BREAKING: Ray French dies: Legendary BBC commentator and 'Voice of Rugby League' passes away
He also represented England in both rugby union and league. The St Helens-born icon was given an MBE in 2011.
French succeeded Edding Waring in the role when he took the job in 1981. He remained on the air for nearly 40 years.
There will be more to follow on this breaking news story and Mirror Sport will bring you the very latest updates, pictures and video as soon as possible.
Please check back regularly for updates on this developing story.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
2 hours ago
- BBC News
Dagnall double as St Helens dominate Castleford
Betfred Super LeagueSt Helens (28) 40Tries: Percival, Dagnall (2), Feldt, Clark, Robertson, Sailor Goals: Feldt (6)Castleford (0) 0 Owen Dagnall continued his remarkable start to life in Super League with two tries as St Helens strengthened their play-off chances by hammering Castleford 19-year-old made it seven tries in eight games, capping a hit-and-miss Saints display at the Totally Wicked Stadium with a brilliant solo effort for his made it five wins from their past six games by streaking away in the first half as tries from the returning Mark Percival, Dagnall, Kyle Feldt, Daryl Clark, and a stunning length-of-the-field effort from Harry Robertson blew the visitors second half was littered with Saints errors, while Cas improved, but Dagnall fired it up with a terrific second try, with Tristan Sailor adding another to make it one win in six for the win means Saints leapfrog Leeds Rhinos into fourth place on points to follow St Helens: Sailor; Feldt, Robertson, Percival, Dagnall; Lomax, Mbye; Walmsley, Clark, Lees, Sironen, Whitley, Paasi, Wingfield, Delaney, Rooney; Simm, Cini, Senior, Djeukessi; Asi, Atkin; Singleton, Lawler, Amone, Stimson, Mellor, Wood, Griffin, Robb, Aaron Moore.
Scottish Sun
4 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Djokovic joins F1 legend in takeover of ‘French Wrexham' after promotion to Ligue 2 having been in 5TH TIER 9 years ago
The club plummeted down the divisions after financial trouble WREX APPEAL Djokovic joins F1 legend in takeover of 'French Wrexham' after promotion to Ligue 2 having been in 5TH TIER 9 years ago Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) NOVAK DJOKOVIC and two former Formula One stars have acquired stakes in Le Mans. The club have been dubbed the "French Wrexham" amid their celebrity interest and remarkable rise up the leagues. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 3 Novak Djokovic is part of a group who have bought a stake in Le Mans FC Credit: Getty 3 Felipe Massa said it is 'undeniably a great opportunity' Credit: Getty 3 Kevin Magnussen is involved in the group Credit: Splash Play Dream Team now! Play The Sun Dream Team ahead of the 2025/26 season Free to play Over £100,000 in total prize money Play in Mini Leagues against your mates Submit a team for Gameweek 1 to enter £5,000 prize draw Play via Dream Team's app or website today! Le Mans officially announced today that investment company OutField have purchased an undisclosed percentage of the club. Tennis icon Djokovic and former F1 drivers Felipe Massa and Kevin Magnussen are involved in the project. In a statement published by Le Mans, they say the 24-time Grand Slam champion's "mental strength and unique approach will bring considerable added value." On Massa and Magnussen, the club claim the duo will "create a bridge between football and motorsport – a distinctive strength of the Le Mans brand." Ex-Ferrari driver Massa raced in F1 for 15 years and is a massive fan of Brazilian club Sao Paulo supporter. Magnussen was with Haas and his father Jan is a four-time 24 Hours of Le Mans winner. Opening up on his new venture, Massa said: "I think everyone knows my passion for football, which is leading me to take this step today. "Le Mans FC has a strong connection with motorsport, and when my good friend and partner Georgios Frangulis presented the project to me, I wanted to be a part of it. BEST ONLINE CASINOS - TOP SITES IN THE UK "Especially alongside people I deeply respect, like Djokovic, who needs no introduction, and Magnussen, with whom I shared many years in Formula One. "It's undeniably a great opportunity, taking advantage of the momentum of French football, the reigning Champions League champion, which is currently attracting significant investment." Nine years ago, Le Mans were down at a amateur level in the fifth tier of French football after the club ran into financial trouble. But they have since climbed up the divisions and will compete in Ligue 2 this coming season. They were the last in the top-flight back in 2010. Le Mans play their home matches at the Stade Marie-Marvingt, which is next to the iconic racing track.
Scottish Sun
5 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Chelsea taking advantage of Strasbourg swap shop yet again with NINE moves in six months
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) THE Chelsea and Strasbourg swap shop is very much open for business again. The revolving doors between Stamford Bridge and Strasbourg have sent EIGHT players and one coach spinning between the sister clubs in the last six months alone. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 11 Mike Penders has gone to gain experience at Strasbourg Credit: AFP 11 Kendry Paez has also joined the club on loan this summer Credit: Getty 11 Even coach Filipe Coelho has swapped Chelsea for the Ligue 1 outfit Credit: Getty Play Dream Team now! Play The Sun Dream Team ahead of the 2025/26 season Free to play Over £100,000 in total prize money Play in Mini Leagues against your mates Submit a team for Gameweek 1 to enter £5,000 prize draw Play via Dream Team's app or website today! Some Strasbourg fans are more angry than ever about the relationship, despite the Ligue 1 club enjoying an impressive 2024/5. But the bosses at BlueCo, the company which owns both teams, are using multi-club ownership to move people and money around effectively and, so far at least, with successful results. In recent days, Chelsea have confirmed FIVE deals to take personnel across the Channel to north-east France. Goalkeeper Mike Penders, 20, and attacking midfielder Kendry Paez, 18, went on loan to Strasbourg, with young left back Ishe Samuels-Smith joining the French club in a permanent £6.5m deal. READ MORE ON FOOTBALL LEIP OF FAITH Chelsea stumbling block in Simons chase as Leipzig not interested in stars Blues Under-21 head coach Filipe Coelho has also left Chelsea to become Liam Rosenior's assistant at the Ligue 1 club. And today Chelsea confirmed that 19-year-old defender Mamadou Sarr - just signed from Strasbourg - has been sent on loan there too. At the end of last season Djordje Petrovic and midfielder Andrey Santos returned to the Blues from loan spells at Strasbourg. Both were key members of the side that finished seventh in the French top flight and qualified for the Conference League. Left back Caleb Wiley had half a season at Strasbourg but returned in January after getting injured and then went on loan to Waford. SUN VEGAS WELCOME OFFER: GET £50 BONUS WHEN YOU JOIN Petrovic did well enough to catch the attention of Bournemouth who, after taking Kepa on loan from Stamford Bridge last season, paid £25m to sign the Serb permanently. Santos' performances in France have convinced Chelsea that he can be part of Enzo Maresca's first-team squad for the coming season. To replace Santos at Strasbourg, France Under-20 midfielder Mathis Amougou has arrived from Chelsea on a permanent deal. Drake hints Cole Palmer is inspiration behind his new album name as he shares brilliant video of Chelsea star That is the same Mathis Amougou who joined the Blues from St Etienne for £12.5m on an eight-year contract only in February. Amougou made his Premier League debut against Southampton, but was sold to Strasbourg barely five months after arriving in London. Although Chelsea have a buy-back clause on Amougou, the swift flipping of the player and the sale of Samuels-Smith, who never played a first-team game for the Blues, have raised eyebrows. The fees that Strasbourg have paid will certainly help balance the Stamford Bridge books after another summer of heavy spending. Players can seem like pawns in a game which is as much about compliance with financial rules as on-field performance. 11 Mathis Amougou joined Chelsea in February Credit: Splash 11 Ishe Samuels-Smith moved to Strasbourg without a senior appearance at Chelsea Credit: Getty 11 Mamadou Sarr could be returning to Strasbourg on loan Credit: Getty 11 But it is Strasbourg's sale of Sarr and his potential return on loan that have really annoyed a section of the French club's fans. As well as losing one of their key players after just one season at the club, supporters feel the £12m fee paid by Chelsea was suspiciously low. When you look at the cost of the Amougou deals, you can see their point. Overall, the sense is that as soon as a player does well at Strasbourg, he will be moved to Chelsea to play in the first team or to be sold if he doesn't make the grade. Reports emerged last week that the Blues were close to agreeing personal terms with Strasbourg striker Emanuel Emegha, ahead of a proposed transfer to Stamford Bridge next summer. You wonder whether any other clubs will be allowed to challenge Chelsea in the bidding for Emegha, who was the Ligue 1 club's top scorer last season. The Blues and Aston Villa have already been warned by Uefa that transfers between the two clubs will be closely monitored for fair value, after the shenanigans of summer 2024. Uefa and the Premier League will take similar interest in deals between Chelsea and Strasbourg. The Blues and Aston Villa have already been warned by Uefa that transfers between the two clubs will be closely monitored for fair value, after the shenanigans of summer 2024. 11 Emanuel Emegha could be one of the next players to sign for the Blues Credit: AFP 11 Djordje Petrovic was loaned to Strasbourg and then sold to Bourenmouth Credit: Getty 11 Todd Boehly and Mark Walter arrived at the Ligue 1 club in 2023 Credit: Getty And Uefa and the Premier League will take similar interest in deals between Chelsea and Strasbourg. Alexandre Hummel, spokesperson for the Strasbourg Supporters' Club, said: 'With the Sarr move, we are not being allowed to sell in a free market to the highest-bidding team. 'WIth that situation, with Penders and Petrovic, even with the coach who is coming, this is the way that a feeder team is run in US sport. 'Everything is done for the benefit of Chelsea.' BlueCo - the consortium of US-based trio Clearlake Capital, Todd Boehly and Mark Walter, plus Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss - bought a controlling stake in Strasbourg in June 2023, a year after completing their takeover of Chelsea. The French club was always going to be the junior partner in the set-up, just as happens in other multi-club ownership structures like the City Football Group which controls Manchester City and a portfolio of other clubs. But Strasbourg have finished higher in the league in each season of BlueCo ownership and in 2025/6 will enjoy their first proper campaign of European football for 20 years. So it's tempting to ask: what's the problem? Everyone's a winner. And the majority of Strasbourg fans seem to feel that way, for now at least. The multi-club ownership system is not part of the tradition of European football. Alexandre Hummel Hummel, 43, and a Strasbourg fan for 35 years, said: 'I would say that 60 or 70% of people are either non-sensitive to the question or just happy to have good results on the pitch. 'But the organised supporters' groups do not agree with the fact that Strasbourg is being used basically as a reserve team or an U23 team for Chelsea. 'It means our club is no longer independent and no matter what the sporting results on the field are, we feel very bad about that because we value independence. 'The multi-club ownership system is not part of the tradition of European football. 'We have a rich history between the local regional identity and the football club. 'That doesn't fit with having your club being used as some kind of subsidiary to a big empire which is owned by private equity firms in the US. 'There's a lot of arrogance in that. If it was us Europeans telling them how to run the NBA or the NFL, they would laugh at us. 'The French league could become a feeder league and French football would die because of that.' Chelsea 2025/26 Home Kit: Available Now! *If you click on a link in this boxout we will earn affiliate revenue. Step into the future with the brand-new Chelsea 2025/26 home kit, inspired by London's vibrant energy and culture. Available in a range of sizes for adults and children, ensuring fans of all ages can show their support in style. Standard Stadium Version: £84.99 Kids' Sizes: £64.99 Authentic Match Home Shirt: £124.99 Celebrate the Blues and wear your pride for the city – grab yours today! Strasbourg fans have held peaceful protests against BlueCo and the ultras refuse to sing for the first 15 minutes of every game. On top of all the comings and goings between Stamford Bridge and the Stade de la Meinau, Strasbourg have also sold homegrown star midfielder to Sunderland for £30m this summer. Some of those happy with the current situation could change their tune if results deteriorate after the core of last season's successful team has been moved on. But as Hummel admits, people from Strasbourg and the wider Alsace region are renowned for being calm and sensible. The BlueCo bosses would have a much harder time if they tried to pull the same trick in Marseille or Naples. And when the trick seems to be working so well, especially for Chelsea, they will keep on wheeling and dealing with Strasbourg. 11 TRANSFER NEWS LIVE - KEEP UP WITH ALL THE LATEST FROM A BUSY SUMMER WINDOW
