Referee Graham Poll came under renewed fire today as goalkeeper Petr Cech blamed him for costing Chelsea victory at Highbury by allegedly reneging on a promise to blow his whistle before Thierry Henry’s free-kick.

Former referees’ chief Philip Don has defended Graham Poll’s decision to allow Thierry Henry to score with a quick free-kick against Chelsea yesterday.

Graham Poll, who was criticised by Jose Mourinho for allowing Thierry Henry’s audacious free-kick at Highbury, was today revealed as the official who gave Chelsea pre-season refereeing advice.

Southampton 2 Middlesbrough 2

Man Utd 0 Tottenham 0

Sunderland manager Mick McCarthy admitted his side lacked the quality required to overcome Gillingham after being held to a 1-1 draw at the Stadium of Light.

Middlesbrough 0 Manchester United 2

Newcastle 2 Birmingham 1

Birmingham-born Darren Carter struck twice to ensure a comfortable passage into the fourth round of the FA Cup for Steve Bruce’s side, who brushed off the absence of the suspended Robbie Savage.

Mighty Manchester United face the humiliating prospect of an FA Cup visit to Exeter on January 18 after the plucky non-leaguers wrote themselves into the history books at Old Trafford.

Castres 58 Harlequins 13

Seal proposed to supermodel fiancee Heidi Klum on a mountaintop in the Canadian ski resort of Whistler.

Former Manchester United keeper Alex Stepney believes it is unfair to criticise Roy Carroll for not admitting Tottenham should have scored a late winner during Tuesday night’s 0-0 draw.

Southampton 3 Fulham 3

German supermodel Heidi Klum and singer Seal are engaged to be married, Klum confirmed on her website.

Hollywood superstar Will Smith will attend three premieres in one day to promote his new film later this month, it emerged today.

Full-back Geordan Murphy has warned Scotland are a “huge threat” to Ireland's RBS 6 Nations title bid.

Aston Villa 1 Arsenal 3

Newcastle 1 Sporting Lisbon 1

Office and factory staff are switched on to working harder if they can listen to the radio at the same time, new research showed today.