Berlin (AFP) – Bayern Munich boss Hansi Flick admitted on Friday that he is unsure whether his players are match fit ahead of the Bundesliga restart this weekend.

Defending champions Bayern hold a four-point lead ahead of Sunday’s game at Union Berlin, as German football returns behind closed doors following a two-month suspension due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Bayern, like Germany’s other clubs, only received the go-ahead to resume full team training last week.

“We don’t know if the team can hold out over 90 minutes,” said Flick. “We have trained well and played three matches of 20 minutes each last Sunday.

“They were played at a very high intensity, but we don’t know clearly where we stand.

“We have to just deal with the situation.”

Flick welcomed the decision by the German league to approve plans to allow five substitutions instead of the usual three, but hopes teams do not abuse the temporary rule change.

“I have two more options, so I’m very happy, especially in this situation,” Flick said.

“I only hope it is not used to waste time.

“We will use it to replace a tired player. In the weeks with a lot of games it’s great.”

Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge claims the Bundesliga will have a global audience of “billions around the world” this weekend, with the English, Spanish and Italian leagues still suspended.

“More than 200 countries will be watching,” Flick said. “So we have an enormously large audience and we want to deliver a top performance.

“The whole world will be looking at Germany, to see how we get it done.

“If we manage to ensure that the season continues, it will send a signal to all leagues.”

A leading German sports doctor has said that footballers could potentially have their careers ended by lung damage if they contract the coronavirus.

Flick said his players have the chance to sit out games, but only the injured trio of Philippe Coutinho, Corentin Tolisso and Niklas Suele are unavailable for Sunday.

“I’m not afraid for my players. We raised the issue,” he said.

“If a player had doubts, he could have decided not to play – without consequences. But they are all in, except for those who are injured.”

Bayern are bidding for an eighth consecutive league title, but could have their lead trimmed to one point by kick-off if second-placed Borussia Dortmund beat Schalke in Saturday’s Ruhr derby.

“We have nine match days – it’s a power season, a small tournament,” he said, before acknowledging the threat posed by a Union outfit who have already beaten Dortmund and Borussia Moenchengladbach at home this term.

“(We will face) the same thing as if they had their fans behind them – an aggressive team with a direct approach to goal.”

NRL boss Todd Greenberg is keen to make a decision before February 14 on whether Maika Sivo and Josh Reynolds will be stood down ahead of the NRL Nines, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.

The Wests Tigers are awaiting a decision from the league on Reynolds to determine if the club will have the funds in the salary cap to sign a new hooker. Moses Mbye is currently training in the position, but no decision will be made until Reynolds’ fate has been decided.

Sivo and Reynolds returned to training in the new year unsure of whether they would even be able to play in round one with looming court cases after both were facing serious charges.

With such a big decision for the league, the NRL have made it clear that they would like the issues resolved before the new season arrives.

Per the league’s policy, players charged with an offence that have a maximum jail sentence of 11 years or more are required to be stood down until the case is resolved in court, with Greenberg also having the power to stand down players who have lesser charges depending on the incident.

Reynolds will return to court on July 23 after pleading not guilty to a domestic violence charge where Reynolds allegedly assaulted his ex-partner leading to bruises on her right arm and left leg.

Eels winger Sivo will return to court on February 17 (he has been excused from attending) after being charged with indecent assault after he reportedly touched the skirt of a waitress in Fiji on Boxing Day.

Both Sivo and Reynolds’ alleged offences are less than 11 years in jail, but with both cases involving women, being stood down by Greenberg seems a likely decision.

In 2019, Greenberg stood down Manly centre Dylan Walker and Panthers player Tyrone May because of their charges despite both players facing charges of carried sentences less than 11 years.

May pleaded guilty to recording four sex tapes without the women’s consent in them, while Walker faced allegations of domestic violence.

The NRL Nines pre-season tournament will be held in Perth on the 14th and 15th of February, and the league will tell Sivo and Reynolds of their fates before then and if both will be available for round one.

Over the next month, the Rugby League’s players union will be in constant communication with the league in regards to the clarity of the stand down rule in the hopes of being able to understand the guidelines and fully comprehend the circumstances where players will ultimately be affected by the stand down policy.

Four Upson County students were arrested Saturday after being caught smoking marijuana, according to a Thomaston police incident report.

The report says one patrolman notified another officer of four suspicious vehicles and six people around them at Greatest Generation Park around 7:45 p.m.

A police canine trained to detect narcotics did a ‘free air sniff’ and a police sergeant found a plastic bag with a ‘green leafy substance’ behind one of the trucks, the report says.

The report says officers found plastic baggies with marijuana residue in tone vehicle.

After the searches, Rodney Raines, Ja’Corey Smith, Hamilton Harrison and Otis Walker were all arrested and charged with possession of marijuana and criminal trespassing, the report says.

Raines, Smith, and Walker are all listed on the Upson-Lee basketball team’s roster. Harrison is a student at the high school, but is not on the team.

According to the school’s Code of Conduct, student athletes are immediately suspended from all extracurricular participation and from attending any extracurricular activities until the investigation concludes.

The team is scheduled to play in the AAAA GHSA basketball championship against St. Pius X on Saturday, March 10, at Georgia Tech.

© 2018 WMAZ

Mumbai: India skipper Virat Kohli and his predecessor Mahendra Singh Dhoni are among the top players who are set to be retained by their respective IPL franchises, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and comeback outfit Chennai Super Kings (CSK) respectively.

Read: Indian Premier League 2018: Which cricketers should teams retain before big auction?

 

The retention list of players is to be announced by BCCI here on Thursday.

Read: From Right to Match to player retention, all details of Indian Premier League 2018

Kohli, yet to taste a triumph as captain in IPL in spite of his extremely successful run as national captain, and 2011 World Cup-winning skipper Dhoni are expected to be shoo-ins when RCB and CSK decide which players they are retaining in the squad for the next three seasons – 2018 to 2020.

Read: IPL 2018: Player retention event to be broadcast live on Star Sports

Among other top Indians who are almost certain to be retained are Rohit Sharma, who led Mumbai Indians to their title triumph last season, exciting MI all-rounder Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, who is set to go back to CSK after playing for Gujarat Lions over the last two seasons, and Australian pocket dynamo David Warner for Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Check out: IPL 2018: Auction, dates, venue, player retention and all you need to know

Another franchise making a return after serving a two- year suspension, Rajasthan Royals (RR), will certainly go for Australia captain Steve Smith, considering the form he has been in.

Each team can opt for up to five players by virtue of a combination of Player Retention (Pre Player Auction) and Right to Match (RTM) (during the Player Auction), according to the decision of the IPL GC at its meeting in New Delhi on December 6.

Read: Thala and Chinna thala are back! CSK to retain MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina for IPL 2018

There can be a maximum of either three retentions or three RTMs at the discretion of the franchises and if there is no retention before player auction, then franchises can have up to three RTMs, as per the norms put in place by the IPL GC.

The break-up is: Maximum number of 3 capped Indian players, 2 overseas players and 2 uncapped Indian players each.

The player pool available for CSK and RR for retention/RTM will be the players who played for them respectively in IPL 2015 and who were part of Rising Pune Supergiant and GL squads in IPL 2017, as per the norms.

The salary cap has also been raised. For the coming season, it’s fixed at Rs 80 crore and will increase to Rs 82 and 85 crore respectively in 2019 and 2020.

The minimum spend has been fixed at 75 per cent of the salary cap for each season.

The player retention price guideline for salary cap charged has also been set as Rs 33 crore (for 3 players pre auction), Rs 21 crore (for 2 players pre auction) and Rs 12.5 crore (for 1 player retained pre-auction).

Each squad can consist of a maximum number of 25 players (up to 8 overseas players) and a minimum of 18.

An Ireland and Ulster rugby star accused of two counts of rape has had one of the charges withdrawn ahead of his trial.

Stuart Olding, 24, will now face a single rape charge when the case against him and club and international team-mate Paddy Jackson starts next month.

Olding and Jackson, 25, are accused of raping the same woman at a property in south Belfast in June last year.

They have strenuously denied the charges. Their high-profile trial is scheduled to start in January.

While Olding, of Ardenlee Street, Belfast, is now charged with one count of rape, Jackson, from Oakleigh Park, Belfast, is accused of one count of rape and one of sexual assault.

Two other men have also been returned for trial on charges connected with the incident.

Blane McIlroy, 26, from Royal Lodge Road, Ballydollaghan, Belfast, is accused of one count of exposure.

Rory Harrison, 25, from Manse Road, Belfast, is charged with perverting the course of justice and withholding information. He also attended Friday’s short hearing.

All four have pleaded not guilty and they are all on bail.

Fly-half Jackson has been capped for Ireland 25 times and centre Olding has played four times. They are established stars for Ulster Rugby.

The Irish Rugby Football Union and Ulster Rugby have said they will not play again until court proceedings conclude.

On Thursday, Northern Ireland’s Public Prosecution Service (PPS) said a count of vaginal rape against Olding would not proceed due to “additional forensic evidence that is now available”. He is still accused of oral rape.

A statement agreed between prosecution and defence lawyers, and issued at the direction of the judge, said: “The prosecution have today confirmed that they will no longer be proceeding with the charge of vaginal rape against Stuart Olding.

“No evidence will now be offered by the prosecution in respect of this charge and Mr Olding will be acquitted of this count of rape.

“The prosecution acknowledges that Mr Olding always denied the offence of vaginal rape and challenged the adequacy of the evidence against him in respect of this charge at two hearings during 2017 which the prosecution successfully opposed on the basis of the forensic evidence that the prosecution had obtained at that time.

“The prosecution is not proceeding with this count as a result of additional forensic evidence now available.

“Had that evidence been available at an earlier stage, the vaginal rape charge would not have been brought against Mr Olding at any time.

“The prosecution is proceeding with the remaining count of oral rape against Mr Olding.”