Haptic shirts from Sela to allow Newcastle fans with hearing loss to experience live atmosphere in EPL

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NUFC fans David Wilson and Ryan Gregson unveil Sela’s haptic shirts that will for the first time enable deaf fans to feel the atmosphere of the crowd inside St. James’ Park for Premier League game with Tottenham Hotspur on Apr. 13, 2024. (Supplied)
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Updated 11 April 2024
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Haptic shirts from Sela to allow Newcastle fans with hearing loss to experience live atmosphere in EPL

  • NUFC’s front-of-shirt sponsor, Sela, introduces world-first haptic shirts that allow fans with hearing disability to experience live atmosphere during NUFC-Tottenham clash on Saturday
  • Haptic shirts use a technology that transform the noise of the stadium into real-time touch sensation

NEWCASTLE, UK: Football fans with hearing disabilities will for the first time ever experience the atmosphere of a live match during Newcastle United’s Premier League home game against Tottenham thanks to the newly-introduced technology of haptic shirts.
NUFC’s front-of-shirt sponsor, Sela, will introduce the world-first haptic shirts that allow deaf fans and fans with hearing loss to experience live atmospheres during a football game at St. James’ Park on Saturday.
Haptic shirts use a technology that transforms the noise of the stadium into real-time touch sensation. Fans and the match day mascots, who are deaf or have hearing loss, will be wearing the shirts in the stands.
A leading live events and experiences company, Sela has been the driving force behind the initiative as a demonstration of their commitment to using innovation to provide moments to all fans.
The company has committed to providing this technology at all future Newcastle home games and hopes its actions will inspire football clubs across the Premier League, Europe and beyond to build on efforts to improve accessibility.
Moreover, the match will also see Sela donate its front-of-shirt sponsorship to RNID, the national charity supporting the 12 million people in the UK who are deaf, have hearing loss or tinnitus.
Sela’s Senior Vice President Ibrahim Mohtaseb said: “St. James’ Park is renowned for its noise and passion. Through this initiative we hope to enable deaf fans and fans with hearing loss to feel a part of this.”
He welcomed the whole football family to join them by adopting the technology.
Peter Silverstone, United’s chief commercial officer, said: “When Sela shared the idea and technology behind the haptic shirts, we supported the concept immediately, knowing it would make such an impact to our supporters who are deaf or have hearing loss.”
He added: “‘Un-silence the Crowd’ fills everybody associated with this initiative with deep pride, from all NUFC, Newcastle United Foundation, Sela and RNID, along with all stakeholders who have helped make this possible.
“We believe that ‘Un-silence the Crowd’ will be truly game-changing for football and expect this campaign will revolutionize the football experience for any fan who is deaf or has hearing loss, regardless of which team they support,” concluded Silverstone.
It is set to be a historic occasion, marking the first time a hearing-loss charity has been promoted on a Premier League front-of-shirt, as well as the launch of the cutting-edge shirts themselves.
Meanwhile, Teri Devine, RNID’s director for inclusion, said: “It’s fantastic to see Sela and Newcastle United leading the way in championing this technology which has the potential to have a real and lasting impact on how people who are deaf and have hearing loss experience live sports.”
Devine expressed excitement to be part of the collaboration and said he hoped this exposure opens up conversations among football fans about hearing loss and encourages other football clubs to raise their game and make sure deaf fans are fully included.


Verstappen refuses to be drawn on future ahead of British GP

Updated 5 sec ago
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Verstappen refuses to be drawn on future ahead of British GP

“I am happy where I am,” Verstappen said
“There are always rumors, but only one who decides and that is me and the team“

SILVERSTONE, UK: Max Verstappen on Thursday refused to be drawn on questions about discussions with Mercedes and exit clauses in his Red Bull contract when he spoke to reporters ahead of this weekend’s British Grand Prix.

Facing a succession of questions about his future, following reports in Italy that he had agreed to join Mercedes next year, the Dutchman was polite, but evasive in his answers, stressing that for him it would be ideal to complete his career with one team — Red Bull.

“I am happy where I am,” he said. “There are always rumors, but only one who decides and that is me and the team. I control my own destiny and I am happy and in control of where I’m at.”

Sky Sport Italia on Wednesday reported that he had agreed to join Mercedes, sparking speculation that he was set to replace arch-rival George Russell, but the Briton earlier stated he was confident of keeping his seat.

He said he expected to confirm his new contract with Mercedes — the team believed to be best prepared for the regulation changes next year — within a few weeks.

“I’ve nothing to add to last week,” said Verstappen. “Of course, other people write stuff and that’s great but it’s not me... Happy with my team? In life, you can always see other things and think, as they say, the grass is greener on the other side.

“But I think it is best to stay calm and up to now we have had success except for some time this season and this can happen and you have to accept it.

“I know what I have and what we can do and that’s fine, but, to be honest, I have nothing to add to last week. I am focussed on the team and to improve.”

Asked if he felt he needed to be in the fastest car to win races and titles, Verstappen said it is “difficult in F1 to be in the fastest car... Who would know that two years ago who will be fastest?

“I don’t focus much on it, I just try to improve my own situation and where we want to be next year. If you chase the fastest car now it may not be the fastest car next year. Sometimes you can luck in and then win four, or five or six titles...”

The 27-year-old shared that being a one-team man was an interesting prospect for him, while stating that he had never been tempted to leave Austrian constructor Red Bull.

“I’m going to say no...” he said on the questioning of ever having felt tempted to take a seat elsewhere in the paddock.

“I don’t want more headlines. It would be ideal to finish my career at Red Bull with one team. That would be something amazing and I am still trying to achieve that.

“We are fighting for podiums now and that’s not too bad!“

Reports suggested Verstappen’s contract contained exit clauses that could be activated if he is not in the top three in the drivers championship at the end of July.

But the four-time world champion bluntly refused to reveal any details about his deal with Red Bull.

“To be honest, I am not speaking about my contract. It’s easier like that,” he said.

From Grand Slam to grand struggle, Krejcikova lives to fight on

Updated 59 min 45 sec ago
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From Grand Slam to grand struggle, Krejcikova lives to fight on

  • There was zero champion’s polish on show as the Czech creaked her way into the third round
  • The pair exchanged errors and breaks of serve throughout

LONDON: Barbora Krejcikova’s Wimbledon defense is still alive — but only just. The Czech squeezed past American Caroline Dolehide 6-4 3-6 6-2 in a second-round tussle that was all grind and no grandeur.
There was zero champion’s polish on show as the Czech creaked her way into the third round, surviving a match as scrappy as a Henman Hill picnic after a seagull raid.
“A huge relief,” she said afterwards to polite applause from the crowd. “Really up and down points, turning one way and the other ... I am so grateful I can keep going.”
Court Two spectators, many blissfully unaware that they were watching the reigning champion, might be forgiven — Krejcikova herself barely looked the part.
A season dogged by back and thigh niggles has left the 29-year-old short of sharpness, and her patchy 4-3 record for the season coming in was on full display in a match strewn with errors.
Spraying foreheads wide of their mark and dumping backhands into the net, nothing suggested a twice Grand Slam champion was holding court.
At times the contest resembled less a Grand Slam match and more a practice session between two very rusty players — Krejcikova produced 39 unforced errors, while Dolehide got fewer than half her first serves in all match.
The pair exchanged errors and breaks of serve throughout — Dolehide trying to power her way into the contest while Krejcikova sought to claw her way to victory on the back of slow, sliced forehands whispering back to a gentler age.
Scarcely can a champion have produced such a lukewarm performance on the Grand Slam stage but it would be fair to say the Czech blows hot and cold on the tennis court.
French Open champion in 2021, she has followed that title run with three first-round defeats and one second round showing at Roland Garros in the years since.
Her form can read like a nursery rhyme. When she’s good, she’s very, very good — Grand Slam good. But when the gears don’t quite catch, when timing slips or confidence wavers, she can unravel just as spectacularly.
As Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 19th-century American poet and nursery rhyme writer, had it: when she is good, she is very, very good — but when she is bad, she is horrid.
Still, the 17th seed did just enough to scrape through to gentle applause and a sterner test ahead: 10th seed Emma Navarro, who won’t be quite so generous. (Reporting by Ossian Shine; Editing by Christian Radnedge and Ken Ferris)


US fans can learn from unbelievable Guatemala supporters, Pochettino says

Updated 03 July 2025
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US fans can learn from unbelievable Guatemala supporters, Pochettino says

  • “The fans of Guatemala, I need to say, wow, unbelievable. It was like, to play there,” Pochettino told reporters
  • “An unbelievable energy. That is football, that is football”

MEXICO: United States coach Mauricio Pochettino said Wednesday’s 2-1 win over Guatemala in the CONCACAF Gold Cup semifinals felt like a game on the road, adding that the spirit of the opposing fans was something American supporters could learn from.

Over 22,000 spectators attended the match in St. Louis and the majority were Guatemala supporters, loudly backing their team throughout the game even as Diego Luna’s early brace helped the US reach the final, where they face Mexico on Sunday.

“The fans of Guatemala, I need to say, wow, unbelievable. It was like, to play there. And that was good for our players because it was an atmosphere we didn’t expect,” former Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea manager Pochettino told reporters.

Argentine Pochettino said he hoped to see the same passion from American fans when the World Cup takes place in the US next year.

“An unbelievable energy. That is football, that is football. When we say, the connection between the team and the fans, that’s the connection we’d like to see at the World Cup. The connection that makes you fly,” he said.

“When we talk about culture, that is culture ... to see (Guatemala), how they fight, how the fans behave, that is an important thing that we need to learn in this country.”

Pochettino said that in many countries, soccer matches were seen as much more than sporting spectacles.

“In a different country, you play (to) survive. You play for food. You play for pride ... it’s not to enjoy, go home and laugh, that’s it,” he said.

“The moment that we, this roster, start to live in this way, I think we have big room to improve.”


Motor racing-Mayer set to stand against Ben Sulayem for FIA presidency

Updated 03 July 2025
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Motor racing-Mayer set to stand against Ben Sulayem for FIA presidency

  • Mayer would announce on Friday he was standing against Ben Sulayem
  • A press conference was called at a venue outside the Silverstone circuit

SILVERSTONE, England: Mohammed Ben Sulayem will face a challenge to his bid for re-election as president of the FIA, motorsport’s world governing body, after a rival candidate emerged on Thursday.

The BBC reported American Tim Mayer, a former Formula One steward and son of former McLaren principal Teddy Mayer, would announce on Friday he was standing against Ben Sulayem.

A press conference was called at a venue outside the Silverstone circuit ahead of British Grand Prix practice.

Ben Sulayem, an Emirati, is scheduled to attend the race which marks the midpoint in the Formula One season. He has already announced he is seeking a second term.

The FIA is the governing body for F1, the world rally championship and Formula E among other series.


Klopp ‘heartbroken’ by Diogo Jota’s death

Updated 03 July 2025
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Klopp ‘heartbroken’ by Diogo Jota’s death

  • “This is a moment where I struggle!” Klopp posted on Instagram
  • “I’m heartbroken to hear about the passing of Diogo and his brother Andre”

MUNICH: Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said he was “heartbroken” to learn Diogo Jota, who he signed in 2020, had died with his younger brother Andre in a car crash on Thursday.

Diogo Jota, 28, died alongside Andre after their vehicle veered off a motorway in northern Spain before bursting into flames.

Klopp, who is Red Bull’s “head of global soccer,” persuaded the Liverpool board to pay £45 million ($62 million) for Diogo Jota after he impressed at Wolves.

“This is a moment where I struggle!” Klopp posted on Instagram.


“There must be a bigger purpose! But I can’t see it! I’m heartbroken to hear about the passing of Diogo and his brother Andre.

“Diogo was a not only a fantastic player, but also a great friend, a loving and caring husband and father!

“We will miss you so much! All my prayers, thoughts and power to Rute, the kids, the family, the friends and everyone who loved them! Rest in peace — Love.”

Diogo Jota was labelled an “exceptional player, exceptional boy,” by Klopp early on in the player’s spell at Liverpool.

Jota took little time to deliver some return on Liverpool’s investment, becoming the first player in the club’s history to score in his first four home games.

He was a key part of Klopp’s side that won the League Cup and FA Cup in 2021/22, narrowly missing out on the Premier League and Champions League for what would have been an unprecedented quadruple.