Besieged Fifa in cash row over Henry handball June 4, 2015 CRISIS-HIT world governing body Fifa were last night at the centre of a fresh cash row over payments made to the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) to drop a legal case over striker Thierry Henry’s infamous World Cup handball. Former Arsenal forward Henry handled the ball in the build-up to a William Gallas strike in [...]
Football Comment: Barca playing better now than under Pep June 4, 2015 ELEVEN months ago, when they appointed Massimiliano Allegri as their new head coach, Juventus could scarcely have imagined they would be closing in on a possible treble within a year. For Allegri, who had been sacked by AC Milan earlier in 2014 and was tasked with replacing club legend Antonio Conte, retaining the Serie A [...]
Murray takes solace in clay revival and plots Djokovic French demise June 4, 2015 BRITAIN’S Andy Murray believes his standout scalps during an unbeaten 2015 clay season can ignite the fuse under his bid to overpower world No1 Novak Djokovic today and reach a first French Open final. Two-time major champion Murray recorded his maiden clay-court titles in Munich and Madrid this year, the latter secured with a first [...]
Williams sets up tilt for 20th career grand slam title June 4, 2015 TOP seed Serena Williams shook off the effects of illness and the loss of the opening set to confirm her place in the French Open final by dispatching Switzerland’s Timea Bacsinszky yesterday. World No1 Williams came from a set down for the fourth time at Roland Garros this year, surpassing her previous record of three [...]
This World Cup row is over, now real battle set to start June 4, 2015 Women’s football showpiece kicks off tomorrow. ALREADY the biggest ever in terms of number of teams, hopes are high that this year’s Women’s World Cup, which starts in Canada tomorrow, will also prove to the best-supported. Organisers forecast that 1.5m spectators will attend the 24-team tournament, and say another 500m could follow it on television. [...]
Barca can be blocked by stubborn Juve June 4, 2015 BEN CLEMINSON PREVIEWS TOMORROW’S CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL AND BILL ESDAILE LOOKS AHEAD TO THE INVESTEC DERBY BARCELONA are just the Champions League final away from completing a famous treble, but the Juventus team which stands in their way at Berlin’s Olympiastadion tomorrow night will not be there just to make up the numbers. Lionel Messi’s [...]
Jack Hobbs can leave his Investec Derby rivals stumped June 4, 2015 THE Investec Derby (4.30pm) is the absolute pinnacle for any racehorse. The unique contours of Epsom Downs put demands on a three-year-old thoroughbred like no other course on the planet. This race has been dominated by one man in recent years, Aidan O’Brien, who is certain to go down as one of the greatest trainers [...]
Jack Naylor can hammer home the Oaks for Harrington June 4, 2015 BILL ESDAILE PREVIEWS THE INVESTEC OAKS AND THE BEST OF THE OTHER RACES FROM EPSOM TODAY LITTLE more than three months ago, trainer Jessica Harrington had hurdling’s number one prize on her agenda as the now-retired AP McCoy unsuccessfully attempted to ride Jezki to back-to-back Champion Hurdle successes at Cheltenham. Today the playing field is [...]
Odeliz can finally net the Group prize that she richly deserves June 4, 2015 THE Investec Derby Festival gets underway with this afternoon’s Princess Elizabeth Stakes (2.00pm) where Karl Burke’s ODELIZ is going to take all the beating. This five-year-old mare hasn’t won since September 2013, but that doesn’t tell the whole story. She has run some fine races in defeat, notably when beaten just a length by Thistle [...]
Fifa’s sponsors will welcome corruption scrutiny – but only for so long June 4, 2015 Corruption allegations aside, Sepp Blatter’s decision to resign was the right move for Fifa, its sponsors and football. Fifa is now faced with the challenge of rebuilding its reputation. Had it not had the monopoly on international football, the organisation would be dead in the water by now. However, responsibility for reshaping the [...]