AHEAD OF THE GAME: Rishi Sunak will send the Government’s most senior gay minister to the World Cup

Rishi Sunak is planning a show of solidarity with England gay fans traveling to the World Cup by sending the government’s top gay minister to Qatar as part of the official party.

While the precise details of the government delegation are still being finalized, Stuart Andrew will attend the tournament in his dual ministerial role as Minister for Sport and Minister for Equality.

Andrew is likely to approach the ban on homosexuality in Qatar differently — with sanctions ranging from seven years in prison to the death penalty for Muslims prosecuted under Sharia law — than Secretary of State James Cleverly, who was heavily criticized last month for inciting homosexuals. . fans to show ‘a little flexibility and compromise’ and ‘respect the culture of your host country’.

Southgate’s pain over Kane

Antonio Conte’s decision to start Harry Kane in Tottenham’s third-round Carabao Cup defeat to Nottingham Forest earlier this week did not go down well with England manager Gareth Southgate, who hoped his captain and top scorer would get a rare night off. get before the match. World Cup.

Kane has now started 21 consecutive games for Tottenham, which will no doubt be 22 when Leeds visit this afternoon, although his side’s 2-0 loss at City Ground means he will be in every fourth round three days after the game. case will be spared a tie in the fourth round. World Cup final.

Palace owners on red alert

David Blitzer and Josh Harris’s commitment to Crystal Palace will be tested again with Liverpool now openly for sale.

The Philadelphia 76ers’ owners provided the bulk of the funding – and made it clear they were willing to dump their Palace shares if they’d been successful – in a failed bid to buy Chelsea earlier this year and Liverpool is in some A more attractive proposition in many respects, given Anfield’s expansion to a 61,000 capacity stadium is nearing completion.

Blitzer and Harris had a majority stake in Chelsea’s bid led by Sir Martin Broughton, a former Liverpool chairman involved in the sale of the club to the Fenway Sports Group, and would be well placed to sign a new deal to close.

Burnley wants to borrow again

Burnley plans to pay out the remaining £32.3m from their £65m loan from MSD Holdings and secure new loans from an alternative source. Aldermore Bank has been identified by the club as the preferred lender as they have a specialist football finance division and have provided more than £200 million in loans to clubs including Leeds and Brighton since their launch in 2017.

Burnley is said to be seeking a larger, long-term loan from Aldermore after its relegation to the championship triggered early repayment clauses in their deal with MSD, which had they remained in the top flight until 2026. three repayments to MSD of £15m, £5m and £12.3m in the summer and are now seeking to refinance in full.

Tan has had enough of Cardiff

Cardiff owner Vincent Tan is considering putting the club up for sale as they are bleeding his money and must face another battle to avoid relegation from the championship. Cardiff’s most recent bills, published last summer, revealed debts of £109 million, of which £54 million to Tan, and club executives predict they will see more losses this year.

Tan received several expressions of interest in Cardiff earlier this year without getting a formal offer, and the Malaysian businessman may be more proactive in the coming months by hiring someone to sell the club.