- The Daily Aus Sport
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- ⚽ Four arrested for racial abuse campaign
⚽ Four arrested for racial abuse campaign
Plus, David Warner has lifetime leadership ban lifted
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Good evening!
Happy Friday, I hope you have an excellent weekend.
If you’re an early bird, the Matildas are back in action tomorrow morning for the first time since the Olympics. The game begins at 5:00am on Paramount+.


I’ve got 10 seconds
Stat of the day
672%
The increase in searches on the UK’s National Health Service website for prostate cancer symptoms, after former Olympic cyclist Sir Chris Hoy announced his terminal cancer diagnosis earlier this week. Hoy won six Olympic gold medals in track cycling for Great Britain. According to the BBC, the number of searches went from 1,876 last week to 14,478 in the two days following Hoy’s announcement.

Sir Chris Hoy revealed this week he has two to four years to live (Getty)
Quote of the day
"I'm intimidating, I guess my voice is too deep and I'm too tall and my skin colour's different… I hear the same coaches say similar things or complain about the same stuff and their leash is a little bit longer. But I guess I have to be made an example out of."
Illawarra Hawks NBL coach Justin Tatum, who received a technical foul for disrespecting the referee during the Hawks' loss to Melbourne United. Tatum, who said he had told the referee he had made a "bleeping terrible call", was asked by the press if he expected technical fouls to be issued to other coaches in the NBL for swearing at referees. Tatum is the father of Boston Celtics NBA star Jayson Tatum.

Justin Tatum during Round 2 against the Sydney Kings (Getty)
Random fact of the day
A 1990 basketball card for New York Knicks guard Mark Jackson features convicted murderers Erik and Lyle Menendez in the background. As part of a shopping spree after killing their parents, the Menendez brothers bought courtside tickets to a Knicks game, where they were photographed. Today, the Los Angeles County District Attorney announced the pair will be resentenced, and could be out on parole. The brothers have always alleged their father abused them.

I’ve got 30 seconds
In case you missed it…
⚽ The Matildas will play a friendly against Switzerland tomorrow at 5:00am (AEDT). It will be the first time that Australia and Switzerland have played each other in women’s soccer. The Tillies are looking to return to their winning ways in their first match since a disappointing Olympic Games. It will also be the side’s first contest since Tony Gustavsson left the coaching role and was replaced by interim coach Tom Sermanni.
🏉 In the AFLW, Melbourne lost 23-17 to Hawthorn on Wednesday night. The result puts the Demons in ninth place. To make finals, they will need to win the final game of the regular season next week and have other teams’ results go their way. Melbourne has not missed the AFLW Finals for the past five years.

The Hawks are leading the competition after last night’s win (Getty)
🎾 Alex de Minaur progressed to the quarter-finals at the Vienna Open after his opponent retired injured. De Minaur, who is currently ranked ninth in the world, will be invited to next month’s ATP Tour Finals if he can crack the top eight. The 25-year-old is 265 points shy of eighth-place Andrey Rublev in the ATP rankings. He will play Czech Jakub Menšík tomorrow morning (AEDT).
⚽ Four people in Spain were arrested and are now being investigated for allegedly acting as ringleaders in a racist online campaign targeted at Real Madrid striker Vinicius Jr. The campaign encouraged people to wear masks at football games so they could racially abuse the Brazilian player without being identified. In June, three fans of Spanish football club Valencia were arrested and sentenced to eight months in prison after being charged with hate crimes against Vicinius Jr.

Vinicius Jr. playing for Real Madrid (Getty)

I’ve got 1 minute

David Warner at the World Cup in 2019 (Getty)
David Warner successfully appeals lifetime leadership ban
David Warner has had his lifetime leadership ban lifted by Cricket Australia. The 37-year-old retired from international cricket last year but is set to play in the upcoming Big Bash League, where he could now captain the Sydney Thunder.
What happened
In 2018, Warner was issued a lifetime leadership ban for his involvement in an infamous ‘ball-tampering’ incident during a test match against South Africa in Cape Town. Members of the Australian team were caught using sandpaper to modify the ball and influence its flight through the air. Warner was identified as a key initiator of the illegal tactic.
Warner met with a three-person Cricket Australia panel earlier this month to appeal the ban. The panel lifted the ban citing a positive change in Warner’s on-field behaviour and character references from the likes of Australia’s captain Pat Cummins, coach Andrew McDonald and former New Zealand captain Kane Williamson.
What they said
Warner told the panel: "After the events in 2018 I just started thinking about myself and how I just wanted to be perceived better on the field. I want to be playing hard, but I want to be that person that they want to have a beer with after the game."

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There were dramatic scenes at last year’s Mexico GP (Getty)
Formula One Mexico GP preview
The Formula One paddock is in Mexico City this weekend for the Mexico GP.
Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez
Formula One has raced at this circuit intermittently since 1963. The course was initially named after Ricardo Rodríguez, who died racing at its inaugural event. Pedro, his brother, died nine years later, so the course was named after both brothers.
The circuit sits at 2,200 metres, the highest on the calendar. The drivers will race 71 laps of the 4.3km loop covering a total distance of 305km.
Favourites
It seems Red Bull is back in form after last week’s U.S. Grand Prix, when Verstappen won the Sprint race and finished third in the Grand Prix, ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris in fourth. McLaren still holds a 40-point lead over Red Bull in the Constructors’ Championship. After teammates Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz finished first and second last week, Ferrari trails Red Bull by eight points. Leclerc says they’re “targeting the title”.
The thinner air at high altitudes means the cars will race with high wings to increase their downforce. This season, McLaren has excelled with a high wing, meaning Norris will enter the weekend as the favourite.
History
Max Verstappen has won four of the last five races here. Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton is the only other driver on the grid who has won here before.
How to watch
The race is at 7:00am on Monday (AEDT). You can watch it on Kayo or Foxtel.

A message from our sponsor
The Matildas take on Switzerland this weekend in their first match since the Olympics. It’s been just over a year since the Matildas made the semi-final at the 2023 World Cup and re-ignited Australia’s passion for football. Since then, 14 straight sold-out Matildas matches have been set. Here are two continuing impacts of the ‘Matildas Effect’.
The government announced the Play Our Way grant program which was designed to provide opportunities for women and girls to participate in and benefit from sport. The program will run over three years and offer $200 million in funding with the goal of fostering safe and inclusive environments as well as encouraging women to remain involved in sports and physical activity for life.
Following the success of the Matildas in 2023, Australia has been awarded the 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup. Over 24,000 international visitors are anticipated to travel for the tournament, which is expected to boost the economy by $260 million. Expect the Matildas Effect to be back in full swing for the Asian Cup with games being played in New South Wales, Queensland, and Western Australia.
Think Beyond The Field. Study Sport at Deakin.

Looking back…
NBLWho: New Zealand v SE Melbourne Who: Illawarra v Melbourne |

Looking forward…(All times are AEDT)
International Rugby Union (men’s)Who: Japan v New Zealand Time: 4:50pm tomorrow Where to watch: Stan Sport MLB World Series (Game 1)Who: Yankees v Dodgers Time: 10:30am tomorrow Where to watch: Kayo, Foxtel | AFLW (Indigenous Round)Tonight: Kuwarna v Kangaroos at 7:45pm Tomorrow: GWS Giants v Walyalup at 2:05pm Gold Coast Suns v
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A-LeagueTonight: Macarthur FC v Tomorrow: Adelaide United v Melbourne City v Where to watch: Paramount+, 10play | NBLTonight: Adelaide 36ers v Perth Wildcats v Tomorrow: SE Melbourne v Brisbane Bullets v Where to watch: Kayo, Foxtel |
