Today's sports news: What you need to know

Latest - English forward David Ball has recommitted to the Wellington Phoenix, signing a two-year contract extension, extending his stay in Wellington through until the end of the 2024/25 A-League season.

Ball joined the club in 2019 and has played a major role in the Nix qualifying for the finals in two of his three seasons.

He has also shown his dedication to the team, playing with knee and toe injuries over the past two years.

"I love the club and I've loved playing in Wellington so it makes sense for me to stay and continue on as long as I can," Ball said.

"There are good people throughout the club and that's hard to find in football.

"Obviously I wanted to commit to the Phoenix and the club wanted to commit to me as well so for both parties it was perfect.

The 32-year-old believes the best is still to come for him and the club.

"The current crop of Phoenix players are special and I want to be a part of it for many years to come.

Ball has played 78 matches for the Phoenix, but only 14 of them have been in New Zealand.

He is also keen on gaining New Zealand residency and possibly playing for the All Whites

Good start for Kiwis in Paris

New Zealand tennis players have made a bright start to their doubles campaigns at the French Open in Paris.

Erin Routliffe playing at Roland Garros for the first time (aside from in juniors) and partner Alicja Rosolska of Poland knocked out 16th seeds, American Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Aussie Ellen Perez.

Routliffe and Rosolska won 6-2 7-5 in an hour and 18 minutes.

Men's seventh seeds Michael Venus and German Tim Puetz beat Aussie James Duckworth and Belarussian Ilya Ivashka 6-2 6-4 in 57 minutes.

Venus won the 2017 doubles title with American Ryan Harrison.

Venus and Puetz will next face a French combination

Chelsea sale takes next step

The British government has issued a licence that permits the sale of Chelsea to a consortium led by Los Angeles Dodgers part-owner Todd Boehly and backed by Clearlake Capital, sports minister Nadine Dorries said.

Current owner Roman Abramovich is subject to sanctions by the British government. He put the London club up for sale in early March following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a "special military operation".

"We are satisfied the proceeds of the sale will not benefit Roman Abramovich or other sanctioned individuals," Dorries said on Twitter.

Yesterday the consortium, which agreed terms to acquire Chelsea for $6.6 billion earlier this month, passed the Premier League Owners' and Directors' Test.

Chelsea had been operating under a government license since Abramovich's assets were frozen in March and it was set to expire on May 31.

The club had earlier confirmed that all proceeds from the sale will be donated to charitable causes by Abramovich.

The completion of the sale will allow Chelsea to renew transfer activity as well as permit players to sign new contracts, which was prohibited as part of the sanctions imposed.

-Reuters

Yates out of Giro

Briton Simon Yates dropped out of the Giro d'Italia today due to a knee problem, as Santiago Buitrago went on to win on stage 17, a 165-kilometre ride from Ponte di Legno to Lavarone.

After an almighty battle further back, Richard Carapaz of Ineos Grenadiers came home in fifth to retain the pink jersey, crossing the line at the same time as Australian Jai Hindley, who stayed second in the general classification.

Yates, one of the pre-race favourites for the pink jersey and winner of two stages so far, abandoned the Giro altogether, lying 21st in the general classification more than half an hour behind Carapaz before today's rainy stage.

News also came through as the riders battled it out today that Eritrean Biniam Girmay has been cleared of any permanent vision damage but he is not yet able to resume training or racing.

Girmay suffered an eye injury when opening the celebratory bottle of Prosecco after winning stage 10 last week. The cork flew out and hit his left eye.

Stage 18 of the Giro d'Italia is a 146-kilometre ride from Borgo Valsugana to Treviso.

-Reuters

Good news for Liverpool

Liverpool midfielder Thiago Alcantara's injury is not as bad as feared, manager Juergen Klopp said, raising the prospect that he could feature in the Champions League final against Real Madrid this weekend.

Thiago appeared to pull a muscle during their final Premier League game against Wolverhampton Wanderers and Klopp initially said he would likely miss out on the clash with the Spaniards in Paris.

Although the midfielder did not train today, the German said Thiago would likely be involved in tomorrow's session.

Meanwhile Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah, who is heading into the final year of his contract, says he will be staying with the club next season regardless of how future talks over his deal progress.

Salah, joint top scorer in the Premier League with 23 goals this season, would be avaliable for a free transfer at the end of next season if he doesn't sign a new contract extension.

-Reuters

England manager embarrassed to be playing behind closed doors

England manager Gareth Southgate said it is an "embarrassment" for the national team to play without fans and called for better behaviour at stadiums after a string of pitch invasions marred the end of the domestic season.

England were ordered to play their next two home games in UEFA competition without supporters present after disturbances during their Euro 2020 final last year.

Southgate's side host Italy in the Nations League on June 11, in a rematch of that final, behind closed doors. The ban on fans attending the second game has been suspended for a probationary period of two years.

"We're on a yellow card and we've got the embarrassment now of playing behind closed doors at home," Southgate said.

"We still want to host events. We've got a women's Euros here this summer which should be a brilliant experience for everybody ... We're talking about something that could cost us the chance of doing those sorts of things ..."

Several pitch invasions occurred in English football over the last few weeks, with Aston Villa's Robin Olsen, Sheffield United's Billy Sharp and Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieira being involved in on-field incidents with fans.

-Reuters