Sports
Manchester City charges: Premier League chief executive Richard Masters says verdict ‘has taken longer than expected’ | Football News

Premier League chief executive Richard Masters says a verdict on the alleged charges against Manchester City “has taken longer than expected”.
Three years ago, City were charged with breaking financial fair play rules over a nine-year period, from 2009 to 2018, but the case has yet to reach a conclusion.
City, who won three Premier League titles in that period, have denied all the charges and any wrongdoing.
According to the Premier League, Man City broke the rules over nine seasons by allegedly failing to provide accurate financial information. They were also charged with failing to cooperate with Premier League investigations into their finances.
The 12-week hearing was held in front of a three-person independent commission between September and December of 2024, but almost two years on, a verdict is yet to be delivered.
Asked for an update at a Premier League launch event for the new 2026/27 season, Masters told Sky News: “There’s nothing further I can add.
“Our rules are very clear about that – I have to keep everything confidential until we’re ready to hand down a decision and be clear about it.
“I can’t give any update on timing or what’s happening.
“There’s only one available route through this, which is to allow the process to take its course.
“It has taken longer than expected, and I do understand the frustrations.”
Questioned on whether he was angry with the commission, he replied: “No, I’ve already said the commission need the time and the space to do their job.
“In the end, the Premier League’s role is to put allegations, if the evidence is strong enough, in front of an independent commission and allow that commission to establish the truth, and that shouldn’t be qualified by the amount of time it takes to get there.”
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Sports
Hull KR 28-34 Warrington Wolves: George Williams stars as Sam Burgess’ side move two points off Super League top spot | Rugby League News
Warrington Wolves sent a statement with a 34-28 win over Hull KR in their rearranged Super League round two match at Sewell Group Craven Park.
The match could not take place 22 rounds ago due to the Robins being in Las Vegas but the new allotted time seemed to suit Sam Burgess’ side as they romped to a victory which puts them two points off top spot.
For the home side, the stand out point will be that Mikey Lewis returned from a four-game ban, in which they won all four matches, but then was sin-binned in a contest in which they were second best.
The yellow card came for a dangerous contact with kicker Ewan Irwin, which Warrington head coach Sam Burgess described as “dangerous”.
“I think the challenge at the back end of the game was a bad challenge. It is a bad challenge. He (Irwin) is very lucky he’s come out of that healthy. He’s a tough kid,” Burgess said.
“I’m not trying to make it worse than it is.,” he later added. “You just have to watch it. It’s really dangerous.
In the NRL, you’re going to be in a bit of trouble.”
The Robins did have a 14-10 half-time lead thanks to a Rhyse Martin penalty plus converted Lewis and Karl Lawton tries.
Warrington went over through an unconverted Albert Hopoate effort and a James Bentley try, but were four points adrift.
But a dominant second half saw Toafofa Sipley, Liam Byrne, George Williams and Albert Hopoate all score, ensuring late tries from Dean Hadley and Tevita Pangai Jnr were sheer consolations, while Mikey Lewis was sin-binned on his return from suspension.
Wolves show play-off credentials
Hull KR took an early lead through the boot of Martin after Warrington conceded a penalty for a high shot on Frenchman Arthur Mourgue.
But the Robins started to make errors, twice dropping the ball and then conceding a penalty. Warrington slowly turned the screw and after forcing three repeat sets, they eventually scored the first try of the game as a sweeping move from left to right saw Hopoate squeeze home in the corner on 18 minutes.
Irwin couldn’t convert, and it was the Wire who came up with errors for the next period. However, the hosts didn’t punish them and when they eventually conceded a penalty for holding down, England captain Williams produced a crisp pass for Bentley to race on to and score from close range, Irwin tagging on the extras this time for a 10-2 lead.
But Rovers were ahead before the break. On his return from a four-match suspension, Lewis got himself on the scoresheet after being the first to react to Jez Litten’s threaded kick to the in-goal, and a minute before the break Lawton barged over, with both tries converted by Mourgue.
That put Rovers 14-10 ahead, but Sam Burgess’ side were ahead three minutes after the interval as powerhouse prop Sipley crashed over from a few meters out after Danny Walker’s smart pass, with Irwin converting once again.
On 50 minutes, Mourgue brought the game level with a penalty goal, leaving the game evenly poised at a crucial period.
The game would soon be injected with further spice as a commotion saw players from both teams come together.
But the Robins lost their composure as Mourgue was penalised for a needless block on Walker while his team were coming away from their own try line. That allowed Irwin to kick a penalty goal to go two points ahead once again.
Immediately after that, Lewis kicked out on the full for the second time in the game and Warrington made the most of it once more, with Byrne smashing through the defensive line to score a converted try that extended the lead to eight points going into the final quarter.
From there, it was one-way traffic. The brilliant Williams got on the inside of Litten to score by the sticks, and he then produced a wonderful kick that was sublimely finished by Hopoate to add emphasis to the scoreline.
Hadley and Pangai Jr got late consolations for Rovers, but it was too little, too late.
Burgess: Scoreline doesn’t reflect dominance
Player of the match George Williams told Sky Sports:
“For Mikey Lewis, he’s a nice quiet lad, not how he plays. It’s a fine line, and at the minute he’s getting it wrong. But just put an arm around him.
“He’s one of the best players in the comp.”
Warrington Wolves head coach Sam Burgess:
“I’m happy and proud of the team. We didn’t have it our way for parts of it.
“We’ll reassess, but I’m proud of the spirit. This is a tough place to come.
“I’m proud of our effort and physicality.
“The scoreline didn’t reflect the game in the first half, and it’s fair to say it doesn’t in the second half either. We were dominant in a lot of areas.
“Our collective effort, everyone did their jobs. We grew in the disruption.”
Peters: Warrington didn’t have to work for tries
Hull KR head coach Willie Peters to Sky Sports:
“Yeah it was a tough second half to watch.
“There were a lot of moments to like in that game, but a lot we won’t want to watch back again. Just not good enough.
“It’s disappointing and I’m disappointed with the tries we let in.
“Warrington are a very good team, I’m not taking anything away from them, but they didn’t have to work for coming through the middle of us.
“We’re a brave team, because it could have got worse, but obviously the game was gone by the end.
“I need to have a look at the Mikey Lewis incident. I don’t know how bad it was.”
Sky Sports will show every game of the Super League live this season, including two matches each round exclusively live. The remaining five matches will be broadcast on Sky Sports+.
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LIV Golf League timeline: Key moments from breakaway circuit’s history, rivalry with the PGA Tour and what happens next | Golf News
The LIV Golf League is ending the 2026 season with its long-term future unclear, having been a dominant discussion point during a turbulent few years for men’s professional golf.
Its arrival earlier in the decade sparked division and debate in a fractured men’s game, with players leaving the PGA Tour and DP World Tour to join the breakaway circuit.
A shock framework agreement between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) was unable to unify men’s golf, with LIV Golf facing fresh challenges to retain its place in the sport.
From its initial inception and increasing growth through to players leaving and cuts in funding, we look at the timeline of LIV Golf’s history so far…
October 2021: LIV Golf Investments was officially announced and two-time Open champion Greg Norman revealed as the league’s founding CEO.
February 2022: In an interview with Golf Digest, Phil Mickelson criticised the PGA Tour’s policy on player media rights. He said: “It was the tour’s obnoxious greed that has really opened the door for opportunities elsewhere.” He later told journalist Alan Shipnuck that the Saudis were “scary m************ to be involved with”.
March 2022: LIV Golf announced it would launch an eight-tournament schedule on June 9, titled the LIV Invitational Series. The total prize pot for the eight events was set at £191.32m ($255m).
May 2022: Norman branded the PGA Tour “anti-competitive”, after the US circuit denied players their release requests to play in LIV Golf events. Former Masters champions Dustin Johnson and Sergio Garcia were revealed among the first group of players to tee up at LIV’s inaugural event in London.
June 2022: Mickelson confirmed he would play in LIV Golf’s first event, won by Charl Schwartzel. The PGA Tour sent a letter to its members announcing those in the field at LIV Golf London were suspended indefinitely. Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka both joined the breakaway league ahead of its second event.
July 2022: The DP World Tour issued fines of £100,000 ($133,921) to LIV players who featured in LIV Golf London. Meanwhile, LIV Golf submitted an application for its players to be given Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points.
July 2022: Henrik Stenson sent shockwaves through the golfing world by joining LIV Golf and was subsequently stripped of his role as Team Europe’s captain for the 2023 Ryder Cup in Italy.
August 2022: A group of 11 LIV Golf players, including Mickelson, Ian Poulter and Johnson, filed an antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour. LIV Golf later joined the lawsuit. After winning The Open at St Andrews and at the end of the PGA Tour season, Cameron Smith became the latest player to join LIV Golf.
September 2022: Rory McIlroy likened LIV Golf to a “soap opera” and said his relationship with some of his Ryder Cup team-mates who joined LIV had been damaged.
October 2022: The PGA Tour filed a federal lawsuit against Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the governor of the PIF.
November 2022: McIlroy called for Norman to leave the rebel league and Tiger Woods also encouraged Norman to go in order for a peace settlement to be negotiated.
December 2022: Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley confirmed eligible LIV Golfers could play at The Masters. Jon Rahm said PGA Tour players should be ‘thankful’ for LIV.
January 2023: Patrick Reed and McIlroy were involved in the ‘tee-gate’ saga, where Reed flicked a 4Aces GC tee at the Northern Irishman after the American accused McIlroy of ignoring him.
February 2023: The DP World Tour and LIV Golf went to court for an arbitration hearing, held over five days.
April 2023: The DP World Tour won its legal battle against players who elected to join LIV Golf, enabling them to impose £100,000 ($134,706) fines against LIV players for competing in conflicting events.
May 2023: Koepka became the first LIV Golfer to win a major at the PGA Championship, lifting the Wanamaker Trophy for a third time.
June 2023: The PGA Tour, DP World Tour and PIF announce a shock ‘framework agreement’, where the organisations ended all pending lawsuits and said they wanted to cooperate to “unify the game of golf”.
McIlroy hit back at the announcement, saying he felt like a “sacrificial lamb”, while PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan faced calls to resign.
October 2023: LIV Golf lost its initial bid to be awarded OWGR points.
December 2023: Rahm, who won The Masters in April, joined LIV Golf for a deal reportedly worth up to £450m ($607.7m).
January 2024: Tyrrell Hatton follows Rahm to LIV Golf for a then-reported fee of £47.3m ($60m).
February 2024: Anthony Kim ended a 12-year absence from professional golf by joining the breakaway league. McIlroy softened his stance on LIV Golf, saying players who joined the rebel league should be allowed to come back to the PGA Tour.
March 2024: Norman confirmed LIV Golf had withdrawn its application for OWGR points. Woods formed part of a delegation of PGA Tour members to meet with LIV Golf powerbrokers, including Al-Rumayyan, in the Bahamas, to discuss the merger. PGA Tour commissioner Monahan said the talks were “constructive”.
April 2024: McIlroy denied claims he was previously close to joining LIV Golf.
June 2024: DeChambeau claimed a one-shot victory at the US Open, following Koepka as the second LIV player to win a major, after McIlroy’s dramatic late collapse at Pinehurst No 2.
September 2024: The PGA of America confirmed LIV Golfers would be eligible to play for Team USA at the Ryder Cup the following year.
October 2024: Monahan and Al-Rumayyan played together at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, signalling that merger talks were progressing.
January 2025: Norman was replaced as LIV Golf’s CEO by Scot O’Neil. McIlroy praised Norman for “getting LIV Golf off the ground”.
February 2025: Woods joined Al-Rumayyan and Adam Scott for talks at the White House with US President Donald Trump regarding the ongoing merger.
March 2025: Monahan said Trump’s involvement in ongoing talks between golf’s key stakeholders made the prospect of a reunification between the tours “very real”.
November 2025: Having launched a fresh bid for OWGR points in July, LIV looked to enhance its push by expanding from 54-hole events to a 72-hole format, a move which McIlroy called “peculiar”.
December 2025: Koepka announced he was leaving LIV Golf due to personal reasons. He then confirmed his return to the PGA Tour via the Returning Member Program, where he was subjected to certain conditions and required to make a £3.7m ($5m) donation to charity.
January 2026: Reed also confirmed his departure from LIV Golf and returned to play on the DP World Tour.
February 2026: LIV Golf was granted world ranking points by the OWGR, but the breakaway league’s bosses criticised the allocation of ranking points LIV players could receive – only the top 10 and ties – as “unfair”.
The DP World Tour offered conditional releases to eight members, including Hatton, provided they paid off their outstanding fines. Rahm insisted he had “no intention” of paying his fines.
March 2026: Rahm withdrew his appeal against sanctions imposed by the DP World Tour for playing in conflicting LIV Golf events. His fines were believed to be around £2.2m ($3m). He said the tour’s conditional release programme was “extorting players”.
April 2026: The PIF confirmed it was pulling its funding of LIV at the end of 2026 but it was funded through the rest of the season. LIV released a statement saying it was looking for external investors to finance the series going forward. PGA Tour commissioner Brian Rolapp said the tour was thinking about pathways to reinstate LIV players.
May 2026: Rahm agreed to pay his outstanding DP World Tour penalties and ensure he remained eligible to play at the 2027 Ryder Cup. Elsewhere, US President Trump backed LIV Players to return to the PGA Tour.
DeChambeau said his future on the PGA Tour depended on whether players wanted him back, as speculation mounted over whether he would agree a new LIV Golf contract.
July 2026: Rahm said he was hopeful LIV Golf could continue but was tight-lipped on what the future would hold for the league.
August 2026: After much speculation, LIV Golf CEO O’Neil said the league had found a new lead investor, although was unable to provide details. The league also said players would become majority equity holders.
August 2026: LIV Golf finally confirmed its season-ending Team Championship in Michigan would no longer go ahead, following weeks of speculation, seeing the 2026 campaign finish a week early in Indianapolis.
Watch the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, majors and more throughout the season live on Sky Sports Golf. Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract on NOW.
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Rodri transfer news: Barcelona complete £65.4m signing of Spain midfielder from Man City | Football News
Barcelona have confirmed the signing of Rodri from Manchester City in a deal worth £65.4m.
The Spain World Cup winner and former Ballon d’Or winner, who helped City win four Premier League titles and a Champions League crown, has signed a four-year contract with the LaLiga club.
Rodri, 30, had one year left on his City contract and, while they wanted him to stay and sign an extension, Barcelona’s third offer proved to be too good to turn down.
Barcelona had bids of £40m and £55m rejected by City before the deal was eventually agreed.
Enzo Maresca’s side are pursuing replacements for both Rodri and Tijjani Reijnders, who is set to join Saudi Arabian side Al Qadsiah for around £51m.
City remain interested in Chelsea’s Enzo Fernandez, despite missing the deadline to launch a bid by 5pm on August 14, and are also in talks with Lille over a deal for Morocco international Ayyoub Bouaddi.
Lille are understood to be looking for around £85m to sell Bouaddi and talks between the clubs were confirmed by their head coach Davide Ancelotti at the weekend.
How big a loss will Rodri be for City?
City’s record without Rodri in the starting line-up since his arrival from Atletico Madrid ahead of the 2019/20 season offers a worrying insight into life minus him in the midfield.
In the 87 games when he was absent from the starting line-up, they suffered 20 defeats, just one fewer than their tally of losses across the 179 games with him starting. In fact, the rate at which they suffered defeats doubled without him starting.
The win percentage without him dropped to 62.1 per cent from 71.5 per cent, while goals scored decreased and goals conceded increased.
City are simply not the same team without Rodri featuring and the 3-0 defeat to Arsenal in the Community Shield was the latest example of this.
IN FULL: Rodri pens City farewell to fans
Rodri has penned a farewell letter to Man City fans after his departure to Barcelona was confirmed.
“Dear City fans, I found that saying goodbye is one of the most difficult things in life but I am going to try,” it said, on the club’s official website.
“It’s hard to find the words to express how much gratitude, love and support me and my family have experienced all these years.
“I remember how I felt when I arrived, signing for the big Manchester City. It was a moment of pure excitement – ‘wow I am going to play with Kevin, Aguero, Silva, Bernardo, John and many others.’ I couldn’t stop smiling.
“And then Pep, waiting to teach me everything from day one. Pep I can tell you now, I couldn’t handle all those tactics in my head.
“But a question came to me, ‘could we handle all these expectations for the next years.’ I think that time answered the question.
“I knew I came into a top team but I never thought we could be able to create the legacy we made winning trophies, fans around the world, love and respect. We made an example to inspire the next generations not only because the success, also because the way we did it. And the fans were with us every step of the way.
“Many incredible moments come to my mind.
“My first trophy at City, in my first game.
“The last minute winners, like Arsenal away.
“Scoring in the Villa game to reach the Premier League, when it looked so tough.
“Scoring the goal to win the Champions League that we all wanted so much.
“The incredible reception you gave me after the Balon d’Or. You cannot imagine how proud I am to be the first player to win this award in a sky blue shirt.
“Making history, with the Treble, with Four in a Row. We saw things they’ll never see.
“And in the bad moments, also, you never let me down. My first day back on the pitch I realised how much you love me and I understood how special these fans were.
“City didn’t just make me a grow as a player. They made me grow as a human.
“I saw my brother graduating from Manchester Metropolitan University.
“I could see my girlfriend working for the NHS.
“Manchester shaped my whole life.
“I will never forget stepping onto the pitch, seeing a sea of blue sing ‘nah, nah, nah, nah…CITY’, taking my scooter into town for a coffee, walking through the parks listening to Oasis and always loving Manchester’s great rain.
“So City fans, it’s time to say goodbye, thanks to the club, the fans, the staff and my teammates. This journey couldn’t be the same without you, my heart will always be Blue.”
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