Sport news

• Europa League final 'to be played in front of thousands of empty seats as sponsors return tickets'

  22-05-2019 23:59 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  A number of sponsors are this week set to return a substantial proportion of the 2,000 tickets for the final they were given by the European governing body.
  
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• Antonio Conte 'eyes move for Romelu Lukaku' when he takes over Inter Milan

  22-05-2019 23:59 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  Having tried to sign the Manchester United striker for Chelsea in 2017 he will go back in for him to try and reshape the forward line at the San Siro when he takes charge in the summer.
  
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• Former head of Kenya's track and field team Rotich banned for 10 years over doping crisis

  22-05-2019 23:48 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  The Kenyan doping crisis deepened on Wednesday after the former head coach of their Olympic track and field team was banned from athletics for 10 years.
  
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• Robin Goodfellow's racing tips: Best bets for Thursday, May 23

  22-05-2019 23:47 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  Sportsmail's racing expert Robin Goodfellow dishes out his tips ahead of Thursday's meetings at Chepstow, Goodwood, Sandown, Lingfield and Chelmsford City.
  
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• Chelsea on the verge of 'great season' under Sarri, insists Pedro

  22-05-2019 23:47
  Maurizio Sarri has been criticised in some quarters this season, but Pedro thinks Chelsea are close to a highly successful end to 2018-19.
  
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• The real story of Sunderland's takeover... Donald and Methven could pocket £40m by selling again

  22-05-2019 23:37 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  SPORTSMAIL INVESTIGATIONS TEAM: Stewart Donald and Charlie Methven struck a deal with former owner Ellis Short to buy the club using Premier League parachute payments.
  
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• Europe League final 'to be played in front of thousands of empty seats as sponsors return tickets'

  22-05-2019 23:33 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  A number of sponsors are this week set to return a substantial proportion of the 2,000 tickets for the final they were given by the European governing body.
  
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• UEFA warn they will act if Arsenal fans protest during Europa League final 

  22-05-2019 23:32 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  EXCLUSIVE BY KIERAN GILL AND ADRIAN KAJUMBA: Officials will be on the lookout for any anti-UEFA banners in Baku as well as listening out for chants.
  
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• Former England Women duo oppose mixed football being introduced for adults

  22-05-2019 23:32 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  EXCLUSIVE BY LAURA LAMBERT: Two of England’s most high-profile female footballers have insisted they do not want to see mixed football introduced for adults.
  
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• Upset Lewis Hamilton branded 'pathetic' over Niki Lauda's death

  22-05-2019 23:31 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  Hamilton was due to attend the FIA press conference ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix but, after discussion with his Mercedes team, decided to miss the set-piece.
  
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• Liverpool plot friendly as Champions League preparations continue

  22-05-2019 23:30
  • Jürgen Klopp wants players back in match action
  • Sheyi Ojo set to sign new deal with the clubLiverpool are planning a friendly at their Marbella training camp this weekend as Jürgen Klopp steps up preparations for the Champions League final against Tottenham.The Liverpool manager wants his players back in match action before the Madrid final on 1 June as it will be a fortnight on Sunday since their last competitive outing against Wolves. Liverpool’s opponents have st
  
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• Joe Root has the 'smarts' to keep pace with England's World Cup whackers

  22-05-2019 23:30 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW BY RICHARD GIBSON: Joe Root remembers vividly the start of England's four-year journey to a World Cup they enter as favourites.
  
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• Danny Cipriani targets World Cup place after player of the season award

  22-05-2019 23:30
  • Gloucester fly-half wins Premiership award
  • Eddie Jones will watch Saturday’s game against SaracensDanny Cipriani has been named the Premiership’s player of the season in further recognition of an outstanding first campaign with Gloucester which he hopes will culminate with a place in England’s World Cup training squad.Cipriani was this month voted player of the year by his peers and on Wednesday night became only the second person to win the Premiership award in t
  
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• Chelsea to gauge dressing room feeling as they consider sacking Sarri

  22-05-2019 23:30 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  Despite finishing third, and reaching the Europa League final, Sarri is not guaranteed to keep his job ahead of next season following a tumultuous season.
  
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• Robert Snodgrass denies calling anti-doping officials 'c****' and hints at mistaken identity

  22-05-2019 23:29 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  Robert Snodgrass has hinted that there may have been a case of mistaken identity after being punished for aggressively calling two UK anti-doping officials 'c****'. 
  
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• Newcastle, Southampton and Brighton chasing £25m-rated Liverpool winger Harry Wilson

  22-05-2019 23:21 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  The 22-year-old winger has spent his entire career with the Reds, coming through the academy before loan spells with Crewe, Hull City and Derby County.
  
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• England batsman Jos Buttler happy to have baby daughter as distraction from World Cup

  22-05-2019 23:00 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  EXCLUSIVE BY GLEN WILLIAMS: The stresses of becoming a father for the first time might weigh heavily on some — but for Jos Buttler, it is a more than welcome distraction.
  
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• Robert Snodgrass alleged to have sworn at anti-doping officials before claiming it might have been Andy Carroll talking

  22-05-2019 22:52
  Robert Snodgrass, the West Ham United midfielder, has been accused of swearing at anti-doping officials before allegedly claiming it might have been Andy Carroll because of his northern accent.
  
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• World Rugby make £1bn offer in bid to salvage Nations Championship amid threat of Six Nations deal

  22-05-2019 22:45 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  EXCLUSIVE BY CHRIS FOY: World Rugby have pledged an extra £1billion in a desperate bid to salvage their Nations Championship concept.
  
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• FIFA confirm 2022 World Cup in Qatar will have 32 teams

  22-05-2019 22:45 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  The world governing body had considered expanding the event to 48 teams - as is planned for the tournament from 2026 - but this has proved impractical.
  
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• 2022 World Cup in Qatar to remain as a 32-team tournament, Fifa announces

  22-05-2019 22:25
  • World game’s governing body considered having 48 teams
  • Feasibility study shows increasing size of event is not practicalEfforts by the Fifa president, Gianni Infantino, to expand the 2022 World Cup to 48 teams, which he said could help heal hostilities in the Middle East, have concluded in failure, with the tournament remaining solely in Qatar, with 32 competing national teams.The expansion plan was based on sharing matches with neighbouring countries in the gulf, where Saudi
  
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• Arsenal fans go wild for new Adidas home and away strips after Ian Wright appears to leak designs

  22-05-2019 21:25 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  Arsenal fans have struggled to contain their excitement after club legend Ian Wright seemingly leaked the club's home and away kits for next season.  
  
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• Steve Smith hits 76 as David Warner struggles on return to England

  22-05-2019 21:21
  • Pair return in World Cup warm-up game against West Indies
  • Australia win by seven wicketsSteve Smith marked his return to English soil with a typically assured half century – but there were contrasting fortunes for his Australia teammates David Warner and Usman Khawaja.Smith and Warner are back on the international scene after one‑year bans for their part in the ball-tampering scandal, and they made their comebacks on these shores in the first of the summer’s World
  
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• Fifa abandons plans to expand 2022 World Cup to 48 teams

  22-05-2019 21:21
  Fifa has dropped its plans to expand the 2022 World Cup in Qatar to 48 teams and host a number of games in neighbouring countries.President Gianni Infantino, who had been pushing for the tournament to be expanded from 32 teams, has accepted that his proposal would be too challenging to implement.The sport's world ruling body said in statement: "Following a thorough and comprehensive consultation process with the involvement of all the relevant stakeholders, it was concluded that under the curren
  
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• Arsenal will still attract best players even if we miss out on Champions League, insists Sanllehi

  22-05-2019 21:00 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  Arsenal chiefs are confident failure to qualify for the Champions League next week won't dent the club's pull and that it will remain 'strong enough' even if they miss out.
  
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• Aiba stripped of right to run boxing tournament at Tokyo Olympics

  22-05-2019 20:42
  • IOC announcement follows six-month Deloitte review
  • New organisation to be in place by JuneAmateur boxing’s governing body, Aiba, has been stripped of its right to host the Tokyo 2020 Olympic boxing tournament after a devastating report said its behaviour presented serious legal, financial and reputational risks to the IOC and the Olympic Movement”.Boxing will, however, remain in the 2020 Games, with the International Olympic Committee confirming a taskforce headed by Mo
  
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• Premier League finances: the full club-by-club breakdown and verdict

  22-05-2019 20:41
  Club accounts for 2017-18 show Manchester United spent the most on wages while champions Manchester City had the third-highest billFinancial figures for 2017-18, for the 20 clubs who were in the Premier League during that season. All details from the most recently published annual reports at Companies House. Net debt is as stated in the accounts; debts minus cash held at the bank. The separate categories of turnover are each rounded down or up, so added together they do not always tally with the
  
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• Barcelona won't sign Maxi Gomez as back-up for Suarez but Llorente and Stuani are being considered 

  22-05-2019 20:41 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  Earlier this week it was reported that the Vigo forward had been subject of a €25m bid from Barcelona but Sportsmail has been told Barça are not in for the striker.
  
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• Harry Kane, Jan Vertonghen and Davinson Sanchez back in Tottenham training

  22-05-2019 20:24 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  Harry Kane, Jan Vertonghen and Davinson Sanchez have stepped up their bids for full fitness ahead of next Saturday's Champions League final. The key trio are all on the way back from injury.
  
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• West Ham fan fined for racially abusing Tottenham’s Son Heung-min

  22-05-2019 20:13
  • Supporter pleads guilty to using ‘DVD’ slur in October
  • Club ban fan but will review that if he takes education courseA West Ham United fan has been fined after pleading guilty to a racially aggravated offence at a Carabao Cup game against Tottenham Hotspur at the London Stadium in October.The CPS brought the charge after the Metropolitan police received a complaint from another West Ham fan about the supporter aiming racial abuse at Tottenham’s Son Heung-min, a So
  
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• Lewis Hamilton takes time out after death of ‘close friend’ Niki Lauda

  22-05-2019 20:05
  • Hamilton excused from F1 media duties before Monaco GP• Pair grew close after Lauda persuaded Briton to join MercedesLewis Hamilton has curtailed his pre-race activities before the Monaco Grand Prix as he comes to terms with Monday’s death of his friend Niki Lauda. Lauda was the non-executive chairman at the Mercedes team and had been instrumental in persuading the British driver to join them. Hamilton was withdrawn from the FIA press conference in Monte Carlo before it took pl
  
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• International Boxing Association have role as organiser of the sport at Tokyo 2020 suspended

  22-05-2019 19:52 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  There were prominent figures inside the sport who feared boxing could be removed from the roster altogether on the back of grave misgivings over AIBA.
  
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• Fabian Delph joins in England training as Gareth Southgate's men begin Holland preparations

  22-05-2019 19:51 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  As Sportsmail revealed this week , the midfielder has taken the decision to cut short Manchester City's domestic treble celebrations to hook up with the England squad five days early.
  
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• 'What a gentleman': David Beckham salutes Mauricio Pochettino after attending Tottenham training

  22-05-2019 19:49 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  Tottenham's players were given a bit of added inspiration in their Champions League final preparations as David Beckham paid a visit to the team's training session on Wednesday.
  
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• Joe Root happy to leave power-hitting to others during World Cup

  22-05-2019 19:42
  • England’s No 3 intends to rein in aggressive approach• World Cup to be first 50-over tournament with away shirtsJoe Root has revisited his responsibilities as England’s one-day anchor before the World Cup after admitting he got slightly carried away during the recent ODI series victory against Pakistan.There is little doubt the right‑hander has been central to the four-year revival under Eoin Morgan’s captaincy, chiefly operating as an orthodox No 3 who provid
  
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• Caleb Ewan sprints to victory once again on stage 11 of Giro d’Italia

  22-05-2019 19:38
  • Australian wins bunch finish on stage 11
  • Arnaud Demare takes second and lead in points classificationCaleb Ewan picked up his second stage win of the 2019 Giro d’Italia as the Australian took the honours on what could be the last bunch finish of this year’s race.The Australian won stage 11 for Lotto-Soudal in a drag race of a sprint in Novi Ligure, the hometown of the Italian great Fausto Coppi. Continue reading...
  
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• Rafael Benítez presses Mike Ashley to change Newcastle’s transfer policy

  22-05-2019 19:25
  • Benítez’s contract talks hinge on his freedom in transfer market
  • Manager wants to secure Rondón and has been linked to MataAfter seven days of negotiations Rafael Benítez and Mike Ashley are still attempting to reach a deal to extend the Spaniard’s contract as Newcastle United’s manager. Related: Premier League 2018-19 review: our predictions versus realityContinue reading...
  
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• Tottenham make £10m bid for Leeds wonderkid Jack Clarke

  22-05-2019 19:04 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  The 18-year-old has been monitored by Premier League clubs throughout the season after a string of eye catching performances in the Championship.
  
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• England batsman Alex Hales targets World Twenty20 after serving drugs ban

  22-05-2019 19:00 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  Alex Hales refuses to accept his England career is over and is targeting next year’s World Twenty20 in Australia as his international comeback.
  
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• Aston Villa and Stoke join Leicester in race for Luton Town defender Justin James

  22-05-2019 18:53 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  Premier League Leicester City are also hopeful of signing for the highly-rated 21-year-old who can play at left-back or right-back and was a target for West Brom last season.
  
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• Hamiton excused from Monaco Grand Prix press conference in the wake of death of Lauda

  22-05-2019 18:30 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  Lewis Hamilton was withdrawn by Mercedes from Wednesday's press conference for the Monaco Grand Prix following the following the death of Mercedes' non-executive chairman Niki Lauda,
  
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• From backpackers to 33,000 Barmy Army fanatics - England's followers are preparing for a new era

  22-05-2019 18:19 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  A quarter of a century on from their birth and the Barmy Army has 33,000 members, 250,000 social media followers, brings millions of pounds to every foreign venue.
  
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• Only NINE per cent of Real Madrid fans want to hold onto Gareth Bale

  22-05-2019 18:11 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  The Spanish giants are desperate to get Bale off the wage bill as they look to revamp their attacking options this summer and the supporters also want to see the back of him it seems.
  
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• Raphael Varane would welcome both Paul Pogba and Eden Hazard at Real Madrid this summer

  22-05-2019 18:07 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  Varane recently committed his future to Los Blancos, who are looking to strengthen their squad this summer following a disappointing campaign at home and in Europe.
  
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• British duo Katie Swan and Heather Watson through to the second round of French Open qualifying 

  22-05-2019 18:07 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  Swan's win was particularly impressive, the 20-year-old overcoming a rankings gap of more than 100 places to beat second seed Jil Teichmann 6-4 6-2 in just an hour and nine minutes.
  
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• Manchester United sack reserve-team boss Ricky Sbragia

  22-05-2019 18:06 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  Academy boss Nicky Butt will oversee a summer restructuring that is geared to improve levels under the first team and could also see former United midfielder Quinton Fortune take up a role.
  
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• The Fiver | Total disrespect to keyboard warriors everywhere

  22-05-2019 17:43
  Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now!Customer satisfaction has never been a problem for The Fiver. The world’s No 1 soccer satirist has always enjoyed a relationship built on mutual loathing with its tens of readers. The reason it works is because we all know where we stand. A tried and tested formula sees The Fiver whistle off a few unfunny gags, readers get in touch to complain that they haven’t laughed at anything since 1997, The Fiver tells the readers to get stuffe
  
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• Tottenham ready to make £10m bid for Leeds wonderkid Jack Clarke

  22-05-2019 17:42 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  The 18-year-old has been coveted by a number of sides, including Crystal Palace — who made a bid in January — and Arsenal since making his debut under Marcelo Bielsa last season.
  
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• Chelsea fans claim Caballero's new deal means transfer ban is imminent

  22-05-2019 17:31 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  The Blues are hopeful of having their two-window FIFA transfer ban frozen and are appealing to the Court of Arbitration for Sport but there are fears it will go through after Caballero's new deal.
  
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• Maurizio Sarri confident N'Golo Kante will be fit for Europa League final

  22-05-2019 17:25 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  Kante, who missed the final two games of the season after injuring a hamstring against Watford earlier this month, joined teammates for training at Cobham on Tuesday.
  
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