Group C match in doubt after meal

EURO 2016: A dodgy hotel meal of spaghetti bolognese put last night’s Group C qualifier between Luxembourg and Belarus in doubt, with the Luxembourg squad hesitant to venture far from the bathroom.

It was not clear when the Star went to press whether the 7.45pm kick-off would go ahead, or whether “terrible stomach aches” still gripped 16 of Luxembourg’s 20 players.

The match is largely a formality, as neither can now qualify for Euro 2016.

Webb: refs are keen for video replays

FOOTBALL: Former top referee Howard Webb said yesterday that most match officials would welcome video replays.

The Netherlands has run a closed trial of such a system but Fifa has rejected their bid to run a live test this campaign.

Webb said that using it in action was the only way to see if it worked. Far from a fear that they would undermined, Webb said, match officials are eager for technology that could help them make fewer mistakes.

Halfpenny and Webb ruled out

RUGBY: Warren Gatland defended yesterday his decision to play Leigh Halfpenny in Wales’s final World Cup warm-up game against Italy.

The full-back suffered a serious knee injury shortly before the close and has now been ruled out of the World Cup. Gatland has also lost his first choice scrum-half Rhys Webb.