Sports Update
Champions League Final: UEFA commissions independent report into scenes outside stadium.
UEFA has commissioned an independent report into the scenes outside the ground that delayed Saturday’s Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid. Kick-off at the Stade de France in Paris was delayed by over half an hour with Liverpool ticket-holders seen waiting in huge queues and French police later using tear gas on crowds. On Monday, French authorities complained of what they called “industrial-scale” ticket fraud amid a row over the game's policing. UEFA said a “comprehensive review” would examine a number of factors. These include the decision-making, responsibility and behaviour of all parties involved in the final, it added. UEFA said in a statement: “Evidence will be gathered from all relevant parties and the findings of the independent report will evaluate the next steps.” The report will be independently compiled and Dr Tiago Brandao Rodrigues from Portugal will lead the production of the review.
Chelsea’s £4.25bn sale to Todd Boehly-led consortium completed.
The club was put up for sale in March before previous owner Roman Abramovich was sanctioned over his links to Russian president Vladimir Putin. Chelsea had been operating under a special government licence which would have expired on 31 May. Boehly said in a statement that he was “honoured” and “wanted to make fans proud”. His consortium fought off 11 serious rivals to become the new owners, in a sale process that started on 2 March and comprised more than 250 enquiries. “We are honoured to become the new custodians of Chelsea Football Club,” he said. “We’re all in 100% every minute of every match. Our vision as owners is clear: we want to make the fans proud. “Along with our commitment to developing the youth squad and acquiring the best talent, our plan of action is to invest in the club for the long term and build on Chelsea’s remarkable history of success. The UK government, which said last Wednesday it could issue a licence for the sale of the club does not want Abramovich to receive any of the sale, which will instead go into a frozen bank account to be donated to charities supporting victims of the war in Ukraine.
Tennis.
French Open; Iga Swiatek beats Zheng Qinwen and meets Jessica Pegula next in Paris.
Top seed Iga Swiatek fought back from dropping her first set in 10 matches to beat China’s Zheng Qinwen and reach the French Open quarter-finals. Swiatek, who turns 21 today Tuesday, celebrated by earning a 6-7 (5-7) 6-0 6-2 win over world number 74 Zheng. Zheng fought off five set points to win an absorbing opener, then was hampered by a thigh injury from the second set. Poland’s Swiatek extended her winning streak to 32 matches and now faces 11th seed Jessica Pegula. Pegula also produced a comeback to beat Romania’s Irina-Camelia Begu 4-6 6-2 6-3 in her fourth-round match earlier on Monday. The 28-year-old American is the highest seed left in the women’s singles behind Swiatek, who has only faced unseeded opponents so far. After recently reaching a clay-court final in Madrid, Pegula has made the quarter-finals at Roland Garros for the first time. Now she faces the toughest task in Tennis at the moment, stopping hot favourite Swiatek at the place where the Pole won her maiden Grand Slam title in 2020.
