De Zorzi out of first Test against Australia

Tony de Zorzi has been ruled out of the first Dafabet Test against Australia in Durban after sustaining a hamstring injury during the ODI series.

De Zorzi picked up the injury while fielding in the third ODI against Australia in Potchefstroom on Wednesday. milkshake.it.com

Scans conducted on Friday confirmed the extent of the problem, and he will now miss the opening Test, which gets underway at Kingsmead in Durban on 9 October.

No replacement has yet been named for the preliminary 18-player squad, which was confirmed earlier this month under the captaincy of Temba Bavuma.

Rabada was included in that squad as he continues his own recovery from a hamstring injury, while fellow seamers Ottneil Baartman, Kwena Maphaka and Lungi Ngidi were left out, all still working through hamstring issues of their own.

Gerald Coetzee, Anrich Nortje and Dane Paterson were all recalled to the Test set-up for the series, with Dolphins batter Marques Ackerman the squad’s only uncapped player.

De Zorzi’s injury adds to what has already been a taxing period for South Africa’s fitness staff, with hamstring concerns now extending from the pace attack into the batting unit.

South Africa head into the Test series on the back of a 2-1 ODI series win over Australia, a result that saw the Proteas extend their unbeaten run in bilateral ODI series against Australia to six in a row.

Photo: Prakash Singh/Getty Images

The post De Zorzi out of first Test against Australia appeared first on SA Cricket Mag.

Steve Hansen has urged World Rugby to improve communication around refereeing decisions and make officials more accessible to the rugby public.

The former All Blacks coach’s comments follow criticism of Andrea Piardi’s performance in the Wallabies’ 42-38 win against the Springboks in Perth, during which the Italian referee showed four yellow cards to Australian players in the last 12 minutes.

Former Wallabies captain Michael Hooper subsequently suggested Piardi should not referee Australia again, arguing that such a decision would also protect the official following previous contentious Tests involving the Wallabies.

MORE: Ex-Wallabies captain calls for ref ban

Speaking on the Rugby Unity podcast, Hansen agreed that greater consideration should be given to referee appointments but believes the wider issue lies with World Rugby.

“We need more transparency. More understanding of the why and the how, and more communication,” Hansen said.

“There’s not enough ability to communicate with the referees and build relationships. It’s really hard to bag someone you like – you don’t see too many people doing that. But it’s hard to like someone that you don’t know.”

ALSO: Hansen, Mallett slam ‘Please call me’ scenes

Hansen also argued that rugby’s laws leave too much room for interpretation, making consistency difficult for officials.

“We are asking these guys to do probably the hardest thing in the game because the rules have got so much ambiguity around them,” he said. “They’re so inconsistent; the rules I’m talking about, not the refs.

“So that creates inconsistent referee decision-making within one game from one ref to the next ref. Now that’s not their fault. That’s because of how our game laws are set up.”

PLUS: URC coaches urged to talk to refs

Hansen believes the lack of communication has contributed to a public perception that referees escape scrutiny.

“I think there is a sense among some people that they are protected because of that lack of communication and that lack of transparency, and they’re not,” he said.

“But it starts at the top. It starts with World Rugby, and they have to be held accountable for that, not the referees.”

Photo: Janelle St Pierre/Getty Images

The post Hansen calls for referee ‘transparency’ appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.

Après plusieurs incertitudes autour du déplacement des Étalons, la Fédération burkinabè de football (FBF) a confirmé que la rencontre face à l’Argentine aura bien lieu.

La délégation burkinabè a finalement quitté Casablanca ce vendredi soir à bord d’un vol privé à destination de Buenos Aires.

La FBF lève le doute

Le doute est désormais levé. Dans un communiqué, la FBF annonce la tenue de la rencontre entre l’Argentine et le Burkina Faso. Après les difficultés rencontrées autour du déplacement, les Étalons ont finalement pu prendre la direction de Buenos Aires.

Amir Abdou avec un groupe remanié

Pour cette confrontation, le sélectionneur national Amir Abdou devra composer sans plusieurs de ses cadres, absents du déplacement. Pour pallier ces absences, plusieurs joueurs de la sélection nationale A’ ont été appelés en renfort.

Une opportunité pour ces jeunes joueurs de faire leurs preuves sur la scène internationale et de défendre les couleurs du Burkina Faso face à l’Albiceleste.

Un défi de taille

Malgré les péripéties qui ont précédé leur départ, les Étalons vont donc bien disputer cette affiche face à l’Argentine. Amir Abdou et ses hommes entendent saisir cette occasion pour livrer une bonne prestation et représenter dignement le Pays des Hommes intègres.

The post Argentine-Burkina Faso : la FBF confirme la tenue du match appeared first on AfricaFootUnited.

Manchester City confirmed Friday they had launched an appeal against a damning judgement that found the club guilty of all charges related to serious breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules.

An independent commission delivered its findings earlier this week and City had until Friday to appeal — the Premier League leaders announced shortly before midday (1100 GMT) they had done so.

No sanction has yet been decided upon but City could face substantial points deductions, a fine or even expulsion from the top division.

The 10-time English champions, who continue to deny any wrongdoing, said in a statement: “The club’s firm position is that, on multiple grounds, the opinion contains clear material errors, of law, principle and fact and is unsafe.

“The club is innocent of the accusations made by the Premier League and a comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence exists in support of all of its positions, relating to this case.”

The Premier League issued an update, saying said an “independent appeal board hearing will remain private and confidential until publication of the outcome is permitted”.

Earlier on Friday, the English Football Association broke its silence on the case, saying that the commission’s decision “has significant implications for the integrity of the game”.

“We are carefully considering the decision and its implications and will take action where appropriate,” the national governing body said in a statement.

– Sponsorship deals –

The independent commission found City guilty of more than 100 breaches of Premier League financial rules over a period of nearly a decade.

It said deals agreed by City artificially inflated revenues and reduced costs by more than £900 million ($1.2 billion) between 2009 and 2018, a period in which they won three Premier League titles and other silverware.

The commission found the club had concealed the true state of its finances, saying City were “significantly in breach of both the Premier League’s and UEFA’s spending limits”.

It has been widely reported that City will argue that key sponsorship deals were funded by the Abu Dhabi government, rather than the club’s owners, as part of their appeal.

State-owned bodies are not banned from sponsoring clubs under Premier League rules.

The commission found City had arranged “sham” commercial deals with a number of its sponsors that were part of a “disguised funding scheme”.

It said those companies were only required to pay a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees, with the remainder funded by club owners Abu Dhabi United Group.

Private investment company ADUG, owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan, bought City in 2008 and has transformed the club from also-rans into a dominant force.

Sheikh Mansour is also vice-president, deputy prime minister and chairman of the Presidential Court of the United Arab Emirates.

Downing Street said on Thursday that the super-club was not “above the rules” following criticism of British Prime Minister Andy Burnham over the case.

“As the prime minister made clear, the initial judgement is serious and there can’t be any suggestion that anyone is above the rules,” a spokesperson said.

Burnham, the former mayor of Greater Manchester, told the BBC on Wednesday that he did not want to see the club’s Emirati owners walk away as a result of the case.

England coach Thomas Tuchel, who has City players Marc Guehi and Elliott Anderson in his squad, said the issue was the talk of the camp as his team prepare to face Croatia on Saturday.

“Of course the players talk about it, and City players talk about it, and we talk to them, but only briefly,” he said.

“They’re ready to go for tomorrow, that’s what they show on the pitch and that’s what they show in camp, but of course it’s a big topic.”

There is speculation that City could also be stripped of titles and the club also face a flood of compensation claims from rivals.

UAE airline Etihad Airways, City’s main sponsor, said earlier this week that it was considering legal action against the Premier League.

“Etihad categorically rejects any finding, conclusion or implication that suggests the airline has ever been involved in improper commercial arrangements,” an Etihad spokesperson said in a statement.

LOUD and Keyd Stars have pulled out of Counter-Strike 2 as Brazil’s federal government moves against online betting, with the restrictions already reshaping how Brazilian teams fund their operations.

Different routes to the same outcome

Keyd Stars’ CS2 project was backed by betting company EstrelaBet. According to Dust2.us, as reported by Esports News UK, the organisation could no longer justify operating a team after the sanctions took effect.

LOUD’s roster had not been officially announced when the restrictions arrived, and lost the organisation’s backing before playing a match under its banner. The Associated Press reported that the measures were intended to curb gambling addiction and reportedly covered 506 websites.

The disruption reaches beyond the two exits. MIBR, Fluxo W7M and FURIA have removed betting sponsors from some or all team communications, according to Esports Radar as cited by the primary report. Legacy was still displaying Rainbet, while Imperial continued to carry Gamdom.

• Keyd Stars and LOUD have left CS2.
• MIBR, Fluxo W7M and FURIA have adjusted sponsor messaging.
• Legacy and Imperial were still displaying betting brands.
• Dust2 Brasil cancelled its remaining BetBoom Storm events, citing “due to circumstances beyond the control of the parties involved.”

Players and sponsorships feel the impact

Coach Pablo “disturbed” Fernandes confirmed on social media that he was a free agent. The primary report said he attributed being without a contract to Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

In his social media post, Fernandes announced that he was a free agent without a contractual tie and attributed the situation to Brazil’s president.

The reported developments point to a clear, though still developing, adjustment: two organisations have left CS2, three have changed sponsor messaging, two were still displaying betting brands, and one betting-branded event series has been scrapped. The changes underline the commercial role betting partnerships play in esports, a wider issue explored in Esports Insider’s coverage of gambling-related esports partnerships.

Counter-Strike organisations also face other pressures around sustainable revenue, including the changing economics of CS2 sticker income. The sponsorship adjustments and cancellations in Brazil show how regulatory developments can affect not only team operations but also the events and commercial channels around the game.

What comes next?

Keyd Stars’ return date to Counter-Strike remains unknown, while the primary report gave no replacement dates or alternative events for the cancelled BetBoom Storm series. It also did not establish whether Legacy’s Rainbet or Imperial’s Gamdom partnership will continue under the restrictions.

For players and staff, the immediate consequence is a search for new opportunities and organisational backing. For Brazil’s CS2 scene, the next steps will depend on how teams and tournament operators adapt their commercial arrangements as the rules take effect.

The post Betting Crackdown Reshapes Brazil’s CS2 Scene appeared first on Esports Insider.