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In their ongoing investigation into illegal betting and match fixing, Turkish police have searched the home of Fenerbahce’s captain.

As the scandal that is currently roiling the Turkish football scene progresses, Istanbul’s prosecutors on Friday morning ordered the arrest of 46 people, 29 of whom were players.

Mert Hakan Yandas, 31, is accused by the prosecution of placing illegal bets on matches with a third party, according to reports in Turkey.

Metehan Baltaci, a 23-year-old Galatasaray centre-back, is also being detained. He is accused of betting on matches involving his own team, and the Turkish FA recently suspended him for nine months.

Due to concerns about match fixing and sporting integrity, footballers are prohibited from betting on games that involve their own team or not.

Seventy-seven of the 29 players detained are alleged to have bet on games that their own teams participated in.

According to the prosecutor’s office, 35 of the 46 people who needed to be arrested were already being held. Five of the remaining 11 are reportedly traveling abroad.

The prosecutor’s office released a statement naming all 46 of the suspects, noting that “efforts to apprehend the other suspects are ongoing.” “Investigations will continue with rigor and determination,” he said.

In addition to the list, there are owners of Ankaraspor and president Mehmet Emin Katipoglu, president of the Nazilli Belediyespor, Sahin Kaya, and two coaches, all of whom claim to have helped determine the outcome of a match between the two clubs in April 2024.

In December 2023, Umraniyespor and Giresunspor are accused of trying to aranje the outcome of the game, including one player.

Murat Sancak, former Adana Demirspor president, former referee and current commentator Ahmet akar, and Zorbay Küçük, a top-flight official accused of using a bank account to make obscene financial transactions, are also accused of wrongdoing.

After its president Ibrahim Haciosmanoglu first accused hundreds of referees of being connected to betting accounts in October, the Turkish FA suspended more than 1, 000 players from the game in November over alleged betting infractions.

After 14 matches, Galatasaray are currently at the top of the Turkish Super Lig, one point ahead of archrival Fenerbahce.

If Lando Norris loses the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and the Australian cannot continue to win the championship, McLaren are prepared to use Oscar Piastri to support his title bid.

This year, McLaren have established a philosophy of open competition between their drivers, giving both the best chance to win their first title.

However, with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen 12 points behind the Briton in the final race of the season at Yas Marina, Norris leads Piastri by 16 points going into the season-ending event.

As long as both drivers have a chance to win the title, Brown said, “Business as usual and they are free to race.”

We will do everything we can to ensure the team wins the drivers’ championship if it becomes clear as the race progresses that both can’t.

In a number of mathematical situations, Piastri’s refusal to support Verstappen might prove to be a factor.

If Verstappen wins the race, Piastri is in the top three, and Norris is in fourth place, the most likely scenario is that this will occur.

Norris must finish third in order to win the title if Verstappen prevails. It is obvious that McLaren would request Piastri to renounce Norris in that situation, or any other similar situation.

Another scenario would be if Piastri was somewhere between the two, Verstappen was second, and Norris was eighth.

Brown stated that he was certain Piastri would accept the request.

Our drivers have always followed team wishes, Brown said, “just as we have done their wishes.” So I have no doubt that either of our drivers will keep going at it because they did it in the team’s best interest.

Daniel Wiffen of Ireland has qualified for the 25-meter freestyle 800-meter final of the European Short Course Swimming Championships in Lublin.

In qualifying for Saturday’s final, the Olympic 800-meter freestyle champion ran a time of 7:34.60, placing him fourth overall.

He finished in second place, trailing Zalan Sarkany from Hungary, who ran a 7:33.85.

Wiffen continued to win the 1500m freestyle title on Thursday after posting a late surge and bronze medalist performance on Tuesday.

The Magheralin man won his first gold medal since having surgery on his appendix in August by 1.55 seconds over Hungarian Sarkany.

Jack McMillan, a British individual who won gold in the 400-meter freestyle in Poland, was unable to reach the 100-meter freestyle semi-finals.

McMillan, a Belfast native and Olympic and world champion in the men’s 4x200m freestyle relay, topped his heat with a time of 47.02, but he was 18th overall and is second reserve for Friday night’s semifinals.

Second Ashes Test, the Gabba, Brisbane (day-night, day two of five)

England 334: Root 138, Crawley 76; Starc 6-75

Australia 378-6: Weatherald 72, Labuschagne 65, Smith 61; Carse 3-113

Australia are 44 runs ahead

England produced a floodlit fightback late on day two of the second Test against Australia, but still face a huge battle to stay alive in the Ashes after missing five chances at the Gabba.

Australia were on course for a substantial first-innings lead until Brydon Carse summoned the energy for a hostile spell in the Brisbane night.

In the same over, Carse bowled Cameron Green for 45 and then ended Steve Smith’s march to yet another Ashes century on 61 thanks to a wonder catch from Will Jacks.

When captain Ben Stokes bowled Josh Inglis, Australia had lost three wickets for 38 runs and eventually closed on 378-6 – a lead of 44.

England are still in the match despite being woeful for much of Friday. It was a performance that had all the characteristics of their 16-Test winless run in this country and 39-year winless run on this ground.

The tourists added only nine to their overnight 325-9 to be all out for 334, then allowed Australia to get away with some scattergun bowling before the first interval.

Wicketkeeper Jamie Smith’s drop of Travis Head was the first of the quintet of chances England missed.

Jake Weatherald slashed 72 and Marnus Labuschagne made 65 before Smith and Green added 95 for the fourth wicket.

The came the Carse-inspired revival. Whether it was too late to keep Australia to a lead England can manage will be revealed on Saturday.

If the first three days of this series – the two days of the first Test and the opening day here – were packed with action, this had a more familiar and foreboding feel of Australia slowly turning the screw.

No team has made as many as England’s 334 in the first innings of a day-night Test and lost, yet Australia put the tourists’ effort into context. This might have been the best day for batting and, when the pink ball went soft, England lacked inspiration.

On day one, England’s batting seemed fraught with danger, never far from the threat of implosion. A second-string Australia attack always found a way of conjuring – or being gifted – a wicket.

On day two, the Australians simply played orthodox Test cricket. It just so happened England’s best pace bowlers offered plenty of chances to score.

Off-spinner Jacks bowled only one over, and his selection would have looked an error had it not been for his incredible catch.

Still, day-night Tests can change rapidly under the lights and England deserve praise for hanging in and eventually using the conditions to their advantage. Their short-ball plan had Australia hopping around, though also allowed more rapid scoring.

Carse, usually so reliable, had been as guilty as anyone of spraying the ball around Brisbane – he conceded 113 runs from his 17 overs.

And it was indicative of England’s situation that the Durham man was asked to bowl a spell of bouncers in the night session, when usually the floodlights would offer the kind of movement to encourage orthodox seam bowling.

With Green stepping back to flay an expected short ball, he was bluffed by a Carse yorker that splattered the stumps. From the next ball, Carey gloved a venomous lifter, only for Ben Duckett to grass the vital catch moving forward from gully.

Still, in the same over, Carse got the crucial wicket of Smith thanks to Jacks’ moment of magic. Smith tried to drag a pull around the corner only for Jacks, at backward square leg, to fling himself to his right and cling on with his right hand.

Inglis and Carey countered, boundaries continued to flow and Duckett put down another chance – this time Inglis at gully off the bowling off Stokes. Three balls later, Stokes removed Inglis’ middle stump.

There was still time for England to create two more chances, and for Carey and Neser to add 49 from only 55 balls.

It may seem churlish to criticise Archer for his dismissal 14 balls into the day – 38 was his highest Test score, 70 was England’s highest last-wicket stand in this country for 74 years and Labuschagne took a stunning catch – but it was the beginning of Australia snatching the momentum. It left Root out of partners on 138 not out.

Still, the error of Archer’s needless pull at Brendan Doggett was dwarfed by the drop of Smith. When Archer took the edge of Head on three, England’s keeper failed to cling on to the rising ball and Australia surged into life.

Head added another 30 to his score, and along with Weatherald’s maiden Test half-century, the hosts punished some woeful England bowling. Australia took 112 runs in the 14 overs up to the first interval, with Labuschagne attacking when he replaced Head.

England rarely had control for the remainder of the day. Australia rocketed along at more than five an over, yet their batting was risk-free thanks to the wayward bowling. Time and again the home side were able to cut and pull because England missed their lengths.

Archer was excellent at the beginning of the second session to have Weatherald lbw, yet a seven-over spell meant he could not come back in the twilight. Stokes induced a poor slash from Labuschagne.