Two-time World Cup champion Megan Rapinoe has announced her support for the Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren.
“I truly believe the best things in life are a result of being bold and being real,” wrote the soccer star, whom Sports Illustrated this week named Sportsperson of the Year.
Continue reading...• Midfielder highlighted persecution of Muslims in China
• Club says it ‘does not involve itself in politics’ in statement
Arsenal have distanced themselves from comments made by Mesut Özil on Instagram, in which he spoke out strongly against China’s persecution of the Uighur population in the north-western region of Xinjiang and criticised Muslims for not doing more to highlight the issue.
The club sought to limit any damage caused to its business in China, where it has numerous commercial interests including a chain of restaurants, by releasing a statement on Weibo – a leading Chinese social media site – as well as other platforms stressing it is apolitical and does not associate itself with Özil’s views.
Continue reading...Premier League leaders urged to join fight for better working conditions as they prepare for Fifa Club World Cup match
As Liverpool fans stream into Qatar to watch the Fifa Club World Cup next week, it will be easy to forget the thousands of workers from the poorest countries in the region who have toiled for years to construct its glittering buildings.
When they take their seats at the Khalifa International Stadium, where Liverpool will play their semi-final match, they may not realise that scores of workers who refurbished the stadium were housed in filthy, overcrowded accommodation with an ever-present stench of raw sewage.
Continue reading...Russia has been handed a four-year ban from international sporting competition for a doping cover-up that means the country will not feature at the Tokyo Olympics next summer or the 2022 football World Cup in Qatar.
An emergency meeting of the World Anti-Doping Agency on Monday unanimously voted to exclude Russia and also prevent it from hosting or bidding to host any global tournaments. The ban was imposed by Wada’s executive committee after Russia was found to have tampered with laboratory data handed over to Wada as a condition for ending a previous three-year ban for state-sponsored doping.
Continue reading...Eddie Hearn, the boxer’s promoter, said fight ‘almost certainly’ broke UK pay-per-view record
Criticism of Anthony Joshua for boxing in Saudi Arabia does not appear to have affected his popularity with the British public, with more than a million people paying at least £24.95 to watch the heavyweight regain his world titles on Saturday – a figure that is likely to be a UK record.
Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, said: “We are waiting on the final number but it has almost certainly broken the UK pay-per-view record.”
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Ruiz has said he expects Joshua to go for it in the opening rounds, so I wouldn’t take too much from the Briton edging the first two. “I think he will box around nicely for four or five rounds until I take the pressure to him, start hitting his body and mixing it up,” said Ruiz this week.
The stats say, Joshua has landed 18 punches to Ruiz’s nine. Joshua looks almost skinny and he’s able to leap back from Ruiz’s jabs. Joshua gets a hook to Ruiz’s body at the end of the round. Not as emphatic from the Briton, but he edged that round.
The vaseline goes on Ruiz’s cut. He doesn’t look too worried, but even though Joshua won that first round, the Briton was a lot more cautious than he was in the first fight when his aggression got him in trouble. Two nice jabs from Ruiz, his best shots of the fight. Joshua focusing on that area with the cut and it’s reopened early in the round. And then a right from Joshua from close range, but Joshua is bleeding now too.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Joshua 10-9 Ruiz (Joshua 20-18 Ruiz)
Continue reading...Organisers of competition students travelled to attend demand their return to Nigeria
The organisers of an international student sports competition have called for two Nigerian table tennis players to be returned to their own country after Croatian police wrongly deported them to a Bosnian refugee camp.
Abia Uchenna Alexandro and Eboh Kenneth Chinedu, students at the Federal University of Technology Owerri in Nigeria, arrived in Zagreb on 12 November, on their way to participate in the fifth World InterUniversities Championships, held this year in Pula, Croatia.
Continue reading...Former Wallabies star had sought $14m in compensation saying he was wrongfully dismissed over anti-gay Instagram post
The long-running legal dispute between Rugby Australia and Israel Folau has ended with a settlement reached over the former Wallaby’s sacking in the wake of an anti-gay social media post in April.
RA apologised to Folau in a joint statement issued on Wednesday that draws a line under the bitter affair, although the exact terms of the settlement will remain confidential.
Continue reading...The American was abseiling in El Potrero Chico near Monterrey when he plunged about 300m to his death
One of the world’s most renowned rock climbers, the American Brad Gobright, has died after falling off a mountain in Mexico.
The fall occurred on Wednesday on an almost sheer face known as El Sendero Luminoso on the El Toro mountain in the El Portrero Chico area near the northern city of Monterrey, civil defense officials said.
Continue reading...Philippines organisers admit ‘inconveniences’ have seen teams stranded at airports and players underfed
The organisers behind the Southeast Asian Games have apologised after complaints emerged of football teams sleeping on floors, airport delays and athletes complaining of going hungry.
The organising committee said sorry for the “inconveniences” including hotels not being ready and teams waiting at the airport for hours, ahead of the competition, which starts this weekend.
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40th over: New Zealand 130-4 (Nicholls 16, Watling 2) Just a smear by Watling and a single off Leach’s over.
39th over: New Zealand 128-4 (Nicholls 15, Watling 1) Golden arm Curran strikes again with his variations and unexpected fizz. Enthusiastic as a puppy but tenacious and wise as a, um, police dog? Williamson’s wicket totally against the run of play, and just after he’d reached fifty with a four down to the third man boundary. England now on top.
Continue reading...Alexis Dudden’s opinion piece presents an argument on the rising sun flag based on the misunderstanding of Japan’s sincere dealings with the past (Japan’s rising sun flag has a history of horror. It must be banned at the Tokyo Olympics, 1 November).
Looking at Prime Minister Abe’s statement on the 70th anniversary of the end of the second world war – issued by cabinet consensus – it is clear that Japan has squarely faced the facts of history and repeatedly expressed feelings of deep remorse and heartfelt apology for its actions during the war, which this opinion piece fails to recognise.
Continue reading...Briton wins six-round cruiserweight bout in LA against fellow YouTube personality
Britain’s KSI has won his six-round cruiserweight boxing fight against fellow YouTube personality, the American Logan Paul, in Los Angeles.
The fight at the Staples Centre was won by the Watford man in a split decision by 55-56, 57-54, 56-55. The pair first fought last year in Manchester but a “majority draw” was declared after six rounds.
Continue reading...Lewis Hamilton said that 2019 has been his best and toughest season after he secured his sixth world title on Sunday with a second-place finish in the United States Grand Prix.
Number six gives the 34-year-old sole ownership of second place on the all-time list. The greatest driver of his generation has overtaken Juan Manuel Fangio, whose championships came in the 1950s, leaving him one behind Michael Schumacher. Few would bet against Hamilton equalling the German next year, given the Briton’s relentless desire for self-improvement.
Continue reading...Donald Trump followed up his appearance at an Ultimate Fighting Championship event in New York City on Saturday night by retweeting an obscene comment from one of the fighters.
Jorge Masvidal, who won the headline fight against Nate Diaz, was asked his opinion of the President in the run-up to the event.
Continue reading...South Africans continued to celebrate their Rugby World Cup triumph on Sunday, with many in the sometimes fractious and troubled nation echoing Springbok captain Siya Kolisi’s post-match message of unity and strength.
Images of Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, congratulating South African players in the changing room – including half-naked scrum-half Faf de Klerk – went viral on social media and was broadcast repeatedly by TV networks.
Continue reading...Politics can be a bruising business. But President Donald Trump took a break from battling the Democrats’ impeachment inquiry to watch another bloodsport Saturday, drawing a mixed response at an Ultimate Fighting Championship match at a raucous Madison Square Garden.
Related: Was it wrong for baseball fans to chant 'lock him up' at Trump? | Arwa Mahdawi and Lloyd Green
Continue reading...World victory in game that once symbolised apartheid brings unity to South African streets
The crowd swelled as the game went on. From scores to hundreds to a thousand or more, young and old, men and women, all gathered in front of the big screen in the square of Newtown Junction, in the very centre of Johannesburg.
No one spread the word that victory for the Springboks was possible, let alone imminent. No one needed to. By the middle of the second half, there were no more shoppers hunting for bargains. The gym in the mall was empty. The queues at KFC, the Indian takeaway and the grilled sausage stand had disappeared.
Continue reading...England’s five-match Twenty20 series against New Zealand began with a relative stroll in Hagley Park as a typically stylish hand from James Vince helped set up a seven-wicket victory with nine balls to spare.
When Eoin Morgan launched his opposite number, Tim Southee, over deep mid-wicket for six, it completed a chase of 154 that rarely felt in doubt after Vince had finessed 38-ball 59 from No 3. In such a picture-postcard setting, perhaps it was fitting that England’s most aesthetically-pleasing batsmen should prove the difference.
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