Category Sports News

We thought we’d mark it with a delightfully challenging quiz in the wake of the possibility that a fantastic 12-year Test career might be over.

Since World War Two, Woakes is one of 72 men’s cricket players who has taken 100 wickets and 1,000 runs. What is the other 71, please?

Any attempt to outlaw Israel from competing in the 2026 World Cup will be blocked by the US government.

Israel has committed a genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, according to a UN commission of inquiry earlier this month.

That has prompted the Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and a panel of UN experts to demand sanctions for the nation.

The US, Mexico, and Canada will host the World Cup in 2014 on a joint venture.

We will work without fail to attempt to avert Israel’s participation in the World Cup, according to a US State Department spokesman.

Meanwhile, there are rumors that the Uefa, the body responsible for organizing World Cup qualifying matches in Europe, may meet to decide whether to suspend Israel as soon as next week.

According to a senior source at a member association in Europe, “Uefa leadership wants to see some action on this.”

Nothing has been confirmed or scheduled. However, many nations are now putting forth new, high-level pressure in comparison to last month.

On October 11 in Oslo, Israel will face Norway in a World Cup qualifying match.

Lise Klaveness, president of the Norwegian football federation, stated earlier this month that while her organization “can deal with the humanitarian suffering that is occurring in the region, especially the disproportionate attacks against civilians in Gaza,” it cannot and will not be indifferent to it.”

The Italian FA has also discussed the difficulties of hosting Israel, which Italy hosts on October 14 in Udine.

According to the UN report, there are logical grounds to believe that four of the five genocidal crimes have been committed since the war’s start in 2023.

The UN’s panel of human rights experts then requested that Israel’s national team be exempt from international football by sending a request to the world’s football governing body Fifa and its European counterpart Uefa, saying that “sports must reject the perception that it is business as usual.”

Israel has consistently disputed that the actions taken in Gaza constitute a genocide and that they are necessary as a means of self-defense. The UN report was deemed “distorted and false” by its foreign ministry.

In response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which resulted in the deaths of about 1,200 people and the hostage of 251, the Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza.

Since the UN’s report, there have been more calls to ban Israel from competing in sports.

And it comes as a result of reports that Uefa may decide whether to suspend Israel the following week. No meeting is currently being planned, according to Uefa.

In their group of nine points, Israel is third behind Norway, who was organized by Uefa.

The winning team will automatically advance to the World Cup, with the losing team going on to the play-offs.

Sanchez, the prime minister of Spain, argued that Israel should be barred from international sports competitions in the same way that Russia should be.

Israel can’t continue to “whitewash its image” using any international platforms, Sanchez said.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the national team has been prohibited from competing in international football competitions.

BBC Sport contacted the Israeli FA to ask for comment, and Fifa has been contacted for comment.

Sanchez’s remarks came as pro-Palestinian protesters reportedly entered a portion of the Vuelta a Espana course in Madrid’s center earlier this month, prompting the suspension of the competition.

Protesters smashed down barriers and occupied the road at various intersections along the route, including Gran Via, where cyclists were repeatedly required to pass.

Russian and Belarusian athletes were prohibited from competing at the 2024 Olympics under the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

IOC President Kirsty Coventry responded to a question about sanctioning Israeli athletes earlier this week, saying that the “sports movement must showcase the good that is in humanity.”

Palestinian supporters also displayed banners and flags on Wednesday during their Europa League game against Israeli side Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Fans chanted “Stop the genocide” and “Show Israel the red card,” in English.

After Maccabi supporters raised an Israeli flag, “Free Palestine,” chants were also audible.

Following earlier in the day’s protests in Thessaloniki, when supporters and activist groups gathered to protest Israel’s participation in European football.

Demonstrators backed a petition launched this week that claimed there could be “no fair play with representatives of genocide,” and submitted more than 1,900 signatures to Uefa.

The current conflict between Israel and Gaza had caused the match to be considered high risk, with PAOK warning supporters before the game: “The display of banners, messages, or flags with political content could result in heavy sanctions for our club.”

On November 6th, Maccabi travel to Villa Park for the Europa League match.

World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz claims that he was “scared” after suffering an ankle injury on Thursday in the first round of the Tokyo Olympics.

With the first set tied at 2-2, top seed Alcaraz suffered a left ankle stenosis and had to undergo heavy strapping and treatment from the physio.

His team appeared to indicate that he should stop at this point, before the game was then suspended for rain, which added to the delay. He then broke with Baez and returned to the court.

Alcaraz, who had earlier won the men’s US Open title, and Baez resurrected under the roof, won the match 6-4, 6-2, and the Spaniard dominated the following day.

Alcaraz, a six-time Grand Slam champion, said, “I was scared too, I’m not going to lie.”

“Being honest, I was concerned when I landed on the ankle because it didn’t feel good at first. I’m happy to have the opportunity to play such good tennis after that. Seem to be.

I believe the following day and a half will not be easy for me. I’ll make an effort to recover and do whatever it takes to get ready for the following round.

Sonay Kartal’s comfortable victory over American Alycia Parks in Beijing secured her place in the second round of the China Open.

Kartal defeated world number 60 Parks 6-3, 2 and 6-2 in the final game of the Billie Jean King Cup Finals last week.

The 23-year-old’s ranking points for winning her first WTA title at the Tunisian Open final in September dropped to 81 in the world.

The title sponsor has urged one of cycling’s best teams to remove the word “Israel” from its name.

As pro-Palestinian demonstrations were staged in Spain this month’s Vuelta a Espana Grand Tour, the Israel-Premier Tech team was the subject of a number of disruptions.

Sponsor Premier Tech predicted that the team would “evolve toward a new name excluding “Israel,” giving rise to a new identity and brand.

The Canadian business could discontinue its association after the following season, stating that “the team’s current situation is no longer tenable.”

It continued, “We acknowledge and are aware that the world has changed significantly since our World Tour 2017 debut.”

We have continued to honor this commitment this cycling season while actively engaging in discussions with the team and its partners.

The outcome of these discussions will determine whether Premier Tech continues to support the team as it progresses.

Four-time Tour de France champion Chris Froome is a member of the Israel-Premier Tech squad, which is owned by Israeli-Canadian property billionaire Sylvan Adams and is made up of Israeli-born Israelis.

The team stated that they are “currently in the planning phase for 2026 team branding” and will update themselves as needed.

Adams, 66, has previously claimed to be a “self-appointed ambassador to Israel” and is closely associated with Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration.

At the signing of the Abraham Accords between Israel and other Emirati states, including the UAE, in 2020, Adams and US President Donald Trump were invited to the White House.

Similar concerns have also been raised by the team’s British-based bike supplier Factor.

During the Vuelta, the team removed the name “Israel” from their jerseys.

On stage five, four riders were forced to stop to avoid hitting protesters who were unfurling a banner, as a result of pro-Palestinian protests.

Derek Gee, one of the team’s best riders, abruptly terminated his contract with them just days before his Vuelta debut, prompting the team to seek legal counsel and support from cycling’s world-governing body, the UCI.

Without describing those issues or citing any connection between his decision to the Gaza situation, Gee, who had previously been in negotiations to extend his contract, said, “some things just made my continued employment at the team untenable.”

Tom Pidcock, a third-place finisher in the Vuelta, expressed concern for riders who were targeted.

They are riding because they have the chance to compete on bikes all over the world, he said.

After being expelled from the World Tour in 2022, the team is now a part of cycling’s second ProTeam tier, but with their large-money supporters, a return to the World Tour in 2026 is anticipated.

In response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which resulted in the deaths of about 1,200 people and the hostage of 251, the Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza.

As part of a crackdown against touting, Liverpool has reportedly shut down 145 000 ticket outlets over the past two years.

In response to the discovery of widespread ticket-buying fraud, they issued a record 1, 114 lifetime bans last season.

The Premier League champions claimed that in the past year, 500 people were denied entry to Anfield because they had been using a burner phone to get inside to stop tickets from being traced.

Following last week’s BBC Sport investigation, the industrial-scale black market for Premier League tickets was exposed.

Re-selling is prohibited in the UK, but many websites still have locations abroad.

The BBC discovered that resellers frequently rack up hundreds of tickets using fake identities and fake identities to sell them for higher prices, affecting fans’ ability to purchase tickets through official exchanges or membership ballots.

It can cause fans to be forced to pay extortionate prices or be completely out of pocket after purchasing ineffective tickets, as well as undermine fan segregation.

Additionally, 162 social media platforms with a combined membership of more than one million users were investigated by Liverpool’s authorities for engaging in extortionate sales practices.

On match days, under 400 targeted stops were also conducted, blocking access to accounts with suspicious activity.

The campaign’s 1, 114 lifetime bans are significantly more severe than the 75 that were imposed between 2023 and 2024.

Liverpool closed 100, 000 fake accounts between the 2023 and the 2019-20 seasons, and they think new preventative measures like multi-factor authentication, single sign-on, and the use of more sophisticated fraud analysis tools have changed the situation.

The club, which has more than 30 000 season ticket holders, conducts an official sanctions hearing and decides what to do.

The club issued lifetime bans and indefinite suspensions primarily as a result of improper sales of season tickets, memberships, or hospitality tickets.

A number of clubs are committing to increase resources to combat those responsible for the rise in touting activity, including Liverpool.

Arsenal claim to have banned over 7, 000 club memberships this season and nearly 74, 000 accounts for trying to get tickets in unauthorised ways. More than 350, 000 bot attempts have been blocked by Chelsea, according to the company.

However, Tom Greatrex, the head of the Football Supporters Association, expressed doubts about how committed some Premier League clubs were to combating bullying.

Because of how they are made available through secondary agencies, he claimed, “long-term supporters are finding it impossible to get tickets.”

“This is becoming endemic throughout the game.”

The Premier League recommends using “extreme caution” when browsing unauthorised websites and is introducing encrypted barcodes for digital ticketing, which it claims will make it more challenging to sell tickets.

Last season, the Home Office only recorded 12 arrests for ticket touting in English football’s top six divisions.

The Department of Culture, Media and Sport stated in a statement that it is against the law to sell football game tickets in England and Wales. Football clubs are responsible for developing their own strategies to stop ticket sales to unauthorised resellers because legislation exists to reduce the risk of disorder.

One week after his club Sydney Roosters forcibly punished England lock Victor Radley for ten games, he has declared himself out of the three-test autumn series against Australia.

After Radley was linked to a drug case against former teammate Brandon Smith, the Roosters punished him.

Radley, 27, has not been charged by the police.

A lawyer for Smith, who appeared before magistrates in Queensland last week, has said that he intends to contest police claims that he provided drugs and obtained inside information for illegal gambling.

The Roosters claimed in a statement that Radley had “probably obtained an illegal substance” and that he had caused the National Rugby League team to fall into disrepute at the time they suspended him.

He is donating A $30, 000 (£14, 600) to a local hospital that specializes in cancer research in addition to missing 10 club games, which is the heaviest sanction ever imposed on the organization.

At the time, Radley stated that he would “accept the sanctions in full.”

Prior to his withdrawal, he was still being considered for England’s Test squad against Australia.

“We respect Victor’s decision, but we respect his decision,” said England head coach Shaun Wane.

We require 24 players who are fully focused on the historic opportunity to play Australia in a series of the Ashes.

Radley, who was born in Sydney and has an English father, has appeared in nine Test matches for England.

I regret to the club, my team-mates, our sponsors, members, and fans for the negative light I’ve cast on the Roosters in a statement released at the time of his club suspension.

“I’ll work hard to win everyone’s support for this wonderful club back.”