. many of them have been there for years. the club is funnelling more money

into improving their stadium. and the big—name galactico signings have stopped. and the biggest of all was never replaced. cristiano ronaldo took his goals tojuventus. a poor start cost zidane's replacement, julien otegui, hisjob last year. real‘s need for patient rebuilding contrasts with their fans‘ expectation of instant success. this is, after all, i club defined by glory. they will now have a manager associated with that. zidane's trophies buy him time behind the wheel. the direction remains unclear. we can get more on this now, the spanish footballjournalist we can get more on this now, the spanish football journalist guillem balague broke this. what makes real madrid and zinedine zidane think that they can revive their fortunes? sometimes it works to go back, i think, and the hope is that in this case it does work. i think zidane

said in the summer, i would like this to happen, i would like these quys this to happen, i would like these guys to come, and the said we will not take those decisions, so he left. but given the opportunity for real madrid to find a solution to a crisis, let's not forget that in one week it was the worst week in the history of madrid, they had the chance of winning the league, cup, and champions league, and lost them, and champions league, and lost them, and a way to revive the hope of the fines and to mend the broken dressing room, it was a solution to bring in zidane, but the first time they caught him, he was, i'm not sure that it is a good idea. but the second time, they want to have a tea m second time, they want to have a team that wins also at home. they have won the league twice in the last ten years, simply not good enough for what he feels is the most important competition of all. he has won the champions league three times ina row, won the champions league three times in a row, he will still be a target,

but it is a matter of rebuilding, so we have to see what happens with gareth bale, for instance. they didn't get on. they were like water and oil, and i think you will want gareth bale to leave in the summer, but what now? what now indeed. guillem balague, many thanks for your thoughts, guillem balague, guillem balague, many thanks for yourthoughts, guillem balague, who broke that story today. we are on the eve of one of the biggest meetings of the racing calendar, the cheltenham festival, which starts tomorrow and perhaps more than ever, the safety of both horses and jockeys is the priority for organisers. it is the showpiece of the jump racing season but at this year poz matt chilton on the stakes are especially high. of the fall is at the 2018 festival, seven horses died asa the 2018 festival, seven horses died as a result of the entries and the man in charge said a his biggest concern. equine welfare is the

number one priority at the racecourse, and all of the team worked tirelessly to do everything they can to minimise the risk. it is right that we should be under scrutiny and we want to see a fantastic four days of racing and thatis fantastic four days of racing and that is what we will look for.l british horseracing authority review into the festival last year concluded that the very future of this sport could be under threat if horse welfare issues were not addressed. it made 17 recommendations. but cheltenham has gone even further, moving the penultimate fence on the old course ten yards further up the home straight, and away from the final bend at the suggestion ofjockeys, to try to reduce the number of followers. with final preparations under way, welfare campaigners have cautiously welcomed other measures such as enhanced veterinary checks and extra monitoring ofjockeys but they say this is a watershed moment for the sport. of course there is increased focus on the festival because of the number of deaths over

the last few years, which have been unacceptable and everyone in racing recognises that, any sport involving horses that ignores the why the ethics of society will put itself in a perilous position. all the racing a lwa ys a perilous position. all the racing always include some risk, fatality rates had fallen over the last 20 yea rs, rates had fallen over the last 20 years, and many in the sport believe that a sense of proportion is needed. it is so competitive, it is just competitive racing and sadly, things just went just competitive racing and sadly, thingsjust went a just competitive racing and sadly, things just went a little bit wrong last year. i don't think you can put a blame on anything. just hope it doesn't happen again. with more than a quarter of a million spectators over the next four days, jump racing is set for its biggest week but alongside the usual excitement, the sport will also be on edge. talk about entertainment. nobody does it better than ronnie o'sullivan. and so it proved once again last night as he became the first player to reach 1000 century breaks. he was on fine form, entertaining

the crowd. this is how he did it, beating neil robertson in the final of the player's championship last night. he couldn't resist a showboat, switching hands and potting the key red left—handed. it's another landmark in a brilliant career which has seen him win a record seven masters and uk championship titles. here's a snapshot of some memorable moments that have got him there. applause this young man is not 18, yet. cheering

don't believe this. cheering that's what happens when you have a player at the top of his form. there have not been many 146 breaks made in snooker! this is the ronnie o'sullivan that we love to watch. the boy undoubtedly is a genius.

1000 century breaks for ronnie o'sullivan. only a matter of time before he adds to that, isn't that? let's have a look at some of the day's other sport stories. the olympic and commonwealth medalist anthony ogogo has retired from boxing. the 30—year—old turned professional after winning bronze at london 2012 but hasn't fought since 2016 because of a serious eye injury. serena williams had to retire from her third round match at indian wells, citing "extreme fatigue". she was trailing garbine muguruza 6—3, 1—0, at the time. scotland's stuart hogg, tommy seymour and blair kinghorn will miss that match this weekend against england. maro itoje is out for

england. maro itoje is out for england. three nations can still win the title, wales, england and holders ireland. managing superstars is something british coach marc skinner is going to have to get used to, having landed the job as head coach of american women's side orlando pride. with six times world player of the year marta in the squad and world cup winner alex morgan — it's a side packed with talent. jo currie's been to meet him. bridget, your eyes are on the ball, they should be on the player. in the sunshine state, the birmingham accent stands out a mile. but for the newly appointed mark skinner, his move to orlando pride is no vacation. for the past two seasons he has been manager of birmingham city women, leading them to an fa cup final at wembley. now he's taking on one of the most glamorous jobs in the women's game, where he will be managing some of the biggest

players in the world. what is pressure? that we don't achieve our target or i get for your? i am not in it to be hired orfired, i'm in it to make a difference to the people that i work with every single day, whether that be the star for the players. amongst his all-star tea m the players. amongst his all-star team is the sixth time player of the yearfor team is the sixth time player of the year for the world, marta, team is the sixth time player of the yearfor the world, marta, and no less tha n yearfor the world, marta, and no less than four world cup winners, some of them were missing from training having been on international duty but his reputation as reach them before they arrived at the training ground for pre—season. arrived at the training ground for pre-season. i have only heard positive things. he is a coach that gets in front of us, gets coaching, he's not afraid to learn along the as well. he did well in the past for birmingham, and for us, it is about getting back our principles with orlando and getting back to the top of the table and i think that he can do it for us. skinner could have his

work cut out. they might have a squad of top players and will top one spot last season they finished a disappointing third from bottom in the league. this time round the heat is on for them and their new head coach, to perform. it will be like a breath of fresh air. he treats eve ryo ne breath of fresh air. he treats everyone like the most important player, and that is key for this group. that is our goal this year, which is to win, and that is the expectation every year. it is a little bit of pressure but we thrive under pressure, here. he has one england star already playing for the club, but will he be adding more lionesses to his already impressive squad? it is the best physical league in the world, and the speed, intensity, the transitions, but i think there are players who could come over here and produce and the stars in their own right, stateside. maybe