SOCCER
Poland manager resigns
Poland manager Michal Probierz yesterday resigned following a row over his decision to replace the country’s record goal-scorer Robert Lewandowski as captain. Lewandowski, 36, on Sunday said he would no longer play for the national team with Probierz at the helm, and on Monday told a Polish news site he was hurt by the way the manager had told him he was being replaced with Piotr Zielinski. “I have come to the conclusion that in the current situation, the best decision for the good of the national team will be my resignation from the position of coach,” Probierz said in a statement.
MOTORSPORTS
Driver dies while testing car
Italian rally driver Matteo Doretto died on Wednesday morning in an accident while testing his car in Poland, the FIA European Rally Championship (ERC) said in a statement. Doretto was conducting a private test session for the upcoming Rally Poland “when he lost his life in an accident,” the statement said. It added that codriver Samuele Pellegrino was unhurt. The Automobile Club of Italy said Doretto hit a tree while testing his Peugeot 208 car in northeastern Poland. The 21-year-old Doretto was the Italian junior champion last year and was in his first season in the ERC. He was fourth in the junior standings. “With potential in abundance, Matteo was polite, engaging but, above all, modest,” the ERC said.
SWIMMING
McIntosh breaks world record
Summer McIntosh on Wednesday bagged her third world record in a week, clocking 4 minutes, 23.65 seconds to better her own 400m medley record at the Canadian Swimming Trials in Victoria. The 18-year-old Canadian prodigy, a three-time Olympic gold medalist, laid down another impressive marker ahead of next month’s World Aquatics Championships in Singapore with a dominant performance. McIntosh’s blistering time beat her old mark of 4:24.38 set in Toronto in May last year at the Canadian Olympic trials. “Going into tonight, I knew I could do something really special because this has probably been the best meet of my career,” McIntosh said afterwards in a pool deck interview. “World records are made to be broken. So by the time I leave this sport, I want to make sure that that record is as fast as possible.”
SOCCER
US to deploy ICE in Miami
US immigration and border agents are to be deployed at venues hosting FIFA Club World Cup games when the tournament starts this weekend, a US media report said on Wednesday. The National Broadcasting Co’s Miami affiliate reported that members of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) along with US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) would be on duty at tomorrow’s opener between Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami and Egypt’s Al-Ahly. The report cited a CBP post on social media — since deleted — that said agents would be on the ground during the first round of games in the tournament. “CBP will be suited and booted and ready to provide security for the first round of games,” the post said. ICE raids carried out in Los Angeles last week as part of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown have triggered angry protests in the city.
Badminton world No. 3 Anders Antonsen clinched his first Indonesia Open title yesterday after beating Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen, while South Korea’s An Se-young won her second championship in Jakarta. The 28-year-old Dane sank world No. 7 Chou at the Indonesian capital’s Istora Senayan arena, winning 22-20, 21-14 in a 60-minute match to secure the prestigious Super 1000 event. Antonsen came out on top in a tightly contested first game before cruising to victory in the second. In a more closely fought women’s singles final, South Korean ace and world No. 1 An fought back from one game down to beat China’s
Italy crashed to a 3-0 loss away to Norway, as the four-time FIFA World Cup champions made a disastrous start to their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign on Friday, while Belgium had to settle for a draw in North Macedonia. Alexander Sorloth, Antonio Nusa and Erling Haaland all scored in the first half in pouring rain in Oslo as Norway made it a night to forget for Italy, who missed out on the past two World Cups. “I have no explanation. Our supporters don’t deserve this kind of match. We need to do some soul-searching. It’s unacceptable,” Italy captain and goalkeeper Gianluigi
‘STILL’: In front of a packed New Jersey arena attended by Donald Trump and Mike Tyson, UFC 316 delivered high drama as Merab Dvalishvili retained his title Georgia’s Merab Dvalishvili scored a second-round submission win over Sean O’Malley to retain his bantamweight title at Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 316 on Saturday, with Kayla Harrison also winning by submission in the co-main event, tapping out Juliana Pena to claim the women’s bantamweight crown. In front of a packed crowd at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, which included US President Donald Trump and retired heavyweight great Mike Tyson, Dvalishvili, a 34-year-old from the country of Georgia, won the belt in a convincing, although not aesthetically pleasing, unanimous decision. Dvalishvili (19-4) sat on top of the cage and shouted
Manchester City on Monday completed the signing of left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri from Wolverhampton Wanderers for a reported ￡31 million (US$41.8 million). The 24-year-old Algeria international has signed a five-year contract and will be available for the FIFA Club World Cup, which begins later this week. Ait-Nouri is expected to be just one of a trio of new City faces for that tournament with deals close to completion for AC Milan midfielder Tijjani Reijnders and Olympique Lyonnais playmaker Rayan Cherki. After missing out on a major trophy in the recently completed season for the first time since 2016-2017, City are hoping
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