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Andrew Cesare Richardson

European giants FC Barcelona coming to Hong Kong is an exciting prospect, right? Well, not quite. It appears that, while pen has been put to paper, an administrative error means the deal is still up in the air.
Meanwhile, the chairman of the city’s football association, Eric Fok Kai-shan, has exclusively told the Post that the legalisation of gambling on matches in Hong Kong would increase resources for the sport in the city
And Hong Kong tennis chiefs are looking at options for upgrading the government-owned Victoria Park venue with a view to staging better events, after learning the new Kai Tak Sports Park was not equipped to replace it.
Now, to what happened while you were sleeping.
Potter’s lack of magic in Cup

Aston Villa came from behind to knock West Ham out of the FA Cup third round in Graham Potter’s debut in the dugout.
The Hammers took the lead after nine minutes at Villa Park through Lucas Paqueta and appeared to be sailing into the fourth round against a Villa side who have struggled of late at this stage of the competition.
However, Amadou Onana poked in from close range on 71 minutes after a Lukasz Fabianski spill in the West Ham goal before Morgan Rogers made it 2-1 just five minutes later.
West Ham’s Danny Ings had a great chance to equalise against his former club in stoppage time, but fired over from close range.
In Friday’s other tie, League One high-fliers Wycombe beat Championship strugglers Portsmouth 2-0.
England rugby in crisis
The CEO of England’s Rugby Football Union will face calls for his dismissal at a special general meeting after the coming Six Nations.
A day after rejecting a grass roots call for a vote of no confidence in Bill Sweeney on procedural grounds, the RFU performed a dramatic U-turn, with an SGM now set to take place in March or April.
The outcry started in November with the revelation that Sweeney was paid £1.1 million (US$1.3 million) for the 2023-24 financial year, which included a bonus of £358,000, despite the RFU reporting a record annual operating loss of £37.9 million.
A formal letter featuring the signatories of 141 RFU member clubs and referees’ societies had been submitted on Thursday.
The RFU, however, said the letter contained “inaccuracies” that meant it was “invalid as a requisition for an SGM”.
Emma’s bite precaution

Fear of ingesting a contaminated substance led Britain’s Emma Raducanu to turn down treatment for an insect bite ahead of the Australian Open which starts this weekend.
“I got really badly bitten by I don’t know what, like ants, mosquitoes, something. I’m allergic, I guess,” Raducanu said at her pre-tournament media conference. “They flared up and swelled up really a lot.
“Someone was giving me this antiseptic spray, ­natural, to try to ease the bites. I didn’t want to take it. I didn’t want to spray it.
“I was just left there with my swollen ankle and hand. I was like: ‘I’m just going to tough it out because I don’t want to risk it.’ It’s obviously a concern on our mind.”
Meanwhile, the Court of Arbitration for Sport hearing in the doping case of men’s world No 1 Jannik Sinner has been set for April 16 and 17.
Aston Martin bring in X Factor

Aston Martin has named Andy Cowell the team principal for its Formula One team, with Mike Krack moving into a new role after serving as the team principal since 2022.
Cowell was considered a key contributor to Mercedes’ run of eight consecutive constructors’ championships and seven world championships won by Lewis Hamilton. He will be joined at Aston Martin by former Red Bull design guru Adrian Newey in March.
“I have spent the last three months understanding and assessing our performance, and I’ve been incredibly impressed by the dedication, commitment and hard work of this team,” Cowell said in a statement.
“With the completion of the AMR Technology Campus and our transition in 2026 to a full works team, alongside our strategic partners Honda and Aramco, we are on a journey to becoming a Championship-winning team.
“These organisational changes are a natural evolution of the multi-year plans that we have scheduled to make and I’m incredibly excited about the future.”


United, Spurs grab vital Europa League wins, Messi eyes 2026 World Cup, Shiffrin back in action

Man City, PSG stay alive in Champions League, US Open expands main draw, McKibbin joins LIV

Liverpool leave stars at home, famed F1 Mercedes in US$50 million sale, England stay alive

Chelsea defender Veiga joins Juventus, Butler benched indefinitely, Burnley hold Leeds

While you were sleeping

Potter’s West Ham debut blues; Raducanu’s mosquito precaution; England rugby in crisis

Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers celebrates with Ollie Watkins after scoring his side’s second goal. Photo: Reuters

Graham Potter applauds the fans after suffering FA Cup elimination on his debut as West Ham boss. Photo: AP

Great Britain’s Emma Raducanu speaks to reporters ahead of the Australian Open. Photo: EPA

Andy Cowell has joined Aston Martin, where he will become team principal for the Formula One outfit. Photo; Reuters

Hong Kong football chief Eric Fok open to legalising gambling, vows to punish match-fixers

Eric Fok said the HKFA had to consider the overall impact of allowing gambling on society. Photo: Shutterstock

HKFA chairman Eric Fok said legalising gambling was “just in the discussion phase”. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

ICAC officials brief media over the arrests of 12 players and coaches for alleged match fixing. Photo: May Tse

FC Barcelona ‘signed’ to play in Hong Kong – but ‘unsent email’ row pauses venue talks

Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal in action in the Spanish Super Cup semi-final against Athletic Bilbao in Jeddah on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters

A test event was held at the new Kai Tak Stadium last weekend. Photo: Sam Tsang

Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski (left) celebrates scoring against Real Madrid in October. Photo: EPA-EFE

Sport

Football

Ex-Chelsea boss reign started with elimination from the FA Cup as Aston Villa came from a goal down to win 2-1


Ex-Chelsea boss reign started with elimination from the FA Cup as Aston Villa came from a goal down to win 2-1.
