French football’s financial crisis: Why Ligue 1’s €3bn deal with Mediapro collapsed and what it means for the Premier League January 8, 2021 Lille OSC are flying high in Ligue 1, into the latter stages of the Europa League — and €125m in debt. This season, financial turmoil off the pitch is tainting the French football club’s on-field success. Last month, Lille’s major creditors JP Morgan and Elliott Management forced the club’s embattled owner Gerard Lopez to sell [...]
England football team chef Omar Meziane on feeding Harry Kane and Co, Joe Hart’s soup strop, and his new business Tweakd January 8, 2021 He might be the England team’s trusted chef now, but Omar Meziane did not expect his first assignment with the country’s best footballers to last long. “It was a rainy Sunday night when I got a call from the FA saying: ‘We’d love you to go to South Korea with the under-20s.’ About a week [...]
From James Bond to Glastonbury, we rate the chances of this year’s cultural events going ahead January 7, 2021 Last year was a virtual write-off for the cultural calendar, with the year’s most hotly-anticipated events being brushed aside by the ceaseless march of Covid. This year the world seems to be drawing close to a solution to the crisis – but will it come in time to save 2021? Marina Abramovic at the Royal [...]
Aston Villa’s ‘significant’ Covid-19 outbreak puts Liverpool FA CUp third round tie in doubt January 7, 2021 Aston Villa have reported a major Covid-19 outbreak at the club which threatens the viability of tomorrow’s FA Cup tie against Liverpool. Villa said a “large number” of players and staff tested positive earlier this week. More positive test were reported in a second round today. The club has closed its training ground, meaning it [...]
The Week in Sportbiz: Fresh fears over Tokyo Olympics; Pound calls for athletes to jump vaccine queue; China’s $900m esports palace January 7, 2021 Tokyo 2020 Olympics organisers have attempted to calm fears that the Games will not go ahead after a state of emergency was declared in the city. Japan’s prime minister Yoshihide Suga announced the measures today in response to a steep rise in Covid-19 cases. The Olympics was rescheduled in response to the pandemic last summer [...]
Sport tackles Covid-19: How Chelsea, Tottenham, Liverpool and tennis chiefs at Wimbledon are helping the NHS and vaccine roll-out January 7, 2021 Football clubs Chelsea, Tottenham and Liverpool as well as Wimbledon tennis chiefs have pledged to join the fight against Covid-19. Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has offered to put up NHS staff at the Copthorne Hotel adjoining the club’s Stamford Bridge home. Tottenham bosses have made their stadium available for administering vaccines, as have Liverpool. The [...]
Vanguard review: Jackie Chan plays the hits January 7, 2021 The current climate is exactly the right moment for a classic action movie, a genre that can provide us with escapism and some vicarious victories at a time when so much seems out of our control. Vanguard would seem to fit the bill – legend Jackie Chan reunites with Stanley Tong, his collaborator on two [...]
Footballers warned by own union to stick to lockdown rules following spate of high-profile breaches at top clubs January 6, 2021 Footballers’ union the PFA has urged players to observe lockdown rules as a matter of “vital importance” following a number of high-profile breaches. Stars from Manchester City, Tottenham and West Ham have attracted criticism for holding social gatherings over the festive period. The PFA’s warning comes as Covid-19 cases soar in the Premier League and [...]
Pieces of A Woman review: The Crown’s Vanessa Kirby excels in harrowing drama January 6, 2021 The coming awards season sees a number of challenging subjects covered by contenders – civil rights abuse in Da 5 Bloods, Nomadland’s portrayal of a broken economy, and depictions of dementia in The Father and Supernova. This week’s drama Pieces of A Woman looks at an equally difficult topic, but one not often explored. Vanessa [...]
Nicolas Cage’s The History Of Swear Words is flippin’ average January 6, 2021 First, a warning. As you might have guessed, this review will contain some very adult language. Netflix’s latest series offering seems irresistible. Nicolas Cage, Oscar winning star turned living meme, presents a show about the history of naughty words. In the age of the endless scroll, that’s more than enough to entice most browsers to press [...]