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Mikel Arteta explains his decision to bench Martin Odegaard in Arsenal's 5-0 win over Sheff Utd.

By Nick Mulvenney PARIS New Zealand arrived at the Rugby World Cup in the unusual position of not

Barcelona have confirmed they will investigate claims of racist abuse towards Vinicius Junior during El Clasico.

Eddie Nketiah dedicated his first Premier League hat-trick to his recently deceased aunt after his treble sank Sheffield United. The newly-capped England striker put the Blades to the sword, scoring the opening three goals before a Fabio Vieira penalty and a first Arsenal strike for Takehiro Tomiyasu wrapped up a convincing 5-0 win. The result takes the Gunners two points off the top of the table, with Mikel Arteta’s side unbeaten in their first 10 league games of the campaign. Nketiah, who has started eight of those matches, had not scored since August but topped a special day by finishing the game wearing the captain’s armband. “To do it at Emirates Stadium, in the Premier League, in front of my family and friends is an amazing feeling,” the 24-year-old said of his hat-trick. “I lost my aunt not too long ago and I just want to dedicate that to her and her family. “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve dreamt of this moment – to get three goals in a Premier League match. I lost my aunt not too long ago and I just want to dedicate that to her and her family Eddie Nketiah “I’m a childhood supporter of the club, so to do it in front of the fans, my friends, my family and my teammates is an amazing feeling. It’s a day I’ll remember forever.” There could another goal for Nketiah after he picked the ball up to take a late penalty, given after a lengthy VAR check for a foul on substitute Vieira. Instead, the Portugal midfielder asked to take the spot-kick himself to mark a special moment in his life. “I was going to take it – I wanted to take it,” explained Nketiah. “I always want to get more goals. Fabio came to me and he wanted to take it. He won the penalty as well. He’s expecting a little one and it was a really good moment for him to get on the scoresheet and dedicate it. “I’m a team player – I’d scored a hat-trick and I could allow other players to get in on the act. He took the penalty and scored, so we’re happy.” Captain Oliver Norwood conceded the penalty as Sheffield United slumped to another defeat that leaves them bottom of the table and with just one point from 10 games. He was bullish when asked about the performance in north London. “It is very disappointing,” he said. “We go in at half-time 1-0 down. Second half it’s difficult to really come and speak and say too much other than it’s not acceptable to keep losing the way that we are. “It is easy to stand and say ‘we stick together through the hard times’, it’s easy to say that, but now we’ve got to show it. “We’ve got to really dig in, have a look in the mirror at ourselves individually, because it’s not good enough.” Read More On This Day in 2012: UK Athletics appoints Peter Eriksson as Olympic head coach Joel Embiid leads Philadelphia 76ers to victory over Toronto Raptors Ketel Marte breaks record as Arizona Diamondbacks tie World Series Sir Alex Ferguson pays sincere tribute to ‘tower of strength’ Sir Bobby Charlton We have a way to go – Erik ten Hag sure Man Utd on right track despite criticism Jude Bellingham brace helps Real Madrid to comeback El Clasico win at Barcelona

The parents of Liverpool forward Luis Diaz have been kidnapped, with his father still yet to be found.

Pep Guardiola believes Man City's biggest rivals are no longer Man Utd.

The parents of Liverpool forward Luis Diaz were kidnapped in Colombia after being stopped by gunmen on motorbikes. Diaz’s mother was rescued but his father remains missing, Colombia’s president Gustavo Petro said. Liverpool have confirmed they are aware of an "ongoing situation involving the family of Luis Diaz" and said the 26-year-old’s “welfare will continue to be our immediate priority”. Colombian authorities have said Diaz’s mother, Cilenis Marulanda, was rescued by police in the city of Barrancas. The country’s police director said Diaz’s father remains missing but used a video address to say he is using every agent to find him. Diaz’s parents were driving home when they were stopped by the gunmen, the police director said. Meanwhile, Colombia’s football federation released a statement urging authorities to find and rescue Diaz’s father. Liverpool said in a statement on Sunday morning: "Liverpool Football Club can confirm it is aware of an ongoing situation involving the family of Luis Diaz in Colombia. "It is our fervent hope that the matter is resolved safely and at the earliest possible opportunity. In the meantime, the player’s welfare will continue to be our immediate priority." Liverpool host Nottingham Forest in the Premier League this afternoon. Read More Build from the front? Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp are repeating an old trick Sam Cane red card: Why was All Blacks captain sent off against Springboks? Fear, loathing and the Glazers: the battle for Manchester United’s soul

Liverpool have confirmed an “ongoing situation involving the family of Luis Diaz” amid reports the forward’s parents were kidnapped in Colombia. Colombia’s president has said Diaz’s mother “has been rescued” but his father remains missing. “Liverpool Football Club can confirm it is aware of an ongoing situation involving the family of Luis Diaz in Colombia,” read a club statement. “It is our fervent hope that the matter is resolved safely and at the earliest possible opportunity. In the meantime, the player’s welfare will continue to be our immediate priority.” Colombia president Gustavo Petro said on X, formerly known as Twitter: “In an operation in Barrancas, Luis Diaz’s mother has been rescued, we continue the search for the father.” The country’s football federation said in a statement that the kidnapping was regrettable and urged authorities to rescue Diaz’s father. “The Colombian Football Federation rejects the security situation that the parents of our player Luis Díaz are going through,” they said. “From the FCF we express our solidarity with him and his entire family and we call for the relevant authorities to act as quickly as possible to resolve the situation.” Liverpool signed Diaz from Porto in January 2022 in an initial £37.5million deal that included a potential extra £12.5million in add-ons. The 26-year-old winger has made 11 appearances this season and scored three goals. Diaz did not feature in Liverpool’s 5-1 Europa League victory over Toulouse on Thursday but had been expected to return for Nottingham Forest’s Premier League visit to Anfield on Sunday. Read More On This Day in 2012: UK Athletics appoints Peter Eriksson as Olympic head coach Joel Embiid leads Philadelphia 76ers to victory over Toronto Raptors Ketel Marte breaks record as Arizona Diamondbacks tie World Series

Sunday's football transfer rumours, with updates on Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland, Jadon Sancho, Kevin De Bruyne & more.

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?

Everything you need to know for the Kansas City Chiefs' Week 8 matchup with the Denver Broncos.

Christopher Walken returned to SNL for the first time since 2008