Do you remember Vozinha, Cape Verde’s goalkeeper from the 2026 FIFA World Cup?

The 40-year-old shot to fame at the tournament as Cape Verde progressed to the knockout stages on debut. Vozinha’s seven saves against Spain in the group stage kept the eventual champions scoreless. He started the tournament with 56,000 Instagram followers. He now has over 28 million.

Fame doesn’t seem to sit well with him, though.

In an interview with The Observer this week, he said: “I’ve lost my peace and tranquillity, I no longer have any privacy…To be honest, if I were offered the life I have today or the life I had before, I’d choose the one I had before.”

25
The number of years since the Socceroos’ first and only win against Brazil’s men’s football team. The victory, on 9 June 2001, came in the third-place playoff of the Confederations Cup, an international tournament last played in 2017. Australia will look to add to that tally when they play Brazil again tonight in Brisbane. The Socceroos drew 1-1 with Brazil in Townsville on Friday night.

“Please don’t be one of those people writing comments like this to Phoenix. It was a complete accident, and he doesn’t deserve the unwarranted hate.”
Penrith star Nathan Cleary has defended Newcastle player Phoenix Crossland following a wave of hate over the tackle that broke his leg. Cleary called the backlash against Phoenix Crossland “unfair”, reminding fans that split-second moments can have unfortunate consequences. Crossland will likely miss this Sunday’s NRL Grand Final against the Sydney Roosters after entering a guilty plea ahead of Tuesday night’s judiciary.

The record for the fastest serve in women’s tennis belongs to Germany’s Sabine Lisicki, who produced a serve at 210.8 km/h at a tournament in California in 2014. Lisicki went on to lose the match.

🏉 Geelong Cats defender Jake Kolodjashnij will retire from professional football after failing to gain medical clearance to continue playing. Kolodjashnij played 209 matches across 11 seasons but has had persistent concussion issues and has not been cleared to play after additional neuropsychological testing, according to multiple reports. Last month, the Cats were fined $140,000 for failing to declare a waiver that Kolodjashnij signed with the club in 2024, which made the 31-year-old liable for any future head trauma. A formal announcement is expected this week.

🏀 The WNBA Playoffs have begun in the U.S., with eight teams left in contention to win the championship. The WNBA is North America’s top professional women’s basketball league. The Minnesota Lynx, led by rookie of the year Olivia Miles, are the favourites after finishing the regular season on top of the table. Their high hopes were dinged by a loss in the opening match of their three-game series against the New York Liberty on Sunday. The WNBA’s reigning champions, the Las Vegas Aces, are also expected to put up a strong contest to win back-to-back titles.

🏉 Former Sydney Swans coach John Longmire is joining Essendon as the club’s new General Manager of Performance. This is a newly created senior leadership role overseeing “game strategy, player development, leadership, the coaching group, performance analytics and strength and conditioning”. Longmire coached the Swans for 14 seasons, winning the 2012 premiership and reaching five Grand Finals in total. He will now work alongside Essendon’s new senior coach and former Swans assistant Mark McVeigh.

CW: Distressing themes
🥊 Australian Olympian Marissa Williamson Pohlman has retired from boxing, ending a career in which she became the first Indigenous Australian woman to compete in Olympic boxing. In a statement to Instagram, Pohlman, who represented Australia at Paris 2024, said she was retiring due to “gender based violence in sport”. She alleged her first boxing coach, who she said became her foster father, physically abused her and that his son sexually and physically abused her while they were in a relationship. Pohlman also alleged other unnamed male boxers raped her, physically abused her, and verbally and sexually harassed her. It comes three months after Boxing Australia CEO Dinah Glykidis resigned in the wake of social media posts from Pohlman alleging the organisation bullied her, which Boxing Australia has denied. Since Glykidis resigned, Pohlman has called for a senate inquiry into athletes’ welfare in government-funded sporting programs.

1800 RESPECT: 1800 737 732.

Reporting by Pavitra Ravi and George Finlayson.

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A football match between Ireland and Israel in Hungary sparked headlines over the weekend, as Irish players protested Israel’s actions in Gaza.

It’s also been alleged that supporters of the Israeli team racially abused one of Ireland’s players.

Ireland won 3-0. Here’s what went down.

Ireland has long expressed support for Palestinian statehood. It first called for an independent state in 1980, and formally recognised the state of Palestine in 2024.

In 2025, the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) called for Israel’s suspension from UEFA (European) competitions last year, on the grounds that Israel’s football governing body hadn’t set up an anti-racism policy, and had organised clubs in illegal settlements in the West Bank without the approval of Palestinian football groups. The FAI said these were breaches of UEFA policy.

After Ireland and Israel were drawn into the same group for the next tranche of Nations League games, more than 200 Irish athletes signed an open letter urging the team not play Israel.

The letter said in part: “We believe playing Israel legitimises a genocidal regime”. In September 2025, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry alleged several Israeli leaders had “incited the commission of genocide” in Gaza. Israel denies the allegations.

Reserve goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu left the squad before the first game, adding that his decision “is based purely upon [his] personal belief that the killing of innocent people is wrong”.

Ahead of the match, which was held on neutral ground in Hungary, Ireland declined to shake hands with Israeli opponents, wore black armbands and bowed their heads during Israel’s national anthem.

Israeli supporters were also accused of directing racist chants at Irish forward Adam Idah, and were filmed saying military slogans during the match. UEFA has said it won’t investigate the racism allegations against Idah because the correct procedure was not followed. At the time of publication, the Israeli team has not commented on these allegations.

After the game, Israeli captain Manor Solomon told Israel’s Sport 5 channel Israel is “10 times better” than Ireland, and added: “They hate us and we don’t like them.”

They will face each other next on 5 October (AEDT) in Serbia.

Reporting by Pavitra Ravi.

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Manchester City has been found guilty of more than 100 financial violations, in what has been described as the biggest scandal in English Premier League history.

Here is what you need to know.

In February 2023, Manchester City was referred to an independent commission and charged with 115 alleged breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules. The referral followed a four-year investigation by the English Premier League.

At the time of the referral, Manchester City said it was “surprised” by the allegations and that the club “welcomes the review of this matter by an independent commission, to impartially consider the comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence that exists in support of its position.”

Now, three years on, the club has been found guilty by the commission of 114 of the 115 charges.

The charges allege that City failed to provide the Premier League with accurate financial information between 2009 and 2018 and failed to cooperate fully with the investigation. During this period, the club won seven major trophies, including three Premier League titles.

In 2008, the club was bought by Abu Dhabi United Group, which is an investment group owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a member of the Abu Dhabi Royal Family. The group has stakes in 12 football clubs worldwide, including Melbourne City.

It’s not the first time the club has been in trouble under the group’s ownership. In May 2014, City was fined £49 million by UEFA, European football’s governing body, for breaching ‘Financial Fair Play’ (FFP) regulations. The FFP regulations were introduced by UEFA in 2011 to stop clubs spending more than they earn.

Then, in February 2020, UEFA handed the club a two-year ban from the Champions League, over alleged financial misconduct. That ban was later overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

While the independent commission has found the club guilty of charges, it has not yet released its full findings or decided on the sanctions it will face.

Potential sanctions include a significant fine, a points deduction or even expulsion from the Premier League. Rival clubs are also reportedly considering legal action to seek compensation for economic losses linked to lost titles, missed opportunities to play in European competitions or relegation from the English Premier League.

Manchester City deny the charges and are expected to appeal the verdict, meaning there will be another hearing and appeal process. It’s unclear how long that process will take.

The club has always maintained its innocence. Man City Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak said in a statement: “The Premier League process still has a long way to run, and our confidence and intent in proving the Club’s innocence is just as strong as when this began.”