Fans seen singing the Cranberries’ hit in stadiums but some Irish republicans are unhappy at revival
Twenty years after a lethal IRA bomb inspired its stark, chilling lyrics, the Cranberries’ song Zombie has experienced an unlikely rebirth as a Rugby World Cup anthem.
Ireland fans have belted out its chorus in stadiums across France and hope to do so again on Saturday after a quarter-final tie against New Zealand at the Stade de France in Paris.
Continue reading...Leading Jewish groups have hit out at English football’s response to the Hamas attacks in Israel and criticised the Football Association’s refusal to light up the Wembley arch in the colours of the Israeli flag.
With the FA believed to be nervous over being seen to favour one of Israel and Palestine, it has decided to hold a period of silence for all victims of the conflict before England host Australia in a friendly on Friday night. On a day when the Premier League broke its silence on the situation, it was announced that the England and Australia players would wear black armbands and that supporters would be prevented from bringing Israeli and Palestinian kits and flags into Wembley.
Continue reading...The Zimbabwe Football Association (Zifa) has confirmed it is investigating a member of its senior women’s coaching team over allegations of sexual misconduct against female colleagues.
The Guardian understands the allegations relate to a series of incidents said to have taken place during the current Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (Cosafa) women’s championship in South Africa. They include claims that the coach made inappropriate invitations to his room and “asked for sexual favours” – allegations first made in an article by the London-based journalist Melody Gwenyambira this week.
Continue reading...The former NFL player Sergio Brown has been taken into custody after the death of his mother in September.
Police in San Diego said he was held after entering the United States from Mexico on Tuesday. He is awaiting extradition to Maywood, Illinois, where the body of his mother, Myrtle, was found near her home last month. Police had issued a warrant for first-degree murder after her death was ruled a homicide.
Continue reading...The FA will announce plans on Thursday to mark the recent atrocities in Israel at the friendly match between England and Australia, after leading Jewish figures within the game urged them to act.
As the leader of the opposition, Sir Keir Starmer, said he believed the Wembley arch should be illuminated in the colours of the Israeli flag following attacks by Hamas across the country last weekend, pressure grew on the FA to break the silence that has been consistent across the professional game this week.
Continue reading...Survey finds less than two-thirds say they enjoy PE in schools, down from 74% in 2016
Girls’ enjoyment of physical education in school has declined over the past six years, with a lack of confidence, concern about periods and anxiety about their appearance holding them back, according to research.
Less than two-thirds of girls and young women (64%) who took part in a survey this year by the UK charity the Youth Sport Trust (YST), said they enjoyed PE, down from 74% when the poll began in 2016.
Continue reading...Uefa has been forced to stall plans to reintegrate Russia’s under-17 teams into its competitions after widespread opposition rendered them unworkable.
The surprise decision to accept junior teams and end a blanket ban on Russian sides, in place since the country’s illegal invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, came when a vote was passed on 26 September. A Uefa executive committee meeting in Nyon on Tuesday had been due to discuss the issue again, with suggestions beforehand that it could be brought to a fresh vote, but the topic was pulled after the governing body accepted its efforts had hit a dead end.
Continue reading...Goalies’ brains appear able to merge signals from different senses more quickly, say researchers
The former Premier League goalkeeper Brad Friedel once said that to be able to work well in the box, you have to be able to think outside the box.
Now scientific data supports the idea that goalies’ brains really do perceive the world differently – their brains appear able to merge signals from the different senses more quickly, possibly underpinning their unique abilities on the football pitch.
Continue reading...Hull said they were “appalled” after one of their players was the subject of alleged racist abuse during their 2-2 draw with Millwall at the Den.
Joe Bryan secured the Lions a point with a 54th-minute equaliser, but the Championship game was overshadowed by the incident, which led to a Millwall fan being arrested.
Continue reading...The UK government has been asked to reveal what steps it has taken to investigate whether Manchester City’s owner, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, assisted wealthy Russians on whom it has imposed sanctions in moving their assets to the United Arab Emirates.
Lawyers acting on behalf of a Ukrainian activist – who wishes to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals from Russia – have written to the foreign secretary, James Cleverly, to ask whether investigations have been carried out to determine whether Mansour, the UAE’s deputy prime minister, should be identified as a “designated person” subject to financial sanctions under the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019.
Continue reading...Picture of athletes’ ‘6/4’ race numbers erased in perceived reference to 1989 massacre
A photograph of two Chinese athletes hugging after a race has been censored on Chinese social media because the women’s race numbers inadvertently formed a reference to the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989.
Lin Yuwei and Wu Yanni, China’s entrants in the women’s 100m hurdles final, embraced after the race at the Asian Games in Hangzhou. Lin won gold in the race with a time of 12.74 seconds. A photograph of the two women in profile showed Lin’s lane number, 6, next to Wu’s lane number, 4.
Continue reading...Police are investigating after two Sheffield Wednesday fans appeared to mock the death of football mascot Bradley Lowery during a match against his favourite team.
The six-year-old Sunderland fan, who struck up a close friendship with the team’s striker Jermain Defoe after being diagnosed with neuroblastoma, died in 2017 having helped raise more than £1m for charity.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Questions mount over ties between Farhad Moshiri and tycoon, before he was put under sanctions
The Everton Football Club owner, Farhad Moshiri, received more than £400m from Alisher Usmanov companies in the run-up to the Russian billionaire being placed under sanctions, documents suggest, raising fresh questions about the financial ties between the two men.
Records seen by the Guardian appear to show that Moshiri borrowed £145m from a company wholly owned by the Russian-Uzbek tycoon from about 2020.
Continue reading...Governing body suppressed personal apology from judge in question following incident 18 months ago
Gymnastics Ireland suppressed a personal apology letter to a young gymnast whose treatment at a medal ceremony sparked international outrage, and have refused to acknowledge or tackle systemic racism in the sport, her family say.
Video of the event in March 2022 shows a judge handing out participation medals to a line of young gymnasts, but ignoring the only black girl. A photographer, coach and other officials look on without intervening, with an audience of hundreds in the stands.
Continue reading...The crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, has said he “doesn’t care” about accusations of sportswashing against his country.
Bin Salman, known as MBS, has presided over unprecedented spending on sport since becoming Saudi’s de facto ruler in 2017. Critics argue the investment is intended to distract attention from his country’s human rights abuses. But in a rare interview Bin Salman said he was not troubled by the accusations.
Continue reading...Study for 5 News warns of ‘overwhelming and inescapable’ betting imagery in the game
Football fans were bombarded with 11,000 gambling messages during the opening weekend of the latest Premier League season, according to a study that warns of “overwhelming and inescapable” betting imagery in the game.
Clubs in the top flight agreed earlier this year to ban gambling firms from sponsoring the front of players’ shirts from 2025, but the research – which analysed social media posts alongside hours of TV and radio – cast doubt on the likely effect of that measure, given the saturation of football with other gambling messages.
the sheer volume of gambling messages;
social media content not clearly labelled as ads; and
insufficient safer gambling messaging.
Continue reading...‘De Koning’s in the air, everywhere I look around,’ Williams sang to tune of Love Is In The Air
Lying in bed, Robbie Williams expressed shock after Carlton’s last-gasp victory over Melbourne in their AFL semi-final on Friday night.
“Wow! Is it like this every year?” asked the singer in a video he posted on social media.
Continue reading...Match between the Giants and Richmond pushed back by about 30 minutes due to red-bellied black snake
An AFLW match between Greater Western Sydney and Richmond in Blacktown was delayed after a snake was spotted sunning itself in the grass.
The red-bellied black snake appeared to be taking advantage of the hot weather that parts of Australia’s south-east have been experiencing.
Continue reading...Former Spanish football federation president prevented from approaching World Cup-winning player Jenni Hermoso
A Spanish court has imposed a restraining order on the former president of the country’s football federation, forbidding him from communicating with, or coming within 200 metres of, the female player he controversially kissed after Spain’s World Cup victory last month.
Luis Rubiales – whose decision to kiss Jenni Hermoso prompted a national and international debate on sexism and eventually led him to resign five days ago – was handed the order on Friday by a judge at the audiencia nacional, Spain’s highest criminal court.
Continue reading...Swimming great describes ‘scary time’ after chance discovery during MRI scan for hip injury
Australian swimming champion Ariarne Titmus has had surgery to remove benign tumours from an ovary.
The women’s 400 metres freestyle world record holder discovered the tumours by chance when having an MRI scan on a sore hip.
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