Clattenburg vs PGMOL

GM sports fans. It’s Monday, 4 March. Don’t forget that Sheffield United play Arsenal tonight at 20:00 GMT. Today’s sports fixtures can be found at the bottom. New to Route One? Sign up here.

All feedback is welcome and read at [email protected].

Head Start

Formula One

Red Bull Driven Apart

Max Verstappen cruised to victory at the season-opening Grand Prix in Bahrain on Saturday, with Red Bull achieving a dominant one-two finish. Rival team principal Toto Wolff described Verstappen as “not just in a different league, but in a different galaxy”.

Despite the celebrations on the track, Red Bull has experienced turmoil off it. Allegations of inappropriate behaviour toward a female employee were made against Red Bull principal Christian Horner. Ahead of the opening Grand Prix, Horner was cleared by the investigation the team’s parent company Red Bull had instigated. 

Only a day after, an anonymous email including 79 screen grabs, predominantly of WhatsApp pictures and images between Horner and the complainant was sent to journalists and key figures in F1. The subject header of the email was “Christian Horner investigation evidence”, yet the validity of the content attached to the email has not been proven. The massive data leak led Jos Verstappen (father of Max) to call for Horner to quit for the sake of the team. “It cannot continue this way, the situation is not good for the team and is driving people apart”. While sources told The Telegraph that Jos was behind the leaked messages, again there is no evidence to suggest this is true.

At the same time, the Dutch paper Telegraaf reported that Max was asked by the president of the FIA Mohammed Ben Sulayem to back Horner publicly. The FIA president was under scrutiny last year for sexism and bullying but the claims were never investigated.

 FOOTBALL 

Clattenburg vs PGMOL

Liverpool remain top of the Premier League by one point after scoring a 99th-minute winner against Nottingham Forest on Saturday. But just a minute before Darwin Nunez’s late goal for Liverpool, referee Paul Tierney made an incorrect decision. Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate went down with a head injury. Upon Konate’s recovery, Tierney wrongfully awarded Liverpool a drop ball in their favour despite Nottingham Forest having possession at the time of the injury. The law states that when the game is stopped the team in possession receives the ball back via a drop ball.

Mark Clattenburg, former Premier League referee, is employed in a new role by Nottingham Forest as a referring consultant and is now set to speak with the PGMOL on Forest’s behalf after being denied access to the referee’s room after the game. This is the first time Clattenburg will act as an intermediary for Forest.

 BOXING 

Dillian Whyte Cleared

Dillian Whyte, 35, has been cleared to resume his boxing career after a contaminated supplement was found to have caused his positive drug test. Whyte failed a drug test before a rematch with Anthony Joshua last August.

To prove his innocence, Whyte declared and tested every item he used in the build-up to the Joshua rematch. More than 45 items were tested, including supplements, toothpaste, shampoo and deodorant. The costs for testing fell upon Whyte who is now seeking millions in damages from the US company that manufactured the supplement. The legal claim will cover the costs of testing and the lost earnings from pulling out of the bout versus Joshua. 

This is the third time Whyte has failed a drug test in his career and the second time he has been cleared. The first was in 2012 when he received a two-year ban after a panel accepted he had not knowingly taken the substance in question. The second ban was in 2019.

Across The Field

BUSINESS: Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy was spotted with Sheikh Abdullah at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as acquisition rumours ignite (More) | Crystal Palace owner John Textor wants football to create ‘World Super League’ rather than an exclusively European competition (More) | Formula 1’s annual revenue increased to $3.2bn in 2023, up from around $2.5bn a year earlier, despite not yet cracking media rights in the US and diversifying its personnel (More) 

CULTURE: Georgina Rodriguez wears Cristiano Ronaldo’s Manchester United kit at the Paris Fashion Week (More) | Shannon Sharpe leaves FOX for ESPN, losing the channel 400,000 viewers per week (More) 

FOR THE GROUP CHAT: On April 6, 1893, Andy Bowen and Jack Burke fought the longest boxing match in history, lasting 110 rounds over seven hours and 19 minutes. The bout ended with a decision of “no contest” after both fighters became too tired and dazed to leave their chairs (Share on WhatsApp)

Your Home Advantage

 HEALTH AND FITNESS

→ Andrew Huberman, Ph.D., says that saltwater mouthwash is the new, most effective tool to maintain oral health. (More)

→ A new study finds that daily fibre supplements can improve over 60s brain function in just 12 weeks. Spearheaded by Dr Mary Li Lochlainn of King’s College London, the study focuses on the benefits of prebiotics like inulin and FOS on cognitive performance. (More)

→ Fasting’s unknown health benefits have been revealed in a new study. The study published in the journal Nature Metabolism showed that three days of fasting changes the proteins that make up the supportive structure of human brain cells. While interesting, it was conducted on a small (12) cohort of people. (More)

Extra Time

Kate Abdo goes ‘Instagram official’ with boyfriend who trains Deontay Wilder.

Lakers’ Lebron James is the first player to reach 40,000 career points during a “bittersweet” night.

Figure skater Alysa Liu, 18, is to come out of retirement and return to competition.

Boxing has adopted UFC’s promotional approach with a 24-minute preview ahead of the Anthony Joshua vs Francis Ngannou bout this Friday.  

Saudi 2034 World Cup logo has been released as they are set to win their uncontested bid.

Sergio Garcia will have to pay a $1 million fine to revive his Ryder Cup career. 

Jude Bellingham scores last minute winner for Real Madrid against Valencia but the whistle is blown before the ball crosses the line.

A 10-year-old daredevil embarked on a quest to try every extreme sport in the world.

Liverpool and Manchester City have nearly identical home records this season.

On Today

FOOTBALL

Premier League: Sheffield United vs Arsenal (20:00 GMT, Sky Sports)

Seria A: Inter vs Genoa (19:45 GMT, TNT)

La Liga: Osasuna v Alaves (20:00 GMT, LaLiga TV)

GOLF

US PGA Tour: Cognizant Cup final round (due to weather delay yesterday)

BASKETBALL

NBA: L. A. Clippers vs Milwaukee Bucks (00:00 GMT, TNT Sports 2)

COMBAT

WWE: Late Night Raw (01:00 GMT, TNT Sports 1)

SNOOKER

World Snooker Tour - World Masters of Snooker (18:00 GMT, Discovery+)

HOCKEY

NHL: Multiple games - (00:00 GMT, Viaplay)

“I just go out to have fun, and great things happen.”

-Francis Ngannou ahead of his fight with Anthony Joshua