Otago launches probe

Llorente header Players wear protest shirts

MELBOURNE - The Otago Highlanders have launched an inquiry after multiple fans were injured in a fall at their home stadium in Dunedin on Friday during the Super Rugby Aotearoa match against the Auckland Blues.

Video posted online showed several fans at Forsyth Barr stadium falling about a metre from a temporary stand after its front barrier collapsed as they cheered a second half try by Highlanders winger Jona Nareki in the home side’s 35-29 win.

Three people were taken to Dunedin Hospital with minor injuries following the incident, New Zealand media reported on Monday.

Highlanders Chief Executive Roger Clark told New Zealand media the Super Rugby side would investigate the incident.

Stadium operator Dunedin Venues Management Ltd (DVML) said it was treating the incident seriously.

“The safety of our patrons and fans is No 1. The Highlanders know that as much as we do,” DVML chief executive Terry Davies told the Otago Daily Times newspaper.

LEEDS - The three points on offer for Liverpool’s Premier League clash at Leeds United became something of a sideshow on Monday with the game paling into insignificance compared to the seismic events engulfing football.

Liverpool confirmed on Sunday they were one of six Premier League clubs to become part of a breakaway Super League -- a move that has been widely condemned and which looks set to provoke a bitter battle for power.

Before kickoff at Elland Road a plane flew overhead trailing a banner saying “say no to superleague” while the Liverpool team coach was greeted with fans venting their anger. Leeds players came out for their warmup wearing shirts emblazoned with the slogan “Earn It” under the Champions League logo — a reference to the fact that the proposed 20-club Super League will have 15 permanent members with no relegation. Earlier in the day Liverpool’s supporters group Spirit of Shankly (SOS) said it was taking down all of its banners which have adorned Anfield during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We, along with other groups involved in flags, will be removing our flags from The Kop,” an SOS statement said.