Sports
Aston Villa sack manager Natalia Arroyo after winless WSL start
Aston Villa manager Natalia Arroyo has been sacked following a disappointing start to the Women’s Super League season.
Villa are yet to win this season, drawing two and losing two of their opening four matches and BBC Sport is told that led to the club’s decision.
They suffered a 4-0 defeat by Tottenham on Sunday in the WSL and are due to play Newcastle in the Women’s League Cup on Wednesday (19:30 BST).
Spaniard Arroyo joined Villa in January 2025 and had another two years remaining on her contract.
She becomes the first managerial departure this season, though former Manchester United boss Marc Skinner and ex-Brighton head coach Dario Vidosic both stepped down earlier this year.
The club informed Arroyo of their decision on Monday evening and players were told on Tuesday morning.
Former Everton manager Brian Sorensen, who is now Villa’s women’s technical advisor, has been placed in interim charge.
Since Arroyo’s arrival, Villa have shown flashes of potential and she initially steadied the ship as they toyed with relegation in her first six months at the club.
But despite investment in the transfer window, Villa lacked consistency and were underwhelming last season.
There was pressure on them to perform in 2026-27 and while they earned a draw on the opening weekend against Chelsea, they have looked dangerously open at the back and chaotic out of possession.
Their latest defeat by Spurs was a worrying display and appears to have been enough to lead to Arroyo’s sacking.
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Ceri Holland is one of seven players who will miss out through injury when a depleted Wales squad take on Albania in their Women’s World Cup play-off semi-final next month.
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Former England captain Lawrence Dallaglio is set to sell his 2003 Rugby World Cup winner’s medal after being declared bankrupt.
The 54-year-old has put a number of items from his illustrious career up for auction including medals, trophies and caps.
The World Cup medal is expected to raise between £50,000 and £80,000 while in total the collection has an estimated value of £180,000.
Dallaglio was one of the stars of the England side that won the World Cup in dramatic fashion against Australia 23 years ago.
Other items up for sale include a British and Irish Lions cap, his 1993 World Cup Sevens winner’s medal and a 2003 Six Nations Championship winner’s medal.
During an appearance on The High Performance podcast, external earlier this month, Dallaglio spoke about his bankrupcy.
He said: “As a result of getting divorced, I was made bankrupt.
“I had some financial problems – I could’ve done things a lot better.”
He also said he sought therapy after his divorce and bankruptcy left him wallowing in “self-pity”.
The auction at Budd’s, external in Northamptonshire takes place on 13 October.
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Sports
Gianni Infantino: FIFA accuses European football chiefs of ‘harassment’ against world governing body’s president | Football News
FIFA has accused European football chiefs of “harassment” against Gianni Infantino and trying to influence the presidential election by “spreading misinformation” against him over the World Cup venture.
The claims are made in a court filing in Miami by FIFA, which has been obtained by Sky News, seeking to block UEFA’s request for all the evidence related to the attempt to sell shares in the World Cup to private investors.
FIFA’s lawyers write: “UEFA’s conduct demonstrates that its application was made in bad faith and for the purpose of harassment.”
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Sky Sports’ chief correspondent Kaveh Solhekol explains why the Premier League have joined three of its other top European counterparts in demanding a FIFA reform against Gianni Infantino.
UEFA has sought all documents on the abandoned FIFA Forward Enterprise scheme, saying it could pursue a case against Mr Infantino for criminal mismanagement, alleging he undersold the tournaments for personal financial benefit.
But FIFA’s lawyers write: “With no basis whatsoever, UEFA suggests that Mr Infantino sought to profit personally from the FFE proposal.”
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Kaveh Solhekol reports on FA chairwoman Debbie Hewitt, writing to FIFA president Gianni Infantino over World Cup sell-off plan and Balogun controversy.
The crisis has erupted ahead of Mr Infantino’s bid for re-election in March 2027 with UEFA withdrawing its support but not yet proposing a rival candidate ahead of the deadline in November.
FIFA’s legal submission says: “Just before FIFA’s election, UEFA filed this application [and three others] spreading misinformation regarding Mr Infantino. This court should reject any attempt to influence FIFA’s presidential election based on these grounds.”
More to follow…
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