Category Sports News

Aston Villa are in advanced talks with former Real Sociedad sporting director Roberto Olabe to replace outgoing president of football operations Monchi.

Olabe, 57, spent seven years at Sociedad before leaving at the end of last season.

Monchi’s imminent exit comes with Villa 18th in the Premier League after a winless start to the season.

He joined Villa in 2023 from Spanish side Sevilla, where he had been sporting director, having previously worked with Villa boss Unai Emery at the La Liga club.

Monchi and Emery helped take Villa to the Europa Conference League semi-finals in 2024 and secured a Champions League place as they finished fourth in the Premier League that season.

They went on to reach the Champions League quarter-finals last term, being knocked out by eventual winners Paris St-Germain.

Villa have started poorly this season, failing to win any of their opening five league games and scoring just once.

Villa boss Emery was involved in choosing Olabe as Monchi’s replacement.

Olabe is from Vitoria, part of the Basque Country in northern Spain, which is about 100 miles from Emery’s hometown of Hondarribia.

He managed Real Union between 2011 and 2012, the team which Emery holds a controlling stake in and where his brother Igor is president.

While Monchi’s departure comes at a time of poor results, it does not impact Emery’s position and his influence on Olabe’s arrival underlines that his position remains strong at Villa.

During Olabe’s time at Sociedad they won the 2020 Copa del Rey, their first major silverware in 33 years.

They also bought Alexander Isak from Willem II and sold him to Newcastle for £63m in 2022, while Martin Zubimendi came through the club’s academy before his £60m departure to Arsenal this summer.

The Gunners also signed Mikel Merino from Sociedad while Olabe brought in Martin Odegaard on loan from Real Madrid the season before he moved to the Emirates.

Monchi and Emery have tried to reshape Villa, spending big on defensive midfielder Amadou Onana, signed for £50m in 2024, and attacker Moussa Diaby, who arrived in 2023 for £43m.

But Diaby was sold to Saudi Pro League side Al-Ittihad after just one season while Onana has struggled with injury.

The imposing Belgium international made just 22 league starts last season after his club record move from Everton, and he is currently out with a hamstring injury having played just twice this term.

In the past 18 months Villa’s spending has been restricted because of Profit and Sustainability restrictions imposed by both the Premier League and Uefa.

In July, Villa were fined £9.5m by European football’s governing body for breaching financial rules.

They needed to sell Douglas Luiz in 2024 to balance the books, with the midfielder joining Juventus for £42m. He made just three Serie A starts last season and joined Nottingham Forest on loan last month.

The sales of Omari Kellyman to Chelsea for £19m and Tim Iroegbunam to Everton for £9m last year also generated important profit, while Jacob Ramsey was sold to Newcastle for £40m last month, with all three having come through the club’s academy.

Just two of the starting XI in Sunday’s 1-1 draw at Sunderland – Rogers and striker Evann Guessand – were signed by Emery and Monchi.

This summer Villa signed goalkeeper Marco Bizot from Brest and Guessand from Nice for £30m, before the deadline day arrivals of Harvey Elliott, Jadon Sancho and Victor Lindelof.

England Under-21 international Elliott joined on loan from Liverpool with a £35m obligation to buy, while Sancho moved on loan from Manchester United and his former Old Trafford team-mate Lindelof joined on a free transfer.

Dickie Bird, a legendary former cricket umpire, passed away at the age of 92.

One of the most well-known umpires in the game was Bird, whose first-class playing career was hampered by injury.

He also served as an official witness for three World Cup finals and 66 Tests and 76 one-day internationals.

Bird’s native Yorkshire, where he played and served as president, called him a “national treasure, known for his eccentricities and warmth as well as his umpiring excellence.”

Following criticism from the audience, the Cheltenham Festival organizers are changing the venue and price of a pint.

The four-day meeting in March serves as the jumping racing calendar’s star, but there has been a marked decline in attendance, with some competitors complaining about the cost.

At all the course meetings this season, the price of a pint of draught beer or cider will be reduced by 30p to £7.50.

The Cheltenham Gold Cup’s opening day, which featured the Festival’s final day, was sold out this year, but some attendees complained of crowd overcrowding that day.

Although there was a lag of 56, 000 in attendance on the first three days of 2025, the daily capacity will be decreased from 68, 500 to 66, 000.

Drinkers have been particularly sore lately due to the high prices of alcohol, and especially Guinness, with an estimated 265,000 pints sold in the week.

According to course CEO Guy Lavender, “We regularly benchmark our food and beverage prices against those of other major sports venues and comparable events.”

We have chosen to lower the price of draught beers and cider for the 2025/26 season despite being subject to the same price increases in goods and services as all other industries.

He claimed that the price reduction would be in line with 2022.

Absent regulars cited overcrowding in previous years, as well as the cost of lodging, tickets, travel, and food and beverage as reasons for skipping the meeting, which was cut from three to four days in 2005.

According to reports that thousands have traveled to Spain to watch the action on big screens, including Benidorm and Tenerife, it costs less to spend a week in the sunshine than to attend the game.

A year ago, race organizers made changes that were supposed to enhance the experience of spectators and increase competition.

The 2026 Festival’s “super early bird prices” ranged from £35-£83 for the first three days of the event to £50-£99 for the Friday.

The total attendance for the week was significantly lower than the record 280, 000 people who attended the first post-Covid meeting that was free for spectators in 2022.

The lowest daily attendance since 1993 was 41, 949.

Crowds in 2025 (2024 in brackets and then 2022)

Tuesday: 55, 498 (60, 181) 68, 567

Wednesday: 41, 949 (46, 771) 64, 431

Thursday: 53, 366 (53, 918) 73, 754

Friday: 68, 026 (69, 129) 73, 875

Wales and Tottenham Hotspur winger Mikey Moore have discussed changing their allegiance to another country.

The 18-year-old Londoner has represented England Under-19s but is eligible for Wales through a grandparent. He is currently on loan at Scottish Premiership side Rangers.

Sources have told Wales’ BBC Sport that the Football Association of Wales has contacted Moore, with men’s head coach Craig Bellamy among those to have spoken to him.

In May 2024, Moore made his Premier League debut at the age of 16 years and 277 days. He is the youngest player to do so.

He also broke Jimmy Greaves’ record as the youngest English scorer in a major European competition during the club’s Europa League-winning campaign last year, breaking the club’s previous record.

Due to the addition of several players to their respective national teams over the years, he is not in a rush to decide what his future holds abroad.

Declan Rice, an Arsenal midfielder, and David Brooks, Jordan James, both played for England at the youth level, while Declan Rice, a senior member of the Republic of Ireland, has since made a switch to England.

Players can switch now if they haven’t played more than three senior competitive games before turning 21. This leaves more room for change as of 2020.

A change of eligibility would not be possible based on appearances in World Cup finals or continental finals like the European Championships. However, being a participant in a qualifying tournament would not.

There is no denying that this is the most prepared I’ve been as a Celtic manager going into the Champions League campaign, according to Brendan Rodgers, one year prior to Celtic’s campaign opener against Slovan Bratislava.

His statement was supported by the subsequent football. The Glasgow side’s devastating quarter-final defeat by Bayern Munich followed a comprehensive victory over the Slovakians. With a few ups and downs along the way.

However, as has previously been pointed out, those in green and white have not been greatly influenced by the near-miss in Munich. As Almaty’s disastrous exit from this season would be proof of.

The Ibrox club, who advanced to the quarter-finals of last term’s edition, finds the second-tier competition to be familiar and frequently comfortable.

Both Glasgow’s big two, who kick off their Europa League campaigns this week, have nothing in common with the current campaign.

Before Celtic’s trip to Red Star Belgrade on Wednesday, fans chanted “sack the board,” and Rangers fans protested against head coach Russell Martin, who will continue his quest for a first league win over the weekend after hosting Genk on Thursday.

Rodgers claimed that he was “in the best place I’ve been” at the club when Celtic prepared for their Champions League campaign last year.

Even if things appear to be going well, it would be difficult to say the same a year later.

Top of the table, no defeats, and just one goal conceded are all signs of a crisis, but Rodgers has been forced to bat away recently, a suggestion Rodgers has been making.

Parkhead hasn’t exactly experienced peace as a result of a disappointing transfer window, allegations of a “cowardly” insider briefing against him, and supporters who regularly stage protests against the club’s powerbrokers.

Sebastian Tounekti’s incredible start at the club has helped to lift the spirits a little, but the unrest in the stands is still ferocious despite an impressive, albeit routine, rout.

The Champions League exit at the hands of Kairat Almaty and the way in which it happened heightened concerns despite bubbling away for a while.

They would have been appreciated, but avoiding the humiliating defeat would have required new faces.

One of the most gloomy encounters with Rangers to date saw them lose to the Kazakhs, which gave them a completely forgettable Old Firm derby following their listless start from the notorious journey.

Three weeks later, Rodgers insists his side is developing “a fluency and rhythm,” while Celtic’s former striker Cillian Sheridan claimed that Celtic were “back to their old selves” against Thistle.

After his team faced Rangers in a semi-final, the manager said, “We’re building.”

“It’s difficult to endure nine months of hot weather.” It took a while for players to enter the window because everything was happening.

Rodgers saw rhythm, but Martin saw relief.

Just two weeks after winning the same competition against third-tier Alloa Athletic, the league’s second team won the 2-0 victory over Hibernian.

Former goalkeeper Cammy Bell said that the victory, which started with protests before and during the game, “diminished the noise” around the head coach.

A side who sits second in the Premiership with no wins and three goals scored has fared better with the semi-final set-up of a semi-final with Celtic.

They were exploited at the back and, if not for a handball discovered by VAR, would have been behind in Martin Boyle’s opener despite their win over Hibs, which Martin said “looked much more like the way I hope we are going to be.”

Rangers have never been a fan of entering Europe on a domestic downer.

With concerns over the club’s summer transfer strategy and the fact that Malmo were five points worse off than Celtic last year, Philippe Clement’s side “got off to the perfect start” away from Malmo.

Finding comfort in that same scenario this season is difficult, but Bell thinks a win over a struggling Genk will set the tone for the string of results that are required to win over the disgruntled fans.

On the Scottish Football Podcast, the former Rangers goalkeeper said, “Martin needs to go on a really good run to turn this around.”

He must win games, they say. He needs to do a fantastic run.

He can’t even afford a draw because it will require a period of consistent winning. Unthinkable given that they are eleventh in the table.

A renowned stallion who sired several of Europe’s biggest race winners passed away at the age of 17.

Wootton Bassett’s stud fee had increased to 385, 000 Australian dollars (£187, 000) from the previous record.

Owners Coolmore reported that he passed away on Tuesday from pneumonia.

The Wootton Bassett’s children, including multiple Group One winners, Irish St Leger winners Al Riffa, and Camille Pissarro, French Derby champion, have won numerous big victories this season alone.

As a two-year-old, Wootton Bassett, who was trained by Richard Fahey, won all five races before retiring for a breeding career after losing all four of them the following year.

Almanzor, who won the 2016 French Derby and Irish Champion Stakes at Ascot in Frankie Dettori’s final ride, and King Of Steel, who finished second in the 2023 Derby.

Wootton Bassett died from complications brought on by the horse’s oesophagus, which is an obstruction that transports food from the mouth to the stomach.

One of the greatest sires in the world, Wootton Bassett, passed away peacefully at Coolmore Australia today after suffering from choke and then developing an acute pneumonia that quickly deteriorated, according to the stud business.