The Melbourne Storm were caught red-handed in the NRL's biggest cheating scandal. Now a disgraceful move by the club proves they need to be punished again: SHAYNE BUGDEN
The Melbourne Storm have proved yet again that the club has learned nothing and regrets nothing after being stripped of the 2007 and 2009 premierships for breaching the salary cap in the NRL 's biggest cheating scandal.
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The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
Joe Root dismisses David Warner's jibe as ‘all part of the fun'
Joe Root has dismissed David Warner's jibe that he will need to 'take the surfboard off his front leg' if he and England are to triumph in Australia this winter. Warner fired the first shots in the phoney Ashes war by highlighting Root's failure to score a hundred in Australia, suggesting that Test cricket's second-highest run-scorer tends to get out lbw a lot. 'Josh Hazlewood tends to have his number quite a lot. He will have to take the surfboard off his front leg,' said Warner, who retired from international cricket last year but is in England with London Spirit in The Hundred and set to play against Root's Trent Rockets at Lord's on Thursday. Asked on a media call if he had laughed off the jibe, Root said: 'Just that. I can't have any control on how people see the game or talk in interview. 'Nothing new, is it? You know there are going to be storylines and people wanting to hype up a big series. Doesn't really change anything. 'It's sort of irrelevant to me. What can I do about it? Just make sure it's not a talking point in six months or 100 days time. 'When you get out there you've got to try and impact the game and help your team get off to a good start. Business as usual as far as I'm concerned. 'I guess it's all part of the fun. We'll see what happens out there (with Warner at Lord's). It's not really in my nature to get too verbal.' Root's insatiable appetite for scoring runs shows no sign of slowing down with 22 hundreds in his last 61 Tests. Only India's Sachin Tendulkar has now scored more Test runs than Root, who now has 13,543 to his name and is 2,378 from top spot. Addressing his poor record in Australia remains a priority for Root, who will be playing in his fourth Ashes series Down Under this winter. 'The thing that stands out for me is I wanted it way too much the last couple of times,' said Root. 'It took me away from what was important. 'Clearly the last few tours there have been loads of other things to contend with… a lot of distractions. 'This time I just want to go and enjoy the tour for what it is. It's a beautiful country, great place to go and play cricket. It's going to be hostile, everything you'd expect and want from an away Ashes series. 'That's something you've got to relish. Going there with 150-odd Test matches under my belt, I feel couldn't be more ready for it.' Root has thrown himself into The Hundred, in which the Rockets have picked up two opening wins, despite the exhausting demands of the recent five-Test series against India, which was drawn 2-2. The 34-year-old expects to feature in September's white-ball home Test against South Africa, although he says no conversation has been held about his participation in another three-match pre-Ashes one-day international series in New Zealand. 'It was physically quite tiring, we fielded a lot,' Root reflected on the India series. 'It was mentally tiring as all the games went pretty much down to the wire. 'But when you flick into a new format, and a new dressing room, it can energise you in a different way. 'It's nice we've started so well. We've got a good group, and we'll try and roll that momentum forward.' ::KP Snacks, the Official Team Partner of The Hundred, are celebrating the installation of 100 new community cricket pitches across England and Wales. To find out more and search for your nearest pitch, visit:
BBC News
2 hours ago
- BBC News
No plans for Premier League match abroad
Premier League chief executive Richard Masters says there are no plans to play a top-flight match abroad and that the idea is "not anywhere near my in-tray".In the past month, Italy and Spain's football federations have revealed plans to stage league fixtures in Australia and the United States, and are seeking permission from Fifa and successful, Spanish La Liga clubs Barcelona and Villarreal will face each other in Miami in December in what would be the first European league fixture to be played if permission is granted, Serie A sides AC Milan and Como will meet in Perth, Australia in February. Other one-off matches, such as the Italian Super Cup and Spanish Super Cup, have been held abroad in recent idea of the Premier League playing an extra round - the '39th game' - outside England was raised in 2008 but the plans were shelved after criticism from fans and the media. And, despite former Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore saying 10 years ago that clubs were keen on the idea, Masters has downplayed such a scenario. "I don't think it changes the Premier League's view on this at all, we don't have any plans to play matches abroad," he said."It's not anywhere near my in-tray and it's not a debate around our table."There are 11 US-owned clubs in the top flight, closer than ever to the two-thirds majority of 14 that is needed to impose changes to the Premier League's year, Liverpool chairman Tom Werner told the Financial Times that he hoped to see Premier League games played in New York, Tokyo, Los Angeles, Riyadh and Rio de Janeiro, raising fears among some fans of an attempted resurrection of the '39th game' Bournemouth's American owner Bill Foley has said he does not support staging league matches added: "The first thing to say is it hasn't happened yet. You need a whole bunch of things to happen. "The Premier League flirted with this over a decade ago and the reason was to grow the league internationally and we were able to do this through different means - digital means, broadcast partners, concepts like the summer series in the US. "The necessity that was driving that concept has dissipated."Premier League champions Liverpool get the 2025-26 campaign started with their home fixture against Bournemouth at Friday with Masters predicting "a great season".In a wide-ranging interview with BBC Sport, Masters also discussed:the top flight's spendingthe situation regarding former Arsenal midfielder Thomas Parteythe impact of the new football regulator and the ongoing issues at non-Premier League sides Sheffield Wednesday and Morecambethe impact of the Club World Cup 'Spending good as long as everyone stay within rules' According to Transfermarkt,, external Premier League clubs have spent more than £2bn during this transfer window compared with the £740m spent by the second highest-spending league, Italy's Serie A, and the third-placed German Bundesliga's total of £ has Liverpool as the top flight's highest spenders so far, with the Anfield club having made over £250m worth of signings, including making Germany midfielder Florian Wirtz the summer's biggest transfer in a deal worth an initial £ have also paid out nearly £250m, while Manchester United have brought in forwards Benjamin Sesko, Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha for a combined initial fee total of about £ in terms of net spend,, external United have the biggest outlay, followed by Arsenal, Manchester City, Sunderland, Tottenham and Liverpool."I think investment in squads is generally a good thing so long as everyone stays within the rules," said Masters."Squads will be strengthened and that adds to the competitive element. It's a brilliant mix of the best stars from around the world and homegrown talent."Everton recently became the third Premier League team, along with Chelsea and Aston Villa, to sell their women's team to the parent company which owns the move improves their compliance with the Premier League's profitability and sustainability rules, which allow clubs to post losses of £105m over a three-year reporting cycle."Ultimately, I have to be [comfortable with clubs doing that], the rules permit it," said Masters."We have had lots of debates around our table about whether to change them and we decided not to, so whether I like it or not that debate has been had and we move forward." Masters on how Arsenal dealt with Partey situation Ghana midfielder Partey left Arsenal when his contract expired at the end of days later, he was charged with five counts of rape against two women and a charge of sexual assault against a third who denies the charges, was granted conditional bail at Westminster Magistrates' Court earlier this month and has since signed for Spanish side charges against Partey, who joined Arsenal from Atletico Madrid in a £45m deal in 2020, resulted from an investigation by detectives which started in February manager Mikel Arteta has said he is "100%" sure the club followed the right processes when dealing with the midfielder, who made 35 appearances for the Gunners in the Premier League last season and also played 12 times in the Champions if he was comfortable with how Arsenal handled the situation, Masters said: "I have to be."He added: "What is clear to me is that it is a situation between an employer and employee and it is for them to make that decision."The Premier League doesn't have jurisdiction over those particular issues."I am absolutely sure that our clubs take these situations extremely seriously and think about them very deeply before deciding whether suspension is the right course of action or not." League 'looking forward to working with regulator' A bill to establish an independent football regulator became law in July in what Prime Minister Keir Starmer called a "proud and defining moment for English football" which would usher in a "stronger, fairer future" for the regulator, which is set to be launched later this year, will be independent from the government and the football authorities and will oversee the men's game in England's top five Secretary Lisa Nandy says the regulator will be able to make a difference but, in the meantime, there is financial turmoil at Championship side Sheffield Wednesday and Morecambe, who have been suspended from the National League, and the future of both clubs is in doubt."What is clear is the ownership situations at Sheffield Wednesday and Morecambe need to be resolved," said Masters. "They are cases of bad ownerships. "We are looking forward to working constructively with the new regulator. They will have powers to intervene in these sorts of situations, and there is no panacea to bad decision making. "We hope those situations resolve in a sale as quickly as possible." What about the impact of the Club World Cup? A revamped Club World Cup took place in the summer when 32 teams, including English clubs Chelsea and Manchester City, took part in the tournament in the United won the competition by beating Paris St-Germain 3-0 on 13 July - just five weeks before they start their Premier League campaign with Sunday's home match against Crystal went out in the last 16, beaten by Al-Hilal, on 1 July and start their top-flight campaign at Wolves on Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp called the Club World Cup "the worst idea ever implemented in football" because of "serious fears" over player welfare. "We have to have a close look at the impact," said Masters. "We don't know what the impacts will be on the two clubs that participated in the Club World Cup. "The Premier League has stayed the same since 1994. All the expansion has been in European and now international football. "There needs to be a proper debate at the top of the game about how many matches players are required to play. "I want our players to never have to face the choice between wanting to play in the Premier League on a Saturday or resting themselves for other games going forward."
The Sun
3 hours ago
- The Sun
Celebrity SAS's Rudy Reyes accused of secret affair with Real Housewife behind husband's back
CELEBRITY SAS star Rudy Reyes has been accused of having an affair with Real Housewife Denise Richards by her estranged husband. Aaron Phypers, 49, filed for divorce from former Bond girl Richards, 54, last month following an explosive row. 6 6 6 The American businessman has now claimed he discovered Richards was cheating on him with former Marine Reyes, 53, back in April. Richards starred with Reyes in the third series of Special Forces: World's Toughest Test in 2023. The military instructor split from his gun instructor girlfriend Jade Struck, 25, earlier this year. In an interview with The Mail, Phypers said Richards had promised to break things off with Reyes, only to hook up with him the following month in a California hotel. That alleged rendezvous was the basis for their July showdown that signalled the end of their marriage. Phypers said: "I'm broken-hearted and f***ing tired. Really, she's f***ed me up. "We've been together nine years and for her to do that and to lie to me consistently - I'm totally tired and drained." He said the relationship had been rocky for some time, aggravated by six house moves over the course of their relationship and dozens of pets under their care. He said Richards owned 58 dogs, two pot-bellied pigs, and an 'incontinent' Sphinx cat. The disgruntled ex also accused Richards of being addicted to vicodin and alcohol. But the breaking point came when Phypers said he discovered 107 messages between Richards and Reyes, some of which detailed hotel meet ups and included intimate photos. Furious TV bosses yell at us for pushing celebs too hard, admits Rudy Reyes as he reveals reason why NONE of the stars would pass day 1 of SAS training He told the publication: "I just had this feeling that something was off because her behavior had changed – she was being kind of cool to me. "I opened her phone – we both know each other's passwords - so I opened it up and then I went to her deleted texts and there were 107 of them between her and this guy. "I went through them and it just broke my heart." Following Phypers and Richards' row in July, the actress filed a lawsuit accusing him of physical and verbal abuse, including leaving her with a black eye. Phypers has vehemently denied the claims, telling US Weekly, "Let me be unequivocally clear: I have never physically or emotionally abused Denise — or anyone. "These accusations are completely false and deeply hurtful. Denise and I, like many couples, have faced our share of challenges, but any suggestion of abuse is categorically untrue. "I have always tried to approach our marriage with love, patience, and respect. I ask for privacy as we navigate personal matters, and I hope that the public and media will refrain from spreading harmful and baseless claims.' The Sun has contacted representatives for Richards and Reyes for comment. 6 6 6
