List of All Articles with Tag 'sp'

Polish banks suffered a defeat at the European Union’s top court, allowing thousands of customers to avoid paying

Bayern Munich has been reprimanded and fined by the Munich customs office for not paying its workers the minimum wage

New Delhi police have filed charges of sexual harassment and outraging the modesty of six female athletes by Indian wrestling federation president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh at the end of their investigation

Paris Saint-Germain had long expected Kylian Mbappe’s letter, such was his overt dissatisfaction with how everything was going, but that was emphatically not the case with the rest of Europe. Monday’s news that the French star would not be signing his one-year contract extension caused “a scramble” around the continent’s top clubs. “Nobody was prepared for this,” one well-placed figure says. It instantly saw a number of sporting departments do a lot of investigation on Tuesday, to see if any deal might be possible. That’s the power of Mbappe, who has probably succeeded Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in becoming one player who clubs will drop everything for. It also speaks to that power that the player’s camp didn’t even feel the need to reach out to potential suitors beforehand. There were no backdoor soundings here. The door was instead blown off, with Mbappe himself then casually insisting he would still see out next season with PSG. That is dependent on a range of circumstances. Mbappe’s decision came down to some simple factors, though. While the primary issue was the club’s failure to progress at Champions League level, he is also conscious of how globally sidelined he is for most of the club season. Mbappe only really plays in about eight high-profile matches a year outside of tournaments, if even that. It is why so much is built up to those Champions League last-16 games. An irony is that this is a world PSG have also created. Their 2011 takeover fostered an almost one-team league in France, that just doesn’t command attractive broadcasting offers outside the country or Qatari station BeIn Sport. Mbappe destroying Ajaccio and Guingamp may make for a nice highlight reel on social media, but the interest for most fans doesn’t last beyond the time it takes to scroll up the feed. It’s all the more incongruous a situation given that Mbappe is the first player to truly realise the power that the Messi-Ronaldo era afforded the most famous players, especially those of his class. He gets it even more than they do. As such, he needs a move for the benefit of his life ambitions, not just his football ambitions. One increasing complication is that Mbappe faces a very modern dilemma. Just like Messi in 2021, his sheer value has actually limited his options. There are only a handful of clubs who could afford him in the current market. They are Manchester City, Chelsea, Manchester United and Real Madrid. New Financial Fair Play constraints meanwhile limit that further. When one “big-six” executive was asked on Tuesday whether his club would be interested in pursuing a move, they just laughed. “Don’t be ridiculous.” City have a long-standing interest in Mbappe from 2017, but they – again – have the issue that came up with Messi in 2020 and 2021. It would take a complete rearrangement of their squad in order to accommodate him. This is really a profound illustration of FFP’s positives, even as there is so much debate about the regulations. They are visibly preventing the same small group of clubs hoarding even more players. Many might consider that a bit of a joke given Chelsea’s movements over the last year, but they almost need to sell an entire starting XI before they can even think of Mbappe. United offer a more interesting option, especially as they are actively looking for a No 9 – especially a fast one – and could come up with the budget. The issue is that it would prevent strengthening elsewhere, which raises another great variable in all of this. There remains the uncertainty of the sale of the club, as Qatar seek to buy United through Sheikh Jassim. PSG president Nasser Al Khelaifi’s involvement in discussions is now well known. Mbappe going to a Qatari-owned United could offer a clean solution for a lot of involved parties here, if not necessarily for the wider game. It would also display a further issue with state involvement in the sport, way beyond FFP. There are still a number of circumstances that need to change for that prospect to become a serious one, though. All of which again leaves Madrid as the most serious option. That has long felt like his career destiny, and the Spanish club have taken longer-term steps that make it even more likely. Madrid have spent the last few years reshaping their budget for more vintage Bernabeu outlay, and this had already been anticipated as the first summer window since 2019 where they go big. Even they didn’t expect this Mbappe news, though. It has caused a rethink in their transfer plans, with that already from another rethink after the surprising departure of Karim Benzema for Saudi Arabia. The idea in the last two weeks had been that Madrid would bring in Jude Bellingham and a two-year option like Harry Kane – with that move more advanced than many had anticipated. Tuesday instead brought intensive talks about what to do next. Mbappe is there to be signed. Florentino Perez may have had a bit of a huff when the player rejected them for PSG last summer, with some Bernabeu executives even making empty claims about the French star never being allowed to play for Madrid in the future, but Monday night ensured all of that was forgotten in a flash. The main problem may be political rather than financial. Such is the current relationship between Madrid and PSG that Perez does not want to give the Qatari-owned project any money in terms of a fee, and PSG do not want to sell to Madrid. The French champions are “livid” at the entire situation, particularly with Mbappe himself. They had long realised the need to restructure the club – especially in the wake of the Champions League defeat to City in 2020-21 – and the idea had been to do exactly as their French star wanted. They were actually going to go for a Madrid-style realigning, seeking to go for younger talent in a high-pressing style, with the Parisian Mbappe the centre of this. He has now disrupted all of that, while disrupting the entire transfer market. Read More Kylian Mbappe breaks silence after speculation over PSG exit What next for Kylian Mbappe? Real Madrid, Man Utd and other options for PSG forward How Jude Bellingham can become the anti-Haaland for Real Madrid Football rumours: Man United, Real Madrid and Chelsea fight for Kylian Mbappe Kylian Mbappe breaks silence after speculation over PSG exit Real Madrid or Man Utd? What next for Kylian Mbappe

After the Premier League 2023/24 fixtures were published, fans can also plot a path to the first piece of major silverware in 2024 after the Carabao Cup schedule was released. Manchester United picked up the first trophy of the Erik ten Hag era last year in the Wembley final. And the Red Devils will hope to defend their title after edging out Newcastle. Premier League fixtures LIVE: Opening weekend, Christmas matches and full schedules for every club Here are the key dates for this year’s competition, including the Wembley final: Carabao Cup 2023/24 schedule Carabao Cup Round Two - w/c 28 August 2023 Carabao Cup Round Three - w/c 25 September 2023 Carabao Cup Round Four - w/c 30 October 2023 Carabao Cup Quarter-Final - w/c 18 December 2023 Carabao Cup Semi-Final (first leg) - w/c 8 January 2024 Carabao Cup Semi-Final (second leg) - w/c 21 January 2024 Carabao Cup Final - Sunday 25 February 2024 The first major piece of silverware of the 2023/24 will be won on 25 February 2024. Read More Premier League fixtures LIVE: Opening weekend, Christmas matches and full schedules for every club Marcus Rashford couldn’t stomach Man City celebrations but England remain united England’s future is about to be defined – and it’s out of Gareth Southgate’s control

There’s a new American football superstar with hundreds of thousands of followers and a host of celebrity pals. His name is Madden San Miguel, but everyone knows him as 'Baby Gronk', and the really remarkable thing is that he’s only 10 years old. He’s gaining a reputation as one of the most impressive youth football players around and he’s been pictured with the likes of Mark Wahlberg, Olivia Dunne and Shaquille O'Neal. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter But who is he? This is everything you need to know about Baby Gronk. His name is inspired by NFL star Rob Gronkowski, who played tight end for the New England Patriots and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before his retirement in 2021. His fans are regularly treated to videos of him training and playing football, putting in impressive appearances for a player so young. He’s also already visited close to 20 college football programs. Things stepped up a gear for the sporting prodigy in March when he posed for a picture with gymnast and influencer Dunne. @theqbplug Baby Gronk is TAKING OVER the Sports World ? His dad, Jake San Miguel, spoke to The Athletic and said that his aim – aside from getting him to the NFL – was to grow his son’s profile so that he could set him up for life by making him a millionaire by the time he leaves high school. “I don’t think my son is a God or better than all these other kids out there. His goal is to go to the NFL. But the NFL is rare,” he said. “So my goal is to build him a platform and a following where he is making money now and it’s going into a savings account.” @theqbplug This 10-Year-Old is RICHER than you! “That way he can live a good life without struggle or worry. It’s the insurance behind sports. You don’t have to go pro anymore. Like Livvy Dunne, she’s set for life already because of the internet.” How has Baby Gronk managed to be pictured with so many high-profile celebs and influencers? Well, it turns out his dad is a marketing man with plenty of contacts. "I do marketing," the dad said. "On that end, I can't give too much because I wouldn't want to give away what I do. It's a brand. It's a movement. I do all of that. I manage everything. "I know a lot of people. I have friends who played in the NFL. I have friends who coach in the Power 5. Former teammates from my high school team. I know people who run social medias for a lot companies." Some have raised concerns about the way Baby Gronk’s dad has been handling the new found fame. One video shows the 10-year-old appearing on the Bring The Juice Podcast, with his dad stopping the interview in order to feed answers to his son. Sam Miguel Jr. was asked whether he’d take social media star Dunne to prom, and he was prompted by his dad: 'You gotta say "I already DM'd her, and asked her, and she said yes."' The social media charge is clearly being led by San Miguel Sr. Golf influencer Paige Spirinac has also called him out after he DM’d her, clearly feeling that a collab wouldn’t fit with her brand. “Are u ever in Dallas Tx?” the first message she received read. The second said: “We gotta collab.” ESPN Sportscenter anchor Ashley Brewer also revealed that San Miguel had been in touch to ask the broadcaster to do a story on Baby Gronk. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Phosphates have been found on Saturn’s moon Enceladus, in a new breakthrough discovery that boosts hopes for finding alien life in our solar system. It is the first time phosphorus has been found in an ocean beyond those on Earth, and marks a major development in our understanding of other ocean worlds. Enceladus is one of the most likely hopes for finding nearby extraterrestrial life. While its outside is wrapped in an ice crust, underneath is a global ocean that could be a home for alien life. Some of that ocean spews up and out of the surface of Enceladus, in the form of vast plumes. Scientists have been able to examine those plumes to better understand the ocean itself, including in the new study. Researchers in the latest study used data from the Cassini mission – which flew around Saturn and Enceladus – to find out what the oceans are made up of. They not only found phosphorus, but data suggested that it could be there are concentrations at least 100 times higher than in Earth’s oceans. What’s more, modelling based on the new data suggests the same could be true for other ocean worlds, potentially boosting the chances of alien life there, too. Phosphorus is not in itself evidence of life. But on Earth, the presence of phosphorus compounds in water are crucial for biological activity, and so it is a key part of evaluating whether a distant world might support life. The work is described in a new paper, ‘Detection of phosphates originating from Enceladus’s ocean’, published in Nature. The breakthrough is just the latest in a series of findings from Enceladus. Recently, scientists found that the moon’s plumes were particularly vast, shooting out 20 times the length of the planet itself and with enough water to fill an olympic swimming pool in a couple of hours. Unlike the new phosphorus findings, which relied on the Cassini spacecraft sent by Nasa to Saturn, that work was conducted by the James Webb Space Telescope, which scientists hope will allow us to understand the distant moon in much more detail. Read More Major finding boosts hope for finding alien life in our solar system Watch: Strawberry moon lights up skies over UK Nasa invites public to sign ‘message in a bottle’ that will fly to Jupiter’s moon

The Premier League fixtures for the 2023/24 campaign are released this morning, just a few short weeks after the culmination of last term - and indeed while the last internationals are still ongoing. It’s always a day on the calendar to mark up and begin looking forward to the start of the new season, even though that date remains two months away yet. The usual weekends football fans quickly mark out - aside from the opening round of fixtures, of course - are the Boxing Day games, when they face their fiercest rivals and who they play across the season run-in and on the final day of the season. All those and more will be revealed at precisely 9am BST. Follow below on our live blog for the full fixture list.

Clint Frazier singled in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning and the Chicago White Sox beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 8-4 after losing starter Mike Clevinger and manager Pedro Grifol

Isiah Kiner-Falefa pulled off one of baseball's most exciting plays: stealing home

Nick Castellanos drove in the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly in the 10th inning after two Arizona players collided on a fly ball, lifting the Philadelphia Phillies to a 4-3 win over the Diamondbacks

What the papers say Manchester United have ended their interest in signing Harry Kane from Tottenham, The Guardian reports. The Spurs’ asking price for the 29-year-old was unrealistic, the Red Devils felt, despite Erik ten Hag making the England striker his primary summer target. Also in the Guardian is talk that Arsenal have emerged as strong contenders to sign Kai Havertz from Chelsea. The 24-year-old has also been identified as a target for Real Madrid. The forward’s contract expires in 2025 but he has told the club of his desire to leave this summer. Newcastle United are pushing hard to complete a deal to sign Inter Milan’s midfielder Nicolo Barella in a deal thought to be worth around £50 million, the Daily Telegraph says. The 26-year-old and Leicester City’s James Maddison are the Magpies’ two main targets. And the Mail writes that Manchester City will resist loan offers for midfielder James McAtee as Pep Guardiola wants him to be part of his treble-winning squad next season. The 20-year-old has been earmarked for the club’s senior side. Social media round-up Players to watch Dusan Vlahovic: Gazzetta dello Sport reports via Football Italia that Juventus want at least 80m euros (£68m) for the 23-year-old but Chelsea have told the Italians they can pick between five players in a swap deal for the Serbia striker. Kalidou Koulibaly: Italian outlet Corriere dello Sport says the 31-year-old Chelsea defender is also wanted by Inter Milan.