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The Hundred: Harry Brook says Pakistan players’ exclusion would be “a shame”

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England limited-overs captain Harry Brook

Sixty-three male and four female players from Pakistan have signed up for The Hundred auction.

In messages seen by the BBC, a senior official from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) indicated to an agent that interest in his Pakistan players would be limited to sides not linked to the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Four of the eight franchises – Manchester Super Giants, MI London, Southern Brave and Sunrisers Leeds – are now at least part-owned by companies that control IPL teams.

Former England captain Michael Vaughan said on Friday that the ECB “need to act fast” because omitting players based on their nationality “should not be allowed to happen”.

Players from Pakistan have not featured in the IPL since 2009 because of diplomatic tensions between Pakistan and India, and a refusal to sign players in The Hundred would follow the trend elsewhere in the franchise world.

No Pakistan players have featured in South Africa’s SA20, which launched in 2023. All six of its teams are owned by IPL franchise groups – including the four now involved in The Hundred.

In the United Arab Emirates’ ILT20, franchises controlled by the owners of MI London and Southern Brave have not signed a Pakistan player across four seasons, but have recruited cricketers from 15 other nationalities.

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By contrast, American-owned ILT20 side Desert Vipers have signed eight Pakistan players over the same period.

Brook, who will have another busy schedule this summer as a multi-format England player, said he has already told Sunrisers he will not continue as captain.

“I am staying away from that stuff and will let the head coach and whoever is in charge control that,” he said.

In response to the BBC’s initial story, an ECB spokesperson said: “The Hundred welcomes men’s and women’s players from all over the world and we would expect the eight teams to reflect that.

“Almost 1,000 cricketers from 18 nations have registered for The Hundred auction, with representation on the longlist of over 50 players respectively from Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, Pakistan and West Indies.”

Birmingham Phoenix, London Spirit, Trent Rockets and Welsh Fire are the four Hundred teams not owned by IPL franchises.

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Erling Haaland goal: Was Haaland’s derby winner a VAR error?

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Erling Haaland scores for Man City

With Haaland’s goal settling the match, United were unsurprisingly disappointed by the decision.

“I think it was offside,” said Martinez. “And what I can’t understand is the rules. I want to be calm now, I want to control myself.

“It’s so hard because you lose a derby, you lose three points at home, and every season they’re [referees] coming to our club, they explain for one hour the rules, and they look so confident with that, and then after [there are] five or six people doing these kind of mistakes in the Premier League – it’s unacceptable.

“It’s the best league in the world, you have the best teams in the world, the best players in the world, and now we have to go home with this injustice.”

United boss Carrick also expressed his confusion.

“We put things in place in the game now, we have people in offices with all the screens for this decision,” he said.

“It’s more worrying about if that’s the interpretation of football now. If that’s the interpretation of not interfering in the game now, that’s really worrying for me. It’s a staggering explanation.

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“The decision isn’t going to change the season, but it’s had a major impact on the game.”

Wayne Rooney, part of the BBC’s MOTD2 team, said: “Surely it’s offside. Martinez is impacted by Fernandez’s movement, and he is offside.”

Gary Neville said on Sky Sports: “I think we’ll see some sort of apology from the referee’s association, there’s no doubt Fernandez is playing that ball and is trying to put off Martinez. I think it’s one they’ll recognising they got wrong.”

Micah Richards added: “I think it’s been a bad day for referees. They got the Foden decision wrong and the Fernandez decision wrong. I think they got it so wrong but I don’t think it takes anything away from City’s performance.”

Meanwhile, City boss Maresca said: “I think it was onside clearly so it’s good.”

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World Athletics’ stance on Russian athletes ‘won’t change’ – Sebastian Coe

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Sebastian Coe

World Athletics president Sebastian Coe says the governing body’s stance on sanctions imposed on Russia will not change.

Athletes from Russia and Belarus have been banned from international track and field competition by World Athletics since the country’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The Russian Athletics Federation has filed a new claim with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) to challenge the sanctions imposed by World Athletics.

But Coe said: “Our position hasn’t changed. This isn’t about politics or passports, it’s about the integrity of competition.”

Russian Athletics says the ongoing sanctions “infringe on the organisation’s rights”, adding they “prevent it from fully representing the interests of Russian athletes on an international level”.

Should the Cas ruling come down in favour of Russian Athletics, the way could be opened for Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete at the next Olympic Games, which will be held in Los Angeles in 2028.

Coe, who won two Olympic gold medals during a celebrated athletics career, has pledged to attend the Cas hearing to help present the case of World Athletics.

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Speaking on Sunday at the World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest, the 69-year-old Briton said: “From the age of 18, I believe that every position I’ve taken, whether it was during the creation of the first IOC athletes’ commission or positions I’ve personally taken, it’s about integrity and it’s about competition.

“That matters to me, so our position won’t change.”

Coe added that the issue needed to be “resolved” and that the overall objective was to have a “full complement of people on a global level competing in our sport”.

Russian Athletics executive director Boris Yaryshevsky, in an interview with the Russian TASS news agency last week, criticised Coe’s intention to attend the Cas hearing.

“It is very clear that he has something personal,” said Yaryshevsky.

“He is no longer speaking on behalf of World Athletics as a federation. He is speaking for himself, saying that he personally will go to court to defend this.

“I believe this is simply his personal position, not the position of World Athletics.”

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The stance taken by World Athletics differs to that taken by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), as well as the governing bodies of numerous other sports.

The IOC provisionally lifted Russia’s suspension in July, potentially allowing the country to compete at the 2028 Olympics Games in Los Angeles.

Other sporting federations, including World Gymnastics, World Aquatics and World Boxing, have this year removed restrictions on Russian athletes competing.

Some Russian and Belarusian athletes competed as neutrals at both the 2024 Paris Games and this year’s Winter Olympics in Milan.

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Tom Aspinall: UFC to consider removing heavyweight title after almost year out injured

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Head and shoulders view of heavily tattooed Tom Aspinall

The UFC will assess Tom Aspinall’s status as heavyweight champion as he approaches a full year out of action, says its president Dana White.

Briton Aspinall, 33, has not fought since October 2025, when the first defence of his title against Ciryl Gane ended in a no-contest as he suffered an eye injury.

After repeated eye pokes from Gane, Aspinall was unable to continue and was subsequently diagnosed with a rare eye condition and had persistent double vision before having surgery.

Earlier this month, UFC women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko vacated her title because of persistent injuries.

White was asked whether he thought that Aspinall should consider doing the same, or whether any discussions had taken place about stripping him of the title.

“We’ll definitely be talking about that,” White said.

“Valentina doesn’t want to tie up the division and I’m assuming Tom feels the same way.

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“I don’t know personally where he is health-wise. We should clear that up soon.”

In June, Aspinall said he had returned to full training for a rematch with France’s Gane and suggested they could fight in September.

He then rejected reports saying that he was going to leave the UFC when speculation started at the end of August.

Gane beat Alex Pereira to win the interim heavyweight title at the UFC’s White House show in June, before also calling for a rematch with Aspinall.

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