Saudi Arabia has its eyes on claiming a greater slice of the English Premier League once its takeover of Newcastle United Football Club is approved. Riyadh is determined to get even more lucrative TV rights to air Premier League matches. All the paperwork for the takeover of Newcastle United is …
Read More »‘Everything clouds over and goes dark’ – Iniesta on depression at Barcelona
Andres Iniesta has described his struggle with depression while playing for Barcelona, which his mother says was a “bottomless pit” that caused her 25-year-old son to ask to sleep with his parents. Iniesta recalls his experience with the illness in a Rakuten TV documentary, ‘Andres Iniesta – The Unexpected Hero’, …
Read More »2020 European Athletics Championships canceled due to coronavirus pandemic
The European Athletic Association has confirmed that the 2020 European Athletics Championships have been canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. The competition was due to take place at Paris’ Charlety Stadium from the 25th of August until the 30th of August. A statement released by the European Athletics said, “The …
Read More »Bin Salman fails English football ownership test: Rights group
A major human rights group has urged authorities in the English Premier League to dismiss a bid by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and allies to take over the ownership of a club, saying the controversial figure fails the very basic tests of ownership rules in the competition. The …
Read More »UEFA warns major European leagues: Restart by June, or finish the season with PLAYOFFS
If the big European football leagues can’t get their league back up and running by June, they could be forced to finish the season using PLAYOFFS, according to reports. UK newspaper the Daily Mail reports that UEFA has issued guidelines to clubs and leagues across the continent in a bid …
Read More »Kobe Bryant death: Families sue helicopter company over crash
New lawsuits have been filed against the helicopter company that owned and operated the aircraft that crashed in January, killing Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna and eight others. Family members from four of the eight passengers have sued the company, Island Express Helicopters. The Associated Press reported that two of …
Read More »Spain set to finish soccer season without fans in stadiums
Soccer matches and other sports events in Spain will take place in empty venues at least until the end of the summer, the mayor of Madrid said Saturday. José Luis Martínez-Almeida told the Onda Cero radio station that the coronavirus pandemic likely “won’t be under control” by then for events …
Read More »Iranian teen shocks chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen to win $14,000 prize
A 16-year-old Iranian chess prodigy has upended the chess world by beating World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen in the final of the Banter Blitz Cup. Alireza Firouzja defeated the Norwegian 8.5-7.5 in the final of the online quickfire knockout contest — where players must comment verbally on their moves, and …
Read More »Swiss prosecutors to drop one of cases against ex-FIFA chief Blatter
Switzerland’s federal prosecutor is about to end its investigation into former FIFA President Sepp Blatter’s deals with the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) to sell World Cup broadcasting rights. The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) said it has informed all the parties of its intention to close the case and …
Read More »Bayern Munich to resume training despite pandemic
Bayern Munich has confirmed that players will return to training on Monday for the 1st time since the Bundesliga was suspended due to the coronavirus. The Bavarians said in a statement that the training session will be held in coordination with government policy and the relevant authorities. It added that …
Read More »UEFA postpones European club finals
UEFA has decided to postpone the Champions League and the Europa League finals due to the ongoing health crisis across the continent. The European Football governing body said in a statement that it has formally taken the decision to postpone the club finals, originally scheduled for May 2020. It added …
Read More »Video: Tokyo 2020 Olympics postponed due to coronavirus pandemic.
A decision was taken by the International Olympic Committee in agreement with the Japanese Government and Tokyo 2020 organizing committee to delay this summer’s Olympic and Paralympic Games until 2021 due to the worldwide outbreak of Covid-19, which has hampered athletes in their preparations and seen a number of competing …
Read More »Tokyo 2020 Games delay looms as Canada, Australia quit
Major sporting nations Australia and Canada quit the Tokyo 2020 Olympics on Monday as organizers faced global pressure to postpone the Games due to the coronavirus crisis for the first time in their 124-year modern history. Putting back the July 24-Aug. 9 event, as is looking inevitable, would be a …
Read More »Japan’s Abe Reiterates Desire to Hold ‘Complete’ Olympic Games
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reiterated his desire to hold the Olympic Games in their “complete form,” and indicated he wasn’t thinking of reducing the scale of the event or holding the games behind closed doors. Speaking in parliament, Abe said that the games must be safe and secure for …
Read More »Video: Real Madrid win ‘Clasico’ to reclaim La Liga lead from Barcelona
Real Madrid has ended a seven-game winless run in El Clásico with a deserved 2-nil victory over Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabeu, a crucial win that sends Madrid back to the top of La Liga. Barca threatened their hosts on some occasions in the first half, but could not find …
Read More »Manchester City banned from upcoming UEFA competitions
Manchester City has been banned from UEFA club competitions for the next two seasons — beginning in 2020/21 — and handed a $32.5 million fine by European football’s governing body. The organization’s Adjudicatory Chamber of the Club Financial Control Body found that the English Premier League team had “committed serious …
Read More »Ronaldo returns to form helps Juventus rise to the top again
Cristiano Ronaldo’s return to form has coincided with Juventus taking a firm grip on Serie A. Ronaldo did not score at all in November, but he scored twice as Juventus beat Parma 2-1 on Sunday to take his tally to 11 in his last seven league matches. The win also …
Read More »Premier League tells referees to use VAR for red cards
The Premier League has advised its referees to use sideline monitors to make a final ruling on red card decisions. Through 22 rounds of the first Premier League season with video review, referees have not gone over to the screens at any point to watching replays after being told to …
Read More »Real Madrid wins Super Cup with help from Valverde.
Real Madrid star Federico Valverde has apologized for a shocking tackle which saw him sent off in his side’s Spanish Super Cup triumph against Atletico Madrid Sunday. The Uruguayan was shown a red card with just five minutes remaining of extra-time for cynically hacking down Alvaro Morata as the Atletico …
Read More »Is Premier League race already over?
Last season, the title race in the English Premier League went down to the final day, with Manchester City edging Liverpool by one point. But is the title race this season over already — and this time in Liverpool’s favor — while things are much closer in the three other …
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