Watford are upset after the FA turned down a work permit for one of their players, especially as England Under 20 World Cup-winning coach Paul Simpson had strongly backed the Premier League club’s request.

The application from Venezuelan Adalberto Penaranda was rejected for a second successive year, despite the starring role he played in helping his country reach the U20 World Cup final in South Korea where they lost to England.

It was Penaranda’s penalty, saved by Newcastle’s Freddie Woodman, that proved to be the defining moment of the match.

Watford are disappointed after Venezuelan Adalberto Penaranda was denied a work permit

It is the second time the youngster was denied a permit to allow him to play for Watford

FA coach Simpson, speaking at the tribunal, was glowing about Penaranda’s ability to make a mark in the Premier League, calling him the best player England faced in the tournament. Simpson said he focused on the Watford forward when planning his tactics for the final.

Added to Watford’s frustration is the belief that the Big Six in the top flight secure work permits much easier than the smaller clubs. The FA say work permits are always decided by a rigorous set of criteria that is regularly updated in conjunction with the leagues and government.

For a sport like racing, which is keen on encouraging diversity, it did not make the best impression that for four days of Royal Ascot this week, the 16-personnel Queen’s carriage procession contained not a single black racegoer nor any of the Middle East royalty that bankroll the sport.

Her Majesty the Queen, pictured attending Royal Ascot on Thursday afternoon

Attempts to unify Taekwondo rules involving Jon Smith, chairman of British Taekwondo, has achieved the breakthrough of North Korea competing in the world championships in Muju, South Korea for the first time. Donald Trump take note.

The one-eyed reaction from four MCC consultation meetings into the Lord’s redevelopment point to a clear outcome. In a choice between Rifkind Associates paying the club £150million to include a residential development at the Nursery End or MCC paying for the work — without the 97 flats — it looks certain the main committee will recommend rejecting RA’s offer.

Richardson quits SW19

Veteran BBC broadcaster Garry Richardson has resigned as a Wimbledon TV reporter and will be replaced at next week’s championships by Strictly Come Dancing champion Ore Oduba.

Richardson, whose repetitive interview style — demonstrated to effect on his Sportsweek radio shows — was never really suited to providing TV soundbites after matches in SW19, made his decision during last year’s tournament and told colleagues that he would not be returning.

Richardson had a famous Wimbledon spat with Andy Murray in 2013 after he came back from two sets down to beat Fernando Verdasco. Murray did not like being asked by Richardson whether coach Ivan Lendl had given him a hairdryer — in the style of the watching Sir Alex Ferguson.

Garry Richardson, pictured interviewing former US president Bill Clinton at Wimbledon

ITV Sport have finally given Racecourse Media Group some justification for leaving Channel 4 to attract a bigger audience for their main racing events on ITV. For the first time on a showcase race day this year ITV average of one million viewers was well over double C4’s rating (477,000) in 2016.

Ascot like to make out that the Royal meeting does not have race sponsors and that the few decreed partnerships are all very discreetly advertised. Yet the full list of Ascot backers in the race programme highlights just how voraciously Ascot hoover up in the sponsorship market. They have two official partners, an official timekeeper, 14 official suppliers and 87 race sponsors.

The long battle between talkSPORT and the BBC for radio rights to the 2017-18 Ashes series will be decided next week. The BBC are expected to keep the contract but not without paying a seven-figure sum.