The Sport Matrix: Saturday 21 February 2015

Rutherford: my son is not going to be an athlete

Olympic long jump champion Greg Rutherford says he will discourage his son from participating in athletics as it is too tainted by scandal.

He echoes the comments of the sprinter Darren Campbell, who said last month that he would guide his three children away from the sport.

Rutherford, whose son Milo was born in October, has criticised world athletics for failing to deal with widespread doping allegations.

He said: “I agree with Darren that it’s the situation the sport is in. I’ll try to guide Milo in different paths. You might as well throw the sport to the dogs.”

Poyet prepares to soak up pressure

Sunderland manager Gus Poyet will not alter his style as his side continue their relegation fight against West Brom. “I don’t regret anything I say,” he said. “It’s not against any individual. I accept criticism when professional. I am not going to have 100 per cent support of everybody.”

Grey Gold tests Sire De Grugy

Sire De Grugy faces a tough task today if he is to display his form before next month’s defence of his Champion Chase title. He will have to improve on his jumping at Chepstow after a poor showing at Newbury two weeks ago and beware the challenge posed by Grey Gold.

Spurs win court battle over stadium

Tottenham Hotspur are free to start work on their new stadium after winning a court battle against the owners of a business occupying the final piece of land in their way. Archway Sheet Metal Works lost their case against the club, with Mr Justice Dove ruling against them on the grounds their case was largely semantic. It is hoped the new 56,000 capacity ground will be ready for the 2018-19 campaign.

Missing players frustrate fans

The farce of the Premiership scheduling top fixtures on Test weekends again robs supporters of big names in this weekend’s league matches. Bath against Northampton is lacking the likes of George Ford, Jonathan Joseph, Dylan Hartley and Courtney Lawes.