A senior Greek sporting official has resigned, following allegations of sexual abuse made by one of the country’s top female Olympians.  Aristeidis Adamopoulos stepped down as vice president of the Hellenic Sailing Federation (HSF) on Saturday, soon after the allegations were made. Sofia Bekatorou said a member of HSF performed a “lewd act” after inviting her to his hotel room in 1998, but she did not name the individual and investigations are ongoing. Mr Adamopoulous has denied any wrongdoing, and said he had resigned due to the “great negative publicity” the allegations would have on the Hellenic Olympic Committee. Ms … Continue reading Greek sailing official quits after Olympic champion’s sex abuse claim

Houston Rockets have traded star player James Harden to the Brooklyn Nets, just a day after he criticized team-mates in a post-match rant. Harden, the top scorer in the NBA for the past three seasons, will join the Nets in a deal involving three teams. The 2018 NBA Most Valuable Player and an eight-time all-star, Harden, 31, had been reportedly looking for a move after growing frustrated at Houston. They are second bottom in the Western Conference with just three wins. The three-team deal also involves the Cleveland Cavaliers – as part of the trade, Brooklyn centre Jarrett Allen and … Continue reading Houston Rockets star joins Brooklyn Nets in three-team deal

Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema will face trial for complicity in an attempt to blackmail in a case linked to a sex tape featuring his former France team-mate Mathieu Valbuena, French prosecutors said. The public prosecutor’s office in Versailles, France said on Thursday the trial was ordered against the player for complicity in attempting to pressure Valbuena, who was allegedly threatened in a phone call in June 2015, with the publication of the video. He will stand trial on the charge of conspiracy to attempt blackmail, the prosecutor’s office said, a date for the trial has yet to be set. … Continue reading Real Madrid star Karim Benzema to stand trial in sex tape case

Lewis Hamilton is now a “Sir” as well as a seven-time Formula One champion, Hamilton received a knighthood Wednesday as part of Queen Elizabeth II’s New Year’s honours list, which also recognized British performers, politicians, public servants and people outside the limelight who worked to defeat the coronavirus and its devastating impacts. Hamilton, who secured his seventh F1 title last month to equal Michael Schumacher’s record, has said his recent success was partly inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement. The 35-year-old race car driver took the knee on the grid and wore anti-racism slogans during the season. Hamilton told … Continue reading Lewis Hamilton, Formula 1 driver receives a knighthood in Queen Elizabeth II’s honours list

Sun Yang has had his appeal against an eight-year doping ban given by the Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld by the Swiss Federal Tribunal. The Chinese swimmer, 29, was first cleared of wrongdoing by Fina, the swimming federation, in January 2019, but after an appeal by the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) to CAS that decision was overturned. That appeared to effectively end Sun’s career but Switzerland’s highest court has now set the ruling aside. The case is once again set to be heard by the CAS but with a different panel in place. “Wada will take steps to present its … Continue reading Chinese swimmer Sun Yang has appeal against eight-year ban upheld by Swiss Tribunal

Injured batsman David Warner has been excluded from Australia’s biosecure bubble for the second Test against India in Melbourne on 26 December. Warner would have missed the Test with the groin injury that kept him out of last week’s series opener in Adelaide. In line with the team’s “bio-security protocols”, paceman Sean Abbott is also out after he too left the bubble for treatment on an injury. Australia won the first match in the four-Test series by eight wickets. “While neither player has been in a specific hotspot as outlined by NSW Health, Cricket Australia’s bio-security protocols do not allow … Continue reading Australia v India: Injured David Warner excluded from bio-bubble

Lionel Messi broke Pele’s all-time scoring milestone for their clubs by netting his 644th career goal in Barcelona’s 3-0 win over Valladolid on Tuesday, Messi achieved the feat in the 65th minute, helped by 18-year-old Pedro “Pedri” Gonzalez. After receiving the ball near the edge of the area, Pedri deftly rolled his boot over the ball to push it behind him to meet the Argentine’s run, the slick pass left Messi clear to beat goalkeeper Jordi Masip, who had denied with twice. “When I started playing football I never thought I’d break any record, especially not the one I achieved … Continue reading Messi breaks Pele’s record with 644 goals for Barcelona

A Swiss court upheld doping sanctions that will prevent Russian athletes from competing at major international events under the country’s flag, but halved the period of the ban to two years from four. The ruling on Thursday will leave Russian athletes without their flag and national anthem at next year’s Tokyo Olympics, the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and at the 2022 football World Cup in Qatar, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) had originally banned Russia from the world’s top sporting events for four years in December 2019, but the sanction could not be implemented until the end of the appeal … Continue reading Swiss court rejects Russia’s appeal against Olympic doping ban

Barcelona footballer and French national team member Antoine Griezmann has announced he is cutting ties with Chinese technology giant Huawei over the continuing persecution of Uighurs in Xinjiang province. Griezmann cited reports of Huawei’s involvement in the surveillance of Uighur Muslims as the reason for ending his contract as a brand ambassador with them on Thursday. “Following strong suspicions that Huawei has contributed to the development of a ‘Uighurs alert’ through the use of facial recognition software, I am immediately ending my partnership with the company,” Griezmann said in an Instagram post. “I am taking this opportunity to invite Huawei … Continue reading Football star Griezmann cuts Huawei ties over Uighur persecution

Former Italian footballer Paolo Rossi, who led the national team to victory in the 1982 World Cup, has died aged 64, his family says, his wife Federica Cappelletti posted on Instagram a picture of them together with the words “Per sempre” (“forever” in Italian). She did not disclose the cause of his death. Italian media are reporting that he had a long illness. Rossi was the top scorer and the best player of the 1982 tournament in Spain, his memorable hat-trick eliminated favourites Brazil in a match many fans see as one of the greatest in World Cup history. Rossi … Continue reading Paolo Rossi, Italy’s 1982 World Cup hero, dies aged 64

World champion Lewis Hamilton will miss this weekend’s Formula 1 Sakhir Grand Prix in Bahrain after testing positive for coronavirus, his team, Mercedes, said the Briton woke with mild symptoms on Monday and returned a positive result at a subsequent test and again at a retest. Hamilton, who is now self-isolating, won the Bahrain Grand Prix at the same circuit on Sunday. Mercedes say a replacement will be named in due course. “Apart from mild symptoms, he is otherwise fit and well and the entire team sends him our very best wishes for a swift recovery,” a statement said. Hamilton, … Continue reading Lewis Hamilton to miss Sakhir GP after testing positive for coronavirus

Romain Grosjean is being treated in hospital for burns after a terrifying, fiery accident at the Bahrain Grand Prix, the Frenchman’s Haas pierced the barrier, split in two and burst into flames on the first lap of the race, which was stopped. Grosjean’s car was embedded in the barrier on its side and the driver appears to have been saved by the halo head-protection device. “Romain Grosjean will remain in hospital overnight to be treated for burns sustained on the back of both hands,” a Haas statement said. “It’s a miracle that he’s alive,” said 1996 world champion Briton Damon … Continue reading Haas driver Romain Grosjean suffers burns after huge Bahrain GP crash and fire