Chelsea host Arsenal tonight in a crucial match in the battle for fourth place - and Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta accepts his team's Champions League hopes could hinge on winning at Stamford Bridge. That's one of six matches in the Premier League tonight. On the day John Delaney vacated his position on the Executive Committee of Uefa, the FAI yesterday announced the appointment of former Hibernian Insurance managing director Gary Owens as Interim Chief Executive of the organisation. He has previously been chairman of the Athletics Ireland's board and was involved for a year as a consultant with the High Performance Unit of the Irish Amateur Boxing Association.
Ulster centre Stuart McCloskey's good form has been rewarded as he's been added to Ireland's squad for the Six Nations. In his column this morning (Subscriber Only), Gerry Thornley notes that Saracens were very late to apologise for their repeated cheating. But their siege mentality, he writes, will be called upon again for their upcoming Leinster clash: "as things stand, this quarter-final is Saracens' only remaining competitive match this season and it's their last shot at Europe for at least another three seasons. Grist to the mill for their "no-one likes us but we don't care" mentality. And it's never been truer."
In this week's Pay for Play pages Ruaidhrí Croke asks, does Ireland need to get in-line with the UK's stricter gambling laws? "Last week's announcement in the UK that using a credit card to gamble would be banned from April 14th was the latest step in a concerted effort to tighten gambling regulations . . . while the UK's impending exit from the European Union makes our nearest neighbours seem further away than ever, moving closer to the precedents set by the UK to protect consumers from gambling problems looks like a wise move for Ireland." He's also compiled a guide on how to get to the Champions Cup final in May, without breaking the bank. Read that here.
Meanwhile Maria Sharapova has suffered a first-round defeat against Donna Vekic at the Australian Open. Ongoing shoulder problems limited Sharapova to a handful of tournaments last year and her ranking is projected to drop to world number 366 as a result of the 6-3 6-4 loss to the 19th-seeded Croatian. She has offered no guarantees that she will be back at the tournament next year. Bidding for his second title at Melbourne Park, and 20th Grand Slam trophy to match his great rival Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal defeated Bolivian Hugo Dellien 6-2 6-3 6-0 to reach the second round.
