Dismissals for dissent on the cards as England’s refs are told to crack down on bad behaviour from players and coaches July 20, 2016 Players who confront and verbally abuse referees or their assistants face instant dismissal next season after English football’s key stakeholders announced a crackdown on dissent. Any aggressive or confrontational physical contact with an official will also attract a red card, while referees have been ordered to issue more bookings for similar but less serious offences. [...]
Mark Cavendish drops out of Tour de France after earning cool £44,000 in prize money July 20, 2016 Mark Cavendish has pulled out of the Tour de France with five stages remaining but will still take home a cool €52,670 (£44,00) in prize money for his two and half weeks work. The 31-year-old is dropping out to focus on preparations for the Rio Olympics — where he hopes to win his first medal — which begins in [...]
Manchester United will win the transfer window if they sign Paul Pogba – but it’ll be a big blow if they don’t July 19, 2016 Arsenal I wouldn’t be thrilled if I was an Arsenal fan. Granit Xhaka is the Gunners’ only major addition this summer, which suggests Arsene Wenger must be pretty happy with his starting XI. With the way they finished the season, I’m surprised he hasn’t been bolder, while seemingly not having an alternative option when a [...]
Chris Froome content to be winning battle over doping sceptics July 19, 2016 Tour de France leader Chris Froome believes there has been a palpable shift in the public’s perception of him following his decision to publicise results of physiological testing towards the end of last year. Team Sky rider Froome is a two-time Tour winner and during his victories in 2013 and 2015 he had to contend [...]
Antonio Conte insists Diego Costa is staying at Chelsea, Stoke confirm Saido Berahino bids and Arsenal close on Bolton defender July 19, 2016 Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has warned Atletico Madrid to forget about re-signing Diego Costa and vowed to make the Spain centre-forward an integral part of his Stamford Bridge reign. Atletico have been linked with a deal to take their former player back to the Vicente Calderon, with club president Enrique Cerezo quizzed on Tuesday about [...]
Hull urge Football Association to make quick decision after holding informal talks with Steve Bruce over England job July 19, 2016 Newly-promoted Hull City have confirmed that manager Steve Bruce has held informal talks with the Football Association (FA) over succeeding Roy Hodgson as England boss. While no official approach for the former Manchester United captain has been made, the Tigers have followed Sunderland’s lead in calling on the FA to resolve the matter promptly given the [...]
First Major title could open the floodgates for “one of the boys” and supremely talented Henrik Stenson July 19, 2016 All that was missing from his CV was a Major title but it’s there now. There are simply not enough superlatives to do justice to Henrik Stenson’s performance in winning the Open Championship at Royal Troon on Sunday. The golf he produced was as good as it gets. The 40-year-old is just the second player [...]
More than 3m fewer people watched the Open on Sky this weekend than on the BBC last year July 19, 2016 The first year of the Open Championship coverage on Sky endured a 77 per cent drop in viewing figures compared to the final broadcast on the BBC a year ago. Read more: I was destined to win Open Championship, claims victorious Henrik Stenson Last year's peak TV audience of 4.7m plunged to 1.1m last weekend despite the dramatic [...]
Barcelona extend Qatar Airways sponsorship for a further year as club wait for more lucrative deal July 19, 2016 Barcelona have extended their shirt sponsorship deal with Qatar Airways for a further season after failing to find a partner willing to match their €65m (£55m) per season asking price. The La Liga champions have had ties to the gulf state since 2010 when the Qatar Foundation became only the second shirt sponsor in its history [...]
Manchester United may have moved a step closer to signing Juventus’ Paul Pogba after offering midfielder massive annual salary July 19, 2016 Paul Pogba's rumoured move to Manchester United may be a step closer to becoming reality after the Premier League club detailed the large salary they'd be prepared to pay the Frenchman. United have now told the Juventus midfielder's agent, Mino Raiola, they'll offer his client up to £11m a season, according to local reports. Last week Raiola had [...]