168 Swiss athletes selected for Beijing, Lara Gut-Behrami no longer competes before the Olympics. And Cornet defeats Halep in Melbourne. The most important sports reports at a glance.
Dortmund’s managing director criticizes Corona decisions

Few or no spectators: German politics sticks with it.
(dpa) For the time being, there will be no increased return of spectators to Bundesliga games and other German professional leagues due to the increasing number of corona infections. During their consultations with the federal government, the prime ministers of the federal states decided on Monday that the heads of the state and senate chancelleries should at least agree on a uniform regulation for major national events by February 9th.
So far, there have been different maximum limits in the states for the admission of spectators: In Bavaria, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Thuringia, no fans are currently allowed in the arenas at all. On the other hand, third-division leaders 1. FC Magdeburg played against TSV Havelse last Sunday in front of 13,385 spectators. This was allowed by the regulation in Saxony-Anhalt, according to which the stadiums can be filled up to 50 percent.
In principle, the federal and state governments are sticking to the corona measures currently in force for the time being because of the more contagious virus variant Omicron.
Managing Director Hans-Joachim Watzke from the Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund has criticized the refusal of the federal and state governments to open the football stadiums to spectators in clear words and is even considering legal action. “We will take a close look at the decisions of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and check whether we can have them checked in an urgent procedure,” Watzke told the German Press Agency on Monday.
After just 16 weeks: Claudio Ranieri has to leave Watford

Claudio Ranieri is no longer at Watford after just 16 weeks in office.
(dpa) According to consistent reports in the English media, Watford FC has parted ways with coach Claudio Ranieri after only 16 weeks. There was initially no official confirmation from the penultimate table in the Premier League on Monday evening. Ranieri was only signed in early October 2021. Under Leicester’s former champions coach, Watford had only managed seven points. The team won 5-2 at Everton FC and celebrated a spectacular 4-1 home win against Manchester United in November.
After the surprise success, the Hornets did not win a league game with the Italian coach and only scored a single point in a draw against Newcastle United, who were also in danger of relegation. Most recently, on Friday, Watford lost 3-0 at home to Norwich City, another direct contender in the fight for relegation.
This is the second time the club from near London has to look for a coach this season. Ranieri’s predecessor, the Spaniard Xisco Munoz, had taken over Watford FC in the second-tier Championship ten months earlier and led to promotion to the Premier League. There he got only seven points in seven games – as many as Ranieri in 13 games.
Ice hockey: Six game suspensions against Marc-Antoine Pouliot
(sda) Marc-Antoine Pouliot from Geneva/Servette has to serve a total of six game suspensions because he knocked over referee Micha Hebeisen in last Wednesday’s championship game against Fribourg-Gottéron. This was decided by the single judge of the National League, who also fined Pouliot CHF 8,700. The naturalized Swiss from Canada has already served a game suspension.
Alpine skiing: Holdener and Gut-Behrami not in Kronplatz

Lara Gut-Behrami takes a break and does not start in the giant slalom in Plan de Corones.
(sda) Lara Gut-Behrami and Wendy Holdener will not compete in the World Cup giant slalom on Tuesday in Kronplatz, Italy. Gut-Behrami will also skip the weekend’s speed races in Garmisch with a downhill (Saturday) and a Super-G (Sunday).
. Gut-Behrami told Blick: “The last few months have been difficult: the flu in North America, the lack of training due to Covid and the fall in St. Moritz have taken a toll on my health.” It’s difficult for her to recover at the moment. “I can’t find the necessary basis and concentration on the skis like this.”
General: Swiss Olympic with 168 athletes to Beijing
(sda) 168 athletes will represent Switzerland at the Olympic Games beginning on February 4th in Beijing. According to Ralph Stöckli, Chef de Mission, the aim of Swiss Olympic is to equalize the 15 medals won in Pyeongchang in 2018.
Alpine skiers and ski crossers as well as individual athletes from other sports were nominated as the last Olympic participants by the Swiss umbrella organization. 93 men and 75 women are therefore making the journey to Beijing.
The ski team is led by the six-time winner of the season, Marco Odermatt, the leader in the overall World Cup. The Nidwaldner is the greatest trump card in a powerful team that has legitimate hopes of medals in all eleven disciplines. Other trumps from Swiss Ski are Beat Feuz, Lara Gut-Behrami, Corinne Suter, Wendy Holdener and Michelle Gisin. Aline Danioth, Andrea Ellenberger, Noémie Kolly, Priska Nufer and Yannick Chabloz secured the last places in the team.
The ski crossers are also among the contenders for a medal in Beijing. Marc Bischofberger will be absent in China. The 2018 Olympic silver medalist failed due to strong internal competition. Also missing from the squad is Sanna Lüdi, who injured herself in her fall in Idre Fjäll on Sunday, but could still be nominated by Swiss Olympic.
The 42-year-old curler Silvana Tirinzoni is the oldest athlete in the Swiss team, the ski jumper and four-time Olympic champion Simon Ammann is contesting his seventh Olympic Games.
Tennis: Cornet in the quarterfinals of a major tournament for the first time
(sda) Russia’s Daniil Medvedev, the big favorite in the lower half of the table, qualified for the quarterfinals, but not without problems. The US Open winner only prevailed against the Franco-American Maxime Cressy after three and a half hours 6: 2, 7: 6 (7: 4), 6: 7 (4: 7), 7: 5.
In the quarter-finals, Medvedev meets Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime (ATP 9), who beat Marin Cilic after falling behind in a set.
Two days after her 32nd birthday, Frenchwoman Alizé Cornet (WTA 61) reached the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time. Cornet wrestles Simona Halep 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.
It was only in her 63rd major tournament that Cornet, once number 12 in the world, made it into the last eight for the first time. It almost didn’t work out again: Cornet led against Halep 6: 4, 3: 1, 40:30, but then lost 19 of the next 20 and the last 16 rallies in the second set in the Australian summer heat. In the deciding set, however, Cornet got back on his feet. After a break deficit, she used the third match ball to win.
In the quarterfinals on Wednesday, Alizé Cornet meets 28-year-old Danielle Rose Collins, who became the third American to reach the quarterfinals. A year ago, three USA girls qualified for the last eight in Melbourne.
American Football: Brady fails with the Buccaneers in the playoffs against the Los Angeles Rams

Hanging heads at the defending champion: Tom Brady missed his eleventh Super Bowl participation with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
(sda) Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are dethroned. In the NFL playoff quarterfinals, the defending champion lost 27:30 in a dramatic game against the Los Angeles Rams.
A remarkable comeback from Brady and Co. went unrewarded. A field goal by Rams kicker Matt Gay at the end of the season brought the decision, with which the Rams can continue to dream of participating in the Super Bowl on February 13 at their own stadium in Inglewood.
Brady, on the other hand, is denied his eleventh Super Bowl participation and thus the chance for the eighth title. Whether the 44-year-old will continue his career is still open.
The Kansas City Chiefs secured the last semifinal ticket. In a no less dramatic duel with the Buffalo Bills, the Chiefs won 42-36 after overtime, which means they will now play the Cincinnati Bengals for a place in the Super Bowl on Sunday.
Ice hockey: No victories for Swiss in the NHL
(sda) For the Swiss NHL players who were in action on Monday night, there were defeats. The New Jersey Devils with Nico Hischier and Jonas Siegenthaler lost 2:3 against the Los Angeles Kings. Dean Kukan returned to the team with the Columbus Blue Jackets, but lost with them 2-1 to the Ottawa Senators.