Saudi Arabia’s PIF and Amanda Staveley should have waited to buy Chelsea instead March 10, 2022 I can’t help thinking that Amanda Staveley and her consortium have bought the wrong football club. Had they waited just five months they could have had Chelsea FC rather than Newcastle United. A mooted £3bn price tag may be 10 times the price paid for the Magpies, but still well within the means of Saudi [...]
Russian athletes banned from Winter Paralympics after rivals threaten boycott March 3, 2022 Athletes from Russia and Belarus have been banned from the Beijing Winter Paralympics after other nations, including Britain, threatened a boycott. The move represents a swift U-turn from International Olympic Committee, which had on Wednesday said they could compete as neutrals when the Games begin on Friday. It is the latest sporting sanction to hit [...]
Ed Warner: Sport needs a united front against Russia, not patchwork of policies March 3, 2022 On the opening day of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine the Polish wheelchair rugby team decided not to take to the court in their Euros group match against Russia in Paris. A classy move. If only others were so decisive. The leaders of world sport are already divided in their response to Vladimir Putin’s war. It [...]
Russian athletes set for Winter Paralympics ban decision March 2, 2022 Winter Paralympics organisers will decide today whether to ban Russian athletes just 48 hours before the Games are set to begin in Beijing. All Russian competitors have already arrived in China but the International Paralympic Committee is under pressure to stop them taking part in response to the country’s invasion of Ukraine. The International Olympic [...]
Sir Ben Ainslie on sailing, management and when he plans to stop racing March 1, 2022 The acronym GOAT often gets bandied around in sport, usually unwarranted, but when it comes to British sailors, British Olympians and British sportspeople, Sir Ben Ainslie truly is up there with the Greatest Of All Time. The most successful sailor in Olympic history, an America’s Cup winner and multiple competitor, and now the man in [...]
Fifa, Uefa and IOC heed calls to ban Russia from international sport February 28, 2022 Russia faces an indefinite period of exile from international sport after major bodies including the International Olympic Committee, Fifa and Uefa bowed to calls to ban the country. The IOC said Russian teams and athletes should not be allowed to compete in international competitions, even under a neutral flag, as a result of the country’s [...]
International Olympic Committee calls for Russia and Belarus ban February 28, 2022 The International Olympic Committee (IOC) have urged sporting federations and organisations to “not invite or allow the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials in international competitions”. As part of a list of recommendations released today, the IOC Executive Board (EB) have said their motives relate to the inability of Ukrainians to compete as [...]
Britain’s most successful Olympian Jason Kenny retires February 24, 2022 Britain’s most successful Olympian Jason Kenny has retired from track cycling to become a coach. Kenny, 33, won seven gold medals and two silvers at four Olympic Games during an era of unparalleled dominance for British cyclists. He is taking up the role of national sprint coach as Team GB prepares for the Paris 2024 [...]
Ed Warner: Russia has taken us all for fools, especially spineless Thomas Bach February 24, 2022 Second in the table of overall medals won isn’t half bad for a nation denied a place at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. Russia has taken us all for fools. You if you watched any of it. Me for doing just that. All the sporting politicians who allow Russian athletes to compete. The greatest fool [...]
Winter Olympics: Worst GB haul in decade as cost per medal soars February 22, 2022 The curtain has fallen on another Winter Olympics – this time in the famously snowy destination of Beijing – bringing to a close a disappointing Games for Team GB. In terms of the medal table, Great Britain matched their performance of the previous three Winter Olympics. That is an underwhelming 19th place, however, and this [...]