England football team chef Omar Meziane on feeding Harry Kane and Co, Joe Hart’s soup strop, and his new business Tweakd January 8, 2021 He might be the England team’s trusted chef now, but Omar Meziane did not expect his first assignment with the country’s best footballers to last long. “It was a rainy Sunday night when I got a call from the FA saying: ‘We’d love you to go to South Korea with the under-20s.’ About a week [...]
Aston Villa’s ‘significant’ Covid-19 outbreak puts Liverpool FA CUp third round tie in doubt January 7, 2021 Aston Villa have reported a major Covid-19 outbreak at the club which threatens the viability of tomorrow’s FA Cup tie against Liverpool. Villa said a “large number” of players and staff tested positive earlier this week. More positive test were reported in a second round today. The club has closed its training ground, meaning it [...]
The Week in Sportbiz: Fresh fears over Tokyo Olympics; Pound calls for athletes to jump vaccine queue; China’s $900m esports palace January 7, 2021 Tokyo 2020 Olympics organisers have attempted to calm fears that the Games will not go ahead after a state of emergency was declared in the city. Japan’s prime minister Yoshihide Suga announced the measures today in response to a steep rise in Covid-19 cases. The Olympics was rescheduled in response to the pandemic last summer [...]
Sport tackles Covid-19: How Chelsea, Tottenham, Liverpool and tennis chiefs at Wimbledon are helping the NHS and vaccine roll-out January 7, 2021 Football clubs Chelsea, Tottenham and Liverpool as well as Wimbledon tennis chiefs have pledged to join the fight against Covid-19. Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has offered to put up NHS staff at the Copthorne Hotel adjoining the club’s Stamford Bridge home. Tottenham bosses have made their stadium available for administering vaccines, as have Liverpool. The [...]
Footballers warned by own union to stick to lockdown rules following spate of high-profile breaches at top clubs January 6, 2021 Footballers’ union the PFA has urged players to observe lockdown rules as a matter of “vital importance” following a number of high-profile breaches. Stars from Manchester City, Tottenham and West Ham have attracted criticism for holding social gatherings over the festive period. The PFA’s warning comes as Covid-19 cases soar in the Premier League and [...]
Northampton Saints v Leicester Tigers cancelled as fifth Premiership rugby fixture in a fortnight is axed due to Covid-19 cases January 6, 2021 Northampton Saints’ derby against Leicester Tigers has become the latest victim of Covid-19 outbreaks in English rugby union. The fixture, which was due to take place on Saturday, is the fifth since Christmas to be cancelled in such circumstances. Northampton said they had reluctantly agreed to cancel the match after “a number of positive tests” [...]
Do Manchester United get more penalties or are Jurgen Klopp’s complaints just sour grapes? January 5, 2021 Do Manchester United get more penalties than other teams in the Premier League? And are Liverpool unfairly overlooked when referees dish out spot-kicks? Those were two questions raised by Jurgen Klopp after his side lost at Southampton on Monday, leaving them level on points with United at the top of the Premier League. “I hear [...]
Hong Kong Racing Tips: Kurpany doesn’t look out of place in this company January 5, 2021 JUST when it looked like trainer Caspar Fownes charge for the trainers’ title was beginning to dry up after an explosive start to the season, he has suddenly bounced back into form again, with six winners in the past fortnight. Fownes, with 37 winners already this season, finds himself seven clear of his nearest pursuer [...]
Hong Kong Racing Tips: Warrior can battle to success for Gibson January 5, 2021 IT’S SAFE to assume that trainer Richard Gibson has found it tough going over the last few seasons. Gibson had established himself as a Group 1-winning trainer back in France before he embarked on a career in Hong Kong, and was quick to get his name in the limelight with the likes Akeed Mofeed, winner [...]
Hong Kong Racing Tips: Dragon looks a Glorious bet in January Cup January 5, 2021 HAPPY Valley hosts an exciting nine-race programme on Wednesday, featuring the track’s biggest prize of the season, the £350,000 Group 3 January Cup (12.15pm) over nine furlongs. There is plenty of quality in the 10-horse line-up, including former multiple Group 1 winner Time Warp, Simply Brilliant, winner of this corresponding race in 2019, and Singapore [...]