SPORTS

London, United Kingdom | AFP |  Global sport is facing the “mother of all wake-up calls” as it emerges from the coronavirus lockdown, with uncertainty over what the landscape for participants and sponsors will look like. Former head of Olympic marketing Michael Payne believes that although “it will be very painful …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | Liverpool players showed their solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement following the death of George Floyd in the United States by taking a knee around the centre circle at Anfield on Monday. Reds stars including Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold tweeted the same photograph of the squad …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | Manchester United extended Odion Ighalo’s loan spell until January 2021 on Monday to ensure the Nigerian striker will be able to finish the 2019/20 season with the Premier League club. Ighalo’s initial loan deal from Shanghai Shenhua expired at the end of May, but the 30-year-old has been rewarded …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | World champion Lewis Hamilton criticised the “biggest of stars” in “white-dominated” Formula One for failing to speak out against racism as protests erupted around the United States. The Mercedes driver warned “I know who you are and I see you” as he accused his fellow drivers of “staying silent” …

Los Angeles, United States | AFP | NBA icon Michael Jordan decried “ingrained racism” in America Sunday as the sports world’s reaction to the death of unarmed black man George Floyd leapt leagues and continents. “I am deeply saddened, truly pained and plain angry,” Jordan said in a statement Sunday, as …

Berlin, Germany | AFP |  French star Marcus Thuram and England international Jadon Sancho joined the protests over racism and police brutality in the United States on Sunday after scoring in the Bundesliga. Thuram took a knee after scoring for Borussia Moenchengladbach in the game against Union Berlin. Sancho marked his …

London, United Kingdom | AFP |  Jurgen Klopp admitted on Sunday that it has been a “massive lift” to see his Liverpool squad back training together as they prepare for the return of the Premier League. The English top flight is set to restart on June 17 and teams have been …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | Harry Kane believes Tottenham Hotspur will have to win eight of their remaining nine Premier League games if they are to qualify for next season’s Champions League. The north London club were seven points adrift of the top four when the coronavirus shut down the …

New York, United States | AFP | Roger Federer topped the 2020 Forbes magazine list of highest-paid global athletes announced Friday, leading the lineup for the first time with pre-tax earnings of $106.3 million (95.5 million euros). The Swiss tennis legend, a men’s record 20-time Grand Slam singles champion, becomes the …

Paris, France | AFP |  It is the land of the world champions, but is it really a football country? That is the question some in France have been asking this week while its European neighbours work to bring the sport back after the coronavirus shutdown. Debate has raged ever since …