Can government force £2.5bn Abramovich Chelsea funds to Ukraine? June 8, 2025 Last week the UK government threatened to take Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich to court to make sure the £2.5bn raised from his sale of Chelsea FC went to Ukraine. Abramovich owned Chelsea from 2003 until his forced sale in 2022 following Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. But the proceeds of the sale to a consortium [...]
French Open prize money: How much does Roland Garros winner get? June 7, 2025 This weekend sees the crescendo of the French Open, but how much do the men’s and women’s singles champions win at Roland Garros? For those who are unaware, tennis pays its men’s and women’s champions the same at the four grand slams. The Australian Open earlier this year saw winners Jannik Sinner and Madison Keys [...]
Aston Villa figure joins LIV Golf League June 6, 2025 Former Aston Villa bigwig Chris Heck has joined LIV Golf as the Saudi Arabia-backed league’s new president of business operations. Heck left Villa this season after a two-year stint that saw the Premier League club reach the Champions League. It comes as the US Amateur champion Jose Luis Ballester snubbed a spot on the Korn [...]
Middlesex members force vote on County Championship and T20 Blast June 6, 2025 Middlesex cricket club have called a Special General Meeting for 26 June after receiving a petition from members demanding they oppose cuts to the County Championship and T20 Blast next season. The SGM will include a binding vote to determine the club’s position on proposed changes to the domestic schedule, in the first steps of a coordinated attempt by county members to [...]
Premiership play-offs: Bath and Leicester to set up old school final June 6, 2025 The final day of the Premiership was a brilliant advert for English top-flight rugby, but this weekend’s play-offs will turn that up another notch. On Friday night runaway league leaders Bath take on local rivals Bristol Bears while, on Saturday, Leicester face Sale Sharks in the East Midlands. The Premiership semi-finals are always a series [...]
Fifa strengthens Saudi ties as PIF joins Club World Cup sponsors June 6, 2025 Fifa has further strengthened its ties with Saudi Arabia after its Public Investment Fund (PIF) agreed a long-term commercial partnership beginning with this month’s Club World Cup. PIF has become the eighth sponsor of the revamped tournament, joining global brands Visa, Bank of America, Coca-Cola, Hisense, Lenovo, Budweiser and Qatar Airways. Beyond that, the partnership [...]
Trump tariffs: How Big Beautiful Bill could have bigger impact on sport June 6, 2025 To tariff or not to tariff, that has been the question on both sides of the pond recently. President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff plan is stuck in the courts but the rest of the world is reeling from the uncertainty. That is, except for sports. City AM reported this week that sports valuations are steady [...]
VAR is dangerous and I hate it, says referee Bobby Madley June 5, 2025 Referee Bobby Madley has said he “hates” VAR because it has ruined the immediate emotion for fans watching the game. Madley, who takes charge of games in the EFL and is a fourth official for Premier League matches, spoke out about the technology which continues to be a source of controversy in football. He said [...]
LTA pledges equal prize money at Queen’s Club by 2029 June 5, 2025 The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) has pledged to award equal prize money to men and women at its events at Queen’s Club and Eastbourne by 2029. A women’s tournament has been added to the HSBC Championships at Queen’s Club, which begins next week, and will offer prize money totalling $1.4m (£1m). That is the highest [...]
Rob Cross: Darts star banned as director over unpaid tax of £450,000 June 5, 2025 Darts star Rob Cross has been banned from being a company director for five years after his company failed to pay almost half a million pounds in tax. Cross, who won the World Championship in 2018 and is one of the leading names on the elite PDC tour, owed HMRC £465,403 when his company went [...]