The Miami Marlins continue their push for a postseason berth by acquiring slugger Jake Burger from the Chicago White Sox.When it comes to surprising teams in MLB, the Miami Marlins fit the bill. They missed out on the postseason last year, brought in a new manager in Skip Schumaker, and traded f...

Sam Cane became the first player to be sent off in a men’s Rugby World Cup final after seeing his yellow card upgraded to a red following a review from the TMO bunker during the New Zealand v South Africa match in the Rugby World Cup final. In the first half of the Stade de France showpiece, the All Blacks captain’s shoulder connected with the head of Jesse Kriel. Referee Wayne Barnes initially sent the captain to the sin-bin but, using the bunker system, that was upgraded to a red card soon after. The foul play review officer ruled that it was a shoulder direct to head with significant force and not enough mitigation to remain a yellow card. After the review was complete, Barnes called over stand-in skipper Ardie Savea to deliver the bad news for the All Blacks. He responded in shock: "to red!?" Cane was then seen in agony after learning his fate on the touchline, closing his eyes and rocking back on his chair. Reacting to the decision at half-time, Ireland legend Brian O'Driscoll was adamant Cane deserved the red card, telling ITV Sport: "Any effective tackle is a hinge at the hips, Sam Cane can have no complaints, there's no late dip, he has a clear line of sight, it's considerable force to the head and a very, very clear red card." While All Blacks legend Sean Fitzpatrick reluctantly agreed: "In real time, it's a red card, we have to get on with it." But what are the laws around head contact and high tackles that referees are following and how do they decide on the punishment? Here’s everything you need to know: What are World Rugby’s laws on head contact? Head-on-head contact in the tackle comes under Law 9 of the Laws of Rugby Union, which covers foul play. Law 9.11 dictates “Players must not do anything that is reckless or dangerous to others, including leading with the elbow or forearm, or jumping into, or over, a tackler” and Law 9.13 goes on to say “A player must not tackle an opponent early, late or dangerously. Dangerous tackling includes, but is not limited to, tackling or attempting to tackle an opponent above the line of the shoulders even if the tackle starts below the line of the shoulders.” If a player breaks these laws and the act is deemed to be reckless or dangerous, then the referee is entitled to issue a yellow or red card. World Rugby also clarify the intent of the laws, stating in their guidelines that: “ Player welfare drives World Rugby’s decision making for zero tolerance of foul play, especially where head contact occurs. The focus must be on the actions of those involved, not the injury – the need for an HIA [a Head Injury Assessment] does not necessarily mean that there has been illegal head contact.” What are the punishments for head-on-head contact? Ok, this is where things get technical and debates start to occur. In March 2023, World Rugby issued their latest ‘head contact process law application guidelines’ to guide referees on whether foul play has occurred and how it should be punished. The referee has to go through a four-step process (detailed below) to determine the extent of the foul play and the sanction. The four steps are: Has head contact occurred? Was there any foul play? What was the degree of danger? Is there any mitigation? Step 1 (has head contact occurred?) is relatively straightforward, with head contact including the head and the face as well as the neck and throat area. If any head contact is made at all, we move on to Step 2. Step 2 (was there foul play?) is a touch more complex. The referees are told to consider whether the head contact was either intentional, reckless or avoidable – e.g. the defender is always upright. If it was, the tackler will be penalised and they move on to Step 3. However, if the head contact was deemed not to be foul play, the game continues. Step 3 (what was the degree of danger?) – judged from high to low – determines the initial punishment. A degree of high danger is judged on any of: direct contact rather than indirect, a high-force impact, a lack of control from the tackler, the incident occurring at high speed, the tackler leading with the head/shoulder/elbow/forearm or the tackle being reckless. If the referee judges there to be a high degree of danger, a red card will be shown. Meanwhile, low danger is judged as indirect contact, low force, low speed or no leading head/shoulder/forearm/swinging arm and a yellow card or even just a penalty to the opposition may be awarded. The final step, Step 4 (is there any mitigation?) determines whether the punishment can be reduced by one grade (i.e red card down to yellow card or yellow card down to just a penalty). Mitigation includes a sudden or significant drop in height or change in direction from ball carrier, a late change in dynamics due to another player in the contact area, a clear effort from the tackler to reduce their height or the tackler having no time to adjust. However, mitigation will never apply for intentional or always-illegal acts of foul play. What about the Foul Play Review Officer/Bunker review? Introduced for this World Cup was the Bunker review system. This allows the referee to issue a yellow card to a player, sending them to the sin-bin while play goes on, where a Foul Play Review Official (FPRO) will then take another look at the incident and determine if the yellow card should be upgraded to red, allowing the game to continue rather than a long stoppage to debate this. This is what happened to Curry against Argentina. The referee crosses their arms to indicate a Bunker review will take place. Once a player is in the sin-bin, the FPRO has up to eight minutes to review the decision and decide if it warrants upgrading to a red card. If not, the player will return to the field after their 10 minutes in the sin-bin has elapsed. Read More South Africa become kings of rugby with dramatic World Cup win over greatest rivals Sam Cane, Siya Kolisi and a tale of two captains at the heart of this Rugby World Cup final New Zealand captain Sam Cane opens up on Rugby World Cup ‘heartbreak’ after red card in final New Zealand v South Africa LIVE: Rugby World Cup final score updates as Springboks lead 14-man All Blacks South Africa’s Bongi Mbonambi suffers Rugby World Cup final heartbreak with injury South Africa vs New Zealand: Who is the referee for the Rugby World Cup final?

Manchester United were pointless and headed for humiliation. As Brentford scored four goals in a half – and the first half at that – and Erik ten Hag’s reign began amid farce, a footballer who had starred in four Champions League final victories reached for his phone. United’s most high-profile transfer target texted his agent. But not to back out of a deal. The message, instead, was to tell United he would “fix” it. It was a sign of Casemiro’s confidence. If that self-assurance is a product of a career of rare success – the Carabao Cup took his trophy count to 21 – many another would have been deterred by the impression United were in crisis. They might have stayed at Real Madrid. Not him. “No second thoughts at all,” he recalled. “But to be honest I did say that. I was speaking to my agent, and with John [Murtough, United’s director of football] too about this afterwards. I’d said this after it had happened because I was also very excited and I was aware that my period at Real Madrid had come to an end and I was really upbeat about coming here and taking on this new project, this new challenge. It was clear in my mind.” Eight months later, it is tempting to contemplate an alternative reality where, after missing out on Frenkie de Jong last summer, Casemiro was put off by the shambolic display at Brentford, where instead of being a £63 million method of transforming a team, there was still a void at the heart of the midfield. “I knew that it wouldn’t be an easy challenge because it was a tough defeat to take but I think the excitement of coming here and making a change,” he reflected. Which he did: Casemiro provided a boost to United’s self-esteem even before he played, his unveiling at half-time of the win over Liverpool a sign of the club’s status. United only lost three of the first 32 games he started. He scored and was player of the match in the Carabao Cup final. United took 75 points from the 36 league matches after he joined and finished third. “We knew that it was a project in which you wouldn’t start winning things overnight,” he said, but they could complete a cup double at Wembley on Saturday. It appears as though he has fixed it. “It’s impossible for a single player to change performances but as a squad you can,” he demurred. Yet a turning point was October’s 6-3 defeat to Manchester City. Casemiro watched two-thirds of it from the bench: Ten Hag was still picking Scott McTominay ahead of him and if the Dutchman has made relatively few missteps, that seems one. The Brazilian marked his first Premier League start with an assist for Cristiano Ronaldo’s winner at Everton the following week. His first goal came a couple of weeks later, an injury-time equaliser at Chelsea. Each was a sign he tended to make telling contributions. Tallies of seven goals and six assists may be more than most expected; so, in a different way, are his two red cards. But they underline his centrality. He has been a fulcrum for United, the man at the heart of everything. Which is how he thinks it ought to be. City’s galaxy of gifted midfielders mean Casemiro’s skills as a nullifier will be required if Kevin de Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva are to be kept quiet at Wembley. “When people talk about central defensive midfielders, they forget that you need to help your teammates, you need to defend, to slot in between the centre-backs, cover any gaps that the full-backs or midfielders leave,” said a man who forged a reputation as the world’s best holding midfielder in Madrid, before offering an explanation for his greater productivity. “These are the basic principles for a central defensive midfielder. Of course, beyond that, people want you to score goals, to pass the ball, to get the team playing because football’s changed. In the past it would be the No. 10 that would be required to do that.” He can be both destructive and constructive presence, which he sees as a sign of the evolution in tactics. “I saw an interview with [Juan Roman] Riquelme once talking about central defensive midfielders and specifically [Sergio] Busquets,” Casemiro explained. “He said that often the team didn’t play well because the central holding midfielder hadn’t played [well] and people forget that throughout the history of football, it was the No. 10 who was the playmaker. The central defensive midfielder was always someone that helped the centre-backs, helped in the midfield, helped the full-backs, filled in and stopped counter attacks. The way that central defensive midfielders have had to adapt has changed a lot.” But he will hope some things stay the same. He has an outstanding record in finals; with Real, United and Brazil, he has only lost one, in the 2018 European Super Cup. “Without doubt it’s a significant stat,” he said. He also has experience of getting the better of City; Real trailed for 178 minutes of the Champions League semi-finals last season and yet still overcame Pep Guardiola’s team. “They play very good football and have a great manager and great players but every game is a different story, a different film,” he said. But if the movie of United’s season started in ignominy and ended in glory, the Casemiro biopic might have a certain monotony, if only because he has won so much, so often. 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Man of the match Jude Bellingham’s first goal in a Real Madrid shirt and a spectacular Joselu scissor kick saw Manchester United fall to a 2-0 defeat in Houston. Just 24 hours on from the Red Devils youngsters’ loss to Wrexham in San Diego, Texas played host to Erik ten Hag’s first-team against the Spanish giants. Bellingham marked his second Madrid appearance with a lovely finish against long-term admirers United, who saw Joselu acrobatically sweep home a late second. Carlo Ancelotti’s side took control of the friendly in the sixth minute when Bellingham was put through by Antonio Rudiger to score his first goal since his recent £115million switch. There were questions over whether the England international stayed offside, but there was no getting away from the quality of the touch and 18-yard clipped finish. Madrid edged the play under the NRG Stadium roof, where goalkeeper Andre Onana looked assured on his bow but would be beaten again by former Stoke and Newcastle striker Joselu’s brilliant finish. United complete their US tour against Borussia Dortmund in Las Vegas on Sunday, with Kobbie Mainoo looking unlikely to feature. The 18-year-old got the nod to start on Wednesday but an early collision saw him limp off, with the midfielder making his way down the touchline as Madrid struck the opener. Rudiger collected the ball and spotted Bellingham’s run through the middle, meeting his pass with a smart touch before lifting it over Onana. He avoided a flag for offside despite it looking a tight call. Alejandro Garnacho cut in and fired over as United looked for a quick leveller and Mason Mount could not get a clean strike away when he had an attempt. Madrid looked the most dangerous side, wasting an opportunity from a cutback before Vinicius Jr forced Onana into a save from a tight angle. Marcus Rashford saw a clipped attempt across the face of goal come to nothing and tempers frayed as half-time approach. Lisandro Martinez’s challenge on Bukayo Saka in New Jersey on Saturday angered Arsenal, just as the defender’s foul on Bellingham did just before the break. The England midfielder got up and pushed the Argentina international, with players from both sides involved before a booking was dished out. Bellingham was withdrawn as part of five Madrid half-time alterations, with Fernandes seeing a low ball cut out and Garnacho forced Andriy Lunin to push over a snapshot. Ten Hag made a tranche of alterations midway through the second half and substitute Scott McTominay followed a marauding run from the halfway line with a shot at Lunin. Those changes swayed the momentum Madrid’s way, with Onana shifting his feet well to deny Joselu before the summer signing went close again. Diogo Dalot cleared off the line before Antony ripped a left-footed shot over and Bruno Fernandes tried his luck at the end end. There would be one final goal but it came at the wrong end from a United perspective. Lucas Vazquez crossed from the right and Joselu brilliantly struck past statuesque Onana in the 89th minute. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Billionaire whose family trust owns Spurs denies insider trading – reports Kylian Mbappe reportedly turns down chance to discuss move to Al Hilal Sussex head coach Paul Farbrace says Jofra Archer is ‘on course’ for World Cup

Chelsea have announced the signing of Portugal Under-21 international Diego Moreira from Benfica. Moreira, 18, joined Benfica from Standard Liege in 2020 and was part of the side which won the 2022 UEFA Youth League. Having made his senior debut in May 2022, Moreira featured regularly for Benfica B last season. The teenage winger is part of Portugal’s squad at the European Under-21 Championship, where they will face England in the quarter-finals on Sunday. Moreira’s arrival on a free transfer follows on from the signings of forwards Nicolas Jackson from Villarreal and Christopher Nkunku from RB Leipzig, while Ruben Loftus-Cheek has completed a permanent move to AC Milan. Loftus-Cheek’s departure is one of several recent outgoings as new Blues boss Mauricio Pochettino reshapes his squad ahead of the start of the season. Arsenal completed the signing of midfielder Kai Havertz, while N’Golo Kante, Kalidou Koulibaly and goalkeeper Edouard Mendy all headed for Saudi Arabia. The PA news agency understands that midfielder Mason Mount is also set to depart after Manchester United agreed to sign the England international for an initial £55million. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

After falling to the Jets, the Eagles are in need of a statement win against the Dolphins. They will be getting an all-important boost for an all-important game.