Category Sports News

After Victor Osimhen helped Galatasaray to lose the Turkish title, Nigeria boss Eric Chelle anticipates interest from Europe’s top clubs.

After netting 37 goals in 41 games for the Istanbul giants this season, the 26-year-old is set to return to his parent club Napoli.

He is expected to leave Napoli because he is not a part of coach Antonio Conte’s plans, but he has a year left on his Italian contract.

Osimhen was dropped from the Super Eagles’ squad for Friday’s international friendly against Russia because his future was uncertain.

Victor, Chelle claimed to be the best striker in the world, according to Chelle.

Because he put on a lot of pressure during the previous season, it is challenging for him to attend this game.

There is a transfer window, in actuality. A player like him isn’t completely focused at this point.

Because he might leave, I must physically and mentally guard him and arrange a transfer.

Osimhen, who won the Under-17 World Cup in 2015, is currently second in the world among Nigeria’s top scorers with 26 goals.

He spearheaded the Super Eagles’ attack at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, where the West Africans finished in second place, and he has been instrumental in reviving the team’s chances of winning the 2026 Fifa World Cup.

Osimhen’s injury-related absence from Nigeria’s first four games limited the Super Eagles’ ability to earn three goals when he started scoring in March, helping them to win over Rwanda and draw with Zimbabwe.

Chelle claims he has never seen a rival to the former Wolfsburg and Lille frontman.

He “wants to win every battle in training.” It’s crazy, “Chelle, 47, added.

He says, “When the training session is over, he wants to stay on the pitch and keep scoring.”

Following its Saturday victory in the Unity Cup friendly competition, Nigeria will travel to Moscow.

Last Wednesday, the Super Eagles defeated fierce local rivals Ghana 2-1, and the team then defeated Jamaica 5-4 on penalties in the final after drawing 2-2.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Chelle still anticipates a difficult encounter as he prepares for the following round of World Cup qualifiers in September.

As Nigeria attempts to close the six-point gap with Group C leaders Bafana Bafana, those games, both at home and away in South Africa, will be crucial.

Chelle remarked that Russia is a fantastic footballing nation.

They must engage in some international combat because the war is challenging for them. In their league, there are many talented players.

I believe that the game will attract a lot of interest.

Leaders from the sport and physical activity industries have written to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to warn that if they aren’t prioritized in government spending plans, there will be “risk the decline or closure of more facilities and clubs.”

The Youth Sport Trust, the Sport and Recreation Alliance, Ukactive, a gym and leisure-centre organization, and the Sport for Development Coalition all signed the letter, according to BBC Sport.

According to them, the spending review for the following week, which will provide a summary of departmental budgets, “marks a crucial moment of opportunity.”

More than ever, “we think now is the time to fully unlock the true potential of the sports, recreation, and physical activity industry,” they write.

Everyone, including children and those with disabilities, must be able to access and take advantage of high-quality sports and physical activity opportunities, according to a government spokesman.

By implementing our change plan, we can make our young people the best off-spring and make our country more active.

More than 200 swimming pools in the nation have shut down since 2020, according to Ukactive and Swim England.

The organizations’ joint letters state that as avid sports fans, we are aware of the power of sport and physical activity to bring people together, improve lives, and positively shape and transform lives.

You publicly acknowledged this following last summer’s successful Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Our industry generates social and economic value worth more than £107 billion annually, but there is still significant untapped potential.

According to the most recent participation data, there are still significant inequalities between different demographic groups and communities, and the UK’s physical activity levels are 11th out of 15 comparable European countries.

Oscar Piastri, a McLaren driver, won the Spanish Grand Prix from Lando Norris, his fifth consecutive victory.

But the story of the race was the controversial series of events surrounding Max Verstappen in the closing laps.

A few laps after leaving the track and battling for position with the Briton, Verstappen appeared to deliberately drive into George Russell’s Mercedes.

Everyone will have their own opinions on this.

It was clear after the race that many people in Formula 1 did not think Verstappen had behaved correctly in his collision with George Russell’s Mercedes at Turn Five, and he has now admitted that it was “not right and shouldn’t have happened”.

When asked whether Verstappen should have had the black flag, which denotes a driver’s race disqualification, Russell responded, “If it was truly deliberate, then absolutely. Because you cannot deliberately crash into another driver.

We’re putting our lives in danger. We’re fortunate the cars are as safe as they are these days. But we shouldn’t assume it to be true.

But penalties are at the stewards ‘ discretion and in this case they decided to give Verstappen a 10-second penalty, a relatively severe sanction, and three points on his licence.

Why was this treated as a less serious offence than Russell’s drive-through penalty for passing a Williams in Monaco and cutting the chicane to pass a Williams, respectively?

The stewards ‘ verdict did not address that, and an FIA spokesperson said they could not speak for the stewards as they are independent.

Verstappen is one point away from a ban, according to those three points. Which means any transgression in the next two races in Canada and Austria, and Verstappen will be forced to miss the next grand prix.

With the benefit of hindsight, this was one of two mistakes Red Bull made in the Spanish Grand Prix.

Verstappen-Russell incident in Turn One was the subject of the stewards’ investigation, so Red Bull decided to order Verstappen to return the place.

Team principal Christian Horner said the decision was based” on recent experience and looking at recent incidents”.

Verstappen continued to hold fourth position by attempting to pass Russell while the pair made light contact with the escape road. He believed he was justified in keeping the place because he felt the Mercedes driver had barged him off the track.

Horner claimed that Red Bull “looked for all intents and purposes going to be a penalty” after speaking with FIA race control but receiving nothing back from them.

Horner added:” The argument is, was George under control at that point in time? He might have turned around. We’ve seen so many occasions this year where penalties have been given.

You’re anticipating a fine, so why was it called “OK, do you know what?” We’re going to have to give this place up. ‘”

Some time after the race, the stewards’ verdict was revealed. It said that Russell had “momentarily lost control of the car and collided” with Verstappen, who “did not deliberately leave the track”. They then, it was reported, abandoned all further action.

In other words, in their view, Verstappen could have justifiably kept the place.

Here, the racing rules have two parts in play. To be entitled to be given space – ie, to have been judged to have won the corner – the driver overtaking on the inside has to have his front axle “at least alongside the mirror of the other car prior to and at the apex”.

Russell appears to have followed this rule.

But the car must also “be driven in a fully controlled manner particularly from entry to apex”.

The stewards decided Russell had not done this. And that was also Verstappen’s opinion.

Was it a mistake, Horner said in retrospect? Yeah, but I think that’s where it would be nice, as the referee, as a race director, to either say, ‘ Play on, ‘ or ‘ you need to give it back. ‘ Because you’re relying on historical precedents, the team has a very difficult time making that call.

The second decision Red Bull got wrong, Horner admitted, was the decision to pit Verstappen for fresh hard tyres under the safety car, one that Verstappen immediately questioned vociferously once he was back on track.

On Sunday morning, this writer and another journalist asked an Aston Martin spokesperson whether claims that Stroll had banged equipment about, sworn at team members, and stormed out of the garage were true.

The spokesperson’s assertions were unfalsifiable. They said: “Lance was upset”.

Aston Martin’s source later reached out to BBC Sport to refute any claims that Stroll had verbally abused colleagues. But not the central truth of the story.

Following Aston Martin’s announcement on Saturday evening that Stroll had withdrawn from the race because of pain in his hand and wrist, which they claimed his doctor’s doctor had thought was related to his two broken wrists from a cycling accident before the 2023 season.

There are a couple of ways of looking at this.

On the one hand, Stroll’s apparent irritation over being knocked out in Q2 and being 0. 535secs slower than team-mate Fernando Alonso suggests he is very invested in his chances to succeed in Formula 1 despite his apparent frustration.

Stroll’s previous outburst after qualifying came in a similar situation, when he had been over a second slower than Alonso in Qatar in 2023.

However, it is unusual for an F1 driver to purposefully skim a race to avoid such pain or injury.

Many drivers race with injuries, and Stroll himself raced with two fractures at the start of 2023, after the operation that the team say his medical consultant believes is at the root of his current predicament.

Only he can tell whether this is Stroll’s beginning or end.

He has a seat at the team as long as he wants. It is owned by his father, Lawrence, who essentially bought it to allow Lance to drive in Formula One and win the title.

Norris has acknowledged that a factor in the McLaren car’s behavior has been having an impact on his qualifying results, particularly what team boss Andrea Stella refers to as a “numb” feeling from the front axle.

To resolve this issue, McLaren have been working with Norris on his driving, and have said that upgrades will be introduced to the car to help the issue.

Norris believed that by taking the lead in Monaco, he had a breakthrough. After he qualified second to team-mate Oscar Piastri in Spain, he was asked whether he still felt he had made that progress.

Norris responded, “The speed was very high today.” And sometimes you just don’t put the laps in. Good things happened today.

” I was a little bit behind at the start of qualifying and I caught up nicely. On the final lap, I am aware of where I went that time. It was just trying a little bit too much and just not being quite tidy enough – especially around a lap like Barcelona.

You kind of know it’s going to be a challenging rest of the lap if you take one little oversteer in Turn One and Turn Two. So, it’s still good. I’m still feeling fine. I’m happy with second, especially in Barcelona – it’s not the end of the world. A happy weekend therefore.

This topic was not covered in Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur’s post-race briefing. However, keep in mind that driving long is a common tactic in Spain to offset the driver’s tyres against a rival.

Russell was only two seconds behind Hamilton when Mercedes pitted him on lap 41, well within undercut range. For this reason, Ferrari would have to omit Hamilton from the equation.

In any case, this is not the biggest issue surrounding Hamilton after the Spanish Grand Prix.

After the race, the seven-time champion was unappreciative. He mumbled through his media briefing, giving very short answers, if he answered questions at all, before excusing himself after a couple of minutes.

He claimed that he had no idea why the race was so bad and that it was the “worst race I’ve ever experienced, balance-wise.” There were “zero” positives, he said.

Probably Hamilton’s lack of pace was what caused him to worry.

He started the race two places ahead of team-mate Charles Leclerc. Even if Leclerc’s session had gone awry as he attempted to save two brand-new medium tyres for the race, Hamilton’s qualifying effort was commendable.

Leclerc passed Mercedes ‘ Kimi Antonelli immediately and trailed close behind Hamilton until lap 10, when Ferrari ordered Hamilton to let him by.

Hamilton’s team-mate lost just under four seconds in the five laps that followed his pit stop.

Leclerc stopped for the first time a lap later than Hamilton. Hamilton was 10 seconds adrift by the time the Monegasque made another stop on lap 40.

That’s hardly a disaster, but nor is it what Hamilton expects of himself.

According to Vasseur, Hamilton had a problem with his car in the final stage of the race, which he did not disclose.

Oscar Piastri, a McLaren driver, won the Spanish Grand Prix from Lando Norris, his fifth consecutive victory.

But the story of the race was the controversial series of events surrounding Max Verstappen in the closing laps.

A few laps after leaving the track and battling for position with the Briton, Verstappen appeared to deliberately drive into George Russell’s Mercedes.

Everyone will have their own opinions on this.

It was clear after the race that many people in Formula 1 did not think Verstappen had behaved correctly in his collision with George Russell’s Mercedes at Turn Five, and he has now admitted that it was “not right and shouldn’t have happened”.

When asked whether Verstappen should have had the black flag, which denotes a driver’s race disqualification, Russell responded, “If it was truly deliberate, then absolutely. Because you cannot deliberately crash into another driver.

We’re putting our lives in danger. We’re fortunate the cars are as safe as they are these days. But we shouldn’t assume it to be true.

But penalties are at the stewards ‘ discretion and in this case they decided to give Verstappen a 10-second penalty, a relatively severe sanction, and three points on his licence.

Why was this treated as a less serious offence than Russell’s drive-through penalty for passing a Williams in Monaco and cutting the chicane to pass a Williams, respectively?

The stewards ‘ verdict did not address that, and an FIA spokesperson said they could not speak for the stewards as they are independent.

Verstappen is one point away from a ban, according to those three points. Which means any transgression in the next two races in Canada and Austria, and Verstappen will be forced to miss the next grand prix.

With the benefit of hindsight, this was one of two mistakes Red Bull made in the Spanish Grand Prix.

Verstappen-Russell incident in Turn One was the subject of the stewards’ investigation, so Red Bull decided to order Verstappen to return the place.

Team principal Christian Horner said the decision was based” on recent experience and looking at recent incidents”.

Verstappen continued to hold fourth position by attempting to pass Russell while the pair made light contact with the escape road. He believed he was justified in keeping the place because he felt the Mercedes driver had barged him off the track.

Horner claimed that Red Bull “looked for all intents and purposes going to be a penalty” after speaking with FIA race control but receiving nothing back from them.

Horner added:” The argument is, was George under control at that point in time? He might have turned around. We’ve seen so many occasions this year where penalties have been given.

You’re anticipating a fine, so why was it called “OK, do you know what?” We’re going to have to give this place up. ‘”

Some time after the race, the stewards’ verdict was revealed. It said that Russell had “momentarily lost control of the car and collided” with Verstappen, who “did not deliberately leave the track”. They then, it was reported, abandoned all further action.

In other words, in their view, Verstappen could have justifiably kept the place.

Here, the racing rules have two parts in play. To be entitled to be given space – ie, to have been judged to have won the corner – the driver overtaking on the inside has to have his front axle “at least alongside the mirror of the other car prior to and at the apex”.

Russell appears to have followed this rule.

But the car must also “be driven in a fully controlled manner particularly from entry to apex”.

The stewards decided Russell had not done this. And that was also Verstappen’s opinion.

Was it a mistake, Horner said in retrospect? Yeah, but I think that’s where it would be nice, as the referee, as a race director, to either say, ‘ Play on, ‘ or ‘ you need to give it back. ‘ Because you’re relying on historical precedents, the team has a very difficult time making that call.

The second decision Red Bull got wrong, Horner admitted, was the decision to pit Verstappen for fresh hard tyres under the safety car, one that Verstappen immediately questioned vociferously once he was back on track.

On Sunday morning, this writer and another journalist asked an Aston Martin spokesperson whether claims that Stroll had banged equipment about, sworn at team members, and stormed out of the garage were true.

The spokesperson’s assertions were unfalsifiable. They said: “Lance was upset”.

Aston Martin’s source later reached out to BBC Sport to refute any claims that Stroll had verbally abused colleagues. But not the central truth of the story.

Following Aston Martin’s announcement on Saturday evening that Stroll had withdrawn from the race because of pain in his hand and wrist, which they claimed his doctor’s doctor had thought was related to his two broken wrists from a cycling accident before the 2023 season.

There are a couple of ways of looking at this.

On the one hand, Stroll’s apparent irritation over being knocked out in Q2 and being 0. 535secs slower than team-mate Fernando Alonso suggests he is very invested in his chances to succeed in Formula 1 despite his apparent frustration.

Stroll’s previous outburst after qualifying came in a similar situation, when he had been over a second slower than Alonso in Qatar in 2023.

However, it is unusual for an F1 driver to purposefully skim a race to avoid such pain or injury.

Many drivers race with injuries, and Stroll himself raced with two fractures at the start of 2023, after the operation that the team say his medical consultant believes is at the root of his current predicament.

Only he can tell whether this is Stroll’s beginning or end.

He has a seat at the team as long as he wants. It is owned by his father, Lawrence, who essentially bought it to allow Lance to drive in Formula One and win the title.

Norris has acknowledged that a factor in the McLaren car’s behavior has been having an impact on his qualifying results, particularly what team boss Andrea Stella refers to as a “numb” feeling from the front axle.

To resolve this issue, McLaren have been working with Norris on his driving, and have said that upgrades will be introduced to the car to help the issue.

Norris believed that by taking the lead in Monaco, he had a breakthrough. After he qualified second to team-mate Oscar Piastri in Spain, he was asked whether he still felt he had made that progress.

Norris responded, “The speed was very high today.” And sometimes you just don’t put the laps in. Good things happened today.

” I was a little bit behind at the start of qualifying and I caught up nicely. On the final lap, I am aware of where I went that time. It was just trying a little bit too much and just not being quite tidy enough – especially around a lap like Barcelona.

You kind of know it’s going to be a challenging rest of the lap if you take one little oversteer in Turn One and Turn Two. So, it’s still good. I’m still feeling fine. I’m happy with second, especially in Barcelona – it’s not the end of the world. A happy weekend therefore.

This topic was not covered in Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur’s post-race briefing. However, keep in mind that driving long is a common tactic in Spain to offset the driver’s tyres against a rival.

Russell was only two seconds behind Hamilton when Mercedes pitted him on lap 41, well within undercut range. For this reason, Ferrari would have to omit Hamilton from the equation.

In any case, this is not the biggest issue surrounding Hamilton after the Spanish Grand Prix.

After the race, the seven-time champion was unappreciative. He mumbled through his media briefing, giving very short answers, if he answered questions at all, before excusing himself after a couple of minutes.

He claimed that he had no idea why the race was so bad and that it was the “worst race I’ve ever experienced, balance-wise.” There were “zero” positives, he said.

Probably Hamilton’s lack of pace was what caused him to worry.

He started the race two places ahead of team-mate Charles Leclerc. Even if Leclerc’s session had gone awry as he attempted to save two brand-new medium tyres for the race, Hamilton’s qualifying effort was commendable.

Leclerc passed Mercedes ‘ Kimi Antonelli immediately and trailed close behind Hamilton until lap 10, when Ferrari ordered Hamilton to let him by.

Hamilton’s team-mate lost just under four seconds in the five laps that followed his pit stop.

Leclerc stopped for the first time a lap later than Hamilton. Hamilton was 10 seconds adrift by the time the Monegasque made another stop on lap 40.

That’s hardly a disaster, but nor is it what Hamilton expects of himself.

According to Vasseur, Hamilton had a problem with his car in the final stage of the race, which he did not disclose.

Tyler Weaver, an amateur Englishman, will make his US Open debut after earning a spot on Monday.

The big names included Rickie Fowler and Max Homa, the US PGA Tour’s “longest day” of golf, among others.

With a total of 47 players available, US Open hopefuls fought 36 holes at 10 locations throughout the US and Canada to reserve their spot.

Weaver, a 22-year-old member of the England Golf men’s squad, led by 17-year-old American Mason Howell, who finished third at 11 under to become one of three amateurs to qualify for Atlanta.

One of seven qualifiers in Ontario was Denmark’s Thorbjorn Olesen, with England’s Matt Wallace coming in seventh overall.

In a five-man play-off, fellow American Cameron Young took the final spot while South Africa’s Erik van Rooyen finished first in Columbus, Ohio.

Homa, 34, was the only player at the event who had recently split from his caddie, so the world number 90 had to carry it for the entire 38 holes due to a play-off.

Ryan McCormick and Trevor Cone won the first two spots at Woodmont in Maryland, and American amateur Bryan Lee and Australian Marc Leishman won the other two in a play-off.

Play will resume on Tuesday due to the bad weather that caused the suspension of the Florida event.

Luke Poulter, an amateur from England and the son of former world number five Ian Poulter, is one of the contenders.

The 21-year-old was in fourth when play was called for a halt, and he won the first round with a score of 69. West Palm Beach offers four spots for him.

After a first round of 70, fellow countryman Tom McKibbin, a 2010 US Open winner from Northern Ireland, is also in contention.

From 12 to 15 June, the US Open will take place in Oakmont, Pennsylvania.

Nowadays, Faisal Halim steers clear of shopping centers.

When a routine shopping trip with his family changed his life for the better, one of Malaysia’s most well-known footballers, the forward was at the height of his career.

Faisal was sprayed with acid by an unidentified assailant at a mall in Kota Damansara, leaving him with fourth-degree burns, which required four surgeries and several days of intensive care.

Physically and emotionally he was left with repercussions from the attack.

Faisal, 27, tells BBC Sport, “I’m not scared, but I just don’t want that to happen again.”

“So I stop going out any more.” I return home after training to spend time with my wife, children, and family.

When Malaysia held South Korea’s Son Heung-min at the Asian Cup in January 2024, he had just three months earlier scored the most goals of his career for his nation.

Bayern Munich goalkeeper Jo Hyeon-woo and center-back Kim Min-jae were both left on the floor by the winger’s trickery inside the box before turning in a tight angle to draw a thrilling 3-3 draw.

However, fate conspired to alter his outlook on life and his blossoming career, which he had begun with the home state team Penang at age 17 and later grew to include Selangor.

After the attack, Faisal struggled with speech and mobility, so he was unable to touch a football for more than two months due to burns to his face, neck, shoulders, hands, and chest.

He recalls his time in a hospital, recalling that “every moment, I would get flashbacks.” “It was very difficult, and I had a bad mood. I was very moraled.”

“Many things have changed,” he said. I’m now unable to smile fully.

“Sometimes I would consider quitting football out of fear. But each day I get calls and messages. My wife used to read out all the fan messages while I was in the hospital because I couldn’t hold the phone.

Malaysia as a whole prayed for me. I felt more inspired to play once more.

Prior to the traumatic incident, Faisal made the bench in a Malaysian FA Cup semi-final match exactly 90 days after the traumatic incident.

Returning to the field had its challenges.

He was Selangor and Malaysia’s first name on the team’s roster when he was replaced, but Faisal believes the difficult times are now behind him.

He says, “I just want to play.” I’m 100% confident, normal, and confident. I’m prepared to play. I simply want more pitching time.

Selangor’s head coach, Katsuhito Kinoshi, takes inspiration from Faisal’s spirited comeback story.

Faisal needs to demonstrate his unbreakable and positive attitude to Malaysian fans and football, he continues.

In a stunning 7-0 victory against Kelantan Darul Naim in March 2025, he scored his first goal since recovering, kicking off Cristiano Ronaldo’s iconic “siu” celebration. He added two more goals to add to the remarkable hat-trick that included two more.

Faisal scored twice in Malaysia’s 2-0 win over Nepal in the Asian Cup qualifiers on March 25 to earn his first minutes since the acid attack after the national team was called up.

Former assistant to Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou, Malaysia’s Australian head coach Peter Cklamovski, said, “It’s exciting to watch Faisal in the national team setup.”

He plays a fantastic winger, an exciting player, and has the ability to “hurt up opponents” in front of opponents.

“Faisal does everything he does with intensity and intention. For him to return to the national team is a good idea, I’m sure of that. I believe he has a story to tell, and he deserves it.

For the first time since 1980, Malaysia, which is ranked 131st in the world, is competing against Vietnam, Nepal, and Laos to win back-to-back Asian Cups.

Faisal hopes to assist them in accomplishing their goal, having been chosen in the squad for the 10 June qualifier against Vietnam, who are Group F in terms of goals scored separated from Malaysia after one game.

He pledged to “get better than before,” and Kinoshi, a former assistant manager for Serbia, supported him in doing so.