Liverpool v Real Madrid: History may be on Jurgen Klopp’s side, but more recent form does not bode well for another famous Anfield comeback April 14, 2021 It’s Liverpool v Real Madrid in the Champions League this evening, so get ready for lots of talk about famous European nights at Anfield. Not for the first time, the Reds need something approaching a miracle to overturn a first-leg defeat and progress to the next round. On this occasion, Liverpool must win by at [...]
Mesut Ozil, Eva Longoria, Kate Upton and US investors in Swansea City form unlikely consortium to buy into Mexican football club Necaxa April 13, 2021 Former Arsenal star Mesut Ozil and actor Eva Longoria are among an eclectic group of investors said to be buying into Mexican football club Necaxa. Model Kate Upton, her Major League Baseball star husband Justin Verlander and two US sports executives involved with Swansea City are also part of the consortium, according to reports. The [...]
Trafalgar Square lined up to host 12,500 football supporters this summer at Euro 2020 fan park April 13, 2021 Trafalgar Square is being lined up to host a Euro 2020 fan park for up to 12,500 football supporters this summer. Big screens at the central London site will show all of the matches being played at Wembley Stadium, including England’s three group games, both semi-finals and the final. The plans have been submitted by [...]
England cricket star Stuart Broad supports social media boycotts as sport takes steps to tackle online abuse April 12, 2021 England cricketer Stuart Broad has become the latest high-profile sporting figure to back a boycott of social media. Football clubs Rangers and Swansea City have temporarily stopped posting on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook in protest at a perceived lack of action against online abuse. “There are great positives to social media but if we have [...]
The uncomfortable question for Tottenham and their manager: What is Jose Mourinho for? April 12, 2021 “He’s a specialist in failure,” Jose Mourinho said of Arsene Wenger in February 2014. In seven years since, Mourinho has won fewer trophies than Wenger – if, as the Tottenham Hotspur manager likes to, you count the Community Shield – and his old adversary left the dugout three seasons ago. For a coach who has [...]
Week in Sportbiz: Sports give qualified backing to Covid certification plan; US Beijing boycott talks escalates; Masters caught up in vote row April 8, 2021 British sport’s leading governing bodies have backed plans to use Covid certification if it means they can reopen stadiums in full later this summer. But they have called for urgent clarification on how and when social distancing will be relaxed, warning that partially full venues will not stem their financial losses. The Premier League, Football [...]
Athletes are driving the acceleration of sports investment – will we see European players follow the US trend for SPACs and NFTs? April 8, 2021 Barely a day goes by without another high-profile athlete being announced as an investor in a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), a tech start-up or launching their own non-fungible tokens (NFTs). While the Covid-19 pandemic has created major cash-flow problems for many elite teams and leagues, there is certainly no shortage of liquidity being channelled [...]
Is Mike Dean really the strictest referee in the Premier League? April 1, 2021 Mike Dean is many things – showman in a world of automatons, purveyor of the no-look booking, gift to gif makers – but is he, as some would have it, the strictest referee in the Premier League? A study of officiating in English football’s top flight over the past five seasons has attempted to answer [...]
Athletic Bilbao: Two Copa del Rey finals, one unique philosophy, and the roles of identity and loyalty in sporting success March 31, 2021 Athletic Bilbao manager Marcelino Garcia Toral could be forgiven for using the old cliche about every game feeling like a cup final. That’s because, due to a quirk of pandemic rescheduling, Athletic are about to play in the final of Spain’s domestic cup competition twice in a fortnight. On Saturday, a year later than planned, [...]
English football clubs turn to MetLife for £117.5m loan after baulking at Bank of England emergency funding conditions March 30, 2021 Championship football clubs have chosen to take a £117.5m loan from US insurer MetLife instead of the Bank of England’s emergency Covid-19 support scheme. The English Football League (EFL), which represents clubs in the second, third and fourth divisions, said it rejected the Bank of England loan due to the conditions imposed. Teams in the [...]