JOHANNESBURG — Bryson DeChambeau looked exhausted, leaning on the edge of a desk in the LIV Golf media center Thursday afternoon. His chin sagged as he exhaled, only raising for a sip from his grape-flavored Celsius energy drink.
“It’s been a long couple weeks,” he said, referring to LIV’s trio of consecutive March stops: Hong Kong to Singapore to South Africa. “But this is what LIV is supposed to be.”
DeChambeau looked out through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the media center at a golf course buzzing, spectators moving in every direction. The first round had just ended and he held a share of the lead.
“It might not work everywhere,” he said, “but in certain spots, it absolutely can.”
Advertisement
That sentiment is the theme of the moment for LIV Golf as it leaves behind its fifth event of the year, in South Africa. Fourteen months ago, when Scott O’Neil took the helm from Greg Norman, the league was not ready for the African continent. But shortly after O’Neil arrived, Louis Oosthuizen convinced South Africa’s minister of sports, art and culture, Gayton McKenzie, to attend LIV’s Korea event to better understand the league. McKenzie met DeChambeau that week and quickly became enamored with LIV’s offerings. He is a boisterous man, unshy about his desires to bring big sport to his country and so keen to do so that he did a handshake deal with O’Neil on that Korea trip. Ten months later, LIV South Africa became one of the most successful events in the league’s four-year history.
The reasons behind that success, as ever, require context. How LIV creates its events is, now more than ever, plainly obvious, as if spelled out on a chalkboard at LIV HQ, or in the application the league requires municipalities to fill out. If a location checks enough boxes, LIV is likely to bring an event there. If it doesn’t check enough boxes, like, for example, receiving government funding, LIV is likely to look elsewhere.
“>
Advertisement
“Adelaide is the template,” LIV pro Brendan Steele told me on the range last week. He was giddy. There was anticipation in the air, with digital clocks ticking down everywhere you looked ahead of the first round. By Adelaide, Steele means Australia, but more specifically, the state of South Australia, which welcomed LIV years ago and has been hosting its most successful event ever since. That it coincided this year with an out-of-nowhere win by Anthony Kim was gravy.
Steele and I chatted only briefly, but he said great LIV events don’t necessarily need to “check all those boxes.” That feels optimistic, especially when it comes to LIV’s desire for government funding.
South Australia has signed on as LIV’s Australian home through 2031. New Orleans is getting its first LIV event this year, but only after earmarking $7 million to make it happen, from the same budget that offers public funding to host the Super Bowl and other major sporting events. LIV went to Chicago in each of its first four seasons — no other city could say that — but is not this summer, because sufficient state funding never materialized. If the Chicago Bears are going to struggle to get Illinois state money, to the point of considering a move to northwest Indiana, LIV Golf likely will, too. (Perhaps unsurprisingly, LIV has found a new Midwest home in Indianapolis.)
For LIV South Africa to become a reality, getting McKenzie to pursue government aid was step 1 — and McKenzie, who was out and about at the Club at Steyn City all week long, was the right man for the job. He so badly wants F1 to reroute its globe-trotting schedule through his country that he spoke up when multiple races were canceled recently in the war-torn Middle East. In hopes of landing an F1 race in the future, he recently promised to make an offer the racing circuit couldn’t refuse. He’ll now have a golfy case study to include in his proposal.
Advertisement
It’s unclear what amount of public funding LIV Golf’s Joburg event landed, but it clearly led to a massive success. On Sunday morning, LIV announced it would return to South Africa next April, with McKenzie essentially opening the ticket window himself.
“LIV Golf is never leaving this continent again,” he said. “Which means we’re going to be here 2027, 2028, 2029, 20-forever. We’re going to be here.”
Branden Grace plays the final hole of LIV Golf South Africa Sunday.
Getty Images
——–
Advertisement
AFTER THE SECOND ROUND, DeChambeau is back in the media center, sipping another Celsius, panting less heavily this time.
“Be honest,” he starts, “how many PGA Tour events are like that?”
He’s referring to the sound, the fervor, the hanging-around-well-after-the-round element that happens when the golf is a lead-in to a performance by one of South Africa’s biggest DJs, Black Coffee. Between Friday and Saturday, event organizers had to replace the white picket fence surrounding the party hole with a metal one out of fear that the crowd would trample it.
“Not many,” I say. “But be honest, at how many places can this actually happen?”
Advertisement
“Five or six internationally,” DeChambeau says, indicating he’s given the idea thought. He rattles off Australia, South Africa, Spain and England, maybe one in Asia.
“And definitely one in Chile, for Torque [GC].”
The globalist mind wanders. Santiago … Buenos Aires … DeChambeau was not the only LIV contractor to suggest this number of roughly six locations worldwide that could host the raucousness of 100,000 people who want a festival concoction that pairs golf with music, arts, food, etc. That is the LIV product now more than ever. It’s impossible to know how many attendees are treating the golf as an opener for Calvin Harris, or how many view Harris as a dessert following DeChambeau, but LIV sees either scenario as a market advantage.
South Africa is not necessarily starved for pro golf. The DP World Tour has played host to four tournaments in the country in the last four months alone. But what the DPWT brings to South Africa is so different from LIV that it’s almost offensive to each league to compare the two. The DPWT isn’t trying to create festivals. LIV isn’t trying to do anything but make a massive, memorable splash. All of which made event organizers, in the planning stages, think far more about the 2003 Presidents Cup — held in South Africa — than any Nedbank Challenges. Last week’s event was endlessly hailed as the biggest golf event in South African history, just like the Adelaide event in February was similarly dubbed for Australia.
Advertisement
The architect of these events is Ross Hallett, who brings decades of golf-event experience from IMG. He wants every LIV event to be as big in scale as the Presidents Cup, but while feeling less like a traditional golf tournament. “Music works,” he says. “We know it. Easy. How do you incorporate art? We haven’t got it [figured out], but there’s [local] art on every TV tower.”
In Hong Kong, local celebrity chefs were cooking in the fan village all week, with mirrors placed above their heads so spectators could better see.
“They were mic’d up and I was like, This is awesome,” said O’Neil, LIV’s CEO. “Now, is it for everyone? No. Does it move the needle in selling more tickets? I don’t know. Maybe, maybe it doesn’t. But like the whole total experience. It’s like that fully cultural experience, which I love, and I think over time that wins because it’s right in the demo. It’s right in the demo: culture, food, art, music, golf.”
That O’Neil referenced golf last among those attractions might well have been unintentional but it does raise a question: Can the golf at LIV Golf matter significantly to hardcore, traditional golf fans? O’Neil obviously thinks so. And in person, the competition in South Africa was mostly riveting, even if the water-logged course lacked intrigue.
Advertisement
In a dream scenario, the league’s two best players — and two of its most expensive signees — landed in a playoff. Suddenly, two of the best pre-Masters storylines are a result of LIV Golf, which hasn’t happened before. Adding more juice, South Africa’s Southern Guards were one 18th-hole birdie putt away from a playoff of their own.
On the final hole in regulation, with rope lines dropped, DeChambeau needed to get up and down for par; as he went to work, an enormous crowd tried getting in his head with a rendition of their national anthem. On the first playoff hole, more drama, with DeChambeau hitting a stunning 3-wood from a mud-ball lie to set up his winning birdie. The setting was special; it moved DeChambeau to tears. All week he’d been treated like Elvis — sometimes signing autographs for an hour at a time — and even acted like a frontman on the championship stage, coming back out for an encore of applause, throwing his hat into the crowd and shouting, “I LOVE YOU GUYS.”
Bryson DeChambeau bows to the crowd following his win at LIV South Africa.
Getty Images
That this culmination happened at 8 a.m. on America’s East Coast matters because there tends to be this truism ringing through LIV’s best results: You kinda had to be there to appreciate them. Between time zones and lack of interest from the Golf Channel demo, there remains a disconnect between the action abroad and how it resonates at-large, particularly in the U.S.
Advertisement
On a year-over-year basis, LIV’s international television numbers are up. But throughout its four-plus seasons, the American TV numbers have not been good, and the American TV market is where a dominant amount of value is derived for sports leagues all over the globe. For the PGA Tour, for example, TV rights make up nearly two-thirds of its “core business” revenues.
TV can be less important for LIV Golf, but can it be unimportant? On LIV’s current TV deal, its events bounce among FS2, FS1 and FOX and have been out-rated by similarly scheduled PGA Tour events by a factor of 10x or 11x, according to Nielsen Big Data + Panel. LIV hopefuls believe in time the league will pull market share from the PGA Tour. But if LIV wants to put a dent into its American TV deficit this season, it’ll have to do so against five Signature Events on the PGA Tour. That’s not an uphill climb; it’s a vertical-face ascent.
——–
THERE IS A SENSE OF AMAZEMENT, for Johannesburg locals at least, at how quickly LIV erected its business in their backyard. One person who lives on property at the Steyn City Estate said the event buildout sprouted out of the ground like mushrooms.
Advertisement
When the Southern Guards approached McKenzie to get the government green-light, they thought it would probably happen in 2028, maybe by 2027 if they were lucky, but certainly not 2026. But McKenzie made it happen. O’Neil says local sponsors are almost just as important as local government support, and while they didn’t get a title sponsor this year — like LIV had in Hong Kong — he thinks they will next year.
Stroll the Steyn City property and you’ll see far more local and global brands leaning into LIV than it had during its first season. Coca-Cola’s suite of products — from Powerade to Monster Energy — were well placed throughout the fan village. The concert stage was sponsored by Castle Light, South Africa’s leading beer producer. Saudi Arabian companies such as Roshn, Riyadh Air, Maaden and Aramco, are also well repped, a vital reminder that the big money required to bring this tour to the African continent is still coming from the Middle East. The Saudi Public Investment Fund also has continued to inject investment into the league.
LIV has been able to lower costs over time, but O’Neil projected to the Finanical Timesthat it will take between five and 10 more years for the league to become profitable. All of which means Saudi money will continue to be a requirement to reach markets like South Africa. (One reason F1 might be taking its time with going to South Africa is that it may not generate the same amount of revenue — from tickets or sponsorship — as it could elsewhere.) LIV will obviously continue seeking other markets that could mimic its recent success. And when it does, is it filling a gap within the global golf ecosystem?
Early in the week, I was curious to discuss that idea of “gaps” in the pro game, as promises rained down about how special LIV South Africa would be. The notion of LIV satiating thirsty markets has caught hold enough that Rory McIlroy even praised LIV for finding its footing in Australia.
Advertisement
South African fans were out in full force at LIV Golf’s event in Johannesburg.
Getty Images
DeChambeau and his Crushers GC teammates were doing a pre-tournament press conference where, unsurprisingly, the captain received a majority of the questions. But sitting next to him was Paul Casey, a 48-year-old veteran who grew up traveling the DP World Tour, spent five straight years serving on the PGA Tour Player Advisory Council and now sits on the player advisory group at LIV. I asked him, as he looks at the pro-golf ecosystem, what gaps is LIV filling?
“That’s a good question,” Casey said. “It’s a complicated question and one I’d probably defer to answer some other time because it’s nuanced. Yeah, product-market fit is a real thing that we discuss. We talk about it a lot as players actually. I don’t think it ever gets talked about enough.”
Product-market fit is a mostly simple business idea where companies reach a specific audience with unique needs by offering a product that meets them. In Silicon Valley, it’s easier to point at. Applied to the complex (and competitive!) golf world — emphasis on world — it can be a tricky thing to analyze. LIV Golf will always stage an event in Saudi Arabia, for obvious reasons. It will probably always stage events in Australia, given its success there. Will it go to Chile, as DeChambeau wants?
Advertisement
A few minutes later, when the press conference had finished, Casey pulled me aside.
“I think it just comes back to, What do the fans want?” he told me. “I keep going back to the Charlie Munger quote: ‘You show me the incentives, and I’ll show you the outcome.’”
By that Casey meant executives from any tour tend to take their leagues in such obvious directions that it’s not hard to see their goals. And if you look at the golf world, it’s not surprising where certain tours end up, based on the incentives they’re in pursuit of. Casey thinks it would take a bottle of wine — maybe two — and a few hours of chatting to solve the schedule of global golf. He’s not wrong.
The next time I saw Casey was five days later behind the 18th green. He was standing next to me as the Rahm-DeChambeau playoff began.
Advertisement
“So,” I asked him. “Does this suffice for product-market fit?
“This is definitely product-market fit,” Casey said, pausing for a few beats. “There aren’t many tournaments in the world like this one.”
NYON, Switzerland — German referee Daniel Siebert was picked Monday by UEFA for the Champions League final after FIFA left him off its World Cup list.
The game between Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain on May 30 at Puskas Arena in Budapest will be Siebert’s 10th in the Champions League this season — and the third straight round he will have worked an Arsenal match.
Siebert handled Arsenal’s 1-0 wins at Sporting Lisbon in the quarterfinals first leg, and at home to Atletico Madrid in the semifinals second leg.
He refereed PSG once this season, in a league phase game at Athletic Bilbao that ended 0-0.
Advertisement
In his nine Champions League games this season Siebert has shown two red cards and awarded just one penalty kick.
Players are not the only members of Ohio State football getting work done before the 2026 season.
On May 9, Buckeyes defensive coordinator Matt Patricia posted a photo on Instagram in a neck brace and lying on a hospital bed, wearing his signature flat cap with a smile.
Advertisement
“Off-season repairs aren’t just for players. Massive thanks to Dr Viljoen and the Neurological Specialty Care team for taking care of me. Incredible group! So blessed and thankful for you,” Patricia wrote in the post.
Advertisement
Patricia did not reveal details. He thanked Dr. Stephanus Viljoen, an Ohio State neurosurgeon specializing in spinal surgeries and back pain, according to his OSU profile.
The German official has been appointed by the Uefa Referees Committee and will be tasked with officiating one of the biggest games in football at the Puskas Arena on Saturday, 30 May.
The 42-year-old has 11 years of experience since beginning his career in 2015 and brings experience from nine Uefa Champions League matches from this season alone.
Siebert was the referee in the quarter-final first leg between Sporting Lisbon and Arsenal, one of two games officiated this term with the Gunners, who ran out 1-0 winners on that night.
He was also in charge in the semi-final second leg between Arsenal and Atletico Madrid, another 1-0 win for the Gunners, which will appeal to Gunners fans ahead of the match.
Advertisement
Siebert is yet to show a yellow card to an Arsenal player, and has shown just three yellow cards across both matches. While he has also officiated one PSG match this season; the goalless draw at Athletic Bilbao in December, where he brandished four yellow cards.
Siebert averages more yellow cards on average overall, with 4.44 per game from nine games in the Champions League this term, according to Who Scored, and 0.22 red cards per game. That’s up from his Bundesliga average, from 15 games this term, with 3.20 yellow cards per game and 0.13 red cards per game.
Further experience comes from last year’s Uefa Europa League semi-final between Manchester United and Athletic Bilbao, and he also officiated two games at the Uefa Euro 2024 and three games at Uefa Euro 2020.
Atletico Madrid’s Robin Le Normand speaks to Referee Daniel Siebert (AP)
Following Arsenal’s victory over West Ham, and the high-profile VAR incident that ruled out Callum Wilson’s equaliser for the Hammers, Mikel Arteta has publicly confessed his admiration for the pressure officials operate under.
Notably Chris Kavanagh and how he observed 17 replays over four minutes and 17 seconds before deciding to rule out the goal due to Pablo’s arm impeding David Raya.
Advertisement
“When I had to be critical, I have been,” Arteta told Sky Sports. “Today I have to congratulate them [VAR]. You needed a lot of courage and bravery to stand out and give the opportunity to the referee to have a look at the action.
“When you see the picture, there is no question that it is a clear foul. They were very brave. The action deserved that. In my opinion, it is very clear. They are the rules and we ask for consistency.”
Referee Daniel Siebert gestures during Sporting v Arsenal in the Champions League quarter-finals (Getty Images)
Uefa Champions League final 2026 refereeing team
Referee: Daniel Siebert (Germany)
Assistants: Jan Seidel and Rafael Foltyn (both from Germany)
Philadelphia 76ers star Tyrese Maxey was downcast after falling to the New York Knicks in Game 4 on Sunday night, leading to an early second-round playoff exit.
Maxey appeared to be more upset with the fan support.
Philadelphia 76ers’ Tyrese Maxey tries to get past New York Knicks’ Landry Shamet during the second half of Game 3 in a second-round NBA playoff series in Philadelphia on May 8, 2026.(Matt Slocum/AP)
Knicks fans swarmed the Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia for both Games 3 and 4. They got a front-row seat to watch their team sweep their Atlantic Division rival. Knicks fans even went as far as infiltrating local news broadcasts in celebration.
Maxey spoke about the fans in his postgame press conference.
“It absolutely sucks, if I’m being honest. It just sucks,” he said, via SNY TV. “That’s really all I can say about it, man. It’s hard. It’s definitely difficult. It’s only one way to put a stop to it and it’s, we have to go out there and win these games.
Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers shoots a free throw during the first half of Game 4 against the New York Knicks in the second round of the NBA playoffs in Philadelphia on May 10, 2026.(Matt Slocum/AP)
“Just being completely honest, we were better when we played them in the Garden this entire season. I know we lost Game 2 and 1, but Game 2 was better. The regular season was better. I was telling them, it felt louder here for them than it did in the Garden.”
He said it was up to the team to drown out the noise.
“We got to put a stop to it as a team,” Maxey added. “Winning these games, that’s gonna make our fans louder than theirs or whatever. I don’t know how to keep them out. I don’t know the logistics of it, but it does suck. I can’t even lie. It definitely does suck.”
New York blew the doors off Philadelphia in Game 4 with a 144-114 win.
Advertisement
Tyrese Maxey of the Philadelphia 76ers defends Mikal Bridges of the New York Knicks during the first half of Game 4 in the second-round NBA playoffs in Philadelphia on May 10, 2026.(Matt Slocum/AP)
It was the eighth time in the last nine playoff appearances that the 76ers haven’t at least made it to the Eastern Conference Finals. Philadelphia hasn’t gotten that far in the postseason since making the 2001 NBA Finals.
Ryan Gaydos is a senior editor for Fox News Digital.
Vancouver Canucks legends Daniel and Henrik Sedin could be taking on a larger role with the team’s front office.
On the latest episode of the 32 Thoughts podcast published Monday, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman provided the latest news on the Sedin twins.
“I think Monday could be a big day for the Canucks. Maybe not in terms of an announcement but in terms of an internal decision being made, and possibly an idea of how the structure is going to work,” Friedman said. “I do think the Canucks have asked the Sedins if they want to take more of a role, and how willing they would be in taking a greater role …
“I don’t know what the titles would be in Vancouver if this is accepted, but I do believe that (the Canucks) have talked to the Sedins about taking a larger role, and they were pondering the idea. … I think the Sedins’ role in this could be important if they decide to accept the mission as it’s been presented to them.
Advertisement
“So, I think we’re kind of awaiting two decisions here. No. 1, who the head of hockey operations will be. And, No. 2, are the Sedins willing to take a bigger role? And, you know what, now that they’ve seen how it might work in Toronto — you know, (Mats) Sundin had to move from Sweden to Ontario — the Sedins are already there. It’s not like they would be uprooting their families. So, I think it just comes down to time and how are they feeling. I think it would be a great thing for the Canucks if they get it. Obviously, it’s their decision.”
32 Thoughts: The Podcast
Hockey fans already know the name, but this is not the blog. From Sportsnet, 32 Thoughts: The Podcast with NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman and Kyle Bukauskas is a weekly deep dive into the biggest news and interviews from the hockey world.
The Sedins currently have roles in the Canucks’ player development department, but could look to move up in the organization with Jim Rutherford stepping down as president of hockey operations and Patrick Allvin having been fired as general manager.
The Sedins rank first and second on a number of all-time Vancouver stats lists, including games played, points and assists. They were taken back-to-back by the Canucks with the second and third picks in the 1999 NHL Draft and spent their entire careers in Vancouver.
History for Rashford, becoming the first Englishman to win LaLiga with Barca, and joining what remains a select group to triumph with anyone, alongside Laurie Cunningham, David Beckham, Kieran Trippier and Jude Bellingham. If the circumstances were different, it would surely prompt Barcelona to take up the €30m option to turn his loan into a transfer.
Although, were the circumstances different, Rashford may not have got the move to Camp Nou he seemed to covet when his relationship with United broke down; the Catalan club were also interested in the costlier Luis Diaz and Nico Williams last summer. Rashford seemed like Plan C, available without an immediate transfer fee in part because of United’s inability to sell him.
Marcus Rashford helped Barcelona wrap up the title in style (Reuters)
He has nevertheless been a success as a high-calibre squad player, his outings split almost equally between starts and substitute appearances. A tally of 14 goals in 47 games is decent, if unexceptional. More impressive, though, is that he also has 14 assists, giving him 28 goal contributions, an average of one every 87 minutes on the pitch. There is an argument that Rashford has been flattered by the figures and, unlike United, Barcelona have been in Europe, but he has as many goal involvements this season as Bruno Fernandes.
Which, in its own way, may offer an insight into what United are missing. Though arguably not missing too much, given that they have qualified for the Champions League and have taken the most points in the Premier League since Michael Carrick’s return to Old Trafford.
Yet that has been built on a small core. With European commitments next season, United require more players. It is also evident they need attacking reinforcements; it was clear even before Joshua Zirkzee laboured ineffectually in Saturday’s stalemate at Sunderland to show why he is not good enough.
Advertisement
Joshau Zirkzee was largely ineffective against Sunderland (PA Wire)
Their squad, reshaped by Ruben Amorim in his quest to play a 3-4-3 that didn’t suit Rashford – or virtually anyone else, for that matter – does not contain a natural left winger. Patrick Dorgu started Carrick’s reign there, acquitting himself well before getting injured, but it remains to be seen if that was a short-term gambit or a long-term strategy. Matheus Cunha has occupied the role more often, but is essentially a No 10. Fernandes and Bryan Mbeumo have taken turns there. Rashford would have the potential to be a regular.
Meanwhile, Benjamin Sesko is the only specialist No 9 in the squad and if Rashford probably would not describe himself as such, he is better qualified to fill the role than anyone else on United’s books, with the exception of Rasmus Hojlund, whose loan to Napoli is set to become a permanent deal.
As United’s recruitment drive last summer shows, when they spent around £200m on Cunha, Sesko and Mbeumo, they can end up paying at least £60m for forwards; the club would concede that they paid towards the upper end of their valuations for players who, in some cases, are less gifted than Rashford.
Rashford has impressed as a starter and a substitute for Barca (Reuters)
And selling him for €30m would represent a figure at the lower end of his valuation, even accounting for his sizeable wages and the fact he turns 29 in October. The numbers have significance when the summer spending has to be focused on the midfield, with what might be a £200m rebuild, with at least two signings required and preferably three. They may want other additions, too: perhaps a left-back, unless Dorgu is pencilled in for defensive duties.
Meanwhile, there is no guarantee that Barcelona, their funds ever tight, their preference for trying to get quality players on the cheap, their greatest need arguably for an out-and-out centre forward to replace Robert Lewandowski, would even try to buy Rashford anyway. They may prefer the brinkmanship of aiming to borrow him again.
The sense has been that Rashford feels his United career is over, even beyond the feeling his first choice is to be at Barcelona. Certainly, there may be some at Old Trafford and in the fanbase who do not want him to return. As things unravelled in the 18 months following his outstanding campaign in 2022-23, there were more incidents beyond those that got into the public domain.
Advertisement
Things fell apart for Rashford at Old Trafford (Getty)
But it was nevertheless true that he was exiled with remarkable speed by Amorim, whose United then scored very few goals. It was a damaging decision, but Amorim is gone. Carrick is a former teammate and coach; indeed, no player scored more goals or got more assists for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s United than Rashford.
Last month, United’s temporary manager said no decision had been made on Rashford. Nor on Carrick either, perhaps, though he is likely to get the job on a lengthier basis. And if he provided a non-answer last week, Rashford may yet be a logical answer for United.
Some bridges may have to be rebuilt, but he is a scorer of 138 United goals, a player good enough to excel for Barcelona. They are not obliged to give him to the new champions of Spain on the cheap. Especially not when he could fill in at least two gaps in United’s plans for next season.
She suffered a serious knee injury when she ruptured her anterior cruciate ligament in November 2022 and was forced to miss the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
Mead came on as a substitute in her side’s Champions League final against Barcelona last season and, in one of her “greatest highlights in an Arsenal shirt”, set up the winner for Stina Blackstenius as Arsenal won the title for the first time in 18 years.
This season, she has made 27 appearances in the WSL and Champions League, with 11 of those as a substitute, and scored five goals.
Advertisement
Arsenal have also announced Victoria Pelova, who joined them from Ajax in January 2023, will be leaving the club at the end of the season.
The midfielder has made 87 appearances for the Gunners, scoring six goals.
Peter Schmeichel has slammed the VAR decision to disallow West Ham’s last-gasp equaliser against Arsenal, accusing the Gunners of set-piece hypocrisy as they close in on the Premier League title
Leandro Trossard struck in the 83rd minute at the London Stadium to hand Arsenal a crucial advantage in their pursuit of the Premier League title. Drama then unfolded when Callum Wilson appeared to snatch a 95th-minute equaliser for the Hammers, who are desperately battling to avoid the drop.
Advertisement
West Ham’s celebrations were swiftly cut short as VAR scrutinised replays of the incident before recommending an on-field review. Pablo was spotted gripping Raya’s arm as he leapt for the ball, with referee Chris Kavanagh subsequently ruling the goal out.
Get MEN Premium now for just £1 HERE – or get involved in our City WhatsApp group by clicking HERE. You can also join our City Facebook page by clicking HERE and don’t miss out on our brilliant selection of newsletters HERE.
However, Schmeichel, the iconic former Manchester United goalkeeper who also played for Manchester City, argued that Arsenal — the Premier League’s most prolific side from set-pieces — would be nowhere near the summit of the table if such actions are to be considered a foul.
“That decision today, it’s just so wrong on so many levels,” the Dane told Viaplay. “What really makes me angry is that Arsenal would never be top of the league if that’s a free kick.
Advertisement
“That’s how they’ve scored so many goals by blocking people, holding people, doing all kind of things, and then we get to this point… it takes VAR five minutes.
“Darren England the VAR official, (it takes him) five minutes. He starts the replay over and over again. That in itself puts so much doubt into that decision. It cannot be a free kick, it cannot.”
Schmeichel added: “I think it’s so wrong, I just don’t understand why all of a sudden that’s a free kick, because it’s not been for any teams all the way throughout the season.
Advertisement
“All of this, it’s just crazy, and that decision today is just so wrong on so many levels.”
FA Cup final VIP tickets for Man City vs Chelsea
This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more
Seat Unique offers hospitality packages for Manchester City’s FA Cup final clash with Chelsea, including ‘premium’ seats at Wembley and complimentary food and drink.
Schmeichel wasn’t the only one challenging VAR’s intervention, with West Ham captain Jarrod Bowen expressing similar sentiments in his post-match remarks.
Mikel Arteta, however, commended the match officials for their courage in reaching such a significant decision. He said: “A call from the refs that I think is very brave, but very consistent with what they’ve been talking about all season.
“So when I have to be critical, I have been. And it is a free kick and the goal has to be disallowed. So congratulations because they made a big call in very, very difficult circumstances.”
TORONTO — After an encouraging start to the weekend, Sunday’s loss to the Angels raised at least two significant questions for the Toronto Blue Jays.
The health of their right fielder is now in doubt, and they continue to seek answers in their fifth rotation spot. With those challenges looming large, the Blue Jays must now navigate a three-game series against a Tampa Bay Rays team that swept them just last week.
As the Blue Jays prepare to host the Rays on Monday (Sportsnet, Sportsnet+, 6:30 p.m. ET / 3:30 p.m. PT) for three games at Rogers Centre, let’s take a closer look at a few of the bigger questions they’re now facing:
What’s Barger’s status?
Advertisement
Two hours before first pitch Sunday afternoon, the Blue Jays announced that Addison Barger would miss the game due to right elbow soreness. The 26-year-old woke up with reduced range of motion leading to an MRI Sunday afternoon.
“With how important he is to us, we wanted to be careful,” manager John Schneider said.
MLB on Sportsnet
Watch the Toronto Blue Jays, Blue Jays Central pre-game, marquee MLB matchups, Jays in 30, original documentaries, the wild card, divisional series, championship series and entire World Series on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+.
The absence impacts the team on a couple fronts. First, Barger can really slug, as we saw last year when he hit 21 home runs and 32 doubles. That power is needed within a lineup that ranks 21st in home runs among the 30 MLB teams.
And second, Barger’s throwing arm was a welcome addition to the outfield defence Saturday as he prevented Jorge Soler from scoring with a throw clocked at 101.2 m.p.h. His arm — and even the threat of his arm — changes the way opposing teams run the bases, and no one else on the Blue Jays’ roster offers comparable outfield arm strength.
Advertisement
If this was clearly a day-to-day issue, there would be no reason to send Barger for an MRI, but evidently other possibilities are in play. Either way, the Blue Jays will know more Monday.
Hustling toward an identity?
Elsewhere on the position player front, Daulton Varsho scored the Blue Jays’ lone run of the game Sunday after reaching on an infield hit in the first inning.
Without a full effort-run, he wouldn’t have reached base, but his hustle allowed him to reach and score. Later, in the eighth, Myles Straw and Varsho both reached on infield hits and while neither scored and Varsho jammed his heel a bit at first, the baserunning helped load the bases for Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Advertisement
This is the kind of effort Schneider wants to see every day and he made a point of saying as much this weekend. It’ll be telling which players take the hint.
How to proceed with Lauer and Miles?
Along with Barger’s health, the other big question to emerge from the weekend was what the future holds for Eric Lauer, Spencer Miles and the fifth spot in the Blue Jays’ rotation.
Starting in the major leagues for the first time ever, Miles pitched three scoreless innings Sunday while allowing two hits and striking out two. His fastball averaged 96.5 m.p.h. as he built his way up to 38 pitches, his most since April 11.
Advertisement
Lauer, on the other hand, allowed six runs, including three home runs, in five innings, while striking out four. He threw 80 pitches — nearly a starter’s workload — while averaging 90.7 m.p.h. with his fastball.
Afterward, he acknowledged he has work to do, regardless of what role he fills from here.
“I don’t think by any means I’m a shoo-in for a rotation spot, that’s for sure,” Lauer said. “I know I want to help the team in the best way I possibly can.”
So, how to proceed? While Lauer was an essential part of the 2025 team, his velocity’s down by about 1 m.p.h. and his home run rate has spiked to 2.7 per nine innings. With an ERA of 6.69 after eight turns in the rotation, he’s been given a fair chance and it’s not working the way anyone would have hoped.
Advertisement
If Max Scherzer or Jose Berrios were healthy, they’d be in that spot. Under the current circumstances, the conversation remains open-ended — and must now include Miles.
Schneider said he believes Miles has some important building blocks needed for starting pitchers — that is, the pitch mix, quality of stuff and command needed to work through a lineup more than once. And when the manager told Miles about his assignment ahead of Sunday’s outing, he was careful with his wording.
“I told him he would start,” Schneider recalled. “I didn’t say he would open, (I said) he would start. We just wanted to see how he went.”
Even so, that doesn’t mean it’d be simple to turn the Rule 5 pick into a starting pitcher. His season high in pitches is 43. His career high in innings is 21 — as in the 21 he’s pitched this season. Ramping him up recklessly can’t be the answer here after two significant surgeries but he’s open to the idea of building his pitch count further.
Advertisement
Asked about starting, he said: “I definitely think I can still do it down the road.”
How far down the road? A week from now? A year? Miles sounds open-minded.
“I’m totally capable,” he said. “I mean, I’m just here to do whatever they ask. I’m a Blue Jay.”
There are no guarantees here, but a cautious, deliberate ramp-up is an intriguing possibility for a team with many injured starters.
;)
;)
;)
You must be logged in to post a comment Login