Barcelona sacked coach Ronald Koeman after Wednesday’s 1-0 LaLiga defeat at Rayo Vallecano, the Catalan club said on Wednesday.Ex FC Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman looks on before Wednesday’s match against Rayo Vallecano in Madrid, Spain. “FC Barcelona has relieved Ronald Koeman of his duties as first team coach. The president of the club, Joan Laporta, informed him of the decision after the defeat against Rayo Vallecano,” the LaLiga club said in a statement. “Ronald Koeman will say goodbye to the squad on Thursday at the Ciutat Esportiva.” FC Barcelona wishes to thank him for his service to the club and … Continue reading Finally: Barcelona fires coach Koeman after woeful start to soccer season

Boston Celtics basketball player Enes Kanter is under fire in China after calling President Xi Jinping a “brutal dictator”. In a video posted to Twitter, he also expressed support for the Free Tibet movement. His name has since been blocked from Chinese social media site Weibo, and the streaming of Celtics games has reportedly been cancelled. China’s foreign ministry has accused Kanter of “trying to get attention”. It comes two years after tweets from then Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey prompted China’s broadcaster to cease showing NBA games. “My message for the Chinese government is free Tibet,” Kanter told … Continue reading Who Is This Disgrace: Boston Celtics star under fire over China comments

The cost of the 2032 Brisbane Olympics is likely to exceed the A$5 billion ($3.72 billion) estimate in the pitch document but the Australian government would ensure it was spent wisely, sports minister Richard Colbeck said on Tuesday.138th IOC Session The federal government has promised to contribute 50% of the costs of Australia’s third Summer Olympics and Colbeck admitted it had been blindsided by a Queensland government announcement of a A$1 billion rebuild of Brisbane’s Gabba cricket ground. “It’ll probably be a bit more than five (billion), given the infrastructure for transport and the infrastructure for the Games,” Colbeck told … Continue reading Australia says cost of Brisbane 2032 Olympics Games to exceed A$5bn

New Zealand rugby player Sean Wainui has died in a car crash. Police said the 25-year-old, a former under-20 international, was killed in a single-vehicle accident when his car hit a tree near Tauranga. Wainui played 10 times for the Maori All Blacks and made 44 Super Rugby appearances for the Waikato Chiefs. In June, he scored five tries against the NSW Waratahs – setting the record for the most tries by a player in a single Super Rugby match. He also played for Bay of Plenty during the 2021 provincial rugby season. New Zealand Rugby chief executive Mark Robinson … Continue reading Tragic: New Zealand All Blacks player Sean Wainui dies in car crash

Basketball great LeBron James says he decided to get the coronavirus vaccine because it “best suited” him, his family and his friends. The 36-year-old Los Angeles Lakers star said he researched the vaccine before receiving it, having originally been “very sceptical”. It has been reported 90% of NBA players have been vaccinated prior to the new season beginning on 19 October. Some have refused to confirm their status or say they will not be jabbed. James said it was not his place to judge others, or persuade people to get the injection. “I don’t talk about other people and what they should … Continue reading LeBron James got coronavirus vaccine after initial scepticism

Sumo wrestling’s greatest champion, Hakuho, is set to retire after more than 1,000 wins. He rose to the top ranks of sumo wrestling after arriving in Japan from his native Mongolia at the age of 15. But the 36-year-old has been plagued by a persistent knee injury and received a warning last year for “injury absences”. During his career, Hakuho recorded more titles, wins and perfect championships than any other wrestler in history. His retirement leaves just one wrestler at the sport’s highest rank of Yokozuna. Hakuho made his debut in 2001 and was promoted to Yokozuna six years later. … Continue reading Sumo wrestling’s greatest champion Hakuho retires

Lewis Hamilton has become the first Formula One driver to win 100 races with victory in the Russian Grand Prix to retake the championship lead from Max Verstappen. Hamilton dropped to seventh place on Sunday when he was boxed in at the first corner but fought back and passed Lando Norris for the win when the McLaren driver stayed out on slick tyres in late rain and slid off the track. “It’s taken a long time to get to 100 and at times, I wasn’t sure it would come,” Hamilton said. It was Hamilton’s fifth win of the season and … Continue reading Milestone: Hamilton wins 100th Formula One race with victory in Russian GP

Chinese para-swimmer Zheng Tao has won the internet after shattering records and winning four gold medals at the Tokyo Games – despite having no arms. “Daughter, look at me – I can swim so fast even though I don’t have arms!” he said in a video message to his daughter after one race. Zheng, who lost his arms to an electric shock as a child, dominated with wins in freestyle, backstroke and butterfly. All of his individual victories have been world or Paralympic records. His 50m freestyle final on Wednesday – a Games record – was particularly celebrated on Chinese … Continue reading Incredible: China’s armless swimmer Zheng Tao dominates with four golds

Toyota is resuming operations of its autonomous vehicles at the Paralympic Games village in Tokyo following an accident. Services of the e-Palette pods were halted after a vehicle hit a visually impaired athlete last week. The athlete was not seriously injured, but he had to pull out of an event due to cuts and bruises. The vehicles will now have more operator control and extra staff to ensure they do not hit any more people. Aramitsu Kitazono, a member of Japan’s judo team, was hit as he was walking across a pedestrian crossing on Thursday. Mr Kitazono was unable to … Continue reading Toyota restarts driverless vehicles after accident

Michael Jordan has made $7 million from Lionel Messi’s transfer to Paris Saint-Germain, less than a week after the move was confirmed, according to Argentinian outlet TyC sports. PSG’s shirts are manufactured by Nike, but sold under the Air Jordan sub-brand in a unique collaboration. According to TyC, the NBA legend reportedly earns a 5% cut of shirt sales. The French club has been enjoying a massive boost in sales since Messi’s arrival last week. Messi swapped Barcelona for Paris last week having spent 21 years in Spain and soon his ‘Messi 30’ shirt became the hottest property. An adult jersey with Messi’s name and number printed on the … Continue reading How Michael Jordan made a reported $7 million from Lionel Messi’s transfer

Belarusian sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, whose defection during the recent Tokyo Olympics gripped the Games, plans to apply for Polish sporting citizenship so that she can run for Poland. Tsimanouskaya, 24, was taken in by Warsaw this month after she refused to obey her coaches’ orders to return to Belarus from Japan following a dispute over their handling of the Belarusian Olympic team. She says that she feared for her safety in her homeland and that the decision to remove her from the Tokyo Games came from “high up”. Her coaches said she had mental health issues, a claim she denies. In an … Continue reading Update: Defected Belarusian athlete announces plan to run for Poland

A Covid-19 case has been detected in the Tokyo Paralympics village, just days before the Games are due to start, organisers said on Thursday. The person who tested positive for the virus is not an athlete and is not a resident of Japan, they added. Organisers have already reported more than 70 Covid-19 cases linked to the Paralympics, mostly among contractors and staff. The Games are due to begin in five days on 24 August. Around 4,400 athletes from approximately 160 teams are set to take part in the Paralympics. As with the Olympics, they will be required to undergo … Continue reading First Covid-19 case detected at Tokyo 2020 Paralympic village