World Sports News in Brief

Premier League says player contracts expiring on June 30 can be extended

Premier League players whose contracts expire on June 30 will be allowed to sign short-term extensions until the season ends, chief executive Richard Masters said on Thursday.

Soccer Football - Premier League - Manchester United v Watford - Old Trafford, Manchester, Britain - February 23, 2020 General view of a match ball held by Manchester United's David de Gea during the warm up before the match. (Reuters)
Soccer Football - Premier League - Manchester United v Watford - Old Trafford, Manchester, Britain - February 23, 2020 General view of a match ball held by Manchester United's David de Gea during the warm up before the match. (Reuters)

The Premier League campaign usually ends in May but, with professional soccer in England suspended since mid-March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is set to spill over into June and July with nine rounds of matches remaining.

* World champion Magnus Carlsen unveiled a series of online chess tournaments with US$1 million prize money on Thursday having opted out of a competition held by the game's governing body this month.

* The German Football League (DFL) will allow teams to make up to five substitutions per match, instead of the usual three, for the rest of the season, it said in a statement on Thursday.

* Premier League players whose contracts expire on June 30 will be allowed to sign short-term extensions until the season ends, chief executive Richard Masters said on Thursday.

* Australian Football League clubs will return to training on Monday ahead of next month's restart of the Australian Rules top flight, Chief Executive Gillon McLachlan said on Friday.

* Novak Djokovic believes he will win the most Grand Slam titles and become the longest-reigning world number one by the time he retires, the 32-year-old Serb said in an interview. The current world number one has 17 Grand Slam titles to his name - two behind Rafa Nadal and three fewer than Roger Federer - and said he has no doubt in his ability to overtake the other members of the so-called 'Big Three.'

* Four players at Serie A side Sampdoria who tested positive for the coronavirus last week have now tested negative, the Genoa-based club said on Thursday. Serie A was suspended on March 9 because of the coronavirus pandemic. Teams are due to begin group training sessions on Monday but no date has yet been set for the season to resume.

* World heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua will have only one fight this year but he could take on British compatriot Tyson Fury twice in 2021, his promoter Eddie Hearn said on Thursday. Joshua, the WBA, WBO and IBF champion, is due to fight Bulgarian Kubrat Pulev next while Fury, the WBC champion, has a rematch due with American Deontay Wilder.

* World number one Rory McIlroy says he is planning to play in the PGA Tour's first three tournaments when the season resumes next month after the COVID-19 disruption. The Tour's schedule restarts with the Charles Schwab Challenge (Jun 11-14 in Fort Worth, Texas) followed by the RBC Heritage (Jun 18-21 in Hilton Head, South Carolina) and the Travelers Championship (Jun 25-28 in Cromwell, Connecticut).

* Spaniard Carlos Sainz will race for Ferrari in 2021 and 2022 as replacement for four times world champion Sebastian Vettel alongside Charles Leclerc, the Italian Formula One team said in a statement on Thursday.

* Australian Daniel Ricciardo will drive for McLaren in Formula One next season after signing a "multi-year" deal that will see him replace Ferrari-bound Carlos Sainz, the British team announced on Thursday (May 14).

* The 2020 Tour of Britain has been cancelled after organisers decided it was not practical to stage the race during the coronavirus crisis. Dutchman Mathieu Van Der Poel won the Tour of Britain last year, but the Alpecin-Fenix rider will have to wait until 2021 to defend the title.

* Munich and Manchester City are reportedly close to agreeing a transfer fee for Germany winger Leroy Sane, according to the German media on Thursday (May 14). Magazine Kicker claims City want EUR50 million (US$54 million) for the 24-year-old Sane, but Bayern are offering around EUR10 million less.

* The Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina, will host the PGA Championship in 2025 for just the second time, the PGA of America said in a statement on Thursday. Quail Hollow, which was founded in 1959, hosted its first major in 2017 and is set to become the first golf course in North Carolina to host multiple PGA Championships.

* Tottenham Hotspur's Harry Kane will sponsor Leyton Orient's shirt next season with the space on the front to be given to charitable causes, the League Two (fourth tier) club and the English striker confirmed on Thursday (May 14).

* The Premier League's plans to resume the season in June was given a boost after the secretary of state for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Oliver Dowden, said the government was "opening the door" for football to return in June.

Reuters, CNA