Category Archives: Sport

France Unbowed MP sparks outrage by saying Israeli Olympians not welcome

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Thomas Portes accused of ‘putting a target on the backs of Israeli athletes’ with remarks at protest against Gaza war

An MP for the radical-left France Unbowed party has sparked outrage after saying Israeli athletes are not welcome at the Paris Olympics and calling for protests against their presence.

Citing Israel’s war in Gaza, Thomas Portes told a pro-Palestinian gathering in Paris on Saturday: “We are just a few days away from an international event to be held in Paris, the Olympic Games. And I’m here to say that no, the Israeli delegation is not welcome in Paris. Israeli athletes are not welcome at the Olympic Games in Paris. We have to use this deadline and all the levers we have to mobilise.”

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‘It’s a very strange feeling’: can the man who won Olympic gold bring glory to the Paris Games?

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2024 Games organiser Tony Estanguet tells how chats with British sporting legend Sebastian Coe have kept him on an even keel

It has to feel pretty weird. You’re in charge of the biggest event your country’s ever organised. You have worked on it to the exclusion, basically, of everything else in your life, for very nearly a decade. And now – it’s a week away.

“It’s a very strange feeling,” confirms Tony Estanguet, head of the 2024 Olympic Games organising committee. “I come from this small town in south-west France. My sport is a very minor one. It’s been … quite a ride. But here I am. And now, well, here we all are.”

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Paris mayor swims in Seine as river is cleaned up just in time for Olympics

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Anne Hidalgo fulfils pledge after cleanup operation makes water quality safe enough to host events at Games

It has been the dream and promise of Paris mayors for decades and a nightmare for Olympic organisers: could the Seine be cleaned up enough to swim in and hold triathlon and other events?

For the last 100 years and up until a few days ago, the answer seemed to be no.

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Gibraltar’s government and FA criticise Spain players’ chants at Euro 2024 party

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  • Morata and Rodri said ‘Gibraltar is Spanish’
  • Government calls remarks ‘rancid’ and FA to involve Uefa

The Gibraltar government has ­criticised the “rancid remarks” ­members of Spain’s Euro ­2024-winning side made at a victory rally in central Madrid on Monday night. The territory’s football association is to make a formal complaint to Uefa over the matter.

The controversy, which follows Spain’s 2-1 victory against England in the final on Sunday, erupted after the Spain captain, Álvaro Morata, and the midfielder Rodri chanted “Gibraltar es español” [“Gibraltar is Spanish”] while on stage in front of a ­massive crowd in the Spanish ­capital’s Plaza de Cibeles.

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United apologizes to ‘humiliated’ Hall of Famer Terrell Davis after removal from plane

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  • Super Bowl champion tapped attendant during flight
  • Former Bronco was handcuffed by law enforcement

Two-time Super Bowl champion Terrell Davis said on Monday he was “humiliated” after being handcuffed and removed from a United Airlines flight over the weekend.

Davis, who played his entire career with the Denver Broncos, wrote in an Instagram post that he had tried to get the attention of a flight attendant because one of his sons wanted a cup of ice.

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