It’s Khan the Koppite

LONDON Mayor Sadiq Khan is organising a tribute dinner at the Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington tonight for Liverpool and Wales great Ian Rush, with the guests expected to include Kenny Dalglish and Graeme Souness. Manager Jurgen Klopp is also hoping to attend, with Liverpool playing at Crystal Palace the following day.

Quite why Khan should single out a footballer who never played for a London club is explained by the mayor being a fervent Liverpool fan. He turned his back on his brothers’ club Chelsea because of the racism Asian friends experienced in the Shed End at Stamford Bridge in the 1980s.

Former chairman Ken Bates told the Chelsea Pitch Owners that the pub across the road from their ground was a meeting place for the National Front. Bates, 86, also claimed to have fixed the semi-final draw of his brainchild, the inaugural Full Members Cup, in 1986 so that Chelsea and Manchester City were set up to meet in the final — which they did with Chelsea winning 5-4.

TEAM England’s build-up for the Commonwealth Games seems to have gone less smoothly than recent major championships, with athletes having to recuperate on Brisbane’s man-made beach because ice baths arrived late. And the focus of hot gold-medal favourite Dina Asher-Smith in the 200m might be affected after she split with fellow England sprinter Zharnel Hughes.