While Ronald Araujo was undergoing his medical, Liverpool only actually had one fit senior centre-back on their books. And he, typically, was the oldest of the lot. Virgil van Dijk may have made an inauspicious start to his pre-season, conceding a penalty in Sunday’s 3-2 defeat to Monaco, but Liverpool’s 35-year-old marathon man pronounced himself ready to go again this year.

Van Dijk is conscious of his age, which feels more notable when two of Liverpool’s other three main central defenders are 19 and 21 respectively, in Giovanni Leoni and Jeremy Jacquet. The Dutchman did not gravitate to Anfield until he was 26, but hopes that starting late will extend his career.

It has already brought 731 games for clubs and country, but the most remarkable numbers came last season. No footballer in Europe’s top five leagues played more minutes than Van Dijk: some 6,121, including 4,941 for Liverpool. He did not miss a minute in their Premier League campaign, nor in the Netherlands’ World Cup.

With Leoni and Jacquet yet to feature in pre-season, with Joe Gomez injured, Liverpool could rely again on Van Dijk, even with Araujo set to join on loan from Barcelona. He is prepared for another heavy workload. “Are you going to say I’m 35 years old and I can’t do it?” he asked. “At the end of the day, you have to look after yourself. You have to be, I wouldn’t say lucky, but you have to do everything in your power.

“That is the bare minimum for me because I feel the responsibility to be ready for each and every game. We play every three days. Between games, at home, at the training ground, you have to do everything in your power to be ready to play again. For me, I feel good. I am also a late bloomer so you know, maybe… it is what it is. I feel fine.”

Which may be a relief. When, for once, Van Dijk requested time off, it was to sit out friendlies on the other side of the Atlantic. Ryan Gravenberch, Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak also exited the World Cup in the last 32 and returned to the United States for the end of the pre-season tour.

Van Dijk did not. “I definitely asked for a good break because I felt like I needed it, not only physically but mentally as well. It was a very demanding year from before pre-season started last year until the day I got knocked out of the World Cup,” he said. “I had maybe three days more than Ryan, Flo and Alex. I didn’t want to go to America because I didn’t want to get jet lag.” Instead, he had a couple of extra days at Liverpool’s training ground.

As it is, a return to duty has been busy. He has met Jacquet, a prospective centre-back partner now Ibrahima Konate is gone. “I’ve spoken to him,” he said of the Frenchman. “I’ve seen him walking around and we have conversations. I can’t wait to see him back on the pitch and I hope that happens very, very soon.”

His first outing of the campaign came alongside the teenager Ifeanyi Ndukwe. “Big talent, big guy,” he said of the 18-year-old Austrian who, unfortunately for Liverpool, does not yet qualify for a work permit. “The matter of fact is that he has to go on loan,” Van Dijk added. “Let’s see where he ends up.”

That increases the need to seal the loan move for Araujo. “Any player that will arrive to the club, we will be welcoming,” said the Dutchman. Liverpool’s squad looks slender at the moment. There may have been too few newcomers in the dressing room but there is one in the dugout, in Andoni Iraola. Van Dijk takes his responsibilities as captain seriously and extended the same offer to the Spaniard that he did to his predecessor.

“We had a great conversation in the first week when it got announced and the main thing for him to know is that I am here for him regardless: anything he needs, wants to know, wants me to do for the team, I am here for him,” he said. “I liked working under Arne [Slot] and I am sure I will like working under the new manager.”

With Konate, Andy Robertson and Mohamed Salah going, Liverpool could have a younger team, making Van Dijk more of an anomaly. “It definitely feels like a bit of a transition, for sure,” he said. “It is down to everyone associated with Liverpool to make sure we are building something that will be successful for years to come.”

In the last season of his contract, nearer his 40th birthday than his 30th, Van Dijk may not be there for years to come, but the late bloomer is determined to remain in flower deep into the autumn of his career.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru is nearing its second anniversary, with BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia recalling the work that went into setting up the facility.Saikia credited former BCCI secretary Jay Shah, who is now the International Cricket Council (ICC) chairman, with pushing the project and bringing officials together to ensure it was completed.“He took everybody on board in BCCI’s Apex Council and made a firm decision that this establishment (CoE) has to be done on a war footing, and we need to move on from the old, temporary arrangement of National Cricket Academy,” Saikia told select media at the BCCI CoE.Laxman, Head of Cricket at CoE, recalled moving from Hyderabad to Bengaluru in 2021 after Shah and then BCCI president Sourav Ganguly approached him.“In 2021, when Jay and then BCCI president Sourav (Ganguly) reached out to me, saying that Rahul (Dravid) is moving to the Indian team as the head coach, and we want that continuity.”“It was a tough decision for me. But as a cricketer, I always thought that it’s the responsibility of former cricketers who benefited through this great game to contribute back to the game. And with that intention, obviously, I moved to Bangalore in December 2021,” he said.Laxman also recalled Shah’s involvement in the project and his regular participation in meetings with the architects and L&T team.“In the span of close to two years, the entire infrastructure was up and running. And huge credit to Jay, because he was the secretary of the BCCI and I myself seen firsthand how much interest he used to take in various meetings we used to have with the architects, with the L&T team, to make sure that each and every aspect of the COE, or then NCA, is taken care of.“And it’s great to see that, you know, the vision was translated into reality. And I think all leaders have vision. But the vision will only bear the fruit when it’s translated into reality. And that reality is what we’ve seen in 2024, November,” he said.

Even in a modern NFL that is changing, quarterback play is still the single biggest determining factor in team success. For the most part, teams go as far as their quarterback can take them, and no further than that. That’s just the way the league works. 

It can be said, therefore, that the quarterback is the “most valuable player” on each team, no matter how you determine value. But of course, that doesn’t mean there aren’t other players who are incredibly valuable, and who play a significant role in determining the team’s ultimate success during a given season.

We’re here today to identify those players. These are the non-quarterback MVPs for each NFC team for the 2026 season.

NFC East

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Dallas Cowboys: DT Quinnen Williams

If all goes according to plan for the Cowboys this year, their defense will show significant improvement. Williams is the key to making that happen, wrecking games from the interior of the defensive line. In Christian Parker’s Vic Fangio-style defense, the penetrating defensive tackle has a huge role to play, and Williams is one of the best two-way interior linemen in the league, making him well-suited to success here.

New York Giants: EDGE Abdul Carter

Carter didn’t have the flashy sack numbers that defensive linemate Brian Burns did last season, but Carter actually generated pressure at a higher rate, recording a sack, hit or hurry on 14.0% of his pass-rush snaps compared with 12.1% for Burns. If he can do a better job of converting pressures into sacks this season than he did a year ago, he has a chance to emerge as one of the top edge rushers in the NFL. 

Philadelphia Eagles: RT Lane Johnson

This one is pretty simple. Just look at the on-off splits (120-62-1 vs. 18-27) for the Eagles offense when Johnson is in the lineup over the last several years and you’ll see how important he is. The offense basically falls apart whenever he’s out of the lineup. Philly drafted an eventual successor this year in Markel Bell, but he’s unlikely to uphold Johnson’s standard as a rookie switching sides of the line. Johnson might be the most important player on the team, even including Jalen Hurts.

Washington Commanders: LB Sonny Styles

The Commanders spent a boatload of money and draft capital this offseason to transform their defense, but their biggest investment was in Styles, an absurdly athletic linebacker who makes plays all over the field. They need him to do a little bit of everything in Dan Quinn’s defense, from ranging sideline to sideline to blitzing to covering backs and tight ends. This was one of the worst defenses in the NFL last season, so Styles certainly has his work cut out for him.

NFC North

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Chicago Bears: TE Colston Loveland

Loveland showed during his rookie season that he was well worth the No. 10 pick in the draft. He finished the year with 58 catches for 713 yards and six touchdowns, and he exploded down the stretch and in the playoffs. (In his final four games of the year, he caught 28 passes for 378 yards and two scores.) With DJ Moore no longer in town, he figures to be the focus of the passing attack for Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams, and he has the skill set to be a star at the position.

Detroit Lions: LT Penei Sewell

After a down year in 2025, the Lions reshaped their offensive line this offseason, and the makeover included shifting Sewell from the right side of the line to the left. He has been one of the best tackles in football for years, but now he’ll arguably be playing an even more valuable role on Jared Goff’s blind side. How he fares in his transition from one side of the line to the other will go a long way toward determining how this new-look line fares in 2026. 

Green Bay Packers: EDGE Micah Parsons

Parsons is going to miss a non-insignificant portion of the season, but he is so good and so key to what the Packers are going to want to do defensively that we can’t help but pick him here. There are very few pass rushers in the NFL who can do what Parsons does when he’s at his best, and if he returns to the field at anything close to his best coming back from his torn ACL, he’s going to be the best player on this team by a significant margin, and provide a huge lift to the defense over the second half of the year.

Minnesota Vikings: WR Justin Jefferson

Jefferson is coming off the worst year of his career, having averaged only 61.6 receiving yards per game after topping 87.5 in each of his first five NFL seasons. That was with J.J. McCarthy at quarterback, though, and with Kyler Murray under center he should be back to his usual self. Jefferson wins inside and out, down the field and in both the short and intermediate zones. He both opens things up for everyone else and dominates when the ball is thrown his way. He’ll be back to proving he’s a top-three wideout this season.

NFC South

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Atlanta Falcons: RB Bijan Robinson

Robinson finished last season with 1,478 rushing yards and seven touchdowns, and he led the NFL with 2,298 yards from scrimmage. He just signed a monster contract and he is again going to be the centerpiece of the Atlanta offense. With major question marks at quarterback, the Falcons are going to depend on him to carry the load. If he’s not the team’s MVP, something has probably gone very wrong in Atlanta.

Carolina Panthers: ED Jaelan Phillips

The Panthers are surely hoping that Phillips is their MVP after handing him a four-year, $120 million contract this offseason. When healthy, Phillips has been very good both rushing the passer and stopping the run, and he’s heading into his physical prime at 27 years old. Carolina desperately needs someone to get after the quarterback after struggling to do so for the last several seasons, and Phillips is the guy the Panthers are counting on to do it at a high level.

New Orleans Saints: EDGE Chase Young

Like Phillips, Young is heading into his prime years at 27 years old. He’s also coming off the best season of his career, having picked up 10 sacks, 11 tackles for loss and 15 quarterback hits in just 12 games. He ranked sixth in the NFL with an 18.2% pressure rate, according to TruMedia, picking up a sack, hit or hurry at a higher rate than everyone except Will Anderson Jr., Nik Bonitto, Parsons, Phillips and Josh Hines-Allen.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: LT Tristan Wirfs

Wirfs missed five games last year due to injury, but still performed well enough to make the Pro Bowl. During his career, the Bucs have experienced a huge drop-off in EPA per play with Wirfs off the field (-0.02) compared to when he’s been on (0.04). That’s the equivalent of going from the ninth-best offense during that time to the 22nd best. If he’s around to protect Baker Mayfield all year, the Tampa offense will be substantially better for it. If he’s not, the Bucs could struggle to get things going.

NFC West

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Arizona Cardinals: TE Trey McBride

McBride is the sun around which the Cardinals‘ offense orbits. He has racked up at least 111 catches for 1,146 yards in each of the last two seasons, making the Pro Bowl each time and being named a first-team All-Pro last year. Arizona needs him to carry the load for the passing game so that Marvin Harrison Jr. and Michael Wilson can do their thing on the outside, and so that Jeremiyah Love has room to operate in the run game. If McBride plays to his potential, he’s going to have another monster year.

Los Angeles Rams: EDGE Myles Garrett

The best defensive player in football now calls Los Angeles home. He may soon team with Aaron Donald along the defensive line, but even if he does, Garrett’s ability to generate pressure and stop the run from the edge will be the key to the defense. There’s a reason the Rams targeted him and paid such a premium to land him; he’s a true game-wrecker unlike anyone else in the league.

San Francisco 49ers: LT Trent Williams

There may not be a single non-quarterback whose team experiences a bigger drop-off at his position when he’s out of the lineup than Williams. San Francisco has averaged 0.07 EPA per play with Williams on the field since 2020, and dropped off to just south of 0.00 when he’s been on the sideline. The 49ers don’t have much depth at tackle and are already dealing with injuries at the skill positions. They desperately need Williams to stay upright all year.

Seattle Seahawks: DT Byron Murphy II

We could have gone with any number of players for Seattle. Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Leonard Williams would have been excellent candidates, for example. But Murphy is a rising star who broke out last season with seven sacks from the interior of the defensive line and is one of the keys to Mike Macdonald’s explosive defense. He’s ready to take the next step in his development and dominate even further than he did a year ago.

John Thompson has extended his impressive start to the season, with Melanite’s victory in the Midway Handicap at Randwick marking his third metropolitan win this week.

Following a successful pair of wins at Canterbury on Wednesday, Thompson continued his winning streak at headquarters on Saturday. Melanite ($6.50) found a clear path along the inside rail to win the 1100-metre race by a neck over Cosy Corner ($19).

Bangkok Hottie ($2.10 favourite) finished a game third after encountering a wide run. Those looking for the best betting markets for the race would have been treated to another competitive finish at Randwick.

Thompson and Bangkok Hottie’s trainer David Payne watched the race together, with both trainers thinking their horse might have won at different stages.

“We were giving each other commentary,” Thompson quipped.

“When mine sprinted through, he said, ‘I think you’ve got it’ and I said, ‘you’re still coming’.

“He (Melanite) got a dream run. Box seated. The perfect run up the fence and never went around a horse.”

The win was Melanite’s second from 10 starts, and Thompson commented that he is a talented horse when the race unfolds ideally for him.

“He just needs everything to fall into place. He’s got more wins in him,” he said.

While Payne did not achieve the desired result with Bangkok Hottie, he was satisfied with the filly’s return. She entered the race without an official barrier trial after dislodging her rider at trackwork the day before her scheduled heat.

The filly had a good blow after the race, and Payne expects her to be significantly fitter for her next start in the Silver Shadow Stakes (1200m) at Randwick in a fortnight.

“She goes there. Maybe she will get a draw,” Payne said.

“I was very pleased. It will only bring her on and he (jockey Chad Schofield) didn’t punish her. She didn’t have an easy run.”

For those keen on the main race, check out the latest racing odds at betting sites.

The Lions have seen a single ex-Vikings QB step away. As a replacement, the Lions opted for a different ex-Vikings QB.

Check out the update courtesy of The Athletic’s Colton Pouncy: “Detroit Lions quarterback Teddy Bridgewater is stepping away from the team, coach Dan Campbell told reporters Sunday afternoon. The Lions placed Bridgewater on the reserved/retired list following Campbell’s comments.”

Further from Pouncy: “To offset Bridgewater’s decision, the Lions reportedly are signing veteran Josh Dobbs. That makes the team’s QB room: Goff, rookie UDFA Luke Altmyer and Dobbs, who will be playing for his seventh team since coming into the league in 2018.”

So, that’s a minus one before a plus one as it relates for former purple passers getting work with the Detroit Lions.

Ex-Vikings QBs Shuffle in DET

Best guess from yours truly is that the Detroit Lions go back to the top of the NFC North. Anybody who has followed football for more than five years(ish) may still find it odd to see the Lions so formidable, but that’s reality.

Head coach Dan Campbell has proven to be a great leader. General manager Brad Holmes has been spectacular, drafting terrific talent that includes OT Penei Sewell, LB Jack Campbell, RB Jahmyr Gibbs, WR Amon-Ra St. Brown, and various others. Detroit’s roster is well-nourished by homegrown talent that gives Detroit a weekly advantage.

There’s then a cluster of good teams in the North — the Bears, Packers, and Vikings — looking to prove they belong.

Expect the Bears to regress after some Ben Johnson magic that was reminiscent of Kevin O’Connell’s impact in 2022. Next up are the Packers. Jordan Love can be spectacular but his team has had an awful offseason. Look for Green Bay to take a step back, as well.

Can the Vikings assert themselves from within the NFC North? Finishing off at 10-7 (or better) could involve being in the playoffs, albeit as a Wild Card team.

Detroit is likely sad to see Teddy Bridgewater leave. The former Vikings 1st-Round selection is essentially the perfect backup passer. A sneaky athlete, Bridgewater can move around a bit but he’s mostly a pocket passer. He has an average arm but off-the-charts intangibles. Teammates will believe in him when he steps onto the field.

Opting for Dobbs as a replacement is a good move. Quite possibly, Dobbs is the smartest passer in the NFL who is a gifted athlete. He, too, has a poor arm, but can still be a solid QB2 so long as the assignment is short-term fill-in duty rather than needing to carry a team through the season.

Meanwhile, the Vikings are sorting through its own quarterback situation.

Some of the recent chatter has involved the possibility that J.J. McCarthy is gaining ground. Look to Thor Nystrom’s take following the weekend night practice: “The QB competition has been inarguably slanted and arguably fixed from the beginning for a specific outcome. JJ isn’t playing his part — he outplayed Kyler again tonight, this time under the lights in front of a packed house. If the competition is real he’s earned more 1 reps.”

Judd Zulgad with his perspective: “Let’s make one thing clear about the Vikings’ night practice: Kyler was bad — especially early — and McCarthy was good early. But McCarthy’s play slipped. Neither of these two have shown any consistency or lived up to what you want to see from an NFL quarterback.”

So, the Vikings are working on solving their own issue under center. Most believe that Kyler Murray starts the season as the starter.

Teddy Bridgewater is 33 and has been around the NFL. Likewise, Josh Dobbs, 31, has been employed by a pile of different teams. Each are capable of helping a team win.

Senior Editor for Vikings Territory & PurplePTSD . Twitter & Bluesky: @VikingsGazette. Email: k.joudry[at]vikingsterritory[dot]com. Canadian. Jude 1:24-25.

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Gianni Infantino’s already perilous position as FIFA president took another blow on Monday, as three continental football federations banded together in an apparent attempt to try to force him out.

An “Open Letter to the Football Family” signed by the heads of UEFA (Europe), CONCACAF (North and Central America and the Caribbean) and AFC (Asia) appeared to take aim at Infantino —  without actually mentioning him by name.

“This is about something more fundamental: the integrity of the game, and the integrity of those elected to lead it. Leadership in football is not a possession. It is not about holding — or demanding — power to be held,” the statement read.

“It is a duty of service to the football family that entrusts it. When trust is broken through deception, when an individual places himself above the collective that entrusted him with authority, that duty has been abandoned.”

The letter criticizes Infantino’s now scrapped plan to form a subsidiary arm of FIFA (International Federation of Association Football) in order to sell off part of its commercial operations to investors.

It says that even in withdrawing the plan, FIFA “did not acknowledge that the proposal itself was inherently wrong.”

It also labels the plan a “fundamental breach of trust” and lambasted Infantino’s seemingly unilateral actions in bypassing the executive FIFA Council for his initial proposal and then holding a summit in Morocco with only selected senior figures within the organization.

“It is not the conduct of a custodian of the game, but of one who believes the game is answerable to him. There is silence where there should be accountability, distance where there should be openness,” the letter reads.

The statement comes after media reports that UEFA paid off an alleged mistress of Infantino during his time at the European confederation. FIFA in response criticized “unsubstantiated assertions and demonstrably false claims” and said that “it is increasingly evident that there is a concerted and ongoing effort by some to undermine FIFA and its President.”

FIFA have not yet replied to a DW request for comment on the open letter.

What does this change for Infantino?

Were the national federations of the three confederations to fall in line, there would be easily enough votes to oust Infantino at the presidential election in March 2027. FIFA has 211 voting members and thus a presidential candidate in a two-horse race would require 106 votes. UEFA (55 members) AFC (46) and CONCACAF (35) would easily have enough if each confederation’s members voted as a bloc.

However, this seems unlikely. While UEFA, who have driven much of the opposition, seem relatively united, the picture in the two other confederations is more mixed. Mexico, one of CONCACAF’s most powerful nations and a World Cup 2026 cohost, have backed Infantino while Qatar, who hosted the 2022 World Cup, is one of several Asian nations to have broken ranks.

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The South American federation CONMEBOL (10) does not yet have a clear position on Infantino, but one of its most powerful nations, Argentina, have lent Infantino their support. The Oceania federation (11) has also yet to make its position clear.

Perhaps the best news for Infantino was the backing of the African confederation, CAF (54), last week.

A statement from the organization’s executive committee said that CAF “unanimously reconfirmed its support for FIFA President Gianni Infantino and thanked him for his support for African Football over the years.”

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Is there a candidate to challenge Infantino?

This is the big question. As it stands, no candidate has stepped forward. Infantino won the last presidential election unopposed and looked likely to do so again next March, until a few weeks ago.

Though the clear positioning of several confederations against Infantino suggests that running unopposed again is now unlikely, a candidate that can unite those federations in opposition to the Swiss administrator is the next step.

“There’s such an imperative to get a candidate who could unite the whole world of football, not just Europe in this case,” UEFA vice president, Laura McAllister, recently told DW.

“It’s not as easy as people might think. The right candidate has to also have the right level of support,” McAllister said. “But if we’re talking about the right candidate, then I think that person, that man or woman, needs to be somebody who recognizes that we are simply custodians of the sport and that we look after it and hopefully leave it in better health.”

What might happen next?

There will no doubt be plenty of backroom talks about finding a candidate and announcing them at the right time. But given that Infantino retains a reasonable amount of support, football’s powerbrokers will likely want to ensure whoever they might put up can win. UEFA executives will likely discuss this at the Super Cup (between the winners of last season’s Champions League and Europa League) later this week, while other federations will look to do similar.

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Looming in early September is the first FIFA tournament since the controversial sell-off plan was announced. The U-20 Women’s World Cup is being held in Poland, a UEFA member, and it is not yet clear whether European teams will participate in the tournament with Infantino still in charge.

Edited by: Chuck Penfold

Marcus Rashford may be back at Manchester United this summer but the forward is having to embrace the unfamiliar

Marcus Rashford has reportedly been handed the No. 14 shirt at Manchester United. And while it’s a rapid departure from the usual No. 10 he used to wear, the forward has a strong sentimental attachment to the number.

Rashford claimed his favoured No. 10 at United in 2018. However, Mateus Cunha, who signed from Wolves last summer, now occupies that shirt.

Rashford wore the No. 14 during his successful loan spell at Barcelona, which concluded this summer. That jersey carries great weight at the Camp Nou with it famously worn by Barca legends Johan Cruyff and Thierry Henry.

Upon joining the Catalan giants, Rashford made clear his education on the prized shirt. “I know the history behind this number. I feel a huge responsibility. I’m honoured to wear it, as Cruyff and Henry did,” he said.

It was perhaps fate that Rashford had the chance to name-check Arsenal icon Henry with the 28-year-old previously going on record as greatly admiring the former French striker.

His respect for Henry is perhaps the strongest indication yet of why Rashford is happy to wear No. 14 once again. The iconic forward sported it during his legendary spell at Arsenal between 1999 and 2007.

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Rashford told Sky Sports in 2016: “Thierry Henry is one of my heroes, he is one of the players I watched when I was younger.

“When I was 17 I changed position to be a forward and he, along with the Brazilian Ronaldo, were the two players I tried to mirror my performance on. I would watch how they scored goals. He was definitely one of the major players.”

Countdown to Kickoff: The Ultimate 26/27 Sky Sports Bundle

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Sky’s Ultimate TV and Sky Sports bundle includes at least 215 live Premier League clashes across the 2026/27 season with more than 1,400 live games across the EFL and beyond, plus F1, golf and darts.

Every subscription now comes with 135 channels alongside free subscriptions to HBO Max, Netflix, Disney+, discovery+ and Hayu.

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Despite fluctuating jersey numbers, Rashford looks increasingly likely to remain at Old Trafford for the coming season. His future was initially cast into doubt under Ruben Amorim, with the Portuguese falling out with the forward.

Subsequently, the England star spent the second half of 2024/25 on loan with Aston Villa, before joining Barcelona on a season-long deal in the summer of 2025.

The La Liga giants had a £26million option to make Rashford’s spell permanent. However, the likelihood of the forward returning to the Camp Nou appears to be slim with the club preferring to spend their transfer budget elsewhere.

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While he managed 14 goals and 14 assists in 49 games last season, Barca have splashed £69m on Rashford’s England teammate and former Newcastle winger Anthony Gordon. They are also reportedly considering a move for Manchester City midfielder Rodri.

However, with Amorim sacked in January of this year, and Michael Carrick installed as manager on a permanent basis this summer, Rashford could have a lifeline at the club he’s been a part of since he was just seven years of age.

It is understood that Rashford is currently travelling with the first team as they navigate the rest of their pre-season tour across Europe. He could even play against AC Milan in a pre-season friendly on Saturday, August 15.

There, he could face an awkward encounter with ex-United boss Amorim. The 41-year-old coach had an extended break from management before being appointed at San Siro midway through June.

The Russian Athletics Federation has filed a new claim with the Court of Arbitration for Sport to challenge sanctions imposed by World Athletics.

Athletes from Russia and Belarus have been banned from international competition under the world governing body since the country’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Russian Athletics says the ongoing sanctions “infringe on the organisation’s rights”, adding they “prevent it from fully representing the interests of Russian athletes on an international level.”

The International Olympic Committee provisionally lifted Russia’s suspension in July, potentially allowing the country to compete at the 2028 Olympics Games in Los Angeles.

Cas, based in Lausanne, Switzerland, serves as sport’s highest arbitration body and hears disputes involving athletes, federations and governing organisations.

“The sanctions against Russian Athletics are unprecedented. No other sports federation faces such severe restrictions,” Boris Yaryshevskiy, chief executive director of Russian Athletics, said in a statement.

“They not only hinder the federation’s normal operation but also hold back the development of athletics in Russia, particularly among young athletes, preventing us from properly representing our sport in the international arena.

“That is why we will consistently defend our rights, pursue the lifting of the sanctions through the courts, and continue our work in this direction. We are already preparing our next steps to restore justice.”

Russian Athletics lodged a separate appeal on 9 July challenging a decision by the World Athletics Council – the main rule-making and executive body of World Athletics – to extend the ban on Russian athletes from international events.

Other sporting federations, including World Gymnastics, World Aquatics and World Boxing, have this year eased restrictions on Russian athletes competing.

Some Russian and Belarusian athletes competed as neutrals at both the 2024 Paris Games and this year’s Winter Olympics in Milan.