News Update

Nottingham Forest's attempt to overturn a four-point deduction for violating the Premier League's Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR) has been unsuccessful. Forest received the deduction in March following the discovery that they had exceeded spending limits by €32.2 million over a span of three years. Initially facing a six-point deduction, the club's prompt plea and cooperation led to a reduction to four points. The two-time European champions lodged an appeal against the verdict, which was subsequently…

World Rugby has announced the squad of 23 match officials who will officiate at the Rugby Sevens competitions at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in France from 24-30 July. The squad includes match officials from 16 countries - including the first German referee to officiate at an Olympic Rugby Sevens event in Maria Latos - with all six of World Rugby's regional associations represented. The officials were selected following a comprehensive review of their performances throughout the HSBC SVNS 2024 Series. Five officials…

Selma Konijn and Ruth Vorsselman ended the 32-year-old drought by storming to victory in the women's K2 500 in Szeged and qualifying for Paris 2024, as well as Poland and four neutral athletes. The Dutch women's canoe sprint Olympic quota had been bare for more than 30 years, but no more after Wednesday, while Poland and the two crews representing neutral athletes also picked up tickets to the upcoming Games on the opening day of the European Olympic qualifiers in Hungary. Konijn and Vorsselman triumphed after an epic…

Ukraine's acting sports minister Matviy Bidnyi says Russia has shown it "disregards the principles of Olympism" by organising the Friendship Games for September. He added that Russia is "merely attempting to use sport for its propaganda". In an email exchange with AFP, Bidnyi said that he viewed the Friendship Games - scheduled for 15-29 September - as an example of Russia and its president Vladimir Putin trying to "utterly destroy order even in sports". "After Russia, at the state level, decided to fund the so-called…

The Jiu-Jitsu Asian Union (JJAU) has conducted a series of seminars alongside the eighth Jiu-Jitsu Asian Championship, to refine technical proficiency among individuals associated with the sport. Tailored to enrich the skills of referees, support staff, and officials, these seminars provided participants with insights into the latest rules and practices. Led by top referees and experts within the jiu-jitsu and wider sports industry, the seminars covered a diverse array of topics, including safeguarding, inclusive…

As well as the action inside the ring, last month's Mandela Boxing Cup in South Africa also played host to an International Boxing Association (IBA) 1-3 Star Refereeing and Judging (R&J) course which brought together 24 officials from 12 countries representing three continents. The referees and judges received comprehensive training to improve their skills and share knowledge. The aim is to achieve an increasing level of professionalism in one of the cornerstones of the sport. Most of the participants in Durban…

Giorgi's latest appearance was in the second round of the Miami Open in March, where she was swiftly defeated in straight sets by world number one Iga Swiatek. There was no personal announcement of her retirement, though the FITP confirmed on Wednesday that he had hung her racket up for good. One of Giorgi's four WTA tour victories included her Masters 1000 triumph at Montreal in 2021. She reached her career-high ranking of 26th in the world in October 2018. Her most notable performance in a Grand Slam tournament…

Japan's two-time figure skating world champion Shoma Uno has retired from the sport. The 26-year-old, who won three medals at two Winter Olympic Games, said on his Instagram on Thursday he was "grateful to have had a wonderful competitive career". In his bid for a hat-trick of world titles in Montreal in March, Uno won the short program but a disappointing free skate saw him finish out of the medals in fourth place. Gold went to American teenager Ilia Malinin ahead of Uno's younger compatriot Yuma Kagiyama. "I have…

The 30-year-old will receive the esteemed award at a ceremony held in the city of Oviedo, located in northern Spain, in October. The Princess of Asturias Awards are bestowed in eight categories, including Sports, Arts, Communication and Humanities, Social Sciences, Literature, International Cooperation, Technical and Scientific Research, and Concord. Born in Huelva, a city in southwest Spain, Marin clinched the Olympic gold medal in Rio in 2016 and secured victories at the World Championships in 2014, 2015, and 2018,…

Tiger Woods has struggled to walk four rounds in tournaments since suffering severe leg injuries in a 2021 car crash but finished 60th in last month's Masters and will join the world's 103 top-ranked golfers at Valhalla. The all-time golf great says he hopes to play once a month through the US and British Opens and made the list on Tuesday, as the field was announced for next week's 106th PGA Championship event. Currently ranked 801 in the world, Woods had previously accepted a special invitation into next month's US…

Argentinian legend Maradona, who passed away in 2020, received the Golden Ball trophy in 1986 for being the standout player at the Mexico tournament. Expected to fetch "millions," the award has resurfaced and is scheduled for auction on 6 June, facilitated by the French company Aguttes. The auction house in Paris expressed the challenge of providing an estimate for the sale due to the trophy's uniqueness. They emphasised it as a world-first, as there has never been any comparable item. Francois Thierry, the sports expert…

The former president of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), Luis Rubiales, will stand trial for kissing Jenni Hermoso without her consent, according to the Spanish player herself, after winning the Women's World Cup last year. A Spanish National Court judge has confirmed that Luis Rubiales will stand trial over the controversial incident, which took place after the conclusion of the World Cup in which Spain won the women's title for the first time. "(Rubiales will be tried) for the non-consensual kiss of the…

Baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani's former interpreter has agreed to plead guilty to charges that he illegally transferred nearly $17 million (€15 million) from the Japanese's bank account to pay off sports betting debts. According to the US Department of Justice, 39-year-old Ippei Mizuhara pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison. He also pleaded guilty to one count of filing a false tax return, which carries a maximum sentence of three years, the Justice…

Selangor FC have pulled out of Friday's Charity Cup, the traditional curtain raiser to the Malaysian football season, after star forward Faisal Halim was left with fourth-degree burns in an acid attack last weekend. Halim, also known as Mickey, was splashed with acid in a shopping mall outside the capital Kuala Lumpur. The national team star remains in a critical condition in hospital and will undergo a skin graft. Two suspects were arrested in connection with the attack with one remaining in police custody. That…

Atalanta will battle it out with Bayer Leverkusen for glory in the Europa League final following their respective semi-final victories. La Dea have been on fire under Gian Piero Gasperini on the European stage this term, fighting their way to the Dublin Arena for a chance at silverware. The Bergamo outfit will also fight for the Coppa Italia trophy against Juventus this month. READ ALSO: Napoli star Kvaratskhelia top priority for PSG to replace Mbappé Atalanta topped a Europa League group containing Sporting, Sturm…

Paris Saint-Germain have identified Napoli star Kvicha Kvaratskhelia as the ideal replacement for Kylian Mbappé next season. The France international is set to leave as a free agent in the summer and everyone has known for some time he is heading towards Real Madrid. It had already been suggested that PSG were looking towards Serie A for his replacement, with names including Rafael Leao of Milan and Napoli striker Victor Osimhen. However, RMC Sport in France now report that Kvaratskhelia has been pin-pointed by…

Atalanta winger, Ademola Lookman is up for the Europa League Player of the Week award. Lookman put up an impressive display as Atalanta sealed a place in the final of the UEFA Europa League courtesy of a 3-0 victory over Olympic Marseille on Thursday night. The Nigerian scored and bagged an assist in the encounter. The former Leicester star gave La Dea the lead on the half hour mark after he was set up by Charles De Ketelaere. READ ALSO: Haaland on Premier League player of season shortlist Lookman then turned…

Linyi, China, and Manila, Philippines, are gearing up to host the ultimate editions of the Men’s and Women’s Volleyball Challenger Cup (VCC) in 2024, set to take place from 4 to 7 July. The Men’s VCC is set to debut in Linyi, a new destination in the international volleyball circuit, situated in the southern region of Shandong province. Host country China will be accompanied by Mexico, champions of the 2023 NORCECA International League Final Four, as well as Egypt (CAVB) and Chile (CSV), both securing qualification…

On Europe Day, and the second on French soil for the Paris 2024 flame after a 12-day-long boat journey from Greece, Mariia Vysochanska participated in the relay through the coastal city’s streets to begin an 11-week parade across France before lighting the Olympic cauldron on 26 July. After the 19th-century three-masted barque Belem docked on Wednesday in the Mediterranean port, local football legend Basile Boli took the flame in front of the iconic basilica of Notre-Dame de la Garde on Thursday, before passing it on to…

There is a very real possibility that boxing will be missing from the Olympic programme at Los Angeles 2028 for the first time since Stockholm 1912. Having taken charge of boxing at Tokyo 2020, and Paris 2024, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) says it will not do so again and needs a new partner international federation for boxing by early 2025. At Rio 2016, the International Boxing Association (formerly AIBA, IBA as of December 2021) was the international federation charged with organising the tournament. A…