Today's sports news: What you need to know

Latest - Manchester United beat Chelsea 2-0 at Stamford Bridge in the English Premiership to keep their top-four finish hopes alive.

In a high tempo, if often scrappy, game Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's United side made the most of their chances while Chelsea, whose form at home has been suspect all season, squandered a string of opportunities.

A fine glancing header from Anthony Martial just before halftime from an Aaron Wan-Bissaka cross put the visitors ahead. It was United's first Premier League goal in four games.

Defender Harry Maguire made it two in the 66th minute, losing marker Antonio Rudiger to head home from a corner by United's new Portuguese signing Bruno Fernandes.

Chelsea had two goals ruled out by VAR. Kurt Zouma scored from a corner in the 54th but there was a push in the area. Substitute striker Olivier Giroud's headed effort in the 77th was cancelled when he was adjudged marginally offside.

The loss left Chelsea fourth, a point clear of resurgent rivals Tottenham Hotspur led by their ex-coach Jose Mourinho. Chelsea host Spurs on Saturday. United, another of Mourinho's old clubs rose to seventh, three points behind Chelsea.

Highlanders wing banned

The Highlanders winger Patelesio Tomkinson has been suspended for three weeks for a dangerous tackle during his side's win super rugby win over the Brumbies in Canberra at the weekend.

Tomkinson was yellow-carded at the time, but the SANZAAR review committee deemed it was a red card offence.

Tomkinson will miss games against the Crusaders, Rebels and Bulls.

Clijsters beaten in comeback

Comeback queen Kim Clijsters lost 6-2 7-6(6) to Spain's Garbine Muguruza on her return to the professional circuit after nearly eight years in an engrossing contest in the first round of the Dubai Tennis Championships.

The 36-year-old Belgian, who has won four Grand Slam singles titles but last played in 2012 at the U.S. Open, could not cope with the Spaniard, who hit 19 winners while a rusty Clijsters finished with 10 double faults and 23 unforced errors.

Clijsters, known for her superior on-court movement and rallying during her heyday as world number one, opted to rely on baseline rallies and her powerful forehand to hit winners with clever shot placement that caught Muguruza off guard at times.

This is Clijsters second comeback. She first retired from tennis in 2007, taking a break to have the first of her three children, but returned within 24 months to claim three of her four Grand Slams and return to the top of the rankings in 2011.

- Reuters

Tokyo Marathon participation hit by coronavirus outbreak

Organisers of the Tokyo Marathon have announced it will no longer be a mass participation event due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Only elite runners and wheelchair athletes will compete in the event in Japan, which takes place on 1 March.

Around 38,000 runners were expected to take part in the marathon, which is one of the largest in the world.

The Tokyo Marathon is one of six marathons which make up the World Marathon Majors series, along with London, Berlin, Chicago, New York and Boston.

All registered runners will be able to defer their entry until 2021.

-BBC

VAR system speeds up

UEFA says it has shaved 15 seconds off the average time it takes for the VAR system to correct a decision in the Champions League this season, with the average down to one minute 30 seconds.

The head of UEFA's referees' committee Roberto Rosetti said he was very happy with the way the technology had been used in the competition but stressed that it was only for "clear and obvious" mistakes.

The European football body said that in 108 playoff round and group stage matches so far, 27 decisions had been corrected by the VAR system, an average of one every four games.

The use of VAR in some domestic leagues, particularly England's Premier League, has been widely criticised with suggestions that the video officials in some countries now have more power than those on the pitch.

Many critics feel that it has gone beyond its original remit with goals being disallowed for the tiniest of infringements such as a player being offside by an armpit.

- Reuters

Golfing great dies

The only female golfer to hold all the major titles at the same time, American Mickey Wright has died.

She was 85.

Wright won 82 tournaments claiming 13 major titles in a a career that stretched from 1955 until retirement in 1969 because of foot problems.

The great Ben Hogan said Wright had the finest golf swing he ever saw.

Wright, who began playing golf at age 12, was inducted into the Hall of Fame of Women's Golf in 1964 and the LPGA Tour Hall of Fame when it was created in 1967, She became a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1976.

She enjoyed 13 victories in 1963, which remains the LPGA Tour record, and the next season won 11 times, which was tied by Swede Annika Sorenstam for second most victories in a season.

-Reuters

Olympics focus on diversity and inclusion

'United by Emotion' was revealed as the motto for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics as organisers look to hammer home the message of diversity and inclusion.

Tennis player Naomi Osaka, who was born in Japan to a Haitian father and Japanese mother but raised in the United States, narrated the motto's promotional video.

"We are each different, and all so much the same," Osaka says in the video, which showed her entering the newly-built National Stadium surrounded by a diverse group of supporters.

"And in these moments we experience and these emotions we share, we change what we can imagine together."

Japan, which has long prided itself on being homogeneous, is becoming more ethnically diverse and Osaka, currently 10th in the world rankings, is often held up as the face of these changing times.

The motto will be displayed on the iconic Tokyo Skytree, the Japanese capital's tallest landmark, until March 25, the day before the torch relay begins.

Some 10,000 athletes from over 200 countries will gather in Tokyo for the Olympics, which run from July 24 to Aug. 9.

- Reuters

NBA All-Star game remembers Bryant and Stern

Team LeBron beat Team Giannis by two points at the 69th NBA All-Star game at a packed United Center in Chicago that fell silent for eight seconds before tip-off as about 21,000 fans joined hands to pay their respects to global sports icon Kobe Bryant.

The stirring pre-game tribute began with Los Angeles Lakers great Magic Johnson rousing the crowd and paying homage to Bryant, killed along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven victims in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, on January 26.

Johnson also paid tribute to former NBA Commissioner David Stern, who oversaw explosive growth in the popularity of the game during his 30-year tenure. Stern died on January 1.

Players in Sunday's All-Star game wore No. 2 and No. 24 on their jerseys to honor Kobe and Gianna Bryant, while the game's format paid homage to Bryant.

The team with the most points after three quarters needed to score 24 points to win, while the trailing team had to score 24 plus the number of points it was down.

Team Giannis held a nine-point lead over Team LeBron after three quarters, but the LeBron James-led side had the last laugh, outscoring Team Giannis 33-22 in the final period to clinch a 157-155 victory.

Team LeBron's Kawhi Leonard was named All-Star MVP after scoring 30 points, including eight three-pointers.

Former Manchester United goalkeeper Harry Gregg has died

Former Manchester United goalkeeper and Munich air disaster hero Harry Gregg has died at the age of 87, the English Premier League club said.

Gregg, a Northern Ireland international, helped rescue some of his teammates and other passengers after the plane crash in Munich on 6 February, 1958, which killed 23 people - including eight of his fellow players.

He played 247 times for the Old Trafford club between 1957 and 1966.

"It is with deepest sadness that we have learned of the passing of former player Harry Gregg OBE," United wrote on Twitter. "The thoughts and prayers of everyone at the club go out to Harry's family and friends."

Gregg's charitable foundation said the goalkeeping great died in Causeway Hospital in Coleraine.

Gregg won 25 caps for Northern Ireland between 1954 and 1963. He played in the 1958 World Cup and was voted goalkeeper of the tournament.

- Reuters

du Plessis quits captaincy but returns to play

South Africa have recalled batsman Faf du Plessis and fast bowler Kagiso Rabada for the three-match Twenty20 cricket International home series against Australia that starts on Friday.

Du Plessis, who announced he would be standing down as captain across all three formats, and Rabada were rested for the One-Day International and Twenty20 series against England over the last few weeks.

Also included is fast bowler Anrich Nortje, but in-form opening batsman Temba Bavuma will have to prove his fitness after injuring his hamstring against England on Sunday.

The trio come into the side in the place of Reeza Hendricks, Beuran Hendricks and Sisanda Magala.

There is no return yet for AB de Villiers, who is in talks with South Africa coach Mark Boucher about coming out of international retirement ahead of the Twenty20 World Cup in Australia in October.

The series against Australia starts in Johannesburg on Friday, before moving to Port Elizabeth on Sunday and finally Cape Town on February 26. The sides will then clash in three ODI matches.

- Reuters

'Fresh start' for Williams in F1

Williams showed off their new Formula One car with fighting talk as the former champions seek to revive their fortunes after finishing last with just one point in a dismal 2019 campaign.

The British-based team presented the FW43 as an evolution of last year's Mercedes-powered car, for a season with no major changes before a rules revolution in 2021, but with problem areas addressed.

"This year marks a fresh start for the team," said deputy principal Claire Williams in a statement after images of the car were released online.

Once-dominant Williams have not won a grand prix since Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado's triumph in Spain in 2012. Before that they last won in 2004.

The team's last world championship success came with Canadian Jacques Villeneuve in 1997.

They have scored only eight points, the equivalent of one sixth place, in the last two years. The speed of the decline has been shocking, with Williams third in the championship in 2014 and 2015.

The team have a changed line-up this year with 22-year-old Briton George Russell the more experienced driver alongside Canadian rookie Nicholas Latifi, who replaces departed Pole Robert Kubica.

The season starts in Australia on March 15.

- Reuters

Sports teams break ties with betting sponsor

The Racing Point Formula One team and English Premier League football club Everton announced the end of their sponsorship agreements with online betting firm SportPesa.

Racing Point unveiled their 2020 car in Austria with water technology company BWT as new title sponsor and SportPesa no longer listed among the partners.

Kenyan media quoted SportPesa, who became title sponsors only last year, as saying in a statement the company had decided to end the three-year deal due to a "new business strategy and sponsorship approach".

SportPesa had strong roots in Kenya but last September halted operations there due to a hike in taxes on betting stakes. The company has also cancelled its sports sponsorships in Kenya.

Everton said in a statement that they were terminating a shirt sponsorship deal at the end of the current season.

The club had signed a five-year deal with the gaming brand in 2017 and said the decision was made after a review of the club's commercial strategy in line with future growth plans.

Of the Premier League's 20 clubs, 10 teams started the season with betting companies as shirt sponsors.

- Reuters