The Republic of Ireland took an early lead over Austria on Thursday evening at the Aviva Stadium, with Troy Parrott converting inside the opening quarter of an hour to give the hosts a 1-0 advantage in their UEFA Nations League Group B3 fixture.
Parrott, who has established himself as a key attacking presence for Ireland in recent campaigns, found the net in the 12th minute, with the goal credited as an assist from striker Adam Idah. The early breakthrough gave Ireland the kind of start managers dream of in front of a home crowd, settling nerves and forcing Austria onto the back foot in Dublin.
Ireland manager’s side lined up with Caoimhin Kelleher in goal behind a back four of Dara O’Shea, John Egan, Liam Scales and Jayson Molumby’s compatriot Jemal Abankwah. In midfield, the hosts fielded a blend of experience and energy with Festy Ebosele — known in matchday squad sheets as F Azaz — alongside Chiedozie Coventry Ogbene-adjacent options, and captain duties falling to O’Shea. Parrott and Idah combined up front to deliver the goal that broke the deadlock.
Austria, managed to a roster featuring Bundesliga-experienced names such as Stefan Posch, Philipp Lienhart and Patrick Wimmer, were forced to respond after falling behind early. Their side also included Christoph Chukwuemeka and Romano Schmid in a bid to unlock an Irish defence that, on the balance of the game’s opening stages, held firm.
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Both nations arrived at this Group B3 encounter looking to build momentum in the Nations League, a competition that has increasingly doubled as a proving ground for squad depth and tactical experimentation outside of major tournament windows. For Ireland, a home win would represent a significant statement result against an Austrian side that has regularly featured among Europe’s more competitive mid-tier nations in recent years.
The match was officiated by Allard Lindhout, with both benches showing strength in depth — Ireland could call upon the likes of Troy Parrott’s attacking partner Tom Cannon and midfielder Josh Cullen-type cover from the bench, while Austria held options including Michael Gregoritsch and Konrad Laimer in reserve, underlining the strength in depth Ralf Rangnick’s successor-era Austria sides have become known for.
Further details of the match, including any second-half developments, were not available at the time of writing. Ireland supporters inside the Aviva Stadium will hope Parrott’s early strike proves to be the foundation for a result that keeps their Nations League ambitions firmly on track, while Austria will be looking to their bench and tactical adjustments to find a way back into a contest that got away from them early.
Manchester City has won the English Premier League eight times over the last 14 years. Whether those titles will remain is one of a plethora of issues at stake after England’s top division charged one of its most high-profile clubs with more than 100 breaches of its financial regulations.
On Tuesday, the Premier League announced that an independent commission had found City had drawn up “sham contracts” as well as “relying on sham agreements to artificially inflate the club’s revenues and reduce its costs.” These contracts, dubious sponsorships and a number of other methods were, according to the commission’s report, used to inflate the club’s revenue to the tune of about £900 million (€1.05 billion) over the period between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons.
The case has been ongoing for eight years after initial revelations from Der Spiegel, a German magazine, and Rui Pinto of the ‘Football Leaks’ website. City continues to deny any wrongdoing.
“The Club is innocent of the accusations made by the Premier League and a comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence exists in support of all of its positions, relating to this case,” read a club statement. “Manchester City FC will now pursue the appeal avenues open to it, on the basis that the opinion contains clear material errors, of law, principle and fact, and is unsafe.”
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On Friday, the club issued a further statement saying it had lodged a “comprehensive Appeal.”
What was the Premier League verdict on the Manchester City charges?
The 750-page report was damning, accusing City of inflating contracts and sponsorship deals, running secondary contracts off the books, making “concerted efforts to stop and frustrate the Premier League investigation” and signing off inflated image rights deals to artificially boost their earnings. The report says all this enabled them to pass both Premier League and UEFA financial spending limits.
The Premier League’s chief executive, Richard Masters, described the case “as the most significant in Premier League history,” adding that the club “systematically broke Premier League Rules for nearly a decade.”
Although the Premier League, the world’s most commercially successful football league, has drawn some praise for its actions, others point out that it took Pinto leaking emails and media reports to take action. The report shows that Manchester City, which had won the league once in 71 years before being taken over by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 2008, were consistently posting revenues way higher than any of their more established and successful rivals.
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Who are the key figures at Manchester City?
In this context, its the owners. The Abu Dhabi United Group, essentially an investment vehicle for the UAE royal family, bought the club in 2008. Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, know simply as Sheikh Mansour, fronted the takeover. He is a member of the ruling Al Nahyan family and the UAE’s vice president and deputy prime minister. Khaldoon Al Mubarak, who also holds several government positions in the UAE, was brought in as chairman.
Nation-state ownership of this type is controversial in European football. Manchester City’s owners have long been criticized for the country’s human rights record and using the club for sportswashing. Similar criticisms have been made of European champions Paris Saint-Germain, which Qatar owned and City’s Premier League rivals Newcastle United, which is owned 85% by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
As well as huge domestic success, City won the Champions League under Pep Guardiola in 2022-23Image: Jose Breton/NurPhoto/IMAGO
City’s CEO, Ferran Soriano, joined in 2012 as City expanded their ownership into foreign leagues, buying up clubs in the US, Japan and Australia. He replaced former head coach Roberto Mancini with fellow Spaniard Manuel Pellegrini before former Bayern Munich and Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola took over in 2016, ushering in the club’s most successful period.
How did Manchester City’s system work?
The club immediately started splashing out on big-money transfers after the UAE investment arrived. At the time, neither UEFA nor the Premier League had the tight financial rules they now have. UEFA introduced its Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules for the 2011-12 season, while the Premier League followed with its Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) in 2013-14.
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City’s free spending and relatively low commercial income meant they were likely to fall foul of such rules. The club was handed a conditional €60 million UEFA fine for losses in the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons. They would later be banned from the Champions League on similar grounds in 2020 before being reinstated on appeal.
In an attempt to try and comply with these financial rules, City set up a system they called “Project Longbow” in 2012. The commission said much of this was genuine, but one arm of it was an agreement with a third party called Fordham that was, according to the ruling, “little more than a front.” Essentially, it reads, the club’s UAE owners “would be used (and were used) to enable Fordham to acquire from the club (at a sizeable, artificially inflated price) the club’s entitlement to benefit financially from its players’ image rights.”
In other words, City’s owners were pumping money into their own club through vastly inflated sponsorship and image rights deals so their income looked higher and they could spend more, particularly on player transfers and wages. The report also claims that City paid three individuals, whose names are redacted, through a third party to keep them off the books.
What happens next?
That’s the question on everyone’s lips. So far, no sanctions have been imposed on City, and the appeal will likely drag proceedings out even longer. Meanwhile, the club, which is top of the Premier League, faces Liverpool on October 11, after the international break.
While there is no precedent for such a tranche of charges, clubs have previously fallen foul of the Premier League’s PSR regulations. Everton were handed a 10-point penalty for a £19.5 million breach over a period ending with the 2021-22 season. This was based on a Premier League tariff of six points for the initial breach, plus an additional point for every £5 million the club overspent. Given that City’s overspending is close to a billion pounds, applying that would certainly relegate them, though the Premier League does not operate England’s second-tier league, the Championship.
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For now, it looks like City and the league will play on under a cloud. But if the verdict remains after appeal, clubs and individuals whose careers and honors stand to be impacted will likely come forward and litigate. City themselves could be relegated, docked points over successive seasons, face transfer bans or any combination of those things. The titles won in the relevant period could also be stripped.
This article was originally published on September 30, 2026. It was updated on October 2, 20206 with Manchester City’s statement confirming that it had lodged an appeal.
The political and financial aftershocks of Manchester City’s guilty verdict in football’s biggest-ever financial fair play case are spreading well beyond the Premier League, with tax authorities, Westminster and Downing Street all now entangled in a row that shows no sign of settling before the club’s appeal deadline on Friday.
An independent commission this week found City guilty on all but one of 115 charges relating to breaches of Premier League financial regulations between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons, concluding that the club had used “sham” sponsorship arrangements and disguised funding, backed by owners Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG), to mask the true scale of its finances from regulators. City deny all wrongdoing and say the decision contains “clear material errors, of law, principle and fact” that render it “unsafe.”
Now the Treasury Committee has waded in. Its chair, Dame Meg Hillier, has written to JP Marks, permanent secretary at HM Revenue and Customs, asking whether the tax authority has sought an unredacted copy of the commission’s report and whether it is alive to the “public interest” in the case. Her intervention follows a report from Tax Policy Associates alleging City may have failed to pay as much as £12m in tax tied to a “sham” contract involving former manager Roberto Mancini — a liability that, with penalties, could reportedly balloon to £24m.
Hillier was careful to acknowledge the limits of what HMRC can say publicly, noting that “taxpayer confidentiality may inhibit what you can disclose,” but pressed for assurance that the department understands the stakes. The request centres partly on the commission’s finding that City “utilised devices” to “disguise the true extent of certain club liabilities” — language that has caught the eye of MPs well beyond football’s usual regulatory bodies.
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City, meanwhile, are preparing a defence for their appeal that could reignite one of the most sensitive questions in modern football governance: where the line sits between a private football club and the state that surrounds it. According to reports first carried by the Daily Mail and the Times and corroborated by BBC Sport sources, City intend to argue that money which flowed into major sponsorship deals came directly from the Abu Dhabi government rather than from ADUG, the private investment vehicle owned by Sheikh Mansour. Premier League rules explicitly permit state bodies to sponsor clubs, meaning the distinction, if accepted, could undercut the commission’s central finding of a “disguised funding scheme” worth an alleged £830.69m.
The commission has already heard — and rejected — a version of this argument once. It described City’s prior explanation, that Abu Dhabi sponsors had simply sought and received government assistance to cover their own liabilities, as “untrue” and something the club had “concocted well after the event in an attempt to obscure and conceal the realities of the disguised funding scheme.” Whether a fresh appeal board reaches the same conclusion will likely determine not just City’s sporting punishment but the broader debate about ownership transparency across the league.
That debate has taken on an added edge given the position of City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak, who insists there is “irrefutable evidence” supporting the club’s case. Al Mubarak is listed as an Emirati diplomat on the UK government’s register of foreign representatives, a status that confers immunity from prosecution under criminal, civil and administrative law — a detail likely to fuel further questions about how closely the club’s leadership is bound to the Gulf state. Sheikh Mansour himself is a senior member of Abu Dhabi’s ruling family and brother to the UAE president, a lineage human rights campaigners have long cited in accusing the club’s ownership of using English football to “sportswash” the UAE’s international image.
Separately, City’s shirt sponsor Etihad Airways has said it is weighing legal action against the Premier League over the fallout from the ruling, adding a commercial dimension to a dispute that has already drawn in regulators, tax officials and now, improbably, the Prime Minister.
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Andy Burnham found himself at the centre of a political storm of his own this week after telling the BBC he would be “really concerned” if City’s Abu Dhabi owners sold the club following the verdict, praising them as “a huge partner in the building of modern Manchester.” The Prime Minister went further, drawing a comparison to the disciplinary case against Everton — the club he has long supported — suggesting history might judge the City verdict as harshly as he believes it judged Everton’s.
The remarks prompted swift criticism, with shadow sports minister Louie French urging the government to “keep politics out of football.” Downing Street moved quickly to contain the row, with a spokesperson stressing on Thursday that “the initial judgement is serious and there can’t be any suggestion that anyone is above the rules,” while insisting the independent process “must be allowed to run its course and the outcome respected.” A spokesperson for Burnham similarly stressed the verdict was “serious” rather than retreating from the comparison entirely.
With City expected to formally lodge their appeal before Friday’s deadline, the case now sits at the intersection of sports governance, tax law and diplomatic politics — a combination that suggests the Premier League’s reckoning with its richest club is only just beginning, regardless of what a sanctions hearing eventually decides.
Mason Madden is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling and continues to make appearances on Ring of Honor. He was also a part of WWE for nearly 7 years and spent time on both NXT and the main roster. He recently made his debut for Pro Wrestling Rebellion (PWR), an Indian company owned by former WWE star Jeet Rama. In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda Wrestling, Mason credited Mansoor for bringing him to India.
Madden started his training to become a wrestler under the tutelage of Booker T in 2016. In the same year, he was signed by the Stamford-based company but spent the next few years doing commentary roles. He started wrestling again when he joined the Retribution in 2020 and started appearing on RAW. He wrestled under the name “Mace” as a member of the group.
Thanks for the submission!
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He was later drafted to SmackDown where he started teaming with Mansoor as the Maximum Male Models. The partnership made it’s way to All Elite Wrestling as well where the duo still wrestles as MxM Collection. Mansoor is also the Chief Content Officer of Pro Wrestling Rebellion. In an Exclusive Interview with Sportskeeda Wrestling, Mason Madden was asked what inspired him to come wrestle in India. He hilariously responded by crediting Mansoor for his PWR debut.
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“Well, you know, My Tag Team partner owns the company, so I have to work with him haha,” he said.
Mason Madden competed in a Tag Team match at PWR Kranti, the company’s first event.
Mason Madden faced off against former WWE star Jeet Rama in a Tag Team match
Mason Madden was announced as a special member of Z-Company, a heel stable led by Zorawar in PWR. The AEW star was scheduled to team up with the group’s Toofan against former WWE stars Guru Raj and Saurav Gurjar (fka Sanga). However, Saurav was put into a 14-day judicial custody just a few days before the event for an alleged sexual harrasment case.
As a result, Jeet Rama replaced Saurav as Guru’s tag team partner at the event. The match was being advertised as a Handicap match before Jeet showed up as a surprise.
The whole MxM TV stable was at PWR Kranti as Mason wrestled in the tag team match while Mansoor and John Morrison faced each other in the World title qualifier.
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Sir Kevin Sinfield has raised over £1million at the end of day five of his 7 in 7: The Grand Finale challenge raising money for motor neurone disease charities.
This is Sinfield’s seventh and final ultra-running challenge to raise awareness and money for the MND community and he is running every day for seven days, visiting each of the home grounds of the 12 English Betfred Super League clubs.
His route will conclude on the pitch at Old Trafford ahead of Saturday’s Super League Grand Final between Warrington and Wakefield, with his son Jack in the squad for Trinity.
Sir Kevin Sinfield was with Hannah Cockcroft ahead of day five (Annabel Lee-Ellis/PA) (PA Wire)
Sinfield and his team surpassed their £777,777 target on day four and completed day five of the challenge in Salford, where late on Thursday night over £1m had been raised for Motor Neurone Disease Association, Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association, My Name’5 Doddie Foundation, MND Scotland, Leeds Hospitals Charity and The Darby Rimmer MND Foundation.
Inspired by his former Leeds Rhinos team-mate Rob Burrow, who died in 2024 after living with MND for four-and-a-half years, Sinfield and his team have raised over £11m for the MND community since the event began in 2020.
The 46-year-old began day five of this year’s challenge at Accu Stadium, home of Huddersfield Giants, where nine-time Paralympic gold medallist Hannah Cockcroft was in attendance to show support.
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Thursday’s Extra Mile – where Sinfield and his team are joined by those impacted by MND – took place at Churchill Playing Fields and he then passed through his home town of Oldham.
Sinfield concluded the day at Salford (Annabel Lee-Ellis/PA) (PA Wire)
The day concluded at the AIG Stadium, home of Sky Bet League Two football club Salford, where he was greeted by crowds in the stand.
The event resumes on Friday with the penultimate day of the course starting in Salford and ending at Brewdog Stadium, home of St Helens. Sinfield will pass by the grounds of Leigh Leopards and Wigan Warriors.
The Big Ten is in full conference mode this week with eight conference matchups on the schedule.
Out west, the load is light with USC hosting Washington.
UCLA and Oregon both enjoy the week off ahead of their ranked matchup in Eugene next week.
The league slate gets underway on Friday evening in Evanston as Northwestern opens their new $850 million home.
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Here is our look at this week’s Big Ten action.
Northwestern Wildcats at Penn State Nittany Lions
Friday, October 1 5:00 PM PT, FOX (Connor Onion, Robert Griffin III, and Alexa Landestoy)
Line:PennState –2.5 Over/Under:45.5
It will be quite a show in Evanston on Friday night as the Wildcats open up new Ryan Field against Penn State.
The crowd should be electric, filled mostly with fans rooting for the home team. This week, I think Northwestern certainly will be “Chicago’s Big Ten Team.”
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All of that has the smell of an upset. Oh, but the Cats played so well last week at Indiana, and the next day Penn State fell victim to an upset at the hands of Wisconsin.
Surely, PSU will not enter this one overlooking the Wildcats? They will not, and it will not matter.
Wildcats QB Aiden Chiles vs Indiana | Robert Goddin/Imagn Images
Northwestern plays good defense; they do not turn the ball over.
And Aidan Chiles is finally playing at the level we were all looking for when he was just a 17-year-old starting for Oregon State. Under the tutelage of Chip Kelly and Jerry Neuheisel, Chiles appears to be thriving.
David Braun has his defense making a ton of plays, and the Cats will not be pushed around at the line of scrimmage on either side of the ball.
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Northwestern opens their new digs in style.
Winner:Northwestern ATS:Northwestern O/U:Under
Michigan Wolverines at Minnesota Golden Gophers
Saturday, October 2 9:00 AM PT, FOX (Gus Johnson, Joel Klatt, and Jenny Taft)
Line:Michigan –5.5 Over/Under:43.5
The Gophers and Wolverines will tangle for the 107th time when they meet in Minneapolis on Saturday. And for the 100th time, the winner will leave with the Little Brown Jug.
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Minnesota is riding some momentum after their win on the road at Washington last week. Michigan, on the other hand, is reeling a bit after their last-second loss at home to Iowa.
Both teams will play solid defense, and this one is not going to wear out the scoreboard lights.
The Gophers seem to have more on offense than Michigan does, and Drake Lindsey gives Minnesota a clear edge at the QB spot, in my opinion. The Gopher QB does not offer a ton of flash, but he wins games.
The second-year QB is 11-6 as a starter, a win percentage of .647 which would is the best ever for a Minnesota QB. He also is smart with the ball and makes plays when needed.
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Lindsey has accounted for 3+ TDs in each of the last two games and should be able to produce enough against Michigan.
Gophers QB Drake Lindsey vs Washington | Kevin Ng/Getty Images
Bryce Underwood is great on the underneath throws for Michigan but has been shaky under pressure this season. Minnesota got to Demond Williams seven times last week.
The blueprint will be the same this week, and it could cause issues for Michigan.
In a game that should be tight, special teams could play a big role and no team in the nation has done a better job of flipping the field than Minnesota.
The Gophers offensive starting field position is third-best in the nation while their opponents starting field position is second nationally.
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The Gophers have only claimed the Jug 23 times; it will be 24 after this week.
Winner:Minnesota ATS:Minnesota O/U:Over
Ohio State Buckeyes at Iowa Hawkeyes
Saturday, October 2 12:30 PM PT, CBS (Brad Nessler, Charles Davis, and Jenny Dell)
Line:Ohio State –14.5 Over/Under:45.5
Ohio State is coming off a game in which they dominated Illinois while Iowa is coming off a win at Michigan.
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Iowa’s defense is as good as it always is, ranking 10th in total defense and 12th against the pass. That passing defense will get tested this week in ways it has not been tested yet.
And most of that will be in the form of Jeremiah Smith. The Buckeyes’ WR has already racked up 33 receptions this season for 617 yards and seven scores.
That yardage total is 32 more than the next closest player this season (Oregon State’s Jesse Legree ranks second with 585). Smith is simply that good and can take over a game on his own. He will be a matchup problem for Iowa.
Plus, it is not like you can key on one thing against this OSU offense; Bo Jackson and Ja’Kobi Jackson both run the ball pretty well too.
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Buckeyes WR Jeremiah Smith vs Illinois | Liam Ahern/The Latern
If Iowa can limit the Bucks’ offensive output, they will have a chance.
But they will need to produce on offense, and while the Hawkeyes look much more competent on offense this season. They still are not going to win in a shootout with OSU.
Iowa will look to move the ball on the ground, and thus far this season the Buckeyes have not been nearly as stout up front against the ground game as in past seasons.
Ohio State wins this one, but the Hawkeyes will be able to move the ball on them.
Winner:Ohio State ATS:Iowa O/U:Over
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Maryland Terrapins at Nebraska Cornhuskers
Saturday, October 2 1:00 PM PT, FS1 (Dan Hellie and Robert Smith)
Line:Nebraska 14.5 Over/Under:52.5
Nebraska is 4-0 and looks like they might finally be ready to turn the corner under Matt Rhule.
For Maryland, it looks like more of the same, and the clock might be ticking on Mike Locksley’s time in College Park.
The Huskers’ offense is clicking behind Anthony Colandrea, as the QB is making plays through the air as well as with his legs. Nebraska should have no trouble moving the ball on Maryland this week.
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Last week UCLA’s offense had a field day against the Terrapins, and I’d expect nothing different this week.
Huskers QB Anthony Colandrea vs Spartans | Adam Ruff/Icon Sportswire
The shocking issue with Maryland last week was on offense.
Maryland was unable to mount anything close to a competent offense in the loss to UCLA, amassing just 181 total yards at 2.62 yards per play while turning it over five times.
Now UMD has to face a Huskers defense coming off a five-sack performance against Michigan State.
The Big Ten losing streak now sits at nine games as the Terps have not won a conference game in over a calendar year. That streak reaches double digits this week as this one gets ugly in a hurry.
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Winner:Nebraska ATS:Nebraska O/U:Over
Washington Huskies at USC Trojans
Saturday, October 2 4:30 PM PT, NBC (Noah Eagle, Todd Blackledge, and Kathryn Tappen)
Line:USC –9.5 Over/Under:58.5
Washington had the schedule set up for them to make a lot of noise this season. This was to be the hurdle before a stretch run of wins prior to the late-season tests in the last two weeks of the season.
Then Minnesota happened.
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USC was rolling through the month of September and set for this to be the year Lincoln Riley, and the Trojans broke through with a playoff run.
Then Oregon happened.
For both the Huskies and Trojans, the setbacks last week were tough, but they do not need to define the season.
For Washington, it is also the first game outside of Seattle this season.
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Demond Williams Jr. has been the Huskies’ offense this season with the running backs banged up.
Williams has developed a connection with Dezmen Roebuck, and the young WR continues to impress with 30 receptions for 308 yards already.
The problem for UW might be that Williams has had to do too much, as he is also their leading rusher. No matter how good your QB is, it is generally not a good sign if he is the team’s leading rusher.
UW is 17th in the Big Ten, running for just 107.3 yards per game and just 3.7 yards per rush.
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Trojans QB Jayden Maiava vs Oregon | Mark J. Terrill/AP
Last week, Minnesota was able to exploit that as they turned up the heat on Williams and got to him seven times.
This was a Gopher team that had four sacks in their first three games, and two of those were against Eastern Illinois and Akron.
If you don’t have to worry about the run game, it is easy to pin your ears back and get after the QB.
USC has had some defensive issues of their own the last three games, allowing 35.3 points per outing against Oregon, Rutgers, and Louisiana.
The Ducks, sure, but Rutgers and Louisiana are not exactly offensive juggernauts.
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So, this one is going to be strength on strength, with a good Washington defense tasked with stopping an explosive USC offense.
Alex McLaughlin and Jacob Manu have been among the best Big Ten defenders this season, but they will have their hands full limiting the Trojans.
USC was forced to get away from the run game a bit against Oregon, and the Ducks took some things away.
If the Trojans can stay balanced and get King Miller and Waymond Jordan going early, it will open things up for Jayden Maiava.
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USC rebounds and gets the win at home
Winner:USC ATS:USC O/U:Over
Indiana Hoosiers at Rutgers Scarlet Knights
Saturday, October 2 5:00 PM PT, BTN (Mark Followill, Rhett Lewis, and Caroline Hendershot)
Line:Indiana –24 Over/Under:55.5
Indiana heads to Piscataway with the nation’s longest win streak. The 20-game win streak is also the third longest by a Big Ten team since 1980.
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Rutgers is looking for its first win over a ranked opponent since 2009 and first over a Top 10 foe since 2007.
On the bright side, the 35 points Rutgers scored against USC were their most vs. a ranked opponent since 2008. On the not-so-bright side, Indiana’s defense is probably significantly better than USC’s.
Indiana had some struggles against Northwestern last week. The offense was far from perfect, and the defense had a difficult time containing Aidan Chiles.
Offensively, they can easily clean things up while the defensive issues might have had more to do with the Wildcats QB than anything else.
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The Hoosiers got plenty of pressure; Chiles just made plays and extended things with his legs.
Hoosiers RB Lee Beebe vs Northwestern | Katie Newett/The Indiana Daily Student
If there is a bright spot for the Knights on offense, it has been the play of WR KJ Duff.
If there has been an issue for the Indiana defense this season, it has been getting beat in the secondary.
If Rutgers can keep the pocket clean, they should be able to hit on a couple of big plays.
The Indiana defense will limit the Knights’ offense, and on the other side of the ball I’d expect the Hoosiers O-line to create a ton of holes for Lee Beebe to run through.
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IU is rushing for 233.5 yards per game, and even a banged-up RB room should be able to shred the RU defense.
The Indiana win streak continues.
Winner:Indiana ATS: Indiana O/U:Under
Straight-Up Staff Picks for Selected Games
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writes about various topics for SuperWest sports, including stats and records, college sports, and motorsports. He also founded and runs the Sports and Entertainment Research Center (SERC).
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has waded into one of English football’s biggest crises in decades, admitting he would be “really concerned” if Manchester City’s Abu Dhabi owners walked away from the club following a bombshell ruling that found the club guilty of systematically breaching Premier League financial rules for nearly a decade.
An independent commission this week upheld the majority of 115 charges brought against City, concluding that the club had disguised more than £830m in secret funding through “sham” sponsorship deals and had inflated income while suppressing costs by over £900m between 2009 and 2018. The Premier League did not mince words in its response, accusing City of having “systematically broke Premier League Rules for nearly a decade.” City deny all wrongdoing and are expected to lodge an appeal before the 2 October deadline.
The scale of the findings has sent shockwaves through the game, with fans and pundits openly questioning whether City’s ownership group, led by Sheikh Mansour and the wider Abu Dhabi United Group, can credibly continue at the helm of a club that a legal panel says knowingly ran an elaborate deception scheme for years. It is against this backdrop that Burnham’s remarks have drawn particular scrutiny.
Speaking to the BBC and 5 News on Wednesday, Burnham struck a notably sympathetic tone towards City’s owners, crediting them with transforming Manchester through investment far beyond the Etihad Stadium itself. “They’ve been such a huge partner in the building of modern Manchester, and the building of Manchester City into the global force that it is,” he said. “I do actually thank the City Football Group and the wider ownership for the money that they didn’t just put into the Etihad and the campus around it but also into the city.”
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Pressed on whether the Gulf ownership group might now choose to sell up in the wake of the guilty verdicts, Burnham did not hesitate: “I would be really concerned to lose them.”
The prime minister’s comments carry added weight given the diplomatic and economic ties between the UK and the UAE, a trading relationship reportedly worth around £30bn annually. Burnham was careful to insist he would not get personally involved in the football dispute, telling reporters he would “keep my distance” if UAE officials sought to discuss the case with him directly. “I am not getting directly involved in the process,” he said. “It’s an independent legal process that has to play its course through.”
Yet he also drew a pointed comparison to his own history of campaigning on behalf of Everton, the club he supports, which had a 10-point Premier League deduction for financial breaches reduced to six points on appeal in 2024. “I remember people proclaiming Everton guilty at the time and, with hindsight, I think more people would say that wasn’t fair the way that was handled,” Burnham said, arguing it would be “wrong of me to leap to judgment” on City before its own appeal process concludes. “But they’re very serious charges, don’t get me wrong.”
Burnham declined to say whether he believed City should face relegation, one of several severe sanctions reportedly on the table when an independent panel convenes a separate sanctions hearing in the coming months. Alongside relegation, the panel could impose a heavy fine, deduct points, or even strip City of some of the eight major trophies won during the years covered by the findings — a period that included multiple Premier League titles and a Champions League triumph.
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Adding another layer of complexity, the Independent Football Regulator — the government body established in 2025 to oversee the ownership and financial integrity of English clubs — confirmed on the same day that it is monitoring the case closely and has the authority to review whether City’s owners remain fit to hold their licence. IFR chief executive David Kogan said the commission’s findings “raise serious issues” and that the regulator “will use these powers where appropriate, in the interests of protecting the sustainability, honesty and integrity of English football where there is clear evidence of wrongdoing.” Kogan stressed, however, that the regulator would wait for the Premier League’s disciplinary process to run its course before acting.
City have vowed to fight the ruling, describing themselves as “both disappointed and surprised” by the commission’s conclusions and pledging to challenge the verdict “on the basis that the opinion contains clear material errors, of law, principle and fact, and is unsafe.” Manager Pep Guardiola has publicly backed the club and its ownership since the verdict was announced, while City could also face legal costs from the Premier League reportedly running as high as £50m.
For now, the case leaves English football’s most successful club of the past decade — and the government that must balance sporting integrity against diplomatic and economic interests — in a state of genuine uncertainty. Burnham’s carefully hedged remarks suggest Downing Street is keen to avoid being seen as either shielding City from accountability or jeopardising a lucrative relationship with one of Britain’s key Gulf allies, even as the football world waits to learn just how severely the champions will be punished.
India remained in eighth place in the Asian Games medal standings on Thursday after adding more medals across sailing, wrestling, squash and archery.India’s overall medal tally rose to 64 medals – 10 gold, 22 silver and 32 bronze.China continued to lead the standings by a huge margin with 288 medals – 154 gold, 71 silver and 63 bronze. Japan are second with 217 medals, including 59 gold, 79 silver and 79 bronze.South Korea occupied third place with 113 medals – 30 gold, 30 silver and 53 bronze.Uzbekistan are fourth with 56 medals, followed by Iran with 42 and Thailand with 38. Bahrain were seventh with 21 medals.
India add medals across sports
India’s silver medals in sailing and Greco-Roman wrestling were among the highlights of the day.Kerala cousins Prince Kurisinkal Noble and Manu Francis won silver in the men’s skiff sailing event. They finished behind China and ahead of Hong Kong, China after winning one race and finishing second in three of the nine races.It was India’s first sailing medal of the ongoing Asian Games.Harshita Tomar and Shital Verma then added a bronze in the women’s skiff event.In wrestling, Nitesh Siwach won silver in the men’s 97kg Greco-Roman category after losing 0-4 to Japan’s Yuri Nakazato in the final. His medal was India’s first-ever silver in Greco-Roman wrestling at the Asian Games.
The long-awaited first face-off between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua should have been the headline moment at Olympia London on Wednesday. Instead, it was an odd aside about pop star Dua Lipa from Saudi boxing power broker Turki Alalshikh that had the room buzzing after a largely flat press conference to launch the December 11 “Battle of Britain” at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium.
Alalshikh, the chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority and the man bankrolling the bout, used part of his remarks to explain why the fight ended up in Wales rather than London or, as had long been expected, Madison Square Garden in New York. In doing so, he took an unprompted swipe at Lipa, suggesting the singer had snubbed the event.
“I will be honest today, I know that London wouldn’t give me the stadium until 2am, and I know that Dua Lipa will not perform in the stadium, because she doesn’t like boxing, and maybe she doesn’t like me,” Alalshikh said, drawing puzzled reactions from those gathered for what was billed as the formal launch of one of British boxing’s biggest domestic superfights in decades.
The comment appeared to stem from the logistics of scheduling. With the fight being built around an American pay-per-view audience, a start time in the early hours of the UK morning was reportedly non-negotiable — a demand that ruled out London venues unwilling to grant access that late, and, according to Alalshikh, made any entertainment slot featuring Lipa a non-starter regardless.
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Beyond the strange detour into pop-star politics, Alalshikh used the platform to underline just how much it cost to keep the fight on British soil. He said he accepted a $70 million hit in potential revenue to stage the bout in the UK rather than in a more lucrative time zone or location.
“Nobody questioned me about UK. I love the British people, I try to deliver everything for them,” he said. “Put yourself in my shoes, there’s a situation to lose $70m, the best is to have it in a good time zone.” He added that Cardiff won out largely because London simply wouldn’t accommodate the required 2am stadium access. “Wales delivered it, it’s still UK, the town of Ryan Giggs, let’s do it,” he said.
The financial sacrifices were not confined to the promotional side. Eddie Hearn, Joshua’s longtime promoter, revealed that his fighter personally gave up a significant sum — at least $10 million — to ensure the fight happened in Britain rather than overseas.
Hearn described a tense phone call in which Joshua was torn between the financial upside of fighting abroad and the emotional pull of headlining at home. “All of a sudden, people are saying, ‘Please bring the fight to the UK.’ He started feeling it, and I had to phone him up,” Hearn recalled. “AJ’s one of those guys, he goes to me, ‘Well, whatever you think,’ and I’m like, ‘No, no, no. It’s your money.’”
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According to Hearn, Joshua ultimately had to turn down an eight-figure sum to keep the bout in Britain. “He says, ‘What do you think I should do?’ I said, ‘I think the UK is where the fight should be. I think there’s an element and an edge for you to have this fight in the UK. But it’s a lot of money.’ And he went, ‘F*** it. We’ll do it in the UK.’ Eight-figure difference,” Hearn said.
The financial wrangling and Alalshikh’s odd comments about Lipa threatened to distract from what is otherwise a landmark announcement for British boxing: two of the country’s most decorated heavyweights, finally sharing a stage after years of false starts and stalled negotiations, set to meet in front of a home crowd in Cardiff on December 11.
Whatever the entertainment lineup ends up looking like — with or without a Dua Lipa appearance — the fight itself promises to be one of the most significant domestic heavyweight clashes in a generation, even if Wednesday’s launch event will be remembered as much for a bizarre celebrity aside as for the boxing matchup it was meant to promote.
The World Grand Prix, darts’ unique double-start, double-finish tournament, continued into its third day in Leicester with the draw wide open following one of the shocks of the season so far.
Defending champion Luke Littler, who has dominated much of the sport’s landscape since bursting onto the scene, was eliminated on the tournament’s opening night by Luke Woodhouse. The result immediately reshaped expectations for the rest of the week, stripping the event of its reigning champion before the second round had even begun and opening the door for a fresh name to lift the trophy.
Woodhouse’s reward for that victory is a last-16 meeting with Nathan Aspinall, one of several second-round ties that made up Wednesday’s card. The format, which requires players to open their leg with a double before they can start scoring, tends to produce unpredictable contests, and Littler’s exit served as a reminder that even the game’s biggest names are not immune to its quirks.
Elsewhere on the schedule, Gerwyn Price took on Ross Smith in a repeat of their recent World Series final, giving fans a chance to see whether that earlier result would be replicated on darts’ televised stage in Leicester. Price, a former world number one and one of the sport’s most combative competitors, has a habit of raising his game in tournament conditions, though Smith has shown he is capable of matching him on the biggest occasions.
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Jonny Clayton, the Welsh number two and a regular fixture in the latter stages of major events, was also in second-round action as the tournament worked through its congested schedule. Clayton’s consistency over the past few seasons has made him one of the most dangerous floor players in the sport, and his experience in double-start formats gives him a strong platform heading into the business end of the competition.
The World Grand Prix has long carved out its own identity on the darts calendar because of its insistence on doubles to both start and finish legs, a format that punishes players who rely purely on volume scoring and rewards those with composure on the outer ring of the board. It’s a stern test even for players used to lifting silverware elsewhere, and this year’s early exits suggest the format is once again proving a leveller.
With Littler out of the picture, the chasing pack will sense an opportunity. Price, Smith, Clayton, Aspinall and Woodhouse are among those left to fight it out as the tournament heads toward the weekend, with fans able to follow the action live on Sky Sports through to the final in Leicester.
Further details of Wednesday’s other results were not available at the time of writing, but the shape of the draw already points to an unpredictable finish to a tournament that has specialised in producing them.
On a personal level, I wish him nothing but good things in his life on and off the football field. Is he nevertheless going to end up like Jordan Love, Caleb Williams, and Baker Mayfield in Week 4? The NFL’s QBs have all been struggling to overcome what Vikings DC Brian Flores has been bringing.
The image I have in my mind is that of branches being fed into a living, breathing wood chipper that is the Vikings’ defense.
Mr. Willis, an ascending talent playing for a team intent on undergoing a terrible descent, is in a terrible setting in Miami. Worse yet, he’s working without running back De’Von Achane (torn ACL). The Dolphins’ passer therefore appears to be the next in line of promising passers who get demolished by the waves of pressure from Coach Flores.
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The NFL’s QBs and the Brian Flores Defensive Machine
Consider some of the basic statistics for the passers who have come up against the Minnesota Vikings:
Note that neither of Williams nor Mayfield got out of their Vikings game uninjured. In fact, each are still in the process of recovering from injuries sustained against the Vikings. Now, there’s zero reason for glory or applause in that basic fact; nobody should be celebrating when somebody gets hurt. The point is a basic observation: hanging in for a full fight against the Vikings’ defense looks very, very difficult.
Sep 27, 2026; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) walks off the field after an injury during the fourth quarter against the Minnesota Vikings at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images – Credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Brian Flores is like a heavyweight fighter who is throwing haymakers over and over again. So far, the NFL’s QBs haven’t been able to figure out a way to continue dodging the massive punches.
The 0-3 Miami Dolphins are working with the 31st-ranked offense in the NFL, meaning they’re a single spot away from being in last place. The Dolphins are swimming to a measly 12 points per game. Part of the problem is that there’s a talent deficit all around the roster, a problem that grows worse with the absence of Achane to carry the pigskin.
Willis hasn’t been flawless out there. Miami’s QB1 is completing 57.0% of his passes; his 1 touchdown has been paired with 2 interceptions. Nobody is going to be impressed by his 74.1 passer rating. Nor, for that matter, will anyone be particularly scared by the threat he poses, in no small part due to the complete lack of support around him.
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Very seldom, if ever at all, does a team so nakedly commit to tanking as the 2026 Miami Dolphins. Sunday could therefore get really ugly.
Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores stands on the sideline during an NFC wild card matchup against the Los Angeles Rams, Jan 13, 2025, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Flores directed Minnesota’s defensive approach in a high-stakes postseason setting as the unit navigated pressure-packed series under playoff intensity. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas–Imagn Images
In 2026, Willis has been blitzed a total of 26 times, per Pro Football Reference. Brian Flores may double that total in a single game. The DC is going to identify weaknesses and then attack these vulnerable spots with a relentlessness that few can match. If a lineman (or two) can’t keep up, Flores is going to go directly at that spot.
Willis, no doubt, has a role to play. Be decisive out there. Run out of bounds when possible. Make the correct pre-snap adjustments. Throw the ball away when necessary. Do all of the little things well to avoid getting suplexed and to keep his side competitive.
Truthfully, though, that’s not going to be enough. Miami’s coaching staff needs to recognize that a juggernaut of a defense is coming for its passer. Failing to equip that passer with consistently clever, simply sophisticated solutions means getting to a bad spot by the end of the game.
The issue is that Minnesota’s coaching staff is almost certainly better than Miami’s. The roster talent certainly is, so that make things doubly difficult.
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Sep 27, 2026; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Miami Dolphins quarterback Malik Willis (2) talks with his team before a play against the Kansas City Chiefs during the first quarter at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images – Credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Kickoff for the Vikings and Dolphins is scheduled for 3:05 p.m. CT on Sunday, October 4th inside of U.S. Bank Stadium.
Out west, the load is light with USC hosting Washington.
Northwestern Wildcats at Penn State Nittany Lions
Michigan Wolverines at Minnesota Golden Gophers
Ohio State Buckeyes at Iowa Hawkeyes
Maryland Terrapins at Nebraska Cornhuskers
Washington Huskies at USC Trojans
Indiana Hoosiers at Rutgers Scarlet Knights
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