Thursday, 23 April 2026
Wednesday, 22 April 2026
CHELSEA SACK LIAM ROSENIOR WITH SIX YEARS LEFT TO RUN ON CONTRACT AFTER NIGHTMARE SPELL
Liam Rosenior leaves Chelsea after losing his last five Premier League matches in charge, without the Blues scoring a single goal in any of those damaging defeats
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| Chelsea have sacked Liam Rosenior as their head coach(Image: Javier Garcia/Shutterstock) |
Liam Rosenior has been sacked by Chelsea following a run of five consecutive Premier League defeats in which the team failed to score.
That run is their worst in the league over the past 113 years, dating back to six months after the Titanic sank in 1912. Rosenior only signed a six-and-a-half-year deal in January and started brightly but his side have quickly fallen down the Premier League table.
They were beaten comfortably 3-0 by Brighton at the Amex Stadium on Tuesday, and now are almost certain to miss out on qualification for next season’s Champions League. And now the club confirmed that Callum McFarlane will take charge until the end of the season, starting with Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final against Leeds.
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| Liam Rosenior acknowledges the Chelsea fans after the defeat to Brighton(Image: (Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)) |
A club statement read: "On behalf of everyone at Chelsea FC, we would like to place on record our gratitude to Liam and his staff for all their efforts during their time with the club," a statement read.
"Liam has always conducted himself with the highest integrity and professionalism following his appointment midway through the season.
"This has not been a decision the club has taken lightly, however recent results and performances have fallen below the necessary standards with still so much more to play for this season.
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| Liam Rosenior following Chelsea's defeat to Brighton(Image: 2026 Getty Images) |
"Everyone at Chelsea FC wishes Liam every success in the future. Calum McFarlane will take charge of the team as interim head coach until the end of the season with support from existing club backroom staff, as we strive to achieve European qualification and progress in the FA Cup.
"As the club works to bring stability to the head coach position, we will undertake a process of self-reflection to make the right long-term appointment."
Speaking after Chelsea’s defeat at the Amex, Rosenior, who replaced Enzo Maresca in January, said he must identify which players he can trust after delivering a scathing assessment of his team’s woeful defeat.
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| Chelsea's fans make their feelings known to the players after tht defeat to Brighton(Image: (Glyn KIRK / AFP via Getty Images) ) |
“I understand their frustration,” he said of the fans. “The buck stops with me. I have thick skin and I understand why the fans are frustrated.
“I’m frustrated with the performances we’re putting in. I’ve just got to keep working hard with the staff, with the players.
“But what I do need to do is really look at how we go about games, the personnel of the team, who I can trust and rely on in difficult moments, because not enough players showed that.”
- Connor O'Neill and Matthew Abbott
COST OF PUTTING A LOGO ON MICHAEL SCHUMACHER'S CAR IN 2006 | F1 FERRARI
Ever wondered how much it costed to put a logo on Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari in 2006? 💰🏎️
The sponsorship game has fundamentally changed. Looking back 20 years, Ferrari’s financial engine was a different world:
The “Whale” Era (2006): One logo—Marlboro (Philipp Morris) —bankrolled nearly half the team with a staggering $180M deal. Along with Vodafone and Shell, just three brands carried almost the entire team. One year before the legendary Barcode Branding.
Total Sponsorship back then already~$320M. Big money Business! 💰
#f1 #branding #ferrari #schumacher
- Historic F1
MOST VALUABLE DEFENDERS IN THE WORLD | SOCCER ⚽
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| Getty |
The Most Valuable Defenders in the World:
1️⃣🇫🇷 William Saliba — £78M
2️⃣🇪🇸 Pau Cubarsí — £70M
3️⃣🇲🇦 Achraf Hakimi — £70M
4️⃣🇮🇹 Alessandro Bastoni — £70M
5️⃣🇵🇹 Nuno Mendes — £65M
6️⃣🇧🇷 Gabriel Magalhães — £65M
7️⃣🇳🇱 Dean Huijsen — £61M
8️⃣🇪🇨 Willian Pacho — £61M
9️⃣🇭🇷 Joško Gvardiol — £61M
🔟🇳🇱 Jurriën Timber — £61M
1️⃣1️⃣🇫🇷 Dayot Upamecano — £61M
1️⃣2️⃣🏴 Trent Alexander-Arnold — £61M
1️⃣3️⃣🇳🇱 Micky van de Ven — £57M
1️⃣4️⃣🇫🇷 Jules Koundé — £57M
1️⃣5️⃣🇪🇸 Álvaro Carreras — £52M
1️⃣6️⃣🇪🇸 Alejandro Balde — £52M
1️⃣7️⃣🇦🇷 Cristian Romero — £52M
1️⃣8️⃣🇵🇹 Rúben Dias — £52M
1️⃣9️⃣🇧🇷 Murillo — £48M
2️⃣0️⃣🇫🇷 Leny Yoro — £48M
2️⃣1️⃣🏴 Marc Guéhi — £48M
2️⃣2️⃣🇩🇪 Nico Schlotterbeck — £48M
2️⃣3️⃣🇪🇨 Piero Hincapié — £44M
2️⃣4️⃣🇺🇦 Ilya Zabarnyi — £44M
2️⃣5️⃣🏴 Levi Colwill — £44M
VICTOR ORTIZ WOULD 'BET EVERYTHING' ON MANNY PACQUIAO IN FLOYD MAYWEATHER REMATCH
Former WBC welterweight champion Victor Ortiz has said that he backs Manny Pacquiao to triumph against Floyd Mayweather if their fight will be recorded as a professional boxing match.
The original announcement of the rematch between the two all-time greats broadcast on Netflix is still down as professional bout on Boxrec to take place at The Sphere in Las Vegas on September 19. However, Mayweather told reporters three weeks ago that “This is not actually a fight. It’s an exhibition.” It remains to be seen how the fight will be stipulated.
“You know, I’ll be rooting for Manny,” Ortiz told Seconds Out. “But the truth is, Floyd doesn’t sign up for fights he thinks he’s at risk of losing.”
Ortiz (33-7-3, 25 KOs) collided with Mayweather in 2012, losing a fourth stoppage surrounded by bad blood.
“Why did he choose Pacquiao as his opponent? Maybe it’s because it’s an exhibition. I don’t know for sure. Personally, I’d bet everything on Manny winning. But, again, Floyd doesn’t take part in fights he can’t win.”
Mayweather (50-0, 27 KOs) has taken part in many exhibitions since hanging up hia gloves in 2017. On the other hand, Pacquiao (62-8-3, 39 KOs) broke his retirement of nearly four years to face Mario Barrios last July, sharing a majority-draw with he WBC welterweight champion in a fight many pundits believed the former eight division world champion won. The pair are tentatively scheduled to rematch over eleven on from their first meeting, where Mayweather won a comfortable unanimous-decision.
- Adam Noble-Forcey
SHAUN MURPHY ERUPTS AND DEMANDS ANSWERS AS WORLD SNOOKER CHAMPIONSHIP STAFF 'FACE SACK'
Shaun Murphy was left fuming during the World Snooker Championship after being distracted by a sudden burst of light and has called for a full investigation into how it happened
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| Shaun Murphy spoke at length about 'Lightgate'(Image: Getty Images) |
Shaun Murphy has called for answers from snooker's 'Lightgate' investigation. The former world champion has also taken another dig at his outspoken heckler, cautioning him that the Crucible is no place for football stadium behaviour.
Murphy starts his World Snooker Championship second round match on Thursday against Chinese ace Xiao Guodong. Yet the strange incidents during his first-round victory over Fan Zhengyi continue to dominate conversation. Murphy was incensed on Tuesday evening after being caught out by an unexpected flash of light.
With the match between Judd Trump and Gary Wilson wrapping up on the adjacent table, they switched off the lights and raised the partition to give the entire arena a view of the gripping conclusion.
However, as the Magician lined up a crucial shot with the contest delicately poised at 8-8, Murphy was thrown off guard when those lights from the neighbouring table suddenly came back on mid-stroke.
The 2005 champion immediately confronted officials backstage after the frame and, though he went on to clinch the match 10-9, it did nothing to quell his anger afterwards. Murphy said: "We don't ask for much as snooker players, leave the lights off is one of them.
"It affected the shot; it affected the match, that was poor. I think World Snooker are having a bit of an inquest into how that happened because that shouldn't happen.
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| The incident didn't go down well with Shaun Murphy |
"I hope to find out because that should never happen. I've never seen the light come on a table here, just phantom. World Snooker are having an inquest; somebody might not be employed tomorrow.
"I was on the blue, and it really put me off because, as I was about to strike, the lights came on, I didn't hit that ball as I intended.
"I meant to hit it a bit harder, and it made me stop on it. Maybe if I'd hit the ball as I meant to, I'd have been on a red better, and the break might have carried on.
"I was lucky the blue went in because literally, as I was about to hit the ball, I could see the reflection of the light come on the blue, and it totally took my eye off. I was lucky the blue went in, but it really altered the way I was going to hit the ball. I didn't get the pace in it I wanted; it affected the result of the shot.
"That was a new one. I've been coming here for a long time now, and I've never had that happen before. It could hardly have happened at a more important moment."
When asked how he would have reacted had he lost the match, he added: "I would have been very upset, absolutely. I came off the table straight after that frame and happened to see the tournament director in the corridor. I said: 'Regardless of whether I win or lose, I think we need to look into what's happened here.' I think I won that frame to go 9-8 ahead. That shouldn't happen; these are basics, but weird things happen at the Crucible. It's only a few years since we had a pigeon in here."
Murphy, meanwhile, took another swipe at the spectator who became rather vocal during the opening session of his victory over Zhengyi. He turned to social media during the match interval to hit back at someone saying "s**t shot", but delivered a fuller account once the game had finished and did not hold back.
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| Shaun Murphy had plenty to say after his first round match(Image: 2025 VCG) |
The former world champion said: "I've got no idea where they were, I think they were sat on the front row. I played a blue in and out of baulk, as it came round, I clipped the green, came off the cushion, cannoned into the reds. It was pretty much the shot I played. It was actually quite a good shot; I've definitely played worse shots.
"Then literally as the applause died down, he went 'shit shot.' It's unlike me, I would normally confront somebody like that because we're not football, you don't behave like that at the Crucible. As I got down to play the next red, I was still thinking: 'Jeez, maybe they've had a bit too much hospitality, they might have been enjoying the beer a bit too much.' And before I knew it, I'd missed the red, it was a lesson, I suppose, that if you're disturbed, start again."
- Matthew Abbott
THE RED WAY REPORT 2024-25: LFC REACHES GLOBAL.SUSTAINABILITY MILESTOANE
Liverpool FC has today published its latest The Red Way report, highlighting the club's continued commitment to building a better future for its people, planet and communities.
Launched in 2021, The Red Way is LFC's award-winning sustainability strategy.
This season's report highlights a major milestone, with LFC now aligning to all 17 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
This achievement comes through new work focused on 'Life Below Water' (SDG 14), recognising the critical importance of ocean health and its connection to climate, biodiversity and global wellbeing.
Last season, the club expanded its work into this area through its 'Reds for Blue' initiative, delivered in partnership with AXA and the Tara Ocean Foundation. The programme has helped to raise awareness of ocean health and sustainability, by engaging supporters, staff and young people through educational content and experiences.
The 2024-25 report shows how the club's work continues to grow, bringing together activity across the business to create positive change through collaboration, innovation and impactful action.
Environmental sustainability remains a key priority under the 'Our Planet' pillar. The club has achieved a 13 per cent reduction in overall carbon emissions compared to its 2019-20 baseline, while 96 per cent of operations are powered by clean energy.
In addition, emissions from football operations continue to be fully offset, and efforts to tackle travel-related impact remain in place – including the investment of sustainable aviation fuel for domestic team flights.
The club has also continued to enhance biodiversity across its sites, working with official groundskeeping partner Husqvarna to expand its use of robotic mowers, now maintaining 100 per cent of non-playing grass surfaces across our sites at the AXA and AXA Melwood Training Centres.
Across Anfield, more than 310,000 single-use items have been avoided through the expansion of reusables – including the introduction of reusable cups and food containers.
Under the 'Our People' pillar, LFC continues to use its platform to raise awareness of important issues. Its International Day of Persons with Disabilities campaign with Isaac Kearney helped drive a five-year high in global searches for Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome.
The club's official charity, LFC Foundation, also continues to make a real difference across our communities, both home and away. Last season, it supported 145,617 people, while generating a social value of £365.79 million and a social return on investment of £1:£13.79 over a five-year period.
The Red Way has also become more embedded across the wider LFC family. Sixty-seven per cent of partners are now aligned to, and are actively supporting, the strategy, while fan awareness has risen to 45 per cent, up from 14 per cent just two seasons before.
This progress has been recognised externally, with the club receiving a number of major sustainability awards over the course of the season – including ESG Programme of the Year, the Sport Positive Transformation Award and UEFA's Anti-Discrimination Award.
Jonathan Bamber, LFC's chief legal and external affairs officer and executive sponsor of The Red Way, said: "I'm delighted to introduce The Red Way report for the 2024-25 season, featuring some incredible achievements – including multiple award wins.
"When we launched The Red Way in 2021, we knew it would be the beginning of a journey like no other. This report highlights the progress we've made, as well as the challenges we continue to navigate as we work towards our long-term sustainability goals.
"Our commitment to building a better future for our people, our planet and our communities remains the foundation of our success, and our priority as we look ahead to the seasons to come."
Rishi Jain, director of impact at LFC, added: "I am immensely proud of the continued progress of The Red Way, particularly reaching alignment with all 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals.
"This season, we've focused our efforts on key areas – including food, ocean health and resilience. These topics are critically important for the club, cut across every pillar of The Red Way, and offer meaningful opportunities to use our platform to create positive, global impact.
"Together with our colleagues, partners and supporters, we are already making strong progress, and we remain committed to going even further in the seasons ahead."
To learn more about The Red Way and view the full 2024-25 season report, visit here.
- Liverpool FC
CHAMPIONSHIP CLUBS REJECT THE USE OF VAR FOR NEXT SEASON
The Video Assistant Referee will not be in use for any games involving Preston next season.
It was believed that proposals had been put forward to introduce a version of the technology from the start of next season in the Championship.
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| AFP via Getty Images |
But it’s now emerged clubs in the second tier have voted to reject the plans.
Football Video Support (FVS), a variation of VAR which needs fewer resources and gives each coach two reviews per game, could have been brought in from August.
It comes after the Professional Game Match Officials (PGMO) gave a presentation at the EFL's annual meeting last month.
According to the BBC, the EFL subsequently contacted the clubs to canvas feedback, but it was found there was no appetite for any version of VAR in the Championship.
It’s also claimed the idea of VAR in the Championship is “closed for the foreseeable future” and the idea is unlikely to be reviewed in a year’s time.
- Craig Salmon
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