Archive June 12, 2025

Australian Olympian Heath Ryan has been suspended by Equestrian Australia after a video emerged that appeared to show him repeatedly whipping a horse.

Ryan, 66, represented Australia in dressage at the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008.

The video – said by Ryan to be about two years old – shows a man striking a horse around 40 times. Ryan issued a statement to say he was acting in “the horse’s best interest”.

Ryan said the horse, named Nico, came to him after an accident which resulted in a female rider needing hospital treatment.

The Australian said that Nico “had always been a problem child and would just not stop” and after the video he was able to rehome the horse.

Ryan said: “I am so sad this was caught on video. If I had been thinking of myself I would have immediately just gotten off and sent Nico to the knackery.

“That video was a life or death moment for Nico and I genuinely had to try my very hardest to see if Nico would consider other options.

“All of this transpired sincerely with the horse’s best interests the sole consideration. Unbelievably it was so successful for everyone except me with the release of this video.”

Britain’s three-time Olympic champion Charlotte Dujardin missed the Paris Games last year after a video emerged of her repeatedly striking a horse around its legs with a long whip. She was subsequently banned for a year by the FEI, equestrian sport’s world governing body.

After the Ryan video drew attention, Equestrian Australia said it had received a formal complaint about one of its members and had imposed a provisional suspension from all competitions and events.

The national body said: “Equestrian Australia is extremely alarmed and concerned by the treatment of the horse shown in this footage.

Brighton have agreed a £29.78m (35m euros) deal with Olympiakos for 18-year-old forward Charalampos Kostoulas.

The teenager was undergoing a medical with the club on Thursday, ahead of signing a five-year contract that will start on 1 July.

The deal represents by some distance the highest fee ever received by a Greek club, beating the £16.6m Wolves paid to sign Daniel Podence from Olympiakos in 2020.

Should an add-on of £1.7m for Kostoulas be met during his time at Brighton, it would be a record paid for a Greek player – topping the £30.63m Napoli paid Roma for Kostas Manolas in 2019.

The Greece Under-21 international made his first-team debut in 2024, having come through Olympiakos’ academy.

Kostoulas was a regular starter as the Olympiakos won the prestigious UEFA Youth League in 2024, beating Inter Milan and Bayern Munich on their way to the final, where they defeated AC Milan.

Greek agent Giorgos Panou is credited with launching the career of superstar Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo and is now doing the same in football with Brighton’s soon-to-be new striker Kostoulas.

Just as he spotted Antetokounmpo, then a second division Greek basketball player in 2013, he spotted Kostoulas, nicknamed ‘Babis’, aged 15.

He is now on the verge of a record-breaking move and, when asked how the two talents compare, Panou replied: “I felt the same way when I first saw Babis playing three years ago in an under-19s game, aged 15, to how I felt when I first saw Giannis.

“I got the feeling immediately that he is cold-blooded, immense talent, with great body language and ready to take on older, bigger guys without feeling pressure. I saw a potential to grow.”

Chelsea have been credited with interest in Kostoulas in the past, while Brighton are believed to have beaten some of the biggest clubs in Germany to his signature. So why move to the south coast? The answer is, perhaps, unsurprising.

“They won the family and myself with how they talk, negotiate, give all the tools to thrive and have a good track record of developing similar young talents,” Panou added. “So we feel very comfortable, and I’m really sure that Babis will adapt really fast in this environment. It was a no-brainer for me.”