Former Arsenal and England striker Ian Wright has been subjected to a barrage of racist abuse on social media.
Leading anti-racism charities condemned the sickening incident after Wright went public with the messages on Monday.
An Instagram user messaged Wright with racist taunts and the 56-year-old, who also played for Crystal Palace and West Ham, took to Twitter to expose the abuse.
One of the messages to Wright read: "You're like 65 years old. If I get corona I will cough in your face and give you your death sentence."
Wright said: "I know I'm not meant to look at them but these messages still hit me so hard man. This is a child!!!
"This kid has a direct line into me & is able to send this without any worry." Show Racism the Red Card chief executive Ged Grebby condemned the abuse.
"Ian Wright has put his head above the parapet again and I saw him on Match of the Day with Gary Lineker a few weeks ago talking about the racist abuse he suffered as a player," he said.
"I'm sure he ...

Former Arsenal star Wright reveals racist abuse

PTI Automatic

The German Cup final, which was due to take place in Berlin on May 23, has been rescheduled for July 4 behind closed doors, it was announced.
The German Football Association (DFB) said the semi-finals will take place on June 9 and 10. Holders Bayern Munich will host Eintracht Frankfurt while Bayer Leverkusen face fourth-tier side Saarbruecken.
However, DFB president Fritz Keller says their plans to reschedule the cup are still subject to approval by Angela Merkel's government.
The Bundesliga will resume Saturday when it becomes the first top European league to return despite the pandemic which has claimed around 7,500 lives in Germany.
"Our planning is in full swing so that we can end the cup season on the pitch in an appropriate manner," said Keller, with the final played at Berlin's Olympic Stadium.

German Cup final rescheduled for July 4

Ines Ibbou, a young Algerian tennis player who hit back at Dominic Thiem for saying he did not want to give money to lowly-ranked players, has drawn support from Venus Williams as well as her country's government.
"Dear Dominic," Ibbou, who is 620th in the WTA singles rankings, said in an emotional nine-minute video posted on social media, "what would have been my career if I was in your shoes?"
In April, Thiem, an Austrian ranked third in the men's game, said he was not happy with a plan supported by Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal for top players to help those lower down the rankings who had lost their tournament income because of the coronavirus shutdown of tennis.
"None of them are going to starve," Thiem told an Austrian newspaper, explaining that "many, many" of those players had not made it to the top because they "don't put the sport above everything else".
"I wouldn't really see why I should give such players money," he went on.
"I would rather give money to ...

Young Algerian tennis player wins support with emotional video

US 2020 Ryder Cup captain Steve Stricker named Zach Johnson and Davis Love III as vice captains for the American golf squad set to face trophy-holders Europe in September.
The biennial team showdown remains set for September 25-27 at Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wisconsin.
Stricker had earlier named Jim Furyk as a US vice captain, with more such appointments expected nearer to the matchup.
"With the Ryder Cup it's important to surround yourself with quality individuals who you can lean on and who have the best interests of the team in mind," Stricker said.
"Both Zach and Davis share a passion to compete at the highest level and are strong communicators, which is important, especially when we're in the heat of competition."
Johnson, the 2007 Masters and 2015 British Open champion, was a five-time US Ryder Cup player and served as a vice captain for the US team that lost to Europe in France in 2018.
"It's important to defend 'our turf' and to do so on behalf of Steve - in his home state 

Stricker names Love, Zach Johnson to US Ryder Cup staff

Italian top-flight club Cagliari has announced that their first-team squad have agreed to forego their salaries for the month of April.
Club president Tommaso Giulini thanked the players "for their sensitivity in wanting to contribute to protecting the club in a particularly complicated and difficult to predict period".
"As also requested by the signatories of the document, this transaction will contribute to a drastic reduction in layoffs of club employees," the Sardinian club added.
Players at Serie A teams including Juventus, Roma and Parma have already agreed to cut salaries in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic which has killed nearly 31,000 in Italy.
No football has been played in Italy for over two months, but team training is expected to resume on May 18.

Cagliari players give up month's salary to avoid team layoffs

Serie A clubs can return to team training from May 18 if they make adjustments to medical protocols, the Italian government has announced.
The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) met with the government's technical scientific committee (CTS) last week to discuss details for a return to group training as the country emerges from a two-month coronavirus lockdown.
Italy's sports minister Vincenzo Spadafora and health minister Roberto Speranza said in a joint statement on Monday that the CTS had largely accepted the FIGC protocol for a resumption of group sessions.
"The opinion requested by the government from the Technical Scientific Committee confirms the line of prudence," the ministers' statement said.
"The indications of the CTS, which are to be considered stringent and binding, will be sent to the Federation for the necessary adjustments of the protocol in order to allow for the safe resumption of team training starting from May 18."
Football has been suspended in Italy since March 9 

Serie A set for team training on May 18 with adjusted protocol - govt

French cyclist Remy Di Gregorio has been hit with a four-year doping ban related to a positive drugs test for EPO in 2018, the International Cycling Union said on Monday.
In a previous case, the Marseille-born rider was thrown off the 2012 Tour de France on suspicion of doping after he was arrested at his team hotel during the race.
Di Gregorio, 34, has always denied doping but was found guilty of possessing banned materials and received a one-year suspended prison sentence in July 2018.
He eventually tested positive for the banned blood-booster EPO during the Paris-Nice race in March 2018, and is now banned from racing until March 2022.

Four-year doping ban for French cyclist thrown off Tour de France

Premier League clubs received a boost to their hopes of completing the season on Monday as the government published a "roadmap" that could see the return of elite sport in England from June 1.
As the 20 English top-flight clubs met for further talks on "Project Restart", ministers announced plans to ease the coronavirus lockdown.
Under step two of that process, which cannot begin any earlier than June 1, sporting events would be allowed "to take place behind closed doors for broadcast, while avoiding the risk of large-scale social contact".
Such events will only be allowed if sufficient progress is made in limiting the spread of the virus.
Premier League clubs had been planning for a return to action no earlier than the week beginning June 8.
English top-flight clubs were talking on Monday about a possible resumption despite growing disquiet among players over safety issues and divisions over proposals on how to finish the season.
Before the resumption of matches can be considered, ...

Premier League gets green light for June re-start

David Alaba says Bayern Munich are "hungry" and enjoying their return to full-team training ahead of the restart of the Bundesliga this weekend behind closed doors.
The German top flight resumes on Saturday after the season was suspended in mid-March to help slow the spread of the coronavirus.
It will be the first major European league to resume after the outbreak of the pandemic, which has so far claimed around 7,500 lives in Germany.
Bayern coach Hansi Flick has been putting his players through their paces in training sessions at the Allianz Arena.
Bayern, who were four points clear of second-placed Borussia Dortmund in their bid for an eighth straight Bundesliga title when football was halted, restart their season at Union Berlin on Sunday.
"It was really very, very nice to be back on the pitch, training as a whole team," said Alaba.
"You could tell how much we have all looked forward to this moment.
"You could feel that in training, everyone was hungry -- and looking forward to ...

'Hungry' Bayern delighted to be back in training, says Alaba

Retired four-time NBA champion Shaquille O'Neal says the league would be smart to call off the halted 2019-20 campaign and avoid crowning a champion that would carry an "asterisk."
O'Neal, in an interview with USA Today, said players should start to prepare for a 2020-21 season and set aside a campaign halted in March by the coronavirus pandemic with five weeks of regular-season games and two months of playoffs remaining.
"I think we should scrap the season. Everybody go home, get healthy, come back next year. Just scrap the season. Just scrap it," O'Neal told the newspaper.
"To try and come back now and do a rush playoffs as a player? Any team that wins this year, there's an asterisk. They're not going to get the respect.
"What if a team that's not really in the mix of things all of a sudden wins with a new playoff format? Nobody is going to respect that. So, scrap it. Worry about the safety of the fans and the people. Come back next year."
Dominating center O'Neal combined with the .

Shaq says scrap NBA season without an 'asterisk' champ

Premier Bangladesh all-rounder Shaik Al Hasan, who is serving a one-year ban for not reporting a corrupt approach, says not taking things lightly due to "ignorance" was the biggest lesson he has learnt from the infamous incident.
Shakib, who had amassed 606 runs in the 2019 World Cup, was banned by the ICC for two years in October last with one year of that suspended after he accepted three charges of breaching the world body's Anti-Corruption Code.
"I have realized that there are certain things that you just cannot take lightly due to ignorance and probably that is the biggest lesson I learnt during this time," Shakib, who is currently in United States, was quoted as saying by DW Bangla.
His ban ends on October 29 this year.
"It is very difficult time for me because at the back of the mind you always think that I am not playing or not being able to play. The good thing is that I was able to stay with my wife during the birth of our second child.
"I could not do that when my first ...

You cannot take things lightly and that has been biggest lesson: Shakib

Serie A club Atalanta paid tribute to former youth team midfielder Andrea Rinaldi who died on Monday after suffering a brain aneurysm.
The 19-year-old became ill on Friday while training at his home in Como, in the north of Italy, and passed away in hospital in Varese.
Rinaldi came through Atalanta's youth system after joining the Bergamo club at the age of 13, playing through to the U19 side.
He won an U17 Scudetto and Italian SuperCup with the outfit and was on loan this season to fourth-tier Serie D side Legnano, just outside Milan.
"President Antonio Percassi and the entire Atalanta family are deeply moved and feel the pain of Andrea Rinaldi's family and AC Legnano," the team said.
"Just as on the pitch you were always the last to surrender, this time too you fought with all your might not to fly away too soon.

Ex-Atalanta academy member Rinaldi dies of brain aneurysm

Tennis ace Sania Mirza on Monday became the first Indian to win the Fed Cup Heart Award for her successful return to the court post motherhood.
Sania won the award for Asia/Oceania zone after securing a whopping 10,000 plus votes out of the total 16,985 cast for this year's three regional Group I nominees.
The Fed Cup Heart Award winners were determined via online voting by fans which went on for a week starting from May 1.
Sania's vote share of over 60 per cent of the total votes is a testimony to the global popularity of the Indian star at the Fed Cup competition.
"It's an honour to win the Fed Cup Heart Award as the first Indian. I dedicate this award to the entire country and to all my fans and thank everyone for voting for me. I hope to bring more laurels to the country in the future," she said in a statement issued by the All India Tennis Association (AITA).
Sania made a comeback to Fed Cup after four years and helped India qualify for the play-offs for the first time in ...

Sania wins Fed Cup Heart Award, donates prize money to CM's Relief Fund

Short but high-intensity drills have been instrumental in keeping the Indian men's hockey players fit during the ongoing coronavirus-forced national lockdown, said the team's scientific advisor Robin Arkell.
The members of the Indian men's hockey team have been confined to their rooms at the SAI South Centre here since the lockdown started on March 25.
And Arkell has been by their side constantly during this entire period, guiding them on self training drills to keep their body fit in the absence of on-field activities.
"I have tried to keep the fitness schedules short as far as duration is concerned, but I have ensured that the players are carrying out high-intensity exercises," the South African trainer said during a live workout session on Instagram alongside Indian team's second goalkeeper Krishan B Pathak.
"At the moment, the fitness schedule is a bit relaxed since the players are not playing matches. I think it's important to keep hydrated and maintain a balanced diet throughout 

Short but high-intensity drills key to maintaining fitness during lockdown: Arkell

"M S Dhoni is what he is because of his unbiased opinions," said former India player R P Singh, recalling a selection controversy in 2008 when the pacer lost his place in the team to Irfan Pathan.
A media report in 2008 had claimed that Dhoni wanted R P Singh instead of Pathan for a part of the home ODI series against England. Without acknowledging the claims of the report, the then Indian captain had called the selection meeting leak as "disgusting and disrespectful".
Looking back at that incident and his career of  14 Tests, 58 ODIs and 10 T20s, R P Singh said he had no hard feelings over his axing.
"I don't think I was affected by the leak. The England series we are talking about, I didn't get a wicket in Indore. Obviously people think they will get 2 or 3 more chances. But it was not meant to be. Some get 5 chances, some get 10 chances the lucky ones," the 34-year-old, whose last game for India came in 2011, told 'Sports Tak'.
"But many times it has happened to me, whenever my ...

Dhoni was an unbiased captain: R P Singh recalls selecting controversy of 2008

Real Madrid's players returned to work at the club's training ground on Monday ahead of the planned resumption of La Liga next month.
After finding no positive cases from tests for coronavirus last week, Madrid's players arrived at Valdebebas to train for the first time in two months.
Madrid were one of the first clubs to go into quarantine after a basketball player tested positive for coronavirus on March 12, the same day La Liga suspended all competitive fixtures.
But after almost nine weeks training at home, Zinedine Zidane's players initiated the first phase of La Liga's training programme, that includes players working individually, with a maximum of six on a pitch at once.
"Divided into two rotations and on various pitches, Real Madrid footballers carried out their first individual exercises with and without the ball," the club said in a statement, with several photographs of the players in action.
Eden Hazard was among those pictured running, the Belgian returning after ...

Real Madrid return to training ahead of planned La Liga restart

Portugal's reigning champions Benfica have confirmed that midfielder David Tavares tested positive for coronavirus on Friday, taking the tally for positive cases to at least eight players in Primeira Liga.
The Portugese top flight is planning to restart behind closed doors towards the end of the month after the government announced on April 30 that games could resume, pending approval from the health authorities.
Benfica said 21-year-old Tavares, who is not a regular first-team player, was asymptomatic and in quarantine. His positive test comes after Vitoria Guimaraes confirmed three positive cases on Saturday and Moreirense one more.
According to the Portugese news agency Lusa, three Famalicao players are also infected, as well as two members of the club's non-playing staff.
When Primeira was suspended on March 12 due to the coronavirus pandemic, Porto were top of the table with a one-point lead over Benfica.
The Portugese government have said the last 10 rounds of the season will ...

Benfica's Tavares tests positive for coronavirus

One of Italy's best known golf clubs has reopened after two months of lockdown with a handful of players returning to the links under new social distancing rules.
San Domenico Golf in Apulia in the heel of Italy's boot and neighbouring luxury resort Borgo Egnazia reopened at the weekend but face an uncertain future.
"We closed at the beginning of March," said Aldo Melpignano, owner of Borgo Egnazia, where Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel held their wedding in 2012.
"But this week the Apulia Region allowed some individual sports to resume and golf is one of them. We jumped at the chance and decided to reopen immediately at the weekend."
The resort and golf club will initially rely on Italian guests but hopes that foreigners will soon also return.
"We're resigned to this reality at least for the summer," he said.
Notable changes in the rules on the greens are that players must keep at least three metres apart when hitting the ball and not remove the flag from the hole.
European Tour ..

Italian golfers swing again as lockdown eases

India's leading fencer C A Bhavani Devi has found a rather interesting way to train amid the ongoing lockdown: she is using her kitbag as target practice to be battle ready.
The 26-year old trailblazer has given fencing an identity in India and has won laurels at the international level through her hard work and determination.
The Tamil Nadu fencer competes in the sabre category and was training in Italy before the coronavirus pandemic stopped global sporting activity. However, she is not letting the forced break stop her.
Back in Chennai before the travel restrictions came into force, she is training at home.
"I am doing basic fitness and fencing work to be ready physically and mentally when things resume. I am doing my basic fitness at our terrace. Using few dumbbell pairs and most of the exercises are own body weight. For fencing, I am doing footwork and target practice using my fencing kitbag," she told PTI.
"I am thinking of the positive side of this break...That I have a long ...

Back from Italy in nick of time, fencer Bhavani does target practice with kitbag

Deepa Malik, the first Indian woman to claim a medal in the Paralympic Games, has retired from active sports, a decision she took before becoming the Paralympic Committee of India President earlier this year but revealed only on Monday.
The 49-year-old, who won a silver in shot put F53 category in the 2016 Rio Paralympics, was elected PCI President in the elections held in February under the directives of Delhi High Court. PCI has been denied recognition by the sports ministry.
"Who said I announced my retirement today? I have already retired in September last year before filing my nomination paper though I did not make a public announcement," Malik told PTI.
"I submitted my letter of retirement to the PCI in September last year when the election process began. Only after that I was able to stand for PCI president's post and I won the election and became president," she said.
Malik was bestowed the country's highest sporting honour -- the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna -- last year.
Earlier .

I've retired from active sports, but not today: Deepa Malik

The Sports Ministry on Monday granted recognition to 54 national federations till September this year, continuing to leave out the governing bodies of archery, golf and gymnastics while dropping paralympics and rowing from the list.
The ministry granted fresh recognition to the All India Carrom Federation.
The Paralympic Committee of India (PCI), Rowing Federation of India (RFI) and School Games Federation of India (SGFI) were the ones denied fresh recognition.
While the PCI and RFI were suspended for violating the National Sports Code, the Sushil Kumar-led SGFI was de-recognised for mismanagement.
The ministry continued to deny recognition to the Archery Association of India (AAI), the Indian Golf Union (IGU), the Gymnastics Federation of India (GFI) and the Taekwondo Federation of India.
Even though a new dispensation under Union minister Arjun Munda took over the reigns of AAI earlier this year but the ministry recognition could not be obtained as it failed to change its ...

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