By: Frank Dalleres

As Sports Editor of City A.M. I cover all sports but have a particular interest in football, tennis, golf and sport business. Send stories and tip-offs to frank.dalleres@cityam.com

Cast adrift on a sea of hubris, refereeing has lost sight of the spirit of football

October 19, 2020

Only three possible explanations exist for both referee Michael Oliver and video assistant referee David Coote failing to designate Jordan Pickford’s crumpling of Virgil van Dijk a red card offence. One: neither thought it worth addressing. Two: neither felt it was in their power to act since Van Dijk had been guilty of the most [...]
Champions Cup final: Exeter aim to increase English dominance in club rugby’s European showpiece

October 16, 2020

Exeter Chiefs take on Racing 92 this weekend in the European Champions Cup final, one of the last remaining fixtures of an interrupted rugby season. Both teams will be looking to lift the trophy for the first time when they clash at Ashton Gate in Bristol on Saturday afternoon. A win for Exeter would extend [...]
The Week in Sportbiz: Uncle Sam is coming for cricket, Nigel Wray bets on fitness and sports reveal trans policies

October 16, 2020

Not content with trying to carve up the Premier League, Americans now have another English sacred cow in their sights: cricket. The game’s Stateside governing body today announced ambitious plans to become a major mainstream sport across the Atlantic – and achieve full member status with the International Cricket Council within a decade. USA Cricket [...]
Premier League teams reject controversial Project Big Picture reforms

October 14, 2020

Premier League clubs have renounced controversial plans for English football’s biggest shake-up in almost 30 years. ‘Project Big Picture’ proposed reducing the number of teams in the top division and giving the six biggest clubs sweeping powers in exchange for a major package of financial aid for the wider game affected by Covid-19. But clubs [...]
Lutalo Muhammad interview: Team GB taekwondo star set on Olympic gold at Tokyo 2020 after his Rio 2016 heartbreak

March 10, 2020

Few pieces of broadcast footage distil sport’s capacity for heartbreak better than the interview given by British athlete Lutalo Muhammad immediately after his desperately cruel defeat in the men’s taekwondo final at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Grimacing, whimpering and seemingly unable to process what has just unfolded, Muhammad sobs: “I was a half-second away [...]
Manchester United 2, Manchester City 0: Hungry Reds punish Ederson errors

March 8, 2020

All but mathematically unable to catch Liverpool and with little prospect of being pipped by a stuttering Leicester, Premier League games must currently feel like curiously pointless tasks for Manchester City. Win, lose or draw, City are highly likely to come second in the table and are almost certain to finish in the top four, [...]
Aston Villa 1, Manchester City 2: Phil Foden stars as Blues complete perfect week with Carabao Cup win

March 1, 2020

Lately, it has not been the happiest of times for Manchester City. The title they have held dear for two years is being wrenched away by Liverpool, the title they covet most looks like being out of reach until 2022, and the knock-on effect of that has been to raise doubts about the futures of [...]
Arsenal 3-2 Everton: Gunners come out on top of end-to-end game between two work-in-progress Premier League sides

February 23, 2020

Intrigue was never going to be in short supply in a match between two Premier League teams overhauled by high-profile new managers still harbouring faint hopes of European qualification. Still, Arsenal’s narrow victory in a five-goal contest that swung one way then the other – from Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s acrobatic first-minute goal to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s decisive [...]
Manchester City could win legal row with Uefa but club’s Champions League ban is already having an impact

February 16, 2020

If Friday’s announcement that Manchester City face exclusion from the Champions League for the next two years was a bombshell, then the accompanying shrapnel is the endless list of questions posed by Uefa’s verdict. What now for the most expensively assembled project in the history of football? Can Pep Guardiola be persuaded to stay at [...]
France 24-17 England: Four things we learned as Les Bleus dazzle in Six Nations opener

February 2, 2020

If France were seeking a performance to answer sceptics who suspected their latest fresh start might prove another false dawn, then this resounding Six Nations defeat of England ought to silence most. Les Bleus married their trademark attacking flair with uncharacteristically resolute defending as they swept into a 24-0 lead on Sunday at the Stade [...]

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