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The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Saturday announced that the remainder of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 will be played in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The board decided to organise the remaining matches of IPL in the months of September and October considering the monsoon season in India in those months. The decision was taken at BCCI's Special General Meeting (SGM) which was held virtually on Saturday. IPL 2021 had been postponed on May 4 after several players and support staff

LOS ANGELES: Nike said on Thursday (May 27) it parted ways with Neymar last year after the superstar Brazil attacker "refused to cooperate in a good faith investigation" as the company probed an employee's claim that he sexually assaulted her. The apparel giant said in a statement that its investigation into the alleged 2016 incident - which was reported to the company in 2018 - was inconclusive. "No single set of facts emerged that would enable us to speak substantively on the matter,"

HONG KONG: FIFA have voided North Korea's results in the second round of Asian qualifying for the 2022 World Cup after they pulled out of the preliminaries earlier this month. The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) confirmed North Korea's withdrawal on May 15, which followed the country's decision not to participate in the Olympic Games in Tokyo due to the COVID-19 pandemic. North Korea had been competing in Group H of Asia's preliminaries alongside South Korea, Lebanon, Turkmenistan and Sri Lanka. With North Korea's

PARIS: Thirteen-time champion Rafael Nadal, 20-time Grand Slam winner Roger Federer and world number one Novak Djokovic were placed in the same half of the French Open draw on Thursday (May 27). The three most successful players in the history of the men's game have won 17 of the last 20 Grand Slam titles between them and Federer and Djokovic are on a quarter-final collision course. Title holder Nadal, who starts against Australian Alexei Popyrin, could face Italian prospect Jannik Sinner, the 18th

LONDON: Six-times MotoGP champion Marc Marquez said on Thursday (May 27) that he considered a break in racing after the Spanish Grand Prix as he struggles with his comeback from injury but decided to continue after encouraging discussions with his doctors. Marquez fractured his humerus in the 2020 season-opening Spanish Grand Prix in Jerez last July and did not race again all year, making his comeback only at last month's Portuguese Grand Prix, the third race of the season. Marquez is well off

Indianapolis Motor Speedway will host 135,000 racing fans for the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday and the sold-out crowd will represent a big step forward as North American sports continue to turn the page on the COVID-19 pandemic. "We've hit our capacity for this year's Indianapolis 500 and look forward to hosting 135,000 fans at the world's largest sporting event since the pandemic began," race organizers said on Thursday. "We're thrilled to welcome fans 'Back Home Again' and appreciate our loyal customers and their

LAUSANNE: Up to 16,500 spectators will be allowed to attend the Champions League final in Porto on Saturday, UEFA announced on Tuesday (May 25) with the opening of ticket sales. The figure permitted by the Portuguese authorities is one-third of the capacity of the Estadio do Dragao which took over hosting the final in mid-May after Istanbul was ruled out by COVID-19 problems. UEFA had already allocated 6,000 tickets each to finalists Chelsea and Manchester City. To this will be added the traditional

MADRID: Veteran midfielder Luka Modric has signed a contract extension which will keep him at Real Madrid until the end of next season, the La Liga giants announced on Tuesday (May 25). The 35-year-old Croatian international, who won the Ballon d'Or in 2018, has played 391 times for Madrid since joining from Tottenham in 2012. "The Croatian midfielder will remain at our club until 30 June, 2022," Real said in a short statement. Modric has remained a key player for Zinedine Zidane's men

PARIS: Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic will set their sights on more Grand Slam history at Roland Garros as the French Open embraces a new and eerily empty era of night time tennis. A 14th title in Paris for Nadal would take him to a record-setting 21st major, surpassing the mark he shares with Roger Federer who has already written off his hopes of adding to his lone success in the French capital back in 2009. Djokovic, the champion in 2016, can move

UEFA has opened disciplinary proceedings against Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus over their attempts to launch a breakaway Super League, European soccer's governing body said on Tuesday. The clubs are the only three of the original 12 to have not distanced themselves from the project following an outpouring of criticism. "Following an investigation conducted by UEFA Ethics and Disciplinary Inspectors in connection with the so-called 'Super League' project, disciplinary proceedings have been opened against Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus FC for a potential

India's cricket board (BCCI) considering moving IPL resumption date to September 19, avoiding clash with fifth Test between India and England at Old Trafford, scheduled to finish on September 14; IPL postponed earlier this month due to coronavirus cases England's Test series with India is set to go ahead as scheduled this summer, despite reports earlier this week that Indian cricket's governing body, the BCCI, had enquired about moving the fifth Test at Old Trafford. There had reportedly been concerns over a clash

Top-seeded Bianca Andreescu needed just 61 minutes on Monday to post a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Spanish qualifier Andrea Lazaro Garcia in the first round of the Internationaux de Strasbourg in France. The Canadian won 83.9 percent of her first-serve points while winning in her first match since losing to Australia's Ashleigh Barty in the Miami Open final on April 3. Andreescu next faces Belgium's Maryna Zanevska, who defeated Yuliya Hatouka of Belarus 6-2, 6-1 in a battle of qualifiers. Among other matches,

Utah Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson won the Kia NBA Sixth Man Award, learning of the accomplishment while sitting with teammate Joe Ingles during a TNT interview. The two carved out a spot in league history, too, marking the first one-two finish by teammates in Sixth Man voting. Clarkson is the first player in Jazz franchise history to win the award. Clarkson received 65 first-place votes (407 total points) from 100 sportswriters and broadcasters around the globe. Ingles collected 34 first-place votes and 272

LONDON: Sergio Aguero is close to agreeing a move to Barcelona that would unite him with fellow Argentine superstar Lionel Messi, according to Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola. City's record goalscorer, who has spent a decade at the Etihad, scored a quickfire double in the champions' 5-0 win over Everton in his final Premier League appearance for the club on Sunday. The goals took his Premier League tally to 184 - the most by any player for a single club. The 32-year-old forward

The US has issued a travel warning for Japan over the country's Covid-19 surge, amid heightened scrutiny just weeks before the Tokyo Olympics. But US Olympic officials have said they are confident their athletes will be able to take part safely in the Games. Japan already bans most travellers from entering the country. It long had low numbers of Covid cases but is now seeing a fresh wave of infections pushing the healthcare system in some cities to its limit. Japan has recorded

Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes says he is "honoured to be compared" with club legend Eric Cantona and is embracing that "good pressure" before Wednesday's Europa League final. Cantona's arrival from Leeds in 1992 is regarded as the catalyst for United to end their 26-year wait for a league title and embark on their era of dominance under Sir Alex Ferguson. Fernandes' efforts have helped United secure a top-three place in successive seasons for the first time since Ferguson retired in 2013. They

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has been voted the League Managers Association's manager of the year. The Spaniard led City to their third Premier League title in four years. The club also won this season's Carabao Cup and face Chelsea in the Champions League final on Saturday. The five other managers in contention were Leeds' Marcelo Bielsa, Norwich City's Daniel Farke, Chelsea Women's Emma Hayes, David Moyes of West Ham and Leicester's Brendan Rodgers. "I am delighted to win the LMA manager of

Lawrence Okoye speaks gently, but with certainty. Seventy metres is discus' gold standard. Only three active have ever thrown that far and major titles are usually won with much less. Could Okoye, after seven years out of the circle, really reach that mark? "Absolutely," he says. "Absolutely." His belief is total. But it has basis. Given another life, and other choices, he probably would already have done so. In July 2011, at the age of 19, he threw 67.63m, further than any teenager

Max Mosley, who has died aged 81, was one of the most influential and important figures in motorsport over the last half-century - and also among the most controversial. With a brilliant intellect and a devious, sometimes malicious mind, he was arguably better suited to a career in politics. But he was the son of the 1930s British fascist leader Sir Oswald Mosley, and in his youth was involved in his father's post-war political party the Union Movement. He realised his personal history would prevent

The CAF Super Cup 2020 Local Organising Committee (LOC) has announced that fans will be permitted to attend the 29th edition of the match will be played in Doha, Qatar. The tournament match will be played by the TOTAL CAF Champions League champions Al Ahly SC, of Egypt, and Moroccan team RS Berkane, who won the TOTAL CAF Confederations Cup. The match will be held at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in Qatar on Friday, as the game is scheduled to commence at 7pm.