Category Archives: Sport

Police investigate burglary at Raheem Sterling’s Surrey home

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Officers say no one was at England footballer’s Leatherhead home when jewellery and watches stolen

Jewellery and watches were among items stolen at the Surrey home of the England footballer Raheem Sterling in a burglary that forced the winger to return to the UK from the World Cup in Qatar.

Surrey police confirmed they were investigating a burglary at a property in Oxshott, Leatherhead, after Sterling missed England’s win against Senegal in the knockout stages of the tournament on Sunday due to a “family matter”.

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Pelé is not under palliative care despite reports, says daughter

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Flavia Nascimento insists Brazilian footballing great ‘is not saying goodbye right now’

The Brazilian footballing great Pelé has not been moved to palliative care, one of his daughters has said, downplaying reports that he was in end-of-life care after the 82-year-old was hospitalised last week to re-evaluate his treatment for colon cancer.

One of the greatest players of all time, Pelé had a tumour removed from his colon in September 2021 and has been receiving hospital care on a regular basis.

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Bid to make key robodebt documents public blocked – as it happened

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This blog is now closed

Fans frustrated at last-minute World Cup arrangements

As fans and supporters made their way out of the Darling Harbour viewing site for the Socceroos’ round of 16 loss to Argentina, many expressed their frustration at the hastily organised event.

Lots of us got locked outside. It would have been good if they let some more people in. There were so many up there on stairs, it could’ve been more dangerous if they jumped around too much.

Six thousand people for a major sporting event is just not good enough. It looks like triple that number have turned up. It feels like they underestimated the number of people who would turn up today.

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Senegal or England to win? Parents v children in London’s west African community

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In Deptford, south-east London, support for Senegal is high among the older generation, while their offspring opt for the country of their birth in the World Cup showdown

Football’s capacity to unite is routinely lauded, but Sunday’s World Cup match between England and Senegal has already divided many west African families in London.

The split is generational. Parents say they tend to support Senegal, the country of their birth, while their children opt to support the state they were raised in: England.

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Australia cricket great Ricky Ponting in hospital after heart scare

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  • Former captain was commentating on West Indies Test
  • Ponting left Optus Stadium after feeling unwell

Ricky Ponting was taken to hospital on Friday after the former Australia captain suffered a heart problem while commentating during day three of Australia’s first Test against West Indies in Perth.

According to the reports, Ponting left Optus Stadium around lunchtime after feeling unwell. The 47-year-old is part of the Seven Network’s commentary team for Australia’s two-Test home series against West Indies.

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‘Senegal is the best’: Dakar dreams of World Cup upset over England

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There is a buzz in the air of the capital and a real belief the Lions of Teranga can beat the Three Lions

Just under 4,500 miles (7,200km) away from the shiny stadiums in Qatar, a man named Serigne Fallou confidently proclaims that he already knows what the result will be on Sunday when England take on Senegal in the World Cup’s round of 16.

“Absolutely, Senegal will win, 1-0,” says Fallou, an apartment doorman in Dakar, Senegal’s bustling capital on the Atlantic Ocean. “I don’t have a doubt.”

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Florida QB Jalen Kitna released on bail after child abuse image charges

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  • College athlete faces up to 15 years in prison if found guilty
  • Player is son of former NFL quarterback Jon Kitna

Florida back-up quarterback Jalen Kitna was released from jail on an $80,000 bond on Thursday, a day after he was arrested on five charges involving child abuse images.

Judge Meshon Rawls set the bond and as conditions for Kitna’s release ordered him not to have any unsupervised contact with minors and not to have any internet access.

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‘It’s awakened a consciousness in me’: Collingwood urges AFL clubs to conduct racism reviews

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Magpies implement 14 recommendations of Do Better review with four in progress as president Jeff Browne says new systems will build inclusive club

Collingwood says it is making strides to remove the stain of racism and wants other AFL teams to learn from its lessons, two years after an external review found systemic racism within the club.

The Do Better report, the result of an independent review in 2020 by the Jumbunna Institute, outlined 18 recommendations for Collingwood to transform its processes, values and culture to become a more inclusive workplace – all of which were adopted by the club.

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Socceroos to face Argentina in World Cup knockouts after Australia’s famous win over Denmark – live reaction

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Australia’s 1-0 win sends them through for first time since 2006, as Mat Leckie’s 60th-minute goal proves decisive in Qatar

Calls for public holiday

Admittedly these calls are coming from the football establishment, but still, surely something for Anthony Albanese to consider.

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‘A magnificent win’: Australia’s World Cup victory sparks wild celebrations back home

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PM Anthony Albanese leads the applause for the Socceroos, who were also cheered on by huge crowds in Melbourne and Sydney

Australia’s historic World Cup win over Denmark sparked wild celebrations across the country in the early hours of the morning as the team progressed to the knockout stages of the finals for only the second time.

Thousands of fans had gathered in Melbourne’s Federation Square to watch the match in the middle of the night and erupted in ecstasy when Mathew Leckie scored to put them into the lead after an hour.

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Anti-regime Iranians celebrate World Cup exit to US in solidarity with protests

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Footage shows fireworks and cheering across Iran and at Qatar stadium after team representing Islamic Republic lost 1-0

Some Iranians have celebrated their team’s loss to the US and subsequent exit from the World Cup, as demonstrations against the government’s treatment of protesters took place inside and outside the stadium in Qatar and across Iran.

The contest between the Iranian and American sides, whose countries severed diplomatic ties more than 40 years ago, took place under increased security to prevent a flare-up over the anti-government protests that have taken place across Iran since the death in custody of the 22-year-old Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini on 16 September.

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Iran releases two former national team footballers arrested over protests

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Both were bailed hours before Iran faces US in World Cup, following release of hundreds of other prisoners

Iran has released two former members of its international football team who were arrested on charges related to countrywide protests, just hours before the national squad was set to play the US at the World Cup.

Right-back Voria Ghafouri was detained last week and accused of tarnishing “the reputation of the national team and spreading propaganda against the state”, while retired goalkeeper Parviz Boroumand was arrested nearly two weeks ago on charges of participating in rallies in the capital, Tehran.

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US awaits ‘serious response’ from Russia over Brittney Griner release proposal

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Diplomat in Moscow says US has ‘put a significant proposal on the table’ in effort to free basketball star jailed on drugs conviction

The US is waiting for a “serious response” from Russia to a series of proposals regarding the release of the basketball star Brittney Griner, a senior US diplomat said.

Elizabeth Rood, the US chargée d’affaires in Moscow, told Russia’s state-owned RIA news agency that talks about freeing Griner – who was sentenced to nine years in a penal colony on charges of possessing and smuggling drugs – were ongoing. But Rood said Russia was yet to seriously engage.

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Odell Beckham Jr removed from flight after refusing to fasten seatbelt

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  • NFL star appeared to drift in and out of consciousness
  • Wide receiver was escorted off plane by police officers

NFL wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr was removed by police from an aircraft before takeoff at Miami International Airport after officials said he failed to respond to requests to buckle his seatbelt and appeared to be unconscious, police and airline officials said on Sunday.

“Fearing that Mr Beckham was seriously ill, and that his condition would worsen through the expected five-hour flight, [aircraft crew members] called for police and fire rescue,” Miami-Dade Police Department said in a statement. “As they tried to wake [Beckham] to fasten his seat belt, he appeared to be coming in and out of consciousness.”

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How many migrant workers have died in Qatar? What we know about the human cost of the 2022 World Cup

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This year’s tournament has been dominated by off-field matters. We look at the issues around the labor used to build the tournament’s infrastructure

The deaths of migrant workers in Qatar in the build-up to this year’s World Cup have drawn criticism across the world. While the tournament’s organizers put the official count at 40, estimates by the Guardian put the figure in the thousands. Here we explore the key questions around an issue that has tarnished the World Cup for many fans.

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‘A historic moment’: Japanese World Cup hopes surge ahead of crucial Costa Rica match

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Fans believe the Samurai Blue are part of wave of teams changing the face of football after defeat of Germany

After Japan’s stunning victory over Germany in their opening match of the Qatar World Cup, fans of the Samurai Blue are daring to dream their team could reach the quarter-finals for the first time.

Their remarkable comeback last week has electrified Japan, where hardcore and casual fans alike stayed up until midnight to watch their victory over the four-time world champions.

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The World Cup tension the west is not seeing: Israelis told to keep low profile

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Though neither Israel nor Palestine are playing in the tournament, the latter has featured prominently in Qatar

One video shows an Egyptian football fan smiling serenely as an Israeli broadcaster introduces him live on air. Then he leans into the microphone with a message: “Viva Palestine.”

Another clip from the streets of Doha this week shows a group of Lebanese men walking away from a live interview with a reporter they have just learned is Israeli. One shouts over his shoulder: “There is no Israel. It’s Palestine.”

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Top Iran footballer arrested at club for ‘spreading propaganda against the state’

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Detention of Voria Ghafouri, who is not part of World Cup squad, seen as warning to players in Qatar

Iranian security forces on Thursday arrested one of the country’s most famous footballers, accusing him of spreading propaganda against the Islamic republic and seeking to undermine the national World Cup team.

Voria Ghafouri, a former member of the national football team and once a captain of the Tehran club Esteghlal, has been outspoken in his defence of Iranian Kurds, telling the government on social media to stop killing Kurdish people. He has previously been detained for criticising the former Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif.

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Fifpro asks why Gabon’s FA chief was at World Cup opener when facing trial

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  • Pierre-Alain Mounguengui seen with Infantino and Qatar emir
  • Mounguengui charged with not reporting crimes of paedophilia

The international players’ union, Fifpro, has questioned why the president of the Gabonese Football Federation (Fegafoot) was allowed to attend the opening match of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar despite being charged in connection with the investigation into allegations of widespread sexual abuse in his country.

Pierre-Alain Mounguengui, who was released at the end of October after six months in preventive custody in Gabon having been charged with “failure to report crimes of paedophilia”, was pictured alongside the Fifa president, Gianni Infantino, and Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, the emir of Qatar, at Sunday’s opening ceremony at Al Bayt Stadium.

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‘Miracle of Doha’: calls for public holiday as Japan’s Samurai Blue put Germany to sword

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Victory in World Cup opener sparks street celebrations and banishes painful memories in Doha of failure to qualify for USA 1994

Japan’s shock victory over Germany in Qatar on Wednesday sparked late-night celebrations and calls to mark the Samurai Blue’s momentous feat in their 2022 World Cup opener with a public holiday.

The clock was nearing midnight when Takuma Asano rifled Japan’s winner into the roof of the net at Khalifa International Stadium in Doha – a result that had seemed impossible after a poor first half from Japan, playing in their seventh straight World Cup.

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