This day in 2014 saw one of the more bizarre incidents in FIFA World Cup history. During a group stage match, Uruguay’s Luis Suárez bit Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini on the shoulder.

While he wasn’t sent off at the time (Italy were awarded a free kick), two days later FIFA banned Suárez from all football activities for four months. It wasn’t the first time he’d been caught biting — it had happened twice before in club football!

$2,000
The amount of money that Gold Coast Suns coach Damien Hardwick has been fined by the AFL for ‘flipping the bird’ in the direction of umpires during the Suns' 106-99 loss to the GWS Giants on Sunday. The footage was not shown in the live coverage, but rather on Monday night’s AFL360 on Fox Footy, where Hardwick was a guest. Fox Footy will reportedly take care of the fine. The Suns coach is the fourth person to be fined for the gesture this season, alongside three players: Harley Reid (Eagles), Mabior Chol (Hawks), and Bailey Smith (Cats).

"I'm from a small town, a long way from here and a lot different to this environment. So it is somewhat of a dream."
Auckland City striker Christian Gray after he scored a goal in his side’s 1-1 draw against Argentinian club Boca Juniors at the FIFA Club World Cup. It is the only goal that the side, which qualified from the Oceania Football Conference, has scored all tournament. It was also one of three shots at goal compared to Boca’s 41. Auckland City will not progress to the knockout stages, but the draw was significant for the team, which is mostly made up of amateur players. Gray, for example, is a PE teacher back home in New Zealand.

The first Indigenous athletes to represent Australia at the Olympics were basketballer Michael Ah Matt and boxers Adrian Blair and Francis Roberts, who all competed at the 1964 Games in Tokyo. It wasn’t until 1992 that swimmer Samantha Riley became the first Indigenous woman to represent Australia at the Olympics. Riley was also the first Indigenous medal-winner, taking out bronze in the 100m breaststroke.

🎾 Kimberly Birrell and James Duckworth have both progressed past the opening round in their respective Eastbourne Open campaigns, joining teenager Maya Joint as the only Aussies in the second round. Birrell, ranked 77th in the world, pulled off a major upset by beating 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin in straight sets (6-4, 6-4). She will take on Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the second round. Meanwhile, Duckworth beat fellow Aussie Aleksandar Vukic in three sets (6-3, 6-7, 6-1) and is set to play Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina next. Tonight, Joint faces a tough challenge in British number one Emma Raducanu. The Eastbourne Open is a grass-court event played on the south coast of England ahead of Wimbledon, which begins next week. 

🏟️ Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff has struck a deal with cricket authorities that will ensure that the ‘final specifications’ of the roof of the proposed stadium in Hobart cater to all forms of cricket. Previously, Cricket Australia and Cricket Tasmania were concerned that shadows cast by the proposed roof would obstruct play. The construction of the stadium is still not confirmed, with two weeks of hearings for the project’s approval process set to begin today. To go ahead, it will have to be approved by both houses of Tasmania’s parliament. The state is going to an early election on 19 July, another factor which has delayed enabling legislation for the stadium.

🏏 England have taken a 1-0 lead in their Test series against India after chasing down 371 runs in the final innings to win by five wickets. On the final day in Leeds, Ben Duckett starred for England with 149 runs. It marked the 10th highest successful run chase in Test cricket history. The next test will be played at Edgbaston in Birmingham and begin on 2 July.

The Australian men’s Test team will begin a three-Test tour of the West Indies tomorrow morning (AEST). The side will field a new-look lineup after Marnus Labuschagne was dropped from the side and Steve Smith recovers from a broken finger. 

Australia have been undefeated in their last 13 Test series against the West Indies, holding the Frank Worrell trophy since 1995. The last Test series between the two sides in the summer of 2024 was a 1-1 draw, after the West Indies upset Australia at the Gabba, winning by eight runs. West Indies fast bowler Shamar Joseph was especially impressive, taking seven wickets in the second innings. He looms as the side’s most threatening bowler again.

Australia has opted for the same bowling attack of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, and Nathan Lyon that played in last week’s World Test Championship against South Africa. 

In terms of the batting lineup, Cameron Green will remain at number three after a less-than-ideal return to the side last week, which saw him score four runs across two innings. 

Cummins said of Green’s WTC performance: “The message is not to look into that too much. We’re really happy with where his game is placed and I dare say he’ll get a decent run at number three.”

Josh Inglis will replace Smith at number four, and young gun Sam Konstas will open the batting alongside veteran Usman Khawaja in place of Labuschagne. 

The opening Test is taking place in Bridgetown, Barbados. The first ball will be bowled at midnight tonight. The series is being streamed on ESPN, which can be accessed via Kayo, Foxtel, or Disney+.

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Aussie sprint sensation Gout Gout put the world on notice at the Ostrava Golden Spike, an athletics event in the Czech Republic, overnight. In his senior international debut, the 17-year-old won the men’s 200m and set a new Australian record of 20.02, bettering the mark of 20.04 he set in December. 

Gout came around the bend in second place before powering home on the final straight to finish ahead of Cuba’s Reynier Mena by 0.17 seconds. Mena was one of the pre-race favourites, having won the Oslo and Stockholm Diamond League events in the previous two weeks. 

Gout said: “I knew Mena would come hard at me the first 100 but I was confident I’d be close enough to come home strongly in the second part of the race which is of course my stronger part.  I felt calm but strong as I came off the turn and was confident I’d be strong enough to get the win. Another national record! Pretty happy with that, it’s not a bad first up in Europe!”

Gout’s time of 20.02 is the equal sixth fastest under-20 200m of all time. Gout will next be in action at the Monaco Diamond League meet at Stade Louis II on 11 July. The world championships are in Tokyo in September. 

18-year-old Cameron Myers also set an Australian under-20 record at the meet. Myers finished fourth in the men’s 1500m in a time of 3:29.8, three seconds faster than his previous personal best and previous under-20 national record. Fellow Aussie Jude Thomas finished seventh.

Australia’s top women’s sprinter, Torrie Lewis, finished sixth in the women’s 100m final with a time of 11.26. Two national records were broken in the race, with Liberia’s Thelma Davis (10.91) and New Zealand’s Zoe Hobbs (10.94) becoming the fastest women in their respective countries’ record books.

Peter Bol also produced a standout performance in the men’s 800m, winning the race in a time of 1:43.80 and recording his second fastest time over the distance. 

On Friday, Kenyan middle-distance champion Faith Kipyegon will attempt to become the first woman to run a mile (1,609 metres) in under four minutes. The triple-Olympic gold medallist will look to shave over seven seconds off her mile world record of 4:07.64, which she set two years ago.

The attempt will take place under controlled conditions set up by the sportswear company Nike. It’s not the first time Nike has sponsored a record-breaking effort. In 2019, Kenyan marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge ran a marathon in under two hours. The effort was not ratified as a record by World Athletics due to the assistance he received from a constant rotation of pacemakers, meaning the race wasn’t run under normal marathon conditions. 

It’s not yet clear if Kipyegon’s attempt will count as a world record if she eclipses her personal best of 4:07.64.