ManU Manager JOSÉ MOURINHO reportedly reached a deal with the Spanish state on a one-year suspended sentence in a "long-running tax fraud case." The Portuguese national was reportedly also fined about €2M ($2.3M). He was accused of owing nearly €3.3M in undeclared image rights revenue for '11 and '12, when he was Real Madrid's manager (BBC, 9/4). ... British teenager LANDO NORRIS will race in Formula 1 next season after McLaren F1 promoted him to replace STOFFEL VANDOORNE. The "highly-regarded" 18-year-old signed a multi-year deal. Norris said, "This is a special moment, one I could only hope would become reality" (LONDON TIMES, 9/3). ... EPL side West Ham United will "face a compensation bill of almost" £15M ($19.3M) should the club sack Manager MANUEL PELLEGRINI as a result of its "woeful start to the season." The club reportedly failed to insert a termination clause in Pellegrini's contract when it recruited him from Chinese Super League side Hebei China Fortune in the summer, so the manager "would be entitled to have his contract paid up in full" unless both parties agree to a severance package (LONDON TIMES, 9/4). ... Australian Football League CEO GILLON MCLACHLAN will appear via teleconference at Wednesday's Australian Senate inquiry into the "au pair saga" after he connected his cousin, CALLUM MACLACHLAN, to Home Affairs Minister PETER DUTTON's office to "stop the deportation of a French au pair who officials believed intended to work in breach of her tourist visa." McLachlan said that he "simply asked for an email to be passed on and had never met the au pair." AFL Head of Government Relations JUDE DONNELLY "will also make an appearance at the inquiry" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 9/4).
