Governing bodies are using weasel words, instead of the plain ones needed: invasion, war, murderEarly last Thursday, overcome by the desire to do something, anything, however petty, to try to fight off that sense of desperate futility, I started sending out emails to the sports federations who had events scheduled in Russia this year asking if they were going to cancel them. There were already reports that Uefa was talking about moving the Champions League final, later that day the FIA announced it was cancelling the Russian GP, and Rugby Europe that it was calling off Russia’s upcoming match against Georgia. A lot of the Olympic sports, though, were moving a little more slowly.Fina, which was due to hold two...
The Russian oligarch has moved on from Arsenal to Everton but more intriguing is his decision to buy Pierre de Coubertin’s 1892 manifesto and donate it to the Olympic MuseumAt last, the mystery buyer of the world’s most expensive piece of sports memorabilia has been revealed as the Russian tycoon Alisher Usmanov. The cuddly oligarch purchased Pierre de Coubertin’s original 1892 Olympic manifesto for $8.8m (£6.8m) in December – a whole week after he had suggested Wada’s Russian doping ban was a “lynching”, and a whole two weeks after the IOC president, Thomas Bach, had awarded Usmanov the IOC Trophy of Olympic Values in his capacity as the deep-pocketed bankroller and president of the International Fencing Federation. As Bach advised...
The majority owner of Arsenal defined himself as an ‘investor’ after rejecting Alisher Usmanov’s offer. It exposes his motivation for an inert, absentee regimeThe statement made by the Arsenal majority owner, Stan Kroenke – after the club failed for the first time in 20 years to finish in the Premier League top four – was clinically short, utterly unemotional, yet for all that, distinctly revealing of his motivation for involvement in the club. Related: Stan Kroenke: ‘My Arsenal shares are not, and never have been, for sale’ Continue reading...