Rome to host Ryder Cup for first time in 2022

Italy will host the Ryder Cup for the first time in 2022 at the Marco Simone course in Rome.

It will be the 44th edition of the biennial team tournament between Europe and the United States of America.

Europe has held the event outside of England on only five other occasions - Muirfield (1973) and Gleneagles (2014) in Scotland, Spain (1997), Republic of Ireland (2006) and Wales (2010).

Europe defend their title in Minnesota next year before France hosts in 2018.

Italy beat Austria, Germany and Spain in the bidding process.

European Tour chief executive Keith Pelley said: "History has shown time and again that the Ryder Cup is pure theatre with the players the stars.

"There is no question that the Eternal City of Rome will provide a wonderful backdrop for one of the great occasions in world golf.

"We have exciting plans for the development of The European Tour and our international schedule for the benefit of all our players, and Italy shares this ambition.

"Their commitment to the Italian Open will provide an inspiring benchmark."

The Marco Simone course, 17km from the centre of the Italian capital, will be reconstructed to meet the standards for the tournament.

Craig Overton: Ashar Zaidi wants apology for alleged slur

Pakistan-born ex-Sussex player Ashar Zaidi says Somerset's Craig Overton should apologise after allegedly swearing at him during a match.

Overton, who allegedly also told 34-year-old Zaidi to "get back to your own country", received a two-game ban.

Zaidi did not hear the alleged comments which were reported by non-striker Michael Vardy and umpire Alex Wharf.

Overton has denied the claims but Zaidi said: "For the sake of the game he should apologise to me."

Somerset have said the player, along with the county's officials, had written an apology to Sussex and it was accepted.

The 21-year-old, who has been part of England's one-day squad and came close to selection for the winter Test tour to South Africa, was found guilty of a level one offence for abusive language.

It was Overton's third offence of the season and took him to over nine penalty points, meaning an automatic two-game suspension was imposed.

Champions League draw: Arsenal face Barcelona

Arsenal will face holders Barcelona in the Champions League last 16.

Chelsea have been drawn against Paris St-Germain for the third consecutive season, while Manchester City face Dynamo Kiev.

Roma versus Real Madrid and Juventus, last year's beaten finalists, against Bayern Munich are two of the standout matches in the draw.

First legs are scheduled to take place on 16-17 and 23-24 February. Return legs are on 8-9 and 15-16 March.

The winners of each group, including Chelsea and Manchester City, are at home in the second legs, while Arsenal will host their first leg.

Barcelona v Arsenal is a repeat of the 2006 final, which the Spanish champions won 2-1 thanks to two late goals in Paris.

PSG, who are 17 points clear at the top of the French league, knocked Chelsea out on away goals at this stage last season, while the Blues beat them on the same rule in the quarter-finals the previous year.

Dynamo Kiev beat Manchester City in the 2010-11 Europa League last 16, with striker Mario Balotelli sent off for the English side.

The first leg in Kiev will be played in a stadium without any supporters present, as Dynamo Kiev were punished following racist attacks on fans during a group game against Chelsea.

• Punishment is 'farcical' - Man City fanzine editor

The draw for the quarter-finals will be held on 18 March with the semi-final line-up drawn on 15 April.

Johanna Konta says cut in funding could have checked progress

British number one Johanna Konta says cuts to her Lawn Tennis Association funding put her career at risk.

She spoke out after Andy Murray said talking to the LTA about the future of British tennis was a waste of his time.

Konta has risen more than 100 places to 48th in the world rankings since the LTA reduced her funding last December.

"If anyone's livelihood, career or dreams are jeopardised, I don't think that is ever a healthy position to be in," she told BBC Sport.

Men's world number two Murray made his criticisms of the LTA after he inspired Great Britain to win the Davis Cup for the first time in 79 years with victory over Belgium last weekend.

Konta reached the last 16 of this year's US Open, but does not believe she was driven to that success by the cut in her funding.

She said: "The success that followed after that is because of the people I had around me.

"My coaches made a decision to stick by me and to continue our work and they sheltered me from a lot of the issues that were going on.

"I think if I hadn't had my support system, then nothing would have happened - none of the results would have come."

IPL: Pune and Rajkot to host Indian Premier League franchises

The cities of Pune and Rajkot will host teams in cricket's Indian Premier League for the next two years.

New Rising Pune and Intex Rajkot replace the suspended Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings, both of whom were found guilty in an illegal betting and match-fixing probe in July.

The Royals and Super Kings are expected to return to the IPL in 2018.

Many of the world's best players compete in the competition, which began in 2008 and runs from April to May.

Following their successful bids, the new two franchises will not take money from the central pool available; indeed Pune will pay £1.6m and Rajkot £1m to compete.

Their inclusion means the IPL remains an eight-team competition, with existing teams in Delhi, Mohali, Kolkata, Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad.

The 2016 edition begins on 8 April.

The Royals and Super Kings were suspended in July by a panel appointed by India's Supreme Court.

Royals co-owner Raj Kundra and Gurunath Meiyappan of the Super Kings were also banned from all cricket-related activities for life.

Chennai have reached four finals, winning in 2010 and 2011. The Royals won the inaugural tournament in 2008.

Formula 1: Mercedes takes action against engineer

Mercedes are taking legal action against an engineer who allegedly took confidential information as he prepared to join Formula 1 rivals Ferrari.

Benjamin Hoyle, who works for engine manufacturers Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains, is alleged to have searched and saved race data.

Hoyle was set to leave Mercedes at the end of 2015.

"The company has taken the appropriate legal steps to protect its intellectual property," said a team spokesperson.

According to Bloomberg, Mercedes wants the return of all documents and information, payment of its legal fees, and is seeking to block Hoyle from joining Ferrari or any other F1 rival until after the 2016 season.

The Mercedes team won the 2015 constructors' championship by 275 points from Ferrari.

Marc Leishman wins Nedbank Challenge by six shots in Sun City

Australian Marc Leishman captured his maiden European Tour title with a six-shot victory at the Nedbank Challenge in Sun City, South Africa.

One stroke ahead going into the final round, the world number 47 dropped a shot at the third but holed six birdies in a five-under 67 to win on 19 under.

Henrik Stenson retained second after four birdies and four bogeys in a 72.

Englishman Chris Wood was third after a 68 and defending champion Danny Willett was 11 behind Leishman in joint fourth.

It was Leishman's first title since his maiden PGA Tour victory at the Travelers Championship in 2012.

He shot the lowest round of the week with a 64 at The Open in July and led the Championship with six holes to play before losing in a three-man play-off won by American Zach Johnson.

Leishman's bogey at the third was his only one in the lowest round of the day, and he made just three in total over the 72 holes at the Gary Player Country Club this week.

"I knew it was going to be a really tough day, I knew I had to play well," he said. "I'm really pleased that I could play as well as I did and have a little bit of a buffer there at the end."