FIFA President Gianni Infantino defended the World Cup as a success, dismissing critics as spreaders of hate and falsehoods while praising the tournament’s unity, safety and inclusivity.

In an open letter published Monday, Infantino, 56, said detractors had overlooked the joy and togetherness experienced by millions of ​fans around the world who witnessed the tournament, won by Spain ​and ⁠staged across the United States, Canada and Mexico.

“You were so consumed by hate and criticism that you missed it all,” he said.

“To those behind their pens and papers, behind their screens spreading hate and false rumours, I want to say that while you are sitting behind, we at FIFA are on the front lines organising, working hard, and delivering the best show in the world.

“We experienced no violence, no incidents, 100% safety and security, only joy and happiness!”

FIFA faced criticism over several issues during the tournament, including debate over U.S. visa restrictions affecting supporters and officials from several countries and concerns involving teams from ⁠conflict-hit ⁠regions.

Infantino’s letter also followed scrutiny of FIFA’s handling of the Folarin Balogun disciplinary case, a decision to suspend the automatic one-match ban imposed on him after his red card against Bosnia and Herzegovina following the intervention of U.S. President Donald Trump.

Officiating decisions in Argentina’s match against Egypt also generated widespread debate among fans and pundits.

Though Infantino did not refer to specific cases, he argued that many of the refereeing and disciplinary decisions criticized during the tournament were commonplace in various competitions worldwide.

“Potentially mistaken red or yellow cards or ⁠subsequent decisions not to ban players in certain situations are routine and widely accepted in some of the biggest leagues worldwide,” he added.

“It’s curious that the same countries employing these practices are the ones criticizing.”

Visa controversies

Infantino ​pointed to the participation of countries facing political tensions, domestic crisis and domestic health challenges as ​evidence of football’s ability to transcend divisions.

While Iran’s participation came against the backdrop of conflict with the U.S., issues surrounding Haiti’s domestic crisis and the Ebola outbreak in ⁠the Democratic ‌Republic of ‌Congo also drew attention to visa and travel restrictions.

Somali World ⁠Cup referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan was barred from entering the ‌U.S. despite having a valid visa. “Iran entered the United States without incident or conflict. The Iranian team received ​visas to enter because football is ⁠about peace. It’s not about politics,” he said.

“Countries facing serious health ⁠issues or other challenges were granted visas,” he said.

“When football brought Haiti to the world, a country ⁠that many cannot or ​choose not to visit, it might be time to set aside your pens and keyboards and show some respect to the teams that played,” Infantino added.

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New Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso said Monday he has found “good energy” at the club but stopped short of defining what success would look like in his first season.

The Spaniard officially began the job on July 1 and will take charge of his first competitive fixture in Sydney Tuesday when they face Western Sydney Wanderers.

He faces a huge task to get Chelsea back in the running for major honors after their disappointing 10th-place finish last season and failure to make Europe.

They last won the Premier League a decade ago, under Italian manager Antonio Conte.

Alonso, who has made a series of pre-season signings headlined by Morgan Rogers from Aston Villa, said he liked what he had seen so far.

“We want to build a competitive team. We are in that process. We have great quality, great talent,” he said.

“We need to know what it takes to compete in the Premier League, and we want to have a squad with the right balance between quality and mentality.

“But I think that we are starting the new season with good energy, that’s going to be important.”

The former Liverpool and Spain midfielder rose to prominence as one of Europe’s brightest coaches by guiding Bayer Leverkusen to an unbeaten German league and cup double in the 2023/24 season.

However, he lasted just seven months in the Real Madrid hotseat. Appointed last year, he departed the Spanish giants in January.

Alonso is associated with a short-passing game and implemented a 3-4-2-1 system at Leverkusen that proved so successful.

But he has also shown pragmatism in his tactics, a trait he plans to bring to Chelsea.

“We will be flexible in our tactics, in our approaches, game plans,” he said, conscious of not trying to impose a completely different system from last season.

“It’s not that I’m changing everything. It’s about updating. It’s about developing something that they have done with new concepts that each manager has.

“But the good thing is that many things that I like they have already done. So now it’s about changing or updating a few other things.”

Since Chelsea last won the Premier League, several managers have come and gone after failing to repeat the feat, and the pressure is on Alonso to snap the drought.

But he said it was too early to say what would be considered a successful season.

“I don’t want to talk too early about what’s our goal,” said the 44-year-old, who signed a four-year contract.

“We want to deserve to be as high as possible, and for that we need to work hard. We need to develop this team with new players, with new ideas, but sometimes it takes longer, sometimes it happens quicker.

“But so far, a good feeling, good energy. The players are working hard, and that’s what we want.”

‘Great signing’

Alonso said Morgan Rogers was “a great signing” who would make the club more competitive and expected the England midfielder to “link really well” with Cole Palmer.

The versatile Rogers was signed from Aston Villa last week for 117 million pounds ($157 million), a record for a British player.

Alonso said he was “delighted” to lure the 23-year-old to Stamford Bridge ahead of the pre-season friendly Tuesday.

“It’s a great signing. I think that in that position, we needed an important player, and I’m sure that there were not many more better options than Morgan,” the Spaniard told reporters.

“So we are delighted. It means a lot for everyone.”

Alonso, however, will have to find a way to accommodate Rogers, Palmer, Pedro Neto, Estevao Willian and another close-season signing, Geovany Quenda, into his attacking midfield positions.

“I have a plan. I have an idea. I can see them linking really well,” Alonso said on how Morgan could fit in alongside Palmer. The pair are close friends who have similar playing styles.

“You need to have a good mix, good stability players, and players that can play with more freedom,” Alonso added.

“And if we get that balance right, and we get those special players in the right positions, with good control, I think that we will be more competitive with the ball and against the ball.”

Chelsea had reportedly been chasing Rogers for two years and beat Arsenal to his signature after the Premier League champions refused to match the eye-watering fee demanded by Villa.

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Formula One champion Lando Norris celebrated McLaren’s first win of the season in Hungary Sunday, while Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli stretched his championship lead to 50 points after a damage-limiting race.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was ⁠runner-up, 15.080 seconds behind the Briton, with Antonelli third after ⁠a likely McLaren one-two evaporated when Oscar Piastri pulled over with a gearbox failure 14 laps from the end at the Hungaroring.

Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, Antonelli’s closest title rival, finished a close fourth on track but dropped to fifth behind teammate ​Charles Leclerc after a five-second post-race penalty for speeding in the pitlane when he made a ​third ⁠stop under virtual safety car conditions.

“My pace today was probably some of the best pace I’ve ever had,” said Norris, who goes into the August break on a high. “The car was beautiful to drive and I felt very confident, so a great race.”

“I’m just happy to be back and see the number one again,” he added.

Russell 7th after nightmare

Isack Hadjar was sixth for Red Bull.

Mercedes’s George Russell finished seventh, after a terrible start that dropped him to 19th, and remained third in the overall standings but 59 points behind his 19-year-old Italian teammate.

“I am past the point of disappointment now. If I continue to be disappointed with everything that goes on, I will just be disappointed every day of the week,” commented Russell.

Racing Bulls had Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad eighth and 10th respectively, with Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg between them in ninth.

In the constructors’ standings, Mercedes’ lead over Ferrari was trimmed to 72 points from 73 after 11 of a ⁠potential ⁠23 rounds following Malaysia’s addition to the calendar, announced Sunday.

The win from pole position was Norris’s 12th victory and second in a row in Hungary, but it could have been Piastri’s day after the Australian took the lead on the opening lap from third place on the starting grid.

Piastri was ahead through the opening pitstops and made his second stop before Norris as McLaren sought to prevent Hamilton taking the lead with an undercut.

His chances then took a literal blow when a collision with back-marker Carlos Sainz’s Williams while lapping the Spaniard delayed him enough to allow Norris, who had stayed out several laps longer, to pit and still come out ahead. The champion then picked up the pace and sped away.

“Obviously getting taken out by a backmarker is ⁠never really one of the things you think can go wrong. But I was proven wrong. Then obviously the gearbox, so not the easiest of days,” said Piastri.

Pitstop costs Hamilton

His retirement triggered a virtual safety car, with Norris pitting from the lead and the Ferrari drivers from second and fifth respectively, while Verstappen ​and Antonelli stayed out in what proved the right strategy.

The cheap pitstop proved very expensive for Hamilton, the seven-time champion triggering the penalty ​when he went 0.1 kph over the limit. It was his second of the weekend after a three-place grid drop for impeding Piastri in qualifying.

“I didn’t expect to be on the podium today. But we worked hard for it,” said ⁠Verstappen, who lost out ‌to Hamilton ‌after the first pitstop but took the place back with a bold overtake a lap later ⁠and finished 3.6 seconds ahead of Antonelli.

“I saw the opportunity. It was my ‌only one. I just went for it. We’re good on the brakes, so that helped, but it was all under control,” said the four-time world champion.

Antonelli had started seventh ​after a three-place grid penalty but completed a ⁠day of damage limitation better than might have been expected.

“It was really hard to overtake so ⁠we had to do something with strategy,” said the Italian. “Initially we tried to go for the one stop but then they told me ⁠the tyre was too much ​on the limit, so we stopped.

“With the Virtual Safety Car the two Ferraris boxed. I knew it would be very hard because I was on hards, they were on softs, but luckily we were able to keep them behind.”

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The Bahrain Grand Prix, canceled in April due to the Middle East war, will be held in Malaysia in early October, Formula 1 organizers announced Sunday.

“Formula 1 and the FIA can confirm that Malaysia will host the … Bahrain Grand Prix at the Sepang International Circuit from Oct. 2-4 2026,” F1 and motorsport’s world governing body said in a statement.

The original F1 calendar featured 24 races, but those in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia were canceled because of the war. Upcoming events in neighbouring Qatar and Abu Dhabi also remain in doubt.

While F1 chief executive Stefano Domenicali spoke in early July of the possibility of holding a Grand Prix in the Gulf on Oct. 4, the resumption of hostilities between Iran and the United States in recent weeks has effectively ruled out that option.

Sepang circuit, near Kuala Lumpur’s international airport, returns to the calendar for the first time since 2017 to host what will be called the “Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.”

The track has also been the venue for a MotoGP race since 1999.

F1 indicated that Bahrain would cover a large part of the costs involved in rescheduling the race.

It will slot in between the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Sept. 26 and the Singapore Grand Prix on Oct. 11, restoring the championship to 23 races.

“This is fantastic news for our fans. They will continue to enjoy a full and exciting Formula 1 calendar, while also seeing the sport return to a great venue,” said Domenicali.

“Malaysia is an incredible country, and Sepang holds a special place in Formula 1 history.”

“It will provide a spectacular setting for racing and an unforgettable experience for fans at the circuit and watching around the world,” he added.

Uncertainty still hangs over the end of the season, as the last two rounds are supposed to take place in Qatar and Abu Dhabi on Nov. 29 and Dec. 6.

These two races could be canceled and several options are on the table to replace them, such as staging two consecutive Grands Prix in Las Vegas at the end of November or even holding one or two final races in Europe.

In that case, the Imola (Italy) and Portimao (Portugal) circuits are the most likely candidates, several sources within the paddock told AFP.

No final decision on the last two rounds in the Gulf is expected before late September or early October, with authorities opting to wait and see how the situation develops.

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Reigning Turkish Süper Lig champions Galatasaray will conclude the Austrian leg of their summer preparations Monday when they take on Serie A side Venezia FC in an international exhibition match in Linz.

The match is scheduled to kick off at 9 p.m. Turkish time (6 p.m. GMT) at the Hofmann Personal Stadion as part of the third annual “Summer Series Upper Austria” preseason showcase.

The Istanbul giants have been stationed in the picturesque alpine district of Windischgarsten, undergoing an intensive physical and tactical conditioning camp under head coach Okan Buruk as they prepare to defend their domestic league title and compete in European competition.

Preseason progress

Monday’s encounter represents a key opportunity for Buruk to evaluate squad depth and tactical cohesion following a mixed opening to their summer exhibition schedule.

Galatasaray launched their preseason campaign on a dominant note in Istanbul, claiming an emphatic 5-1 victory over Turkish Süper Lig club Ümraniyespor.

However, the Turkish champions faced a stiffer test upon arriving in Central Europe. In their first match on Austrian soil, Galatasaray suffered a 2-0 defeat against Italian Serie A side AC Monza in Linz.

The loss exposed defensive lapses during transitions that Buruk and his staff have prioritized fixing during subsequent training sessions in Windischgarsten.

For Venezia, Monday’s match against Galatasaray marks their first major international fixture of the 2026–27 preseason.

The Venetian side is using the Upper Austria series to integrate summer additions before they return to Italy for their own domestic league and cup openers.

Return to Istanbul

Immediately following Monday night’s match in Linz, the Galatasaray squad will pack up their base camp and fly back to Istanbul to begin the final phase of their preseason schedule.

The club has arranged two more marquee home exhibition matches in Istanbul before the official season begins. They will face French side Rennes on Aug. 2, followed by a friendly against La Liga giants Villarreal on Aug. 8.

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Spearheaded by an unstoppable performance from tournament MVP Melissa Vargas, Türkiye mounted a dramatic comeback to defeat Brazil on Sunday and capture their second women’s Volleyball Nations League title in Macao.

In front of 4,000 fans in China, the Turkish squad overcame a set deficit to secure a 3-1 victory (23-25, 25-23, 26-24, 25-21), adding the 2026 crown to the maiden trophy won in 2023.

The loss delivered another heartbreaking finish for Brazil, which was forced to settle for its fifth VNL silver medal. Earlier in the day, Italy claimed the bronze medal in the third-place match against China.

Brazil seized control early in the opening set behind 22-year-old outside hitter Ana Cristina, whose explosive offensive production kept the South Americans in front for most of the frame.

Brazil opened a 23-18 cushion before Türkiye made a late charge, scoring four consecutive points to pull within 23-22.

However, the Sultans of the Nets could not complete the comeback, as substitute opposite Kisy Nascimento fired the 25-23 set-winner for Brazil.

The second set transformed into a grueling, point-for-point battle as Vargas began to dominate at the net.

The Turkish opposite repeatedly found gaps in Brazil’s floor defense during high-pressure rallies.

In the closing moments of the frame, outside hitter Hande Baladin pushed Türkiye to match point with a monster block to deliver the 24th point, before Vargas hammered down the final ball to claim the set 25-23 and even the match.

Momentum swung back and forth in a high-octane third set, where the margin exceeded two points only momentarily, at 8-5 in Brazil’s favor.

Vargas, however, was relentless, pounding 11 points in the frame alone to push the set into extra points. Facing their second set point at 25-24, Türkiye closed out the 26-24 victory when an Ana Cristina attack sailed out of bounds.

Determined to finish the match, Türkiye sprinted out to an early six-point lead at 8-2 and 13-7 in the fourth set.

Brazil then mounted a fierce comeback behind a four-point service run from Ana Cristina, eventually stepping in front with a 19-18 lead.

The advantage, nevertheless, was short-lived. Spearheaded by Vargas, Türkiye regained control in the final stretch before setter Elif Şahin sealed the championship victory at 25-21 with a clever tip over the net.

Vargas was named the Most Valuable Player of the 2026 VNL for her heroics in the final, capping an extraordinary tournament for the Turkish star and the Sultans of the Nets.

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