Saracens and England prop Mako Vunipola has received a four-match ban after being sent off against Gallagher Premiership opponents Newcastle.
Vunipola was dismissed during the closing stages of Saturday’s encounter following a dangerous tackle on Newcastle hooker Bryan Byrne.
He will miss Saracens’ Premiership appointments with Leicester and Exeter, plus Investec Champions Cup games against Bordeaux-Begles and Lyon.
Vunipola, though, will be available for England’s Guinness Six Nations opener against Italy in Rome on February 3 if head coach Steve Borthwick decides to recall him.
And that could prove timely, given current injuries to England’s three World Cup squad loosehead props Ellis Genge, Joe Marler and Bevan Rodd.
Vunipola’s case was heard by an independent disciplinary panel.
“The player admitted that foul play took place, but not that it met the red card threshold,” the Rugby Football Union said.
“The panel upheld the charge and Vunipola received a four-match ban.
“He is ineligible to take part in World Rugby’s coaching intervention programme, having completed it in 2022.”
Had Vunipola not already done that programme, he could have applied on this occasion and then expected to have had one game subtracted from the suspension.
Barcelona defender Marcos Alonso has had surgery to help resolve an on-going back problem, the club have announced.
The 33-year-old Spain left-back has been restricted to just seven appearances for Barca this season, making four starts.
A brief statement on the club’s official website said: “First-team player Marcos Alonso has successfully undergone a procedure to treat his lower back issues.
“The procedure was performed by Dr Amelie Leglise, under the supervision of the club’s medical services, at the Sports Clinic Bordeaux Merignac. The player is out and his recovery will determine his availability.”
Alonso is in his second season with Barca after joining in September 2022 on a free transfer from Chelsea, whom he left by mutual consent with a year left to run on his contract.
His current deal at the Nou Camp expires in June this year, while he is the second Barca player to have back surgery this season following goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s operation last month.
Premier League clubs will lose key players to international duty over the next few weeks.
The Asia Cup in Qatar runs from January 12 to February 10, while the Africa Cup of Nations will be held in Ivory Coast from January 13 to February 11.
Here the PA news agency looks at how those tournaments could impact domestic football during a busy time of Premier League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup action, and discover who are the big winners and losers.
Oh Mo, Salah’s away
Study the stats and it is easy to see why Liverpool fans have every right to be concerned. Mohamed Salah tops the list for Premier League goal involvements with 22 – 14 goals and eight assists. Salah registered a 150th Premier League goal for Liverpool with a brace in the New Year’s Day win over Newcastle, and his absence comes with the Reds top of the pile, in the semi-final of the Carabao Cup and ready to get their FA Cup campaign underway. Just for good measure, Liverpool will be without Japan midfielder Wataru Endo over the next few weeks.
Spurs without Son
Tottenham have maintained their unexpected title bid despite a lengthy injury list, but can they cope without talismanic skipper Son Heung-min? The South Korea captain heads to the Asia Cup with Spurs fifth in the Premier League, a point behind neighbours Arsenal and Manchester City and six adrift of Liverpool. Son’s importance is underlined by his 12 league goals – only Salah and Erling Haaland have scored more – while Spurs will also be weakened by AFCON-bound midfielders Pape Sarr and Yves Bissouma.
Premier League losers
If Liverpool and Tottenham are missing headline acts, there are plenty of other losers. Manchester United will be without their first-choice goalkeeper, Cameroon’s Andre Onana, and Turkey international Altay Bayindir is set to make his debut in his absence. Wolves will also feel the loss of South Korea’s Hwang Hee-chan, their 10-goal top scorer, while Antoine Semenyo (Bournemouth), Yoane Wissa (Brentford), Nicolas Jackson (Chelsea), Jordan Ayew (Crystal Palace), Alex Iwobi (Fulham) and Mohammed Kudus (West Ham) are among high-profile AFCON players, while Nottingham Forest have no less than six players at the tournament.
Burnley boost
South Africa striker Lyle Foster will miss AFCON as he focuses on his well being. Foster has received specialist care for his mental health this season and did not play for eight weeks before returning last month. Burnley boss Vincent Kompany said Foster was not ready to travel to represent his country. But he will be available for the Clarets, and that spells good news as the 23-year-old scored his first goal since his return to action at Aston Villa on Saturday.
Champions City and Newcastle unaffected
As well as Burnley in their battle against relegation, champions Manchester City and Newcastle do not have any players away on international duty. Pep Guardiola’s City will hope to take advantage of a Salah-less Liverpool, as Arsenal cope without Egypt midfielder Mohamed Elneny and Japan defender Takehiro Tomiyasu. Aston Villa have only lost Burkina Faso’s Bertrand Traore. Newcastle boss Eddie Howe will be relieved his squad has not been weakened further as he seeks to engineer a New Year revival on Tyneside amid worrying injury issues.
Novak Djokovic’s preparations for his Australian Open title defence were dealt a blow in an injury-affected defeat to Alex de Minaur in the United Cup in Perth.
Djokovic lost 6-4 6-4 to world number 12 De Minaur as Australia took a 1-0 lead in their quarter-final against Serbia in the mixed team event before sealing a 2-0 victory.
Djokovic was below his best and struggled with an on-going problem with his right wrist, twice requiring treatment from the physio.
The world number one needed a medical time-out for the issue in his previous United Cup match against the Czech Republic’s Jiri Lehecka, which he won in three sets on Tuesday.
The Serbian was treated after holding serve to lead 4-3 in the opening set and again after De Minaur had broken to edge 5-4 up.
Despite Djokovic’s fitness concerns, De Minaur produced an impressive performance to seal one of the biggest wins of his career in just over an hour-and-a-half.
De Minaur said in his on-court interview after the match: “It’s extra special. Novak is an unbelievable competitor and what he’s done for the sport is pretty special.
“When you go up against Novak you have to go out and enjoy it and back yourself and no matter what keep fighting until the end. Today was my day and I’m happy that I was able to get the win.”
Ajla Tomljanovic followed De Minaur’s win by beating Serbia’s Natalija Stevanovic 6-1 6-1 to clinch Australia’s semi-final place.
England spinner Sophie Ecclestone has been shortlisted for women’s T20 player of the year in the International Cricket Council’s 2023 awards.
The left-armer, the world’s number one ranked bowler in both white-ball formats, claimed 23 wickets in 11 games last year at an average of 10.60 despite spending four months out with a dislocated shoulder.
The 24-year-old was the top wicket-taker at the T20 World Cup in February with 11, but could not inspire England beyond the semi-final stage.
She is up against three high-class all-rounders, with Australia’s Ellyse Perry, West Indian Hayley Mathews and Sri Lanka’s Chamari Athapaththu also nominated.
Ecclestone’s team-mate Lauren Bell is also up for an award after making the cut for women’s emerging player of the year. The tall seamer established herself as a first-choice across all three forms, picking up a total of 22 wickets.
She goes up against Scotland’s Darcey Carter, who made 224 runs and took 13 T20 wickets in her first six months as a full international, Australia’s Phoebe Litchfield and Bangladesh’s Marufa Akter.
The men’s T20 shortlist included 2022 winner Suryakumar Yadav of India, New Zealand’s Mark Chapman, Zimbabwe’s Sikandar Raza and Uganda’s Alpesh Ramjani – who helped his side qualify for their first ever World Cup.
Gerald Coetzee (South Africa), Yashasvi Jaiswal (India), Dilshan Madushanka (Sri Lanka) and Rachin Ravindra (New Zealand) compete for the men’s emerging player. Nominees for Test and ODI awards will be released later this week.
Nigel Twiston-Davies has paid tribute to his star mare Zambella after her retirement from racing.
Owned by Simon Munir and Isaac Souede, Zambella joined the Twiston-Davies team in 2019 and would go on to win nine times in the owners’ famous double green silks.
Winner of 12 of her 29 starts overall, she struck eight times at Listed level with her final outing coming when pulled up in search of a third victory in Doncaster’s Yorkshire Silver Vase Mares’ Chase.
Twiston-Davies said: “She has been brilliant, she jumped beautifully and was so genuine and it is a great shame she has got to retire, but she will breed some lovely foals I think.”
Zambella also won the Houghton Mares’ Chase for three successive years and by a combined winning distance of over 35 lengths such was her dominance in a race that was twice ran at Aintree when rescheduled from its usual home of Carlisle.
She competed three times at the Cheltenham Festival in the Mrs Paddy Power Mares’ Chase, falling when travelling strongly three from the finish in 2021 before returning to Prestbury Park to finish fourth in the following two years.
“She was the best of the British but then the Irish would come over and beat her at the Festival,” continued Twiston-Davies.
“But otherwise she was best of the Brits and there are lots of highlights. We hope we can find another one.”
Rory McIlroy has conceded he was “too judgemental” in his criticisms of those who joined the breakaway LIV Golf Tour.
McIlroy took a strident position against the big-money venture, which tempted a host of top names with lavish paydays and disrupted the established order of the PGA and European tours.
The Northern Irishman became the de facto voice of opposition to the project, which has continued to divide the sport, and said during last year’s Ryder Cup in Rome that the likes of Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter would miss being part of the European team more than they would be missed.
Now, with talks ongoing to agree a merger between the rival parties, McIlroy has taken a tentative step towards rapprochement.
Speaking to Sky Bet’s Stick to Football podcast, he said: “I think at this point, I was maybe a little judgemental of the guys who went to LIV Golf at the start.
“I think it was a bit of a mistake on my part because I now realise that not everyone is in my position or in Tiger Wood’s position. I can’t judge people for making that decision, so if I regret anything, it was probably being too judgemental at the start.
“I wouldn’t say I’ve lost the fight against LIV, but I’ve just accepted the fact that this is part of our sport now.
“At the end of the day, we’re professional golfers and we play to make a living and make money, so I understand it.”
McIlroy remains unhappy at those who criticised the established tours after leaving, but did accept that the Saudi intervention did shine a light on problems that had gone overlooked for too long.
“I don’t begrudge anyone for going and taking the money and doing something different, but don’t try to burn the place down on your way out,” he added.
“When people have played that for 15 or 20 years, and then they jump to LIV and start talking crap about where they’ve come from, that is what bothers me, because they wouldn’t be in this position if they didn’t have the career they’ve had so far.
“I think what LIV has done… it’s exposed some of the flaws in the system and hopefully golf will have a look at more.
“If we’re going to ask these people (sponsors) for so much money, we need to be able to guarantee them what they’re getting.
“Part of the stuff that we’ve been trying to do for the last two years is figure out how we can try and bring golf back together again and learn from some of the things that have happened.”
Jon Rahm became the latest high-profile LIV acquisition within weeks of helping Europe to victory in a Ryder Cup triumph in Rome, a move McIlroy chalked up as calculated move against the backdrop of negotiations between the rival tours.
“I thought it was a smart business move from Jon – it’s opportunistic,” he said.
“(He) hasn’t got any of the heat for going like the first guys got for going.
“Jon is a smart guy and I think he sees things coming together at some point so he’s thinking that he’ll take the up-front money, which is his prerogative, and if things come together he’ll play LIV for a year then come back to play on the tour.”
Luke Littler has been “smashing them all to bits” on the dartboard since the age of nine.
Littler’s incredible run to the World Championship final at the age of 16 has transcended events on the oche and shocked the entire sporting world, but not St Helens Darts Academy co-founder Karl Holden.
Even esteemed French sports publication L’Equipe, a title not known for its darts coverage, devoted space to hail the teenage sensation after his semi-final demolition of former world champion Rob Cross at Alexandra Palace on Tuesday evening.
Littler’s appetite for hitting 180s and big checkouts on the big London stage are even greater than his well-documented love of kebabs.
But, while his name was barely known beyond his home town of Warrington before the start of the world championship last month, this is no overnight success story.
“He has been coming here since he was nine. We are all very proud,” Holden told the PA news agency.
“When he first came as a kid you could see he was very special and he just got better and better. Every year he was a bit better than the last.
“We put him up to the Under-14s when he was nine, but three months after that he was smashing all them to bits.
“He hardly lost so we said, ‘What do we now?’ We put him into the elite group, which is our best players, and he had just turned 10.”
St Helens Darts Academy members are planning a party on Wednesday to support Littler in his final showdown with Luke Humphries, his fellow Englishman 12 years his senior and the new world number one.
The pair last met in quieter surroundings at a Hayling Island competition in 2019 when Littler was only 12.
Holden said: “Obviously he puts a lot of hours in and we had to tell him to stop coming as he was so good.
“He needed to be playing at a better standard. He was good enough to win men’s tournaments at 13 or 14. And he did. His ability is second to none.
“The best players reach a level in their twenties that he’s reached at 16.
“We’ve produced some good players. Probably about 40 county players, but Luke is something else.
“We’re all behind Luke. It’s not just St Helens.
“Luke is a Warrington man through and through, a big Wire (Warrington rugby league) supporter, and the whole of Warrington is right behind him.”
Littler is known as ‘Luke The Nuke’ and the sale of darts with his name on has exploded in St Helens and Warrington.
So, too, has interest in darts at Padgate Academy, where Littler – who has been regularly serenaded by fans at Alexandra Palace that he has “got school in the morning” – sat his GCSEs last year.
“He’s putting darts on the map at the moment but he’s already done that here at the school,” headteacher Adam McMillan told The Guardian.
“He’s left such an incredible legacy at the school, lots of students have been inspired by him and gone on to be interested in darts.
“Through his sponsors, we were able to get dartboards, and we set up a darts club, which was really well attended. Many students then bought their own dartboards.
“He’s left his mark here but I think the wider impact will be seen in schools across the UK. We’ll see some sort of legacy from all this.”
West Indies cricket has again found itself in the firing line, as Australian Test legend Steve Waugh has called for the intervention of cricket's world governing body, International Cricket Council (ICC), to salvage the credibility of the game's longest format, after South Africa followed the Caribbean selector’s lead and opted for an understrength Test side.
West Indies recently named seven uncapped players in a weakened 15-man squad for two Tests against Australia later this month, while South Africa also selected seven debutants for their two-Test series in New Zealand next month.
This, as South Africa’s top players have been allowed to focus their efforts on the shorter format, as the New Zealand tour clashes with the country’s premier Twenty20 domestic tournament.
"It's going to happen if the South African Cricket Board are any indication of the future, keeping their best players at home," Waugh said.
"If I was New Zealand, I wouldn't even play the series. I don't know why they're even playing. Why would you when it shows a lack of respect for New Zealand cricket?
"It's pretty obvious what the problem is — the West Indies aren't sending their full-strength side [to Australia this summer]. They haven't picked a full-strength Test team for a couple of years now.
"Someone like Nicholas Pooran is really a Test batsman who doesn't play Test cricket. Jason Holder, probably their best player, is not playing now. Even Pakistan didn't send a full side [to Australia],” he argued.
Both Holder, the Caribbean side's leading all-rounder, and batting all-rounder Kyle Mayers, skipped the Australia tour to explore T20 franchise opportunities.
While he acknowledged there is little financial incentive for smaller nations to play Test cricket, Waugh called for a standardised fee to be implemented by the ICC.
"If the ICC or someone doesn't step in shortly then Test cricket doesn't become Test cricket because you're not testing yourself against the best players,” Waugh said.
"I understand why players don't come; they're not getting paid properly. I don't understand why ICC or the top countries who are making a lot of money don't just have a regulation set fee for Test matches which is a premium so [that] people are incentivised to play Test Cricket. Otherwise, they'll just play T10 or T20.
"The public are the ones who are going to suffer because it's not the full side playing so it's not Test cricket,” he added.
Luke Littler’s teenage dream concludes when he faces Luke Humphries in the World Championship final on Wednesday evening.
The 16-year-old is the youngest ever player to reach the decider in a remarkable Alexandra Palace journey, but he will face the toughest test yet against the new world number one.
Here, the PA news agency takes a look at how the players match up.
Routes to final
The pair have had differing journeys to the final. Despite his tender years, Littler has had the most serene path, dropping just six sets. He proved he is already at a level to compete with the very best as he took out UK Open champion Andrew Gilding, walloped five-time world champion Raymond van Barneveld and then beat 2018 title winner Rob Cross in stunning fashion.
Humphries’ route has been a little rockier as he was taken to a final-set decider against Ricardo Pietreczko in the third round and then needed a sudden-death leg to beat Joe Cullen in the fourth. He looks to be coming into form just at the right time, though, as he whitewashed Scott Williams 6-0 in the semi-final, producing the 10th best three-dart average ever at the Alexandra Palace, with six 100+ checkouts.
Big scoring
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The teenager created history in his first-round win over Christian Kist by recording the highest average of a debutant at the World Championship and that set the tone for a high-scoring performance. Littler’s three-dart tournament average is 101.82, he has thrown 50 180s and crucially is operating at a 45 per cent success rate on checkouts.
Humphries’ average is slightly down at 99.33, but he has also thrown a half-century of maximums and has taken out 41 per cent of his double attempts.
Unbeaten streaks
Both players are in supreme form and are on long unbeaten streaks. Humphries is the form player in the world and extended his winning run to 18 when he beat Williams to reach the final. It was October 29 when ‘Cool Hand’ last lost, going down to James Wade in the European Championship. He won the Players Championship a week later, which was his third major title in six weeks.
Littler is also used to winning and is unbeaten in 21 matches going back to August in PDC events, which included him winning the World Youth Championship.
Rapid rises
Humphries’ formidable display against Williams in the semi-final saw him climb to the top of the world rankings, leapfrogging Michael van Gerwen and Michael Smith. It is reward for his stunning form over the last couple of months, where he won his first major titles. His rise has been rapid, but Littler’s has been meteoric.
The teen headed into the tournament ranked 164 in the world but is already up to 31st. If he can get over the line in the final, he will climb into the top 10.
Luke Littler swept into the world darts final with the support of his beloved Warrington Wolves ringing in his ears.
Super League stars Josh Thewlis and Matty Ashton – as well as the club’s mascot ‘Wolfie’ – were present at Ally Pally to cheer the 16-year-old through his emphatic semi-final win over Rob Cross.
The duo, who presented Littler with a Wolves shirt emblazoned with ‘Littler 180’ on the back, were forced to zip straight back up the M6 for the start of post-season training on Wednesday.
But they marvelled at Littler’s composure on the oche, with Thewlis telling the PA news agency: “It must be pretty daunting for a 16-year-old to be up there on the big stage on his own.
“When I was 16 I was still turning up to training feeling star-struck by everyone, but I had 12 other blokes with me on the field who I knew would be able to help me out.
“Somehow Luke seems to be taking it all in his stride. Any other person in his position would be quite nervous, but he’s so chilled out and genuinely excited by it all.”
Littler has posed with a series of Premier League footballers during his run to the Ally Pally final, but his heart lies with the Wolves where he has been a season-ticket holder for the last four years.
And, having recently renewed his regular seat for the 2024 campaign, he appears to have no intention of using some of his six-figure winnings to splash out on a £15,000 executive box to watch the games in comfort.
Wolves and England star Ashton is no stranger to live darts action and often heads to the big events with his brothers when his rugby league schedule allows.
Ashton, a regular at the World Matchplay tournament in Blackpool, also hailed Littler’s composure and the impact he is likely to make on his home town, where sporting heroes – Wolves excepted – are in short supply.
“It’s great to have someone from the town and so close to the club doing so well,” said Ashton. “Darts is a massive sport and the whole place is really rooting for him.
“When I was 16 I don’t think I would have coped. I’m 25 years old now and I’m still getting used to some sort of media attention. What Luke is experiencing is something else and we’re all so pleased for him.”
Stephen Curry scored 36 points in an impressive display as the Golden State Warriors snapped a three-game losing streak with a 121-115 victory over the Orlando Magic.
Coach Steve Kerr praised Curry for an "amazing" performance on Tuesday as Golden State improved to 16-17 with a much-needed home win.
The Warriors had lost consecutive games to the Denver Nuggets, Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks until Curry intervened with a big night which included some crucial plays in the fourth quarter.
Curry also had six assists and four steals, while Jonathan Kuminga scored 19 points and Klay Thompson added 15 for the Warriors.
"Steph was amazing," said Kerr. "But Steph is always amazing. Even when he doesn't score 36 points.
"Just the attention he draws defensively, what he does to an opposing defense, the way he opens up the floor, he's a remarkable player.
"He really got himself going on a night when we needed it."
The Warriors will host the Nuggets on Thursday as their seven-game homestand continues, with Chris Paul relieved to get back to winning ways ahead of that clash with the defending NBA champions.
"It was huge, we have been struggling to get wins," said Paul.
"It is hard to win in this league. That team [Orlando] is a young team, well coached. They've been playing hard all season long, so this was a good win for us."
The Magic are on the road against the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday and are fifth in the Eastern Conference after the loss to Golden State.
Paolo Banchero had 27 points and 12 rebounds with Franz Wagner adding 25 points, but Orlando fell to 19-14 on the season and 7-10 in road games.
"They have an elite shot maker and Hall of Fame player in Steph Curry – that is what we got," said coach Jamahl Mosley.
Fergal O’Brien’s Crambo could head straight to the Cheltenham Festival after doing his connections proud in the Long Walk over the festive period.
The seven-year-old claimed Grade One glory at Ascot on December 23 after coming out on top in a titanic tussle with staying stalwart Paisley Park.
The extended three-mile contest was rightly hailed as one of best of the races season so far and victory was particularly meaningful to former jockey Noel Fehily, who bred the winner and is the racing manager to owner Chris Giles.
Fehily also did the early work with Crambo and takes him for pre-training ahead of each season, meaning his involvement with the promising stayer runs even deeper still.
The Saddler Maker gelding is currently a 10-1 chance for the Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle at the Festival in March and may not run again beforehand.
“Crambo is doing well, I’m presuming he’ll go straight to Cheltenham, but I’ve yet to talk to Fergal about it,” Fehily said.
“It was great to see him do that, that was a mighty race between him and Paisley Park – we were very happy with him.
“I bred him and I had the mare, so it’s lovely to see one you’ve known from day one go and win at that level.
“We broke him, pre-trained him, we pre-train him every year before he goes back to Fergal’s.
“He’s an absolute joy to deal with, he’s a dude of a horse. He goes out, does his thing, he’s so straightforward.”
Steven Naismith revealed he is hopeful of tying down Alan Forrest on a new contract after seeing the winger become “a big player” for Hearts.
The 27-year-old joined from Livingston on a two-year deal in the summer of 2022.
Naismith has been pleased with Forrest’s form recently and felt he was the best player on the pitch in Tuesday’s 2-1 win away to his former club.
The former Ayr attacker won a penalty, which was missed by Lawrence Shankland, and then set up the two goals for Kenneth Vargas and Shankland.
“For me, Al was man of the match,” said manager Naismith. “He’s somebody who has had to be patient but he’s got really good attributes.
“I’ve questioned his big moments – can we get them more consistent? He’s worked as hard as anybody in the squad to make sure he gets his opportunity and he’s done it.
“Hopefully he will sign a new contract soon. He’s a big player for us.”
Another attacking player to come to the fore for Hearts recently is Vargas, who made it two goals in two games on Tuesday after scoring only once in his previous 22 matches for the Jambos.
Naismith is pleased with the composure he has shown for his strikes against Ross County and Livingston.
“Kenneth is someone who has suffered from being used a lot, he’s done a lot of hard yards that nobody enjoys or appreciates,” said Naismith.
“People have probably expected a bit more. He’s got real quality, he’s impacted the last two games.
“You can teach someone to be a bit better at finishing but when it’s about needing that calmness when you’re through on goal – you see so many going through and hitting the keeper or putting it wide – he’s got that calmness.
“He’s got an understanding of how to use his body. He’s still young, he’s inexperienced, he’s inconsistent but he will be a really good player.”
Vargas, 21, is currently on a season-long loan from Costa Rican club Herediano, with Hearts having an option to purchase the attacker. Naismith is open to making the deal permanent.
“The way the deal’s structured there is no rush,” said the Hearts boss. “We are constantly talking to his representatives and the club he has come from and everyone is comfortable with the situation.
“At the moment I think he is a really good prospect and someone we need to look at potentially keeping, but it needs to be right.”
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