Category Archives: Sport

Australia plan Indigenous team for ‘very special game’ against Lions

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  • Tour slot vacant after Melbourne Rebels demise
  • ‘We have some great talent with First Nations heritage’

The British and Irish Lions could face a team with Indigenous and Pacific heritage during their 2025 tour, according to the chief executive of Rugby Australia. Phil Waugh said discussions were under way with the Lions for the match to fill the gap in the tour schedule due to the Melbourne Rebels going into administration.

“We have some great talent with First Nations heritage,” he told the Sydney Morning Herald, saying the team would be made up of players from the remaining Super Rugby teams. “It was a matter of how do we will pull those ideas together to make a very special game in a massive tour?

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How will BBC revamp Match of the Day when Gary Lineker leaves?

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Plan is forming for digitally focused show to expand and grow the brand in a fractured media landscape

When the BBC confirmed the news this week that Gary Lineker was leaving Match of the Day at the end of this season, the presenter’s official reaction was limited to a terse 21-word statement that he was “delighted” at signing a new contract to cover the FA Cup and 2026 World Cup.

The former England striker was – unsurprisingly – more expansive about leaving the BBC’s flagship football programme after 25 years on his own podcast, the Rest is Football, on Thursday. “All things have to come to an end,” he mused. “I think the next contract, they’re looking to do Match of the Day slightly differently. So I think it makes sense for someone else to take the helm.”

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Fans clash at football match between France and Israel

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Skirmish quickly quashed by security guards at stadium as riot police is deployed at ‘high-risk’ game

A skirmish involving Israel fans broke out in the stands of the Stade de France during a tense match between Israel and France’s men’s football teams, but a heavy police presence ensured a repeat of the serious violence in Amsterdam was avoided.

The game had been designated as “high risk” after the hooliganism and antisemitism witnessed in the Netherlands before and after a Europa League match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv last week.

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Monaco Grand Prix’s long-term future resolved with F1 extension until 2031

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  • Race remains on F1 calendar after six-year deal agreed
  • Contest has been part of motor sport scene since 1950

Formula One’s iconic Monaco Grand Prix will remain on the calendar until at least 2031 after a six-year extension was announced on Thursday, with a date change to June that also avoids future clashes with the Indianapolis 500.

The race around the streets of Monte Carlo was part of the first world championship season in 1950 and has been present since, with the exception of 2020 during the global pandemic.

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BBC confirms Gary Lineker’s departure from Match of the Day

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Corporation says presenter will quit highlights programme at end of 2024-25 season but will cover 2026 World Cup

Gary Lineker is to step down as the presenter of Match of the Day at the end of the season, the BBC has said.

The BBC confirmed earlier reports that Lineker would stay with the broadcaster to cover the FA Cup in 2025-26 and the 2026 Fifa World Cup in the US, Canada and Mexico, but step back from its flagship highlights programme at the end of the 2024-25 season.

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Rays’ Wander Franco arrested in DR over incident in which ‘guns were drawn’

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  • Shortstop held by police over incident on Sunday
  • Player facing separate charges over sexual abuse claims

Police in the Dominican Republic have arrested Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco after an altercation involving firearms.

ESPN reported that authorities held Franco and an unnamed woman for questioning on Monday after an incident in the parking lot of an apartment complex on Sunday “in which guns were drawn.”

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Australia settle on new Test opener as Nathan McSweeney named in squad to face India

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  • South Australian to debut at top of batting order in first match in Perth
  • In-form Josh Inglis also picked as batter in 13-player squad

Australia have settled on Nathan McSweeney to be Usman Khawaja’s opening partner for the start of the blockbuster Test series against India. After an outstanding start to the domestic season, McSweeney has beaten Marcus Harris for the vacant spot in the Australian XI.

McSweeney will become the first Australian player in 47 years to make his Test debut as an opener despite never having batted there at Sheffield Shield level. The 25-year-old top-scored in both innings of the first Australia A match in Mackay when batting at No 4. But he was unable to convert starts – 14 and 25 – in both innings as Australia A closed out a six-wicket win in the second match at the MCG.

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More arrests expected in Amsterdam over violence on Israeli football fans

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Four suspects still held on suspicion of violent acts and 50 people fined after attacks on football fans

Amsterdam police expect to make more arrests after what authorities called “hateful antisemitic violence” against Israeli football fans, prosecutors said on Saturday.

Four suspects remained detained on Saturday on suspicion of violent acts, including two minors, and 40 people had been fined for public disturbance and 10 for offences including vandalism, prosecutors said.

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