Issued on: 02/05/2020 – 17:57Modified: 02/05/2020 – 17:57 Bill Beaumont was re-elected as World Rugby chairman after beating Argentine Agustin Pichot in the first round of voting and has called for unity amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the sport’s governing body said on Saturday. The Englishman prevailed by a 28-23 margin to secure a second consecutive four-year […]
Judge rules against US women’s football team in equal pay case
Issued on: 02/05/2020 – 07:02Modified: 02/05/2020 – 07:02 The US women’s football team’s claims for equal pay were dismissed by a court on Friday, handing a victory to the United States Soccer Federation. Judge R. Gary Klausner of the United States District Court for the Central District of California threw out players’ claims that they were under […]
PSG crowned Ligue 1 champions as French football season ends early amid Covid-19 crisis
Issued on: 30/04/2020 – 17:46Modified: 30/04/2020 – 17:46 Paris St Germain have been awarded the Ligue 1 title after the season was ended amid the COVID-19 crisis, the French League (LFP) said on Thursday PSG had a 12-point lead over second-placed Olympique de Marseille when the season was suspended as part of French government’s measures […]
French football and rugby won’t start again until September
Issued on: 28/04/2020 – 18:23Modified: 28/04/2020 – 18:24 French professional sports leagues including football and rugby cannot restart before September because of coronavirus restrictions, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said on Tuesday. Philippe made the announcement as part of a gradual plan to lift the lockdown in France. He said no event where more than 5,000 […]
UEFA postpones Women’s football Euros to 2022, avoiding Olympic clash
Issued on: 23/04/2020 – 19:04Modified: 23/04/2020 – 19:04 The Women’s European Football Championship in 2021 was postponed by one year on Thursday, moving out of a direct clash with the rescheduled Tokyo Olympics. UEFA’s executive committee agreed that the 16-nation tournament in England will now be played from July 6-31 in 2022. The switch was inevitable after […]
UEFA wants new ways of deciding football league results amid Covid-19
Issued on: 23/04/2020 – 19:23Modified: 23/04/2020 – 19:23 UEFA is keener on football leagues adopting new formats to determine final league places for European qualification if suspended domestic competitions cannot be completed due to government restrictions or financial concerns caused by the coronavirus pandemic. With football’s UEFA announcing a desire for qualification for the Champions League […]
Wuhan football team make emotional return to Covid-19 ground zero
Issued on: 19/04/2020 – 15:14Modified: 19/04/2020 – 15:14 Wuhan Zall, the Chinese Super League team from the epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic, made an emotional return to their home city after more than three months torn from their families. Zall endured a turbulent 104 days on the road — including being stranded in Spain — […]
Tour de France to start on August 29 due to Covid-19 pandemic
Issued on: 15/04/2020 – 13:24Modified: 15/04/2020 – 13:24 The Tour de France, cycling’s biggest race, has been postponed to Aug 29-Sept 20 due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, the International Cycling Union (UCI) said on Wednesday. The Tour was originally slated to start from Nice on June 27 and finish in Paris on July 19, but […]
Tour de France organisers scramble to save race amid Covid-19 pandemic
Issued on: 14/04/2020 – 22:11Modified: 14/04/2020 – 22:11 Tour de France organisers are working to find a new start date for cycling’s biggest race after large public gatherings were banned until mid-July in the latest extension of the French coronavirus lockdown. Originally slated to start from Nice on June 27 and finish in Paris on […]
‘Fans can wash their hands’: Burundi’s football league carries on, untroubled by coronavirus
/ Sport Issued on: 14/04/2020 – 12:13Modified: 14/04/2020 – 12:36 While sport fans around the world have been starved of action amid coronavirus-induced lockdowns, Burundi’s football season is carrying on largely unperturbed — a decision some fans believe is endangering players and supporters alike.Outside the Intwari stadium, in the capital Bujumbura, fans have their temperature checked and are […]
Russia rejects new World Cup bribery charges as ‘conspiracy theory’
Russia has flatly denied bribing a FIFA voter with millions of dollars to support the country’s winning World Cup bid.An indictment in the US District Court filed this week gave details of alleged bribes paid to top FIFA officials to vote for Russia and Qatar to the host the football tournaments in 2018 and 2022 […]
France’s football World Cup champions rally behind country’s health workers
Issued on: 06/04/2020 – 21:57Modified: 06/04/2020 – 21:58 France’s national football team have expressed their gratitude to health workers risking their lives to treat those infected with the novel coronavirus, releasing a video to applaud their efforts on the front line. France is one of the worst affected countries in the world with over 82,000 cases of […]
Former Marseille boss Pape Diouf dies at 68 from coronavirus
Issued on: 01/04/2020 – 08:03Modified: 01/04/2020 – 08:04 Former Marseille president Pape Diouf has died aged 68 after contracting the new coronavirus, the football club and a family source said on Tuesday. Diouf, who was born in Chad but had French and Senegalese citizenship, led the club between 2005-2009 and helped build the side that lifted […]
Tokyo Olympics, postponed due to coronavirus pandemic, to open in July 2021
Issued on: 30/03/2020 – 14:46Modified: 30/03/2020 – 14:46 The Tokyo Olympics will open next year in the same time slot scheduled for this year’s games. Tokyo organizers said Monday the opening ceremony would take place on July 23, 2021 – almost exactly one year after the games were due to start this year.“The schedule for the […]
Football coach Michel Hidalgo, who led France to glory at Euro 1984, dies at 87
Issued on: 26/03/2020 – 17:33Modified: 26/03/2020 – 17:33 Michel Hidalgo, who died on Thursday aged 87, will forever be remembered in France as the manager who led Les Bleus to their first major trophy at the European championship in 1984. The former player and manager died in the southern city of Marseille after a long battle […]
Japan PM Abe agrees with IOC to delay Olympics until summer 2021 at latest
Issued on: 24/03/2020 – 13:51Modified: 24/03/2020 – 13:51 Japan will hold the Summer Olympics Games by the summer of 2021 at the latest, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Tuesday. He made the comment in a briefing with reporters following a call with International Olympic Committee (IOC) head Thomas Bach.Japan and the Olympics movement decided on Tuesday to delay […]
World Athletics chief calls for 2020 Tokyo Olympics to be postponed over coronavirus fears
Issued on: 23/03/2020 – 12:09Modified: 23/03/2020 – 12:09 World Athletics chief Sebastian Coe has called for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics to be postponed, saying it is “neither feasible nor desirable” to hold the Games while the world fights the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Coe made the remarks in a letter to International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach ahead […]
British football shut down as Arsenal manager, Chelsea player test positive for coronavirus
Issued on: 13/03/2020 – 18:30Modified: 13/03/2020 – 18:39 The English Premier League suspended all fixtures until April 4 on Friday after Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta and Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi tested positive for coronavirus. Matches in the English Football League, Women’s Super League, all football in Scotland and international friendlies for England and Wales have […]
Lyon thwart Ronaldo in surprise 1-0 defeat of Juventus
Issued on: 26/02/2020 – 23:05Modified: 26/02/2020 – 23:05 Juventus’s hopes of reaching the Champions League last eight suffered a blow when the two-times European Cup winners slumped to a 1-0 defeat in their last-16 first leg at Olympique Lyonnais on Wednesday. Midfielder Lucas Tousart scored the only goal in the opening half to give Lyon, […]
Maria Sharapova, a five-time Grand Slam winner, retires from tennis
Issued on: 26/02/2020 – 16:15Modified: 26/02/2020 – 16:15 Russia’s Maria Sharapova, one of the world’s most recognisable and highest-paid sportswomen, announced her retirement from tennis on Wednesday at the age of 32. “Tennis – I’m saying goodbye,” Sharapova said in an article for Vogue and Vanity Fair magazines. “After 28 years and five Grand Slam titles, […]
Bayern thump Chelsea at Stamford Bridge as Barcelona draw at Napoli
Issued on: 25/02/2020 – 23:13Modified: 25/02/2020 – 23:13 Bayern Munich romped to a 3-0 away win over Chelsea in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Tuesday, with Serge Gnabry scoring twice for the German champions, while Lionel Messi was held in check as Barcelona settled for a 1-1 draw at Napoli. Gnabry […]
Basketball legends honour Kobe and Gianna Bryant at LA memorial
Issued on: 24/02/2020 – 22:53Modified: 24/02/2020 – 22:53 A gallery of basketball legends joined thousands of Kobe Bryant fans in Los Angeles on Monday to pay homage to the transcendent NBA star, his daughter and seven others who died last month in a helicopter crash that sent shockwaves through the world of sports and beyond. […]
England beat Ireland 24-12 to revive Six Nations hopes
Issued on: 23/02/2020 – 22:33Modified: 23/02/2020 – 22:33 England finally turned up in the Six Nations and denied Ireland at least the triple crown and grand slam in an impressive 24-12 victory at Twickenham on Sunday. Hyping itself before the tournament to become the greatest rugby team ever, England was humbled by France and barely […]
PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi charged in FIFA bribery case, say Swiss federal prosecutors
The president of French football giants Paris Saint-Germain has been charged in connection with a wider bribery investigation linked to World Cup television rights, says the office of Switzerland’s attorney general. Nasser Al-Khelaifi, who denies any wrongdoing, was indicted with inciting ex-FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke “to commit “aggravated criminal mismanagement”. Valcke was charged with […]
Swiss prosecutor indicts Paris Saint-Germain boss in bribery case
Issued on: 20/02/2020 – 11:57Modified: 20/02/2020 – 11:57 Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser al-Khelaifi was charged Thursday by Swiss federal prosecutors in connection with a wider bribery investigation linked to World Cup television rights. The office of Switzerland’s attorney general filed an indictment charging Al-Khelaifi with inciting former FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke “to commit aggravated […]
Werner’s penalty gives RB Leipzig the edge over Tottenham
Issued on: 20/02/2020 – 08:43Modified: 20/02/2020 – 08:43 Timo Werner led Leipzig to its first Champions League knockout stage victory, netting a penalty to seal a 1-0 victory over Tottenham in the first leg of their round-of-16 meeting on Wednesday. A clumsy tackle by Tottenham defender Ben Davies on Konrad Laimer led to the penalty […]
Neymar blames PSG’s handling of injury for poor form in Dortmund defeat
Issued on: 19/02/2020 – 13:28Modified: 19/02/2020 – 13:28 Neymar has criticised Paris Saint-Germain’s handling of his recent injury after the Parisians slipped to a 2-1 defeat at Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday, a disappointing result that leaves the French club facing the prospect of yet another early Champions League exit. After missing four games in the last fortnight […]