Former Australian Test cricket star Stuart MacGill has been arrested and charged for his alleged role in a commercial-scale cocaine...

The Hampden roar has often been heard of late for a Manchester United player who was born in England. Just not this particular one. Scott McTominay, after all, was the scourge of Spain and is the joint top scorer in Euro 2024 qualifying, level with Romelu Lukaku and Rasmus Hojlund, just ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo and Harry Kane. Yet this wasn’t a McTominay goal that Scotland’s support were enjoying. The announcement of their scorer over the tannoy was met with the sort of noise that stems from schadenfreude. Harry Maguire, the most prolific centre-back in the history of the England national team, had struck for Scotland. In one respect, it was the product of a teasing cross by Andy Robertson, into the corridor of uncertainty, luring Aaron Ramsdale off his line, forcing Maguire to commit himself, resulting in an unstoppable finish that bisected goalkeeper and near post. And in another way, it had a sad inevitability. These things happen to Maguire. Were his form or luck or touch better, he would have diverted the ball past the goal, or straight to Ramsdale; perhaps missed it altogether. Now his last two goals have come for Scotland and Sevilla. “Just unfortunate,” said Gareth Southgate of his latest mishap, but Maguire can seem the most unfortunate of footballers, the sport’s equivalent of Unlucky Alf from The Fast Show. If something can go wrong, it often does when Maguire is around. For all his shortcomings as a defender – a lack of pace, particularly on the turn, and a capacity to look cumbersome – he seems on an extended run of bad luck that has lasted for around two years, since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s reign at Old Trafford started to unravel, since his career nosedived. He has lost the United captaincy; but for Southgate’s stubbornness, he may have lost his England place. But now so much with Maguire has a symbolic feel. When Andre Onana made his United debut in pre-season, when a goal was conceded and both Christian Eriksen and Maguire were culpable, it was the world’s most expensive centre-back he subjected to a very public lambasting. When Declan Rice scored the decisive goal for Arsenal against United last Sunday, it took a telling deflection off Maguire. And when it deflects off him, it somehow seems destined to go in. Such is the unrelenting cruelty of being Maguire; in the highest standard of tournament football, he has proved arguably one of the best centre-backs in England’s history and yet is now a figure of fun. “A joke,” said Southgate, though he was referring to the treatment of Maguire, to the unwanted reputation he has acquired, rather than the player. Yet the Scotland faithful bought into it. They cheered when he was brought on at half-time. They spent much of the next 45 minutes taunting him, making every five-yard square pass an event. They sang about Maguire and, ultimately, so did the England support, trying to reclaim him and hail him. “From a Scotland fan’s point of view, I get it, I have no absolutely no complaints of what they did,” Southgate said. “It is a consequence of ridiculous treatment of him for a long period of time, frankly, and I think our fans recognised, ‘Ok, there might be a bit of heat from our own supporters but we are not going to have it from others getting into him.’” Despite England’s ultimate 3-1 victory, it felt like 45 minutes of relentless torment. Perhaps unnecessary torture: Southgate sent him on at half-time when Marc Guehi went off. If Maguire has been barracked by some opposing fans, it was foreseeable that none would be as keen to heckle him as the Scots. England have had a restorative effect on him at times, amid his troubles with United, but there was nothing rejuvenating about this hostility. And Southgate, often the diplomat, became outspoken. He is his favourite defender’s foremost defender. A scapegoat culture has developed. “It is a joke,” he added. “I have never known a player to be treated the way he is; not from the Scottish fans, by our own commentators and pundits. They have created something that is beyond anything I have ever seen. “He has been an absolute stalwart for us in the second-most successful English team for decades. I have talked about the importance of our senior players, he has been crucial amongst that and every time he goes on the field the resilience he shows, the balls he shows is absolutely incredible. So he is a top player and we are all with him. I feel fairly strongly about it, yes.” Southgate’s argument is that Maguire will not hide. “He has fronted up as he always does, which is enormous credit to his character,” he said. The wider argument is that Southgate should hide him, that the rustiness of not playing enough for United will hinder England, that this seems a case of a player being afforded preferential treatment in selection. And thus one of the most torrid nights of Maguire’s career ended up with a resounding endorsement from his manager. But only after the sort of pratfall that may bring more jokes at Maguire’s expense. Read More Jude Bellingham makes centre stage his own as England’s youngest star sees off oldest rivals Terrible football or bad luck? Social media debates Harry Maguire’s ongoing decline Gareth Southgate says Harry Maguire criticism ‘beyond anything I’ve ever seen’ Criticism has not affected Harry Maguire, says England team-mate Aaron Ramsdale ‘Top-level’ England are the benchmark for improving Scotland – Lewis Ferguson Gareth Southgate says Harry Maguire criticism ‘beyond anything I’ve ever seen’

Christian Pulisic netted one and helped set up another in AC Milan's hard-fought 2-0 win at Bologna on Monday in which the USA...

Dele Alli has revealed he was sexually abused at the age of six and was dealing drugs two years later – while a recent fight against a sleeping pill addiction led to a six-week stay at a rehab clinic. The Everton midfielder has seen his football career stall in recent seasons but has now spoken on the reasons behind a mental health battle that saw him contemplate hanging up his boots at the age of 24. In an emotional interview, the England international fought back tears as he laid bare his difficult upbringing before he was adopted by the Hickford family – saying he was “molested” at the age of six. Speaking to Gary Neville on The Overlap podcast in partnership with Sky Bet, Alli said: “(Childhood) is something I haven’t really spoken about that much, to be honest. “My mum was an alcoholic. I was sent to Africa (to stay with his father) to learn discipline, and then I was sent back. At seven, I started smoking, eight I started dealing drugs. “Eleven, I was hung off a bridge by a guy from the next estate. Twelve, I was adopted – and from then, I was adopted by an amazing family – I couldn’t have asked for better people to do what they’d done for me. If God created people, it was them. “There were a number of times my adopted family and my brother – you know, it makes me sad – they would take me to rooms crying, asking me to just speak to them, tell them what I’m thinking, how I’m feeling, and I just couldn’t do it because I wanted to deal with it by myself.” After signing for Tottenham from MK Dons, Alli enjoyed a fine run of form that culminated in playing a key role in England’s progress to the World Cup semi-finals in 2018. But Alli was still battling in silence off the pitch – leading to a “scary” addiction to sleeping pills and a reliance on alcohol. “I got addicted to sleeping tablets and it’s probably a problem that not only I have, I think it’s something that’s going around more than people realise in football,” he said. “I think, without me realising it – the things I was doing to numb the feelings I had…I didn’t realise I was doing it for that purpose, whether it be drinking or whatever. “I don’t want to talk about numbers but it was definitely way too much, and there were some scary moments I had. “To take a sleeping tablet and be ready for the next day is fine, but when you’re broken as I am, it can obviously have the reverse effect because it does work for the problems you want to deal with. “That is the problem – it works until it doesn’t. So yes, I definitely abused them too much. It is scary, now I’m out of it and I look back on it. “Probably the saddest moment for me, was when (Jose) Mourinho was (Tottenham) manager, I think I was 24. I remember there was one session, like one morning I woke up and I had to go to training – this is when he’d stopped playing me – and I was in a bad place. “I mean it sounds dramatic but I was literally staring in the mirror – and I was asking if I could retire now, at 24, doing the thing I love. For me, that was heart-breaking to even have had that thought at 24, to want to retire. That hurt me a lot, that was another thing that I had to carry.” I definitely abused them too much. It is scary, now I’m out of it and I look back on it Dele Alli on his sleeping pill addiction Having left Spurs for Everton in 2022, Alli spent last season on loan at Besiktas but upon returning to England with an injury that required surgery he knew he needed help, checking into a clinic in the United States. “When I came back from Turkey, I came in and I found out that I needed an operation and I was in a bad place mentally and I decided to go to like a modern-day rehab facility for mental health,” he said. “I was caught in a bad cycle. I was relying on things that were doing me harm and I think I was waking up every day and I was winning the fight, you know; going into training, smiling, showing that I was happy. “But inside, I was definitely losing the battle and it was time for me to change it because when I got injured and they told me I needed surgery, I could feel the feelings I had when the cycle begins and I didn’t want it to happen any more. “They deal with like addiction, mental health, and trauma because it was something that I felt like it was time for. “I think with things like that, you can’t be told to go there, I think you have to know, and you have to make the decision yourself, otherwise it’s not going to work. “I went there for six weeks and Everton were amazing about it. They supported me 100 per cent and I’ll be grateful to them forever…I was probably making the biggest decision of my life – something I was scared to do. “But I’m happy I’ve done it and to be honest, I couldn’t of expected it to go the way it did.” Alli has received support online from former team-mates including Jan Vertonghen and Harry Kane. England captain Kane tweeted: “Proud of @dele_official for speaking out and sharing his experience to try and help others.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live FIFA bans Cristiano Ronaldo’s club Al Nassr from registering new players Chloe Kelly knows every England player needs to be ready at World Cup Para-triathlete Mel Nicholls dreaming of success at Paris 2024

James Madison, in its second year of transitioning from the Bowl Subdivision to the Championship Subdivision, has written to the NCAA asking that the rule preventing the Dukes from participating in a bowl game be changed

Strong winds forced the cancellation of a women’s World Cup downhill on the Matterhorn mountain

South Africa rugby director Rassie Erasmus said on Wednesday that injured Springboks captain Siya Kolisi will definitely miss the Rugby Championship in July, but may play in...

George Russell believes this season has been his best ever in terms of performance as he refused to dwell on his last-lap crash in Singapore. Russell put his Mercedes into the barriers as he chased down Lando Norris and race winner Carlos Sainz on the draining street circuit. The 25-year-old was visibly emotional afterwards following a strong weekend where he qualified second and held the edge over his team-mate Lewis Hamilton but is keen to move on quickly. “In terms of pure performance I feel that this has been my best season ever,” Russell said ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix. “But I reckon there is over 60 points that we have lost this season for a number of different reasons. “I have got an objective this year to secure P2 in the constructors’ championship for the team. It was quite clear this year from the beginning that we were not going to be fighting for a championship and I don’t know if that’s had an impact on my mentality or not. “There is a reason for all mistakes and that is just pushing to the limit and in some instances pushing over the limit to try and achieve what is possible. I think when I look at my championship-winning years in junior formulas I was the driver who kept on getting results, it’s the long game. “I can assure you once we are in a position again to win a championship I will be back to the ways that I know how to win a championship.” Russell has no regrets over pushing to try and claim the victory over the ailing Sainz and Norris. “If I knew it was the last lap and I took it easy and Lewis overtook me I would equally be kicking myself,” Russell added. “We are on to the next one and it is behind us, in life you can let these setbacks dwell on you. You can overthink and let it consume you but ultimately that brings nothing. You have to have that moment when it knocks you down. “Shov (Mercedes’ chief race engineer Andrew Shovlin) called me Sunday evening and said ‘the only reason we were in that position to fight for a win was because of how incredibly you’d driven all weekend’. I'm not going to let a mistake of 2cm cloud my whole weekend George Russell “He said ‘you gave us that feeling of what it is like to fight for victory again so take that away from the weekend’. “I take the positives, really pleased with the overall performance. I’m not going to let a mistake of 2cm cloud my whole weekend.” Norris clipped the barriers just ahead of Russell but survived the impact and the Mercedes driver feels it played a part. “When Lando hit the wall, the thought process is so quick in your brain because I saw him hit the wall and I thought ‘Oh my God he hit the wall’ and then I hit the wall,” Russell added. “Either the distraction of him clipping the wall was a factor or I was following his tracks or it was just a silly mistake but it seems a bit too much of a coincidence.” Mercedes’ strong pace in Singapore may be hard to replicate around the high-speed corners at Suzuka – where Russell believes McLaren are best placed to challenge Red Bull. But Hamilton is excited to return to the Japanese circuit. “I don’t anticipate us having the performance we had in Singapore. We are continuing to try and push the envelope that we have,” Hamilton said. “It (Suzuka) is one of the favourites for all the drivers. It is that historic circuit and an incredible track to drive on. It is one of the greatest layouts that we get to experience in the calendar.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Lance Stroll to sit out Singapore Grand Prix after huge crash in qualifying ‘You can forget about that’ – Max Verstappen rules out another win in Singapore Lance Stroll crashes into barrier at 110mph in Singapore Grand Prix qualifying

In some needed good news for the Kansas City Chiefs, All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones is back with the team after a long holdout.

We've got a packed MLB slate today and FanDuel Sportsbook has a brand new promo to help you score a BIG payday. Once you place your first wager, you’ll receive 10x the amount you bet as bonus bets up to $200 on a $20 bet!See below how to claim this great offer and secure your guarante...

Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders pulled out his dad, Deion's, "Prime Time" celebration after scoring a touchdown against Nebraska in Week 2.

Houston coach Dana Holgorsen knows the Cougars will be getting the best shot from the eighth-ranked Texas Longhorns Saturday in their first game since a loss to Oklahoma