Category Archives: Sport

Dutch football captains lead boycott of TV show over racist remarks

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Virgil van Dijk and Sari van Veenendaal hit out at pundit and say ‘enough is enough’

The captains of the Dutch men’s, women’s and youth national football teams are boycotting a leading sports TV programme over the racist comments of a longstanding pundit, warning: “Enough is enough.”

The Liverpool centre-back Virgil van Dijk, and the Atlético Madrid goalkeeper Sari van Veenendaal have led the way after years of the behaviour of Johan Derksen on the Veronica Inside show being explained away as straight-talking humour.

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Climate crisis threatens future of global sport, says report

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Study says heatwaves, fires and floods, and rising sea levels pose major threat over coming years

The rapidly accelerating climate crisis threatens the future of major sports events around the world, according to a report that also says the global sporting industry is failing to tackle its own emissions.

The study found that in the coming years nearly all sports – from cricket to American football, tennis to athletics, surfing to golf – will face serious disruption from heatwaves, fires, floods and rising sea levels.

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Pilot in Kobe Bryant crash thought he was climbing rather than descending

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  • Documents say Ara Zobayan was trying to climb out of clouds
  • Crash killed NBA legend, his daughter and seven others

The pilot of the helicopter that crashed in thick fog, killing Kobe Bryant and seven other passengers, reported he was climbing when he was actually descending, federal investigators said in documents released on Wednesday.

Ara Zobayan radioed to air traffic controllers that he was climbing to 4,000 feet to get above clouds when, in fact, the helicopter was plunging toward a hillside where it crashed northwest of Los Angeles. The report by the National Transportation Safety Board said Zobayan may have “misperceived” the pitch of the aircraft, which can happen when a pilot becomes disoriented in low visibility. Experts said shortly after the crash that the path of the flight indicated Zobayan had lost his bearing.

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French Olympic hopeful climber Luce Douady, 16, dies after cliff fall

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  • Douady seen as one of the sport’s brightest young talents
  • French climbing federation expresses ‘immense sadness’

Teenage French climbing prodigy Luce Douady was killed on Sunday when she fell on a footpath in a climbing area in the French Alps, the French Mountain Climbing Federation (FFME) and its club in Chambery said.

The 16-year-old reigning world junior champion fell 150m as she and a group of friends were crossing a tricky path equipped with a handrail between two climbing areas.

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Death of young footballer shot by police sparks outrage in Mexico – video

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Hundreds of people bade farewell to a 16-year-old Mexican-American boy who was shot dead by police in southern Mexico. Alexander Martínez was laid to rest in a funeral that reflected his passion for football – friends brought his coffin to a local football pitch so that he could 'score' a final goal. 

Martínez was shot in the head by police on Tuesday night and another teenager was also wounded in the incident and later died in hospital. The case, which is still under investigation, has sparked outrage in Mexico with protests planned in Acatlán de Pérez Figueroa, Martínez's home town 

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New Zealand to relax borders for essential workers – and US America’s Cup team

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With no active Covid-19 cases, NZ to open borders to certain migrants but the move will also help team American Magic for March 2021 competition

New Zealand is relaxing its borders to grant exemptions for certain workers – including America’s Cup sailors – and partners of New Zealand citizens to enter the country.

The move comes after 21 days with no new Covid-19 cases across the country and no current live cases.

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Gareth Thomas on coming out as HIV positive: ‘It was my right to tell my family – not somebody else’s’

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The Welsh rugby star talks about why he revealed his status, his mission to help others deal with prejudice – and how Mickey Rourke nearly played him in a biopic of his life

The moment Gareth Thomas found out he was HIV positive, all he could imagine was the Aids epidemic. Sensational images of his future took over: frailty, shame, isolation, social exclusion. He remembered Norman Fowler’s tombstone advert and the people with leprosy he learned about at school who were banished to colonies. He thought it was a death sentence.

“It was an overriding feeling that my life was over,” says the former Welsh rugby captain. “It’s like somebody holding a gun to your head and pulling the trigger – how do you explain how that feels?”

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Japan to explore ‘simplified’ Olympics, says Tokyo governor

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  • Possible changes for Games next year being discussed
  • Mandatory testing and limited movement among options

Tokyo’s governor Yuriko Koike has said it may be necessary to a stage a “simplified” Olympics next year due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and that organisers were already discussing possible changes.

Koike’s comments come after the Yomiuri newspaper reported that various options, such as mandatory coronavirus testing and having fewer spectators, were being considered by organisers.

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Australia’s NRL fan cardboard cut-out scheme turns sour after use of Hitler and mass murderer Harold Shipman

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  • League says screening process is being reviewed
  • Fox Sports issues apology for ‘poor taste’ TV sketch

What started out as a fun and inclusive initiative has turned sour after the NRL’s scheme to put cardboard cut-outs of fans in stadiums was hijacked.

Over the weekend a photograph of mass murderer Harold Shipman made an appearance in the stands, then a TV sketch featured an image of Adolf Hitler, prompting furious criticism from Australia’s Jewish community.

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English sport returns behind closed doors after government green light

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  • Horse racing will be first sport to resume on Monday
  • Premier League season set to restart on 17 June

“The British sporting recovery has begun,” declared the culture secretary, Oliver Dowden, as he announced that professional sport in England can resume from Monday, paving the way for the first domestic live action in almost three months.

Speaking at the daily Downing Street press briefing, Dowden said the government had settled on a set of strict conditions that must be followed for sports to be allowed to return behind closed doors. The rules form stage three of the process of bringing sport back from the coronavirus lockdown. Stage two, which allowed for close-contact training for elite athletes, was published last Monday.

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Newcastle takeover in serious doubt as WTO rules pirate TV channel is Saudi

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  • Saudi Arabia is behind satellite TV service beoutQ, WTO rules
  • ‘Breach of international law’ threatens £300m deal for club

The controversial £300m Saudi Arabia-funded takeover of Newcastle United appears to be in serious doubt after the World Trade Organisation ruled that the country is behind a pirate satellite TV and streaming service that offers illegal access to sporting events, the Guardian can reveal.

While the WTO’s 130-page final report will not be published until mid-June, it is understood that the independent ruling firmly establishes that the Saudi government is behind beoutQ. It can also be revealed that the Premier League, which received the WTO report this month, made submissions against Saudi Arabia as part of the legal process.

Previously Fifa, Uefa, the Premier League, La Liga and others have tried to take legal action against beoutQ in Saudi Arabia for illegally streaming matches, but nine local legal firms declined to take on the copyright case. Subsequently a case against Saudi Arabia was taken to the WTO, the highest judicial body that could rule on the matter. It has now issued its ruling – finding that Saudi Arabia is in breach of international law as a result of beoutQ.

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‘Our defenders have been socially distancing all season’ – keeping Tranmere Rovers alive

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When league football was paused in March 2020 due to coronavirus, the Tranmere Rovers chairman, Mark Palios, devised Project Malthus, his plan to keep the League One club alive. As he waits for fellow clubs to vote on the outcome of the season, which could mean their relegation, he explains why football needs to get serious about its messy economic situation, and why a club like Tranmere needs to look after its community in difficult times.

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South Korea football league imposes record fine on FC Seoul over sex dolls outrage

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K-League says club ‘deeply humiliated’ female football fans and damaged the league’s reputation

South Korea’s professional football league has imposed a record fine on one of its clubs for placing sex dolls in empty seats during a recent match played without spectators due to the coronavirus pandemic.

FC Seoul was forced to apologise this week after TV and online viewers spotted about two dozen sex dolls dotted around the stadium during the club’s 1-0 win over Gwangju FC on Sunday.

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‘Lie, lie, lie’: Former Jordan teammate gives withering assessment of The Last Dance

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  • Horace Grant says labels show ‘a so-called documentary’
  • Former NBA champion says Jordan often crossed the line

It appears that The Last Dance backlash has arrived. ESPN aired the final episode of the wildly popular Michael Jordan documentary on Sunday but one of the NBA superstar’s former teammates has already taken issue with the show.

Horace Grant, who won three titles alongside Jordan with the Chicago Bulls, said the documentary was edited to make Jordan look better. Some critics have pointed out that the fact that The Last Dance was co-produced by one of Jordan’s companies was glossed over.

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Michael Jordan’s first-ever Air Jordan sneakers sell for $560,000 at auction

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US basketball legend wore the Nike trainers in his rookie season in the NBA and are featured in hit documentary The Last Dance

A pair of sneakers worn by basketball legend Michael Jordan in his rookie season in the NBA have fetched a record $560,000 in an online auction, Sotheby’s said.

The autographed Air Jordan 1s, designed for Jordan in 1985 and the first-ever signature sneakers, were expected to fetch between $100,000 to $150,000 in the auction that closed on Sunday.

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Ibrahimovic statue set to move from Malmö’s stadium after vandalism

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  • Local council is looking for a new site in Swedish city
  • Statue targeted after Ibrahimovic bought stake in Hammarby

Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s statue is likely to be relocated from outside Malmö’s stadium to another site in the city after repeated acts of vandalism.

The statue was unveiled outside the Swedbank Stadium last October but has come under attack since Ibrahimovic, who began his career with Malmö FF, became a part-owner of Hammarby, a rival top-flight club based in Stockholm.

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Autopsy finds pilot in Kobe Bryant crash had no drugs or alcohol in system

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  • Coroner: all nine on board sustained immediate fatal injuries
  • Bryant crashed in thick fog north of Los Angeles in January

The pilot flying NBA legend Kobe Bryant and seven others, including his daughter, to a youth basketball tournament did not have alcohol or drugs in his system, and all nine sustained immediately fatal injuries when their helicopter crashed into a hillside outside Los Angeles in January, according to autopsy reports released late on Friday.

The reports by the Los Angeles county coroner’s office provide a clinical but unvarnished look at the brutality of the crash.

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Dele Alli injured during ‘horrible’ knifepoint robbery at his home

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  • Tottenham midfielder hit in face by jewellery raiders
  • ‘Thank you for all the messages … we’re all okay now’

Dele Alli has been injured during a robbery at his home in north London. The Tottenham midfielder was held at knifepoint and punched after burglars broke in during the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Related: Jan Vertonghen's family robbed at knifepoint while Spurs were in Leipzig

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Professional sumo wrestler Shobushi dies at 28 after contracting Covid-19

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  • Wrestler one of youngest to die from virus in Japan
  • Shobushi had been in intensive care for three weeks

A 28-year-old sumo wrestler died on Wednesday from the coronavirus.

The Japan Sumo Association (JSA) confirmed the death and identified the wrestler as Shobushi, whose real name was Kiyotaka Suetake. The association said he died of multiple-organ failure. He is reported to have been the first sumo wrestler to die from the virus, and the first person in his 20s to die in Japan from Covid-19.

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BBC’s Andrew Cotter commentates penguin parade on Australia’s Phillip Island

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Voiceover narrates fairy penguin’s high-stakes waddle from shoreline to burrows in parade that used to attract thousands of visitors nightly

With live sport now a scarce resource, BBC commentator Andrew Cotter has lent his distinctive voice to the fairy penguins of Phillip Island.

He has narrated the birds’ nightly waddle back to their burrows, turning Victoria’s famous penguin parade into a high-stakes, long-distance race.

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