Sports

On the opening morning of the sporting trial of the century, Caster Semenya ran unnoticed through Lausanne’s old town to clear her mind. Then, knowing her career was potentially on the line, she stood up at the court of arbitration for sport (Cas) and made the speech of her life. “When I was 18 years old, I won gold at the 2009 world championships in Berlin,” she said. “It should have been a great moment. But sadly it was tarnished.” How could it not be when a fellow 800m finalist, the Italian Elisa Cusma, had told reporters: “For me, she’s not a woman, she’s a man.” Or when Semenya then had to take medication to reduce her testosterone in order to compete for years afterwards? No wonder she told Cas that she was relieved when the IAAF’s previous hyperandrogenism rules had been overturned in 2015. And now she was resuming hostilities against a familiar enemy, the IAAF, over new rules requiring athletes with differences in sex … [Read more...] about Caster Semenya v IAAF: the inside story of sporting trial of the century

The Italian newspaper Corriere dello Sport has been heavily criticised for a front page with the headline “Black Friday” in regards to the former Manchester United teammates Romelu Lukaku and Chris Smalling facing each other on Friday. Above the headline, the paper wrote: “Lukaku and Smalling, former teammates at Manchester United and today idols at Inter and Roma, this is the battle within the battle tomorrow with the scudetto and a Champions League place at stake.” The paper was universally condemned, with Smalling’s club, Roma, taking to social media to show their disgust at the front page, tweeting: “No one. Absolutely no one. Not a single soul”, before the words “Corriere dello Sport headline writer” and a picture of the front page. The organisation Fare network, which works against anti-discrimination and for social inclusion in football, also tweeted, saying: “The media fuels racism every day. This is today’s … [Read more...] about Corriere dello Sport condemned for ‘Black Friday’ front page with Lukaku and Smalling

Italian daily Corriere dello Sport has been accused of fuelling racism with its front page headline in Thursday's edition of the newspaper. The paper ran the headline 'Black Friday' alongside pictures of Inter Milan's Romelu Lukaku and Roma's Chris Smalling. The two former Manchester United team-mates will face each other in Friday's Serie A meeting between the two teams. The anti-discrimination Fare network tweeted a picture of the front page along with the message: "The media fuels racism every day." Serie A has been plagued by racist incidents this season, with Lukaku himself and Brescia forward Mario Balotelli among those to make allegations of being racially abused by supporters during games. Only last week all 20 clubs in Italy's top tier signed an open letter which called on "all those who love Italian football" to unite to try to eradicate its "serious problem with racism". More to follow... … [Read more...] about Front page of Corriere dello Sport provokes outrage as Italian daily accused of fuelling racism with Serie A preview

TV funnyman John Bishop has told Tottenham duo Dele Alli and Eric Dier to tone down their goal celebrations - with the help of 1966 World Cup-winning icon Sir Geoff Hurst. The comedian leads a hilarious sketch titled ‘Spirit of ’66’ starring several members of Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions squad, which is being screened on BBC One for their Sport Relief 2018 fundraiser. The Liverpudlian comic, dressed in a full England training kit, stops the Spurs stars after seeing them produce one of their trademark handshakes. And he isn’t impressed one bit. “Woah, woah…come here you two. What are you doing?” “Have you not seen what Sir Geoff Hurst did when he scored a hat-trick in the World Cup Final? A little skip. A little hug of your mate. “We don’t need any fancy handshakes. No knee slides… And 1966 hero Hurst jumps in: “And definitely no dabs.” “So no more elaborate celebration,” pleads Bishop … [Read more...] about Comedian John Bishop tells Dele Alli and Eric Dier to tone down goal celebrations on Sport Relief 2018 – with help from Sir Geoff Hurst

Glenn Maxwell has taken another positive step in his comeback from a mental health break, with the all-rounder training with the Victoria Sheffield Shield squad. Maxwell stepped away from cricket, citing mental health issues, during Australia’s Twenty20 series against Sri Lanka in October. He has played three Victorian Premier Cricket matches with club side Fitzroy Doncaster since and has taken part in some aspects of Victoria’s Shield program. But Thursday morning’s hit-out at the MCG was the first time Maxwell has completed a full session with his teammates since he stepped away from the game. “I think he is doing everything he needs to do ... when he is ready to come back (he will),” teammate Marcus Harris said. “I’m not sure if it is this week or Big Bash, but he’s not far away I think.” Victoria batsmen Will Pucovski and Nic Maddinson have also recently taken breaks to deal with mental health issues. Both returned for this … [Read more...] about Glenn Maxwell returns to Victoria training, is ‘not far away’ from playing