Sport shorts: Bundesliga ready to return on 9 May - if German government approves

1. Bundesliga is ready

German football’s Bundesliga is ready to resume fixtures on 9 May - if the government and health authorities approve plans.

The Daily Mail reports that matches in Germany’s top two divisions would continue behind closed doors and 25,000 coronavirus tests costing £2.2m have been ordered.

Bundesliga chief executive Christian Seifert said: “The Bundesliga is ready to resume, no matter whether on 9 May or a later date. But it’s not up to us to find a date. The political decision makers decide.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

“We have not defined an exact date today. The fact that we are even able to think about resuming games underlines the performance of the German authorities.

“It would be presumptuous for the DFL to name an exact date for the restart. It’s not in our hands if we return or when. We have several options. If the signal comes in the next week that it can be 9 May, then it will be 9 May.”

2. Prem play-offs?

The Daily Mail also reports that Uefa has told the Premier League to “finish the season... or use play-offs”.

If fixtures are not able to be completed this summer then one-off ties could be used to decide Champions League positions and relegation spots.

In a statement Uefa said it is “preferable that suspended domestic competitions would restart with a different format in a manner which would still facilitate clubs to qualify on sporting merit”.

3. Rugby Australia CEO quits

Rugby Australia chief executive Raelene Castle has resigned from the position after ten former Australia captains signed a letter demanding a change in leadership, the BBC reports.

She said: “It has been made clear to me that the board believes my no longer being the CEO would help give them the clear air they believe they need. The game is bigger than any one individual - so I told the chair [Paul McLean] that I would resign from the role.”

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––For analysis of the biggest sport stories - and a concise, balanced take on the week’s news - try The Week magazine. Start your trial today –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

4. Bengals won’t trade No.1 pick

The 2020 NFL Draft starts tonight and all eyes will be on the Cincinnati Bengals, who have the No.1 pick.

League sources have told ESPN that the Miami Dolphins have contacted Cincinnati “multiple times” regarding a trade but the Bengals don’t want to give up the top spot.

The 2020 NFL Draft will be shown live on Sky Sports Action from 10pm.

5. Woods/Manning vs. Mickelson/Brady

Turner Sports has confirmed that golf and NFL legends will play in a charity golf match to raise money to benefit Covid-19 relief.

Tiger Woods and former NFL quarterback Peyton Manning will go head-to-head with Phil Mickelson and Tampa Bay QB Tom Brady in “The Match: Champions for Charity” in May.

6. Women’s Euros moved to 2022

Uefa has confirmed that the 2021 Women’s European Championships in England will now take place from 6-31 July 2022.

Aleksander Ceferin, Uefa president, said: “By moving to the following year, we are ensuring that our flagship women’s competition will be the only major football tournament of the summer.”

7. Neville to step down

Phil Neville is set to leave his role as manager of the England women’s team in the summer of 2021.

Several newspapers pre-empt the Football Association with the claim that the former Manchester United and Everton star will not sign another contract. A new boss will therefore take the reins for the Uefa Women’s European Championship in 2022.

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––For analysis of the biggest sport stories - and a concise, balanced take on the week’s news - try The Week magazine. Start your trial today –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

8. Rugby: pale, male and stale

Rugby union is “too old and white”. That’s the headline on the back page of The Times today. The words are attributed to Agustín Pichot, the Argentine who is running to become the chairman of World Rugby.

Pichot’s comments will be interpreted as a dig at the incumbent, 68-year-old Englishman Bill Beaumont, his rival in Sunday’s election to appoint a new chairman of the sport’s governing body.

9. Jockey banned for headbutt

Australian jockey Luke Tarrant has been banned for six months after headbutting rival rider Larry Cassidy in an altercation following a race at Doomben. A stewards’ report stated that Tarrant’s helmet “made contact with the nose” of Cassidy.

10. Wayne’s war

Wayne Rooney’s “wage war” is emblazoned across the back page of the Daily Mail with the paper claiming that the former England skipper is leading Derby County’s revolt against the plan to defer the squad’s wages by 50%.

It’s reported that Rooney has told Derby chief executive officer Stephen Pearce that the squad are prepared to accept no more than a 25% pay cut.

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––For analysis of the biggest sport stories - and a concise, balanced take on the week’s news - try The Week magazine. Start your trial today –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––