SOCCER
Jim Ratcliffe is entering the bidding to buy Manchester United.
The billionaire owner of petrochemicals firm INEOS is ready to make an offer to United owners the Glazer family, who outlined their willingness to sell the Premier League club in November.
“We have formally put ourselves into the process,” INEOS said in a statement to The Associated Press on Tuesday.
Ratcliffe, one of the richest people in Britain, is a United fan and has previously indicated a desire to buy the club.
However, INEOS said in the summer that it was no longer interested in bidding for any Premier League club and would, instead, focus its attention on French team Nice, which it already owns.
That position has changed now that United’s American owners, the Glazer family, are prepared to sell.
The family, which also owns the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers, outlined plans to seek outside funding in November.
There have been reports of interest from the U.S., the Middle East and Asia in buying United, but INEOS is the first to publicly confirm it has entered the bidding process.
The late tycoon Malcolm Glazer bought United in 2005 for 790 million pounds (then about $1.4 billion).
FRANCE: French soccer federation president Noel Le Graet is under investigation for sexual harassment and “moral harassment,” the Paris prosecutor’s office said.
In a message to The Associated Press, the prosecutor’s office said the investigation was opened Monday following a report by the General Inspectorate of Education, Sport and Research. It will be carried out by a special police unit dedicated to crimes against individuals.
The investigation was launched after sports agent Sonia Souid accused Le Graet of improper conduct over several years, saying he only was interested in her sexually. Souid said in an interview with L’Equipe sports daily that Le Graet repeatedly tried to approach her from 2013-17.
The 81-year-old Le Graet agreed last week to step back from his duties as president of the federation following an emergency executive committee meeting into his behavior.
GOLF
LIV LEAGUE: The Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Golf League is nearing a TV deal with The CW Network, according to multiple reports.
Though the Saudis poured billions of dollars into the breakaway golf league to lure star talent away from the PGA Tour, they couldn’t secure a television contract for the inaugural season.
But the CW partnership, which has not been officially announced, will run for multiple years, sources told Sports Illustrated.
The CW is better known for syndicated TV shows and sparse original programming, such as “All American” and “Riverdale.”
FIGURE SKATING
U.S. CHAMPIONSHIPS: Olympic ice dancers Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean Luc Baker withdrew from the U.S. Figure Skating Championships because of a series of injuries over the past 18 months that they said led to challenges with their mental health.
Hawayak and Baker, who were 11th at last year’s Beijing Games, earned silver medals at both of their Grand Prix events this season before finishing fifth at the Grand Prix Final in December.
They had finished third at each of the past four U.S. championships, which begin next week in San Jose, California.
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