Category Sports News

Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton set the pace in first practice at the British Grand Prix from McLaren’s Lando Norris.

Hamilton headed Norris by 0.023 seconds at Silverstone, with the second McLaren of championship leader Oscar Piastri third, ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

It was the first time Hamilton had topped a practice session this season, excluding his pole position for the sprint race at the Chinese Grand Prix.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who suffered a blow to his already slim championship hopes when he was taken out of last weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix by Mercedes ‘ Kimi Antonelli, was only 10th fastest, complaining about the balance of his car.

Red Bull are one of a number of teams with revised floors for this event, the others McLaren, Aston Martin, Haas, Williams and Sauber.

At Aston Martin, Fernando Alonso used the new floor in the first session, to end up 11th fastest, while team-mate Lance Stroll ran the previous specification for comparison and ended up just one place behind.

British-Swedish driver Arvid Lindblad, 17, replaced Yuki Tsunoda for first practice and was 14th.

In warm temperatures and in front of a large crowd, Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto both had huge spins at the ultra-fast Copse corner, remarkably without going off track and damaging their cars.

Owen Farrell’s call-up to the British and Irish Lions tour of Australia could be a “masterstroke”, says former England scrum-half and Danny Care.

Care, a long-time half-back partner of Farrell for England, backed the decision for Lions head coach Andy Farrell to call up his son, despite his injury struggles and lack of international game time.

The former England captain has replaced utility back Elliot Daly, who was ruled out of the tour after fracturing his arm in Wednesday’s win over Queensland Reds.

“Why would you not pick Owen Farrell?” Care told BBC’s Rugby Union Weekly podcast.

“Whatever position he is going to play, whatever role he’s going to play in that squad, they are only a better squad for having him there.

Care has seen first hand how Farrell sets standards both on and off the pitch.

“If Owen turns up and delivers standards and delivers a better performance from the Lions, and overall and you see a more connected team, then you have to go ‘what a masterclass and a masterstroke from the coaches’,” he added.

Farrell, 33, has not played international rugby in nearly two years and recently returned to Saracens after a difficult season in Paris with Racing 92.

The fly-half, who can also play inside centre, has not played in nearly nine weeks after a concussion ended his season early.

Once he arrives in Australia, Farrell will be the only player in the squad to have gone on four Lions tours, where he will look to add to his six Tests.

“Whatever team Owen is in he makes them better. I have no doubt in whatever shape he is, he will slot in absolutely fine,” added Care.

Care recalls how a suspended Owen Farrell played a crucial role in preparing England for their pivotal opening game of the 2023 Rugby World Cup against Argentina.

“I go back to the World Cup where he goes into the tournament with a ban, but the way he drove the standards of the whole group,” he said.

“The way he drove the midweek teams, preparing the first team to play against Argentina and the masterclass that George Ford delivered there.

“Owen prepped that team so well for that.

Daly’s experience as a utility back is a unique one. The 32-year-old has played centre, wing and full-back across three Lions tours and was playing his way into a Test spot.

Scotland’s Tom Jordan, who is touring close by in his native New Zealand, can play 10, 12 and 15 and was a natural fit to cover multiple positions.

Ireland’s Jamie Osborne, capped by Farrell last summer in South Africa, will complete the set of playing international rugby at full-back, wing and centre against Georgia on Saturday.

Andy Farrell made clear he had “loads of full-backs” with Hugo Keenan and Blair Keenan, the likely contenders for the Test 15 spot, set to play their first game on tour against NWS Waratahs on Saturday.

With Marcus Smith also able to cover 15, this ruled out in-form Wales full-back Blair Murray.

Scotland wing Darcy Graham wing was unlucky to miss out on the initial squad and offers less versatility but could have added another option in the back three.

Ireland’s Mack Hansen and England’s Tommy Freeman have both played for their club at full-back, which Andy Farrell previously referenced was an important factor in their initial selection.

“I will be honest; I look around and think who else could he call-up?” Care said.

“Out of everyone that is going that can cover a couple of positions. He would be top of my list.

“Why wouldn’t you take someone who has been there three times, worn the shirt and knows what it takes?

“There will be sceptical people because he hasn’t played proper Test match rugby for a long time.

Former Lions fly-half Dan Biggar toured with Owen Farrell in 2017 and 2021 and wrote in his Daily Mail column that the management are being “quite naive” if they think the selection will “blow over quietly”.

He also wonders if Farrell will affect the dynamic of the fly-halves as he is “a huge personality” and will have a “big influence” on the squad.

“We’ve been praising Russell all year. He looks like the main man. It feels like this is his moment and you don’t know what kind of impact Farrell coming in will have on that dynamic,” Biggar added.

Stuart Barnes, a Lions tourist in 1993, wrote in the Times that the problem with Farrell’s call-up was not “nepotism” but “on form, the selection is a joke”.

And like Biggar, the former England fly-half questioned whether Russell would be hindered by Farrell’s presence.

“Farrell’s pick is a disturbing decision. It could even become a disturbance. Let’s hope not,” he added.

Brian O’Driscoll, a four-time Lions tourist, believes Farrell’s leadership skills mean he will “accepted very, very well” and he added on Off The Ball that he could see him starting one of the Tests at inside centre.

Willis Halaholo, a former Wales and Cardiff centre, will make his Tonga debut in August.

The 34-year-old won his final Wales cap in April 2022, and he is eligible to play for Tonga under World Rugby’s eligibility guidelines.

After missing three years of Test rugby, Halaholo qualified for Wales on residency and does so for Tonga.

After being chosen for the Ikale Tahi squad, he will face Fiji and Samoa in the Pacific Nations Cup Pool A the following month.

In Pool B, Canada, the United States, and Japan square off in a final on September 20 at America First Field in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Before the 2023 World Cup in France, Halaholo and former New Zealand All Black Charles Piutau, who resented Tonga, could form a center partnership.

The BBC’s search to find a new football expert begins on Monday, with 12 content creators competing in Last Pundit Standing to win a role as BBC Sport’s next football content creator.

The first two episodes of the show will be available to watch on iPlayer, as well as BBC Sport’s YouTube channel and TikTok account, from 06:00 BST on Monday, with new episodes every week until 11 August.

Last Pundit Standing will be co-hosted by former Watford captain Troy Deeney and YouTuber and football presenter James Allcott.

Deeney said: “I’m absolutely buzzing to co-host Last Pundit Standing. There’s something really special about the energy that surrounds an exciting new show like this.

“We’re bringing together some amazing creators in incredible locations, with some huge special guests. I can’t wait to dive in and have some fun over the series. “

Star guests include former footballers Alex Scott, Robbie Savage, Chris Sutton and Martin Keown, ex-Everton and Burnley manager Sean Dyche, referee Rebecca Welch and comedian Max Fosh.

The 12 contestants, who were chosen from more than 400 applicants, will be whittled down through a series of tasks staged at iconic football locations as the creators are challenged by some of the biggest names in the game.

The candidates are:

“These are 12 of the brightest football creators out there, the future of the football media industry. Seeing who comes out on top and lands the job should make great viewing,” said BBC director of sport Alex Kay-Jelski.

With wages going unpaid, the local MP saying the club is being “held hostage” by the owner and now some fans calling for boycotts, it has been a summer of turmoil for Sheffield Wednesday.

Sheffield Wednesday, who are run by owner Dejphon Chansiri, have had cashflow issues for some time.

There has been no official explanation by Chansiri on what has led to the problem but things have escalated recently.

The club has gone from delayed payments to His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in 2023 and 2024 to players, coaches and staff now not being paid on time in both May and June.

They are now under three English Football League (EFL) embargoes, one relating to unpaid players, one to a further issue with HMRC and, on Thursday, a third one for failure to pay transfer fees.

They are under a registration embargo preventing them from signing anyone, even free transfers, until the outstanding wages are paid in full and can not make any transfers or loans which involve a fee for this summer’s window and the two in 2026.

No official explanation has been offered by Chansiri on what has led to the current crisis and there is no obvious solution to the problem under the current owner.

The situation at the club has been described as “shocking” and “not tolerable” by Maheta Molango, the head of the Professional Footballers’ Association.

Meanwhile, Sheffield South East MP Clive Betts has urged Chansiri to sell the club, accusing him of holding it “hostage”.

The Thai businessman, whose family controls the Thai Union Group, the world’s largest producer of canned tuna, bought Sheffield Wednesday for a reported £37.5m in 2015 from former chairman Milan Mandaric.

The Owls, who have not played in the Premier League since 2000, reached the Championship play-offs in each of his first two seasons in charge but in recent years the 57-year-old has frequently clashed with supporters during a series of lengthy fans’ forums and public statements.

In 2023 he told supporters “you have no right to ask me to leave” amid calls to sell. In an interview with the Sheffield Star in the same year, he asked fans to raise £2m to help the club pay an outstanding debt to HMRC and cover wages, before resolving the issue shortly after.

Owls players were not paid on time for March, before the issue was resolved a few days later. Since then, the same thing has happened for May and June.

Some players still haven’t been paid for May. It is believed some players have now handed in their notice, as is permitted when a player receives delayed wages in two consecutive months.

Coaches have also been affected and are now out of contract, meaning a skeleton staff is left to try to piece together a pre-season.

Highly-rated manager Danny Rohl is set to leave the club, with talks ongoing over his departure.

Non-playing staff have also suffered late payment of wages. Last month an emergency fund helped some employees.

We believe some staff have been paid £700 of their June salaries. There is no current clarity on when salaries will be paid in full.

Chansiri has not publicly revealed what kind of offer he would be willing to accept for the club.

He did reveal in a statement that he had rejected an offer of £40m plus “limited future Premier League promotion payments” from a consortium.

The owner has spent a considerable amount during his 10-and-a-half years at Hillsborough and appears determined to ask for a bid that is well beyond what many consider to be market value.

Unless his price demand comes down, it’s hard to imagine anyone buying the club.

Mandaric briefly suggested he would be interested in a return but subsequently decided against getting involved, while John Flanagan, a member of a US-based consortium, told BBC Radio Sheffield that they had had two offers for the club rejected with no counter-offer.

At the moment, it seems like a bidder would have to be prepared to overpay or come up with a package that would interest Chansiri.

An individual who is part of a bidding consortium has described negotiations with the Thai as “the most unique” he had experienced in his business career.

Due to work on the training ground being incomplete, players are currently working away from the club and doing what they can to prepare for the new season.

Some players have been training at Sheffield Hallam University’s athletics stadium at Woodbourn Road, which is based next to a facility where many fans have probably played five-a-side.

It’s a shambolic situation and a far cry from the numerous clubs going through warm-weather camps or working at their own facilities.

As noted, some of the players have handed their notice in due to delayed payment of wages or simply signalled their intention to leave.

It’s unclear at this stage what kind of squad Wednesday will have to start the season, especially given their current embargoes.

Rohl, who led the side to a 12th-placed finish last season, is set to depart although, contrary to reports connecting him to other jobs, it’s believed his exit is not specifically tied to another club.

The talented German boss hinted strongly at the end of last season that he saw his future away from Hillsborough and is understandably keen to draw a line and move on, as, seemingly, some of the players are.

Many are distraught and desperate for an end to Chansiri’s reign.

A plea from the Supporters’ Trust for fans to boycott merchandise and retail was seemingly well backed online this week and many insist they will not return to Hillsborough until a new owner is in place.

We have seen a lot of support for the players, with fans also telling staff they would be backed if they decided to walk out over the wage issue.

Wednesday fans are not typically protestors but the action at the end of last season was the most significant seen at Hillsborough.

When the club plays its next game — although no pre-season fixtures are currently arranged — there are likely to be protests.

We are also waiting for the outcome of a recent Safety Advisory Group meeting where the safety of Hillsborough’s North Stand was discussed, amid rumours that it could be closed.

Some fans have already purchased season tickets in the stand. No clarity was provided on the matter by the club when contacted by BBC Radio Sheffield.

“Enough is enough” is the call on social media and for Sheffield Wednesday fans, they have reached the end of their tether. It’s fair to say Owls supporters want a new owner and fast.