The Guardian

Only 2% thought VAR ‘makes football more enjoyable’ 81% prefer watching games without video technology Football supporters remain thoroughly unconvinced of the merits of video assistant referees (VAR), with new research suggesting as many as 91% of them believe the game is better off without it. More than eight years after the first trials of VAR in the English game, an annual survey by the Footb…

Sarah Strong stars as Huskies go for 13th national title UCLA book Final Four place after rallying past Duke All-America forward Sarah Strong scored 21 points, Blanca Quiñonez added 20 and defending national champion UConn beat Notre Dame 70-52 on Sunday, sending coach Geno Auriemma and the Huskies to their 25th Final Four. The Huskies (38-0), who have won 54 games in a row, clinched the first sp…

Oscar Piastri second for McLaren, Russell finishes fourth Oliver Bearman appears uninjured after major crash There was an element of good fortune for Kimi Antonelli in taking victory at the Japanese Grand Prix but the youngster demonstrated emphatically that he is ready to close out with the precision of a veteran if given a sniff of a chance. It is a champion’s trait which was suitably marked, a…

Summit set NWSL record with 63,004 spectators Expansion side draw 0-0 with Washington Spirit The expansion Denver Summit’s match against the Washington Spirit on Saturday broke the National Women’s Soccer League record for attendance with its announced crowd of 63,004. Fans at the Denver Broncos’ home stadium broke the previous NWSL record of 40,091 who attended Bay FC’s match against the Spirit …

The United States’ collapse in a 5-2 loss to Belgium made clear that the gap between the sides in 2014 has yet to narrow Mauricio Pochettino was literally unmoved. To his left and right, his assistants pumped their fists, clapped their hands, rose to celebrate. Not Pochettino. After Weston McKennie put the US ahead with an end run around the Belgian defense that freed him up at the far post to ta…

Britain’s heavyweight prospect puts his unbeaten record on the line against Jermaine Franklin on Saturday Moses Itauma might represent the glittering future of heavyweight boxing but right now he is locked in the present. In the back seat of a car, while being driven from one swanky hotel to another in Manchester, the 21-year-old turns to me and says: “Let’s get going.” I know how much Itauma dis…

Relegation playoff against a WSL2 side beckons if Rick Passmoor’s team cannot end seven-game losing run The sight of two unwaveringly optimistic young girls waving their “Foxes never quit” flags proudly in the air – despite the swirling rain at the King Power Stadium – summed up the never-say-die attitude required for a relegation battle that Leicester are going to need now more than ever, after …

The Three Lions have not beaten a good side under their coach and no A-list players have emerged since the last World Cup Maybe we’re just not that into us. There are times when trying to rationalise the makeup, reach and ultimate capacities of the England football team can feel a bit like living inside the frantically hyper-formalised New York dating scene of the 1990s. Here we go again. Picking…

The first British woman to win an Olympic athletics gold medal with her long jump victory at the 1964 Tokyo Games One of the true “golden girls” of the swinging 60s, Mary Rand , who has died aged 86, emerged as the brightest British sporting star of her era when she became her nation’s first female gold medallist in Olympic athletics, taking long jump victory with a world record leap in the Tokyo…

Dane wins GC as Brady Gilmore takes stage seven victory Jasper Philipsen wins one-day In Flanders Fields race Jonas Vingegaard triumphed at the Volta a Catalunya as he continued his strong start to the season, while Brady Gilmore sprinted to a surprise stage seven victory. Vingegaard topped the general classification 1min 22sec ahead of France’s Lenny Martinez and a further eight seconds ahead of…

Sale 26-31 Bath Bath close to point of Prem leaders Northampton The reservoir of talent at Bath runs deep. The reigning champions rested a raft of key men but ultimately had too much class for a Sale side whose season continues to unravel at a rate of knots. Johann van Graan’s men conjured two tries in the final quarter, including when their 20-year-old hooker Kepu Tuipulotu sent a delightful kic…

Desire to remain relevant is understandable, but a glance at his behavioural pattern casts doubt on his PGA Tour and Ryder Cup involvement It is a scene that has become more extraordinary with the passing of time. Plenty of sportspeople have been guilty of or admitted to extramarital capers. Only Tiger Woods appeared live on television, in front of a hand-picked audience, to deliver a 14-minute m…

Croat failed to win a league match as interim head coach Had been away from post following death of father Tottenham have parted company with Igor Tudor after seven games and 44 days in a desperate attempt to halt their slide towards relegation from the Premier League. According to the club, the decision was mutually agreed. Tudor took one point from his five league matches to leave Tottenham one…

The tiny Caribbean island nation has a familiar face in their ranks whose time with Australia in 2018 is proving crucial ahead of the tournament Curaçao have been in dreamland since qualifying for a first World Cup last November but geopolitical reality kicked in as the team headed to Australia for games against China and the Socceroos. Due to war in the Middle East, Curaçao’s long-haul flight th…

Véron Mosengo-Omba was target of varied criticism ‘I can retire with peace of mind and without constraint’ Véron Mosengo-Omba, the Confederation of African Football (Caf) general secretary, has resigned after repeated calls for his removal and at a turbulent time for the game on the continent . Mosengo-Omba said he was retiring but his departure comes amid a crisis of confidence in the organisati…