THIS is the horror moment a footballer is killed and five others are left injured after being hit by lightning during a match in Peru.
Jose Hugo de la Cruz Meza, 39, filmed falling face first to the ground moments after the ref had ordered the game to be halted as the sound of rumbling thunder echoed round the stadium, was killed instantly.
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A footballer in Peru was killed by lightning during a gameCredit: https://x.com/luchitobass
Goalkeeper Juan Chocca Llacta, 40, also received a direct strike and was rushed to hospital in a taxi with serious burns to his body.
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The other casualties, two teenagers aged 16 and 19 and a 24-year-old named locally as Cristian Cesar Pituy Cahuana, were said to be “stable” in hospital after yesterday’s drama.
The tragedy happened during a regional tournament in Chilca, one of the 28 districts that form the central Peruvian province of Huancayo, between two local teams called Juventud Bellavista and Familia Chocca.
Footage of the dramatic moment tragic defender Jose, pictured in online tributes, was killed showed the players appearing to walk slowly towards the changing rooms after the referee halted play when the storm intensified around 4pm local time.
He was declared dead in hospital.
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At least eight players including Jose and the seriously-injured goalie ended up on the ground.
The match, which Juventud Bellavista was winning by 2-0 with 22 minutes played, was abandoned after the horror lightning strike.
The tragedy has led to calls for enhanced security protocols at sporting events, especially in high-altitude areas like Huancayo where the capital city of the same name is 10,659 feet above sea level.
Engineer Lucho Duarte wrote online: “This terrible incident reminds us of the importance of protection against lightning, especially in open-air events.
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“We need to implement protective systems in sports installations and security protocols involving the immediate suspension of activities during storms.”
In February a footballer died after being struck by lightning during a match in Indonesia.
He was named afterwards as Septain Raharja, 35.
He was playing in a friendly between FLO FC Bandung and FBI Subang.
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Local reports at time said he was rushed to hospital “still breathing” after being badly burnt but pronounced dead shortly after arrival.
MANCHESTER UNITED have added academy starlet Jayce Fitzgerald to their Europa League squad.
The Red Devils are set to welcome Greek side PAOK to Old Trafford this evening.
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Jayce Fitzgerald has been added to Man Utd’s B ListCredit: Getty
On September 4, United were required to submit their 25-man “List A” Europa League squad to Uefa.
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Throughout the group stage, however, further players can be be made eligible if they meet certain criteria.
Uefa rules state: “A player may be registered on List B if he is born on or after 1 January 2003 and has, since his 15th birthday, been eligible to play for the club concerned for any uninterrupted period of two years.
“Or a total of three consecutive years with a maximum of one loan period to a club from the same association for a period not longer than one year.”
Clubs have until midnight prior to matchday to add players to List B.
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With Fitzgerald, 17, fitting the bill, he has been added to United’s squad and will be eligible to feature this evening.
The academy starlet has been introduced to the Red Devils’ first team set-up since Ruud van Nistelrooy took caretaker charge.
He was an unused substitute as United beat Leicester 5-2 in the Carabao Cup, in what was Van Nistelrooy’s first game.
Aston Martin has got to the bottom of its troubled Brazilian Grand Prix that left Lance Stroll out on the formation lap and Fernando Alonso battling extreme bouncing.
The Silverstone-based team endured a hugely challenging race afternoon at Interlagos as Stroll spun into the wall on the formation lap after his rears unexpectedly locked, before he managed to beach himself in the gravel.
Then Alonso struggled throughout with similar rear locking issues plus excessive porpoising that left him struggling with back pain at the end, but he was determined to push on and see the chequered flag.
Speaking on the team radio at the time, Alonso, who finished 14th, admitted that something unusual was happening. “This bouncing is not normal,” he said.
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With no immediate explanation for what happened on both cars, Aston Martin has spent some time since returning to its factory trying to get a better comprehension of the factors at play.
It now suspects that the problems on both cars were triggered by a super nervous rear-end characteristic that had been introduced as a result of car changes made following the qualifying crashes the team suffered on Sunday morning.
Both Stroll and Alonso had hit the barriers in the wet qualifying session, damaging the Suzuka-concept specification floors the team had intended to run for the Interlagos event.
Lance Stroll, Aston Martin AMR24, crashes out
Photo by: Andrew Ferraro / Motorsport Images
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With no spares of that specification available, Aston Martin had to revert to a previous floor version – which was the one it first introduced at the Hungarian GP.
Normally teams cannot change specs between qualifying and the race, as that is a breach of parc ferme regulations and mandates a pitlane start.
However, things are different on a sprint race weekend when allowances are made if there is a shortage of spare parts.
Article 40.4 says at sprint weekends teams can change specification if they can “demonstrate there is a shortage of parts, and provided that the replacement part is of a specification that has been previously used in a qualifying session or a race”.
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It was this rule that Mercedes used at the United States GP to allow George Russell to go back to an older specification of floor following his qualifying crash.
The complication for Aston Martin, however, was that the change of floor had to be made without it being able to alter the mechanical set-up around it – as suspension settings are totally fixed in parc ferme.
Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin AMR24
Photo by: Andrew Ferraro / Motorsport Images
So on a weekend where teams were battling the problems of excessive bumps on the Interlagos track, plus tricky weather conditions, the end result was a car whose aero platform and mechanical settings did not match up.
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Speaking about what Aston Martin has found out since Brazil, team principal Mike Krack thinks a combination of elements came together to leave both its drivers with a car that was ultra nervous.
“It was clear that both drivers were battling a car that was incredibly difficult to drive during Sunday’s race,” he said. “Our post-weekend analysis has highlighted several factors that explain this.
“Following both car’s accidents in qualifying, we had to replace a lot of components with a different specification due to availabilities at the end of a triple-header. This is allowed by the Sprint Event regulations, and you declare your shortages and replacement options to the FIA before the event.
“[But] you aren’t allowed to change the mechanical set-up of the cars. This meant we could neither check nor adjust the set-up of the cars, which negatively affected aerodynamic behaviour and performance.
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“Add in treacherous wet conditions, along with an incredibly bumpy track, and you begin to understand that both drivers had the odds stacked against them.
“Both cars were highly susceptible to wheel-locking, and we can see in the data that this is what caused the issues for both Lance and Fernando.”
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Aston Martin has been experimenting with its floor choices in recent races, with an upgrade it delivered for Austin not delivering the step forward hoped for.
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It reverted to the Suzuka spec from Mexico, and may commit to the Budapest version for the next high-speed races in Las Vegas and Qatar.
England’s Tommy Fleetwood shot a 10-under-par 62 to equal the course record and lead by one shot after the opening round of the Abu Dhabi Championship.
Dane Thorbjorn Olesen and American Johannes Veerman share second place, with English trio Tyrrell Hatton, Paul Waring and Laurie Canter and Italian Francesco Laporta one stroke further back.
Scotland’s Bob MacIntyre went round in seven under, England’s Alex Fitzpatrick and Matthew Jordan six under and Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy five under.
Fleetwood said: “When you shoot a 62, obviously everything is going to have gone very, very well.”
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McIlroy needs to finish in the top two at Yas Links to win a sixth Race to Dubai title, before the final event of the European Tour season at the World Tour Championship in Dubai next week.
McIlroy, who has spent three weeks in a studio hitting balls at a screen with a modified swing, said his performance on day one of the tournament “felt OK”.
“I probably wasn’t as imaginative out there – I was hitting very straight shots.”
ONE Championship creates more depth in its big January event by adding the return of champion Fabricio Andrade.
At ONE 170 on Jan. 24 at Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand, Andrade (9-2) will defend his bantamweight (145 pounds) title for the first time against a familiar opponent, Won Il Kwon. The promotion directly confirmed the news of the matchup with MMA Junkie.
The event is an Asian primetime card starting at 7:30 a.m. ET.
Andrade achieved his crowning moment by defeating John Lineker at ONE on Prime Video 7 in February 2023. Lineker’s corner stopped the fight after the conclusion of Round 4 due to damage to their fighter’s eye.
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Since his big moment, Andrade, 27, has only appeared once in a kickboxing bout against Jonathan Haggerty. It was an attempt to become a two-sport champion in ONE, but things did not go his way as he was stopped in the second round. Now, he’s geared up for his return to MMA competition and will look to defend his title for the first time against Kwon (14-4), who he previously faced and finished.
The first meeting took place at ONE Championship 158 in June 2022. Andrade finished the fight with a liver kick in the first round, which led to back-to-back appearances against Lineker.
Kwon has not lost since. The 29-year-old South Korean fighter has gone on a tear, finishing three consecutive opponents. His most recent appearance was a second-round ground and pounding of Shinechagtga Zoltsetseg in January, which has set up his title opportunity.
With the addition, the ONE 170 lineup includes:
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Fabricio Andrade vs. Won Il Kwon – for bantamweight title
Tawanchai PK Saenchai vs. Superbon Banchamek – for muay Thai lightweight title
Superlek Kiatmoo9 vs. Nico Carrillo – for muay Thai featherweight title
Saeksan Or Kwanmuang vs. Soe Lin Oo
Suriyanlek Por Yenying vs. Thant Zin
Be sure to visit the MMA Junkie Instagram page and YouTube channel to discuss this and more content with fans of mixed martial arts.
In the final part of his prize package, 2023 Autosport Young Driver of the Year Award Winner and Rodin F3 driver Joseph Loake heads to Silverstone to test the Aston Martin AMR22 F1 Car.
Narrated and presented by Motorsport Engineer Blake Hinsey, we gets a behind-the-scenes look at how Aston Martin conducts a track test for a new driver, as well as insight from Joseph and his family on the emotional journey climbing the ladder of junior motorsport, and the thrill of driving an F1 car for the first time.
Week 10 of the 2024 NFL season is almost here! But before FOX Sports lead NFL analyst Tom Brady heads back to Tampa Bay for a massive NFC battle between the Buccaneers and San Francisco 49ers, it’s time for the GOAT to unveil his latest power rankings! A surprising team enters Brady’s list for the first time, while one NFC squad separates itself from the pack after a huge Week 9 win.
Check out his latest Top 5 and full analysis here:
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Tom Brady’s Week 9 Power Rankings | DIGITAL EXCLUSIVE
Here’s who the GOAT has ranked as his Top 5 teams entering a massive Week 10!
Brady’s thoughts: “Coming in at No. 5 this week and making their debut in my power rankings, the Washington Commanders. Led by rookie QB Jayden Daniels — he doesn’t look like a rookie to me — Washington’s won three straight and seven of their last eight. That’s insane.
“Hats off to Coach [Dan] Quinn. You’ve done an incredible job this year as head coach. The team, they’ve had more wins this year than they did last year, and that’s their best start in almost 30 years. They’ll try to stay undefeated at home this season when the Steelers make the trip to D.C. this week.”
Wide receiver Terry McLaurin and quarterback Jayden Daniels have formed a potent duo for the Commanders in Daniels’ first NFL season. (Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images)
Brady’s thoughts: “Hard to believe they’re No. 4 and not higher. There’s some other good teams up there. They had a tough loss to the Browns, but they bounced back and got a huge win over Denver. Lamar was ridiculous, a perfect QB rating against a top-three defense.
“Derrick Henry — again unstoppable. He’s already over 1,000 yards halfway through the season. The Ravens also have the league’s No. 1 ranked run defense. Man, that’s just a tough football team. But they’ve got a huge test on Thursday against [Joe] Burrow and the Bengals.”
The combination of Derrick Henry and Lamar Jackson in Baltimore’s backfield is everything Ravens fans had hoped for when Henry arrived in the offseason. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
Brady’s thoughts: “They pulled out a wild win against the Dolphins in the fourth quarter. Tyler Bass hit a 61-yarder for the win. It wasn’t the Bills’ cleanest game of the year, but Josh Allen came up clutch with three touchdowns in the second half. That’s four straight for Buffalo. But don’t overlook the Colts this week with the Chiefs looming in Week 11.”
Josh Allen led the Bills to a comeback victory over the Dolphins to keep Buffalo in the driver’s seat in the AFC East. (Photo by Bryan M. Bennett/Getty Images)
Brady’s thoughts: “There were plenty of doubters as they played their first outdoor game of the year. But that rainstorm at Lambeau, it didn’t slow them down. Jared Goff is in the zone. He’s completing an NFL record 83% of his passes the last six weeks. David Montgomery, Jahmyr Gibbs — they killed it on the ground with 138 combined rush yards. And I’ve got to show a lot of love to Aaron Glenn. That Lions D is allowing 19 points per game since losing Aidan Hutchinson.
“Detroit looks to win its seventh straight game this week against C.J. Stroud and the Texans in Houston. That’s a great matchup.”
A rainy day in Green Bay was no match for Jared Goff and the juggernaut Lions on Sunday. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
Brady’s thoughts: “If you’re undefeated, you better believe you’re going to stay at the top of my power rankings. At No. 1, the Kansas City Chiefs. They continue to find ways to win close games. They’ve got that championship DNA. Patrick Mahomes had three touchdowns, didn’t turn the ball over, and they had a new addition. DeAndre Hopkins is already looking like a great fit in this offense. He had two touchdowns.
“Looking all the way back to last year, that’s 14 straight wins for the Chiefs. Sean Payton, you’ve got a challenge against them this Sunday when it’s Broncos-Chiefs. Let’s see if the Chiefs can stay undefeated.
Patrick Mahomes and the still-undefeated Chiefs continue to loom large over the rest of the NFL. (Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images)
“There’s a great set of games coming up this weekend. Let’s see who tops the power rankings next week.”
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