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Turkish and international cave rescue experts are working to save a 40-year-old American speleologist who became ill and is trapped more than 3,200 feet into a cave in southern Turkey

The 2023/24 Premier League season is just one month old, and we've already been treated to a number of save of the season contenders. Throughout the month, the

A brief history of Rugby World Cup matches between France and New Zealand before they meet again on Friday on the opening night of the 10th tournament at the Stade de France

Formula 1 and the FIA have until the close of play on Friday to respond to allegations from Felipe Massa’s lawyers of a “conspiracy” regarding the 2008 F1 title – with the Brazilian’s legal team set to take matters to the UK High Court, The Independent has learned. Massa is seeking substantial damages following the 2008 ‘Crashgate’ scandal and the subsequent impact it had on that year’s championship, won by Lewis Hamilton on the final lap of the final race as then-Ferrari driver Massa missed out by a single point. New comments earlier this year, by former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone, about the scandal in Singapore has encouraged Massa to take legal action, with his lawyers sending an eight-page ‘Letter Before Claim’ to F1 and the FIA in August, alleging their client was the “victim of a conspiracy”. The letter set a request for reply of 14 days but, after responses from F1 and the FIA indicated that two weeks did not present enough time for a suitable reply, Massa’s legal team have set a new deadline of 4pm on Friday 8 September for an adequate response to the matter at hand. Should no response be received, his lawyers “anticipate being instructed to file claims in the UK High Court.” In addition, in quotes obtained by The Independent, Massa’s lawyer Bernardo Viana stated “the sport has had years to rectify the sham that Felipe, Brazil and Italy have endured… enough is enough, there is zero patience left.” He adds: “Felipe won the ninth championship for Brazil and the 16th for Ferrari. We will do everything we can to bring the trophy home to Brazil and Italy.” Formula 1 refused to comment when approached by The Independent. The FIA have been contacted for comment. Ecclestone revealed in March that both he and then-FIA president Max Mosley knew of the ‘Crashgate’ scandal in 2008 but refused to publicise the chain of events to avoid the sport a “huge scandal”. Ecclestone, 92, has since said he could not remember saying the key lines, telling Reuters: “I don’t remember any of this, to be honest. I don’t remember giving the interview for sure.” The new letter, addressed to F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali, states: “Liberty Media the owner of F1, has made public disclosures acknowledging the potential material adverse impact on its own shareholders of a scandal that undermines the credibility of the sport. “Mr. Ecclestone’s comments from earlier this year revealed precisely such a scandal, which underscores the need for Liberty Media and F1 to act promptly and diligently in responding to the serious issues that Mr. Massa has raised.” It added that “if acting reasonably, an investigation would have been initiated when this became public some five months ago.” The original letter in August says that Massa has lost out on tens of millions of euros in lost earnings and bonuses as a result of missing out on the 2008 title. WHAT WAS CRASHGATE? Crashgate rocked the sport when the inaugural Singapore Grand Prix saw Renault’s Fernando Alonso win the race before it emerged that his teammate Nelson Piquet Jr had deliberately crashed on the instructions of his team to bring out a safety car that played into Alonso’s hands. That safety car prompted a Massa pit stop that Ferrari mishandled, with Massa eventually finishing the race 13th while Hamilton came home third – a difference of six points, a swing which ultimately impacted the title result. While Renault and team boss Flavio Briatore were punished in 2009, the result of the race stood despite Massa’s protestations, with the FIA’s statutes making clear that overturning the classification from each season is impossible once the FIA Awards Ceremony for that year is complete, a rule set in the FIA International Sporting Code. The new furore surrounding the 2008 title was triggered after Ecclestone told F1-Insider earlier this year: “We wanted to protect the sport and save it from a huge scandal. That’s why I used angelic tongues to persuade my former driver Nelson Piquet to keep calm for the time being. “Back then, there was a rule that a world championship classification after the FIA ​​awards ceremony at the end of the year was untouchable. So Hamilton was presented with the trophy and everything was fine. “We had enough information in time to investigate the matter. According to the statutes, we should have cancelled the race in Singapore under these conditions. “That means it would never have happened for the championship standings. And then Felipe Massa would have become world champion and not Lewis Hamilton.” Massa told Italian outlet TG1 this week that he “expects help from Ferrari” in his case, though has not yet received support from the Italian team. Despite the threat of legal action, Massa does not seem to be able to officially overturn the result – with the FIA’s own International Sporting Code stating protests and reviews expire 14 days after a competition and four days prior to that year’s prize-giving ceremony. He also cannot use the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which has no jurisdiction over the FIA on issues like this, with the independent International Court of Appeal the highest authority in the sport. CAS may only be involved in F1 matters relating to the FIA’s Anti-Doping Disciplinary Committee. Massa’s best-finish in F1 turned out to be that 2008 season as he retired in 2017 while Hamilton has gone on to win six more titles with Mercedes, holding the joint-record of seven F1 World Championships with Michael Schumacher. Read More Lewis Hamilton gives blunt response to Felipe Massa’s legal action over 2008 F1 title Lewis Hamilton’s 2008 F1 title still under threat as Felipe Massa bemoans ‘injustice’ Lando Norris could leave McLaren at end of the season, claims Nico Rosberg Toto Wolff slams ‘moaning’ across F1 grid after Lewis Hamilton apology FIA announce results of 2022 F1 cost cap process

It began with 128 contenders, but now the women's draw at the US Open is down to just four.

The Champions League risks becoming a travelling circus if matches are taken outside Europe, according to the boss of one of the continent’s leading clubs. UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin hinted in April that a Champions League final could be played in the United States in the future, while sources close to the European Club Association have also spoken favourably about playing a revamped Super Cup in the US in the years ahead. However, the chief executive of Bayern Munich, Jan-Christian Dreesen, gave the idea short shrift at the ECA’s General Assembly in Berlin on Thursday. “For sure we have to develop our tournament, but on the other side my personal view is quite clear. We are not the Cirque du Soleil,” he said. “We have a European championship, and we have to play our matches in Europe.” Dreesen, one of the ECA vice-chairs, also insisted European football did not need to be “afraid” of the rising influence of the Saudi league, with its clubs having spent more than £700million on Europe-based players this summer. “I think we shouldn’t be worried about that,” he added. “We will have to see in the future if it’s sustainable and then we will handle it. And as Nasser (Al Khelaifi, ECA chairman) has said already, we have a fantastic competition, we have this tradition with the European clubs, so we don’t have to be afraid.” UEFA announced a new Memorandum of Understanding with the ECA on Wednesday which included an agreement on how money earned from European club competitions should be split. Solidarity payments to clubs not playing in European competitions will rise from four to seven per cent in the 2024-27 cycle, while there is also a combined 10 per cent uplift in the percentage of revenue set aside for participation and performance. The proportion allocated to clubs based on their historic coefficient and the size of their country’s television market pool will be reduced by the same amount. While the new distribution model has been widely welcomed, two bosses from mid-sized European clubs said the disparity in revenues between domestic leagues was the bigger issue affecting competitive balance across the continent. Celtic chief executive and ECA vice-chair Peter Lawwell said: “Celtic as the champions in Scotland receive just over £3m, if you are relegated from the EPL (English Premier League) you get £140m. “The main factor is the domestic competitions.” Dariusz Mioduski, the president of the management board at Polish club Legia Warsaw, added: “What has been done now with the (European) distribution….doesn’t fix the leagues. It will never fix the problem. “This is the challenge for Europe in the future to look at that because today what you have is an inherent issue in European football where clubs are limited in their revenues to the domestic markets but they have to compete across Europe for talent. “Unless you somehow fix that, or at least address it, the problem will be getting bigger and bigger and there is no way to fix it by sharing more and more money through European competitions, it has to be done through something else.” ECA chair Al Khelaifi was asked whether he expected the three clubs still outside the organisation following the 2021 Super League breakaway attempt – Barcelona, Juventus and Real Madrid – to have returned within a year’s time. Juventus have begun the process of leaving the Super League, but have not yet been readmitted to the ECA. “They (the three clubs) are most welcome back,” Al Khelaifi said. “(They were a group of) three, but now only two. So every six months there’s one less, which is good. They are going slowly, but in the right way.” Earlier in the day, Manchester City chief executive Ferran Soriano was elected as the Premier League’s sole representative on the ECA board. Lawwell and Arsenal chief executive Vinai Venkatesham were appointed to the separate ECA-UEFA Joint Venture board which manages commercial matters related to Europe’s club competitions. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Rory McIlroy: Late birdies glossed over a pretty average day at Irish Open France ready for ‘wonderful’ World Cup opener with New Zealand – Fabien Galthie Johnny Sexton to make Ireland return in World Cup opener with Romania

Here is everything you need to know for this week's Sunday Night Football matchup, the first of the 2023-24 NFL season.

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 7, 2023--

The Patriots week 1 matchup is against the defending NFC champs. Here are three players with the most pressure to perform.

The Lions have to play sometime.

The semifinal matchups for the 2023 FIBA World Cup are set. Dennis Schroder and Germany eliminated Davis Bertans and Latvia, and Shai Gilgeous Alexander and Canada eliminated Luka Doncic and Slovenia. They’ll face Team USA and Serbia respectively.

The CyHawk Game ratchets up the intensity of the Iowa and Iowa State fan bases every year