Howard Webb: Technology undoubtedly helps referees, but video replays won’t be a panacea for football October 25, 2016 A whistle, a red and yellow card and the strength of your personality – those were the tools of the trade when I began a 25-year refereeing career in 1989. In the late 90s we were given these chunky radios that sat in the middle of our backs with a big earpiece looped over your [...]
IAAF opt against investigation into allegations of Qatari bribes October 25, 2016 Allegations of corruption during the bidding process to stage the 2017 World Athletics Championships will not be investigated further, governing body the IAAF has confirmed. UK Athletics chairman Ed Warner said in January that a “senior person within the IAAF”, later confirmed as current president Lord Coe, had advised him that Qatar officials had offered [...]
Mauricio Pochettino turns up heat on Jurgen Klopp by insisting odds are stacked in favour of Liverpool progressing in EFL Cup October 24, 2016 Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino has piled the pressure onto his opposite number Jurgen Klopp by insisting the odds of progressing from Tuesday's EFL Cup fourth round tie are firmly stacked in favour of eight-time tournament winners Liverpool. Pochettino already appears to be feeling the strain of combining a Premier League title charge with Champions League [...]
A week in rugby: Anthony Foley super-charges Munster, Danny Cipriani suffers from lack of kicking duties, and Leicester Tigers rediscover their bite October 24, 2016 Thomond Tribute Glasgow had no chance of winning against Munster on Saturday; the men in red could never have allowed it. The electricity of Thomond Park flowed with a current even more vigorous than has come to be expected from one of the sport's most iconic venues in Munster’s 38-17 win, a week after the [...]
Portugal Masters win shows why Ryder Cup captaincy can wait for Padraig Harrington October 24, 2016 It’s never a bad year when you’ve managed to win a tournament. There are plenty of years when you don’t win and you start to wonder if you will do again, and if you go more than a year then it can really start to play on your mind. Padraig Harrington may be a prolific [...]
England’s injury woes deepen ahead of autumn internationals as Maro Itoje ruled out with fractured hand October 24, 2016 England head coach Eddie Jones was dealt a further blow to an already pounding injury headache after European player of the year Maro Itoje was ruled out of his side’s autumn internationals with a fractured right hand. Itoje will require surgery on the injury he suffered during Saracens’ European Champions Cup victory over Scarlets at [...]
The 30 contenders for the 2016 Ballon d’Or are revealed October 24, 2016 The long-list for the world’s best player features eight Premier League stars with England’s Jamie Vardy and Wales’ Gareth Bale flying the flag for Britain. Contenders for the Ballon d'Or were revealed today with Vardy's Leicester team-mate Riyad Mahrez also included. Four Manchester players are evenly distributed across the two sides, while West Ham’s Dimitri Payet and Spurs shot-stopper Hugo [...]
Skipper Alastair Cook hints at changes to bowling attack after England seal nail-biting victory in first Test against Bangladesh October 24, 2016 Skipper Alastair Cook hinted there are likely to be changes to England’s bowling unit for the second Test despite his side clinching a nail-biting 22-run success over Bangladesh in the series opener in Chittagong. England took less than 20 minutes of the fifth morning to secure the win as all-rounder Ben Stokes claimed the wickets [...]
Arsenal hopeful of rivalling Manchester United and Chelsea’s record-breaking commercial deals, says chief executive Ivan Gazidis October 24, 2016 Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis insists he is optimistic that the club can rival the record-breaking deals achieved by some Premier League teams when they renew their main commercial agreements. Leading English clubs have cashed in on a boom in kit deals and shirt sponsorship markets since Arsenal signed their existing contracts with Puma and [...]
Arsene Wenger predicts 82-86 points will be enough to win the Premier League this season October 24, 2016 Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has revealed the magic number of points that he believes will be enough to secure the club a first Premier League title since 2004. With three teams – Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool – locked at the top of the table on 20 points after nine games, Wenger has predicted that the champions will finish on 82-86 [...]