Barcelona star Lionel Messi given 21 month jail sentence and fined €2m for tax crimes by Spanish court July 6, 2016 Lionel Messi and his father Jorge have been sentenced to 21 months in prison and fined €2m and €1.5m respectively for three counts of tax fraud. The pair had been charged with defrauding Spain of more than £3m between 2007 and 2009 by funnelling earnings made through image rights through tax havens in Belize and Uruguay. Yet neither the Barcelona star [...]
AC Milan takeover: President Silvio Berlusconi confirms £430m sale to Chinese consortium July 6, 2016 Italian giants AC Milan have been sold to an unnamed Chinese consortium, club president Silvio Berlusconi has confirmed. The seven time European champions have been the subject of months of speculation linking them with a takeover from China, with e-commerce firm Alibaba, Italian entrepreneur Robin Li and industrialist He Xiangjian named as potential suitors. Berlusconi's [...]
Raise a pint to City Beerfest 2016, the Square Mile’s very own summer festival with live music, booze and vintage cars July 6, 2016 Set in the heart of the City in the elegant and historic Guildhall Yard, City Beerfest returns to the Square Mile for its fourth outing today. The Worshipful Company of Brewers has attracted an impressive range of breweries, while the City Music Foundation (CMF) has arranged a varied line up of music, from jazz to [...]
England unleash Twenty20 thrashing on Sri Lanka and leave skipper Eoin Morgan with permanent smile July 5, 2016 England skipper Eoin Morgan admitted that he cannot stop smiling after his side once again flexed their white-ball muscle by thrashing Sri Lanka by eight wickets in their Twenty20 International in Southampton. In their first match in this format since an agonising defeat to the West Indies in the World T20 final in April, England [...]
All-sister final moves step closer as Serena and Venus Williams hit their Wimbledon stride July 5, 2016 World No1 Serena Williams has declared her continuing admiration for elder sister Venus as a fifth Wimbledon final between the pair moved a step closer after both progressed to the tournament’s last four. Seven-time Wimbledon champion Serena boosted her chances of a record-equalling 22nd grand slam title by beating Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-4, 6-4, [...]
Chris Coleman vows Wales won’t be denied first major final by Portugal gamesmanship July 5, 2016 Wales manager Chris Coleman has vowed that his team will not allow Portugal to cheat them out of a first ever appearance in the final of a major tournament. Portugal stars Cristiano Ronaldo and Pepe – an injury doubt for Wednesday's Euro 2016 semi-final in Lyon – have both faced accusations of feigning injury, but [...]
Chris Froome eyes decisive move at Tour de France as unheralded Briton Daniel McLay grabs share of limeligh July 5, 2016 Defending champion Chris Froome is steeling himself to start the Tour de France in earnest – just as a less heralded British rider makes his mark on the world’s most prestigious race. Froome once again finished safely among the peloton as German Marcel Kittel snatched Tuesday’s fourth stage by a whisker, leaving the Team Sky [...]
Euro 2016 betting: Player of the Tournament punt in safe hands with Neuer July 5, 2016 Germany finally broke their duck on Saturday night by beating Italy for the first time at a major tournament. Another long-standing record could fall this weekend if Manuel Neuer becomes the first goalkeeper to be named Player of the Tournament at a European Championship. The ‘sweeper-keeper’ has only conceded once at Euro 2016, with Leonardo [...]
Euro 2016 betting: Fairytale Wales can book their trip to the ball July 5, 2016 It wouldn't be an understatement to call Wales’ run to the Euro 2016 semi-final one of the biggest turnarounds in sporting history. The Dragons were ranked 117th in the world in August 2011, with a side devoid of belief, quality and inspiration. They now stand on the brink of a major tournament final. If they make [...]
Wales v Portugal could come down to duel between Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo July 5, 2016 Wales have been enormously impressive already at Euro 2016 and have a real chance to create more history when they face Portugal in the semi-finals on Wednesday. Gareth Bale says they feel it’s their time, and that bullishness shows the depth of their belief. I don’t think we all realised just how confident Wales were [...]