It was revealed that billionaire James Packer and actor Russell Crowe had waived A$7M ($5M) in loans to National Rugby League side South Sydney Rabbitohs, leaving the club to "declare it was in the healthiest position financially it has ever been in." It brings to a close a "decade-long period of liability to private investors" that began when Peter Holmes a Court and Crowe loaned Souths a combined A$6.15M between '06 and '08, on top of the A$3M the pair outlaid to buy 75% of the club. The "financial noose around the Rabbitohs' neck has been removed entirely," sparing the '14 premiers a repayment process that would have otherwise lasted for years (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 2/28).
League One side Blackpool "issued an apology to Bradford" and its fans for playing the song "We didn't start the fire" on the Bloomfield Road sound system at Saturday's match. Bradford holds an annual memorial in tribute to the 56 supporters who died in the Bradford fire disaster in '85 and in May last year the city staged a special "Remembrance Service" to mark its 30th anniversary. Blackpool said the choice of song at Saturday's game "was unintentional" after some of Bradford's fans took offense at the lyrics in the Billy Joel song and later complained on social media (London TELEGRAPH, 2/27).
