Sports & Casinos UK

Spaniard’s stance could complicate Ryder Cup placeLuke Donald confirms he will captain Europe againDust was yet to settle on Luke Donald’s commitment to a third successive stint as Europe’s Ryder Cup captain when Rory McIlroy highlighted the elephant in the locker room.McIlroy, in a sentiment shared by other European players, finds it hard to fathom why Jon Rahm has not reached agreement to make his participation at Adare Manor next September straightforward. Rahm’s Ryder Cup involvement sits in serious jeopardy amid a dispute with the DP World Tour. McIlroy calmly warned that the biennial contest matters more than any single individual. Continue reading...

Eddie Howe accepts his Newcastle side are at their best when they create chaos and no one in black and white is better at conjuring it than Will Osula.The maverick Denmark Under-21 striker is, to say the least, unpredictable. No one, least of all Osula himself, ever seems quite sure what he will do at any given moment. Here though he stepped off the substitutes’ bench to score a fabulous, virtuoso 90th-minute winner for a home team reduced to 10 men by Jacob Ramsey’s controversial 45th-minute sending off for a perceived dive. Continue reading...

Benjamin Nygren’s 19th goal of the season sent Celtic into second place in the Scottish Premiership as the champions won at Aberdeen.Nygren combined with his fellow substitute James Forrest to put the visitors back in front midway through the second half with a deft finish. The Swede faced a lengthy wait for confirmation as the offside lines were drawn but Gavin Molloy’s outstretched foot was ultimately judged to have played the midfielder on. Continue reading...

Arsenal did not come to see the seaside. There were not here to make friends – which was just as well. It was purely about the points. Mission Eyes On The Prize. They accomplished it and then some.There were 78 minutes on the clock when the travelling support got wind of Nottingham Forest’s equaliser at Manchester City. How they belted out their anthems at that point – about previous title-winning glories – and when it was all over, there was plenty more from them. Continue reading...

As these teams emerged for kick-off, the Holte End displayed a tifo proudly flaunting Aston Villa’s deck of cards, chiefly an ace of clubs. By the end, however, their upper hand in the race for the Champions League felt rather hollow, if not diminished. Chelsea had dismantled Unai Emery’s side to move within three points of Villa, João Pedro scoring a hat-trick to take his tally to 17 goals for the season.The Brazil striker was in the mood for a fourth and tried his luck with an audacious overhead kick, while Emiliano Martínez prevented Alejandro Garnacho from adding a bruising fifth late on. For Villa and their grand aspirations, it was a sobering evening, even if Manchester United’s late defeat by Newcastle surely softened the blow. Continue reading...

“Vamos, vamos!” screamed Rodri in his native Spanish following a 62nd-minute header that seemed to grab a precious victory for Manchester City. But the title chasers’ 2-1 lead lasted only 14 minutes as Phil Foden allowed Elliot Anderson to run off him and the Nottingham Forest midfielder, from range, curled a sublime equaliser beyond Gianluigi Donnarumma that silenced City’s faithful.Before Anderson’s leveller Erling Haaland was denied a penalty by the referee, Darren England, and the video assistant referee, for a coming together with Matz Sels, the visiting No 1. Bernardo Silva did not agree. “I just watched it,” City’s captain said afterwards. “It’s a penalty. We’re used to it this season, all the 50-50s have gone against us.” Continue reading...

Theft of two stones in Italy being investigatedMixed doubles wheelchair event started on WednesdayThe theft of two curling stones due to be used at the Milano Cortina Winter Paralympics is being investigated, World Curling has confirmed.Action in Italy got under way on Wednesday night with the round robin of the inaugural mixed doubles wheelchair competition, but the drama started earlier when it was discovered the rocks, believed to be worth about £750, were missing from Cortina’s curling stadium. Continue reading...

Iraq team due in Mexico for playoff final on 31 MarchMiddle East crisis has made travel plans uncertainThe intercontinental World Cup playoffs are in doubt with officials from the Iraq Football Association (IFA) in crisis talks with Fifa over concerns they may be unable to take part in the final scheduled for Mexico later this month.The Guardian has learned that the IFA received a letter from Iraq’s national airline, Iraqi Airways, and the Ministry of Transportation informing them that the country’s airspace will remain closed for “at least four weeks”, which would leave around 40% of the squad unable to travel. Continue reading...

Kansas City gain 29th pick in this year’s draftRams also have the 13th selection in 2026 draftThe Los Angeles Rams are acquiring All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie from the Kansas City Chiefs in a blockbuster trade that includes the 29th overall pick of this year’s draft, ESPN reported on Wednesday.The Chiefs reportedly would also receive the Rams’ fifth- and sixth-round selections in this year’s draft as well as a third-round pick in 2027. Continue reading...

New Zealand, 173-1, bt South Africa, 169-8, by 9 wktsBlack Caps opener Allen blasts 100 not out from 33 ballsSouth Africa won every match they could afford to lose in this tournament and then lost the first one that they had to win.They were completely marmalised by New Zealand, who won the first semi-final by nine wickets. Finn Allen ripped through South Africa’s feared fast bowling attack, and hit an unbeaten hundred off just 33 balls. It was the fastest century in the history of the competition, and, as Allen said himself, the innings of his life. Only two batters have ever hit a faster ton in international T20 cricket. Continue reading...