Motherwell manager Stuart Kettlewell admits he faces a major challenge to alleviate the lengthy absence of strikers Mika Biereth and Jon Obika.
Kettlewell has ruled Obika out until December with a hamstring injury and on-loan Arsenal striker Biereth will likely be missing until mid-November after suffering a knee injury against St Mirren.
Kettlewell – who has not changed his opinion on the tackle that injured Biereth – is limited in what he can do in the transfer market given the club’s spending increases in previous seasons.
He said: “I have always spoken about trying to run with four strikers minimum so that is a huge blow with the news on Mika and Jon Obika, it puts us down to two senior strikers in Theo (Bair) and Conor (Wilkinson).
“Jon Obika, we are probably looking at December. It’s a difficult one but it doesn’t change the situation for me. For us to do any more business, we are in a situation where we are one in, one out.
“It’s been a real tough week and a tough week without a blank canvas just to be able to pick up the reins and go and bring players in.
“But we will continue to work away and see if we can make the situation slightly better.”
Kettlewell declared 17-year-old Mark Ferrie was now “striker number three” while wide player Joe Efford can also play up front but has only had about 15 minutes of action since returning from a long-term thigh injury.
Barry Maguire’s loan move to Kidderminster last week opened a door for a potential new arrival.
“It might help us try and get one across the line,” Kettlewell said. “But the mindset wasn’t that it was in the striker situation at the time. We had been working away on something else trying to get a balance to our squad.
“The fact that (midfielder) Harry Paton has been out and (left-back) Pape Souare is out, it’s a little bit of spinning plates to make sure we have a balance to our squad. We feel Pape will miss several games.
“When I was looking at the start of the week, we had 14 fit senior players.”
Immediately after Saturday’s Viaplay Cup defeat, Kettlewell accused Charles Dunne of making an “absolutely horrendous tackle, two-footed and straight-legged” on Biereth.
In response, the former Motherwell defender claimed he won the ball but “unfortunately slipped” and caught the Denmark Under-21 international. Dunne has contacted Biereth to apologise.
When asked if he had a different opinion on studying the footage, Kettlewell said: “My opinion hasn’t changed.
“One of the things I heard was that he won the ball. What everyone needs to understand – and I need to stress, these aren’t my rules, anyone that watched me play football will realise I picked up more red cards than anybody else and was involved in more crazy challenges than anybody else – but the rules have changed.
“I have lost count of the times I have been told by officials that it doesn’t matter if you win the ball. If you are off the ground, coming in at pace, putting an opponent at risk of injury, coming off the ground, all of those aspects, I was led to believe that was a red card.
“I hear some ridiculous arguments of ‘ah, but he took the ball’… If you have to come through the player and both your legs are wrapped around the standing leg…
“I understand that Charles Dunne has reached out and apologised for the outcome of the challenge so I tip my cap to him and say fair play in that sense. But it doesn’t change the situation that it leaves us short at the top end of the park.”
Haas has named an unchanged driver line-up for 2024 with Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg both retained by the American team.
Hulkenberg, 36, had been without a full-time seat on the grid since 2019, but has impressed since replacing Mick Schumacher. Magnussen, 30, was handed a second stint with Haas on the eve of last season after Russian driver Nikita Mazepin was sacked.
Speaking ahead of this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix, Haas team principal Guenther Steiner said: “It’s safe to say that we’ve had an extremely solid driver pairing this season in Formula One and ultimately there was no reason to look to change that moving forward.
“Kevin is obviously a very well-known quantity to us, and I’m delighted he’ll return for what will be his seventh season in Haas colours. With 113 starts for our team alone, we know where his strengths lie and his knowledge and experience of our organisation pairs very well with that too.
“On the other side of the garage, Nico’s simply slotted in without fuss or fanfare and proved himself to be a valuable member of the team. He’s approaching 200 starts in Formula One and we’re very happy to be the beneficiary of that experience behind the wheel.”
Heading into the second half of this year’s 22-round campaign, Haas are eighth of 10 in the constructors’ standings.
Hulkenberg scored the team’s best result of the season so far with a seventh place in Australia in April. He also qualified second at the Canadian Grand Prix in June, and has scored nine points to Magnussen’s two.
“It’s nice to get things sorted early for next season to just keep the focus on racing and improving performance,” said the German.
Magnussen added: “I’m obviously very happy to see my relationship with Haas extended once again.
“My return in 2022 had been unexpected but was filled with numerous highlights, and although this season hasn’t gone quite as we’d hoped, we’ve still managed to get into the points and shown potential in the package we have.”
The final grand slam of the year gets under way in New York on Monday.
Emma Raducanu remains sidelined but six British players have secured their spots in the main singles draws by ranking.
Here, the PA news agency looks at the home contingent.
Cameron Norrie
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After a brilliant start to the season, Norrie has found himself in something of a trough. The solidity that has formed the basis of his superb last two seasons is no longer quite there and the 27-year-old arrives in New York having lost his last four matches dating back to the first round of Wimbledon. He remains a top-20 player and possesses huge self belief but he will have his work cut out to match last year’s run to the fourth round.
Dan Evans
It has also been a tricky last few months for Evans, who has lost his opening match in eight of his last nine tour-level events. The one time he made it through, though, in Washington earlier this month, he went on to claim the biggest title of his career. The 33-year-old will again be seeded and has a very good record at Flushing Meadows, having reached the third round four times and the fourth round once.
Andy Murray
The 36-year-old is having his best season since hip surgery and has proved consistently that he can compete against the world’s best again, although getting over the line has been another matter. His agonising second-round loss against Stefanos Tsitsipas at Wimbledon clearly hurt but the desire to be a factor once again on the biggest stage still burns bright. An untimely abdominal injury has left him in a race to be fully fit for the US Open.
Jack Draper
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When Draper stunned Felix Auger-Aliassime to reach the third round at Flushing Meadows last year, it seemed his career was about to take off, but frustratingly injuries have been a constant thorn since and his ranking has dropped back outside the top 100. There is no doubt it will climb quickly again if the powerful 21-year-old can just stay fit for a period of time. A shoulder injury suffered at the French Open that ruled him out of the grass was his latest issue, however, he retired after losing the first set in the second round of the Winston-Salem Open on Tuesday, which is a concern. He is a dangerous floater in the draw, if he is fully fit.
Katie Boulter
After the low of no direct British entrants for the women’s singles at the French Open and Wimbledon, it is good to see Boulter and Jodie Burrage in the main draw by right. Boulter has propelled herself to a career-high ranking of 60 after four years spent trying to make it back into the top 100 after injury. The 27-year-old shone on grass, winning her first WTA Tour title in Nottingham and reaching the third round at Wimbledon. She qualified in New York in 2021 but is yet to win a main draw match.
Jodie Burrage
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Beaten by Boulter in the final in Nottingham, Burrage has joined her in the top 100 and in the main draw at Flushing Meadows, where she will make her grand slam debut on foreign soil. It has been a breakthrough season for the 24-year-old, who is another player to struggle with injuries during her career. Burrage has proved her competitive mettle in 2023 with several narrow victories, beating 10 top-100 opponents along the way.
Shohei Ohtani’s likely MVP season took a major hit Wednesday night, when it was revealed that the two-way superstar has a tear in his elbow ligament that will prevent him from pitching the rest of the season.
Angels general manager Perry Minasian said the team didn’t know yet whether Ohtani will need surgery to repair the UCL ligament.
Ohtani left the mound in the middle of an at-bat during the second inning Wednesday in a doubleheader opener because of arm fatigue.
He served as the designated hitter in the nightcap and went 1 for 5 with a run scored. Ohtani has missed only two games all season, none since May 2.
Ohtani didn’t speak to the media after the game because he was getting further evaluation, but manager Phil Nevin said Ohtani told him that his pitching arm “just didn’t feel right.”
“He told me he didn’t feel any pain,” Nevin said after the Angels’ 9-4 loss in the opener. “It was just more of the same thing he’s been feeling for the last couple of weeks.”
Ohtani hit major league-leading 44th homer in the first inning of the opener, a two-run shot.
The superstar has struggled with blisters, cramps and other minor injuries to his pitching hand, but he was able to pitch through them while continuing to play every day at DH.
Ohtani is almost certain to win his second AL MVP award in three seasons. He entered the day 10-5 with a 3.17 ERA on the mound and his home run gave him 91 RBIs.
Aaron Judge had the first three-homer game of his career, and the New York Yankees snapped their first nine-game losing streak in 41 years with a 9-1 rout of the Washington Nationals on Wednesday.
Judge took starter MacKenzie Gore over the Yankees bullpen in right-centre in he first inning and opened a 6-0 lead the following inning with his fifth career grand slam.
He combined with DJ LeMahieu for back-to-back homers in the seventh with a shot over the right-field wall just inside the foul pole.
Judge, who notched his 32nd career multihomer game, drove in six runs for the third time in his career.
The reigning AL MVP is batting .279 with 27 home runs and 54 RBIs in 72 games. He missed nearly eight weeks because of a sprained right toe before returning late last month.
Last-place New York avoided what would have been its first 10-game losing streak since 1913.
Luis Severino allowed one hit over 6 2/3 scoreless innings, ending an 0-4 stretch since he beat Kansas City on July 23.
Ian Hamilton pitched 1 1/3 innings and Wandy Peralta gave up a home run to Dominic Smith in the ninth to spoil the shutout.
Ohtani hits 44th homer, then exits mound early as Reds sweep
The day began splendidly for Shohei Ohtani, with the two-way superstar hitting his major league-leading 44th homer in the first inning of the Los Angeles Angels’ first game of a doubleheader against the Cincinnati Reds.
One inning later, however, he left the mound due to arm fatigue and the Reds went on to win 9-4 behind Elly De La Cruz’s career-high six RBIs.
Ohtani threw 26 pitches before he departed with a 2-2 count against Christian Encarnacion-Strand, following a discussion with trainers.
Angels manager Phil Nevin said after the game that Ohtani said his pitching arm “just didn’t feel right.”
The Reds took a 4-3 lead on De La Cruz’s three-run home run in the fifth inning, his 11th of the season. Two innings later, the 21-year-old rookie shortstop hit a bases-clearing triple.
His six RBIs were one shy of the single-game rookie franchise record, established by Robin Jennings against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Aug. 31, 2001.
Ohtani served as the Angels’ designated hitter in Game 2 and went 1 for 5 with a run scored.
Tyler Stephenson and Matt McLain each hit two-run homers to lift the Reds to a 7-3 win in Game 2. They swept the three-game series and moved into sole possession of the third and final NL wild-card spot.
DeJong has memorable debut with Giants
Just one day after signing with the San Francisco Giants, Paul DeJong hit a two-run homer in the fourth inning and had a two-run single in the 10th in an 8-6 win over the Philadelphia Phillies.
Giants closer Camilo Doval blew a three-run lead in the ninth inning on Bryce Harper’s three-run home run that rang off the foul pole in right field.
That set the stage for DeJong, who singled with the bases loaded in the 10th to put San Francisco back on top, 7-5.
He signed with the Giants on Tuesday one day after he was released by Toronto.
Thairo Estrada added a sacrifice fly and Ryan Walker retired Trea Turner with a man on second for the save.
The Toronto Maple Leafs and superstar center Auston Matthews agreed on a four-year, $53 million contract extension on Wednesday, making him the NHL’s highest-paid player.
Matthews has one year remaining on the five-year, $58.2 million pact he signed in February 2019, and he could have become an unrestricted free agent next summer.
With an average annual value of $13.25 million, Matthews will become the NHL’s highest-paid player beginning in 2024-25, surpassing Colorado star Nathan MacKinnon’s $12.6 million annual average value.
The 25-year-old Matthews has been one of the game’s elite players since he was selected with the first overall pick in the 2016 draft.
He led the league in goals twice (2020-21 and 2021-22) and has totaled 299 goals and 542 points in 481 regular season games.
Matthews’ best season came in 2021-22, when he set career highs with 60 goals and 106 points in 73 games, earning him the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s MVP.
He dipped to 40 goals last season but still tallied 85 points in 74 games.
The native of Scottsdale, Arizona leads all players in goals since the start of the 2016-17 season and ranks 11th in points during that span.
The Maple Leafs have reached the playoffs in every full season since Matthews entered the league but have advanced past the first round only once – defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning in a six-game series last spring.
New world champion Josh Kerr knew he would break Jakob Ingebrigtsen as he stormed to 1500 metres gold and revealed he played mind games with the Norwegian.
The Scot clocked three minutes and 29.38 seconds to stun Ingebrigtsen, forcing the overwhelming favourite to settle for silver at the World Championships in Budapest.
Kerr emulated Jake Wightman’s win in Eugene last year and, with the injured Wightman missing in Hungary, Ingebrigtsen – second in 2022 – was denied the world crown again.
“I felt him break and I just needed to stay strong,” said Kerr, who adds to his Olympics bronze.
“I was looking up at the screen making sure no one was coming on my outside but with 50m to go I knew I had it.
“I felt there was a slight weakness with 200m to go, I had to be in lane two for a minute but I’m going to fight all the way to the end, regardless whether I broke him or not.
“I’ve been in four major championship finals and come away with only a bronze. I knew it was my turn. When you’re the underdog you have to come and take what’s yours, you’re not handed anything. It was about going there and taking what’s mine.”
Kerr, fifth last year, admitted he tried to psyche Ingebrigtsen out on Wednesday after wearing a similar vest to the one Wightman wore in Eugene.
“I’m not saying I wore the specific one to bring back some nightmares but I needed every single ounce I had. This was the vest I chose,” he added.
Wightman, watching from the BBC studio at the National Athletics Centre, labelled his Edinburgh AC club-mate the Terminator after victory.
“I like it (the Terminator nickname), back-to-back world champions, it’s not something anyone has ever done before,” said Kerr.
“Especially in back-to-back years because it’s not been possible. Great Britain has something in the water. We have to keep producing world champions.”
Ingebrigtsen made his move inside the final lap, only for Kerr to retaliate with around 200m remaining – almost a carbon copy of Wightman’s win in America.
Ingebrigtsen was unable to fight back down the final straight as Kerr held off his challenge to win his first major global title.
The 25-year-old, who trains in Seattle, also revealed he cuts off communication in the build up to the Championships to focus on his goal.
“I don’t have my phone for about two weeks beforehand. Only about eight people or so,” he said. “I’m not a big social media guy when it comes to World Champs.
“You just have to have belief in yourself. My fiancee has my phone if anything big comes up, I have my other phone for the people who are massively important in this process.
“It’s been the same phone since 2021, it’s about making sure I’m focusing on the plan. All I have is the Premier League app, which I’m doing incredibly well on, and Duolingo as I’m trying to learn Spanish.”
Wightman, who has been forced to miss the Championships with a foot problem, saluted Kerr.
“Our little club in Edinburgh has had two back-to-back world champions,” he said.
“That’s hard to believe. Jakob Ingebrigtsen is going to start hating us Brits ain’t he? I think Josh Kerr knew what to do there. You saw when he came on Jakob’s shoulder.
“He showed so much promise for so long, that medal in Tokyo was just the start of this. When Josh Kerr gets it right and when he’s running well, he absolutely flies. I think Ingebrigtsen underestimated how well he was running at the moment.”
Ingebrigtsen said he had a sore throat this week and was feeling “not good”, adding: “I just wasn’t good enough.”
Asked how he views Kerr as a global rival now, he added: “It’s totally different. We have been competitors for a long time, he is a great runner but it is what it is.”
Neil Gourley, who finished ninth in the final, said: “I am really happy for Josh, I could tell this was coming, I knew he would be right up there, the margins are fine at this level.
“I knew he would give Jakob a run for his money this week. The way he has carried himself, the way he has been looking, he has been full of confidence.”
Meanwhile, Great Britain’s Molly Caudery finished fifth in the pole vault, victory shared by Australia’s Nina Kennedy and the USA’s Katie Moon, with a personal best of 4.75m, while Karsten Warholm took the 400m hurdles title.
New world champion Josh Kerr knew he would break Jakob Ingebrigtsen as he stormed to 1500 metres gold and revealed he played mind games with the Norwegian.
The Scot clocked three minutes and 29.38 seconds to stun Ingebrigtsen, forcing the overwhelming favourite to settle for silver at the World Championships in Budapest.
Kerr emulated Jake Wightman’s win in Eugene last year and, with the injured Wightman missing in Hungary, Ingebrigtsen – second in 2022 – was denied the world crown again.
“I felt him break and I just needed to stay strong,” said Kerr, who adds to his Olympics bronze.
“I was looking up at the screen making sure no one was coming on my outside but with 50m to go I knew I had it.
“I felt there was a slight weakness with 200m to go, I had to be in lane two for a minute but I’m going to fight all the way to the end, regardless whether I broke him or not.
“I’ve been in four major championship finals and come away with only a bronze. I knew it was my turn. When you’re the underdog you have to come and take what’s yours, you’re not handed anything. It was about going there and taking what’s mine.”
Kerr, fifth last year, admitted he tried to psyche Ingebrigtsen out on Wednesday after wearing a similar vest to the one Wightman wore in Eugene.
“I’m not saying I wore the specific one to bring back some nightmares but I needed every single ounce I had. This was the vest I chose,” he added.
Wightman, watching from the BBC studio at the National Athletics Centre, labelled his Edinburgh AC club-mate the Terminator after victory.
“I like it (the Terminator nickname), back-to-back world champions, it’s not something anyone has ever done before,” said Kerr.
“Especially in back-to-back years because it’s not been possible. Great Britain has something in the water. We have to keep producing world champions.”
Ingebrigtsen made his move inside the final lap, only for Kerr to retaliate with around 200m remaining – almost a carbon copy of Wightman’s win in America.
Ingebrigtsen was unable to fight back down the final straight as Kerr held off his challenge to win his first major global title.
The 25-year-old, who trains in Seattle, also revealed he cuts off communication in the build up to the Championships to focus on his goal.
“I don’t have my phone for about two weeks beforehand. Only about eight people or so,” he said. “I’m not a big social media guy when it comes to World Champs.
“You just have to have belief in yourself. My fiancee has my phone if anything big comes up, I have my other phone for the people who are massively important in this process.
“It’s been the same phone since 2021, it’s about making sure I’m focusing on the plan. All I have is the Premier League app, which I’m doing incredibly well on, and Duolingo as I’m trying to learn Spanish.”
Wightman, who has been forced to miss the Championships with a foot problem, saluted Kerr.
“Our little club in Edinburgh has had two back-to-back world champions,” he said.
“That’s hard to believe. Jakob Ingebrigtsen is going to start hating us Brits ain’t he? I think Josh Kerr knew what to do there. You saw when he came on Jakob’s shoulder.
“He showed so much promise for so long, that medal in Tokyo was just the start of this. When Josh Kerr gets it right and when he’s running well, he absolutely flies. I think Ingebrigtsen underestimated how well he was running at the moment.”
Ingebrigtsen said he had a sore throat this week and was feeling “not good”, adding: “I just wasn’t good enough.”
Asked how he views Kerr as a global rival now, he added: “It’s totally different. We have been competitors for a long time, he is a great runner but it is what it is.”
Neil Gourley, who finished ninth in the final, said: “I am really happy for Josh, I could tell this was coming, I knew he would be right up there, the margins are fine at this level.
“I knew he would give Jakob a run for his money this week. The way he has carried himself, the way he has been looking, he has been full of confidence.”
Meanwhile, Great Britain’s Molly Caudery finished fifth in the pole vault, victory shared by Australia’s Nina Kennedy and the USA’s Katie Moon, with a personal best of 4.75m, while Karsten Warholm took the 400m hurdles title.
The No. 3 overall pick of the 2021 NFL draft is now No. 3 on the San Francisco 49ers' depth chart at quarterback.
Sam Darnold has been named the 49ers' backup QB ahead of Trey Lance in the battle of former third overall draft picks.
Kyle Shanahan's decision to go with Darnold as Brock Purdy's backup was reported by Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of NFL Media on Wednesday.
Lance's future in San Francisco is now uncertain, as the 49ers are reportedly exploring various options with the QB they drafted just over two years ago.
San Francisco paid a hefty price to draft Lance, trading three first-round picks and a third-rounder to the Miami Dolphin in 2021 to move up from No. 12 to select Lance after the Jacksonville Jaguars made Trevor Lawrence the top overall selection and the New York Jets picked Zach Wilson.
As Jimmy Garoppolo's backup in 2021, Lance appeared in six games as a rookie before being named the 49ers' starting quarterback for 2022, but he suffered a season-ending fractured right ankle in Week 2.
In eight career games, he's completed 54.9 per cent of his passes for 797 yards with five touchdowns and three interceptions for an 84.5 QB rating. He has also rushed for 235 yards with a score.
He got the start in the preseason opener, and completed 22-of-33 passes for 285 yards with two touchdowns and a pick while being sacked four times in two exhibition games.
Darnold started the second preseason game, and has completed 16-of-22 passes for 193 yards while being sacked twice in two games.
The 49ers acquired Darnold in March to add depth at quarterback behind Purdy, who famously suffered a torn elbow ligament on the first offensive series for the 49ers in the 2022 NFC championship game.
Purdy, the final pick in last year's draft, won all five of his starts in the 2022 regular season after taking over for an injured Garoppolo in Week 13 to lift the 49ers to a 13-4 record and the second seed in the NFC. He has been cleared to start the season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers on September 10.
Darnold was the third overall pick of the 2018 draft by the New York Jets, and hasn't enjoyed much success in his five NFL seasons.
He did put together some encouraging performances last year with the Carolina Panthers, however, throwing for 1,143 yards with seven TDs and three interceptions for a 92.6 passer rating while going 4-2 as a starter.
In 56 career games, he has completed 59.7 per cent of his passes for 11,767 yards with 61 touchdowns and 55 picks.
Since his rookie season, his 78.2 passer rating ranks last among the 42 quarterbacks with a minimum of 750 attempts.
After a series of misfortunes on the global stage over the years, British Virgin Islands Kyron McMaster finally secured her first global medal when he claimed silver in the men’s 400 metres hurdles final on Wednesday’s fifth day of the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary.
McMaster a two-time Commonwealth Games champion, was always favoured to right the wrongs on this occasion, and that he did in, making no mistakes at the National Athletic Stadium in the Central European country.
He clocked 47.34s, behind Norway’s stalwart Karsten Warholm (46.89s), who added the World Championships crown to his Olympic title, while American Rai Benjamin (47.56s) was third.
Jamaica’s 19-year-old Roshawn Clarke (48.07s) ran an impressive race to finish fourth behind the proverbial big guns. In fact, he finished ahead of now dethroned champion Alison Dos Santos (48.10s) of Brazil.
Running from lanes five and eight respectively, the 26-year-old McMaster and Clarke went out well, keeping pace with Dos Santos for the first 200m.
However, when Warholm and Benjamin made their move, Clarke had no response to their injection, while McMaster was seemingly fading into bronze, but produced a late rally to get by the American in the closing stages to win the battle for second.
You can catch live action of the 2023 World Athletic Championships by downloading the Sportsmax App.
World players’ union FIFPRO has called for FIFA to investigate Spanish football president Luis Rubiales after he kissed Jenni Hermoso in the aftermath of Sunday’s World Cup final.
Rubiales, the president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), kissed the forward on the lips during the medal ceremony following the team’s 1-0 win against England in Sydney.
FIFPRO’s call for action followed a statement from the Spanish players’ union on Tuesday that condemned such behaviour as “never appropriate or acceptable”, while United States winger Megan Rapinoe described the event as a “physical assault”.
Rubiales, who has faced calls to resign, issued an apology on Monday, which Spain’s prime minister Pedro Sanchez described as “insufficient”.
And on Wednesday, a FIFPRO statement said: “FIFPRO fully endorses the statement of Spanish player union AFE in calling for immediate action to address the conduct of Spanish federation president Luis Rubiales at the FIFA Women’s World Cup final and is requesting an investigation of his actions under FIFA’s code of ethics.
“We reiterate that it was deeply lamentable that such a special moment for the players of the Spain national team taking place before a global television audience should be stained by the inappropriate conduct of an individual in a role carrying so much responsibility.
“Uninitiated and uninvited physical approaches towards players are not appropriate or acceptable in any context, and especially when they are put in a position of vulnerability by a person who holds a position of power over them in their workplace.”
Hermoso initially said on social media she “didn’t like” the kiss but a statement on her behalf was later released by the RFEF in which she described it as “spontaneous”.
The 33-year-old released a brief statement on Wednesday, which read: “My union FUTPRO, in coordination with my agency TMJ, are taking care of defending my interests and being the interlocutors on this matter.”
Rapinoe, who featured in the World Cup for the United States, also criticised Rubiales for celebrating by grabbing his crotch.
She told American magazine the Atlantic: “There was another picture that signals such a deep level of misogyny and sexism in that federation and in that man at the final whistle, just grabbing his crotch.
“What kind of upside-down world are we in? On the biggest stage, where you should be celebrating, Jenni has to be physically assaulted by this guy.”
The women’s football union FUTPRO has also condemned Rubiales’ actions and called on the RFEF to act for the protection of female footballers’ rights.
“From FUTPRO we express our firm and resounding condemnation of conduct that violates the dignity of women,” read a statement.
“From our association we ask the Royal Spanish Football Federation to implement the necessary protocols, ensure the rights of our players and adopt exemplary measures.
“It is essential that our national team, current world champion, is always represented by figures that project values of equality and respect in all areas.”
The RFEF will hold an extraordinary meeting of its general assembly on Friday and said “internal proceedings” were open in relation to integrity issues arising from the trophy ceremony.
Marileidy Paulino created history on Wednesday when she stormed to victory in the final of Women’s 400m at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary.
After winning silver medals at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and again at the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, Oregon, the 26–year-old from Don Gregorio Village in the Dominican Republic blew away the field down the home stretch to clock a massive lifetime best of 48.77 for victory and become the first woman from her country to win a gold medal in that event at the championships that began in 1983.
Poland’s Natalia Kaczmarek won silver running 49.57, just managing to hold off Barbados Sada Williams, who ran 49.60 for her second bronze medal in as medal championships.
Williams created some history of her own as no athlete from Barbados had ever won medals in back-to-back championships.
Candice McLeod of Jamaica ran 51.08 for seventh.
Paulino, a two-time silver medalist in the event, took advantage of the absence of Shauna Miller-Uibo and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone to cop the first global gold medal of her international career.
Great Britain’s Josh Kerr stunned Jakob Ingebrigtsen to take the 1500m title in style at the World Championships.
The Scot clocked three minutes 29.38 seconds to win a massive battle with Ingebrigtsen, who came second, over the final 300m.
He emulated Jake Wightman’s win in Eugene last year, with Wightman missing through injury this year, to deny Norway’s Ingebrigtsen – who also had to settle for silver in 2022 – the world crown again.
Jamaica’s Ackera Nugent and Danielle Williams, as well as Bahamian Devynne Charlton secured their spot in the women’s 100 metres hurdles final, after safely navigating their respective semi-finals on Wednesday’s fifth day of the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary.
While it was unbridled joy for those three, it was heartbreak for another Jamaican Megan Tapper, as the Olympic medallist placed fourth and her time was not good enough to see her through to tomorrow’s final scheduled for 2:25pm Jamaica time.
Charlton and Tapper both ran from semi-final one, where they placed second and fourth respectively. Charlton, 27, secured the second automatic qualifying spot in 12.49s, behind American Kendra Harrison, who won in 12.33s.
Despite running her heart out, Tapper (12.55s) was out dipped by Switzerland’s Ditaji Kambundji (12.50s), who progressed to tomorrow’s final as one of the two fastest qualifiers on time ahead of the Jamaican.
The second semi-final was just an exciting with Ackera Nugent leading for most of the way but was pipped on the line by Nigeria’s World Record holder Tobi Amusan. Nugent stopped the clock in 12.60s, behind Amusan’s 12.56s.
The last of the three semi-finals saw Jamaica’s former World Champion Danielle Williams off to a blistering start, but she lost her composure close to the end and had to settle for third in a season’s best 12.50s. Fortunately, for her the time was good enough to progress to the final.
Puerto Rico’s Jasmine Camacho-Quinn produced a late burst to win in 21.41s, with American Nia Ali (12.49s), just bettering Williams on the line.
You can catch live action of the 2023 World Athletic Championships by downloading the Sportsmax App.
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