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Lionel Messi tackled by fan during Inter Miami match in Puerto Rico

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Soccer legend Lionel Messi was tackled to the ground during a friendly in Puerto Rico on Thursday.

It happened around the 88th minute of an exhibition tour match. Several fans jumped onto the pitch at Juan Ramón Loubriel stadium. Messi’s team, Inter Miami, was playing Ecuador’s Independiente del Valle in Bayamón when a fan ran to the center circle and grabbed Messi by the waist before both were pulled down by a security guard.

Messi appeared to be unharmed. The Argentine star immediately got up and walked to another part of the pitch.

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A fan is chased

A fan is chased by security guards after jumping onto the pitch to greet Lionel Messi during a friendly game between Independiente del Valle and Inter Miami on Feb. 26, 2026, in San Juan, Puerto Rico.  (Leopoldo Smith/Getty Images)

Messi’s security guard situation has been a subject of fan fascination for years, especially after he came to the U.S. to join Major League Soccer’s Inter Miami. 

His main bodyguard, Yassine Chueko, has gone viral in previous years for hovering alertly over Messi while the star was playing soccer. However, in 2025, Inter Miami changed Chueko’s role to prevent him from being on the field to guard Messi from pitch invaders. 

Chueko expressed concern and frustration over the decision, warning it could result in Messi getting tackled.

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Lionel Messi's bodyguard

Lionel Messi’s bodyguard took down overzealous fans. (Getty Images)

“They don’t allow me to be on the field anymore,” the bodyguard said in an interview with social media channel House of Highlights.

“I was in Europe for seven years, working for Ligue 1 and the Champions League, and only six people invaded the pitch. I came to the USA, and in just 20 months, 16 people have already done so. There’s a huge problem here. I’m not the problem. Let me help Messi.”

An Inter Miami team spokesperson previously told ESPN it was a club decision, not MLS’, to not have Cheuko on the sidelines. However, Cheuko remains an employee of the club and part of the security detail, and escorts Messi daily.

Now, at the start of 2026, a pitch invader has successfully reached Messi on the field and brought the 38-year-old superstar to the ground, in Cheuko’s absence. 

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Thursday’s match was originally scheduled for Feb. 13, but was postponed because Messi felt discomfort in his leg during the previous exhibition match against Barcelona SC of Ecuador.

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A fan is detained by security guards

A fan is detained by security guards after jumping onto the field to greet Lionel Messi, during a friendly game between Independiente del Valle and Inter Miami on Feb. 26, 2026, in San Juan, Puerto Rico.  (Leopoldo Smith/Getty Images)

Santiago Morales and Messi scored in the 16th and 70th minutes respectively to give Inter Miami a 2-1 win.

Miami, which started its MLS season with a 3-0 loss to LAFC, faces Orlando City next Sunday.

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Report: Mavericks converting Canada’s Ryan Nembhard to standard NBA contract

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Another Canadian appears to be sticking around the NBA for the foreseeable future.

A native of Aurora, Ont., the 22-year-old was on a two-way contract with the Mavericks this season after going undrafted in June 2025. Ryan’s older brother is Andrew Nembhard, a starting guard for the Indiana Pacers and a Canadian senior men’s national team member.

Since making his way to Dallas, the younger Nembhard has quickly shown why he was considered one of the NCAA’s top floor generals over his four collegiate seasons.

Through 38 appearances in the NBA, Nembhard is averaging 6.7 points, 1.8 rebounds and 4.9 assists, while shooting 37.9 per cent from beyond the arc. The Gonzaga product’s assist ratio per 100 possessions is the fifth-highest in the NBA among players to have made at least 30 appearances, right behind Toronto Raptors sophomore and backup point guard Jamal Shead.

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Nembhard has also been a serviceable fill-in as a starter, stepping into the first five on 17 occasions in his first NBA season, averaging 9.9 points, 2.3 rebounds and 6.1 assists, while shooting 44.4 per cent from distance. He’s also been productive in the G League, averaging 23.0 points, 4.2 rebounds, 10.5 assists and 1.0 steals through six games with the Texas Legends.

Before joining the Mavs on a two-way deal, Nembhard built a decorated resume at the college level. From Big East freshman of the year (2021) with Creighton, to a two-time All-WCC first-teamer with Gonzaga (2024, 2025), and then leading the NCAA in assists as a senior. Nembhard, like his older brother, has also represented Canada at the international level, earning bronze at the FIBA U-19 World Cup.

And while the Mavericks sort out a guard rotation — while Kyrie Irving continues to rehab from injury — next to rookie phenom Cooper Flagg, it appears Nembhard has done enough to be part of that conversation moving forward.

According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, the Mavericks’ decision to waive Tyus Jones less than a day prior to Saturday’s news was made to create a roster spot for Nembhard and his new two-year NBA deal.

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Donald Trump unhappy with FBI director Kash Patel over controversial Olympic locker-room celebration: Report

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FBI Director Kash Patel’s locker room celebration with the U.S. men’s hockey team at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics has landed him in hot water with President Donald Trump, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Videos of Patel celebrating in the locker room surfaced following Team USA’s 2-1 overtime victory against Canada which marked the first American men’s hockey gold medal since the legendary 1980 “Miracle on Ice.” The footage captured Patel chugging beer, banging on tables and joining in raucous celebrations with the players.

However, Trump has repeatedly expressed his disappointment to Patel about the incident, a person familiar with the conversation revealed to NBC News. The president was also displeased with Patel’s use of a government jet to travel to Italy for the Olympics.

“Trump — who does not drink — told Patel he was unhappy not only with that scene, but also with Patel’s use of government aircraft for the trip to Milan, Italy, according to the person familiar with the matter,” NBC News reported.

The timing of the trip raised eyebrows as it coincided with a shooting incident at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida where an armed individual breached the security perimeter. Though Trump was not present during the incident, critics questioned whether the FBI director should have been abroad during such a significant security event.


Kash Patel defended his Olympic attendance

Patel has defended his presence at the Olympics stating the trip served official purposes beyond athletic spectating. He maintained that he met with Italian law enforcement and U.S. agencies providing security for the international event as well as overseeing protection for the estimated 250,000 American citizens who traveled to Milan.

“For the very concerned media — yes, I love America and was extremely humbled when my friends, the newly minted Gold Medal winners on Team USA, invited me into the locker room to celebrate this historic moment with the boys,” Patel wrote on X following the controversy.

The FBI declined to comment on Trump’s reported displeasure. White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson issued a statement emphasizing the administration’s confidence in Patel and highlighting crime rates “dropping across the board” as evidence of successful implementation of the president’s law enforcement agenda.

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This is not the first time Patel has faced scrutiny over his use of FBI aircraft. Senator Dick Durbin, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee previously requested that the Justice Department’s inspector general investigate what he characterized as Patel’s “misuse or mismanagement of government resources.”