UEFA on Wednesday announced that it has opened a disciplinary investigation into Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus’ involvement in the controversial and breakaway European Super League.

Nine of the 12 founding clubs of the European Super League have taken a step back and they have confirmed their commitment to UEFA.

The three remaining clubs — Real Madrid, Juventus, and Barcelona — had refused to get reintegrated into UEFA and as a result, they face further punishment. “In accordance with Article 31(4) of the UEFA Disciplinary Regulations, UEFA Ethics and Disciplinary Inspectors have today been appointed to conduct a disciplinary investigation regarding a potential violation of UEFA’s legal framework by Real Madrid CF, FC Barcelona and Juventus FC in connection with the so-called ‘Super League’ project,” UEFA said in an official statement, as reported by Goal.com.

“Further information regarding this matter will be made available in due course,” it added.

Earlier, Gabriele Gravina, President of the Italian Football Association (FIGC) had said that Juventus will be banned from Serie A next season if they still choose to remain a part of the breakaway and rebel European Super League.

“The rules are clear. If Juventus is still part of the Super League when it enters next season, it can’t participate in Serie A,” Gabriele Gravina told Radio Kiss Kiss, as reported by Goal.com.

“I would be sorry for the fans but rules are rules and they apply to everyone. I hope this holdout ends soon,” he added.

The announcement to form a breakaway European Super League made by 12 founding clubs including Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United, and Tottenham Hotspur, was met with widespread criticism.

As a result, all the six Premier League clubs, involved in the proposed European Super League, withdrew from the competition.

Netherlands and Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk on Wednesday confirmed that he would not be taking part in this year’s Euro Cup.

Van Dijk has been out of action due to an injury after he was left with cruciate ligament knee damage following a tackle from Everton’s Jordon Pickford during a Premier League clash on October 17 last year. The defender underwent surgery after that, and he has been out of action since then.

“Things have been going well, I’ve not had a real setback or anything, I’ve just progressed nicely. In this latest stage for myself, I have come to a decision that I had to make: would I be involved in Euros, yes or no,” van Dijk told Liverpool’s website.

“With everything that is going on, I feel physically it is the right decision that I’ve decided not to go to the Euros and to go into my last phase of rehab during the off-season. So, the full focus will be on pre-season with the club and that’s a realistic goal, so I am looking forward to that,” he added.

Further talking about missing Euro Cup, van Dijk said: “Obviously I am very gutted to miss the Euros, to miss the European Championship and leading out my own country there, but things have been like they have and I have to accept it – we all have to accept it. I think the decision to not go is the right decision in the grand scheme of things. It’s tough, but I’m at peace with it.”

Earlier, Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp had said that he wants van Dijk to participate in the Euro Cup, but he is not too sure about his chances of doing so.

“Virgil’s knee. I don’t want to hold him back, but you cannot force it as well,” the Reds boss said earlier this month. “If you want to play in a tournament, you have to train beforehand, proper football training – and not a week before but weeks before,” said Klopp.

“You can’t after 10 or 11 months out train for a week and then play football, that is just not possible. It should not be possible. Nobody is holding him back, I can promise all the people in Holland that. But you can’t force it, and we will not,” he added.

Euro 2020 is slated to begin on June 11 this year and the Netherlands will lock horns against Ukraine in their first game of the competition on June 13.

Although, the team has a fine line of defense, the red giants will surely feel the blow of Dijk’s absence.

As ‘Indian Tigress’ Ritu Phogat sets off to her next victory at ONE: Dangal on 15 May, her father Mahavir Phogat opened up about her upcoming match and life beyond the circle in a first-of-its-kind virtual interaction.

Phogat is scheduled to face Bi Nguyen at ONE: Dangal, a tape-delayed event from the Singapore Indoor Stadium that will air on screens on 15 May.

Talking about ONE: Dangal, Ritu Phogat said, “It is a special IP for the Indian market as it celebrates a host of Indian Mixed Martial Arts athletes and presents them on a global stage. It reflects India’s resilience, fighting spirit, and her mettle to take challenges head on. It also goes on to show that the future of MMA is India, and that we have the potential and the muscle to add a new dimension to the sport.”

On being regarded as the Indian Khabib Nurmagomedov, she said, “I look up to him. I love his control over his opponents and his ‘explosive’ aura in the circle.”

Talking about his daughter’s move to MMA and making Singapore her second home, veteran Indian wrestler, Mahavir Phogat said, “I have full faith in Ritu and the way she is training. I know she has been practising hard and I am confident that she will leave no stone unturned in bringing glory to her country.”

When asked about how she has been dealing with the lockdown in Singapore, she said, “It has been over a year since I was in India and I miss home dearly. I’ve lost out on so much time with my family, but all of this has made me stronger. My father constantly reminds me why I have come to Singapore, he makes sure that I never lose sight of my goal.”

Colenges Filipino-American superstar Brandon “The Truth” Vera for the ONE Heavyweight World Title. Catch Ritu’s bout on Star Sports Select 2, Star Sports First, and Disney+ Hotstar on Saturday, 15th May, 3:30 pm onwards.

MUMBAI: Ever since India’s tour to Sri Lanka was confirmed a few days ago, speculation has been rife about players who could possibly make the cut and be a part of the Indian squad.

Over the last few years, the IPL has proved to be a tournament that has propelled the careers of young players in the white-ball format and highlighted their performances in the public eye, and eventually led to their selection in the Indian team.

Though their performances have been spectacular on the domestic cricket circuit as well and kept them on the selector’s radar, it is the IPL that has provided the watershed moment of their careers.

Some names that spring to mind that could be donning India colors for the first time, especially in the T20 format include Devdutt Padikkal, Harshal Patel, Rahul Tewatia, and Varun Chakravarty.

Ishan Kishan who made his debut in T20I’s for India versus England last year could well be making his debut in the One Day format as well in this series. The same applies to Rahul Chahar who has featured in T20I squads for India since making his debut in 2019 versus West Indies. Another player who would look to cement his place in the T20’s and possibly stake a claim for the ODI cap would be Suryakumar Yadav.

While the forthcoming Sri Lanka series could see the men in blue rely on the experience of Shikhar Dhawan, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, and Hardik Pandya, it will also provide an opportunity to the likes of Krunal Pandya, whose left-hand spin and middle-order contribution with the bat will come in handy on Sri Lankan surfaces. Spin may be the name of the game in all matches of the series given that it will take place in July in hot and humid conditions.

The selection of this squad may well indicate the road ahead for Dinesh Kartik who hasn’t played an ODI for India since the World Cup 2019 semi-final versus New Zealand.

Another big question is whether the selectors will give another chance to Manish Pandey, who wasn’t able to hold onto his place in the eleven even with his IPL franchise in the current season.

Another couple of players who have the experience of featuring in the Indian squad for the 2019 World Cup but have gone off the boil, include Kuldeep Yadav and Vijay Shankar.

Had Shreyas Iyer been fit, he would have been a frontrunner for captaining this team, but as per reports his recovery from the shoulder injury suffered during the England series earlier this year may well take some more time.

Possible players in the mix for selection: Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, DevDutt Paddikal, Surya Kumar Yadav, Manish Pandey, Ishan Kishan (wk), Dinesh Kartik (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Rahul Tewatia, Vijay Shankar, Harshal Patel, Bhuwaneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Navdeep Saini, Chetan Sakaria, Jaydev Unadkat, Rahul Chahar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Varun Chakravarty, Kuldeep Yadav

The writer is a cricket commentator & sports broadcaster who has worked on assignments for leading sports networks in India & abroad.

Kiren Rijiju, the Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports, on Tuesday asked the Indian athletes to never break Covid-19 protocols of other countries. Rijiju’s remarks came as the Indian shooting contingent departed for Croatia on Tuesday.

“Safe journey! Never break the Covid-19 protocols of other countries. Focus on training, take care and stay safe. Will provide all necessary support to our athletes and the coaches. All the best,” tweeted Rijiju. The Indian Olympic Shooting squad has left for Zagreb, Croatia, in order to participate in the European Championship. The competition is scheduled to be held between May 20 and June 6 and the squad will be staying back in Zagreb for training, before directly moving on to participate in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, scheduled in July.

The comment from Rijiju comes days after Indian Super League (ISL) club Bengaluru FC owner Parth Jindal had to apologise to the AFC after three of the Blues’ members allegedly “breached” the COVID-19 protocols in the Maldives.

Bengaluru FC had arrived in the Maldives on Friday ahead of their 2021 AFC Cup playoff clash. Maldives’ Sports Minister Ahmed Mahloof asked Bengaluru FC to leave the country following the “unacceptable behaviour” after reports emerged that three players from the Sunil Chhetri-led club flouted COVID-19 norms.

“Unacceptable behavior from @bengalurufc breaching the strict guidelines from HPA & @theafcdotcom. The club should leave the Maldives immediately as we can’t entertain this act. We honoured the commitment we gave a few months back even with the surge in cases & pressure from the public,” Mahloof tweeted.

After the incident, Jindal said the franchise will take “strictest action” against the players or staff who breached the protocols.

“On behalf of @bengalurufc, I am extremely sorry for the inexcusable behaviour of three of our foreign players/staff while in Male — the strictest action will be taken against these players/staff. We have let @AFCCup down and can only say that this will never happen again,” Jindal tweeted.

Former Pakistan captain Javed Miandad on Tuesday slammed Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for deciding to host the remaining matches of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) in the UAE.

The PCB and the six franchise owners met on Friday virtually to discuss the remaining 20 matches of the PSL. The group had a 360-degree discussion, which also considered feedback from the National Command and Operation Centre. UAE emerged as a preferred venue for the remaining 20 matches during the conference. “This is not the time to play cricket, it is the time to save lives. In these times of crisis, we should be more focused on saving lives rather than playing cricket. The whole world has been affected by the coronavirus. India, where the World Cup was supposed to take place, is also severely affected by the epidemic,” Miandad told Cricket Pakistan.

“My personal view is that this is not the right time to be playing cricket. PCB’s attempts of holding the remaining matches of the PSL season six in the UAE is not the right move. They are risking the lives of several individuals for their own financial gains. If it was in my hands, I would not take the big risk of organising the remaining PSL matches. If they hold this event and face problems, then who will be responsible,” he added.

According to PCB, as the holiday period has already started in both the countries and the Pakistan men’s national cricket team has to depart for the United Kingdom on June 23, the PCB will use this time to work with the Emirates Cricket Board to check if the event can be successfully delivered within the available time.

During the holiday period, the PCB will work on a revised tournament schedule, while it will liaise with the ECB in relation to finalising playing and training facilities, hotel bookings, ground transportation, and visitors’ visas.

According to the board, PCB will carry out a detailed financial and risk assessment as well as cost analysis before reporting back to the franchises, who will then review before a decision on the event venue is confirmed.

PSL six was postponed after a string of COVID-19 cases were reported in March this year. The tournament will now resume in June with the final scheduled for June 20.