AZ Alkmaar have written to UEFA urging them to overturn the Dutch football association’s (KNVB) decision to award Ajax the country’s automatic berth into next season’s Champions’ League group phase.

With the Dutch government banning all sporting events until September 1 at the earliest due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Eredivisie was declared null and void last month

Not only did it mean no promotion or relegation but the decision denied Ajax the title, who were leading AZ on goal difference with nine games still to play when the campaign was initially suspended in March.

AZ believe they should have been made the top placed team as they had beaten Ajax both home and away in the league this season and believe goal difference is no objective differentiator.

But a KNVB spokesman said the governing body do not plan to change its decision, adding: “We decided the places in European club competition next season on the basis of three criteria: transparency, objectivity and sportsmanship. We are keeping the rankings and Ajax is number one.”

PRAGUE, May 25 (Reuters) – Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova is happy to finally play tennis again for fans around the world – even if they can only watch on television.

The world number 12 will headline an all-Czech tournament in Prague starting Tuesday without spectators, handshakes or the usual towel service.The return to action is one of the first after pro tennis tours were suspended in early March as countries went into lockdown to contain the spread of the new coronavirus.

Some exhibition events without fans have been held in countries like Germany and the United States while more are planned elsewhere in the coming weeks.

Kvitova last played at the Qatar Open in February where she lost in the final to Belarus’s Aryna Sabalenka. She said finding rhythm and playing without support would be the hardest part returning.

“That it will be without people is something I still can’t imagine at all,” she told a news conference on Monday.

“We will play some nice tennis… I think we are mainly here to bring tennis back not only to the Czech Republic, but to the world, too.”

The Czech Republic has gradually reversed lockdown measures. It has reported less than 100 new cases of the virus a day for much of May while two thirds of the nearly 9,000 people infected have recovered.The tournament, with eight players in both the men’s and women’s draw, will resemble regular tennis as much as possible.

Ball boys and ball girls remain and players’ benches are in their usual spots. But players won’t shake hands at the net and tap rackets instead, and will take care of their own towels.

Barbora Strycova, Barbora Krejcikova, Katerina Siniakova and Lucie Hradecka – who have all been part of Fed Cup teams that have won six championships in the past decade – will compete.

World number three Karolina Pliskova will not play after returning from injury and last year’s French Open finalist Marketa Vondrousova will also be absent.

On the men’s side, 65th ranked Jiri Vesely will be favourite.

Former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield has said he is open to facing one-time rival Mike Tyson in a trilogy fight for charity on the condition that Tyson asks for the bout to be set up.

Tyson, 53, fought two epic bouts with Holyfield, 57, during their professional careers, including their controversial 1997 encounter in which Tyson bit off a chunk of Holyfield’s ear.

‘Iron Mike’ had released several training videos in recent weeks fuelling speculation he could be returning to the ring, while Holyfield announced his return for a charity bout on Instagram earlier this month.

“If I ask him it’s almost like me being a bully saying I want to go against somebody I’ve beaten twice,” Holyfield told the BBC. “I don’t want pressure on me that ‘you just want to fight Mike because you know you can beat him’.

“If he hits me I’m going to hit back. I’m going to be 58, he’ll be 54, you talk about being in good health and doing things the proper way that respects it. I don’t have no problem with it.”

Tyson, the first heavyweight to hold the WBA, WBC and IBF titles, retired after a loss to Kevin McBride in 2005, while Holyfield called time on his career nine years later.

If they do return, they will be following in the footsteps of Floyd Mayweather Jr and Manny Pacquiao in coming out of retirement for an exhibition fight.

Tiger Woods and Peyton Manning held off a late challenge to beat Phil Mickelson and Tom Brady 1Up in a charity golf match in Florida on Sunday that raised $20 million for COVID-19 relief efforts.

Woods, a 15-times major champion, and two-time Super Bowl winner Manning jumped out to a three-hole lead on the front nine at the Medalist Golf Club in Hobe Sound.

While Woods’s booming drives and Manning’s solid putting saw the pair dominate the early holes, five-times major winner Mickelson and Brady won the 11th and 14th to shave the lead to one.

However, they were unable to force extra holes after Woods delivered a dagger putt on 18 as darkness descended on his home course. The shot of the day came from Brady on the seventh when he holed out from the fairway just after NBA great Charles Barkley, working as a commentator, had been giving the quarterback a hard time for his ice cold start.

“Shut your mouth, Chuck,” Brady said with a smile.But Brady, who joined Tampa Bay in March after 20 years with New England, had little time to revel in the moment.

After giving a short speech where he told his wife and kids he loved them the six-times Super Bowl winner then split the seat of his pants while retrieving the ball from the cup.

Woods, who lost to Mickelson in a $9 million winner-take-all challenge in 2018, congratulated Manning and Brady for their performance in the team match play event, dubbed The Match: Champions for Charity.

“We all came together and were able to raise $20 million for those that have been so severely affected,” Woods said.

“I take my hat off to Tom and Peyton. This is our arena, this is what we do for a living. I couldn’t imagine going on the field and do what they do,” he added with a laugh.The competition comes 2-1/2 weeks before the PGA Tour plans to resume its season on June 11 at Colonial.

Woods last competed in February and then withdrew from a number of tournaments with a back injury before the PGA Tour decided to cancel a slew of events because of the novel coronavirus outbreak.He has said he is healthy and will be ready to go when the Tour resumes.

Mickelson finished third in the Pebble Beach Pro-Am in early February and missed the cut in his next two starts.

Manning, who played for the Indianapolis Colts and Denver Broncos, retired in 2016 as the NFL’s all-time leader in passing touchdowns and yards and is the only five-times winner of the league’s Most Valuable Player award.

The 22-year-old was one of two people from Premier League clubs to discover he has the disease in the latest round of testing on Friday, just a few days after he had returned a negative test.

Bournemouth players have been adhering to strict social distancing guidelines after returning to training earlier this month, and Ramsdale reckons he must have picked it up from a trip to the supermarket.

He told the media: “I’ve been trying to figure it out for the past two days.

“My test last Monday before we started training was negative. So this last week, I’ve done the usual things like going to the supermarket and going to the petrol station to fill my car up.

“Once you’ve contracted the virus, it shows in your blood. That was obviously not the case (after the first test) and it’s been the three days between the two tests when I’ve contracted the virus.

“I’ve been just as careful as before on lockdown and it seems to be a shopping trip where I’ve caught it.

“We’ve trained but we’re under strict rules to be two metres apart. Ours is a club that don’t want to be breaking rules and we want to be doing everything properly to get back.

“If we break rules, then we can put the other lads in danger. So we’re all well away from each other.

“It was one of those freak things. I’m healthy, I’ve got all my taste and smell, and all the things that are linked to the virus.

“It’s definitely a shock and one that I’ve got to deal with. Now I have seven days’ isolation at home which will give me time to do things around the house.

“It’s not ideal, obviously, with training. But it’s just one of those things.”

Ramsdale is self-isolating with his girlfriend and hopes to return to training soon.

Having said earlier this month that he was behind Project Restart, he retains the view that the Premier League season should resume despite his diagnosis — so long as games can be guaranteed to be played in a safe environment.

He said: “I still stand by what I said, that when it’s definitely safe, I’d be all for it.

“Seeing how our staff and our training ground is working at the moment, it does give you a feeling that everything is being taken to the smallest detail to be done properly. In that sense, you do feel very safe in training. “But this isn’t a football-related thing that has happened to me. It’s in everyday life. You do see people who are worried about it and they’ve got every right to be back

“So I’m still on the fence. But once it is safe to get back to, then I’m all for it.”

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The England Under 21-international has been forced to stay away from training this week

Ramsdale is self-isolating with his girlfriend and hopes to return to training soon.

Having told talkSPORT earlier this month that he was behind Project Restart, he retains the view that the Premier League season should resume despite his diagnosis — so long as games can be guaranteed to be played in a safe environment.

He said: “I still stand by what I said, that when it’s definitely safe, I’d be all for it.

“Seeing how our staff and our training ground is working at the moment, it does give you a feeling that everything is being taken to the smallest detail to be done properly. In that sense, you do feel very safe in training.

“But this isn’t a football-related thing that has happened to me. It’s in everyday life. You do see people who are worried about it and they’ve got every right to be.

“So I’m still on the fence. But once it is safe to get back to, then I’m all for it.”

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The Women’s Super League and Championship seasons have been ended with immediate effect due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Both competitions were suspended in March, and now a decision has been taken to focus on preparations for 2020-21, instead of trying to restart.

A statement on the FA’s official website confirmed the decision had been taken following ‘overwhelming feedback’ from clubs.

Recommendations for sporting outcomes – such as who should represent England in the Women’s Champions League next season – will be sent to the FA board.

The statement read: “Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, the FA Women’s Super League and Women’s Championship Board has been in regular consultation with clubs and key stakeholders from across both leagues to identify the most suitable and appropriate way to conclude the 2019-20 season, and to give clubs and players the clarity and support they need at this

“Following overwhelming feedback from the clubs, the decision to bring an end to the 2019-20 season was made in the best interest of the women’s game.

“This will also enable clubs, the FA Women’s Super League & Women’s Championship Board and the FA to plan, prepare and focus on next season when football returns for the 2020-21 campaign.

“Supporting the welfare of the clubs and players will continue to be our primary concern throughout this process, which also involved a robust and thorough examination of the logistical, operational and financial challenges that the game currently faces.”

Manchester City led the league by one point from Chelsea when the campaign was suspended, with the London club having a game in hand.