PPE: Penalty & Pandemic Expert

GM sports fans. It’s Thursday, Mar. 7. Don’t forget the Europa League and Arnold Palmer Invitational are on tonight. First time reading this? Sign up here.

If you attempted to use the referral link yesterday, you may have encountered a problem. In partnership with Jimmy’s Coffee, we will be sharing an exclusive referral code with all those affected so you can enjoy a coffee with R1! We are adding this to our referral programme in the coming days. 

All feedback will be read at [email protected].

Head Start

FOOTBALL

MP Dubs Matt Le Tissier COVID Expert

Southampton’s record goal-scorer, Matt Le Tissier finds himself at the centre of a COVID-19 debate after being named an expert by MP Andrew Bridgen. 

Andrew Bridgen who is an independent MP for North West Leicestershire shared a letter he sent to the Metropolitan Police, accusing the government of murder over the COVID-19 vaccine programme. He is calling for the police to meet with a list of experts, one of which was the Premier League legend Le Tissier.

During lockdown, Le Tissier took to Twitter (now, X) to express his view on COVID-19, which gained him a reputation as a conspiracy theorist. This led to his departure from Sky Sports, where he had been a long-standing pundit. 

Le Tissier’s inclusion in the letter to the police has resulted in the public questioning the credibility of Bridgen’s “list of experts”. Understandably.

FOOTBALL

Liverpool Compete Off The Field

Liverpool’s commercial income has doubled in five years. As per the club’s latest accounts, commercial income has reached £272 million in total and is now Liverpool’s biggest source of cash for the first time. Only Manchester City and Manchester United trump Liverpool’s commercial figures.

The man responsible for the increase, Ben Latty, tells The Athletic the three reasons for the rise: (1) Liverpool have been successful on the pitch, winning the Champions League and Premier League in the past five years, (2) Liverpool are the most-watched team in the world, and (3) the Reds have signed long-term contracts with blue-chip US companies including Google, Peloton and Carlsberg. 

US companies are keen to partner with Premier League teams because weekend afternoon matches in England kick off during the US morning. This means football is not competing with US sports, providing huge potential for the Premier League in the US and worldwide.

FOOTBALL

Ancelotti’s Jail Time A Possibility

It has been hard to avoid talk on “tax” following the UK’s Budget announcement yesterday. But Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti will be trying to do just that after Spanish prosecutors have accused the Italian of avoiding 1 million euros in taxes on image rights revenues. The notoriously heavy-handed Spanish prosecutor is seeking a prison term of four years and nine months for Ancelotti.

Specifically, the four-time Champions League-winning manager is accused of using shell companies to hide parts of his income in 2014 and 2015.

Whether or not he’ll serve time is uncertain. Top football figures have found themselves in similar positions without facing a sentence. Lionel Messi was handed a 21-month prison sentence that was later reduced to a fine and Cristiano Ronaldo received a 23-month sentence and a fine (£15.4 million) but did not serve jail time because prison sentences of less than two years in Spain are often released on probation.

But with the prosecutor seeking more than 4-months of jail time, there is a greater chance the Italian manager will serve time.

We’ve partnered with one of the biggest coffee brands Jimmy’s Coffee to give you an exclusive discount on all their products site-wide. Just refer 1 friend, colleague or family member to receive your exclusive code.

This is not a paid sponsorship. Referrals are the only way we grow so we’re finding ways to give back for your support. Happy sipping!

Across The Field

MORE FOOTBALL NEWS: Southampton have postponed Wednesday’s Championship fixture with Preston North End following a major fire next to their St Mary’s ground (More) | Jude Bellingham has been suspended for two games by La Liga for showing contempt towards the referee (More) | Real Madrid say they will appeal the suspension on grounds that it is “unfair”.

ALSO IN THE NEWS: Max Verstappen says that father Jos is “not a liar” but stopped short of agreeing that team principal Christian Horner should quit before the situation “exploded” (More) | Jonny Bairstow is set to play in his 100th Test cap, becoming the 17th Englishman to reach the milestone (More)

BUSINESS: Blackburn Rovers has cost Indian owners £263 million since purchase and they have little hope of it ever being recouped (More) |  Dartmouth College men’s basketball team has voted to form a union, a first in the multibillion-dollar US college sports industry that could pave the way for student athletes to become employees of their institutions (More)

Your Home Advantage

 HEALTH AND FITNESS

→ Every step above 2,200 steps - up to 10,000 - a day reduces the risk of early death, a study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. Experts found the lowest risk of early death was among people who took 9000 to 10,500 steps a day (More)

→ Plastic food packaging can leach into food and disrupt hormones estrogen and testosterone, according to a study published in Environmental Science and Technology (More)

→ Despite 20 years of failure in major HIV vaccine trials, researchers say recent scientific advances have likely put them on the right track to develop a highly effective vaccine. Nearly $17 billion has been spent on HIV vaccine research from 2000 to 2021, with the number of new infections each year falling by nearly half in the last two decades (More)

→  TheInternational Journal of Sports Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism has found recovery and exercise performance are not significantly different between fast food and sports supplements (More)

 DOWNTIME

→ Anthony Joshua’s trainer reveals why he only uses footage and not statistics to advise fighters (Watch)

→ Ole Gunnar Solskjaer appears on Stick to Football and discusses his regrets in signing Cristiano Ronaldo and why Manchester United missed out on signing Bellingham, Rice and Haaland (Watch)

→ Is women’s football closing in on its first $1 million transfer? (Long Read)

Extra Time

James Maddison likes to be the main man at a roast dinner.

Anthony Joshua, Cristiano Ronaldo, Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou all meet up for a historic photo.

Harry Kane exposes Jamie Carragher on CBS. 

Francis Ngannou didn’t hold back on his thoughts on Tyson Fury in the crowd.

World Table Tennis Series - Grand Smash highlight.

Chito Vera and Sean O’Malley’s awkward encounter ahead of their fight on Saturday.

On Today

FOOTBALL

Europa League RO16: Sparta Prague v Liverpool (17:45 GMT, TNT Sports 1)

Europa League RO16: Roma v Brighton (17:45 GMT, TNT Sports 2)

Europa League RO16: Multiple Matches (17:45 and 20:00 GMT, TNT Sports 2)

Europa Conference League RO16: Multiple Matches (17:45 and 20:00 GMT, TNT Sports 2)

GOLF

PGA: Arnold Palmer Invitational (15:00 and 19:00 GMT, Sky Sports Golf)

TENNIS

ATP: Indian Wells, Round of 128 (18:30 GMT, Sky Sports Tennis)

RACING

Formula 2: Series Saudi Arabia (09:50 and 15:00 GMT, Sky Sports F1)

BASKETBALL

NBA: Dallas Mavericks v Miami Heat (00:30 GMT, TNT Sports 2)

NBA: Denver Nuggets v Boston Celtics (03:30 GMT, TNT Sports 2)

CRICKET

Test Series: New Zealand v Australia (22:00 GMT, TNT Sports 4)

Test Series: India v England (04:00 GMT, TNT Sports 1)

HOCKEY

NHL: Multiple Matches (00:00 GMT, Viaplay)

*EST -5. PST -8. CET +1. CST +8. JST +9.

“I always admire how much you got out of your talent…”

-Ole Gunnar Solskjær on The Stick to Football podcast speaking to Gary Neville