Fifa in Qatar 2022 U-turn January 8, 2014 WORLD governing body Fifa insisted yesterday that the 2022 football World Cup in Qatar would not definitely be staged in the winter, just hours after secretary general Jerome Valcke had declared it would switch from its regular summer slot. Concerns over high temperatures teams would be forced to compete in during the Qatari summer prompted [...]
Premier League star comes out January 8, 2014 FORMER Aston Villa and Germany footballer Thomas Hitzlsperger says he hopes to spark a change in sporting culture after he yesterday became the first Premier League footballer to come out as gay. The midfielder, who won 52 international caps and also played for West Ham, Everton, Lazio, Stuttgart and Wolfsburg, retired in September due to [...]
Prior shrugs off heroic rescue of suicidal Briton January 8, 2014 ENGLAND wicketkeeper Matt Prior yesterday played down talk of heroism after he and fellow cricket star Stuart Broad prevented a British man from committing suicide in Australia. Prior, 31, grabbed the man as he appeared to prepare to jump from Sydney’s Pyrmont Bridge, before he and England team-mate Broad talked him round while they waited [...]
Ford set for England call-up as Lancaster opts for young squad January 8, 2014 FORMER world junior player of the year George Ford is set to be named in a new-look 35-man England squad today for the forthcoming Six Nations. With France-bound fly-half Toby Flood set to be overlooked, the Bath No10 is in line for a first senior international call-up from coach Stuart Lancaster. And Ford could be [...]
Schumacher skied at safe speed January 8, 2014 FORMULA ONE: Prosecutors have labelled seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher an “extremely good skier” and said he was not travelling at a dangerous speed in a fall on 29 December which caused a severe head injury. Findings show one of Schumacher’s skis hit a rock, causing him to lose balance and hit his head on [...]
Murray goes fourth in Australia January 8, 2014 TENNIS: Three-time Australian Open runner-up Andy Murray has been seeded fourth for this year’s event.
Capital One Cup: Moyes blasts ref as United suffer third straight loss January 7, 2014 SUNDERLAND 2 vs MANCHESTER UNITED 1 MANCHESTER United manager David Moyes felt a “laughable” performance from referee Andre Marriner was to blame for his team’s Capital One Cup semi-final first leg defeat to the Premier League’s bottom club. Evergreen midfielder Ryan Giggs turned the ball into his own net on the stroke of half-time following [...]
Golf Comment: McIlroy on rise but double Major aim may be setting bar too high January 7, 2014 A TREND of the last few years has been for one player to dominate on both sides of the Atlantic: Henrik Stenson in 2013, Rory McIlroy before that, and in the previous season Luke Donald. All-time history shows that is such a hard thing to do, though it seems that, with today’s advanced equipment, when [...]
Gymnast Smith makes comeback January 7, 2014 BRITISH gymnastics star Louis Smith is aiming to resolve “unfinished business” at this year’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, after announcing his surprise return to the sport yesterday. Smith has not competed since winning silver on the pommel horse at the London 2012 Olympics, but is desperate to go one better and repeat his gold medal-winning [...]
Champion Vonn to go under the knife and miss Winter Olympics January 7, 2014 DEVASTATED American downhill skier Lindsey Vonn has been forced to withdraw from next month’s Winter Olympics in Sochi having failed to overcome a knee injury. The reigning Olympic champion will undergo surgery on an anterior cruciate ligament problem that surfaced during the World Championships in February 2013. The 29-year-old had initially returned to training in [...]