The recent court ruling involving Nigerian midfielder Daniel Daga has sparked serious discussion in the football community. However, despite the six-month prison sentence handed down by a Norwegian court, I remain confident that justice will prevail when the case goes to appeal.

Daga, a Nigeria U-20 international and player for Molde FK, was sentenced to six months in prison by the Nordmøre og Romsdal District Court after being convicted of committing a sexual act against a person who did not consent.

In addition to the custodial sentence, the 19-year-old midfielder was ordered to pay NOK 10,000 in legal costs, which is about ₦1.45 million.

However, the case is far from over. Daga’s legal team has already filed an appeal, meaning the verdict is not final under Norwegian law.

His lawyer, Astrid Bolstad, made it clear that the player strongly disagrees with the ruling and continues to maintain his innocence.

“He is terribly sorry that the verdict was the way it was. He believes he is innocent and that everything happened with consent,” Bolstad said.

“He will appeal the verdict. The verdict is not final. He will be treated like everyone else until he is sentenced.”

From what has been presented so far, Daga admitted that he had a sexual encounter with the lady involved, but he insists that it was consensual. According to his position, the claim that it was not consensual is simply not true.

Sadly, football has seen situations before where accusations have damaged the reputation and careers of players before the full truth emerged. There have been cases where footballers were accused of similar offences but were later cleared after long legal battles.

This is why I strongly believe that the appeal process will give the court another opportunity to carefully examine the facts of the case. Justice requires patience, and appeals exist precisely for situations like this.

Another very important point is the position of his club, Molde. Unlike many clubs that quickly distance themselves from players facing legal problems, Molde have chosen to stand by Daga while respecting the seriousness of the case.

The club said in a statement:

“This is a very difficult case for everyone involved. Molde Football Club has a responsibility as an employer to take care of our employees in a responsible manner, while also having great respect for the seriousness of the case and the burden it places on all affected parties.”

Molde also confirmed that the midfielder will not be involved in matchday activities while the legal process continues.

“In light of the situation and the ongoing legal process, the club has decided that the player will not be part of the matchday squad until further notice.”

This support from the club is significant. It shows that Molde still believe in their player and are prepared to allow the legal process run its course.

It is also important to clarify that because the case has been appealed, the legal process is still ongoing and the verdict is not final. The appeal will determine the final outcome.

For me, the key issue is simple: justice must be based on facts and truth. I remain convinced that when the appeal process is completed, Daniel Daga will clear his name and return to football stronger.

Oleksandr Usyk ruled out the possibility of colliding with one particular heavyweight, insisting that he does not wish to “break this guy”.

It was announced last month that the bona fide heavyweight king will face Dutch kickboxer Rico Verhoeven on May 23, headlining a Ring Magazine show at Egypt’s Pyramids of Giza.

While the IBF and WBA are yet to comment on the status of Usyk’s belts, the WBC has confirmed that it will sanction his contest with Verhoeven.

But the Ukrainian, of course, is widely expected to score a convincing victory over Verhoeven, whose only professional boxing contest came against 0-6 heavyweight Janos Finfera – who he stopped in the second round – in 2014.

Usyk, meanwhile, is coming off a fifth-round stoppage win over Daniel Dubois in July, dominating their rematch to become a three-time, two-division undisputed champion.

But despite having already cemented himself as the greatest heavyweight of this era, the 39-year-old claims he remains eager for at least three more outings.

After his match with Verhoeven, Usyk has told Inside the Ring that he will target an undisputed clash with the winner of Fabio Wardley vs Daniel Dubois – which takes place on May 9 – before exploring a potential trilogy showdown with Tyson Fury.

When asked if he would face heavyweight prodigy Moses Itauma, though, Usyk simply insisted that the 21-year-old is on a completely different path.

“No, I’m not going to fight with Itauma because he’s a young guy. I don’t want to break this guy.”

Itauma is gearing up to face durable customer Jermaine Franklin on March 28, with many expecting the American to take him into the later rounds.

There is little doubt amongst fans, analysts and fighters that Itauma is on the way to championship fights, but it appears he will not have the chance to face the top dog from the older generation.

Eddie Howe has declared his Newcastle side capable of competing with Europe’s elite, despite a dramatic late equaliser denying them a crucial first-leg victory against Barcelona in their Champions League last-16 tie.

The Magpies will travel to the Nou Camp next Wednesday with the tie finely poised at 1-1, after Lamine Yamal’s stoppage-time penalty snatched a win from their grasp at St James’ Park.

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The draw felt like scant reward for a spirited performance against one of European football’s giants.

Howe, who described the equaliser as “soft”, remains confident his team can pose a significant challenge to Hansi Flick’s side on their home turf.

“In the cold light of day when we wake up tomorrow, we’ll see the positives. The tie is very much alive, we played really well,” Howe stated.

“We showed our qualities. We’ve been really competitive. The challenge is we need more on a consistent basis. We’ve showed we can play against the very best when we’re at our best.”

Newcastle had seemed destined for a priceless 1-0 advantage when Harvey Barnes netted his 14th goal of the season in the 86th minute. However, a famous victory was cruelly snatched away in the dying moments.

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Malick Thiaw’s challenge on substitute Dani Olmo prompted Italian referee Marco Guida to award a penalty, which Yamal duly converted in the sixth minute of added time, leaving Barcelona with the momentum heading into the return leg.

Asked if his team deserved more, Howe affirmed: “Yes, we do. A really good performance from the team, very, very good in all phases, really. I thought we limited them with a really good defensive performance from the team and I thought we attacked really well too.

“Although we didn’t create an abundance of clear-cut chances, I thought there were chances all through the game for us. It was great to see us finally score and then the last attack of the game, the last kick of the game, it’s a tough one to take.”

Barcelona manager Hansi Flick, whose team secured a 2-1 win at St James’ Park in the league phase back in September, admitted his side struggled for periods but was ultimately content with the draw.

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“If you had asked me before the game with a 1-1, I was always happy,” Flick commented.

“With the ball, we made not a good game. We lost too many balls, easy mistakes and this is what Newcastle only wants.

“When they get the ball, the transition they make is good, they have a lot of dynamic, very fast players, so it was not easy.

“But at the end, what I appreciated a lot from my team is that we defended together, the performance in defence was really good today.”

/ @lockedoncollegefootball  

The WBC recently approved Oleksandr Usyk’s title defence against Rico Verhoeven but ordered the Ukrainian to face interim champion Agit Kabayel next.

Usyk will face kickboxing star Verhoeven in Egypt this May, with the contest originally thought to be for a commemorative WBC belt but later sanctioned as a legitimate world title bout. The WBC has received backlash for the decision, given the Dutch kickboxing champion has just had one professional boxing match and does not feature in the world rankings.

President Mauricio Sulaiman has guaranteed that Kabayel’s well-earned shot will be next up, but Usyk’s most recent interview, in which he revealed his planned final three fights before retirement, made no mention of the German heavyweight.

With the two-time undisputed champion looking to face Verhoeven, the winner of Fabio Wardley vs Daniel Dubois and Tyson Fury, it appears he plans on ignoring the WBC order and risks being stripped of the green and gold belt.

Should Usyk manage to keep hold of his IBF and WBA belts – far from guaranteed as neither sanctioning body has commented on the Verhoeven bout – and negotiate with the winner of WBO champion Wardley vs Dubois, he may lobby for the WBC to allow the undisputed contest to trump his mandatory challenge and be allowed to keep the belt.

That would be a hammer blow to Kabayel, who has held the interim belt since February 2025 with a win over Zhilei Zhang. He has since defended against Damian Knyba in Germany, drawing a packed arena to move to 27-0 with 19 knockouts.

While Walsh is a serial winner, lining up alongside her on Sunday will be another of Chelsea’s statement signings from 2025, Alyssa Thompson.

Like her experienced team-mate, 21-year-old Thompson also told BBC Sport of her trepidation when first arriving at Kingsmeadow.

“I had low expectations for myself because I was scared about being in England, away from everyone I knew,” said the USA forward. “I didn’t know if people would like me.

“It was daunting because of the calibre of players at Chelsea.”

She has impressed for Bompastor’s side this season, scoring six times in the WSL and providing a threat with her searing place and clever movement.

However, despite the Blues’ outlay in the past 14 months – they also briefly broke the women’s transfer world record to acquire centre-back Naomi Girma in January 2025 – results have taken a downturn.

Not that Thompson is accepting this.

“Winning at Chelsea is written in the DNA,” Thompson said. “That’s why people come here and one of the reasons I did. It’s a huge part of our culture.

“When you put on the Chelsea jersey, you know what you have to bring. No-one has told me that but I feel it from the team.

“It’s unspoken in the locker room.”

Thompson has enjoyed her time on international break, named player of the tournament in the SheBelieves Cup where USA won their three games against Argentina, Canada and Colombia.

Before going away, Chelsea knocked Sunday’s opponents Manchester United out of the FA Cup in extra time and this game will be a rematch of last season’s FA Cup final, also won by Bompastor’s side.

“I’m so excited,” Thompson added. “I’ve never won a senior trophy!”

Whether or not the SheBelieves Cup now counts as silverware in her eyes, Thompson will hope to be celebrating again on Sunday.

Chelsea’s intimidating record of 15 wins and just one defeat in 18 games against Manchester United puts history, at least, on her side.

The trainer Ciaron Maher is appealing for jockey Jamie Spencer from the UK to take over the ride on Light Infantry Man at the Caulfield track.

Set for the Group 2 Peter Young Stakes (1800m) on Saturday, Light Infantry Man has prompted Maher to connect with Spencer on whether he can ride the gelding.

Back in the UK, Spencer was Light Infantry Man’s go-to jockey and journeyed to Australia in 2022 for the gelding’s Golden Eagle effort at Rosehill.

Post-Golden Eagle, the gelding returned to Britain, where Spencer sustained their collaboration until Light Infantry Man’s Australian return for the 2023 King Charles III Stakes at Randwick.

That time Zac Purton rode, joined by Australian pilots like Jason Collett, Craig Williams, Mark Zahra, John Allen, Blake Shinn, James McDonald, Chad Schofield, and Ethan Brown who have since piloted the gelding here.

Only McDonald and Brown, local to Australia, have notched wins aboard Light Infantry Man, with Brown’s two Group 1 successes including the previous year’s Australian Cup (2000m) conducted at Flemington.

Brown and Zahra face suspensions, McDonald heads to Sydney for weekend mounts, leading Maher to contact Spencer about availability.

“Ethan Brown’s suspended, Mark Zahra’s suspended, so I was talking to Jamie Spencer,” Maher said.

“I’ve still got to confirm that, but he knows the horse quite well.

“He rode the horse out here in the Golden Eagle and in a lot of Group 1 races in Europe, so it would be good if he came out, but we just need to firm that up.

“He is a quirky horse, and Ethan obviously gets on very well with him.

“He came through his first-up run in great order. He’s feeling great and doing everything right.

“It looks a nice race for him at weight-for-age over the 1800 metres.”

Check betting sites for competitive racing odds on the Peter Young Stakes.

Gautam Gambhir‘s tenure as head coach has been nothing short of a rollercoaster ride for Team India. Under his leadership, India endured the lows of losing home series against New Zealand and South Africa, but also reached the highs of clinching two ICC titles. This achievement sets Gambhir apart from previous coaches, as none before him managed to guide Team India to such heights in such a short span of time. Gambhir, who took over the reins from Rahul Dravid after the conclusion of the T20 World Cup 2024, recently opened up about how he was appointed as India’s head coach.

Before joining the national setup, Gambhir served as the mentor of IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders during the 2024 season.

Speaking to ANI, Gambhir recalled how, before KKR’s IPL clash against the Mumbai Indians in Mumbai that year, BCCI Secretary Jay Shah called him early in the morning with an offer he “could not say no to.” The former India opener revealed that he initially felt he wasn’t ready to take on the role of head coach, despite having prior mentoring experience with both the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and KKR.

“We were playing an IPL game in Mumbai. KKR vs MI and it was Jay Shah who called me. He actually called me early in the morning. He said that I have to give you an offer and you cannot say no to me. I said, what? He said, you have to be the head coach (of Team India). And at that time, honestly, I was not even ready. It was a massive surprise for me. I think being the head coach of the Indian team is an honour. It is a privilege because not many people get that opportunity to go back in the dressing room and wear that India jersey again and do something special for the country,” said Gambhir on ANI Podcast.

The former batter revealed that when Team India lost the Test series to NZ and ended their 12-year-long unbeaten run at home, it was Jay Shah who encouraged him to “stay strong.”

“I think I have gone through a lot of low moments in my tenure as well, which was always expected because, whether it was getting beaten by New Zealand at home or getting beaten by South Africa at home, which I normally do not forget, not many people actually called me after that. I remember the only time someone called me was Jay Shah. Because I remember when we lost a game against New Zealand in Mumbai, i was going back to the airport and I got a call from him. And obviously, he told me to stay strong. He told me that he’s there with me during that hour,” he said.

(With ANI Inputs)