UEFA could move Euros final from Wembley after backlash to quarantine-free VIPs June 18, 2021 UEFA today said it has a contingency plan to replace Wembley as the host for the Euro 2020 final unless the government agrees to exempt travelling foreign fans from a 10-day quarantine. Tournament organisers have been in negotiations with the British government since it scrapped plans to end lockdown restrictions on 21 June. Wembley is [...]
England v Scotland: Scouting the Scots with a bit of help from investment banking ahead of the Euro 2020 Battle of Britain June 18, 2021 It’s England v Scotland at Euro 2020 this evening as the Battle of Britain returns to major tournament football. Gareth Southgate will have his own ideas about Scotland’s strengths and weaknesses under Steve Clarke. But, should he need any more pointers, we can offer some answers based on quantitative analysis methods borrowed from investment banking. [...]
Ollie Phillips: Why I fancy Sale and Bristol to progress in Premiership semi-finals June 18, 2021 The Premiership Rugby semi-finals this weekend are a fascinating collision of contrasts – and I can’t wait. While Exeter and Sale will look to knock 10 bells out of each other, Bristol and Harlequins promises a feast of fast, flowing rugby. And in Sale and Quins we have two teams transformed by coaching changes this [...]
Roger Federer Wimbledon blazer set to fetch £25,000 as tennis star auctions vast trove of memorabilia June 17, 2021 Roger Federer is auctioning one of his iconic Wimbledon blazers as part of a sale of treasures from his tennis career. The 2016 blazer, which he wore to walk out on to Centre Court, is expected to fetch £15,000-£25,000. It is one of the most prestigious of 300 lots in the online auction, which is [...]
From Noël Coward to Hugh Grant, Americans love British style June 17, 2021 This week saw the opening of a dazzling exhibition at the Guildhall Art Gallery dedicated to the art and style of Noël Coward. It celebrates the centenary of the Master’s West End debut as a 19-year-old playwright, with I’ll Leave It To You. Many of the exhibits come from the Noël Coward Archive Trust, and [...]
Explained: Why Cristiano Ronaldo’s Coke snub at Euro 2020 was not the cause of Coca-Cola’s share price drop June 17, 2021 Cristiano Ronaldo was credited with knocking $4bn off the value of Coca-Cola earlier this week when he snubbed the soft drink – but does the theory stack up? The Portuguese football superstar pointedly moved two bottles of Coke from his desk at a Euro 2020 press conference and instead held up a bottle of water, [...]
Russian boss of Gazprom-backed boxing body AIBA turns to man who lifted lid on Russian state-sponsored doping to lead corruption probes June 17, 2021 Richard McLaren, the Canadian law professor and sports investigator, is best known for exposing Russia for state-sponsored doping. So eyebrows were raised this week when it emerged that McLaren had been hired by one of Russia’s most powerful sports administrators. Umar Kremlev has called on McLaren Global Sports Solutions as part of his bid to [...]
US Open prize money 2021: How much can the stars of men’s golf win at Torrey Pines? June 17, 2021 US Open prize money reflects the event’s reputation as perhaps the most difficult of the four men’s majors. Whoever triumphs at Torrey Pines this week will take home a winners’ prize of $2.25m from a total pot of $12.5m. Those sums – frozen from last year – mean that US Open prize money remains the [...]
Loki Episode 2 review – Loki Vs The Apocalypse June 16, 2021 *** WARNING: This review contains spoilers for all episodes of Loki and parts of The MCU *** Last week’s opening episode of Loki saw our favourite God of Mischief (Tom Hiddleston) apprehended by the Time Variance Authority, and saved from extermination by a TVA agent named Mobius (Owen Wilson) who believes he is key to [...]
Sam Torrance: Phil Mickelson would be the fairytale winner but Jon Rahm has justified favourite status at the US Open June 16, 2021 Another month, another major and this time it’s the turn of the US Open at Torrey Pines. A revamped golf calendar has squeezed major season into just 15 weeks, which leaves the rest of the year a bit barren but is great when you are in the thick of it, as we are now. The [...]