Manchester City bounced back from their midweek setback in Europe to maintain their perfect Premier League start with Erling Haaland’s double propelling them to a 3-2 home win over Ipswich Town on Saturday.

Paris Saint-Germain inflicted a first meaningful defeat on Enzo Maresca’s side in the Champions League on Wednesday but City shrugged off a gallant Ipswich side to make it seven wins from seven to cement their place at the top of the table.

Chelsea beat Everton 2-0 in Saturday’s early action thanks to Pedro Neto’s brace although the London club’s win was overshadowed by an injury to goalkeeper Emi Martinez.

Liverpool came from a goal down to beat Brentford 2-1 away although they were helped by the previously unbeaten hosts being reduced to 10 men shortly before halftime when Yehor Yarmolyuk was shown a straight red card for a head butt.

Victory lifted Liverpool above Brentford into fifth place with 12 points behind Chelsea in fourth on 13.

Fulham moved off the foot of the table with their first league win of the season — 1-0 at home to Hull City.

Dark clouds remain over the Etihad Stadium with Manchester City’s fate still unknown after they appealed a ruling that the club breached 114 Premier League financial rules.

City have always denied any wrongdoing.

But on the pitch it is very much business as usual, especially for Norwegian goal machine Haaland.

Phil Foden gave City a short-lived lead cancelled out by Daizen Maeda, but Haaland restored the home side’s advantage before halftime with a header from Mateo Kovacic’s cross.

Haaland then gave his side some breathing space with his second in the 69th minute, powering past Ipswich’s Abdoul Ouattara before a low finish into the corner.

He was denied a hat-trick by an offside decision and Ipswich got a lifeline when Zian Flemming tucked away a penalty in stoppage time but City bagged the points.

Feisty first half

Chelsea have had a knack of scoring early this season but were kept at bay by hosts Everton in a feisty and physical first half that produced five yellow cards.

However, Xabi Alonso’s visitors needed just 43 seconds after the restart to go 1-0 up when Jorrel Hato cut the ball back from the byline to find Neto who swept home.

Martinez’s clash of heads with Jarrad Branthwaite caused a lengthy stoppage with paramedics coming onto the pitch. The Argentina keeper was eventually strapped to a stretcher and taken off, leading to 11 minutes of stoppage time.

Chelsea doubled their lead in the 90th minute when Neto pounced on a loose ball after Jordan Henderson’s free kick was blocked by the wall, finding the bottom corner with a composed finish as Everton suffered their first defeat of the season.

“What we know is he (Martinez) left the stadium conscious and right now he is in the hospital doing precautionary tests,” Alonso said. “It was concussion but more than that I saw only one clip. Hopefully it won’t be too bad but we need to wait.”

Martinez’s knock gave 21-year-old keeper Mike Penders the chance to make his Premier League debut and he helped Chelsea keep a clean sheet in the league for the first time in 23 games.

“We need a clean sheet, to be honest. I think we did a very good game. Emi deserved this, Mike did as well,” Alonso added.

Liverpool deservedly fell behind at Brentford with Keane Lewis-Potter putting the hosts in front.

Brentford were good value for their lead but Yarmolyuk’s rush of blood to the head when he clashed with Jeremy Jacquet at a Liverpool corner changed the game.

After referee John Brooks was invited to check a VAR monitor he brandished the red card at Ukrainian Yarmolyuk who trudged off to applause from the home fans.

Liverpool huffed and puffed after the break but Victor Munoz finally levelled in the 62nd minute when he cut in to beat keeper Caoimhin Kelleher with a left-foot finish.

Alexander Isak won it for Andoni Iraola’s side eight minutes later with a clinical strike from Bradley Barcola’s assist.

Brentford ended with nine men after Vitaly Janelt got a second yellow card for a foul on substitute Rio Ngumoha.

Elsewhere, Alex Iwobi’s 33rd-minute strike for Fulham was enough to earn their new manager Alvaro Arbeloa a long-overdue league win and move Fulham up to 15th.

The western Algarvet town of Sagres is getting a new three-day surf festival this autumn, with the first Sagres Sessions promising everything from competitions and adaptive surfing to live music,

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Uruguayan football introduced a new technology on Thursday night when referees replaced the traditional paper cards with an electronic device to show cautions and expulsions during a local match, although early tests have shown problems with visibility, according to local media reports.

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Uruguayan football experienced a historic day on Thursday night with the appearance of virtual cards in the match that Nacional won 3-0 to Rentistas for the eighths final of the Uruguayan Cup, at the Gran Parque Central stadium.

During the game, the officiating team used the electronic device instead of the physical cards to signal bookings and sending-offs on the pitch.

RELATED: Argentina Introduces New Tournament and Rules for Football Professional League

The tool is designed to look like a mobile phone and has dedicated buttons to display yellow or red lights. Its main selling point is the automation of administrative work and allows referees to record every disciplinary sanction, substitution or incident in real time directly in the COMET sports management system.

That removes the need to take handwritten notes during the action and speeds up the digitization of the official post-match report.

La AUF (Asociación Uruguaya de Fútbol) presentó las tarjetas virtuales, un método que debutó en un duelo de Copa.

Este avance tecnológico permite agilizar y registrar de forma automática y digital al jugador amonestado.#Uruguay #Teconología #TVCDeportes pic.twitter.com/2tdfCI5OdN

— TVC Deportes (@TVCDeportes) October 16, 2026

Text reads: “The Uruguayan Football Association (AUF) introduced virtual cards, a method that debuted in a Cup duel. This technological advance allows the automated and digital recording of the player who has been reprimanded.”

Despite the logistical benefits, the virtual cards face technical obstacles in their first trial stages. The debut was initially scheduled for the match between Defensor Sporting and Plaza Colonia, but sunlight made it impossible to see the colors properly. Under the artificial lighting of Thursday’s night match, local media reports said the signal was still not completely clear from a distance.

What Comes Next

At present, the device’s fundamental value lies in its ability to streamline the collection and transmission of statistical data during the ninety minutes of a match. Authorities will keep evaluating its performance to try to correct the faults related to brightness and contrast.

If the required visual improvements are achieved, the technology could be adopted on a regular basis in the main categories of South American football, according to the source. No timeline for that decision has been announced.

Technology in refereeing has expanded steadily in recent years, with video review and semi-automated systems now common in major competitions. Most of those tools help officials make decisions, while this device focuses on communicating and recording them. The key test for the Uruguayan trial will be whether the cards are as easy for players and spectators to see as the paper ones they replace, since visible signals are central to how the game communicates discipline.

The technology carries obvious logistical benefits, because referees no longer depend on cardboards that can be dropped, lost or misread, and data flows directly into the official system while the ninety minutes are still running.

For the Uruguayan Football Association, the real value of the tool lies in how it optimizes the collection and transmission of statistics. Every booking, substitution and incident becomes part of a digital record the moment it happens, a change that could improve accuracy in reports that have long depended on memory and hurried notes.

The World Gymnastics Championships in Rotterdam begin with the absence of Russia’s Angelina Melnikova—who was denied an entry visa by Dutch authorities—at a time when the first qualification spots for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games are up for grabs.

RELATED:

Angelina Melnikova to Lead Russia at the European Artistic Gymnastics Championships

The absence of Melnikova, the reigning world and European champion, will significantly impact the course of the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Rotterdam, which begin this Saturday in the Netherlands. The competition will award direct Olympic qualification spots to the three countries that reach the podium in the team event, in both the men’s and women’s categories.

Russia’s participation will be severely limited; in addition to Melnikova, the team will be without Anna Kalmykova—the all-around runner-up at the most recent European Championships—and Viktoria Listunova, a member of the gold-medal-winning team at the Tokyo Olympics. All three gymnasts were denied entry visas.

The Russian Gymnastics Federation described the decision as discriminatory and a violation of the principles of equality that should govern any sporting competition. Meanwhile, the Russian ambassador to the Netherlands accused Dutch authorities of deliberately denying the visas to weaken the Russian team.

The Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport rejected these accusations, stating that athletic performance plays no role whatsoever in the evaluation of visa applications, which are governed by the European Union’s Visa Code.

Welcome to #Rotterdam2026 ❤️‍🔥

🎥 A little taste of the action on the first day of Podium Training at the Ahoy Arena.#WorldGymnastics #Gymnastics pic.twitter.com/222XeJkdM6

— World Gymnastics (@gymnastics) October 15, 2026

At the same time, attention will also be focused on the return of Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade, a four-time medalist at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. This will be the gymnast’s first major international competition since stepping away from the sport over the past year to recover—both physically and mentally—from the previous Olympic cycle.

Her return will be gradual: Andrade plans to compete, at least initially, on the balance beam and vault. The Brazilian—a silver medalist in the all-around at both the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Games—leads the Brazilian team alongside Flavia Saraiva; the squad earned a bronze medal in the team event in Paris.

The absence of Melnikova and American Simone Biles—the most decorated gymnast in history, who has not competed since the Paris Games—positions Algeria’s Kaylia Nemour as the top contender for the all-around title.

Nineteen-year-old Nemour won the Mediterranean Games this summer with a total score of 57.750, the highest mark recorded by any gymnast this season. However, she will face stiff competition from 16-year-old Qinqin Ke of China, the reigning Asian champion, and 18-year-old American Hezly Rivera, who will be making her World Championship debut.

In the men’s competition, Japan’s Daiki Hashimoto will aim for his fourth consecutive world all-around title. Should he succeed, the 25-year-old gymnast will move closer to the record held by his compatriot Kohei Uchimura, who won six consecutive gold medals between 2009 and 2015.

His primary rival may well be his teammate Shinnosuke Oka, the reigning Olympic champion. Also in the mix is ​​Croatia’s Illia Kovtun, the current European champion and a world medalist in 2021 and 2023. China’s Boheng Zhang—an Olympic and world silver medalist—will not participate due to a last-minute injury.

Japan enters as the favorite for the men’s team gold, led by Hashimoto and Oka, though they will face a strong challenge from the Chinese squad. The United States and Great Britain—the latter having won the European title in Zagreb—emerge as the top contenders for the third spot and Olympic qualification.

In the women’s division, a revamped United States team will aim to secure its eighth consecutive world team title. Italy—an Olympic silver medalist in Paris—and Brazil, which took bronze at the same event, will be their main rivals

#Sports | Olympic champion Angelina Melnikova will lead the Russian women’s artistic gymnastics team at the European Championships in Zagreb following Croatia’s last-minute reversal of her visa ban, amid an administrative dispute and neutrality protocols.https://t.co/ky7mmLCXdJ

— teleSUR English (@telesurenglish) August 12, 2026

Lisbon Metro passengers face two more strikes before the end of the month, following the 24-hour stoppage that shut down the entire network on Wednesday. Workers have submitted notices for

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Lisbon Mayor Carlos Moedas has announced the suspension of shared electric scooters in the Portuguese capital, citing growing safety concerns, dangerous behaviour by riders and the widespread abandonment of vehicles

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FIFA President Gianni Infantino apologized to the governing body’s Council in Zurich over the mishandling of the FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) project and confirmed the proposal to sell competition stakes to outside investors has been withdrawn permanently.

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FIFA President Gianni Infantino offered the apology this Thursday during the first Council meeting held in Zurich after the World Cup. He acknowledged errors in both the management and the communication of the FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) initiative, a plan that would have handed private investors a share of FIFA competitions.

Addressing the council members directly, the Swiss-Italian executive sought to close the episode with a call for unity. The investment scheme, he confirmed, would not be revived.

RELATED: Europe’s Top Leagues Demand FIFA Governance Reform

The administration then presented an alternative designed to soften the blow: a proposal named the Surplus Solidarity Program channels 6.35 billion dollars for the period between 2027 and 2030, drawing on commercial revenue generated by the World Cup. According to Infantino, the funds would raise the amounts distributed among all 211 member associations and the confederations.

That financial package will be evaluated at the December meeting in Doha and put to a vote at the Congress scheduled for March 18, 2027.

FIFA plans to allocate $6.35 billion to its member associations for football development from 2027 to 2030, including an increased funding package of $25 million for each national association. #3Sports pic.twitter.com/ogP4oEb3g8

— #3Sports (@3SportsGh) October 14, 2026

Europe Presses for Exit

Despite the financial announcement, the most critical European federations, including England and Germany, maintained their opposition to Infantino remaining in office. The English federation said it has not received clear answers about the legal background of the FFE project, while the German side called for a change in the organization’s leadership.

Support for the president came from Africa. Ahmed Yahya, president of Mauritania’s football federation, defended the current leadership, saying it promotes equality and an equal weight for each vote in the Congress. He said a majority backs Infantino staying at the head of the institution.

The competing messages reflect a familiar divide in world football’s governance. Larger, wealthier federations tend to push for tighter scrutiny of FIFA’s leadership, while many smaller associations benefit directly from FIFA’s development funds. Because each of the 211 members has a vote at the Congress, a spending increase aimed at all of them is likely to be closely watched.

🗣️ Gianni Infantino has apologised "for the mistakes… in relation to the communication and consultation" for FIFA Forward Enterprise.

He adds that the FIFA Peace Prize will be "analysed" along with a change to the FIFA Disciplinary Code to stop automatic one-game bans being… pic.twitter.com/lBrraQNjkk

— Ben Jacobs (@JacobsBen) October 15, 2026

Governance Review Ordered

The Council also agreed to create a working group to review FIFA’s governance framework. It tasked an evaluation of the FIFA Peace Prize and asked the Legal Commission for a report on disciplinary procedures, to be presented at the December session.

The apology and the withdrawal mark a significant concession from a president who has dominated world football’s finances for a decade. By scrapping the FFE plan outright, Infantino acknowledged that the backlash within the game had grown too costly to ignore.

Supporters of the solidarity plan may argue that it directs World Cup profits toward the wider football community. Critics may counter that a funding increase does not answer questions about how the FFE project was handled, which is the point the European federations are pressing. Yet the European federations made clear that closing the project alone would not settle the matter. For them, the questions about how the initiative was conceived and who approved it remain open, and the December gathering in Doha now looms as the next test of whether the unity Infantino called for can actually be rebuilt.

The 2026 Women’s Copa Libertadores kicked off this Thursday, October 15, in Quito, the capital of Ecuador. Sixteen South American football clubs are participating, competing for the continental title through October 31.

RELATED:

Venezuela Wins Gold Medal in Women’s Football at the 2026 South American Games

Organized by the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL), the tournament serves as a premier stage for women’s football in South America, featuring clubs from the organization’s ten member national associations: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

This marks the third time the competition has been held in Ecuador, following editions in 2019 and 2022—both also hosted in Quito. Matches will take place at the Rodrigo Paz Delgado and Banco Guayaquil stadiums, the latter located in the Los Chillos Valley, southeast of the capital.

Ecuador is represented by two teams: the national champions, Dragonas IDV, and Guerreras Albas (from Liga de Quito). Both sides will look to leverage their home-field advantage to advance to the knockout stages of this top-tier South American women’s club tournament.

Dragonas IDV has been drawn into Group B alongside Belgrano (Argentina), Universitario (Peru), and Palmeiras (Brazil). Meanwhile, Guerreras Albas will compete in Group C against Cruzeiro (Brazil), Olimpia (Paraguay), and Bolívar (Bolivia).

🤩 ¡Ya llegó el momento de vivir la edición de 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣6️⃣! ¿Quién se llevará el trofeo? 🏆

😎 Mais uma jornada da CONMEBOL #LibertadoresFEM! Já tem palpite para quem vai ficar com a taça? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/EbLLKazUf2

— CONMEBOL Libertadores Femenina (@LibertadoresFEM) October 15, 2026

The text reads, “The time has come to experience the 2026 edition! Who will take home the trophy?”

Having two local teams gives Ecuador the chance to vie for the title on home soil, backed by their fans. The participating squads arrived in the capital in early October to finalize their preparations and acclimate to Quito’s high altitude—a factor that could influence the course of the tournament.

The competition retains its format of four groups, each consisting of four teams. In the initial phase, the teams will compete in a round-robin format, with each side playing every other team in their group once. After three matchdays, the top two teams from each group will advance to the quarterfinals.

From that stage onward, the competition will follow a single-elimination format, with one-off matches in the quarterfinals, semifinals, and final. A third-place play-off will also be held before the champion is crowned.

The organizers will implement VAR technology for all matches, in line with the modernization standards promoted by CONMEBOL. Local authorities and the organizing committee are finalizing logistical details at the stadiums to ensure the smooth running of the tournament.

Corinthians enters the competition as the reigning champion and will look to defend the title it won in the previous edition.. The Brazilian side leads Group A, alongside Chile’s Colo-Colo, Venezuela’s Caracas FC, and Colombia’s Independiente Santa Fe.

Palmeiras—also from Brazil—will aim to reclaim the trophy they won in 2022, when they defeated Argentina’s Boca Juniors in the final. The team is in Group B, joined by Dragonas IDV, Belgrano, and Universitario.

#Sports | Venezuela won the gold medal in women’s football at the 2026 South American Games in Santa Fe after defeating Chile 4-2 on penalties, following a 1-1 draw in regulation time.https://t.co/VasPMsSm5M

— teleSUR English (@telesurenglish) September 25, 2026

Portimão will host the largest European Judo Championships Veterans ever held later this month, with a record 1,415 athletes from 36 countries registered to compete. The championships will take place

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Portugal is welcoming thousands of British football fans as Benfica host Celtic and Torreense face Sunderland this Thursday (October 15), with visiting supporters already making themselves heard in Lisbon and

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Portugal has become a hub for the world’s best surfers, with three major competitions spread across the country turning its coastline into what the World Surf League has described as

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The popularity of Hand’s book Not the Perfect Victim is the latest twist in a story that puts the spotlight on how society responds to sexual assault allegations

Nikita Hand had a compelling reason to not pursue a civil rape case against Conor McGregor. She was, in her own view, an imperfect victim.

The day of the assault, she had been partying with alcohol and cocaine before contacting McGregor, who took her to a Dublin hotel.

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© Photograph: Patrick Bolger/The Guardian

© Photograph: Patrick Bolger/The Guardian

© Photograph: Patrick Bolger/The Guardian

Lisbon Metro passengers are facing a day of major disruption today (October 14) as a 24-hour strike has brought the entire underground network to a standstill. All four Metro lines

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With no ‘home’ games in Ukraine, Arda Turan’s side hit the road again, with Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge hosting their Champions League campaign

The morning has thinned out into low, wispy cloud. Beneath it, Shakhtar Donetsk’s players are going through their paces. It is a light session for those who did not start against Veres Rivne the previous day; that means Arda Turan observes from the side, watching with the director of football, Darijo Srna. A stray ball zips towards them and Srna, after juggling it up, bends it into the goal with a familiar right-footed arc. “Modric!” exclaims Turan. But the two men are football legends in their own right and, as they continue to joke before Srna dashes away to take another phone call, the thought occurs that this happy scene could be played out almost anywhere else. Nearby, just beyond the team’s accommodation, a lake shimmers under the emerging sun.

It masks the fact that, around dawn, air raid sirens disrupted the peace for everyone in view. Even here, in Shakhtar’s bucolic spa hotel base 15 minutes outside Lviv, nobody is safe from the threat of Russian rockets and drones. In Rivne, three hours’ drive to the north-east, another alarm had sent the players and staff down to the stadium’s shelter. The second half was delayed by 20 minutes and that, no matter the corner of the country or the vividness of the autumn colours, is a weekly reality.

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© Photograph: Courtesy of Shakhtar Donetsk

© Photograph: Courtesy of Shakhtar Donetsk

© Photograph: Courtesy of Shakhtar Donetsk

Spain remains most popular destination as Britons book later in hope of better deals, Abta report finds

• Business live – latest updates

The UK’s cost of living squeeze means fewer people plan to ringfence money for holidays abroad next year, the travel industry has warned.

Despite war, wildfires and EES border checks, the numbers of Britons taking holidays climbed back to pre-pandemic levels this year – but rising costs may mean the numbers have peaked, according to an annual travel industry report on Tuesday.

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© Photograph: Owen Humphreys/PA

© Photograph: Owen Humphreys/PA

© Photograph: Owen Humphreys/PA

Michael Carrick’s side suffered their one of their heaviest-ever European defeats in the 4-1 thrashing at Champions League debutants Como

© Getty

Il prossimo 2 novembre sorpasso su Jannik, che si affida per il ginocchio infortunato al luminare altoatesino capace di guarire Sofia Goggia in tempi record