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Real Madrid match paused over Asencio chants

Published in Soccer
Wednesday, 26 February 2025 21:53

Real Madrid's Copa del Rey game at Real Sociedad was briefly suspended Wednesday, following chants from the crowd aimed at Madrid defender Raúl Asencio.

The cup semifinal first leg at the Reale Arena was paused just before halftime, when referee José María Sánchez Martínez was notified by Madrid captain Vinícius Júnior that the players had heard chants of "Asencio, die."

The official activated Spain's anti-hate protocol, which states that in the first instance, a message is displayed on the stadium's big screens and read over loudspeakers.

"No to racist, xenophobic or intolerant chants. Support the team, respecting the opponent," the message said.

Earlier this month, a court in the Canary Islands ruled that an investigation into Asencio's alleged role in the distribution of a sexually explicit video involving a minor will continue.

Asencio is alleged to have shared a sexual video recorded by three other former Madrid academy players of an encounter with two girls, one of whom was a minor, in June 2023.

Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti substituted Asencio -- who was playing out of position at right-back -- at halftime and replaced him with Lucas Vázquez.

"Vinícius spoke to the referee, the referee stopped the game and applied the protocol," Ancelotti said during his postmatch news conference.

"[The referee] did the right thing. After that, I took [Asencio] off. The player had two things: He was affected by [the chants], and he had a yellow card. So I took him off.

"Nobody likes a stadium to sing 'die' at them," Ancelotti added. "[Asencio] was affected in that sense. He wasn't exactly happy. So I preferred to take him off. His emotions might have affected him."

Centre-back Asencio made his first-team debut in November 2024, as the team suffered a defensive injury crisis.

"We condemn the insults," Real Sociedad captain Mikel Oyarzabal told Movistar. "We don't like it. I think there are other ways of condemning what happened, or acts that may have been committed, but this isn't the right way to do it."

Real Sociedad coach Imanol Alguacil added: "If that happened -- because I didn't hear it -- I condemn it. We don't like that happening in our stadium or any stadium. We condemn those chants, it can't happen."

The 22-year-old Asencio has become an important member of the team, starting both legs of Madrid's Champions League playoff with Manchester City this month.

Amorim 'to talk' with Garnacho after tunnel dash

Published in Soccer
Wednesday, 26 February 2025 21:53

Ruben Amorim said he will speak to Alejandro Garnacho after the Manchester United forward walked straight down the tunnel following his substitution during their 3-2 win over Ipswich Town.

Garnacho was recalled to the starting XI by Amorim, but was substituted before half-time in response to Patick Dorgu's red card.

The Argentina international was replaced by Noussair Mazraoui and after briefly acknowledging Amorim, he walked straight down the touchline towards the dressing rooms.

Amorim attempted to brush off the incident, but said after the game he would seek out the 20-year-old for talks.

"I'm going to talk, obviously, with Garnacho about that," said Amorim. "So I will talk about that if you want in the next press conference."

Garnacho was dropped by Amorim for the 2-1 win over Manchester City in December along with Marcus Rashford. Garnacho has fought his way back into favour, while Rashord departed after being loaned to Aston Villa during the January transfer window.

Pressed on Garnacho's decision to walk straight down the tunnel after the substitution, Amorim said: "You are making a connection with Rashford, right?

"It was cold and wet, maybe? The thinking was we'd play more in the 5-3-1. I know that is a risk because you are taking one -- maybe the only player who has one against one pace -- but I felt the team was OK in the controlling of the game, almost half-time, then you make the substitution.

"We have to choose someone to go out, we have to think about set pieces also, so it was Garanacho."

Mitchell Starc has revealed that an ankle injury was the major reason for him missing the Champions Trophy but that "personal views" also played a part in him withdrawing from the tournament.

Starc joined Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood in being absent from the event meaning Australia are without their big three fast bowlers leaving an inexperienced pace attack but a win against Afghanistan on Friday will put them in the semi-finals.

When the squad was announced, Cricket Australia said Starc had withdrawn for personal reasons with the full support of the board and the team.

Speaking for the first time since the squad was named, Starc did not expand on what the personal views were but talked about the World Test Championship final against South Africa being a priority.

"There's a few different reasons, some personal views, and had a bit of ankle pain through the Test series [against Sri Lanka]," Starc told the Willow Talk podcast. "So just get that one right, obviously we've got the Test final coming up and a West Indies tour after that.

"There's some IPL cricket as well, but my main one top of my mind is that Test final so get my body right, play some cricket in the next couple of months and then ready to go for the Test final."

In Pakistan, where Starc toured in 2022, the Champions Trophy is being played under strict security measures which limit the movement of the players. Sides that come up against India also need to travel to Dubai with India playing all their matches at the same venue under the hybrid model agreed to ensure the tournament went ahead.

Starc has often put his body on the line for Australia. He fought through the pain of a side issue in the latter stages of the Test series against India and was then clearly limping during the second match in Galle earlier this month where he played both Tests as the lone specialist fast bowler.

If Starc plays the WTC final and all three Tests in West Indies he will earn his 100th cap in Jamaica during July. He also needs 18 more wickets to reach 400.

Starc has a deal with Delhi Capitals for the upcoming IPL which starts on March 21. Cummins has returned to bowling and is on track to be available for that tournament while ESPNcricinfo understands that Hazlewood is also progressing towards a return for Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

Should all three be available for the WTC final the selectors will face a tough decision on the make-up of the pace attack with Scott Boland having made a compelling case to be retained.

On the WTC concept itself, Starc admitted he had been underwhelmed by it during the first cycle but when Australia missed out due to a slow over-rate it quickly increased in significance although he believes the model needs amending.

"The first one being a new concept, I remember definitely, I was like, what's this all about? It doesn't mean much," he said. "We're trying to win every Test match, every Test series. And then we got close to it and we missed out and watching it on the TV, we all wanted to be a part of it. So that quickly changed.

"And then the second cycle, we made the final and obviously playing India on neutral territory, that was a big occasion for both teams, managed to get the chocolates that time. And now we find ourselves sitting [with] a chance to win it for the second time on the trot.

"I think the format needs some tinkering still. It's a very hard one to fix, I guess, when you only play six series that contribute to the point system. You get the same points for home and away wins, it's a percentage based model. So it's an imperfect system. But I think two really good teams will be facing off in the final."

Andrew McGlashan is a deputy editor at ESPNcricinfo

Australia spinner Matt Kuhnemann said he had "never doubted" his bowling action despite being reported following the Test series in Sri Lanka; he was cleared following ICC testing on Wednesday.
The outcome of the testing process was confirmed and Kuhnemann was given the green light to continue bowling in international cricket. Commenting for the first time since the Test series where he took 16 wickets in two matches, Kuhnemann thanked those who had supported him and added he felt the process had been fairly handled.

"I am very grateful for all the support I have received from my family, friends and team-mates, and to Cricket Australia who stood by me throughout the process," he said in a statement issued through Cricket Australia. "It was a disappointing way to finish what was such a successful Test series for Australia. I've never doubted my bowling action throughout my career and I'm always looking to improve the art of spin bowling in different conditions.

"I thought the process itself was quite fair and I appreciated the professional manner in which testing was explained to me and then conducted."

Kuhnemann, who had never previously had his action questioned in a career dating back to 2017, could have continued to play domestic cricket while the testing process took place but sat out the previous round of the Sheffield Shield to manage the thumb injury he bowled with through the Sri Lanka series. But he suggested he could return before the end of the season with two rounds of the Shield remaining.

"I'm looking forward to finishing the season with Tasmania once my thumb has fully healed and then getting into my off-field preparations," he said.

Kuhnemann is a likely inclusion for the three-match Test series in the West Indies in June-July where conditions at some of the venues may be conducive to two spinners, and he shapes as a key figure for Australia's next subcontinent Test series, against India in early 2027.

"We are pleased for Matt that this matter is now resolved," Ben Oliver, CA executive general manager national teams, said. "It has been a challenging period for Matt, however he has carried himself exceptionally well.

"He has had the full support of Australian cricket and he can now move forward to the next phase of his international career with great confidence."

During the series in Sri Lanka, Kuhnemann was termed Australia's best bowler by Nathan Lyon, while stand-in captain Steven Smith had voiced his surprise at Kuhnemann having been reported.

India spinner R Ashwin has previously spoken about how Kuhnemann's wrist action when he delivers can create an optical illusion about the action.

"An interesting feature of his action is his loading," Ashwin said on his YouTube channel during Kuhnemann's debut Test series against India in 2023. "For Kuhnemann, his wrist breaks during his loading. So sometimes it will look like there is an elbow extension. There is nothing like that in his action. But there is wrist involvement, for sure."

Twenty-one-year-old Voll has only played three T20Is, having made her debut against England in January. But prior to that, she was Sydney Thunder's second-highest run-getter at WBBL 2024-25, where she scored 330 runs at a strike rate of 144. Thunder had made their way all the way up to the WBBL Challenger, where they lost to Brisbane Heat.

Maxwell's World Cup double is history for Afghanistan

Published in Cricket
Wednesday, 26 February 2025 22:59
"It's never easy for a player to return from injury and make such a strong comeback in a high-stakes match," Shahidi said. "I am extremely happy for him because he is a very talented and hardworking player. When players like him perform well, as a leader, it makes me very happy and hopeful for the future. Ibrahim played a brilliant innings, and I pray that he continues to perform like this always."
There was a moment that captured the tension beautifully in Lahore on Wednesday. With England needing 27 runs to get in 20 balls, Jamie Overton tapped a full toss to sweeper cover and the fielder just couldn't pick it up. He tried once, didn't work, he tried again, it was fumbled. Azmatullah Omarzai was watching it all, knowing he would be bowling the next over, knowing he couldn't afford missteps like that.
In a wildly see-sawing Champions Trophy game, where both teams had to win to stay alive, Omarzai produced a death-overs performance of 3.5-0-26-3. When he came on to bowl in this unforgiving phase of play, Joe Root was still out there, 114 not out, and it seemed like he had tilted the contest in England's favour. Omarzai conjured an incredible effort ball that defied a lifeless pitch, got big on a set batter and bounced him out.
"Omarzai is one who just flies under the radar," former Pakistan captain Urooj Mumtaz said on ESPNcricinfo Match Day. "He is so effective with both bat and ball. He's a very smart cricketer. I think he bowls the harder overs, the tougher overs, and what he did so well was obviously change the pace and continue to hammer down that length, and length on such placid flat tracks is the key. I think he's got the makings of being one of those Hardik Pandyas or Azhar Mahmoods, the perfect utility allrounder for Afghanistan."

Root was slow on the upper cut. That doesn't happen a lot. It almost seemed like he was expecting the offcutter again. He had been deceived by one earlier in the over, but still managed to hit it for a boundary. And he might have been setting up for another, with short fine and short third up, but was caught completely off guard. Being unpredictable is a vital asset for a fast bowler in the back end of an innings. Omarzai couldn't be lined up. Not even by a member of the Fab Four.

"To outfox somebody of the calibre of Joe at the position of the game, batting well across a hundred, when he had the measure of the other bowlers, that is what [sets him apart]," Mumtaz said.

Omarzai had provided Afghanistan with their first wicket as well, taking out the hard-hitting Phil Salt in just the fourth over of a chase of 326. He compensated for Rashid Khan having an off night with the wicket of Jos Buttler through the middle overs. An equation of 110 off 79 balls got that bit harder because England had only two recognised batters left - Overton and Liam Livingstone and - he knocked over one of them to drag a game with plenty of twists and turns back in Afghanistan's favour.

"He picked up Salt, he picked up Buttler, and he picked up Overton as well," Mumtaz said, "All four of those wickets crucial, obviously in the end finished with a five-for, [with Adil] Rahid['s wicket] as well. He broke the game open not once but on three different occasions. I thought Root, Buttler and Overton, given the position of the game was quite spectacular.

"Afghanistan just held the nerve and I think that is the biggest transition for this side, that they now know how to win key moments in games and they know how to win against better-ranked sides in the international circuit. The crowd, obviously the England support was outnumbered 99 to 1%. The roar was magnificent, and I think a true victory celebration. They are one for the big events now, the Afghanistan side."

Former England batter Nick Knight looked back at Afghanistan's history to highlight how far they had come. "You don't have to go that far back. Before you looked at Afghanistan cricket and you just focused on one player. Rashid Khan. If he has a really good day, Afghanistan maybe had a chance of winning," Knight said. "You think how quickly that's moved on. Rashid, his figures in the last couple of games haven't been great [1 for 125 in 20 overs]. His impact in the contest hasn't been that great.

"Yet they're very competitive. You think of the trajectory that Afghanistan cricket has been on, perhaps the pioneer, you might say, has been Rashid Khan. He's been a huge influence, but now you think of the other players that are making immense contributions in major competitions."

USWNT loses to Japan in 1st defeat of Hayes era

Published in Breaking News
Wednesday, 26 February 2025 22:07

Japan beat the United States 2-1 at the SheBelieves Cup in San Diego on Wednesday to end the Americans' streak of five straight trophies at the annual tournament and hand manager Emma Hayes her first defeat since taking charge of the USWNT.

The result was a measure of revenge for first-time winner Japan, which lost 1-0 to the U.S. in the quarterfinals of the 2024 Olympics as Hayes led the team to the gold medal in Paris.

Japan got off to a dream start in the second minute when U.S. keeper Jane Campbell collided with one of her defenders in front of goal and Yuka Momiki gathered the ball and fired it into an open net for the early lead.

The U.S. regrouped under heavy pressure from Japan and quickly tied the game when Ally Sentnor -- who scored her first goal for the Americans on Thursday against Colombia -- picked up a through ball from Catarina Macario and calmly curled a shot past Ayaka Yamashita to make it 1-1 just before the 15-minute mark.

Japan started the second half just like it did the first: with an early goal. Campbell kept out a great free kick by Japan, but her save fell right to the feet of Toko Koga, who slotted home the rebound to give her team a second lead of the game.

Despite numerous second-half changes, the USWNT couldn't find a way back into the game as Japan saw out a convincing win to make it 3-for-3 after victories over Australia and Colombia in its first two games of the tournament.

The USWNT finished the tournament with two wins and one loss.

Prior to the loss to Japan, Hayes had won 15 and drawn two of the first 17 matches she coached since her tenure as U.S. manager started in June 2024.

The U.S. team was playing in the tournament without the trio of Mallory Swanson, Trinity Rodman and Sophia (Smith) Wilson. Rodman is rehabbing a back injury, Smith was not yet in game form and Swanson was out for personal commitments.

Japan was coming off a 4-1 victory over Colombia on Sunday. Mina Tanaka, who plays for the Utah Royals in the National Women's Soccer League, led all players with four goals and three assists.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this story.

MSU wins on Holloman's half-court buzzer-beater

Published in Breaking News
Wednesday, 26 February 2025 22:07

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Tre Holloman hadn't even reached the "M" logo at midcourt when he jumped off one foot and let the ball fly Wednesday night.

Somehow, it stayed on line before dropping through the hoop with a swish that reverberated across the Big Ten.

If Michigan State and coach Tom Izzo win yet another conference title, Holloman's buzzer-beater might be the reason.

"Every day at home, the night before a game, that last practice, we have the guys go around. Everybody gets a shot at a half-court shot. The last two games, Tre has made two of them. He's made one [before] each game," Izzo said. "I thought that thing was in when it left. I really did."

The Spartans might practice shooting from midcourt, but when Holloman left the ground on this game winner, he was closer to his own 3-point line -- some 65 feet from the hoop. The shot gave No. 8 Michigan State a 58-55 win over No. 16 Maryland, plus a half-game lead over Michigan atop the Big Ten. It was a sensational finish to a game that was high on intensity but low on artistry.

"I felt we deserved to win the game," Izzo said. "I don't think it was a lucky shot at the end. I thought we played inspired basketball."

It was Michigan State's first game-winning buzzer-beater since Korie Lucious hit a 3 off a Draymond Green pass in the round of 32 in the 2010 NCAA tournament -- also against Maryland.

If the game had gone to overtime, Holloman would have been largely to blame. With the Spartans up by two, his pass in the backcourt was intercepted, and then he quickly fouled Ja'Kobi Gillespie, whose two free throws with 42.1 seconds left tied it at 55. Then Jaxon Kohler missed for Michigan State, giving the Terrapins a chance to win with the shot clock off.

Gillespie missed a 3-pointer, and there was just enough time for Kohler to rebound and flip the ball to Holloman, who was 2-of-11 from the field at that point and 0-for-3 from 3-point range.

"Holloman hadn't made a shot all night, so once he released it, I knew the thing was going in," Maryland coach Kevin Willard said.

Willard wasn't too hard on Gillespie after his missed 3 left Michigan State time for a final heave.

"Maybe if he waits, he doesn't get an open look. I trust Kobi. He's been great all year," Willard said. "At the end of the day, the kid still had to hit a 60-footer to beat you. So, yes, do you want him to take the last shot? Absolutely. But it's not like he took it at six seconds and Holloman was able to dribble up and get a layup."

For Holloman, it was a chance to prove that shooting from midcourt isn't just a way to goof around at practice.

"I knew that it was good," Holloman said. "We practice those."

And when it did go in?

"I just remember zeroes, and that we up."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

NFL mulls changes to OT, adds first-down tracking

Published in Breaking News
Wednesday, 26 February 2025 22:07

INDIANAPOLIS -- The NFL is considering changing overtime rules in the regular season to decrease the advantage for teams that win the coin toss.

"It's time to rethink the overtime rule," league executive Troy Vincent said Wednesday at the NFL scouting combine.

Vincent said the competition committee agrees overtime rules need to be addressed. Receiving the ball first has become more of an advantage than pre-2011 when overtime was a sudden-death period. Receiving teams won 56.8% of games in overtime from 2017 to 2024, up from 55.4% from 2001 to 2011.

Current rules give both teams an opportunity to possess the ball in overtime unless a touchdown is scored on the first possession.

The rules are different in the playoffs. Both teams get a chance to have a possession even if the offense scores a touchdown on the opening drive. That postseason change came after the Buffalo Bills lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in a divisional round game in January 2022.

Making the overtime rules the same in the regular season is a possible solution, along with extending the period to 15 minutes.

Among other changes, the NFL plans to use its virtual measuring system to determine first downs in 2025. This wouldn't eliminate the officials who manually spot the ball and use chains to mark the line to gain. The optimal tracking system notifies officiating instantly if a first down was gained after the ball is spotted by hand.

"We used this in the background last season," said Kimberly Fields, the NFL's senior vice president of football operations. "The goal for 2025 is to continue to train our techs, who are the ones who will be utilizing the technology, finalizing all of our officiating processes and procedures around virtual measurements and testing the graphics for the broadcast and in-stadium, so fans in the stadium and fans watching on television can see what we're doing. The chain crew will still be there as backup."

The competition committee also will review expansion of the replay assist to include more fouls, but Vincent said "there was no appetite" from the committee to use video replay to throw a flag.

A team could still propose a rule change to do that. For now, if officials miss an obvious penalty such as a face mask, replay assist can't throw a flag.

Replay assist was used in 2024 to pick up flags thrown for roughing the passer (contact with head/neck), unnecessary roughness (runner out of bounds), intentional grounding and ineligible player downfield.

Expansion under consideration for 2025 would include roughing the passer (hit below the knee), unnecessary roughness (defenseless receiver/player), face mask (contact of hand with face mask), tripping, illegal crackback block and horse-collar tackle, among others.

Vincent said the league wanted to find a way to bring back onside kicks while also installing a permanent kickoff rule after a one-year trial with what was called the dynamic kickoff.

The trial made kickoffs more exciting with higher rate of returns. Vincent said he anticipated the spot of the touchback on kickoffs being moved from the 30- to the 35-yard line.

But the changes affected the onside kick. Teams were 3 for 50, the lowest recovery rate since 2001.

"Universal consensus that we know we need to do something with this play," Vincent said.

He added there wasn't much conversation around a fourth-and-long option to keep possession, though those discussions could occur next month.

The tush push play mastered by the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles has been a hot topic this week because the Green Bay Packers proposed banning it. Some opponents have argued the play is dangerous, but Vincent said the league found no injuries on the play in 2024.

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