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Veteran flanker Michael Leitch will set a national record with his 15th Rugby World Cup appearance for Japan when it faces England on Sunday

The SEC schedule will truly get rolling this week, but let's take a look at the SEC football standings if they were ordered by yards per play after two weeks.

The Vikings season is off to a disastrous start and some fans are already calling for a tanking campaign for Caleb Williams.

A Mississippi football player is suing coach Lane Kiffin and the school for racial and sexual discrimination and negligence after he says he was kicked off the team during a mental health crisis

Max Verstappen’s unprecedented winning streak in Formula One could be under threat after the Red Bull driver finished only eighth in practice for the Singapore Grand Prix. Verstappen romped to victory in Italy a fortnight ago to become the first driver in the sport’s 73-year history to win 10 consecutive races as he closes in on a hat-trick of world championships. But under the thousands of bulbs that light up the Marina Bay Street Circuit, Verstappen ended the day more than seven tenths behind Ferrari pace-setter Carlos Sainz, the Spaniard who took pole position in Monza. Charles Leclerc finished second for Ferrari as the Italian team completed a practice one-two, with George Russell third for Mercedes, 0.235 sec adrift. Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso was fourth, with Lewis Hamilton fifth in his Mercedes, one place ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris. Red Bull are unbeaten this season, but they did not have a car inside the top six on Friday, with Sergio Perez, who triumphed here last year, seventh. Verstappen, who has won 12 of the 14 rounds so far, has not lost a race since the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on April 30. But the Dutch driver has never triumphed in Singapore and he suggested ahead of Friday’s running that the high-downforce, low-speed nature of the city-state track could play into the hands of Red Bull’s rivals. While times in practice must be treated with caution as teams trial varying fuel loads and tyre strategies, it is Ferrari who hold the upper hand heading into qualifying on Saturday at a track where overtaking is notoriously difficult. Indeed, eight of the 13 races here have been won from pole. Although the removal of turns 16 to 19 in favour of one long straight could improve the action for Sunday’s 62-lap race. “Ferrari are fast and we are just way worse than we expected,” said Verstappen. “We were struggling with the balance, and we never got the car together so there are a few things for us to figure out. We will try to improve but it is a big gap.” While the second running passed off without major drama, the opening session was disrupted on three occasions when a lizard invaded the three-mile circuit. Verstappen was the first to report the reptile at turn nine midway through the running. “There is a lizard on track again,” said the Red Bull driver, who had a similar encounter here back in 2016. “It is a smaller one this time.” Verstappen’s race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase replied: “Maybe Godzilla has had a kid.” There was a second interruption, and then a third, as yellow flags were deployed. “Another lizard, but a different one this time,” said Russell. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live On this day in 2021: George Russell joins Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz gets goosebumps after landing pole for Italian Grand Prix Carlos Sainz’s pace in practice gives Ferrari fans hope for Italian Grand Prix

Helmut Marko has received a written warning from the FIA and was “reminded of his responsibilities as a public figure in motorsport” after his ”offensive remark” about Sergio Perez. The 80-year-old, who works as a special advisor for Red Bull, apologised after comments made after the Italian Grand Prix two weeks ago. Marko referred to Perez’s background when discussing his poor form, saying: “Let’s remember that he (Perez) is South American and so he is not as focused as Max Verstappen or Sebastian Vettel was.” While Marko apologised for the “offensive remark”, with Perez accepting the apology, Lewis Hamilton and Toto Wolff were among the figures to condemn Marko’s actions when speaking this weekend in Singapore. Now, the FIA have confirmed that Marko has "received a written warning and been reminded of his responsibilities as a public figure in motorsport in line with the FIA Code of Ethics." Hamilton, 38, labelled Marko’s comments as “completely unacceptable” on Thursday. “This is not something you just apologise for and it is all OK,” the seven-time world champion said. “Whilst we say there is no room for any type of discrimination in this sport – and there should be no room for it – to have leaders and people in his position making comments like this is not good for us moving forward. “There are a lot of people in the background that really are combating these kind of things, but it is hard to manoeuvre if people at the top have mindsets which stop us from progressing. “But it is not my team and not how we move as a team. We still have a lot of work to do to make this a more inclusive environment.” Mercedes boss Wolff added: “That thing is so embarrassing for Formula 1., overall. “It’s not even saying it, it’s to have the mindset. To come up with these things. We are trying to do so much on diversity and equality, not only because we need to it’s because it needs it. “This is a role model environment, we are a global sport, we are going to every country, we are embracing the cultural differences. That hasn’t got any place in Formula 1. Not now and not in the future.” Read More Red Bull chief apologises to Sergio Perez over ‘offensive remark’ Sergio Pérez says he received personal apology from Red Bull boss over heritage comments Lewis Hamilton labels Helmut Marko’s comments about Sergio Perez ‘completely unacceptable’ F1 Singapore Grand Prix LIVE: Practice updates and lap times at Marina Bay Zhou Guanyu interview: ‘There is a lot of pressure – only winners stay in F1’ Max Verstappen tells Toto Wolff to focus on Mercedes after snipe

A full list of the 100 highest-rated players in EA Sports FC 24, including Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland and Lionel Messi

Twenty-one of Spain’s World Cup-winning squad have issued a statement saying the resignation of Luis Rubiales is “not enough” to trigger their return to national team duty. A group of 81 players, including all 23 members of the World Cup squad, released a statement last month indicating they would not play for Spain again while Rubiales remained in post. He finally announced his resignation as the Spanish federation (RFEF) president last Sunday after weeks of criticism over his behaviour at the World Cup final, where he kissed Spain player Jenni Hermoso on the lips during the medal presentation. Hermoso insists she did not consent to the kiss. However, the large majority of the victorious squad remain unavailable for this month’s Nations League matches against Sweden and Switzerland, saying they are not yet “in a safe place” to return and that the problems at the RFEF run far deeper than Rubiales. The statement, which includes the signatures of star names such as Hermoso, Alexia Putellas, Olga Carmona and former Manchester United player Ona Batlle, said: “Today, as we have transmitted to the RFEF, the changes that have occurred are not enough for the players to feel in a safe place, where women are respected, where there is a commitment to women’s football and where we can give our maximum performance. “The players of the Spanish team are professional players, and what fills us most with pride is wearing the shirt of our team and always leading our country to the highest positions. “For this reason, we believe that it is time to fight to show that these situations and practices have no place in our football or in our society and that the current structure needs changes. We do it so that the next generations can have a much more equal game that we all deserve.” The statement calls for a restructuring of the women’s football department, the RFEF’s presidential cabinet and general secretariat, the communications department and the integrity department. The statement is also signed by a number of players who withdrew from the Spain squad last year over conditions within the national team set-up, including Mapi Leon and Patricia Guijarro. In all, 39 players were signatories to the statement. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

Twenty-one of Spain’s World Cup-winning squad have issued a statement saying the resignation of Luis Rubiales is “not enough” to trigger their return to national team duty. A group of 81 players, including all 23 members of the World Cup squad, released a statement last month indicating they would not play for Spain again while Rubiales remained in post. He finally announced his resignation as the Spanish federation (RFEF) president last Sunday after weeks of criticism over his behaviour at the World Cup final, where he kissed Spain player Jenni Hermoso on the lips during the medal presentation. Hermoso insists she did not consent to the kiss. However, the large majority of the victorious squad remain unavailable for this month’s Nations League matches against Sweden and Switzerland, saying they are not yet “in a safe place” to return and that the problems at the RFEF run far deeper than Rubiales. The statement, which includes the signatures of star names such as Hermoso, Alexia Putellas, Olga Carmona and former Manchester United player Ona Batlle, said: “Today, as we have transmitted to the RFEF, the changes that have occurred are not enough for the players to feel in a safe place, where women are respected, where there is a commitment to women’s football and where we can give our maximum performance. “The players of the Spanish team are professional players, and what fills us most with pride is wearing the shirt of our team and always leading our country to the highest positions. “For this reason, we believe that it is time to fight to show that these situations and practices have no place in our football or in our society and that the current structure needs changes. We do it so that the next generations can have a much more equal game that we all deserve.” The statement calls for a restructuring of the women’s football department, the RFEF’s presidential cabinet and general secretariat, the communications department and the integrity department. The statement is also signed by a number of players who withdrew from the Spain squad last year over conditions within the national team set-up, including Mapi Leon and Patricia Guijarro. In all, 39 players were signatories to the statement. PA Read More Spanish women’s football league calls off strike after wage agreement Rubiales could face criminal charges after sexual assault filing Sacked Jorge Vilda defends clapping Luis Rubiales’ ‘I will not resign’ speech

Mikel Arteta admitted he has an emotional connection with Everton and expects his former side to put up a battle when Arsenal travel to Goodison Park in the Premier League on Sunday. Arsenal reignite their Premier League bid with a trip to Merseyside where they face Sean Dyche’s Everton, who are unbeaten at home against the Gunners since 2017. Arteta praised his former side’s attributes and highlighted the special connection between himself and the Toffees. “I’m really excited about it, the last six years we have not won there so we are going to have to earn it,” Arteta said. “We know we are going to have to be at our best to beat them there and that’s something we haven’t managed to do so that’s where we are going to start. “It is a big emotional connection I have to that football club with many years I spent there, the incredible memories that I have so I’m always grateful. It’s a big part of my playing career and as a coach I have to play against them and we have to beat them. “We’ve been here and we’ve been to grounds before where we haven’t won before and we’ve done it so it’s about understanding the importance and knowing what we lacked in those games and putting it right. “Sometimes you cannot avoid a battle (with Everton), the style of play they have is very clear and they’re very good at that. “We have a different one and it’s about trying to impose your way of playing and the tactic is just to make sure your opponent’s strengths are hiding and that ours are coming out every single time to fulfill the potential of your players, and that’s what I think both managers and players will try to do.” Arsenal’s Champions League opener against PSV next week is their first time back in the competition since the 2016-17 season. The Spaniard embraced the challenge of a difficult schedule alongside another battle with Manchester City at the summit of the Premier League this season. “We played three games a week last year, but the Champions League is obviously different with the expectations and that we’ve been away from it for seven years,” he added. “It’s excitement, this is where we want to be and when you look at the fixtures and the games we are going to have to play, I think everyone is really looking forward to it.” Arsenal terminated Nicolas Pepe’s contract on Saturday after the Ivorian failed to hold down a starting role at the Emirates since his reported £72 million move – then a club-record fee – in 2019. Arteta said: “What I can say is that he’s a phenomenal boy, he trained really hard, it’s not his fault that the amount of money we paid at the time. “When things aren’t working out you have to move on and there’s no point when things aren’t working either way. “The decisions has been made and I think it’s in the benefit of both parties.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Ange Postecoglou says Tottenham will give support to troubled Richarlison Ireland braced for ‘big step up’ ahead of facing Tonga’s ‘serious threats’ Erik ten Hag says he inherited Manchester United with ‘no good culture’

Alisson Becker has won the first Castrol Save of the Month award of the 2023/24 season thanks to his stunning stop in Liverpool's dramatic win over Newcastle United.

Real Madrid face Real Sociedad in La Liga on Sunday. Preview includes team news, predicted lineups, how to watch on TV and live stream and more.