Chelsea have withdrawn their request for their FA Cup quarter-final against Middlesbrough to be played behind closed doors following “constructive talks”, a spokesman for the Football Association said on Tuesday. The Premier League club said hours earlier they wanted Saturday’s game at the Riverside played in an empty stadium after the British government blocked them from making new ticket sales, with only existing ticket holders allowed to attend matches. The Blues have pushed ministers for relaxations to the strict operating licence put in place after Russian owner Roman Abramovich was sanctioned last week as part of a set of punitive…
Author: post staff
Leicester were Tuesday fined nearly £310,000 ($405,000) but avoided a points deduction after a Premiership Rugby investigation found the club had failed to comply with salary cap regulations. The probe, which looked at compliance in four seasons from 2016/17 to 2019/20, found that Leicester had failed to disclose payments made to players’ image rights companies, which should have been declared as salary. Only Saracens, who were relegated two seasons ago for repeated salary cap breaches, have been fined more. Premiership Rugby used strengthened powers introduced following a review of the salary cap regulations in 2020 that was conducted following the…
Spain’s Paula Badosa kept her Indian Wells WTA title defence on track Tuesday, holding off determined Canadian Leylah Fernandez to reach the quarter-finals in the California desert. Badosa, seeded fifth, saved five of the six break points she faced and kept last year’s US Open runner-up under pressure – converting three of her 12 break chances. “Today was very tough,” said Badosa, who lifted the trophy last October in a tournament moved from its usual March date because of the coronavirus pandemic. “Leylah is an amazing player, very fast and good timing. I knew I had to fight and serve…
Verona will have to play one match without the backing of their hardcore fans after widespread racist chants during the weekend’s 2-1 loss to Napoli, Serie A said on Tuesday. In a statement Serie A said that the Curva Sud section of the Stadio Bentegodi would be closed for a game after a significant number of Verona supporters in that stand chanted racist abuse at Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly and Victor Osimhen. The closure of that section of the stadium, where Verona’s hardcore ultras stand, will be closed also because of chants against Napoli and the city of Naples which are…
Darwin Nunez headed home in the 77th minute as Benfica stunned Ajax to reach the Champions League quarter-finals on Tuesday, winning the second leg of their last-16 tie 1-0 in Amsterdam to advance 3-2 on aggregate. The Portuguese side had not managed a single attempt on target until Uruguayan striker Nunez beat goalkeeper Andre Onana to Alex Grimaldo’s free-kick and headed in to silence the Johan Cruyff Arena. Ajax, who had dominated the first half, could not recover from that blow and go out while two-time European Cup winners Benfica look forward to Friday’s draw for the quarter-finals. Having sent…
Barcelona and tournament specialists Sevilla are hoping to secure spots in the quarter-finals of the Europa League this week with three Spanish teams still in a competition dominated by La Liga clubs in recent years. A rejuvenated Barca head to Istanbul for the second leg of their last-16 tie against Galatasaray on a 10-game unbeaten run that has propelled them back up to third in La Liga and seen them emerge as one of the favourites to win the Europa League. “The fans are enjoying themselves when they come to the stadium, and so are we out on the pitch,”…