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Jess Varnish will call British Cycling's controversial former chief medic Dr Richard Freeman to give evidence to a tribunal on Tuesday. The 28-year-old sprinter's case against British Cycling and UK Sport is set to begin as she claims unfair dismissal. The tribunal will consider if, as an athlete in receipt of UK Sport funding, she was self-employed or an employee. Should it be ruled that Varnish was an employee, the parties would reconvene for a tribunal in 2019. The hearing in Manchester is expected to last until 17 December. Freeman, who is the subject of a General Medical Council investigation, is one of three witnesses Varnish is set to call to give evidence. The others are her boyfriend and ex-GB BMX champion Liam Phillips and her agent James Harper. Freeman was the doctor who received a mystery medical package for Sir Bradley Wiggins at a race in France in 2011. Last year he pulled out of giving evidence to a parliamentary committee hearing on Team Sky due to ill health. He denied any wrongdoing in an interview with BBC Sport in July after resigning from British Cycling because of a stress-related illness in October 2017. Simon Fenton, representing Varnish, said her case is "she was an employee (or worker), with the right not to be discriminated against". He added: "This case comes in a line of decisions from the cases of Uber, Addison Lee and Pimlico Plumbers which show how tribunals are looking at what actually happened in practice rather than simply accepting what is said in the contractual documentation. And they are deciding that the individuals are workers." On Monday both sides in the dispute spent the first day of their employment tribunal reading each others' paperwork, with Varnish's camp receiving 4,000 pages of documents from their opponents on Sunday. Varnish was omitted following the 2016 Track Cycling World Championships in London, after the two-woman, two-rider team sprint squad she was part of failed to qualify for the Rio Olympics. She alleged sex discrimination against Shane Sutton, then the technical director of British Cycling, who was found to have used sexist language towards her. Sutton resigned but was later cleared of eight of nine allegations. A UK Sport spokesperson told BBC Sport the organisation had been "advised that we are unable to comment while these legal proceedings are taking place". British Cycling said it had no comment to make before the hearing. Analysis Dan Roan, BBC sports editor Varnish will call three witnesses as she and her lawyers try to show that she was subject to the kind of control and restrictions that meant she was effectively an employee of British Cycling - and therefore should have had protection against discrimination. British Cycling and UK Sport will seek to show the tribunal that publicly-funded athletes are self-employed, and not afforded such rights. This could be just as important a landmark case to British Olympic and Paralympic sport as the Bosman ruling was to football back in 1995 when it allowed players to be free agents after their contracts expired If the tribunal finds in Varnish's favour, not only could she be awarded compensation for lost earnings - it may have major repercussions for hundreds of other athletes. UK Sport may become liable for backdated pensions and tax contributions of other athletes - and then have to cut the numbers who receive support. UK Sport currently treats athlete funds as if they are student grants - with no tax having to be paid. But all that could change if Varnish prevails. In terms of medals, the current funding system has proved highly successful, but critics say it leaves athletes too vulnerable, and it is now under threat like never before.

Chelsea playmaker Eden Hazard, 27, has again hinted at a move to Real Madrid and says he does not know when he will decide on his future. But the Belgium forward admits talks over a new contract at Stamford Bridge have stopped. (RMC Sport via Express) AC Milan sporting director Leonardo has confirmed the Serie A club have approached Chelsea about the possibility of signing Spain midfielder Cesc Fabregas, 31. (London Evening Standard) Tottenham have joined Manchester United in pursuit of Romania forward Dennis Man, the 20-year-old who plays for FCSB, the club formerly known as Steaua Bucharest. (Sun) Manchester United are leading the chase for Lyon's 21-year-old France midfielder Tanguy Ndombele, who is also a target for Barcelona, Manchester City and Tottenham. (Mirror, via France Football) Spurs are facing a further delay to the opening of their new stadium due to difficulties in staging test events over the Christmas period. (Times - subscription required) Fulham boss Claudio Ranieri is ready to move for Leicester's record signing Islam Slimani in January. Ranieri signed the 30-year-old Algeria striker during his time as Foxes manager. (Telegraph) Fulham have also made an enquiry for Deportivo La Coruna's Portuguese striker Pedro Martelo, 19. (Mail) The agent of Wolves' Portugal midfielder Ruben Neves is pushing for the 21-year-old to move to Juventus. (Calciomercato - in Italian) Miguel Almiron's father has claimed Newcastle are in prime position to sign the 24-year-old Paraguay midfielder from Atlanta United in the January transfer window. (Newcastle Chronicle) The Football Supporters' Federation is unhappy at the scheduling of FA Cup third-round matches, but the Football Association has defended the fixtures by highlighting the benefits of a new overseas deal starting for the competition. (Mail) Arsenal midfielder Matteo Guendouzi, 19, says Paris St-Germain were interested in him but he chose to move to the Gunners because of incoming manager Unai Emery and the fact so many French players had played a "big role" at the London club. (Star) Leeds and Aston Villa will attempt to sign Newcastle goalkeeper Karl Darlow next month. The 28-year-old has lost his place, featuring in only one match this season. (Sun) Former England defender and BT Sport pundit Rio Ferdinand described Manchester City's 28-year-old right-back Kyle Walker a "liability at the top level" in off-air comments circulated during Saturday's 2-0 defeat against Chelsea. (Independent) Former Cardiff defender Greg Halford, 34, has been training with West Brom and could be offered a short-term deal by the Championship side. (WalesOnline) Manchester United were recommended Netherlands players Frenkie de Jong, 21, and Matthijs de Ligt, 19, before they made their first-team debuts with Ajax but chose not to pursue them, according to the club's former head of youth recruitment, Derek Langley. (Manchester Evening News) Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp says he will not be managing in Italy any time soon and laughed off suggestions Napoli made an offer for him during his time in charge at Borussia Dortmund. (Liverpool Echo) Bayern Munich's former Netherlands winger Arjen Robben, 34, says he will retire if the "ideal offer" does not materialise when his deal ends this summer. (Goal) West Bromwich Albion are interested in signing Leicester and Wales midfielder Andy King, 30, on loan in January. (Mail) Liverpool are weighing up a move for Borussia Monchengladbach midfielder Thorgan Hazard. The 25-year-old Belgium player - brother of Chelsea forward Eden - could join the Reds in January. (Liga Financial) Napoli's Belgium forward Dries Mertens, 31, says he will not be fazed by the atmosphere at Anfield for their Champions League decider against Liverpool on Tuesday as "football in Italy is crazy and the people are very crazy too so I think we are used to it". (Times - subscription required) Middlesbrough have asked Wolves if they can sign Adama Traore on loan in January, four months after the 20-year-old Spanish forward left Teesside. (Teamtalk) Bayern Munich's France winger Kingsley Coman, 22, says he could retire if he suffers another serious injury that requires surgery.

The Catalan club had proposed the 26 January fixture would take place in the US city and had support from La Liga. But the Spanish Football Association (RFEF) and players' union (AFE) were vocal in objecting to the move. Barca said it had "agreed to withdraw" the proposal, adding: "This project will not prosper until there is agreement between all parties." A club statement added: "FC Barcelona were and remain willing to play a La Liga game in Miami, and accepted that income from the game would be shared among all Primera Division and Segunda Division clubs, following the same criteria of television rights money distribution." La Liga has signed to play one game a season in the US as part of a 15-year deal with media company Relevent. Catalan neighbours Girona and Barcelona had agreed to move their game to the Hard Rock Stadium. La Liga said it was still planning to stage a league match outside Spain. "We regret to disappoint our fans in the US and will work to, in the shortest possible time, stage an official La Liga game in the US," a statement read. "La Liga will continue the planned action so an official game can be played outside of Spain." The Spanish top flight had filed a lawsuit with a civil court in Madrid in a bid to force the RFEF to approve the match, while David Aganzo - president of the country's players' union - believed the fixture would not go ahead in 2019 but could be "possible" in the future. The match also needed the approval of Uefa, US Soccer and the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf). La Liga had previously said it would go to the Court of Arbitration for Sport if Uefa blocked the move.

Fresh from the victory of Wolverhampton's Aaron Rai at the recent Hong Kong Open, Shubhankar Sharma became the youngest Indian to wrap up the Asian Tour's Order of Merit. Both players are capable of stimulating interest in largely untapped markets of vast potential. After playing all four majors and the full set of World Golf Championships in 2018, the 22-year-old Sharma has also been named Rookie of the Year on the European Tour. "This year has been a huge learning curve for me," Sharma said. "I've played in some of the biggest events I could ever imagine and learned a lot. "I know I have the game to be among the best in the world and I just want to keep playing well and give my best shot." If Sharma comes close to fulfilling the promise he has shown in his fledgling career, the implications could be massive. "The effect will be absolutely mind blowing," Jas Athwal, a Yorkshire-based campaigner, told BBC Sport. "Especially in India, to have a major winner from that continent would be great. This young man seems to be fantastic and seems to have all his game together, just like Aaron. "So you keep your fingers crossed and as long as he keeps working hard I'm sure he will be in with a shout." Athwal started the burgeoning Waterstone Park Golf Society and has run community programmes in the Yorkshire area to introduce golf to inner-city schoolchildren of Asian descent. "It would be a big boost in the arm for Asian golf which we have been championing for 20 odd years," he said. "To give us a role model for the kids to look up to would be fantastic." Immediately after last month's victory in Hong Kong, which has made him the early leader of the Race to Dubai, the 24-year-old Rai told BBC Sport of Sharma's potential impact. "An amazing player, a great symbol for India and already a superstar," he said. "Then you've got Julian Suri from America who also has Indian origins from his father's side, and Jack Singh Brar, who is British Asian and has just had an incredible year on the Challenge Tour. He will have a great career ahead of him." But despite this, there are fears that golf's administrators will fail to maximise the benefits of successes from this constituency of players. "These guys might open up the doors because previously no one has ever listened to us with regard to promoting golf," said Athwal, who was the UK's first Sikh golf club captain. "Nothing has changed for the last 30 odd years, there's no involvement with the R and A or anybody else, so we just carry on with ourselves." Nevertheless, he has witnessed a significant increase in interest among British Asian golfers, bucking overall participation trends. "It's grown immeasurably," Athwal said. "Up and down the country there are now hundreds of societies, people holding tournaments just like ours which started with us way back in the day. "Where there was hardly anybody playing, now we have to turn people away from our events and likewise other events. "This community has grown golf where golf has been [otherwise] stagnant in memberships and so on and so forth. They are trying to find innovative ways to make golf more sexy but the thing that's in front of them and the community that's growing it, they are ignoring." In the professional game there has been a steady stream of talent emerging from the Indian sub-continent; the likes of Jyoti Randhawa, SSP Chowrasia, Arjun Atwal, Jeev Milkha Singh and Anirban Lahiri. Now it feels as though there is real momentum and we can add the exciting Sharma and, from a UK perspective, Rai into the mix. Their impact has the potential to stretch way further than that of most 20-somethings emerging on the scene. Athwal would like to think they might prompt renewed interest in the sort of projects he has been running for the past two decades. "Hopefully Aaron and people like that make people sit up think 'ooh bloody hell - these guys have been doing it for 20 years, let's find out what they've been doing and what their ideas are about golf,'" he said.

The 34-year-old, who won 4x400m relay bronze at Rio 2016, struggled with body image confidence as a youngster having gone to a predominantly white school. As an athlete, she was often told she was "fat" because her body was naturally bigger than many peers. "At times you would feel objectified," said Onuora, who has Nigerian parents. "I had an adult body at such a young age - I had hips, quite a big backside, and I didn't know what to do with it or how to feel about it." Onuora - who started her athletics career as a 100m and 200m sprinter before moving to the longer distance - was speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live's The Sista Collective podcast. She said she used to avoid wearing crop tops and short shorts while training because "no-one had the same body", and chose to wear black clothes to avoid drawing attention to herself. "When I was younger, I used to wear a big coat to cover my whole hips and backside, and my friends and family always used to ask me why I was covering up," said the 2015 World Championship bronze medallist. "It was because you have moments where people feel the need to just grab it, they feel entitled to touch because they are curious and it's not something they see." She added: "When you're around a bunch of white girls and their bodies look the same, and then there is yours, it messes with your self-esteem so much." Onuora, a two-time European champion, claims she was told to lose weight by athletics bosses despite her muscular figure, and says she was often compared with the now-retired Christine Ohuruogu even though, she says, they are "not really the same size". She now wants to use her experiences to help instil body confidence in young girls. "I remember being told a couple of times that I was fat, which was tough to go through at such a young age when you want to perform your best," she said. "But being told by the people at the top that maybe you need to lose weight, in reality because of what they perceive that someone who is small and petite is going to run fast, you're not their ideal fit. "I go into schools and do public speaking, and I have no issues with that because I know, as a black woman, I have been in the exact same position where you're told 'your body features aren't good enough', 'you're too fat', or 'you need to put your body parts away'. "Even as elite female athletes, we can be the best in the world but it doesn't mean we don't have the same problems. "I have seen the growth in myself over the years. Now, I love my body and I love what I do, I work hard for this, this is my job, my body is my engine."

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