Anthony Joshua came close to a shock knockout defeat when tasked with Kristian Prenga on Saturday and the advice from his corner has been criticised. Now, Joshua’s trainer Iegor Golub has released a statement following his fighter’s concerning display.

‘AJ’ famously moved to Team Usyk last year, with Golub taking the reins for the first time ahead of Joshua’s unconventional bout with YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul in December, where the Briton scored a sixth round knockout win.

However, against Prenga, Joshua and Golub faced their first genuine heavyweight as a team, albeit one who entered the contest as a larger underdog than Paul did.

The night did not go as planned for anyone involved, as Joshua was dropped twice in a disastrous opening round. Corner instructions from Sergey Lapin telling him “not to go down,” coupled with a somewhat confusing exchange with Golub, have left fans and pundits questioning the tactics employed.

This isn’t good. https://t.co/9D9uQkdvUw

— Andy Clarke (@MrAndyClarke) July 28, 2026

Still, Joshua bounced back and disposed of his Albanian opponent emphatically in round two. That has not stopped criticism being thrown Golub and Lapin’s way ahead of a long-awaited showdown with Tyson Fury later this year.

On his Instagram, Golub responded by highlighting how impressive Joshua’s response to adversity was, before declaring that ‘a big fish’ is ahead of them.

“It’s not mistakes that define a champion. It’s how he responds to them.

“A few moments passed after the first knockdown, and I glanced at the clock: 2:36 remained in the round. Those were probably the longest two and a half minutes of my life. I imagine they were for AJ as well.

“But he pulled himself together, showed his character, and weathered the storm. There was a lot at stake. We all understood that then, and we understand it even more now.

“I don’t see much point in commenting on the knockout itself. The power in his hands is incredible, and every single day we work to make that weapon as sharp as it can possibly be.

“Huge thanks to the Ready to Fight team for their work, to Oleksandr Usyk, and to my loved ones who traveled to the other side of the world to support us.

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“Ahead of us is a “very big fish” that won’t forgive a single mistake. Anthony won’t forgive a single mistake too.”

Joshua and Fury are expected to face each other in November with Netflix set to be the broadcaster of a blockbuster bill.

“We must not let it become a pawn in the hands of investors. We must not lose the fans’ support, but we are well on our way to squandering that support. I consider this extremely problematic and unacceptable.”

Those were the words of the head of Germany’s football association, the DFB, in response to FIFA’s plan to form a commercial subsidiary to sell to private investors. Bernd Neuendorf, the DFB president, is on the FIFA Council, which FIFA describes as its “main decision making body” but was blindsided by Tuesday’s proposal.

Neuendorf said he “had to learn the news from the newspaper. That’s no way to treat people.” He said Infantino’s method was “extremely troubling. When you sit on the committee, you want to be able to actively participate in decisions and express your opinion. That has to be a process, but none of that is happening at FIFA — not on important issues, and especially not now with the investor issue.”

Bundesliga clubs slam FIFA World Cup plan

As well as widespread fan discontent, expressed via social media, leading German clubs have voiced their dissatisfaction with the plans.

“I am ashamed that we even discuss such ideas in football. Football does not belong to us,” Bayern Munich’s board member for sport Max Eberl told Sky.

“I have the feeling that FIFA exists solely to make a profit. It disgusts me,” he added.

“Why does FIFA feel it needs to reinvent the wheel? In my view, this initiative is not a good idea at all,” said Borussia Dortmund’s CEO Carsten Cramer, while his equivalent at Stuttgart, Alexander Wehrle, lent his support to the DFB and European football governor UEFA’s stance against the proposal.

“Driving the commercialization of football in this direction without even a semblance of a common, sensible goal would send a disastrous message,” he said.

Earlier this year, Germany declined to sign a document recommending Infantino’s re-election and Neuendorf was also critical of FIFA’s suspension of a World Cup red-card ban for US striker Folarin Balogun following an intervention from US President Donald Trump.

New Germany manager Jürgen Klopp, working as a TV pundit during the tournament, criticized that decision too.

“Let’s just say: this is our game, not theirs. These two people (Infantino and Trump), who both have no idea about football, should have nothing to do with that,” he said.

Germany and UEFA keen to make voice heard

Despite falling behind on the pitch in recent times, Germany still holds plenty of sway in European football’s governing body and will likely be a key voice when that organization meets, reportedly on Thursday. Neundorf added that: “If UEFA rejects this request (for approval of the plan), then it is dead, because I believe that you won’t be able to find any investor who would be willing to go ahead with this project if UEFA is out.”

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This is not the first time that Germany has protested against a FIFA decision. At the Qatar World Cup in 2022, the men’s team covered their mouths before a game against Japan in protest at not being allowed to wear the rainbow armband to support LGBT+ rights. The lack of support from other federations for that action made Germany hesitant to repeat it in World Cup 2026 despite widespread concerns about ticket prices, the failure to issue visas to fans and officials from certain countries and Infantino’s relationship with Trump.

Fan engagement means DFB must be strong in message and action

But the Balogun case, and the new sell off proposal may have been beyond the pale. The DFB know that they must toe a particularly careful line on these issues due to the country’s football culture.

In 2024, the DFL, the organization that operate the Bundesliga, was forced to climb down from plans to sell a share of its TV rights to foreign investors due to fan protests that included tennis balls and remote control cars with smoke bombs being thrown on the pitch during matches.

However, the DFL confirmed on Sunday that it had received an “unsolicited proposal for a debt financing model at the league association level” and have “begun a general, preliminary review of the proposal and its legal feasibility.” German newspaper Bild reported that finance firm Apollo is looking to loan the Bundesliga at least €1 billion ($1.14 billion), with the domestic media rights serving as collateral in the deal. Any notion the DFL will accept this would likely be strenuously opposed by fan groups.

In May, fans of Bayern and Stuttgart unfurled a huge banner featuring a crossed out DFB logo at this year’s German Cup final in protest at high ticket prices.

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Such actions are commonplace in German football, with the 50+1 ownership model, that bars single investors owning a majority stake in a club, ensuring fans retain more power than in most other European nations.

Even if Germany and UEFA continue to protest Infantino’s decisions and presidency, the Swiss executive will likely retain control unless other confederations, particularly Africa and Asia, follow suit. Although UEFA only has 55 of 211 votes, it remains the most powerful confederation within FIFA and with leadership from a powerful nation like Germany, Infantino may start to feel the heat.

Edited by: Chuck Penfold

The seventh day of the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow proved to be another memorable outing for Team India. The day was headlined by star long jumper Murali Sreeshankar grabbing a silver medal and an unprecedented clean sweep by Indian boxers in their quarterfinal bouts.

Sreeshankar produced a stellar leap of 8.09m in the Men’s Long Jump Final to secure India’s 13th official medal of the Games. Meanwhile, the Indian boxing squad enjoyed an historic day in the ring, winning all six of their quarterfinal matches to guarantee six additional medals.

Murali Sreeshankar leaps to silver in Men’s Long Jump at Commonwealth Games 2026

Star athlete Murali Sreeshankar delivered a trademark performance in the Commonwealth Games Men’s Long Jump Final, taking the Silver Medal with an impressive leap of 8.09m on his second attempt. Sreeshankar held the gold medal position for much of the competition before Jamaica’s Tajay Gayle clinched gold with an 8.15m attempt in the fourth round. Fellow Indian jumper Lokesh Satyanathan also put up a valiant effort, finishing in the top five with a best mark of 7.70m.

Dilip Gavit grabs Gold, Mohammed Basil wins Silver in Commonwealth Games Men’s 100m T47 Final

Late into the night, India’s para-athletics stars delivered one of the absolute highlights of Day 7 in the Men’s 100m T47 Final. Executing a brilliant race, Dilip Mahadu Gavit stormed across the finish line in 10.71 seconds to capture a glorious Gold Medal for Team India. Right behind him, teammate Mohammed Basil Morssinganakath clocked 10.83 seconds to take the Silver Medal, completing a memorable 1-2 podium sweep for India on the track.

In field events, Devender Kumar and Sagar Thayat also put up strong efforts representing the nation in the Men’s Discus Throw F42-44/F61-64 Final.

Indian boxers script history with six quarterfinal victories at Commonwealth Games 2026

It was a flawless day for the Indian boxing contingent at the OVO Hydro, as all six Indian pugilists in action won their quarterfinal bouts to advance to the semi-finals, assuring India of at least six more bronze medals:

• Jaismine Lamboria (Women’s 57kg Quarterfinal): Earned a hard-fought split-decision victory over England’s Elise Glynn.
• Sakshi Choudhary (Women’s 51kg Quarterfinal): Outclassed Northern Ireland’s Caitlin Fryers to book her semi-final spot.
• Arundhati Choudhary (Women’s 70kg Quarterfinal): Dominantly outpointed Morgan Henderson of New Zealand.
• Sachin Siwach (Men’s 60kg Quarterfinal): Advanced with a convincing win against Botswana’s Treasure Moremi.
• Ankush Yadav (Men’s 80kg Quarterfinal): Defeated Jade Micock of Seychelles to progress to the semi-finals.
• Narender Berwal (Men’s 90+kg Quarterfinal): Beat Michael Seko of Samoa to complete the historic 6-for-6 day.

Track, pool, and other key outcomes for India at Commonwealth Games 2026

In field events, shot put stars Tajinderpal Singh Toor and Samardeep Singh Gill both performed strongly in qualification to secure their spots in the Commonwealth Games Men’s Shot Put Final. In the Women’s Shot Put Final, Manpreet Kaur came close to the podium, finishing in 4th place with a best throw of 17.00m.

On the track:

• Yashas Palaksha finished 3rd in Heat 1 of the Men’s 400m Hurdles with a time of 49.65s.
• Santhosh Kumar Tamilarasan also took 3rd in Heat 2, clocking 49.51s.
• Animesh Kujur won Heat 4 with a season-best time of 20.46s.to rank 7th overall and comfortably qualify for the semi-finals of Men’s 200m Heats.

Across other sports:

• Lawn Bowls: India secured a comfortable 2-0 win over Namibia in the Men’s Pairs sectional play.
• Para Swimming: Suyash Narayan Jadhav and Chaitanya Vishwas Kulkarni both advanced to the final of the Men’s 50m Freestyle S7.
• Weightlifting: Sanjana suffered an unfortunate setback in the Women’s 77kg Final, failing to register a successful lift across her three attempts.