Sonia Bompastor, the Chelsea head coach, said the women’s game needs to be shown “more respect” after the decision to rule out Veerle Buurman’s goal in the first half of the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final was not overturned by the video assistant referee. Buurman leapt and nodded...
‘I wanted the rollercoaster of being emotionally invested’: Ian Bell on coaching, England and the 2005 Ashes WhatsApp
Five-times Ashes winner has since had a varied coaching career and believes the red ball is still fundamental to the modern player It’s a sunny spring afternoon, a new season looms, and just a short stroll down the road from Knowle & Dorridge Cricket Club, Ian Bell is in his...
Teenage boxer Isis Sio out of coma after being knocked out in fourth professional fight
19-year-old taken to hospital after loss in California Knockout happened just 78 seconds into fight The promoter and family of junior flyweight boxer Isis Sio say she is awake and breathing on her own after initially being placed in a medically induced coma following a knockout loss last weekend. Sio...
English clubs’ plea for bigger Champions League squads rejected after Spanish backlash
Premier League clubs wanted 28-man squad Atlético Madrid among clubs with reservations Uefa has rejected requests from English clubs to increase the size of Champions League squads to 28 next season after a backlash led by their counterparts in Spain. Larger squad sizes was one of the matters discussed at...
Cycling, crystals and cutting-edge science: the secrets of Hodgkinson and Hunter Bell’s success
Trevor Painter and Jenny Meadows, who oversaw gold medal success in Torun for Keely Hodgkinson and Georgia Hunter Bell, believe the best is yet to come for the pair It was the architect of the London 2012 Olympics who said it best, shortly after Britain’s Keely Hodgkinson, Georgia Hunter Bell...
‘I enjoy when things get tough’: Alessia Russo on Arsenal’s trophy quest, family pride and staying focused
In an exclusive interview, the England forward explains she is ‘locked in’ for the Gunners’ Champions League quarter-final against Chelsea Alessia Russo is happy and it shows. The 27-year-old is playing some of the best football of her career for Arsenal and England. She has 15 goals and six assists...
ECB has taken a risk keeping McCullum and Key – who must now placate the public | Ali Martin
Anger remains after England’s heavy Ashes defeat and whatever happens next is on the ECB’s chiefs Having endorsed Brendon McCullum’s continuation as men’s head coach after an Ashes defeat riddled with self‑owns and kept Rob Key above him as team director, the England and Wales Cricket Board could in one...
Victoria Mboko and Mirra Andreeva lead new generation of friendly rivals
Teenage talent team up in doubles before playing each other at Miami Open in changing world of women’s game Victoria Mboko and Mirra Andreeva, the two highest-ranked teenagers in the world, prepared for their marquee Miami Open fourth-round match in an unusual manner. Aside from being the two protagonists of...
Howe faces Newcastle crisis with chaotic campaign derailing out of control
Defeat against derby rivals Sunderland underlined failings in the team with manager needing to show he can get team back on track next season Eddie Howe seemed oblivious to the train hurtling down the track towards him. As Newcastle’s manager urged a team by now studded with substitutes to keep...
Seventh-tier players, a new app and togetherness: inside New Caledonia’s unlikely World Cup tilt
Despite being 150th in the world rankings, the French overseas territory can dream of a truly astounding achievement Roussillon is a small town nestled in the Rhône valley, about 40 minutes south of Lyon by car, and a reminder that the most extraordinary stories can hide in the most ordinary...