Premier League rejigs Tottenham, Fulham, Chelsea and Everton fixtures after Aston Villa Covid-19 outbreak postpones Spurs game January 11, 2021 Aston Villa’s scheduled Premier League fixture against Tottenham on Wednesday has been postponed due the Covid-19 outbreak at the club. Tottenham will instead play Fulham in a rearranged match, while other fixtures involving Chelsea and Everton have also been affected. Villa closed their training ground last week and fielded a team of youth players in [...]
French football’s financial crisis: Why Ligue 1’s €3bn deal with Mediapro collapsed and what it means for the Premier League January 8, 2021 Lille OSC are flying high in Ligue 1, into the latter stages of the Europa League — and €125m in debt. This season, financial turmoil off the pitch is tainting the French football club’s on-field success. Last month, Lille’s major creditors JP Morgan and Elliott Management forced the club’s embattled owner Gerard Lopez to sell [...]
Aston Villa’s ‘significant’ Covid-19 outbreak puts Liverpool FA CUp third round tie in doubt January 7, 2021 Aston Villa have reported a major Covid-19 outbreak at the club which threatens the viability of tomorrow’s FA Cup tie against Liverpool. Villa said a “large number” of players and staff tested positive earlier this week. More positive test were reported in a second round today. The club has closed its training ground, meaning it [...]
The Week in Sportbiz: Fresh fears over Tokyo Olympics; Pound calls for athletes to jump vaccine queue; China’s $900m esports palace January 7, 2021 Tokyo 2020 Olympics organisers have attempted to calm fears that the Games will not go ahead after a state of emergency was declared in the city. Japan’s prime minister Yoshihide Suga announced the measures today in response to a steep rise in Covid-19 cases. The Olympics was rescheduled in response to the pandemic last summer [...]
Footballers warned by own union to stick to lockdown rules following spate of high-profile breaches at top clubs January 6, 2021 Footballers’ union the PFA has urged players to observe lockdown rules as a matter of “vital importance” following a number of high-profile breaches. Stars from Manchester City, Tottenham and West Ham have attracted criticism for holding social gatherings over the festive period. The PFA’s warning comes as Covid-19 cases soar in the Premier League and [...]
Northampton Saints v Leicester Tigers cancelled as fifth Premiership rugby fixture in a fortnight is axed due to Covid-19 cases January 6, 2021 Northampton Saints’ derby against Leicester Tigers has become the latest victim of Covid-19 outbreaks in English rugby union. The fixture, which was due to take place on Saturday, is the fifth since Christmas to be cancelled in such circumstances. Northampton said they had reluctantly agreed to cancel the match after “a number of positive tests” [...]
Do Manchester United get more penalties or are Jurgen Klopp’s complaints just sour grapes? January 5, 2021 Do Manchester United get more penalties than other teams in the Premier League? And are Liverpool unfairly overlooked when referees dish out spot-kicks? Those were two questions raised by Jurgen Klopp after his side lost at Southampton on Monday, leaving them level on points with United at the top of the Premier League. “I hear [...]
How Covid is affecting sport in 2021: Will Premier League, Tokyo Olympics, England’s Test series in Sri Lanka and the Lions tour go ahead? January 5, 2021 The first wave of Covid-19 saw professional sport grind to a halt as countries across the world imposed lockdowns. With cases on the rise again, particularly in England, some sports – including football, rugby union, boxing and snooker – have already been disrupted. So how is elite sport in 2021 being affected by the pandemic [...]
England Covid lockdown: What does it mean for Londoners? January 4, 2021 Boris Johnson has tonight announced a new seven-week national lockdown to deal with surging Covid rates that are now higher than during the country’s first peak last March. The new measures will make little difference in London, which is already in Tier 4, however people in the capital will still have less freedoms from tomorrow. [...]
Chelsea should give Frank Lampard more time – they will never have a better chance to show a manager patience January 4, 2021 A crisis is never far away for a Premier League manager, as Frank Lampard is finding out at Chelsea. Less than a month ago, all looked rosy for Lampard: two points off the top of the table and 17 games unbeaten in all competitions. Now, following Sunday’s 3-1 defeat to Manchester City, his credentials are [...]