Ben Burrows

South Korea is seeking a meeting with International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach after its 143 athletes were wrongly introduced as North Korean during the opening ceremony for the Paris Olympics. The IOC was forced to issue a “deep apology” for the incident which saw the South Korean delegation announced as the “Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,” the full official name of North Korea, as their boat passed down the Seine. The formal name of South Korea is the Republic of Korea. North Korea, which has 16 athletes as part of its first delegation since...

An Iraqi judoka has recorded the first positive doping test of the 2024 Paris Olympics, the International Testing Agency (ITA) said on Friday. A statement from the ITA said that Sajjad Sehen tested positive for the banned anabolic steroids metandienone and boldenone during out-of-competition anti-doping control in Paris on July 23. The Games begin officially with the opening ceremony in the French capital on Friday night. Sehen has the right to request the analysis of his B sample but won’t now be eligible to take up his place in the competition. Follow live coverage of day one of the...

Elena Rybakina has withdrawn from the women’s tennis competition at the Paris Olympics. The world number four was set to be the third seed for the event following Aryna Sabalenka’s own withdrawal. France’s Caroline Garcia now moves into her seeded slot in the draw. Alternate Daria Saville of Australia moves into the main draw and will play China’s Qinwen Zheng in the first round. Rybakina has reached the quarter-finals twice on the clay at Roland Garros, where the Olympic competition will be held, in 2021 and earlier this year. She would have met Naomi Osaka or...

Lionel Scaloni says Lionel Messi didn’t want to let his team-mates down after he was forced out of the Copa America final with a foot injury. Messi, 37, playing in what will surely be his final Copa America was left sobbing on the bench after having to come off midway through the second half against Colombia. The Argentina captain appeared to slip on the pitch at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami and went down without any contact from any other player. He called for medical assistance, was briefly treated on the field by staff before walking off the pitch with his right boot removed. He was...

James Rodriguez won the Copa America player of the tournament award despite Colombia’s defeat in the final. The former Real Madrid, Monaco and Everton midfielder, 33, rolled back the years in the United States and starred to guide Colombia all the way to the final. His six assists topped the chart for the competition while he also added a goal. Colombia finished runners-up after falling 1-0 to Argentina in the tournament’s final in Miami on Sunday. The Golden Ball award was first handed out to the tournament’s best player in 1987. Rodriguez is the second Colombian to win the...

Colombia head coach Nestor Lorenzo has criticized plans for a halftime show during Sunday’s Copa America final with Argentina. Shakira will play the tournament’s first-ever halftime show at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami with her performance and associated setup and clearance expected to see the interval stretch to 25 minutes. A halftime show is a staple of the NFL’s Super Bowl, which regularly sees the break between halves of play stretch to 30 minutes or more. Shakira played the halftime show at the same stadium in Miami in 2020. Halftime delays were an early headline at this...

A number of Uruguayan players, including Darwin Nunez, clashed with Colombian fans after the semifinal of Copa America on Wednesday night. Following the game at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina altercations broke out between supporters in the stands with players entering the area where their families — including children — were situated in the stadium. Liverpool forward Nunez was among those caught up in the incident with Ronald Araujo of Barcelona and Atletico Madrid defender Jose Maria Gimenez also pictured nearby. Video footage appeared to show Colombian fans clash...

The European Championship in Germany is drawing to a close with only a handful of games to go. The two semi-finals are in the books. Then the final, on Sunday in Berlin, will follow where the champion will be crowned. There won’t be a third-place play-off, however, with the losing semi-finalists following other eliminated teams and going straight out of the tournament. Despite other international competitions, including the World Cup, Copa America and African Cup of Nations, having one that will not be the case for Euro 2024. UEFA decided to scrap the third-place play-off game for the...

Lionel Messi broke a tie with Ali Daei to move second on the list of men’s international scorers with a goal in the Copa America semifinal against Canada. Messi’s 51st minute strike for Argentina was a 109th for his country, moving him one clear of the legendary Iranian forward. Only Cristiano Ronaldo, with 130 goals for Portugal, has more in men’s international football. The goal, a scruffy effort from close range, is a first for Messi at the 2024 Copa America and a 14th overall in the tournament. Argentina went on to win the game 2-0 to advance to Sunday’s final in...

Gareth Southgate says he is “not concerned” by the appointment of a referee for England’s Euro 2024 semi-final who has previously served a ban for his involvement in a match-fixing scandal. Felix Zwayer was suspended six months by Germany’s football federation (DFB) in 2006, having worked as an assistant referee alongside Robert Hoyzer. Zwayer was one of the officials who brought Hoyzer’s match-fixing plot to light and Hoyzer was banned for life. Zwayer has always denied being in on Hoyzer’s fix of Wuppertal’s game with Werder Bremen II in 2004. He was discovered to...

Novak Djokovic advanced to the quarterfinals of Wimbledon before taking aim at sections of the Centre Court crowd for what he called “disrespect” towards him during his match with Holger Rune. The seven-time champion cruised through in straight sets 6-3 6-4 6-2 in what was expected to be a tough test against the world No 15 to reach the last eight. A dialled-in crowd threw their support behind the Dane with the traditional ‘Ruuuuuuune’ chant heard throughout. Djokovic appeared to hear those as boos towards him and mimicked them when interviewed on court after the match.

Sergio Busquets was sent off for dissent as Inter Miami lost 6-1 to FC Cincinnati on Saturday. The former Spain international was shown two yellow cards by referee Chris Penso in a matter of seconds in the second half at TQL Stadium. The first was for arguing against a foul called on Leonardo Campana before Busquets’ continued protesting prompted a second caution moments later. The dismissal is only the fourth of the 35-year-old’s long career. Down 5-1 at the time of the sending off, Miami went on to concede a further goal with 10 players. FT. pic.twitter.com/AOu1ajJZAR —...

The world's oldest international soccer tournament has crowned a champion in the United States

Norwegian professional cyclist Andre Drege has died following a crash during the Tour of Austria. The 25-year-old, a rider for Team Coop-Repsol, suffered the accident during a mountain descent on stage 4 of the event on Saturday. Race organisers said the incident happened during the descent of the Grossglockner where Drege “crashed and sustained severe injuries”. Filippo Ganna of Ineos Grenadiers won the stage. The usual podium presentations were subsequently cancelled. A statement from Team Coop-Repsol read: “We are devastated by the tragic passing of Andre Drege. “Our...

Copa America 2024 has reached the business end of the tournament — which means one or two different rules than you might be used to