Times Crossword 28,259 across down Yesterday’s solution 28,258
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access charge. SP: Spoke 0333 202 3390.1 2 3 4 5 6 7 89 1011 121314 15 161718 192021 222324 25 2627 28STRESS DROGHEDA
R C U E N O I
FANCYPANTS MASH
L E P T A E C
MAGNOL I A FARROW
T Y L A U
STIR HARDCORE
E I P Y I A S
CRACK I NG VIEW
R N I R E
BOFF I N EXORCIST
R A A N C A A
WINGCH I CKENOUT
S I L S E E T
RE INVENT TEMPER1 Ancient lines read back, exit play
without hindrance (5)
4 Observe judge with personality (9)
9 Syrian barrage set to defend area
(9)
10 Minister without portfolio at first
gives serious offence (5)
11 Frankie maybe losing capital in
urgent look for business (5,8)
14 Slaughtered considerable number
(4)
15 Rather crude show about torture
avoiding extremes (10)
18 Actress given to sin welcomed to
cathedral city (10)
19 Suicide in Aeneid accomplished
nothing (4)
21 Cue and hit a second cracking long
shot (7,6)
24 Leader should abandon modest
expedition (5)
25 Italian back among Somalis playing
very high (9)
27 Gap admitting one to underworld
knees-up? (9)
28 Coarse speech succeeded with
Metropolis director (5)1 Tragedy where frenzied exposure
consumes princess (7,3)
2 Edge one may observe in the
Mendips (3)
3 Suffering, as Scrooge might be
described, having lost pounds? (6)
4 Charlie to become informed about
a church blessing (9)
5 Fine deposit: smaller amount
covers nothing (5)
6 Live with a marvellous, sin-free
divine? (8)
7 Scandalous date when soldiers
upset tribe? (11)
8 Petunia picked in prime locations
for Sicilian eminence (4)
12 Shelters at sea protecting
scoundrel, who benefits (11)
13 Where you’d see old boy in shape
— and soon? (6,4)
16 Seriously old walls in home (9)
17 Three different articles on scholar
one detested (8)
20 Which letter is used twice in this
academic submission? (6)
22 Irish with a question, one for Arab
(5)
23 Old Bob made a meal of fish (4)
26 Sound made by duck for princess in
opera? (3)y(7HB7E2*OTSKPT( |||+=!&
Newspapers
support recycling
The recycled paper content of
UK newspapers in 2020 was 67%The Premier League is under renewed
pressure to complete its investigation
into alleged rule breaches by Manches-
ter City after fresh claims that the club
violated financial regulations and the
rules governing youth players.
The investigation has been going on
for more than three years — a High
Court judge last summer expressed
surprise and concern that it had taken
Sp ort
Today: Sweepstake kit with guide to each of the runners
Tomorrow: 12-page pullout on racing’s most popular event
Sweepstake kit and today’s Aintree card, pages 60-61Grand National special
2GM Friday April 8 2022 | the timesWoods back
with a bang
Rick BroadbentTiger Woods returned to
competitive golf with a superb
one-under-par 71 at the Masters
yesterday, then headed directly for
an ice bath. Woods, 46, feared he
might lose a leg after a car crash 14
months ago but said he owed his
remarkable comeback to a gruelling
fitness regime. “I have lots of ice
baths,” he said. “Shivering and
suffering. Awful really, but it allows
me to recover. I thought my routine
was long enough before but now it’s
longer. I said to my team, ‘Get me to
this point and my adrenaline will
carry me, I know how to play.’ ”
Danny Willett, the last
Englishman to win the event, in
2016, shot 69 to be among the early
leaders in the clubhouse.
Reports and analysis, pages 69-71l 8 2022222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222 || thththththththththtthththttththttththtttththttttththttttttttttttttthththtttttttttththtttttttthtttttttttttttttttttttttttttttththhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee eeee eeeeeeeeeeeeetttttttttttitttttttmesMATT SLOCUM/APCity accused over ‘illicit’ payments
Martyn Ziegler Chief Sports Reporter so long to complete — and the German
investigative website Der Spiegel has
now published new documents from
the “Football Leaks” cache and allega-
tions about City’s activities.
It alleges that City paid financial
inducements to secure underage
players, including Jadon Sancho, and
that the Abu Dhabi owners made pay-
ments to the club instead of sponsors,
and secret payments to agents. Der Spie-
gel has also published City’s contract
with their former manager Roberto
Mancini, who was at the club from 2009
to 2013, detailing how more than half of
his basic salary was paid to his company
via a consultancy contract with the Abu
Dhabi-based club Al Jazira.
Der Spiegel states those are the three
main areas of investigation by the Pre-
mier League, which declined to com-
ment when approached by The Times.
City did not respond and the club
have always denied wrongdoing andinsisted that the allegations were based
on hacked emails that were taken out of
context. Those close to the club have
talked of the leaks being orchestrated
attempts to damage City.
One of the main claims surrounds
the alleged secret payments made to
Mancini. His first contract with City
was for a base salary of £1.45 million, net
of tax, but his company was also paid
£1.75 million annually in consultancy
fees for Al Jazira, whom he had to coachfor only four days a year. However,
emails released by Der Spiegel appear to
show that his company, Italy Inter-
national Services (IIS), issued quarterly
invoices to City, who sent the money to
the Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG),
headed by City’s owner Sheikh Man-
sour, which then passed it on to Al
Jazira to finalise the payment.
The leaked documents show that the
deal with Al Jazira was witnessed by
Continued on page 67Willett hit five
birdies in his
round of 69