a busy day in scotland too with celtic manager neil lennon calling for focus from his side at st mirrenith an old firm derby against rangers looming on sunday. celtic are five points ahead of their second—placed rivals who face kilmarnock. celtic know a win will guarantee top spot ahead of the winter break. you can see all of the day's fixture's online and app.

says goes for returning celtic boss neil lennon and chief executive peter lawwell their good relationship led celtic to rehire him from the year he also comes into play with other aspects like the team believe and the fans the former managers already know what the fans want the identity of the club how the media is in that particular place and they are to speak the language all things that might seem small but are definitely important for the big successful picture. but more importantly they also know what to expect out of their opponents and they know the tactical and technical demands of the league that they're returning to which is one less for you to have this familiarity definitely hurt in your line and when he returned to celtic right in the middle of 2900 season he was able to help start to continue their form with barely any adjustment period and led them to complete and unprecedented 3rd domestic travel not bad. and other prover returning a successful manager is. going to have more bargaining power the 2nd time around and the club is willing to give them what they want in order t

a busy day in scotland too with celtic manager neil lennon calling for focus from his side at st mirrenfive points ahead of their second—placed rivals who face kilmarnock. celtic know a win will guarantee top spot ahead of the winter break. you can see all of the day's fixture's online and app. thousands gathered in sydney overnight to see off the crews for the 74th sydney hobart yach race. the skies around sydney harbour were relatively clear of smoke from the bushfires, for the start. nine—time winners and defending champions wild 0ats 11 have taken the lead in the last hour too. nine hours gone. a65 miles still to go to tasmania. it's expected the best crews will take nearly two days to complete the race — compared to more than six when they first sailed it in 19a5. that's all the sport for now. i'll have more for you in the next hour. shoppers are expected to spend £200 million less in the boxing day sales this year with environmental concerns being the biggest reason for the drop. almost seven in ten consumers plan to spend less on so—called "fast fashion" because of the impact of

celtic manager neil lennon wants his side to stay focused in the three o'clock kickoff at st mirren andceltic could go eight points clear if they win and rangers lose at home to kilmarnock. lennon's side beat st mirren 2—0 in the reverse fixture in october. and aside from football, another sporting boxing day tradition is the sydney to hobart yacht race. over 600 miles to tasmania, and blue skies when they left from sydney harbour overnight, with little smoke from the bushfires that have been raging in new south wales. 11 hours into the race and a third different leader too. last yea r‘s runners—up black jack are ahead. very calm winds at the minute with the winner probably crowned late tomorrow night or early saturday morning. england have taken another wicket in centurion — south africa now 198—6 on the opening day of the first test. you can find more on all those stories on the bbc sport website. that's bbc.co.uk/sport. that's all the sport for now. the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu is a facing a vote today for his leadership of the likud party from long—time rival gideon

a full programme in scotland too where celtic boss neil lennon has demanded full focus from his sidey. celtic are five points ahead of second placed rangers — who face kilmarnock. celtic know a win will assure them top spot ahead of the winter break. you can see all of the day's fixture's on the website and app. another boxing day sporting tradition is the sydney hobart yacht race. that got under way overnight when the skies around sydney harbour were relatively clear of smoke from the bushfires, for the start. race record holders comanchie have led most of the way so far. seven hours in now. 500 miles still to go to tasmania. it's expected the best crews will take nearly two days to complete the race with calmer winds forecast this year. that's all the sport for now. you can find more on all those stories on the bbc sport website, including the cricket and build up to the day's football. lots of festive quizzes to try out with the family too. that's bbc.co.uk/sport. deborahjames, or bowel babe, as she's known to anyone who has followed the podcast, you, me and the big c, has shared

celtic manager neil lennon admitted his side weren't at their best but that's what cup football is allin the scottish league cup. it's a tenth successive domestic trophy in scotland. christopherjullien scored the winner on the hour mark and against the run of the play. rangers had a penalty saved and played the last half an hour with a man advantage but couldn't find a goal. a a1—year—old man has been arrested on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence following reports of manchester united players being abused during yesterday's manchester derby at the etihad stadium. the incident is the latest to blight the game in recent times with fred, one of the players allegedly targetted said it shows we are still in a backward society. our sports correspondent katie gornall reports. it was the moment the manchester derby turned ugly. something has just hit fred. yesterday, as the united midfielder went to take a corner in the second half, objects, including cigarette lighters were thrown at him. this is really poor, things are now raining down. before a man was caught on camera

manager neil lennon admitted they weren't at their best but that's what cup football is all about. villa park where leicester city won their eighth game in a row to close eight points behind leaders liverpool at the top of the table. jamie vardy scored for the eighth game running too, scoring once in each half. jonny evans and kelechi ianacho also found the scoresheet. we knew this was going to be a tough game but our approach in the game was very good. intensity and concentration was great from the players. we scored very good goals. and that second half, we kept going right till the very end, to score... collectively as a team, we defended very well. disappointed that we conceded just before half—time, but the message in the second half was to keep doing what we had been doing. brighton and wolves shared the points in the late kick—off after a 2—2 draw. all four goals came in the first half, neal maupauy scored the pick of them to make it 1—1. but after brighton went ahead 2 minutes later, this equaliser from diego jota extended wolves unbeaten run to 11 matches and moved them up

another player to be lauded by his manager was celtic‘s jeremie frimpong, who neil lennon described asof rangers at the top of the scottish premiership. steven gerrard's side beat motherwell 2—0 at fir park. nikola katic opened the scoring before alfredo morelos sealed the points. he was then sent off in the aftermath for an offensive gesture towards motherwell fans in his celebration. four wins from four have pushed exeter to the verge of the quarter finals of rugby union's champions cup for the first time since 2016. the chiefs had to battle against the sharks and the weather, with play briefly suspended in the second half due to heavy hailstones. but five tries in the match sealed a bonus—point win. bath's qualification hopes are done after they were heavily beaten in clermont. just time to tell you mark selby won the scottish open snooker tonight, beating jack lisowski in the final. that, though, is all your sport for now. it is 20 years since vladimir putin came to power, first as prime minister and then as president of russia. in that time, he has built a system of power which re

celtic manager neil lennon has admitted his side were not at their best, but said that is what cup footballssive domestic trophy in scotland. christopher julian scored on the hour mark and against the run of play. front of a boss saw a penalty save five minutes later. even though they had a 1—man advantage for the final half—hour, ranges couldn't and the eight year wait for a major trophy. four games in the premier league today, the pick of them at villa park, where leicester city won their eighth game ina row leicester city won their eighth game in a row to close eight points behind leaders liverpool. they beat aston villa 4—1. janie barty scored for the 8—game running, scoring once in each child. ——jamie vardy. for the 8—game running, scoring once in each child. -- jamie vardy. we knew this was going to be a tough game, but our approach to the game was very good. the player intensity and concentration was great. we scored a very, very good goals. and in the second half we kept going right to the very end. i think collectively, as a team, we defended very well. disappointed that we concede

a busy day in scotland too with celtic manager neil lennon calling for focus from his side at st mirrenahead of their second—placed rivals who face kilmarnock. celtic know a win will guarantee top spot ahead of the winter break. you can see all of the day's fixture's online and app. thousands gathered in sydney overnight to see off the crews for the 74th sydney hobart yacht race. the skies around sydney harbour were relatively clear of smoke from the bushfires, for the start. nine—time winners and defending champions wild oats 11 are in the lead — just. ten hours gone. a70 miles still to go to tasmania. it's expected the best crews will take nearly two days to complete the race — compared to more than six when they first sailed it in 19a5. you're up—to—date. we'll have more after 1pm. india s national human rights commission has asked police in the northern state of uttar pradesh to respond to allegations they violated protesters‘ civil rights during recent demonstrations against the controversial citizenship law. the legislation has been criticised as being anti—muslim. at least 2a peo

for celtic boss neil lennon — it's the only competition he hasn't yet won in scotland.her box for my career, which would be nice, but male focus is on the team. the players, you know, putting on —— my whole focus is on the team. our team selection will be different from what it was on wednesday night, maybe rangers will be the same. it is very difficult to predict how we derby is going to go because it has day. so, advantages, we had great experience of winning, great experience of playing here a lot, hopefully, hopefully that will stand us in stead in winning the game. let's turn our attention to rugby union now where the third round of pool matches are taking place in the european champions cup this weekend. northampton saints' director of rugby chris boyd said his side were given a reality check after they were thrashed 43—16 at home by last season's runners—up leinster. james burridge was at franklin's gardens. this was quite a statement from leinster. seven tries against the premiership league leaders. it all started in those early minutes when james lowe capitalis

a busy day in scotland too with celtic manager neil lennon calling for focus from his side at st mirrene five points ahead of their second placed rivals who face kilmarnock. celtic know a win will guarantee top spot ahead of the winter break. you can see all of the day's fixture's online and app. that's all the sport for now. you can find more on all those stories on the bbc sport website, including the cricket. south africa now 79—3. and there's build up to the day's football. lots of festive quizzes to try out with the family too. india s national human rights commission, has asked police in the northern state of uttar pradesh, to respond to allegations they violated protesters' civil rights during recent demonstrations against the controversial citizenship law. the legislation has been criticised as being anti—muslim. at least 2a people have been killed, and hundreds injured, in clashes in cities across the country, over the past two weeks. ari behn, the former son—in—law of norway's king, has died, aged a7. ari behn, the author of several novels and plays, married princess martha lo

with neil lennon looking for his 10th win in a row in all competitions.ty from ryan christie after just 11 minutes. 20 minutes gone in that game, it remains 1—0. you can follow live text commentary on our website. second placed rangers play hearts at 3 o'clock. the final race in the f1 season gets underway in abu dhabi in just under an hour's time. lewis hamilton has already won the the world title, and will start today's race in pole position. red bull's max verstappen will start second and charles leclerc in third for ferrari. and coverage starts on 5 live sports extra from 1 o'clock. carl frampton is back to winning ways after beating tyler mccreary in las vegas overnight. frampton floored the american twice en route to a dominant points victory. it was his first bout since losing a world title fight tojosh warrington last december — and tees up another shot at the world title next year. it's the final day of the trampoline, tumbling & dmt world championships in tokyo, and there's another medalfor great britain. elliott brown powered his way to silver

neil lennon has left five first—team regulars behind for their europa league tie. between celtic and cluj. in the other matches later, rangers need a point against young boys of bern in order to progress, while manchester united — who're through — host az alkmaar. united have turned their form around recently after wins against tottenham and manchester city. manager ole gunner solskjaer says he knew it was coming. results always, that is the perfect in the end. but inside we have a lwa ys in the end. but inside we have always people to be doing and it is going to be ups and downs, we have said that, as well but we are on the right track, we see, i see these boys everything a day in training. the attitude and the skills and the they have got, so i have not been naturally. time for a look at the other sports news stories making the headlines today richard masters has been named as the premier league's new chief executive. it comes just two weeks after david pemsel resigned before he'd even started the role, following newspaper allegations about his private life. mast

one game under way in scotland — premiership leaders celtic away at ross county with neil lennon's sideond—placed rangers play hearts at three o'clock. on to cricket, and joe root‘s managed to play himself into a bit of form in england's second test against new zealand. the captain's been short of runs recently, but he's scored an unbeaten century in hamilton overnight — that's just his second hundred in the last year. rory burns also got a century as rain stopped play with england 269 for five — still 106 runs behind new zealand. i think it was huge forjoe, who has had a tough year with the bat so far, a lot of talk about him. when you come under the spotlight like that, to respond in the fashion he has today shows a lot of character. i thought it was very convincing right from the word go, his movement and footwork looked really good, he was resolute in his defence, and it was a traditional test match innings. england's netballers have ended their three match test series against south africa with defeat. the roses were 16—10 down after the first quarter and were never able to recover

neil lennon's side were already through as group winners, but were beaten 2—0 away at cluj — second—halfning run in all competitions. elsewhere manchester united are already through to the last 32, they're taking on az alkmaar at old trafford. at ibrox, rangers, in the tightest of all the groups will be desperate to beat young boys and qualify as group winners, if they don't they could be out... wolves are already through, they‘ re taking on besiktas at molineaux. next — the championship has been described as a "bubble waiting to burst", with clubs posting record losses in a "gamble" to get promoted. our sports news correspondent andy swiss has this report. it is football's richest competition, but is the battle simply to reach the premier league coming at a hefty cost? when wolves celebrated promotion last year, they did so having spent far more than they had earned. and they were not alone. championship sides racked up a record £307 million in pre—tax losses. only five of the 2a teams in the division made a profit, while spending on wages exceeded revenues by 11%. one former championsh

celtic boss neil lennon says his side can't be thinking about sunday's game just yet and called for fullften described as the most gruelling ocean race in the world and overnight the 7ath sydney to hobart yacht race has begun. the skies around sydney harbour were relatively clear of smoke from the bushfires, for the start. home team and race record holder comanche has taken an early lead. 628 nautical miles it is to tasmania. it's expected the best crews will take nearly two days to complete the race with calmer winds forecast this year. going to stick with the aqua nautical theme. how do you find the idea of open water swimming? in the summer, 1a degrees is about the cold est i have summer, 1a degrees is about the coldest i have dipped in and that sends chills down your back. that is about 7 degrees colder than i have ever done. now if you over—did it on the food and drink yesterday, what better way to blow away the cobwebs than a refreshing dip in the north sea? 0ur reporter alison freeman is in whitby, in north yorkshire today where a group of swimmers plan to do just that. morning al