Man Utd boss Ralf Rangnick suggests scrapping Carabao Cup December 23, 2021 Manchester United manager Ralf Rangnick has suggested that English football should scrap the Carabao Cup to ease the burden on players. Concerns about player welfare have been heightened by a raft of Covid-19 postponements, which will mean fixture congestion – and an intensified workload – in the coming weeks. “England is the only league in [...]
Premier League calls off Watford and Leeds Boxing Day games December 23, 2021 The Premier League has postponed two Boxing Day fixtures – Wolves v Watford, and Liverpool v Leeds United – due to Covid-19 outbreaks. Watford and Leeds requested their games be called off after being left short of players by Covid-19 cases and injuries. The Premier League said it hoped its early decision would minimise disruption [...]
Ed Warner: Sport must be proactive in protecting its stars from abuse December 23, 2021 If you see me reaching for the remote to watch BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 2022, you know what to do. I was delighted that our gold medal winning GB Wheelchair Rugby team was nominated for the Team of the Year last weekend, alongside an illustrious bunch of trophy winners from other sports, [...]
‘Zombie clubs’ on rise as Covid doubles football teams in distress December 22, 2021 Football finance experts have warned of a rise in “zombie clubs” as a result of Covid-19 restrictions slashing teams’ income. The number of English clubs in financial distress doubled from 17 to 34 in the six months after stadiums closed in March 2020, a new report by insolvency firm Begbies Traynor found. Derby County and [...]
The Cathedral: Striking new home of AC Milan and Inter Milan revealed December 22, 2021 Italian football giants AC Milan and Inter Milan have revealed plans for their striking new stadium, called The Cathedral, which will replace their iconic current home, the San Siro. The winning design was drawn up by architects Populous, who also created the new Wembley Stadium, the London 2012 Olympic Stadium, Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium and the [...]
Man City stars Grealish and Foden warned by Guardiola over night out December 21, 2021 Manchester City stars Jack Grealish and Phil Foden have been warned about their behaviour after being dropped by manager Pep Guardiola. Guardiola left Grealish and Foden on the bench for the Premier League leaders’ 4-0 win over Newcastle United on Sunday after the pair were pictured on a night out days earlier. “I pay a [...]
Fifa biennial World Cup claims questioned by sport industry experts December 21, 2021 Leading figures in sports marketing have questioned Fifa’s claim that switching to biennial men’s World Cups would drive a huge revenue increase. Football’s world governing body revived the argument to stage its showpiece more regularly on Monday by presenting research that estimated the change would boost income by 60 per cent over the first four [...]
Premier League rejects calls to pause fixtures amid rising Covid-19 rates December 20, 2021 Premier League clubs have rejected calls to postpone a round of fixtures despite an increasing number of teams being hit by Covid-19 outbreaks. English top-flight teams met today to discuss the potential move after six of 10 games in the division were called off over the weekend. It means the matches scheduled for 28, 29 [...]
Tottenham dumped out of Europa Conference League December 20, 2021 Tottenham Hotspur have been eliminated from the Europa Conference League after Uefa ruled that they forfeited their final group game. Spurs declared themselves unable to fulfil the home fixture against Rennes on 9 December due to a Covid-19 outbreak among players and staff. No new date could be agreed between the clubs, with Uefa insisting [...]
Big Sport Quiz of 2021: How much do you remember? December 20, 2021 From teenagers sweeping to Grand Slam tennis titles to England reaching a major football final, an Olympic Games like no other and the introduction of a brand new cricket competition, it has been a hugely eventful year in sport. Off the field it has been just as transformative, with private equity and, increasingly, cryptocurrency and [...]