The barking mad merger: What experts think of potential Ealing and Ospreys deal March 22, 2023 With the flow of stories about financial woes in rugby resembling an everlasting hospital drip, one development has caused much less of a stir than it might otherwise have. It revolves around Ealing Trailfinders, who are top of the second-tier English Championship, a position they have been in or around for the past decade. They have [...]
Qatar’s Sheikh Jassim emerging as favourite to buy Manchester United ahead of new deadline March 21, 2023 Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Qatari Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani are expected to make second offers for Manchester United this week. The Raine Group, which is running the sale for United’s owners the Glazer family, has set a deadline of Wednesday for revised bids. Both Ratcliffe and a party acting for Sheikh Jassim visited [...]
Exclusive: MP slams TikTok sponsorship with Women’s Six Nations as ‘disappointing’ amid calls to be wary of app and its data gathering March 20, 2023 A senior UK Parliamentary committee chair has questioned TikTok’s sponsorship of the Women’s Six Nations, calling the deal “disappointing”. Alicia Kearns, MP for Rutland and Melton and chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, told Morning Wire of her concerns that the Chinese-owned social media platform is “being promoted through European and British Sport”. The app, [...]
Chelsea yet to make formal approach over playing matches at Twickenham Stadium March 20, 2023 Chelsea are yet to make a formal approach about playing matches at Twickenham Stadium while Stamford Bridge is rebuilt, Morning Wire understands. The Blues are reported to have drawn up a shortlist of possible venues at which to play home fixtures should they demolish their ground and build a new 60,000-seater arena. Twickenham, seven miles [...]
Match of the Day: Audience peaked at 2.8m after BBC Lineker row while ITV’s Six Nation coverage tops 5m March 20, 2023 Two million viewers tuned in to watch Match Of The Day (MOTD) Live after Gary Lineker’s return to the BBC. The corporation said the coverage of the FA Cup quarter-final on Saturday, which was hosted by the 62-year-old presenter, saw an average of 2.1 million viewers based on overnight figures. An audience peak of 2.8 [...]
Chelsea could move to Premier League rivals and rugby stadium while Stamford Bridge is rebuilt March 19, 2023 Chelsea could ground-share with west London rivals Fulham and play big games at Twickenham Stadium while the club’s new owners press ahead with plans to rebuild Stamford Bridge. Blues chairman Todd Boehly has informally approached his fellow American Shad Khan, the Fulham chairman, about moving the majority of home games to Craven Cottage, according to [...]
Ain’t Patrick’s Day: Crystal Palace sack manager Vieira March 17, 2023 Crystal Palace have sacked manager Patrick Vieira after a run of one win in 14 Premier League games. The Eagles are just three points above the relegation zone. Palace chairman Steve Parish told the club website: “It is with enormous regret that this difficult decision has been made. “Ultimately, results in recent months have placed [...]
African migrants, Donald Trump and ‘Today I feel gay’: Gianni Infantino’s 10 most outrageous quotes as Fifa president March 16, 2023 What Fifa president Gianni Infantino’s utterances lack in self-awareness they make up for in bombast and questionable parallels. From praising President Trump, Russia and Iran to comparing his career with Rwanda’s recovery from genocide, Infantino’s speeches and other public pronouncements rarely fail to raise eyebrows. To mark his re-election, Morning Wire has compiled 10 of [...]
Women’s golf, prize money and the fight for equal pay: Is the sport heading in the right direction? March 16, 2023 As women’s world No1, Lydia Ko is accustomed to breaking new ground and last month was no exception. At Royal Greens Golf and Country Club in King Abdullah Economic City, the New Zealander became the first Aramco Saudi Ladies International champion to receive equal prize money to the winner of the equivalent men’s tournament, Abraham [...]
Lineker row offers the BBC a chance to reflect on how it does sport March 16, 2023 National treasuredom isn’t codified. It is a status that creeps up on individuals, usually as they enter their twilight years. It does not reflect universal approbation, but certainly requires dissenters to be in a dwindling minority. Gary Lineker is clearly too divisive a figure to be considered a national treasure just yet, but the past [...]