分类： sports

As the Australian Football League’s (AFL) first-ever wildcard weekend approaches, Collingwood Football Club has pushed back against league warnings over potential roster manipulation, arguing that forcing the club to field a full-strength side without resting aging veteran players is simply unrealistic. The standoff comes after AFL executive general manager Greg Swann circulated a formal memo to all 18 competition clubs at the conclusion of Round 21, outlining heightened scrutiny for team selection decisions in the lead-up to the September finals series. The memo acknowledged that legitimate resting of fatigued or injured players is permitted, but made clear that the league would closely examine any selection choices perceived as manipulating standings or gaining an unfair competitive edge ahead of the post-season. Collingwood is all but guaranteed a spot in the inaugural wildcard round, a structure that means the club will skip the pre-finals bye granted to teams that qualify directly for the opening week of the traditional finals bracket. With a roster heavily skewed toward older, veteran players, the club has long followed a strategy of resting players during the stretch run of the regular season to keep key personnel fresh for post-season play. Speaking to reporters on behalf of senior head coach Craig McRae – who was isolating at home with a mild illness and opted not to join club training to avoid spreading the virus to the playing group ahead of this weekend’s road trip – assistant coach Hayden Skipworth doubled down on the club’s position. McRae’s condition is not serious, Skipworth confirmed, noting the decision to keep him away was simply a precaution before the team flies to Perth on Friday to face West Coast on Sunday. “It’s unrealistic for those guys to play every week,” Skipworth said of the club’s veteran core. “We’ve managed our list for the last few years based on the age of the guys. We’ll continue to do that back-end of the year as well. We do make those decisions at the back end of the week, and we’ll handle our selection exactly as we always do.” Beyond the selection dispute, Skipworth also opened up about his own long-term coaching ambitions, confirming he hopes to eventually step into a senior head coaching role at an AFL club, but stressed any move would need to align well with both his own professional goals and the needs of the hiring club. “Definitely (want to be a senior coach), that’s an aspiration,” he said. “It’s got to be a good fit for me and the club. Everything I’ve done so far is to go down that path.” He added that he is currently very happy in his role at Collingwood. The dispute highlights a growing tension between league officials and clubs competing in the new wildcard structure, where clubs already facing an extra game ahead of the main finals draw face greater physical strain than their higher-ranked opponents.

With just three rounds remaining in the 2026 AFL season, Melbourne Football Club finds itself on the cusp of a top-four finish, with only percentage points separating it from a coveted higher ladder position. For first-year senior coach Steven King, the hunger among his players to lock in a finals spot — the club’s first finals appearance in three years — has become impossible to miss at team training sessions.

King has thrown his full support behind the Demons’ playing group, highlighting their extraordinary mental toughness through the campaign so far. “This group has been remarkably resilient in the way we’ve run out games,” King told reporters early Thursday. The excitement of a possible deep September finals run is palpable among the squad, with the coach adding that the players’ eagerness to compete is practically “jumping out of players’ skin” at every training drill.

Currently sitting sixth on the AFL ladder, Melbourne will face a massive test this Saturday when they host ladder-topping Fremantle Dockers at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The upcoming fixture has been framed by many as a compelling clash of two contrasting streaks: Melbourne’s dominant 2026 record on their home turf, and Fremantle’s well-documented reputation for second-half comeback wins, dubbed the Dockers’ “wharfie time”.

The Demons have turned the MCG into a fortress this season, notching nine wins from just 11 outings on the ground. King is calling on the club’s passionate supporter base to turn out in force to roar the side over the line. “At the MCG on a Saturday afternoon we’d just love every Melbourne supporter to get there,” he said. “It’s a great dress rehearsal for both teams.”

Fremantle heads into the round with an 18-2 win-loss record, and seven of those 18 victories have seen the Dockers trail at halftime before rallying to secure the result. When asked about Fremantle’s proven ability to fight back in the second half, King expressed full confidence in his side’s capacity to finish matches strongly, pointing to the squad’s high fitness base as a key strength.

“We know we’re fit enough to run out games,” King said. “It’ll be more on our execution, how we play and function as a team under their real pressure because they’re playing a really strong brand of football and it’s going to test us in all phases.”

The National Rugby League (NRL) side Parramatta Eels has taken a firm public stance against unsubstantiated social media speculation targeting one of its veteran players, Dylan Walker, announcing it will pursue legal options against individuals spreading false claims about the athlete.

The controversy erupted after Walker, 31, who is set to join England’s Super League club Leeds Rhinos at the conclusion of the current NRL season, was officially listed as rested for this weekend’s highly anticipated matchup against the South Sydney Rabbitohs. Rather than accepting the club’s official announcement, multiple anonymous social media accounts began circulating baseless rumors claiming Walker’s absence from the lineup was not due to rest, but instead stemmed from an unreported off-field incident that had forced the club to stand him down. The unconfirmed innuendo spread rapidly across major social platforms, drawing unwanted scrutiny to the player and his family.

In an official statement posted to the Parramatta Eels’ official website, club chief executive Jim Sarantinos directly refuted the false claims and made clear the organization would not tolerate the harmful spread of misinformation. “The Parramatta Eels are aware of false rumours and innuendo circulating on social media about one of our players, Dylan Walker,” Sarantinos wrote. “The claims are completely false and unfair on Dylan and his family.”

Sarantinos emphasized that no athlete should ever be forced to defend their reputation against groundless online gossip, noting that this kind of reckless behavior carries tangible, harmful consequences for players and their loved ones. “Everyone needs to understand how reckless and irresponsible this conduct is, and the real impact it has on people. We are not going to stand for it,” he added.

The Eels CEO drew a clear distinction between genuine fan passion and harmful defamation, stressing that enthusiastic support for the club and the sport is always welcome—but the deliberate spread of lies, harassment, and defamatory content crosses an unforgivable line. “The people spreading this material are not supporters or responsible journalists. Passion for the club and the game is welcome. Defamation, abuse and the deliberate spread of falsehoods are not,” Sarantinos said.

Full backing has been extended to Walker and his family from the top levels of the organization, with the CEO confirming that the player has the complete support of club leadership, his coaching staff, and all his teammates. The club has formally called on media outlets and members of the public to cease discussion of the false rumors and allow the matter to be laid to rest. Moving forward, Sarantinos confirmed the club will conduct a full review of all available legal avenues to hold accountable those responsible for creating and sharing the false claims targeting Walker.

For weeks, rugby league circles have buzzed with speculation linking four-time premiership-winning coach Ivan Cleary to the vacant New South Wales Blues State of Origin head coaching role, with many tipping him to take over the position once his current contract with the Penrith Panthers expires at the end of 2027. That widespread speculation has officially been put to rest this week, after the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) announced Matt King would succeed outgoing coach Laurie Daley on a two-year deal, with a performance-based extension option for 2029 that locks King into the role for the immediate future and clears any talk of an early handover to Cleary.

Speaking to local media ahead of Penrith’s top-of-the-table clash with the New Zealand Warriors at Auckland’s Go Media Stadium this Friday, Cleary publicly thrown his full support behind King’s appointment, dismissing rumors that he was gunning for the Origin job in the near term. “Not really because I’ve still got a job,” Cleary said when asked if the Blues role appealed to him right now. “All I did was get asked a question ‘would I be interested?’ and I said I probably would be if it came up down the line. I think the Blues have made a really good decision. I think Matt King is a great bloke and a great coach-in-waiting, and I think he is definitely the right man for the job.”

Beyond the Origin coaching drama, Cleary is preparing for one of the most unique days of his decades-long coaching career: on Friday, both of his sons will take the field at Go Media Stadium, playing for opposite sides. Jett Cleary, Ivan’s younger son, will start at halfback for the Warriors in the NSW Cup curtain-raiser, just hours before older brother Nathan Cleary – the star playmaker for Penrith – leads the Panthers out against the Warriors in the main NRL fixture.

The match carries extra personal meaning for Cleary, who previously held the head coaching job for the Warriors early in his career. Adding to the family dynamic, Cleary’s wife will also be in attendance, making the trip across the Tasman Sea to watch both of her sons compete for different teams in the same venue. “It’s an interesting day tomorrow. It’s good that their game is before ours so I get to have a bit of a look,” Cleary said. “My wife is coming over, so she’s going to have an interesting day watching her two sons play for different teams, so it’s unique.”

Jett is still in the early stages of his professional rugby league career, and Cleary noted that the young halfback has impressed in his recent opportunities with the Warriors. On the topic of older son Nathan, who has been the subject of recent transfer speculation linking him to a 2028 move to the Warriors, Ivan shared that he is proud of Nathan’s decision to rule out an immediate move to Auckland, a choice Nathan made to avoid blocking Jett’s path to a starting NRL position.

“I wasn’t born in Auckland, but I grew up a fair bit there and I will admit I was a Warriors fan growing up,” Nathan said last month when addressing the transfer rumors. “But at the end of the day, even if that was an option, I’d be blocking my little brother’s pathway. I’m not too sure about that. I want to put a bit more thought into it. The last few weeks there has been a bit of a comedown from Origin, and I’ve been trying to get back into routine with the boys, and get back into consistent training.”

For the Panthers, Friday’s clash is a critical one in the 2024 NRL season ladder race. Penrith currently sits atop the premiership standings, while the Warriors trail just two wins behind in third place, making the match a key test of both sides’ premiership credentials ahead of the upcoming finals series.

South Korean law enforcement has launched a direct probe into one of the country’s most high-profile sporting controversies, executing search and seizure operations Thursday at the headquarters of the Korea Football Association (KFA) as part of an investigation into improper practices surrounding the hiring of former men’s national team head coach Hong Myung-bo.

The raid comes on the heels of widespread public outrage and political scrutiny following South Korea’s devastating early exit from the 2026 FIFA World Cup, a tournament where the squad was widely billed as a “golden generation” with elite talent plying their trade at top European clubs, including Tottenham Hotspur icon Son Heung-min, Bayern Munich star defender Kim Min-jae and former Paris Saint-Germain playmaker Lee Kang-in.

A police spokesperson confirmed to Agence France-Presse that financial crime investigators are focusing on allegations of obstruction of business tied to Hong’s 2024 appointment. Local Korean media reports indicate authorities are examining claims that senior KFA leaders violated internal association rules by improperly interfering in the hiring process to secure Hong’s selection.

Hong, 57, stepped down from his post in June shortly after South Korea crashed out of the group stage of the expanded 48-team World Cup co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada. The team’s elimination was sealed by a shocking 1-0 defeat to South Korea in their final group match, a result that left fans furious. Hong’s controversial choice to bench Son Heung-min for the entire first half of the do-or-die match drew particular condemnation from supporters, who jeered the coach and chanted “Hong out!” when the squad returned to Seoul’s airport.

Scrutiny over the hiring process had lingered since Hong was first appointed in 2024, but pressure for a formal investigation exploded after the team’s failure to advance to the tournament’s knockout round of 32. In late July, Hong was summoned to testify before a parliamentary committee, where he accepted full responsibility for the underwhelming performance but declined to confirm reports that his annual salary reached 3.8 billion won (approximately $2.6 million), a figure that would place him among the highest-paid national team coaches globally. Hong called the reported salary figure incorrect but refused to release the actual amount.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has publicly tied the World Cup failure to systemic problems in KFA leadership, blaming poor results on “incompetent people” elevated to senior roles and alluding to nepotism, factionalism and loyalty-based hiring that has corrupted governance at the top of South Korean football. To date, the KFA has declined to issue any formal comment on the investigation or the allegations when contacted by AFP.

The NRL’s Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are gearing up for one of their most critical matches of the 2024 season, with head coach Cameron Ciraldo boldly declaring his rebuilding side has reclaimed the top-four level form that makes them a threat to any contender in the competition. The blockbuster Friday night clash against the second-placed Sydney Roosters at Allianz Stadium will serve as the ultimate litmus test for that claim, pitting the in-form Bulldogs against one of the league’s most high-octane attacking units.

Canterbury’s 2024 campaign has been nothing short of a rollercoaster. After a stunning upset victory over ladder-leading Penrith Panthers earlier in the season, the club hit a brutal rough patch, dropping five consecutive matches that many analysts predicted would end their finals hopes for the year. Instead of collapsing, however, the Bulldogs have rallied dramatically: they’ve claimed six wins from their past seven outings, climbing back into the top eight on the competition ladder and sitting eighth heading into this weekend’s round.

With just three remaining regular-season matches after this weekend, a statement win over the Roosters would not only solidify their finals contention but also send a clear warning to the rest of the competition that the Bulldogs are legitimate contenders. Ciraldo says his squad has built unshakable confidence in their game style over their recent winning run, allowing them to compete head-to-head with any side in the league on any given day.

“The top four sides have earned their places through consistent performance, and that’s the standard we’ve been hitting over the last 10 weeks,” Ciraldo explained in the lead-up to Friday’s game. “We made some missteps at the start of the season that put us behind the eight ball, but we’ve worked our way back into position. Now we have a five-week window to lock in our spot in the finals, and we’re taking it one game at a time.”

Ciraldo credited the club’s successful turnaround to three key factors: the unwavering belief players and club leaders maintained through the five-game losing skid, the return of several key forward pack players from injury, and a massive resurgence in the Bulldogs’ famous defensive structure. The club boasted the NRL’s best defensive record over the entire 2023 season, and over their past seven matches, they’ve held opponents to 12 points or fewer on five occasions – a stat that signals they’ve returned to their defensive best.

“Getting back to that elite defensive foundation has been huge for us, and we’ve still got a lot of young players learning their craft that are only going to get better week to week and year to year,” Ciraldo said. “That’s what makes this run so exciting for the future of our club.”

That defensive resilience will face its toughest challenge yet this weekend against a Roosters side that put on a historic 82-point demolition of the North Queensland Cowboys just last week. Even with star fullback James Tedesco in doubt due to an ankle injury, Ciraldo made no mistake about how lethal the Roosters attacking unit remains, pointing to star winger Mark Nawaqanitawase’s iconic match-winning try against the Bulldogs last season – a play that earned Try of the Year honors and forced the Bulldogs to rewatch it repeatedly at the 2023 Dally M Awards.

Far from shying away from the challenge, Ciraldo says his side is hungry to test themselves against one of the best teams in the competition. “The Roosters have proven all year that they’re one of the top sides in the league, with attacking threats across every position on the field,” he noted. “We’ve prepared all week to bring our absolute best defensively, and this is exactly the kind of test you play rugby league for. We’re not intimidated – we’re looking forward to stepping onto the field and proving what we can do.”

One of rugby union’s most storied rivalries is about to take the global stage this week, as reigning world champion South Africa (the Springboks) and New Zealand (the All Blacks) launch a groundbreaking four-test tour that revives a decades-old tradition of extended cross-national series, while also breaking new ground by hosting a final match in the United States.

The tour kicks off Friday with a series of warm-up matches in Cape Town, where the All Blacks will face South Africa’s top domestic franchises the Stormers, Sharks, and Bulls before their first full test against the Springboks on August 22 in Johannesburg. After a warm-up against the Lions franchise, the two nations will clash in three consecutive tests across South Africa and the U.S. from August 29 to September 12: matches are scheduled for Cape Town, Johannesburg, and finally Baltimore, Maryland, 12,700 kilometers from the tour’s starting point.

This historic series marks the first extended tour between the two global rugby powerhouses in 30 years. The pair between them hold seven of the 10 Rugby World Cup titles ever awarded, including the last four consecutive championships, won back-to-back first by the All Blacks and then the current title-holding Springboks. Entering the series, South Africa holds the number one world ranking, with New Zealand close behind at second. The 1995 tour, the last extended series between the two in South Africa, ended in a 2-1 series win for the All Blacks — their only series victory on South African soil in six attempts.

Branded the “Greatest Rivalry”, the quadrennial tour will become a regular fixture on the global rugby calendar going forward, with New Zealand scheduled to host the next edition in 2030. The high-profile series has come at a cost for the annual southern hemisphere Rugby Championship, however: the 2025 edition of the annual six-nation round-robin tournament featuring Australia and Argentina alongside the two top-ranked sides has been canceled to accommodate the tour. South Africa has scheduled standalone test matches to fill the gap, facing Argentina this Saturday in Buenos Aires and Australia on September 27 in Perth.

While the historic series has generated enormous excitement among global rugby fans, it has also sparked significant criticism on two key fronts: steep ticket pricing in South Africa and the controversial decision to host the fourth test in Baltimore.

South Africa is currently grappling with a severe national cost-of-living crisis, and earlier this year, the Springboks struggled to fill stadiums for three July Nations Championship matches, leaving more than 25,000 total seats empty across games against England, Scotland, and Wales. For the England test in Johannesburg, ticket sales only spiked after organizers cut prices: the highest-tier original ticket price of 3,000 rand ($185) was eventually reduced to 1,800 rand ($110) for the Durban test against Wales. The South African Rugby Union (SARU) has since pledged to conduct a full review of ticketing pricing ahead of next season. Despite the controversy, demand for the first two Springboks-All Blacks tests in Johannesburg and Cape Town has outstripped supply, with both matches reportedly sold out.

The decision to move the fourth test to Baltimore has also drawn pushback, including from South African media and former All Blacks players. Jeff Wilson, an All Blacks wing who toured South Africa with the 1995 team, told a New Zealand broadcaster that the series would have been “absolutely perfect” with three matches all hosted in South Africa, arguing the fourth test in the U.S. was unnecessary. SARU chief executive Rian Oberholzer defended the decision, framing it as a critical commercial and strategic long-term move for the organization. “To create financial stability we must take our brand beyond South Africa. America is a very important market leading up to 2031, when the World Cup will be staged there,” he explained.

As of the opening of the tour, neither side has revealed full details of their test squads or game plans. Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus noted that the squad for the series would only be confirmed after South Africa’s standalone test against Argentina this weekend, saying “We have not done a lot of analysing when it comes to the All Blacks.” All Blacks head coach Dave Rennie, who took over the role in March, praised Erasmus’s work leading the Springboks, saying “We are well aware of the task ahead.”

South Africa enters the series on a formidable hot streak, holding an 11-match consecutive test winning streak. The Springboks have also won five of the last six head-to-head matches against the All Blacks, including a dominant 43-10 win in Wellington earlier this year.

A major crisis has rocked global football’s governing body FIFA after a controversial proposal to open the men’s World Cup to private investment sparked widespread backlash, ultimately forcing the initiative’s withdrawal and leaving FIFA President Gianni Infantino fighting to keep his grip on power. In a rare show of solidarity held during a crisis meeting in Rabat, Morocco this Wednesday, top FIFA directors have formally reaffirmed their “full support” for the under-fire president, even as the organization issued a public apology for the missteps that sparked the uproar.

The now-shelved plan, centered on a new commercial entity called FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), would have handed operational control of flagship events including the World Cup and Club World Cup to the private-backed subsidiary. FIFA projected that the initiative could generate up to $4.2 billion in revenue based on a $20 billion valuation of FFE. If approved by member associations, the windfall would have delivered a one-off $20 million payment to each of FIFA’s 211 national member bodies by early 2027, and increased annual funding allocations for the 2027-2030 cycle from $8 million to $20 million per association.

Far from winning over stakeholders, the proposal triggered an unprecedented wave of opposition across the global football community. European football’s governing body UEFA threatened the ultimate sanction: a full boycott of the World Cup, football’s most profitable and watched global event. Facing mounting pressure, Infantino formally withdrew the proposal just six days after it was first leaked to the public, a move that did little to quell growing calls within the football community for his resignation.

In the official statement released following Wednesday’s closed-door meeting, FIFA’s leadership acknowledged multiple missteps throughout the process. “It was agreed that it was not the intention for the FIFA Council and FIFA Member Associations to feel excluded from the process and that the process should have been handled differently,” the statement read. The leadership also admitted that additional errors were made in the organization’s response after the plan was leaked to media outlets. In a separate communication sent to all FIFA Council members and national association leaders, FIFA issued a formal apology for the mismanagement and pledged to implement reforms to prevent similar missteps in the future.

Confirming what the organization had already signaled over the weekend, the statement added that the FFE proposal is permanently “off the table” and will not be revisited. A full internal review of the controversy will now be conducted, with a final report set to be presented to the FIFA Council at its next scheduled gathering.

The crisis comes as a sudden collapse of what had appeared to be a smooth path for Infantino to secure a fourth and final term as FIFA president. Just weeks ago, the 56-year-old Swiss lawyer was riding high off the planning success of the expanded 48-team 2026 World Cup, co-hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States, with no challengers having stepped forward to contest his re-election, scheduled for next March in Rabat. That political momentum has evaporated entirely in the wake of the privatization plan scandal.

Criticism has poured in from every corner of the global football governance structure. UEFA dismissed the plan as a “shabby, back room, opaque deal” hatched by Infantino, saying the current leadership had lost the confidence of both UEFA and many other members of the global football family. CONCACAF, the governing body for North and Central American football, went even further, calling for “a comprehensive reckoning with this presidency” and slammed Infantino over what it called “poor governance and leadership.” The political backlash extended beyond football governance this week, as Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney — whose country is a co-host of the 2026 World Cup — publicly stated he no longer has confidence in Infantino’s ability to lead FIFA.

Even within FIFA’s own senior ranks, opposition has emerged. An internal critical memo from FIFA Secretary-General Mattias Grafstrom, leaked to media earlier this week, laid out senior internal pushback against the plan. Only a small handful of high-profile football leaders have continued to stand by Infantino, most notably Moroccan Football Federation chief Fouzi Lekjaa. Morocco, which will co-host the 2030 World Cup alongside Spain and Portugal, has emerged as a key base of support for the FIFA president, with Lekjaa reiterating his backing Wednesday for Infantino’s 10-year record of initiatives aimed at growing global football, calling his decision to withdraw the plan a “wise” move made to protect the unity of the global football community.

Hours after Wednesday’s crisis meeting concluded, Infantino made a public appearance in Rabat, attending a group stage match of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations between Zambia and Malawi at Al Medina Stadium. An AFP photographer on site spotted the FIFA president alongside Lekjaa at the stadium entrance, marking his first public appearance since the scandal escalated earlier this week.

Australia’s newest National Rugby League franchise, the Perth Bears, has continued its aggressive roster build ahead of its debut season, locking in experienced English international forward Morgan Smithies on a three-year contract that includes an option to extend for two additional seasons. The 25-year-old becomes the fourth English player to sign with the expansion club, as the franchise continues its self-described “Blitz of Britain” recruiting strategy that has already brought fellow internationals Harry Newman, James McDonnell and Mikolaj Oledzki into the inaugural squad.

Smithies brings nearly a decade of top-flight rugby experience to Western Australia, having spent five seasons competing in the UK’s Super League before making the move to the NRL’s Canberra Raiders in 2022. Over the past three seasons with the Raiders, he has cemented himself as a reliable rotational contributor to the club’s forward pack, amassing almost 200 first-grade appearances across both competitions by the age of 25. He is set to join the Bears at the conclusion of the 2025 NRL season.

Speaking after the signing was confirmed, Smithies said the chance to become a foundational member of a new NRL franchise was an opportunity he could not turn down. “The opportunity to make history and be a part of the Perth Bears was too good to refuse,” the forward said. “It will be great to reconnect with a few of the lads from back home in Perth. Mal and his staff have assembled a very strong roster and it’s an honour to be a part of it. This is a new chapter for my family as well. We are committed to the Perth Bears and it’s an exciting opportunity to build our life in Western Australia.”

Bears head coach Mal Meninga, one of the most respected figures in Australian rugby league, expressed enthusiasm about adding Smithies to the club’s long-term plans, highlighting his proven track record and team-first mindset. “Morgan is a fantastic person who has succeeded at just about every level of the game,” Meninga said. “He’s only 25 years old and has played nearly 200 games across Super League and the NRL. He brings big-game experience, a fantastic work ethic and, most important of all, is a selfless teammate. I’m delighted Morgan and his family believe in what we are creating in Perth and I have no doubt he will be a big part of this club for many years to come.”

The signing comes just one day ahead of a major scheduled announcement from the franchise, which is set to unveil its inaugural home jersey on Friday. The reveal will take place ahead of an NRL match at Perth’s major stadium this weekend, when the Melbourne Storm face off against the Manly Sea Eagles.