Times Crossword 2 7, 7 9 5
across down Yesterday’s solution 27,79 4
Check today’s answers by ringing 0905 757
0 141 by midnight. Calls cost £1 per minute
plus your telephone company’s network
access charge. SP: Spoke 0333 202 3390.1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8
9 10
11 12
13 14 15 16
17
18 19 20 21
22
23 24
25 26
27 28
ARCHB I SHOP ONUS
X I O E U A E
LATRAVIATA AREA
E E R Z S S R M
ADVENT I T IOUS
D R I A E W T
ETERNALLY AMBER
S T G U E K O E
ETHIC BEDSTEADS
R I A R A T S
VINORDINAIRE
E K D C N T E K
DA I S BACKGAMMON
L N T L R M E
YOGA DECELERATE1 One not that famous in a painful
spot (7)
5 No thanks for festival including
loud military instruments ( 5 )
9 Person seen in ambulance, just
outside, gets home ( 5 )
10 Her action criminal, she’s in
solitary ( 9 )
11 Duke holding place at Cambridge
(7)
12 Tar: spoil ship with lack of litre? ( 7 )
13 One in field say returning with
daughter — that’s like a certain
daddy! (4-6)
15 Woman’s British: Rosemary? ( 4 )
18 Violently destroy new instrument
(4)
20 Items for dinner in such a
university (5-5)
23 Base, your source of wealth (7)
24 Bucketful of perverse fun, thus for
the masochist? ( 7 )
25 One very old language covers
nothing by itself, in this ( 9 )
26 Book marks, one found after
prize-giver’s heading off ( 5 )
27 Children swallowing soft drug ( 5 )
28 Son had fun with toys spread out
( 7 )1 Sickly newborn Welsh girl (7)
2 Absurd, getting no credit? Not to
be stomached ( 8 )
3 In Dynasty, women’s nasal speech
( 5 )
4 Lying boss almost in late ( 9 )
5 Anger about look, being covered in
powder ( 6 )
6 Criminal seizing top-quality
pottery (7)
7 Small display showing promise (5)
8 Degree information captivates
youngster coming up, here? ( 8 )
14 In art houses, bad reactions have
gone at first right to the top ( 9 )
16 Like some rocks, since covered by
the sea ( 8 )
17 Income from farming, could one
say, avoiding English perennial (8)
19 Very important and difficult
situation in this surgery? (7)
21 A northern playing area ( 7 )
22 Train regularly plain blue ( 6 )
23 Simultaneous arrivals come first in
empty trains ( 5 )
24 Piece of glass left in compartment
(5)y(7HB7E2*OTSLNO( |||+[!$
Newspapers
support recycling
The recycled paper content of
UK newspapers in 2019 was 63.2%Martyn Ziegler Chief Sports Reporter
The FA chairman Greg Clarke has
stepped into the civil war engulfing
English football to warn Liverpool and
Manchester United that the governing
body would use its special powers to
prevent a breakaway league and stop
them playing in the Champions
League.
Clarke confirmed that the threat of a
breakaway league — understood to
have been suggested for the “big six”
Premier League clubs to join the EFL —
had been raised in discussions between
the two clubs and the EFL chairman
Rick Parry as part of Project Big
Picture.
The plan would mean the top Premier
League clubs taking all the voting power
in the Premier League, as well as a much
bigger share of TV money. It would get
the EFL onside by sharing 25 per cent of
its TV revenue with the three lower divi-sions. Speaking before today’s emer-
gency Premier League meeting, called
to debate the plan, Clarke not only
insisted that the FA would use its
“special share” in the Premier League to
protect “the best interests of the game”
but also pointed out that the FA nomi-
nates which leagues and clubs qualify
for European competition.
The fans’ trusts of the “big six” clubs
have also united to object to the
project’s plans, stating they are “totally2GM Wednesday October 14 2020 | the times
Sp ort
Randall chasing an England
call after dazzling displays
Page 60
Bristol’s rising star
Bet trial forces
Trippier out
Paul Joyce
Liverpool may
buy sister club
Paul Joyce
Gareth Southgate has been forced to
deal with another unwanted distrac-
tion after Kieran Trippier withdrew
from the England squad before
tonight’s game against Denmark to
attend a personal hearing over betting
charges brought by the FA.
Reece James, the Chelsea defender, is
set to benefit from the absence of Trip-
pier, who becomes the eighth player in
the past year to miss an England inter-
national for disciplinary reasons.
Trippier was charged in May by the
FA over alleged breaches of strict
betting rules surrounding his £20 mil-
lion move from Tottenham Hotspur to
Atletico Madrid in July 2019.
The 30-year-old potentially faces a
six-month ban should he be found
guilty of the charges.
Southgate’s frustration at the timing
Continued on page 66The owner of Liverpool could add to its
sporting empire by buying a football
club from continental Europe.
Talks between Fenway Sports Group
(FSG) and RedBall Acquisition Corp —
a company set up by the baseball execu-
tive Billy Beane — have taken place,
with a view to the latter buying a 25 per
cent stake in FSG.
John W Henry, the principal owner
of FSG, is believed to want the deal to be
completed. It would lead to the com-
pany being publicly listed, and the
move would value FSG at $8 billion
(about £6.2 billion), according to The
Wall Street Journal and the Financial
Times. FSG aims to establish itself as
the most powerful international sports
conglomerate and buying a European
football club is thought to be on the
Continued on page 67FA threatens European ban
opposed to concentrating power in the
hands of six billionaire owners and de-
parting from the one club, one vote and
collective ethos of the Premier League”.
The latest developments increase the
likelihood of the reform plan being
snuffed out at birth. Premier League in-
siders believe at least 14 will oppose
them. The issue is one of two items on
the agenda, along with a possible bail-
out for the EFL. As reported last week,
Continued on page 64Rebel clubs told they could be cut out of the Champions League
Ronaldo tests positive
hours after team meal
Portugal star in isolation after withdrawing
from national squad, page 63