Sport shorts: AC Milan given one-year Euro ban and London Stadium is ready for baseball

Ten things from the world of sport on
Friday 28 June

One-Minute Read

Milan, who finished fifth in Serie A, will now miss next
season’s Europa League and will be replaced in the Europa League
group stage by AS Roma.

Serie A’s seventh-placed team, Torino, will play in the
qualifying rounds.

2. Bairstow bites back at critics

England may not have had much fight in them on the pitch
of late but off it they are still belligerent as ever as Jonny
Bairstow showed in an angry response to the team’s critics.
Following emphatic defeats to Sri Lanka and Australia, England must
win their two remaining matches – against India on Sunday and New
Zealand on Friday – to qualify for the Cricket World Cup
semi-finals. In response to the criticism, Bairstow said: “They are
not willing us on to win, in many ways, they are waiting for you to
get that loss, so they can jump on your throat. It’s a typical
English thing to do, in every sport.” 

Bairstow: ‘critics are waiting for us to
fail’

3. Hamilton edges Vettel in FP1

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton recorded the fastest time
in the first free practice session (FP1) at the Formula 1 Austrian
Grand Prix. World champion Hamilton, who has won six of this
season’s eight races, was 0.144 seconds quicker than Ferrari’s
Sebastian Vettel. Hamilton’s Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas was
third. FP2 at the Red Bull Ring takes place today from 2pm to
3.30pm. 

F1 Austrian GP: practice, qualifying, predictions,
TV guide, betting odds

4. Rafa and Roger in same half of
draw

Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer could be on course for a
semi-final showdown at Wimbledon after the rivals were drawn in the
same half of the 2019 championships. In the first round at the All
England Club top seed Novak Djokovic starts his title defence
against Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber on Centre Court at 1pm
(BST) on Monday. Two-time champion Nadal takes on Japanese
qualifier Yuichi Sugita while eight-time winner Federer plays South
African Lloyd Harris.

Wimbledon 2019: winner predictions and betting
odds

5. Mbappe mania at Anfield

Could Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappe be coming to
Liverpool? That’s the dream of the Kop after former striker Daniel
Sturridge posted a picture on his Instagram account alongside the Frenchman. The photo
sent Liverpool fans into “meltdown” and increased speculation that
the Reds could be trying to entice the 20-year-old ace to
Merseyside.

Liverpool transfer news: Mbappe, Fernandes, Fekir,
van den Berg

6. London Stadium is ready for
baseball

Major League Baseball’s fierce rivals – the Boston Red Sox
and New York Yankees – will make history this weekend when they
play the first regular-season matches in Europe. The London
Stadium, home of West Ham United and the 2012 Olympics, has been
transformed to host the baseball spectacular tomorrow and
Sunday. 

7. Gatlant takes Chiefs role 

Warren Gatland will become the head coach of Super Rugby’s
Chiefs but will take a year out to fulfil his contract with the
British & Irish Lions. Gatland’s reign as Wales head coach ends
after this year’s Rugby World Cup and The Guardian reports that he will take charge
of the Chiefs for the 2020, 2022 and 2023 seasons. 

8. Brazil reach Copa semi-finals

Host nation Brazil are through to the semi-finals of the
Copa America after beating Paraguay 4-3 on penalties. Brazil will
now face Argentina or Venezuela in the final four.

9. Vieira interested in Toon job

Former Arsenal and France star Patrick Vieira is willing to
speak to Newcastle United regarding their vacant manager’s role.
The Sun reports that the Nice boss is one of
the names being considered to replace Rafa Benitez. 

10. Lionesses march into the final
four

England are through to their second successive Women’s
World Cup semi-final after a 3-0 victory over Norway in Le Havre.
Goals from Jill Scott, Ellen White and Lucy Bronze set up a final
four clash against the US or France on Tuesday. Head coach Phil
Neville said: “We want to come home with that World Cup. I keep
thinking to myself, ‘stop saying it’, but we can’t hide away from
the fact something’s happening. We cannot wait for
Tuesday.”

England’s ‘badass women’ aim to bring the World
Cup home

Today’s back pages: Magnifique Lionesses roar
into the semi-finals