CK Updates
Does faith have a role to play in sport?
Lizzy Bellaand
Georgia Levy-Collins,BBC Newsbeat
Getty ImagesWhen Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi scored against Arsenal on Tuesday night, he did what he often does – point to the sky.
Arsenal’s Jurrien Timber – nicknamed ‘Pastor Timber’ by fans – followed suit when he scored in the penalty shoot-out at the end of the game.
Both teams have influential players who have recently been discussing the importance of their Christian beliefs.
And it’s not just in football where we’ve seen contrasting headlines about professional athletes displaying their faith.
Earlier this year, at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, GB sprinter Jeremiah Azu was warned not to wear a “100% Jesus” headband.
But can your beliefs impact your performance – and how you are treated – in the sport you play?
ReutersSport governing bodies often have rules against displaying religious and political slogans during competition.
Jeremiah wasn’t formally punished for wearing his “100% Jesus” headband in a 400m semi-final, but World Athletics bosses said they spoke to his team about the accessory.
The 24-year-old says he now backs the rules separating religion from the track, but he’s glad he did it.
He tells BBC Newsbeat he believes his “strength” comes from his faith, and he wore the headband to show that.
His father is a pastor, so Jeremiah says religion has always been a part of his life.
“We read the Bible at home, we prayed at home,” he recalls.
He says his religion helps his performance in athletics.
“As a Christian you have to be disciplined,” he says, a trait he feels transfers over to track and field.
“There’s days where it’s difficult to push, but I know I have to from the discipline I’ve got from my faith,” he explains.
Though Jeremiah says he’s never felt “muted” when talking about his faith, up-and-coming athletes tell Newsbeat it’s not always that simple.
Semi-pro footballer Zainab El-Mouden, who plays for Chesham United FC Women, says there are challenges as a female Muslim player who wears a hijab.
The garment is worn over the head as a display of modesty, but it’s not always been welcomed on the football pitch.
It was banned by governing body Fifa until 2014, when players were permitted to wear it for religious reasons.
And just two years ago, Moroccan defender Nouhaila Benzina, 27, made history by becoming the first player to wear a hijab at a World Cup.
Zainab, 22, says her faith means everything to her, from the way she conducts herself to the way she dresses.
She says it’s been a real journey to become comfortable wearing a hijab while playing football.
“Initially I hated it, I hated the way it looked on me,” she says.
“My hijab was my biggest insecurity and then it became my biggest strength.
“Whether you want to or not, you’re going see me and you’re gonna watch me more than anyone else.”
Zainab feels there is still a difference in how male Muslim players are treated compared with female players.
“With a female Muslim player, they’re visibly different so that’s where I think the rift kind of comes in,” she says.
After growing up with no one that “looked like” her in football to inspire her, Zainab says she wants to be that role model for others.
“All the girls that are growing up now need that representation to play,” she says.
Does faith impact your performance in sport ?
There are studies on how a positive mindset and confidence can influence your performance.
Religion isn’t always part of it – many athletes have rituals they “must” follow before a big game or race to centre themselves.
Some report that their faith forms part of preparations for a big event.
A Seoul University study published in 2000, based on interviews with 180 sports people across 41 sports, identified prayer as one of seven main “coping strategies” those surveyed used to combat anxiety before a big event.
It suggested this could have a positive effect on their performance.
Semi-professional footballer Jaiden Chang-Brown, of Lingfield FC, tells Newsbeat his faith has helped him to manage his emotions in a slightly different way.
“I feel like sometimes my passion could get the better of me in the past,” he says.
“Sometimes I would lash out at teammates.
“It’s really helped just to give me peace when I’m on the pitch.”
Jaiden says his faith has helped him to improve his mindset and “tap into that psychological side of football” when he plays.
The 21-year-old describes himself as a “born-again Christian” and says his religion is the most important thing in his life.
“It’s bigger than football, it’s bigger than everything,” he says.
“People think it’s not cool to be bold in your faith, but it is.
“You can laugh and have your giggles, but it’s what I believe in.”
CK Updates
F1 Q&A: Madring’s overtaking problem, virtual safety car operation and will there be any rookies in 2027?
The virtual safety car (VSC) definitely throws jeopardy into races, but it does not do virtually what the safety car does. Would it not be more balanced to have a minimum of at least one full lap? Yes, this would dampen the jeopardy effect but what happened to Lando Norris feels like a chance card in Monopoly. – Kyle
Lando Norris’ bad luck with the virtual safety car at the Spanish Grand Prix has certainly focused attention on the ways this can disrupt races.
The VSC has always had issues – it freezes a race rather than resets it, which can be a bit boring compared to an actual safety car – but it has the benefit of minimising disruption when a track hazard can be cleared relatively quickly.
It has long been an opportunity for someone to benefit over a rival, because making a pit stop under a VSC takes significantly less time than under racing conditions.
But usually this has been in cases where one team has changed or deployed its strategy with the express intention of waiting for a safety car or VSC (such as Norris himself in his maiden victory in Miami in 2024), and benefiting over a rival who has run a more conventional strategy.
That sort of thing is considered fair game. What happened to Norris – a driver lost a race win because his specific track positioning at the time of a VSC meant he alone was unable to pit under it – is, to the best anyone could remember on Sunday, unique.
The media are not privy to conversations in drivers’ briefings, and Norris in particular gets a bit sniffy when information from those meetings leaks out because they are meant to be a safe space where the drivers and FIA can share opinions without it becoming a controversy.
But it emerged after the race that this issue, as Norris put it, “has been spoken about many, many times”.
Whether Norris’ misfortune leads to a change, such as ensuring that a VSC is deployed for at least one whole lap, remains to be seen.
There is no easy answer, because within F1 it’s recognised that safety cars are part of the competitive jigsaw, and can be used to a team’s advantage. And the latest rules have been arrived at after various previous iterations that worked in different ways, such as shutting the pit lane for specific periods.
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said: “Offering a personal opinion, I’m puzzled myself as to what’s right.
“Is it correct to give enough duration such that everyone will have been subject to the same track conditions? So, for instance, the virtual safety car lasts at least one full lap.
“Or you just keep it in the hands of the Gods, and sometimes you are lucky, sometimes you are not. I’m not sure.”
There is process for these sorts of discussions – they go to a sporting advisory committee for analysis, before being reviewed by the F1 Commission of teams, commercial rights holder F1 and governing body the FIA.
That won’t happen quickly – unless it is decided by F1 and the FIA that it is a desirable outcome to change the rules. Right now, the momentum for that does not appear to be there.
What are the prospects for rookies coming into Formula 1 next year? Many drivers are re-signing long contracts with their teams. Are there likely to be any new recruits? – Mia
The most likely place for a new driver to come into F1 next season is Haas, where Esteban Ocon’s position looks shaky.
The two main candidates there are Italy’s reigning Formula 2 champion Leonardo Fornaroli, who is part of McLaren’s driver development programme, and Brazilian Rafael Camara, who is second in F2 this year and part of the Ferrari driver academy.
Both have tested for Haas and are said to have impressed the team.
Haas will want a quick driver who brings money, and it’s not clear who the favourite is. Ryo Hirakawa, Haas’ reserve driver and a long-time protege of Haas’ technical partner Toyota, is also in the picture, but considered a less likely candidate.
Elsewhere, there is talk of Red Bull considering moving F2 championship leader Nikola Tsolov, who is Bulgarian, into their Racing Bulls team.
To do so, they would have to drop either Liam Lawson or Arvid Lindblad. It’s hard to see how it would be Lindblad, after such an impressive rookie campaign.
But Lawson has also been doing a good job this year, so it’s not a given.
At Cadillac, they have Indycar race-winner Colton Herta as reserve. They have been planning for Herta to be in F1 before too long – the idea behind him moving to Europe and doing Formula 2 this year was so he could learn the ropes on this side of the Atlantic and be as prepared as possible for graduation to F1.
But Herta has had a very difficult F2 campaign this year – his best result is a fifth place and he is 19th in the championship – so moving him up to F1 for 2027 would be a massive risk.
Ugo Ugochukwu, who won the Formula 3 title in Madrid on Sunday, is another American said to be of interest to Cadillac.
He had been part of the McLaren driver development programme for several years until they parted ways at the end of last season.
But even if Ugochukwu’s Cadillac links become formalised, next year is probably too early for him to make F1.
He’s also extremely tall – well over six foot and much taller even than Ocon, Alex Albon and George Russell, the current tallest drivers – so getting him into an F1 car would not be easy.
The other teams are pretty much locked down, although it’s still unknown whether Fernando Alonso is going to continue in F1 next year.
No side will relish coming up against Calvert-Lewin and this aggressive Leeds outfit at Elland Road this season.
In fact, only Arsenal (52), Manchester City (50), Manchester United (45) and Bournemouth (37) have won more Premier League points in 2026 than Leeds United (35), with the Whites suffering just a single defeat across their past 13 league matches.
Yet Newcastle‘s implosion was remarkable as a young team were bullied and outfought.
Newcastle had previously made a good start under head coach Matthias Jaissle, following so much change in the summer, and were unbeaten in their opening five games in all competitions before this reality check.
But they have faced more shots than any other side in the Premier League.
However clinical Newcastle were in the opening weeks of the campaign, they mustered just eight efforts on target against Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and Bournemouth before their trip to Elland Road.
That was a dangerous cocktail going into this game.
What was most galling, though, was the visitors’ failure to match Leeds‘ bite at a raucous Elland Road.
Jaissle’s side crumbled and conceded three goals in a chastening 14-minute period in the first half.
It was a night the German manager swore in his post-match news conference to illustrate how low he felt.
“I don’t want to point fingers and point any players out tonight,” he said. “We were not matching as a team the level of intensity, the level of duel behaviours, the level of physicality.
“This is something we need to bring on the pitch in every match. This is non-negotiable. It should be the basic fundamentals of football.
“These are young lads. The learning curve needs to be fast.”
For Calvert-Lewin and Leeds, however, this was a night to remember.
Gary Hamilton has been linked with most Irish Premiership vacancies since he left his role at Glenavon in 2023.
Hamilton made 132 appearances and scored 70 goals for the east Belfast side and is already well respected at the club.
The 45-year-old has always had an eye for bringing in and developing younger talent, a skill which would benefit the Glens.
During his almost 12-year spell at the Lurgan Blues, he won the Irish Cup twice in 2014 and 2016, registered four third-place finishes and European football.
Hamilton currently manages Conference League side Ballymacash Rangers, who have won the Steel and Sons for the first time during his tenure.
A manager such as Hamilton, who has secured plenty of silverware during his career, will certainly tick a lot of the boxes that Glentoran would be hoping for in a new manager.
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Irish Premiership: Who will replace Declan Devine as Glentoran manager?
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F1 Q&A: Madring’s overtaking problem, virtual safety car operation and will there be any rookies in 2027?
Josh Kerr: Ultimate Championship 1500m winner ramps up debate over country vs brands kit
Leeds 4-1 Newcastle: Is ‘unplayable’ Calvert-Lewin in line for England recall?
Irish Premiership: Who will replace Declan Devine as Glentoran manager?
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CK Updates4 hours agoF1 Q&A: Madring’s overtaking problem, virtual safety car operation and will there be any rookies in 2027?
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CK Updates22 hours agoJosh Kerr: Ultimate Championship 1500m winner ramps up debate over country vs brands kit
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CK Updates10 hours agoLeeds 4-1 Newcastle: Is ‘unplayable’ Calvert-Lewin in line for England recall?
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CK Updates16 hours agoIrish Premiership: Who will replace Declan Devine as Glentoran manager?