Author: Kate Man

England’s Cara Gainer claimed the first Ladies European Tour win of her career in a play-off at the Lalla Meryem Cup on Saturday. The 29-year-old defeated India’s Diksha Dagar to lift the title in Morocco in what was the 76th tournament she has played on the Tour.Gainer posted a final round of four-under 69, while 24-year-old Dagar finished on six-under 67, leaving the pair tied on nine under overall. A bogey for Dagar opened the door for Gainer to take victory by birdieing the play-off hole. Ireland’s Lauren Walsh finished joint-fourth with Nuria Iturrioz on seven under, while England’s Annabell…

Soudal-QuickStep have pulled their development team out of the Tour du Rwanda because of safety concerns amid an ongoing conflict in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo.The M23 rebel group has captured almost all of the eastern Congolese city of Goma, which is the largest city in eastern DR Congo and borders Rwanda.The Tour du Rwanda is scheduled to take place between 23 February and 2 March, with some of its seven stages passing close to DR Congo.Competing teams are scheduled for an overnight stay in Rubavu, which is located just over six miles (10km) from Goma, between stages three…

Having had time to analyse replays of the goal, VAR would most likely have overturned the on-pitch decision.However, the Football Association announced in mid-December, external that the technology would not be used in the FA Cup until the fifth round.”VAR has only been used in the FA Cup previously for matches at Wembley Stadium and at Premier League grounds because of the infrastructure, workforce and costs that are required for its operation,” the FA said in a statement on 16 December.”This decision ensures that there is a consistent refereeing approach for all clubs taking part in the same stage of…

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has launched a nationwide operation to investigate a criminal network targeting professional athletes’ homes in the United States. In a statement, , externalthe FBI said the burglaries have been orchestrated by members of South American Theft Groups (SATGs).The NFL issued a security warning to players last year after the homes of Kansas City Chiefs stars Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce were burgled, while a property owned by Dallas Cowboys’ Linval Joseph was also targeted. SATG suspects allegedly monitored the travel schedules of athletes to identify when their properties would be unoccupied. The FBI said…

Manchester City have launched a fresh legal challenge against the Premier League over new rules governing sponsorship deals which the club claims are “void”.Last year an independent arbitration panel found aspects of the league’s Associated Party Transaction regulations (APTs) to be unlawful after a lawsuit instigated by the champions.The rules were formed by the Premier League to prevent clubs from profiting from commercial deals with companies linked to their owners that are deemed above “fair market value”.In November a majority of top-flight clubs voted to approve amendments to the APTs, despite opposition from City.In a letter to clubs on Thursday,…

Premier League and Women’s Super League clubs were the driving forces behind the record figures spent in the 2025 January transfer window for the men’s and women’s game. Nearly £1.9bn was spent globally by clubs – an all-time high for the January window.Clubs in England accounted for more than one-quarter of the spending in the men’s game with £498m being spent on transfers, according to a report compiled by Fifa. Manchester City were the biggest single spenders, signing Omar Marmoush, Vitor Reis, Abdukodir Khusanov and Nico Gonzalez for a total of about £190m.German clubs were the second biggest spenders (£237m),…

Tottenham’s issues cannot be analysed without also addressing their injury problems.They currently have 10 first-team players out and that tally could rise to 11 after Richarlison went down clutching his calf in the first half and had to be replaced.James Maddison is a clear miss in the middle of the park and, with Dominic Solanke and Brennan Johnson on the list of casualties too, Spurs struggled for an outlet.Liverpool overpowered Spurs’ three-man midfield as Yves Bissouma had a tough time, giving the ball away for the hosts’ opener, and Rodrigo Bentancur offered little in defence or attack.”When I look at…

Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter of Los Angeles Dodgers baseball star Shohei Ohtani, has been sentenced to nearly five years in prison for a fraud and gambling scheme.He was ordered to pay nearly $17m (£13.6m) back to the star after admitting to bank and tax fraud charges. He was also ordered to pay more than $1m to the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in past taxes. Mizuhara, who had been Ohtani’s English interpreter since his US Major League Baseball debut in 2018, was fired amid media reports last year about his gambling activities, which prompted investigations into Ohtani’s finances.A probe…

Laura ScottReporting fromKingston Crown CourtPA MediaChelsea and Australia star Samantha Kerr is considered to be one of the world’s best strikersChelsea striker Samantha Kerr has denied using “whiteness as an insult” in an exchange with police at Twickenham station, where she called one officer “stupid and white”.The Australia international denies a charge of causing racially aggravated harassment to PC Stephen Lovell during an incident in south-west London in the early hours of 30 January 2023.When it was put to her under cross-examination at Kingston Crown Court that she “chose to show hostility” towards the officer “because of his whiteness”, she…

Gatland’s side face an Italian outfit that were beaten 31-19 by Scotland in Edinburgh in the opening round of matches.Wales have not been beaten in Rome since 2007 and their last Six Nations victory was the away trip to Italy two years ago.This has been followed by seven consecutive defeats in the tournament and defeat this week will leave Gatland’s squad contemplating consecutive Wooden Spoons with home matches against Ireland and England and a trip to Scotland to come.Another loss will also probably see Wales drop to a lowest position of 12th in the world rankings.”This has been an important…