Category Archives: Sport

Victorian mayor calls on councils to follow lead after banning gambling ads at local sports games

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Tina Samardzija faces opposition from clubs and gaming venues but says children should not be ‘exposed to a message that gambling is normal’

A local mayor in Victoria has encouraged councils across Australia to follow her lead and ban all gambling advertisements at local sport matches rather than waiting for state or federal action.

The City of Monash’s anti-gambling policy, believed to be the first of its kind in Australia, is facing coordinated opposition from local sports clubs that warn they could be forced to close, and from gaming venues that feel unfairly targeted.

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‘Out of your league’: Shakira song mocking ex Gerard Piqué breaks YouTube record

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Video with DJ Bizarrap ridiculing footballer’s new relationship racks up 63m views in 24 hours

A savage new song by Shakira in which the Colombian star, philanthropist and committed believer in the veracity of hips ridicules her former partner Gerard Piqué has logged more than 63m YouTube views in 24 hours, making it the most watched new Latin song in the platform’s history.

Shakira and Piqué, who played football for Barcelona, Manchester United and the Spanish national team, separated last year after more than a decade and have two children. The former centre-back, 35, has since begun a relationship with a 23-year-old woman, Clara Chía.

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Usain Bolt reportedly missing millions from investment accounts

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  • Athlete’s manager says Jamaican authorities investigating
  • Olympic champion noticed discrepancies this week

An investigation has been launched after millions of dollars reportedly went missing from an account belonging to eight-time Olympic champion Usain Bolt.

Bolt’s manager, Nugent Walker, told the Gleaner that Jamaica’s Financial Investigations Division and Financial Services Commission are looking into the case at investment firm Stocks and Securities Limited (SSL). SSL is also understood to have called the police.

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Australia and Papua New Guinea pledge new security pact saying interests are ‘intertwined’

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In contrast with security deal between China and Solomon Islands, the Australia-PNG agreement will be ‘public and transparent’, prime ministers vow

Australia and Papua New Guinea have pledged to clinch a new security treaty within four months, declaring the deal will also tackle the threat of climate change.

The security interests of both countries are “intertwined” and the agreement would help protect their “independence, sovereignty and resilience”, according to a statement issued by the two parties on Thursday.

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Djokovic claims he was made ‘villain of the world’ over Australia Covid row

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  • Former world No 1 points finger at media over 2022 drama
  • ‘Everything got out of hand … the media picked on me big time’

Novak Djokovic says he felt like “the villain of the world” during the storm that surrounded his deportation from Australia before last year’s Australian Open. The nine-time champion at Melbourne Park was deported from the country last January after his visa was cancelled over his Covid vaccination status.

A three-year ban from Australia initially accompanied that decision but that was overturned in November and the Serb is preparing for this year’s tournament, which begins on Monday.

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Abandoned Sydney to Hobart yacht salvaged from Tasmanian beach will be restored, owners say

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The 40-foot yacht had been left to drift at sea after its rudder snapped and crew were rescued by water police

The owners of a Sydney to Hobart yacht salvaged from a remote Tasmanian island after it was abandoned during the race have vowed to restore the vessel.

Huntress was recovered from Christmas Beach on Cape Barren Island in Bass Strait on Sunday, 11 days after it ran into trouble.

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Doctors ‘ecstatic’ at Damar Hamlin’s progress as player returns to Buffalo

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  • Bills safety suffered cardiac arrest during game last week
  • Player thanks medical staff in Cincinnati for care

Doctors who treated Damar Hamlin said the Bills safety was back in Buffalo on Monday, an uplifting sign of the remarkable progress he has made a week after going into cardiac arrest on the field during a game in Cincinnati.

Hamlin was discharged from the University of Cincinnati Medical Center on Monday morning and flown to Buffalo, where Dr William Knight said he is “doing well.” The player will continue his recovery at a Buffalo hospital.

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NFL trainer who rushed to Damar Hamlin’s aid lauded as ‘real hero’

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Denny Kellington performed CPR on stricken Bills safety who collapsed after making a tackle against Cincinnati last week

As Buffalo Bills football player Damar Hamlin reportedly progresses “remarkably” in his recovery from suffering a cardiac arrest during a game last week, a trainer who rushed to his aid after he collapsed and had a hand in resuscitating him has drawn praise as a “real hero” from supporters of the stricken athlete.

The Bills’ trainer, Denny Kellington, immediately went to Hamlin when the 24-year-old safety’s heart stopped beating properly after making a tackle during the first quarter of his team’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals on 2 January.

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Government has broken pledge to get UK fitter after 2012 Olympics, says report

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Cross-party committee has also accused Sport England of not knowing the destination of millions of pounds in grants

It was supposed to “inspire a generation” and leave a legacy of a healthier, more active population. Yet the promises that the 2012 London Olympics would boost sporting participation have not been kept, according to a new parliamentary report.

A lasting legacy of participation was a key part of the government’s pitch for the £8.8bn Olympic and Paralympic Games, including pledges to increase the number of adults participating in sporting activities. However, the cross-party public accounts committee said the promised benefits had failed to occur, with the proportion of adults participating in sport at least once a week actually falling in the first three years after the Games.

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Children and teammates pay tribute to Cody Fisher before kick-off at Stratford

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The 23-year-old footballer was fatally stabbed at the Crane nightclub in Birmingham on Boxing Day

Schoolchildren have paid tribute to a man who was stabbed to death on a nightclub dancefloor on Boxing Day, by forming a guard of honour.

Cody Fisher, a 23-year-old footballer, was fatally stabbed at the Crane nightclub in Digbeth, Birmingham, just before midnight on 26 December.

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Return to China will require a resolution of Peng Shuai case, says Women’s Tennis Association

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Governing body of women’s tennis says it wants to meet Peng in person before it resumes tournaments in China

The return of WTA tournaments to China in 2023 will hinge on a resolution to the Peng Shuai issue, with the governing body of the women’s game telling Reuters on Wednesday it had still not personally met with the Chinese former doubles world No 1 personally since she briefly disappeared last year.

Peng accused Zhang Gaoli, the former Chinese vice-premier, of sexual assault in 2021 in a post on social media which was soon removed from the country’s internet. She later said the post was “an enormous misunderstanding” and that she was retiring from tennis.

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Record warm winter in parts of Europe forces closure of ski slopes

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Resorts open hiking trails and lifts for mountain bikes amid unseasonably high temperatures and lack of snow

Europe’s record-breaking warm winter weather has closed ski slopes and forced resorts to open summer trails or shut altogether, as grass and mud replace seasonal snow from Chamonix in France to Innsbruck in Austria.

Eight countries across the continent have recorded their warmest January day ever, with temperatures in parts of Switzerland and southern Germany exceeding 20C and 90 monitoring stations in France setting new records over new year.

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‘A lack of respect’: Brazil footballers fail to show up to Pelé’s funeral

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Few of the country’s previous World Cup winners traveled to pay homage to the football legend

Some of Brazil’s best-known footballers have faced a furious backlash as fans and pundits questioned why they had failed to attend ceremonies bidding farewell to Pelé.

Hundreds of thousands of people waited for hours under a burning sun on Monday to file past the recently deceased soccer legend’s coffin at Santos’ Vila Belmiro ground.

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Private burial of Pelé in Santos after eight-mile funeral procession

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Coffin of Brazilian footballer, who died aged 82, taken to cemetery near stadium where he began career

The Brazilian footballer Pelé has been buried in the port city where he began his career nearly 70 years ago, with the country’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, flying in to lament the “irreparable loss”.

Pelé, who died last week age 82, scored most of his 1,283 goals for Santos football club and it was at a cemetery near the team’s Vila Belmiro stadium where he was laid to rest on Tuesday afternoon after an emotional three-hour procession through town.

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Leah Williamson among Lionesses recognised in New Year honours list

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  • Beth Mead, Ellen White and Lucy Bronze are made MBEs
  • Denise Lewis becomes a dame and Pat Jennings gets CBE

England captain Leah Williamson is one of four Euro 2022 winners to be recognised in the New Year honours list.

The Arsenal defender lifted the Lionesses’ first major trophy after the team’s 2-1 extra-time defeat of Germany at Wembley to earn the only piece of silverware for an England senior side since the men’s team’s World Cup triumph in 1966. The 25-year-old becomes an OBE, while her teammates Beth Mead, Ellen White and Lucy Bronze have been awarded MBEs. The head coach Sarina Wiegman has also been awarded an honorary CBE.

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New year honours 2023: Mary Quant and Lionesses among those recognised

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Brian May and Grayson Perry are knighted, Denise Lewis is made a dame and Frank Skinner becomes MBE

The fashion designer Mary Quant, the Lionesses and the Queen guitarist Brian May are among those recognised in the first new year honours of the king’s reign.

Quant, 92, who as one of the most influential fashion figures in the swinging 60s popularised the miniskirt and hot pants, becomes a Companion of Honour, one of the top honours.

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Pelé, Brazil World-Cup winner and football legend, dies aged 82

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Pelé, the Brazilian virtuoso whose captivating skill and athleticism ensured he was universally regarded as one of football’s greatest players, has died at the age of 82.

Pelé, who had a colon tumour removed in 2021, was readmitted to Albert Einstein hospital in São Paulo in November amid deteriorating health. A hospital statement on Thursday confirmed the death of “our dear King of Football” at 3.27pm local time, “due to the failure of multiple organs, a result of the progression of cancer of colon associated with his previous clinical condition.”

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Novak Djokovic forgives but won’t forget Australian visa saga as he prepares for Adelaide International

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World men’s tennis No 5 says return proves he is ready to move on from his deportation and begin quest for 10th Australian Open title

Novak Djokovic says there are no hard feelings on his return to Australia, but can’t guarantee he will ever completely move past the saga that torpedoed his 2022 Australian Open hopes and thrust him into the centre of a media frenzy.

Djokovic was deported from Australia almost 12 months ago after arriving unvaccinated against Covid at a time when the country was still subject to strict biosecurity regulations. Such regulations have now been lifted and in November the Australian government overturned the three-year ban that came with Djokovic’s deportation and granted him a visa to return for the summer of tennis.

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Local yachts under pressure as overseas boats vie for Sydney to Hobart honours

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With three-time winner Ichi Ban not competing and a favourable weather forecast, a crowd of challengers is likely for what is shaping up to be a fast race

Australia’s recent domination of Sydney to Hobart overall honours is under threat from a high-quality contingent of overseas boats in this year’s race.

With handicap colossus Ichi Ban not racing this year, Australia’s recent ironclad grip on overall Sydney to Hobart honours could be loosened, with a number of high-quality overseas boats competing.

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Boxing Day Test: Victorian fast bowler Scott Boland retains spot over Hazlewood

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  • Victorian quick will return to the scene of his famous Test debut last December
  • Boland has taken 25 wickets in his five Tests

Boxing Day Test hero Scott Boland has retained his spot in Australia’s star bowling attack and will line up at the MCG against South Africa.

The Victorian quick will return to the scene of his famous Test debut last December, with Australia selectors opting for Boland over Josh Hazlewood, who continues his recovery from a side strain.

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