⚽ Argentinian footballer apologises

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Good evening!

This week is a great week to be a golf fan as The Open (one of men’s golf’s four major tournaments) started today at 3:30pm. The tournament will play out over the next four days and an ultimate winner will emerge on Sunday night (AEST).

On the other hand, it was a terrible morning to be a golf ball at the driving range this morning because Nish (The Daily Aus’ lead developer) and I were knocking them out of the park. Just kidding, we shanked most of them.

Today’s lesson: golf is hard.

Oh, and how good was State of Origin last night?

I’ve got 10 seconds

Stat of the day

19
The number of assists Caitlin Clark recorded for the Indiana Fever against the Dallas Wings today. Clark set a WNBA record for the most assists in a single game. Despite Clark’s record, the Fever lost the game 101-93. 

Caitlin Clark keeps breaking records (Getty)

Quote of the day

"The most beautiful thing in life is when you have the right partner by your side with whom you can share everything."
German ex-F1 driver Ralf Schumacher’s caption to a photo of him and his partner Étienne on social media. Schumacher, the younger brother of seven-time world champion Michael, is the third driver in F1 to come out as gay since the beginning of the championship in 1950. He had six wins and 27 podium finishes during his decade-long career as a driver.

Random fact of the day

Angel City FC, a Los Angeles-based side in the U.S. National Women’s Soccer League, has become the most expensive women’s sports team in the world after couple Bob Iger (CEO of Disney) and Willow Bay (a prominent journalist and author) conducted a $US250 million ($AU371m) takeover of the club. 

I’ve got 30 seconds

In case you missed it…

🚴‍♂️ Ecuadorian cyclist Richard Carapaz won Stage 17 of the Tour de France. Carapaz is the first Ecuadorian to win a stage of the Tour and adds to his decorated cycling career, including stage wins in La Vuelta España and Giro d’Italia and a gold medal in the Olympic road race in Tokyo. Meanwhile, Tadej Pogačar retained the yellow jersey and Biniam Girmay extended his lead in the points classification for the green jersey. 

Carapaz rounds a hairpin bend while climbing the Col du Noyer (Getty)

🇫🇷Paris’ Mayor Anne Hidalgo has fulfilled her promise to swim in the River Seine. The Mayor took a dip on Wednesday (local time) to demonstrate the cleanliness of the Seine ahead of the Olympics which is when athletes competing in the triathlon and marathon swim events will grace the same waters. 

Hidalgo in the Seine (Getty)

🏏England’s women’s T20 cricket team beat New Zealand in the fifth and final match of an international series between the two sides. England won the match by 20 runs at Lord’s Cricket Ground in London on Wednesday (local time) and swept the series 5-0. The Women’s Twenty20 Cricket World Cup will be held in Bangladesh in October.

🏉Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt has made ten changes to the starting side to face Georgia this weekend at Allianz Stadium in Sydney. Test veteran Allan Alaalatoa (69 caps) will captain the side for the first time while 21-year-old Darby Lancaster will make his Test debut for the Wallabies on the wing. 

I’ve got 1 minute

Enzo Fernández during the Copa América (EPA)

Argentinian footballer Enzo Fernández has apologised to his Chelsea Football Club teammates for participating in racist chants directed at French players of African descent. 

In the wake of Argentina’s Copa América victory on Sunday, Fernández posted a video to social media in which he and his teammates were singing a chant that included racist and homophobic slurs. 

French Football Federation

In a statement, the French Football Federation said it would file a legal complaint and challenge FIFA and the Argentina Football Association to respond to the alleged remarks. 

Chelsea said that they had instigated an internal disciplinary procedure against Fernández meaning he will likely be fined and made to attend a racism education course.

What they said

Wesley Fofana, a French footballer who also plays for Chelsea, said on X: “Football in 2024: uninhibited racism.” 

Fernández said in a post on Instagram: “The song includes highly offensive language and there is absolutely no excuse for these words. I stand against discrimination in all forms and apologise for getting caught up in the euphoria of our Copa America celebrations. That video, that moment, those words, do not reflect my character or beliefs. I am truly sorry.”

French footballer Wesley Fofana who plays for Chelsea (Getty)

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I’ve got 2 minutes

Bradman Best scores the breakthrough try (AAP)

The State of Origin men’s series finished with the NSW Blues securing a famous 14-4 victory on the Queensland Maroon’s home soil at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane last night. It marked the third time the Blues have prevailed in an Origin decider at the venue in State of Origin’s 45-year history.

How it happened

The first half was defined by a high level of physicality and a scuffle 30 minutes into the game resulting in a player from each team (Blues’ Cameron Murray and Maroons’ Jeremiah Nanai) being sin-binned for escalating matters. Murray got involved from the bench so the Blues had to nominate a player to spend ten minutes on the sideline for Murray — debutant Mitch Barnett. 

On the verge of half-time, Queensland were awarded a penalty and a goal, leaving the half-time score at 2-0. 

It was not until the 65th minute that the Blues scored the first try, courtesy of Bradman Best. Three minutes later, Mitchell Moses stepped through Queensland's defence to extend the Blues lead to 14-4 with ten minutes to play. The score stayed that way through to the full-time siren.

Blues fullback Dylan Edwards, who had 243 run metres, was named the player of the match. Blues forward Angus Crichton was awarded the Wally Lewis Medal for the player of the series. 

Player of the series Angus Crichton takes on Queensland’s defence (Getty)

First-half brawl

Following the melee in the first half, which spilled off the field and over the sideline, nine players have been charged by the NRL match review committee for their involvement. Seven players will have fines deducted from their match fee of $30,000 while two Blues players, Cameron Murray and Haumole Olakau’atu, are facing potential suspension for deciding to involve themselves in the brawl despite Olakau’atu not even playing in the match and Murray sitting on the bench.

Injuries

NSW halfback Mitch Moses tore his bicep late in the second half and will miss the rest of his season with the Parramatta Eels while his Blues teammate fullback Dylan Edwards is expected to miss up to three weeks for the Penrith Panthers due to a knee injury.

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Is it too late to become an Olympian?

Watching young sportspeople on TV can make you wonder if your Olympic dreams are fading. That voice in your head saying you might represent Australia one day is getting quieter. If you’d stuck with it in high school, you could be in Paris now!

Dr. Lyndell Bruce from Deakin's School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences has analysed the age limits for Olympians. Endurance athletes peak in their early-to-mid 30s, while gymnasts and divers peak in their teens or early 20s.

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Talent scouts know there's no single path to becoming an elite athlete. Even you could still make the Australian team, though perhaps not for Paris.

Read more of Dr. Bruce’s research on the age of elite athletes and talent identification here.

Looking back…

International Basketball (men’s)

Who: Team USA v Serbia 

Result: Team USA won 105-79

In brief: Steph Curry led Team USA with 24 points in an exhibition match against Serbia. The Olympic favourites will play two more exhibition matches against South Sudan and Germany before they arrive in Paris for the Games.

WNBA

Who: Minnesota Lynx v Atlanta Dream

Result: The Lynx won 86-79

In brief: Kayla McBride starred for the Lynx, scoring 30 points. The Dream have lost eight straight games. 

Looking forward…(All times are AEST)

Le Tour de France

Who: The world’s best cyclists

Time: 8:50pm tonight

Talking points: Stage 18 of the Tour will be 179.5km from Gap to Barcelonnette. It is a hilly stage which includes 3100m of elevation. Tadej Pogačar starts the stage in the yellow jersey with a 3:11 lead over Jonas Vingegaard.

Where to watch: SBS On Demand

The Open

Who: The world’s best golfers

Time: From 3:30pm today

Talking points: Some tee times to watch out for in Round 1 include Adam Scott (4:30pm), Bryson DeChambeau (6:47pm), Rory McIlroy (7:09pm), and Scottie Scheffler (12:10am).

Where to watch: Kayo Sports, Foxtel

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