Daily Mirror - 03.03.2020

(^44) DAILY MIRROR TUESDAY 03.03.2020
DM1ST
West Ham; 3. Marseille; 2. Heron; 1.
C: Four.4.
quick quiz
answers

1. New MLS team
   Inter Miami’s crest
   features a pair of
   which species of bird?


2. Which city will host rugby union’s
   European Challenge Cup and Heineken
   Champions Cup finals in 2020?


3. Which Premier League club did
   Frank Lampard play for before joining
   Chelsea in 2001?


4. Heather Watson’s 2020 Mexican
   Open win marked her first WTA title in
   how many years? A: Two, B: Three,
   C: Four.

John Virgo (74) –

former

professional

snooker player, now a commentator.

Zico (67) – appeared in three World

Cups with Brazil, born 1953.

Fatima Whitbread (59) – 1987 world

javelin champion who won silver at the

Seoul Olympics the following year.

BirTHDaYs

1928: Ronnie Dix made history as

the youngest player to score a goal in

the Football League. He was just 15

years and 180 days old when he

netted for Bristol Rovers in their 3-0

win over Norwich in a Third Division

(South) match.

1991: Runcorn Highfield’s dismal

record of 75 matches without a win

ended when they beat Dewsbury.

Their run – the worst in rugby league

history – went back 28 months, during

which time they had five coaches.

2000: More than 100,000 people

lined the streets of Stoke to pay their

respects as the funeral cortege of Sir

Stanley Matthews passed through.

2002: Michael Schumacher launched

his bid for a record-equalling fifth

Formula One drivers’ crown with

victory in an extraordinary Australian

Grand Prix in which only eight cars

crossed the finishing line.

GERARD

HOULLIER hailed a Michael Owen-

inspired Worthington Cup victory that

expelled any doubts about his future.

The Liverpool manager admitted

that he had been under pressure

before this 2-0 victory over Man

United, but insisted that the talk

about his job being on the line was

never generated from within the club.

He said: ‘‘All of the talk about my

future came from outside the club,

but this victory has provided the

evidence to show we haven’t done

too badly since I came back from my

heart operation last March.’’

B ck page: 2003a

on this

day

march

3

Sport and the coronaviruS criSiS

no panic

ueFa say it’s business as usual despite telling

their own staff to avoid unnecessary travel

for Wolves’ first goal, said: “I’m

at a stage in my career where I

want to play in my best

position, and centre-back

is where I see my future.

It’s where I can be the

best I can be.”

Tottenham will face

Norwich in tomorrow’s FA

Cup fifth-round tie without

keeper Hugo Lloris and Erik

Lamela, who are both injured.

dier’s defence plea

BY TOnY BanKs

ERIC DIER insists he sees his

future at Tottenham as a

centre-half.

The England

international (right),

who has played mainly

as a defensive midfielder

this season, was in the

back four again on Sunday as

Spurs lost 3-2 to Wolves.

But Dier, who was at fault

improvement after last week’s

defeat at basement Norwich.

Ahead of tomorrow’s visit from

Birmingham in the FA Cup,

Rodgers (right) said: “At times

you have to be harsh to be clear

• this is elite sport.
  “You can’t dance around the
  truth. There is no doubt we can
  play better.
  “We are working very hard to
  do that.”

‘foxes will hunt out form’

B Y James nurseY

BRENDAN RODGERS admits

Leicester are suffering after their

nosedive in form.

Rodgers’ third-placed Foxes

have not scored in three Premier

League games and only have 12

points from the last 12 matches.

They also lost in the Carabao

Cup semi-finals to struggling

Aston Villa over two legs and

Rodgers is demanding an

UEFA chiefs have insisted there

is no need to “panic” over the

coronavirus – despite putting a

travel ban in place for their own

workforce.

European football’s governing body

say there are currently no plans to

change Euro 2020 despite the

escalating health crisis spreading

across the globe.

And it can be revealed that UEFA

has told ALL staff not to travel in the

next two weeks unless their journeys

are absolutely essential, which means

there will even be scaled down

numbers in Amsterdam for today’s

Nations League draw.

They are planning to push ahead

with Champions League

and Europa League

games but any planning

meetings, get togethers

or workshops

which are

not urgent

will be put

on hold

f o r

the next fortnight. It comes as the FA

are awaiting updates from the UK

government and UEFA regarding the

Euros and, most pressingly, the

friendlies with Italy and Denmark at

the end of the month.

The Wembley friendly with the

Azzurri on March 27 would appear to

be causing most concern as Italy has

been badly hit by coronavirus, with

several sporting events already off

and Serie A games affected.

However, the FA are adamant that

they are planning for both games to

go ahead despite mounting concerns

and daily health updates.

England boss Gareth Southgate

(below) will travel to Amsterdam for

the Nations League draw along with

several members of FA staff, while

UEFA are adamant that the

Europe-wide Euro 2020 tournament

is not in imminent danger. Asked if

there was any panic at UEFA,

executive committee member Alexey

Sorokin said: “No – we don’t sense

any panic. None whatsoever. We need

to assess the situation as it develops.”

FA chairman Greg Clarke said: “We

are planning on the basis that the

games will go ahead. If the

government decides on a change of

policy, we will adhere to that policy.

“The facts are changing so quickly,

you can’t penalise the government for

not quite knowing what the situation

will be like in a month. I understand

t h e p r o b l e m .”

The Swiss Football League was

yesterday suspended until March 23.

In the Bundesliga, RB Leipzig have

apologised to a group of Japanese

supporters ejected

from their stadium by

stewards during

Sunday’s match at

home to Bayer

Leverkusen amid

coronavirus concerns.

A spokesman said:

“We must apologise

for this mistake. We

would like to make up

for what happened

and are trying to

contact the fans and

invite them to the

next home game.”

how other

sPorts Are

reACtinG..

ruGBY uniOn

THE Six Nations’ remaining

matches – including England’s

under-threat visit to Italy on

March 15 – last night received

the green light.

Officials confirmed in Paris

that all five scheduled remaining

games will be played.

The one fixture already called

off – Saturday’s clash between

Ireland and Italy in Dublin – will

be rearranged at a later date.

cricKeT

ENGLAND cricketers are resorting

to nothing more than fist bumps

on and off the field to prevent the

spread of bacteria.

Their two-Test tour to Sri Lanka

is going ahead unhindered by the

coronavirus outbreak,

but they have

ditched

handshakes on

medical advice.

Skipper Joe Root

(left) said: “After the

illnesses that swept

through the squad in South Africa

we are well aware of the

importance of keeping contact to

a minimum. We’ve been given

sound advice from our medical

team.”

fOrmula One

ORGANISERS insist the opening

two rounds of the season will go

ahead as scheduled. The

Australian Grand Prix

is still due to take

place on March 15,

with most F1

crews in

Melbourne this

week. Australian GP

chief executive Andrew

Westacott (above) said: “We are

all systems go. There is no

indication of further travel bans.”

mOTO Gp

AFTER this week’s season curtain-

raiser in Qatar was called off on

Sunday, the race in Thailand on

March 22 has also been scrapped.

darTs

THE PDC is not postponing any

events, but said players should

avoid shaking hands.

Tennis

THE WTA has cancelled next

month’s Kunming and Xi’an

tournaments in China.

BY JOHn crOss

Chief Football Writer

@johncrossmirror

cauTiOn

Ludogorets

players

arriving to

face Inter

Milan in

last week’s

Europa

League

safeTY firsT

The Europa

League clash

between Inter

Milan and

Ludogorets was

played behind

closed doors