SOCCER
Matching socks delay start
A top-of-the table English Women’s Soccer League (WSL) game between Arsenal and Chelsea with a crowd of nearly 33,000 had a delayed kick-off on Friday because the teams had matching socks, forcing referee Rebecca Welch to delay the start. Arsenal Women ended up going into the Chelsea megastore at Stamford Bridge and buying black socks. They used tape to try and hide the Chelsea and Nike logos. Arsenal’s kit is made by Adidas. They started 30 minutes late. “Clearly it’s a human error, a mistake, but it’s embarrassing,” former England international Karen Carney, who played for both clubs, told Sky Sports. “This is a massive crowd, a massive game. It’s a simple thing, a kit, and we have got it wrong. People make mistakes, but the game does not need this and it’s frustrating. It does not look good for the game.” WSL leaders Chelsea won 3-1.
Photo: Reuters
CRICKET
Wade retires from Tests
Former Australia Test wicketkeeper Matthew Wade has called time on the red-ball game, but will continue playing the shorter formats. The 36-year-old made the announcement late on Friday ahead of the Sheffield Shield final next week, when his native Tasmania meet Western Australia in what will be his 166th and last first-class match. “There certainly isn’t [an element of]: ‘I’m not playing well enough or I don’t feel I can contribute enough,’” he said. “It’s more the younger players have managed to shove me out the door.” Wade, who played 36 Tests as a wicketkeeper and specialist batter from 2012 to 2021, will continue to be available for one-day and T20 cricket.
EQUESTRIAN
Shane Rose hurt in fall
Australian three-time Olympic medalist Shane Rose was seriously injured in a heavy fall this week that could end his hopes of competing in a fourth Olympic Games in Paris this year. The 50-year-old team eventer and his horse Virgil all but secured qualification for the Olympics by winning an event in New Zealand last weekend, but fell during a cross-country session on Thursday. “As the saying goes peacock one day, feather duster the next,” his team said on Facebook on Friday. “Thankfully his horse was not injured in the fall. Shane is currently in ICU with a badly broken femur and a fractured pelvis and ribs. He also suffered a heavy concussion. Shane had surgery this morning to stabilize the femur and pelvis. While the timing is unfortunate we are hopeful there is adequate time for him to recover and still be able to continue his preparation schedule for the Paris Olympics Games.” Rose has twice qualified for the Olympics, but been unable to compete. In 1996, his horse went lame on arrival in the US for the Atlanta Olympics, and in 2012, his mount All Luck sustained a shoulder injury that prevented him from competing at the London Games. Despite his past misfortune, Rose won team silver medals at the 2008 Beijing and 2021 Tokyo Olympics as well as a bronze in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
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AC Milan’s slender hopes of reaching next season’s UEFA Champions League took another hit on Thursday with a 2-1 defeat at Bologna which left them eight points from Serie A’s top four. Sergio Conceicao’s team sit eighth, some way behind fourth-placed Juventus after losing an entertaining contest at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara, a match which was rescheduled from October last year due to torrential rain and flooding. Swathes of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy, much of which is fertile agricultural land, had been left under water following a massive autumn downpour. Dan Ndoye prodded home the decisive goal in the 82nd minute
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