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In perhaps one of the more bizarre sporting moments of the year, Portuguese football manager José Mourinho is under fire after grabbing his opposite managers nose (no, that’s not a typo).

The former Chelsea and Real Madrid manager is currently coaching Turkish club Fenerbahçe. After a 2-1 loss to Galatasaray, a scuffle broke out on the pitch and Mourinho could be seen grabbing the nose of Galatasaray manager Okan Buruk, who fell to the floor immediately.

Buruk said: "He squeezed my nose from behind… There was a slight scratch. Of course, it's not a very nice and stylish thing".

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Stat of the day

28 years and 275 days
The average age of the Collingwood side that will take to the field against Carlton tonight in the opening match of Round 4. It is the oldest average age for a team in the history of the VFL/AFL, according to the ABC. At 37-years-old, Scott Pendlebury is the team’s oldest player. Four of the last six games between the two teams have been decided by fewer than six points. 

Quote of the day

"It's [a] really special moment for me to win a first match as an Australian player. I'm just really happy, and couldn't believe one day something like that would happen to me."
The world’s 12th-ranked women’s tennis player, Daria Kasatkina, after winning her first match as a representative of Australia. Kasatkina beat American Lauren Davis in straight sets at the Charleston Open in South Carolina. The Russian native will now play under an Australian flag after her application for permanent residency was granted by the Government last week. Kasatkina, who is openly gay, left Russia after publicly criticising the country’s strict LGBTQ+ laws and the war in Ukraine.

Random fact of the day

According to Usain Bolt’s autobiography, during the 2008 Olympics in Beijing the sprinter’s diet consisted solely of McDonald’s chicken nuggets. At the Games, Bolt became an Olympic champion and world record holder in the 100m and 200m.

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In case you missed it…

Former Wallabies player Jordan Petaia has signed with the NFL’s Los Angeles Chargers. Petaia, who played in two Rugby World Cups for Australia, has joined the Chargers roster as a tight end after completing the NFL’s International Player Program (IPP). The IPP seeks to bring international talent into American Football and is the same pathway that 2025 Super Bowl champion (and Sydneysider) Jordan Mailata took to join the league. 

Three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokić has broken the record for the most points scored in a triple-double in the league’s history. The Denver Nuggets star recorded 61 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists. Despite Jokić’s efforts, his team still lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves 140-139. A triple-double is when a player records double digits for three different statistical categories; the most common three are points, rebounds, and assists. 

Round 5 of the NRL kicks off at 8:00pm tonight with the Canberra Raiders hosting the Cronulla Sharks. Both teams have won two of their four matches so far this season and will be looking to establish a winning record. Tonight’s match also marks the beginning of the NRL’s multicultural round, which  celebrates the sport’s  “the diverse cultural backgrounds”.

Former Labor government minister Mark Arbib has been appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Olympic Committee. Arbib emphasised that one of his key goals during his tenure will be to make sure that women’s Olympic sports talent is not drained by the NRLW and AFLW. He said: “We’re competing for talent now in the women’s sports space. What I don’t want to see is that impacting upon our results, Australians want a successful team.” The AOC announced Arbib’s appointment yesterday, and he will begin in the role on 5 May.

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Sydney MMA event cancelled by NSW Police for concern over possible assassination attempt

A mixed martial arts (MMA) event scheduled to take place in southwest Sydney later this month has been cancelled due to concerns that one of the coaches at the event is the target of an assassination attempt.

According to reports first broadcast on 2GB radio, NSW Police intervened in the organisation of the Dark Matter Fighting Championship, set for 19 April , after reportedly receiving intelligence that a hit on former UFC fighter Suman Mokhtarian was to be carried out on the night.

Context

It is not the first time Mokhtarian, who had two fights in the UFC, has been the target of an alleged assassination attempt. Last year, he survived being shot at by a gunman out the front of the Australian Top Team gym in Wentworthville. Mokhtarian told 2GB he would not attend the event if it meant it could go ahead.

What they said

Event promoter Andrew Delmas told 2GB radio: "I see [the police’s] position, but I feel like I'm the meat in the sandwich here. It's very difficult, these type of events are extremely difficult to put together... It takes months of work."

In a statement to media, NSW Police said it would “continue to work closely with event organisers to ensure the safety and security of attendees and the wider community at any potential future events.”

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Grand Slam Track begins this weekend. Here’s what you need to know

Grand Slam Track is a new professional athletics league set up by four-time Olympic gold-medallist Michael Johnson. The formation of the league was announced before the Olympics last year, and it will host its inaugural event in Jamaica on Friday (local time). Here’s what you need to know.

What is it?

Grand Slam Track will feature four ‘slams’. This weekend’s inaugural event is in Kingston, Jamaica. It will then make stops in Miami, Philadelphia, and conclude in Los Angeles in late June.

Grand Slam Track will feature six disciplines: short sprints, long sprints, short hurdles, long hurdles, short distance, and long distance. Every athlete competes in two events within one discipline, and their overall result will be based on the combined results of the two.

Athletes will be competing for a share of $US12.6 million ($AU20.1 million) prize money. The champion in each discipline will receive $US100,000 ($AU160,000).

Who is competing?

48 racers are paid a salary for their participation in the league. There will also be 48 ‘challengers’ who are selected to compete against the ‘racers’ on a “Slam-by-Slam basis”. ‘Challengers’ are paid a fee for each slam.

The athletes competing include some but not all of the world’s best. For example, the women’s 400m hurdles will be headlined by Olympic champion and world record holder the U.S’ Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, but her rival, the Netherlands’ Femke Bol, is not signed up to race.

One of the most anticipated races of Grand Slam Track is the men’s 1500m. All three medallists from last year’s Olympics (Cole Hocker, Josh Kerr, and Yared Nuguse) have signed up. Those athletes will also race in the 800m as part of the ‘short distance’ discipline.

What they said

Johnson told BBC Sport: "My objective is to create the opportunities that athletes have always wanted and to put them on a stage that is worthy of their greatness, with races that mean something. To do that you have to have the best competing against each other. That is what is compelling about the biggest sports in the world. That's what we're creating."

Criticisms

Perhaps the biggest criticism of Johnson’s professional league is that it will not include any field events (e.g. long jump, pole vault, shot put). These events make up half of the Olympic and World Championships ‘track and field’ sessions.

The other prominent concern is the physical toll that adding more racing to the annual athletics calendar may have on the athletes. Before the World Championships in Tokyo in September, there are also 15 Diamond League events.

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Looking forward…(All times are AEDT)

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