Kit’s resemblance to infamous SS rune of Nazi paramilitary wing unintentional, company says

Adidas has banned football fans from customising the German national shirt with the number 44 due to its alleged resemblance to the symbol used by Nazi SS units during the second world war.

The Schutzstaffel (SS), a paramilitary organisation of Adolf Hitler’s Third Reich, was tasked with carrying out the industrialised genocide of Jewish people across Europe.

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No wonder the Portman Road fans went ballistic at the final whistle. Almost every minute of this absorbing, frantic match between the ­Championship’s top scorers and a free-flowing ­visiting opposition intent on catching them pulsed with the vibrancy of an encounter deserving of the top flight in which they both aspire to be .

By the end of it, two automatic promotion possibles had surely been whittled down to just one. Ipswich remain the ­standard‑­bearers; ­Southampton are now not far off clutching at straws.

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• Formal talks mark next step in Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s overhaul
• Saints’ football director previously oversaw City’s academy

Manchester United have made a formal approach to take Jason Wilcox from Southampton as part of Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s summer recruitment overhaul. United want Wilcox, who joined Southampton as director of football last year, to fulfil a prominent role in the revamped footballing department as technical director.

United are confident of securing Wilcox but Southampton, who are vying for an immediate return to the Premier League, are seeking a greater compensation package and are unhappy at the timing of United’s approach. United are believed to have offered around a year of Wilcox’s salary in compensation with Ratcliffe viewing him as a pillar in his reshaping of the club.

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• Championship updates from the 8pm BST kick-off
• Get in touch! You can email Daniel with your thoughts

Leeds United (4-3-3): Meslier; Byram, Rodon, Ampadu, Firpo; Kamara, Gray; Summerville, James, Rutter, Bamford. Subs: Darlow, Cresswell, Cooper, Shackleton, Crew, Anthony, Gelhardt, Piroe, Joseph.

Hull City (4-2-3-1): Allsop; Coyle, Jones, Tufan, Giles; Seri, Slater; Philogene, Carvalho, Seri; Omur; Subs: Pandur, McLoughlin, Ohio, Traoré, Sharp, Jacob, Christie, Connolly, Zaroury.

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• John Eustace earns first win as Rovers manager with 5-1 victory
• Rotherham stave off relegation for at least a week with win

John Eustace’s wait for a win as Blackburn manager came to an end in emphatic fashion as relegation-threatened Rovers hammered Sunderland 5-1 at the Stadium of Light.

The Championship’s top scorer, Sammie Szmodics, set Blackburn on their way with a quickfire first-half double – his 22nd and 23rd goals of the season – before strikes from Ryan Hedges and Tyrhys Dolan early in the second half wrapped up the points. Chris Rigg came off the bench to score a consolation for Sunderland 13 minutes from time but Blackburn added a fifth four minutes later through Andrew Moran.

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• Burnley manager was sent off during 2-2 draw at Chelsea
• ‘I keep saying what I think, I won’t shy away from it’

Refereeing standards in the Premier League have dropped this season, the Burnley manager, Vincent Kompany, said on Monday, joining widespread criticism of officiating after a number of controversial decisions.

Kompany’s side were reduced to 10 men against Chelsea on Saturday when Lorenz Assignon was sent off by Darren England, and the Belgian was also shown a red card for protesting against the decision to award a penalty and dismiss Assignon. The relegation-threatened club, 19th in the table with eight games left, drew 2-2 at Chelsea at Stamford Bridge .

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Reality does not necessarily reflect perception. On the face of it a victory such as Leicester City’s against Norwich, one that keeps the Championship title within Enzo Maresca’s side’s control, should have brought pure joy.

Football, as is true of life, is a little more nuanced than that, though. Yes, there was certainly celebration, and rightly so. Despite falling behind to Gabriel Sara’s strike, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall drove Leicester’s comeback.

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• Updates from the 3pm kick-offs in the EFL | Live scores
• Get in touch! You can email Daniel with your thoughts

Full-time at Leicester and the hosts return to the summit with a deserved 3-1 victory. The top three have all played 39 games now so it’s in Leicester’s hands even though Ipswich and Leeds can go above the Foxes later today.

Game over at The King Power as sub Jamie Vardy blasts home his 14th of the season and eighth in nine games to put the game out of sight. 3-1 to Leicester.

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Emma Hayes goes too far, Bunny Shaw hits a goal-of-the-season contender and Leicester end a difficult week well

Emma Hayes was asked before the Continental League Cup final whether the competition mattered more to Arsenal as it was the Gunners’ only realistic chance of silverware. She rubbished the comment but there can be little doubt about just how much it mattered to Chelsea with emotions spilling over after a gritty showdown at Molineux in which Stina Blackstenius scored the winner deep into extra time. Hayes’ shove on Jonas Eidevall and subsequent accusations of “male aggression” may have deflected from a poor performance from her team, a common tactic for losing managers, but they were also not OK. Hayes was unhappy with the way Eidevall “fronted up to Erin [Cuthbert]” but replays painted a different picture – one of Eidevall yelling at staff pitchside for delivering a ball that wasn’t the match ball when Chelsea had blocked a multi-ball system being used, Cuthbert taking the throw in, and then the player approaching Eidevall before re-entering the game. Eidevall called the label Hayes used “irresponsible” and he’s not wrong. To accuse someone of “male aggression” implies a general aggressiveness towards women and is a dangerous denigration of someone’s character which, in this instance, seemed well wide of the mark. Suzanne Wrack

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