Sport is guilty of shutting its eyes to Russia’s geopolitical ambitions February 27, 2022 Roman Abramovich’s near 20-year ownership of Premier League club Chelsea has been shrouded in mystery and therefore subject to constant scrutiny and speculation. Indeed, until the weekend, it remained unclear why he is there and what he is seeking to achieve. The oligarch has denied having direct links with Vladimir Putin but has been seen [...]
Chelsea facing calls to clarify Roman Abramovich role February 27, 2022 Chelsea are facing calls to publicly clarify Roman Abramovich’s role after he said he had handed the club’s “stewardship and care” to trustees of its charitable foundation. Ministers have been urged to seize billionaire Abramovich’s assets on the basis of his links to the Russian state in the wake of the country’s invasion of Ukraine. [...]
Championship Rugby’s deal with Premier Sports falls through February 24, 2022 Rugby fans should be witnessing one of the closest battles for promotion to the Premiership, with just five points currently separating four Championship teams in the tussle to go up. But in this most exciting of run-ins in the English second tier, they have been shut out of the action by a complete absence of [...]
Britain’s richest man foots bill as Dazn faces $1.3bn in losses February 23, 2022 Sir Leonard Blavatnik is patching losses for sports streaming company Dazn which hase reported a $1.3bn shortfall for 2020.
Jury out on Crystal Palace gamble ahead of reunion with Hodgson February 22, 2022 Crystal Palace face Roy Hodgson’s Watford tomorrow in a match that serves as a reminder of both their recent past and the significant gamble they have made on their future. After almost four unadventurous but reliable years under Hodgson, last summer Palace traded in the former England manager for a decidedly sexier brand of football [...]
Trap door opens for more clubs in Premier League relegation battle February 20, 2022 Harry Kane’s virtuoso display at the Etihad Stadium and its effect on the title race might have grabbed the headlines but this was also a hugely significant weekend in the Premier League relegation battle. Watford and Burnley both won for the first time in three months to reignite their chances of climbing out of the [...]
TV row comes back to bite Turkish football’s Super Lig rights sale February 20, 2022 Turkish football provided one of the most bizarre stories of last year when Fenerbahce president Ali Koc waged a public relations war with broadcaster BeIN Sports. Koc attempted to blame BeIN for bad results, cooking up an implausible conspiracy theory that it was manipulating replays shown to the video assistant referee to penalise his team. [...]
Blavatnik’s firm pumps $4.3bn into sports media group DAZN February 19, 2022 Billionaire investor Sir Len Blavatnik has announced a $4.3bn capital injection into sports media firm DAZN as the firm eyes an expansion into betting, gaming and NFTs.
Antonio Conte grumbles cast shadow over huge week for Tottenham February 18, 2022 Antonio Conte often cuts an agitated figure on the touchline but the Tottenham Hotspur manager has sounded especially restless ahead of a big week for the club. In interviews that emerged on Wednesday, Conte aired his frustration at the quality and quantity of signings Spurs made in the January transfer window. The Italian also hinted [...]
Ed Warner: Commonwealth Games has earned extra life by embracing esports February 17, 2022 If you want to win a full bore rifle shooting medal at the Commonwealth Games you’ll need a keen eye, steady hand, ability to lower and control your heart rate, thousands of hours of practice – and a host city willing to include the event. However good you might be, then, Birmingham 2022 isn’t your [...]