The Australian Open will be allowed to admit up to 30,000 fans a day, around 50per cent of the usual attendance, when the Grand Slam gets underway on Feb. 8, Victoria state sports minister Martin Pakula said on Saturday (Jan 30). |
The limit will be reduced to 25,000 over the last five days of the tournament when there are fewer matches, but Pakula said the announcement would ensure some of the biggest crowds for a sporting event since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. * Senegal striker Mbaye Diagne had joined West Bromwich Albion on loan from Galatasaray until the end of the season, the Premier League club said on Friday. Diagne, 29, has scored 11 goals from 18 appearances with Galatasaray this season. * Paris St Germain midfielder Marco Verratti and defender Abdou Diallo have tested positive for COVID-19, the French champions announced on Friday. * Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho says Gareth Bale is approaching a “crucial moment” in his loan spell as he challenged his attacking players to step up in the absence of injured striker Harry Kane. Bale, 31, has struggled for form and fitness since rejoining Spurs on a season-long loan from Real Madrid, scoring four goals in 14 appearances for Mourinho’s side in all competitions. * Belgium’s Thomas Detry, eyeing a maiden European Tour title, surged to the top of the leaderboard at the halfway stage of the Dubai Desert Classic on Friday. Detry, who started three shots behind overnight leader Richard Sterne, carded five birdies to match his first-round score of five-under-par 67 in a second successive bogey-free round at Emirates Golf Club. * The Premier League and Women’s Super League will introduce concussion substitutions trials from Feb 6, England’s Football Association said on Friday. * Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero will miss Saturday’s Premier League match against Sheffield United as he has yet to be cleared to return following his positive COVID-19 test, manager Pep Guardiola said on Friday. Aguero, City’s record goalscorer, has missed their previous six games having initially been forced to self-isolate after coming into contact with someone who tested positive for the novel coronavirus, before testing positive himself. * Leicester City midfielder Wilfred Ndidi will be out for up to 10 days but striker Jamie Vardy’s recovery is progressing well after his minor hernia operation, manager Brendan Rodgers said on Friday. * Barcelona will travel to Granada and Sevilla will visit second division Almeria in the Copa del Rey quarter-finals after the draw was made on Friday. The fixtures will take place from Feb. 2-4 and are single-leg ties. * Formula One grands prix will start on the hour again this season, rather than 10 minutes past, after scrapping a previous timetable intended to give broadcasters more time to build excitement. The decision, announced on Friday by the governing FIA and Liberty Media-owned Formula One, reverses a change introduced in 2018. * Manchester United midfielder Jesse Lingard has agreed to join Premier League rivals West Ham United on loan for the remainder of the 2020-21 campaign, Sky Sports reported. The England international has not played a single league match for the Manchester club this season, making only three appearances in the League Cup and FA Cup. * Former Porto and Zenit St Petersburg forward Hulk signed a two-year contract with Atletico Mineiro on Friday, the Brazilian club said. The 34-year-old recently left Shanghai SIPG after five years with the Chinese club. Source: Nhan Dan Online |