Sport

Michael Oliver is to referee FA Cup final between Manchester United and Chelsea at Wembley on 19th of May.

The Football Association announced on Tuesday that the 33-year-old from Durham would take charge of the showpiece match at Wembley, which will kick-off at 5.15pm on Saturday, May 19.

In the recent Champions League quarter-final second leg between Real Madrid and Juventus, Oliver awarded a disputed injury-time penalty before also sending off Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon for his furious protests.

Following the fall-out from the tie, which the Spaniards won after Cristiano Ronaldo converted the spot-kick, both Oliver and his wife Lucy were targets of abuse by social media trolls.

Oliver will be assisted by Lee Betts and Ian Hussin, with Lee Mason appointed as the fourth official.

The German Football Association (DFB) has handed its bid book for the 2024 European Championship to Uefa, with Turkey expected to follow suit before Friday's deadline.

A DFB delegation, including former Bayern Munich and Germany captain Philipp Lahm, gave the dossier to Uefa general secretary president Theodore Theodoridis at the European governing body's headquarters in Nyon on Tuesday morning.

In a statement, DFB president Reinhard Grindel said: "Euro 2024 staged in the heart of Europe will enable all of the participants to be given the best possible support by their fans."

Germany previously hosted the tournament in 1988 and also staged the World Cup in 1974 and 2006.

Former St Helens scrum-half Luke Walsh has announced his retirement at the age of 30 after failing to recover from a serious ankle injury.

The former Penrith Panthers goalkicking half-back was in his second year with Catalans Dragons when he sustained significant ankle-ligament damage in the third match of the 2018 Betfred Super League season at Hull KR on February 15.

Walsh has now taken the advice of several doctors to hang up his boots.

Catalans head coach Steve McNamara said: "It's always sad when a player has to retire early due to injury.

"Luke has tried everything possible to get himself into a position to play again but unfortunately that can't happen.

"His commitment and contribution to the Dragons is something we as a club really appreciate."