Sports

Barcelona defender Gerard Pique is facing an investigation from the Spanish football federation over comments he made in a recent interview suggesting referees favour Real Madrid because most Spanish referees are Real supporters. Barcelona defender Gerard Pique is facing an investigation from the Spanish football federation over comments he made in a recent interview suggesting referees favour Real Madrid because most Spanish referees are Real supporters. A federation spokeswoman said Barca have been informed of the investigation into Pique, which will determine whether

Despite an injury-prone career, Ishant Sharma managed to become only the third Indian pace bowler after Kapil Dev and Zaheer Khan to get to 300 wickets on Monday. Unless his 'sore body' relents, the tall fast bowler is likely to become only the second pace bowler behind Kapil Dev to play 100 Test matches in the second series. The ongoing first Test is the 98th of his career. On Monday, when he reached the milestone by dismissing Daniel Lawrence leg-before wicket with a

Al Duhail emerged victorious with an impressive 3-1 win over Asian Champions League winners Ulsan Hyundai, fetching them a fifth-place finish in the FIFA Club World Cup Sunday. In the opening matches of the tournament, both sides had lost – Al Duhail to Egypt’s Al Ahly and Ulsan to Mexico’s Tigres UANL. Both sides were left with the rather unglamorous prospect of having to complete the formalities in what is pretty much an event where only the winners are honoured. However, with Edmilson

Tigres beat Palmerias, becoming the first Concacaf team to reach the finals of the FIFA Club World Cup. This historic moment came right after Andre-Pierre Gignac’s second-half penalty, securing the Mexican side a 1-0 win over Palmerias Sunday.  Palmerias entered the contest at the Education City Stadium as favorites, but the South American champions were clearly bested by Tigres in an entertainment match. In the final match that is scheduled to take place on Thursday, Ricardo Ferretti’s side will take on the winner

Zlatan Ibrahimovic surpassed 500 goals scored at club level by scoring twice as AC Milan moved back on top of Serie A with a 4-0 win over Crotone. The Swedish striker, 39, reached the milestone with a shot into the top corner in the first half. He then tapped in his 501st goal and his 14th in 11 league games this season. Ante Rebic scored twice in as many minutes to complete the comfortable win against Serie A's bottom side. AC moved two

Serena Williams debuted a striking single-legged leotard in her first match in the Australian Open on Monday, paying homage to the Olympic track champion Florence Griffith Joyner, known for her long, colourful fingernails and flamboyant outfits. After wearing the black, red and pink catsuit to dispatch Germany’s Laura Siegemund, Williams credited Nike for coming up with the idea to channel FloJo, as the athlete was popularly known, and spoke of her admiration for the late athlete. “I was inspired by FloJo, who was

England bowl India out for 192 on day five in Chennai to seal a comprehensive 227-run win in the first Test; Jimmy Anderson takes three wickets in phenomenal spell of reverse-swing bowling, Jack Leach claims four while Virat Kohli's half-century comes in vainJames Anderson produced a stunning spell of reverse-swing bowling before lunch to lead England to a memorable victory over India in the first Test.Three wickets for just six runs in a five-over burst broke the game open for Joe Root's side

Neymar is ironing out the final details of a new four-year contract extension with Paris Saint-Germain, Goal can confirm, with both player and club in advanced negotiations to keep the Brazilian in the French capital until the summer of 2026. The 28-year-old's future has been up in the air for some time, with a return to Barcelona having been mooted before the financial effects of the coronavirus made it impossible for the Camp Nou club to pursue a deal for the former Blaugrana

Rafael Nadal’s chase for a record-breaking 21st Grand Slam title is off to a good start. The World No. 2 defeated Serbian Laslo Djere 6-3, 6-4, 6-1 to reach the second round of the Australian Open. The legendary lefty will play one of two qualifiers — Michael Mmoh or Viktor Troicki — in the second round."I'm happy to be through to the second round. I think I did a good job today," Nadal said in his on-court interview. "Straight sets, that's what I

Serena Williams launched her latest bid for a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam with a 56-minute demolition of Laura Siegemund at the Australian Open. The American, 39, said it was "vintage Serena" as she thrashed the German 6-1 6-1 in front of a small, unmasked crowd on Rod Laver Arena. US Open champion Naomi Osaka also made a convincing start with a 6-1 6-2 win over Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. But former champion Angelique Kerber was the first seed to be knocked out. The German

The shortlist for the BBC Indian Sportswoman award has been announced in Delhi. The accolade honours the contributions of Indian sportswomen and celebrates the achievements of women in sport in the country. The list of five contenders for 2021 features shooter Manu Bhaker, sprinter Dutee Chand, chess player Koneru Humpy, wrestler Vinesh Phogat and hockey captain Rani. You can vote for your Indian Sportswoman of the year here. The BBC launched the inaugural edition of the award in February 2020 and, following a tumultuous 12 months in which the coronavirus pandemic

Serena Williams launched her latest bid for a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam with a 56-minute demolition of Laura Siegemund at the Australian Open. The American, 39, said it was "vintage Serena" as she thrashed the German 6-1 6-1 in front of a small, unmasked crowd on Rod Laver Arena. US Open champion Naomi Osaka also made a convincing start with a 6-1 6-2 win over Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. But former champion Angelique Kerber was the first seed to be knocked out. The German

World number one Ashleigh Barty says she is "happy with the progression" of her tennis after warming up for the Australian Open by winning the Yarra Valley Classic. The Australian had not played for 11 months because of the coronavirus pandemic but won four matches at the tune-up event in Melbourne. Barty won 7-6 (7-3) 6-4 in the final against Spain's Garbine Muguruza. Now she is aiming to become the first home champion at the major since 1978. arty, 24, reached the semi-finals

With most of the world still living under strict coronavirus restrictions, there is some light relief for tennis fans in the form of a very different Australian Open. The first Grand Slam of the year does take place in Melbourne as planned, although it starts three weeks later than usual on 8 February. Serbia's world number one Novak Djokovic and Spain's Rafael Nadal - who is aiming to win a 21st major title and move clear of Roger Federer - lead the men's

The first edition of the Katara International Arabian Horse Festival (KIAHF), held under the patronage of HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, concluded on a resplendent note yesterday. Some of the finest purebred Arabian show horses competed in the championships of the prestigious Title Show. Stallions, mares, colts, fillies, and yearling, finalists in their respective classes, graced the arena, impressing judges and spectators with their graceful trot and absolutely gorgeous looks. Noft Alnayfat, a senior mare, and Sundown K.A, a

With the pandemic hitting cricket at all levels, the birthplace of the sport needs the game’s biggest drawcard like never before. A few days ago, a banner popped up at the premises of Leicestershire County Cricket Club. ‘Virat Kohli’s India, coming to the county ground’, it screamed. The tentative dates given were July-end. And on the right-hand side, there was an orange patch with a call to action about tickets. ‘On Sale Soon. Register your interest now’, it read, a full six months

England ended day one of the first Test against India on 263-3 after a special century from Joe Root (128no) in his 100th Test match; the England captain put on 200 for the third wicket with Dom Sibley (87) but Jasprit Bumrah's late strike removed opener The 30-year-old Yorkshireman became just the third Englishman, after Colin Cowdrey and Alec Stewart, and the ninth batsman overall to achieve the feat as he continued his stunning start to 2021 with his third century in as

Wimbledon organisers are planning for a reduced-capacity crowd at this year's Grand Slam tournament, though other options remain, the All England Club. The club previously announced that the tournament, cancelled in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic, would go ahead with or without fans. The three options are full capacity, reduced capacity or no fans. The majority of our planning focus is currently centered on the option of a reduced capacity Championships and how that would affect each stakeholder group, but we are

Former France striker Andre-Pierre Gignac scored twice as Mexico’s Tigres defeated Asian champions Ulsan Hyundai 2-1 yesterday to qualify for the semi-finals of the Club World Cup. Tigres, the CONCACAF Champions League winners, will face Copa Libertadores champions Palmeiras of Brazil tomorrow for a spot in next week’s final. Defender Kim Kee-hee headed Ulsan ahead from a corner in Al Rayyan, as the South Koreans returned to the Gulf state just six weeks after their triumph in Asia’s top club competition. Gignac slammed

By Samuel Eto’o This week, the eyes of the world will be on Qatar, as it takes another big step on its journey to the FIFA World Cup in 2022 by hosting the FIFA Club World Cup 2020 from 4-11 February. During my playing career, I was very lucky to have had the opportunity not only to compete in this great competition, but to win it with Inter Milan. My memories of the Club World Cup could not be better, as for the