INSIDE SPORT: Timing of the Thomas Partey charges is talk of the Premier League... and why it's a big week for the ECB
The Ghana international, who denies the charges, was initially arrested in July 2022 — three years ago — but continued to be a key influence for the Gunners.
The charges landed just three days after the expiration of his Arsenal contract, which has not been renewed despite continuous praise from Mikel Arteta, has been the talk of the competition.
As for the club themselves, a delay in responding to media queries — with some requests for a statement not drawing a response — was put down to the fact that officials were in an emergency meeting to discuss how to respond to a potential scenario that has been in the pipeline for no fewer than 36 months.
A two-line statement eventually landed at 9.54pm on Friday night, reading: 'The player's contract ended on June 30. Due to ongoing legal proceedings the club is unable to comment on the case.'
NEW ECB DEALS
A big week incoming for the ECB, with the stunning deals for the Hundred franchises soon-to-be-finalised. More good news comes in the shape of the new nationwide tournament for state schools.
In the first week since launch, understands that more than 500 state schools have signed up for the Knight-Stokes Cup, which is for year 10 pupils and is named after England pair Ben and Heather, who both went to comprehensives in Cumbria and Plymouth.
The competition is part of a major push under the State School Task force, set up a year ago by the ECB. Meanwhile, the fight continues for money promised by former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and then pulled by Sir Keir Starmer to build 20 Domes.
The current government slashed the promised £35m funding and have agreed to fund two of the all-weather facilities, which are game changers for state schools.
RADUCANU BOTTLES
Emma Raducanu is a global ambassador for Evian, whose eye-catching, specially-commissioned bottles have become a must-have item for Wimbledon obsessives.
However, the reusable vessels appear to have only been made available to players, officials and journalists.
And some have been clearly been attempting to cash in – with the bottles available on eBay for as much as £200 each.
WILLIAMS QUITS
Former Swansea City boss Luke Williams has now given up his voluntary role at Bristol Airport after being spotted by fans.
Williams took on a job as a customer care assistant, a move which emphasised his appetite to work rather than just wait at home for his next managerial role.
However, subsequent media coverage saw his position, in which he often helped disabled passengers, become untenable, with football fans frequently asking for selfies.
Those close to the 44-year-old say he did not think the increased attention was fair on those he was attempting to assist.
A BOBBY ROBSON MEMORY
The forthcoming release of a sequel to the classic golf-based comedy brings back a lovely memory of the late, great Bobby Robson.
During his time as Newcastle United manager the club embarked on a tour of the United States.
When a flight to Washington DC landed, those onboard were asked to remain seated for around a further 20 minutes. Why? Because their legendary manager was enjoying watching the original so much he wanted to finish it before disembarking.
MILLWALL AUCTION
A boardroom whiskey decanter, vintage armchairs and home and away dugout seats are among the popular items in an online auction of memorabilia triggered by Millwall's renovation of the Den.
The 471-item haul also includes a pennant from the match against Sporting Lisbon, which opened the stadium in 1993 along with the 'welcome' sign from the Barry Kitchener stand and signs for dressing rooms and the tunnel area.
Trophies up for grabs include a Johnstone's Paint Trophy team of the round, which has currently fetched a bid of £80.
Sportbidder are running the auction, which ends on Tuesday. Proceeds go to the Championship side.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
42 minutes ago
- The Independent
Putin may be mocking Trump over Ukraine – but the US president won't do anything about it
European leaders have redoubled their efforts to prise Donald Trump away from Russia by warning that the US president is being 'mocked' by Vladimir Putin, alleging that Moscow is using chemical weapons in Ukraine and demanding that the US restore weapons supplies to Kyiv. The move came after Ukraine said it had endured the biggest overnight air attack of the entire war, with swarms of 500 drones and missiles intended to overwhelm already stretched air defences. Radek Sikorski, Poland's foreign minister, called for the US to end its suspension of air defence missiles and other weapons – most of which are on standby for delivery to Poland –and derided Trump's fruitless efforts to secure a ceasefire. 'Mr Trump, Putin is mocking your peace efforts,' said the Oxford-educated Sikorski. In addition, the Dutch and German governments said their intelligence services had evidence of widespread use of chemical choking agents (teargas) against Ukrainian trenches by Russian troops. These have been used to force soldiers into the open where they could be shot by Putin's forces. 'This intensification is concerning because it is part of a trend we have been observing for several years now, where Russia's use of chemical weapons in this war is becoming more normalised, standardised, and widespread," said the Dutch defence minister Ruben Brekelmans. With the recent US focus on its attacks on Iran in support of Israel, Russia has been gradually stepping up efforts against Kyiv. Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, has been warning for weeks that his country faces a critical shortage of defensive weapons, so the announcement that the US is suspending promised weapons such Patriot air defence missiles will inevitably entrench the already strong belief that Trump has taken Putin's side after Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and that the US is no longer a real ally in the defence of Europe. Pentagon officials suggested the suspension was a 'pause' in delivery of Patriots, precision artillery and Hellfire missiles mounted on Ukrainian F-16 aircraft as part of a review of US supplies worldwide. But the US has not declared a pause in supply to any other nation. Israel is the largest recipient of US military aid by far and has recently enjoyed an uptick in supplies of bombs and missiles even as it stands accused by the United Nations of 'ethnic cleansing' and its prime minister has been indicted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court. Trump has been trying to secure a ceasefire in the Ukraine war for months. Despite Kyiv offering a 30-day pause in fighting, Putin has repeatedly made it clear that Russia is not interested while it pursues a summer offensive to carve out the east of Ukraine. Trump has suggested he is frustrated by Putin but has threatened the Russian president with no definitive sanctions. Kyiv, however, has endured having its intelligence feed from the US blinded during the Russian counterattacks to retake Kursk, seen military aid suspended, been offered no new promises of support, and forced into a mineral deal that trades future US weapons for mining profits. In March, Trump said he was very angry and 'pissed off' after the Russian president continued to swerve his attempts to get Moscow to agree a ceasefire. The pair spoke again at length on Thursday in what turned out to be, from the Oval Office perspective, another unsatisfactory call. When asked if he had any success with Putin on Ukraine, Trump was clear: 'No, I didn't make any progress with him today at all... I'm not happy about that. I'm not happy about that.' But again there was still no sign that the US was going to lift its suspension of military aid to Ukraine, let alone increase it to try to force Russia to negotiate a workable ceasefire. So Russia continues its grinding offensive, claiming this week to have captured all of Luhansk province, which it has already illegally annexed. As a precondition to any ceasefire, Putin has demanded he keep at least Luhansk, Crimea, Kherson, Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia provinces. The US has largely accepted this position as a 'given' and further insisted that in any long-term peace deal Ukraine is prevented from joining Nato and will not get security guarantees from the US to defend its future borders. So Nato's European and Canadian members are now planning, training and producing weapons to fill an American void that is widening. Kyiv has held on in spite of the massive air attacks and 'meat grinder' Russian land assaults, largely because of its superiority in drone technology. But Moscow has now forged ahead with the development of long-range wire-guided first-person view (FPV) drones and is developing AI weapons. For the last year or so Russian drone pilots have been using civilians in Kherson as target practice on training operations, with FPV drones killing several people most weeks. 'It won't be long before we see people being hunted through the streets of Kyiv by AI drones in swarms. We need to defeat Russia before that happens,' said a senior officer in Ukraine's drone warfare operations.
Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Daily Mirror
Liverpool learn Malick Fofana asking price as Luis Diaz speaks out about future
Liverpool have already made six new signings this summer and there could be plenty more incomings and outgoings before the transfer window slams shut on September 1 Liverpool have enjoyed a busy summer so far, bringing in the likes of Florian Wirtz, Milos Kerkez, Jeremie Frimpong and Giorgi Mamardashvili as Arne Slot looks to guide the Reds to another Premier League title win. There have also been a number of outgoings, with Trent Alexander-Arnold joining Real Madrid, Jarell Quansah making the move to Bayer Leverkusen and Caoimhin Kelleher signing for Brentford. And there could be plenty more incomings and outgoings before the window slams shut on September 1. Here, Mirror Football takes a look at all the latest transfer news and rumours from in and around Anfield... Fofana's asking price According to a report from the Independent, Liverpool target Malick Fofana is valued at around €60m (£51.5m) by Lyon. The report states that Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Napoli, RB Leipzig, Nottingham Forest and Fulham are all interested in the 20-year-old after he produced 17 goal contributions in 41 games last season. The report states that Lyon are hopeful the price will be driven up due to the amount of interest in Fofana. The French side do need to sell as their financial problems have seen them relegated from Ligue 1, although the club are appealing the decision. Diaz speaks out Luis Diaz has been heavily linked with a move away from Liverpool this summer, with both Barcelona and Bayern Munich said to be interested in signing the winger. And Diaz has now spoken out about the rumours, telling Colombian broadcaster WinSports: "It's not known yet, we're talking with the board. We're comfortable with where I am, and we'll have to see." However, it has previously been reported that Liverpool have do not want to sell the winger and have already rejected an approach from Bayern. Diaz scored 17 goals and provided eight assists across all competitions last season. Zubimendi joins Arsenal Arsenal have signed midfielder Martin Zubimendi from Real Sociedad, just one year after he rejected the chance to join Liverpool. Zubimendi was reluctant to leave his boyhood club last year and the 26-year-old has now revealed why he has chosen Arsenal. "This is a huge moment in my career," he told the Arsenal website. "It's the move I was looking for and one I wanted to make. As soon as you set foot here, you realise how big this club and this team are. I set my sights on Arsenal because their style of play is a good fit for me. They have shown their potential recently and the best is yet to come."
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Tennis legend drops bombshell about the sport's surprising drug problem: 'Everyone's on them'
Tennis great Goran Ivanisevic has spoken out about tennis stars' troubling reliance on antidepressants, claiming mental health issues in the game are so widespread and serious that 'everyone' is on the medication. Ivanisevic, a former Wimbledon singles champion who now coaches Stefanos Tsitsipas, has lifted the lid on the mounting psychological pressures he sees elite athletes facing. His comments come in the wake of Alexander Zverev 's recent admission about his mental struggles where he described himself as empty, joyless and needing therapy as he crashed out of Wimbledon. 'When I listen to players, everyone's on antidepressants, Zverev says he's in a bad place,' Ivanisevic told Clay magazine. 'I don't know why they [the players] put so much pressure on themselves. Maybe it's outside expectations, society's expectations - they can't handle it.' Tennis icon Novak Djokovic believes social media is to blame for a lot of problems facing athletes today. 'Social media is extremely present and largely dictates the mood and daily rhythm of an athlete - especially young ones, but older ones too,' he told Sportklub. 'Everyone is on social media, and you can get lost there, get too attached to comments, to what someone types on a keyboard or phone… and that hurts. 'It's not trivial. That's something we need to talk about seriously.' The 38-year-old star also spoke of the the pressure of social media on young athletes. 'Kids are pushed too early into strict professionalism before they've developed emotional intelligence, which is part of psychological preparation for life,' he said. 'If a player gets a bit lost in that, it can strongly affect their psyche and how they live their life.' Zverev's brave admission following being knocked out in the first round has revived the conversation around mental health in tennis. 'I feel very alone out there at times,' he said. 'I struggle mentally ... I'm trying to find ways to kind of get out of this hole. I keep kind of finding myself back in it in a way. 'I feel, generally speaking, quite alone in life at the moment, which is a feeling that is not very nice.
