Fans gathered in Sydney were delirous as Australia’s 2-0 win over Denmark sent them into the quarter-finals of the World Cup
Foord and Raso keep Australian dream alive
They came in the thousands, armed with picnic blankets, umbrellas and deck chairs and adorned in green and gold.
Hours before the Matildas took to the pitch they were already gathering, a sea of supporters packed into Sydney’s biggest live site at Darling Harbour.
Continue reading...Offensive chants about tragedies such as Hillsborough can be public order offences under new guidance
Football fans in England and Wales could be banned from matches if they mock tragedies such as the Hillsborough disaster, under updated guidance from the Crown Prosecution Service.
The CPS guidance will state that actions such as singing, chanting or displaying offensive messages about disasters or accidents involving players or fans can be seen as a public order offence.
Continue reading...Announcement comes weeks after the Australian state of Victoria pulled out of hosting the 2026 Games
The province of Alberta has withdrawn its support for a bid centred around Calgary/Edmonton to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games, weeks after the Australia state of Victoria pulled out of hosting the 2026 Games.
Alberta’s tourism minister, Joseph Schow, said that cost was behind the decision.
Continue reading...Ramon Diaz says he was just 17 when Northwestern University upperclassmen shaved “Cinco de Mayo” onto the back of his head as the entire football team watched.
“The holiday itself has a significant meaning to me and my family and then the Latino community at large,” Diaz told the Associated Press. “I was mocked and ridiculed.”
In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org
Continue reading...Peter Bol has been “exonerated” and can now turn his full focus to the upcoming world athletics championships after Sport Integrity Australia (SIA) dropped its anti-doping investigation into the middle-distance star.
It ends a saga dating back to mid-January when the 29-year-old Australian was provisionally suspended after recording an elevated level of synthetic erythropoietin (EPO).
Continue reading...Olha Kharlan, competing at the world championships in Milan, refused to shake Russian rival’s hand after beating her
Ukraine’s government has called on the International Fencing Federation (FIE) to reverse its decision to disqualify a Ukrainian fencer for refusing to shake hands with her defeated Russian opponent.
The country’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, called for Olha Kharlan to be reinstated in the fencing world championships in Milan, after she was excluded as a result of the aftermath of her victory over Anna Smirnova, a Russian competing as a neutral.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Billions deployed since early 2021 in a move critics say is an attempt to distract from human rights record
Saudi Arabia has spent at least $6.3bn (£4.9bn) in sports deals since early 2021, more than quadruple the previous amount spent over a six-year period, in what critics have labelled an effort to distract from its human rights record.
Saudi Arabia has deployed billions from its Public Investment Fund over the last two-and-a-half years according to analysis by the Guardian, spending on sports at a scale that has completely changed professional golf and transformed the international transfer market for football.
Continue reading...From Suffolk to Sheffield, youngsters inspired by England’s Euros triumph sat down before big screens to enjoy the side’s World Cup campaign
Ninety minutes before the Lionesses took to the pitch for their World Cup opener, the under-11s Hadleigh United girls’ team kicked off their own tournament – a mini World Cup five-a-side organised by coach Matt French. More than two dozen girls, representing global national teams, showed off their skills to cheering families and friends.
After the final whistle, it was time to head to the clubhouse to watch the England women’s team play.
Continue reading...Josh Hazlewood admitted he was crossing his fingers and hoping for rain at the end of another day of English domination, which ended with Australia 113 for four in their second innings, still 162 away from making England bat again.
The amount of rain likely to fall on Manchester over the weekend varies between forecasts, but all of them suggest Saturday’s play will be significantly affected, with parts of Sunday also in jeopardy. “I’d be very pleased if it rains,” Hazlewood said. “It’s obviously forecast, and forecasts can change all the time, but it would be great to lose a few overs – it would make our job a bit easier.”
Continue reading...The 2026 Games, which Daniel Andrews announced would be cancelled, was set to be held across Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat, Gippsland and Shepparton
Regional areas have been left “shocked and disappointed” after the Victorian government decided to cancel the 2026 Commonwealth Games.
On Tuesday the government announced it would cancel the 12-day event after the cost blew out from $2.6bn and could have reached $7bn, with the premier, Daniel Andrews, saying he did not want to take money from other areas of the budget to pay for the Games.
Continue reading...Average was once every 16 seconds across 10 matches last season, with a total of 3,522 in West Ham v Chelsea
Betting company logos appear as often as 3,500 times during the course of a televised football match, the majority on pitchside hoardings, prompting renewed scepticism about top-flight clubs’ plan to give up front-of-shirt betting ads only.
A study led by psychology experts from four universities measured the volume of gambling adverts during 10 matches that took place last season, featuring every Premier League club.
Continue reading...Device trialled at tournament captures images with camera and projects them into sight line
Rosie Pybus has been to Wimbledon several times and watched her first tennis match this year, thanks to a headset for visually impaired people. She told of the “exhilarating” moment she tested the innovative device, which allows users to watch live action from the stands.
Visually impaired tennis fans at SW19 have been trialling the headsets, which capture images with a camera and project them into a person’s sight line. Users can adjust the images with a remote control.
Continue reading...Nassar reportedly in stable condition after becoming involved in an altercation in Florida prison and being stabbed multiple times
Larry Nassar, the former Michigan State University and USA Gymnastics doctor who was convicted of decades of abuse of women and girls under the guise of medical treatment, was reportedly stabbed at a federal prison in Florida on Sunday.
The Associated Press reported that Nassar was involved in an altercation with another person at United States Penitentiary Coleman in Florida and was stabbed multiple times, including in the chest and back.
Continue reading...In the cult TV series Ted Lasso, a football manager some like to mock hangs a simple sign in his new team’s changing room. It says “BELIEVE”.
And on Saturday at Melbourne’s John Cain Arena, it was old-fashioned belief – instilled by Tania Obst, a coach some have ridiculed, and her assistants Tracey Neville and Cathy Fellows – that was the driving force in the Adelaide Thunderbirds’ first Super Netball premiership win.
Continue reading...Northamptonshire force says technology adds ‘extra layer of security’ at Silverstone for F1 race
Police are using live facial recognition (LFR) to scan the faces of people attending the British Grand Prix at Silverstone this weekend.
Northamptonshire police were deploying the technology on Saturday and Sunday to provide “an extra layer of security” at the Formula One race, which 450,000 people were expected to attend, the force said.
Continue reading...Pop-star had said she was struck by Victor Wembanyama’s security when she tried to approach the basketball player for a photograph
No charges will be filed following a brief investigation of the altercation involving pop star Britney Spears, San Antonio Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama and a member of the basketball player’s security team, Las Vegas police said on Friday.
Spears said she was struck by a security guard as she tried to approach Wembanyama on the way into a restaurant in a Las Vegas casino complex on Wednesday night. Wembanyama said a person – he later was told it was Spears – grabbed him from behind.
Continue reading...Emotional two-time champion says he doesn’t know if he will be back and ‘motivation is obviously a big thing’
An emotional Andy Murray hinted that he may have played his last Wimbledon match after his hopes of reaching the third round were dashed on Friday.
The two-time champion spoke of his disappointment after he was defeated by Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas, the fifth seed, in five sets as the temperature soared to 29C.
Continue reading...The Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has offered some advice to his UK counterpart after Rishi Sunak weighed into the controversy over Jonny Bairstow’s dismissal at Lord’s on Sunday.
Mr Albanese said on Tuesday he understood Sunak’s disappointment.
Continue reading...Mohammed bin Salman said to look to repair his reputation after 2018 murder of Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul
The proposed merger between the Saudi-backed LIV Tour and the American PGA Tour marks the latest maneuver by Riyadh in its campaign to repair its reputation and head off the sort of blacklisting that occurred after the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a prominent advocate for democracy in the Middle East told the Guardian.
“This is a merger in name only. This is really about the Saudi government throwing a premium at PGA Tour that they obviously found too overwhelmingly tempting to resist,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of Democracy for the Arab World Now (Dawn).
Continue reading...Invitation raises possibility Yasir al-Rumayyan could be questioned under oath about execution of Jamal Khashoggi
The powerful governor of Saudi Arabia’s state-backed investment fund has been invited to testify before a Senate committee in the wake of a proposed merger between the Saudi-backed LIV Tour and the PGA, raising the possibility the executive could be questioned under oath about issues ranging from the future of golf to the execution of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Yasir al-Rumayyan, governor of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, was invited to testify on 11 July by the Senate permanent subcommittee on investigations, whose chairman, the Democratic senator Dick Blumenthal, is one of the toughest critics of Saudi Arabia on Capitol Hill.
This article was amended on 21 June 2023 to clarify that Yasir al-Rumayyan is the governor of Saudi Arabia’s state-backed investment fund, rather than the chairman.
Continue reading...