Hundreds of cyclists rolled through Istanbul’s historic streets on Sunday as the latest Yeşilay Historic Peninsula Bicycle Tour became a show of health, unity and solidarity with Palestine.

Cyclists gathered shortly after sunrise outside Sepetçiler Kasrı in Sirkeci, where hundreds of riders, waving Palestinian flags and carrying banners prepared for the 20-kilometer ride across some of the city’s most iconic districts.

Families rode beside seasoned cyclists, volunteers alongside students, as the peloton rolled through Karaköy, Beşiktaş, Unkapanı, Balat and Eyüpsultan under police escort.

Organized by Yeşilay with support from the Turkish Cycling Federation and the Istanbul Provincial Directorate of Youth and Sports, the event once again showcased how deeply cycling has become woven into Istanbul’s growing urban culture.

Yet this edition carried added emotional and humanitarian significance through its connection to the Global Sumud Flotilla, an international civilian initiative aimed at drawing attention to Gaza’s humanitarian crisis and delivering aid through a planned maritime mission.

The ride’s symbolism was impossible to miss.

Riders crossed streets lined with Ottoman-era architecture and centuries-old walls while chanting messages of unity and peace.

Along the route, residents and tourists stopped to film the procession as the colorful stream of bicycles cut through the heart of one of the world’s oldest cities.

Unlike professional races driven by speed and competition, Sunday’s tour focused on accessibility and participation.

The beginner-friendly route allowed riders of nearly all experience levels to take part, reinforcing Yeşilay’s long-running philosophy that sports and active living can serve as tools against addiction and social isolation.

Founded in 1920, Yeşilay has spent decades promoting healthy lifestyles across Türkiye through education campaigns, rehabilitation programs and nationwide sporting initiatives.

Its traditional bicycle tours, launched in 2011 across all 81 provinces, have become among the organization’s most recognizable public events, encouraging communities to embrace cycling as both recreation and a symbol of healthy living.

In Istanbul, those efforts have expanded rapidly.

Since 2024, Yeşilay has organized monthly rides through the Historic Peninsula and Caddebostan, helping establish a more visible cycling culture in a city often dominated by heavy traffic and crowded public transport.

The organization’s 2026 calendar includes 22 separate tours, reflecting the growing popularity of recreational cycling among Istanbul residents.

Sunday’s edition stood apart because of its humanitarian message.

Organizers and participants framed the ride as a peaceful act of awareness for the Global Sumud Flotilla, whose name comes from the Arabic word “sumud,” meaning steadfastness and resilience.

The initiative has drawn support from activists and humanitarian groups across multiple countries seeking to spotlight conditions in Gaza.

While Yeşilay remains focused primarily on health and addiction prevention, the event demonstrated how grassroots sports gatherings can also become platforms for broader social awareness.

Riders described the event as an opportunity to combine physical activity with collective solidarity, turning each kilometer into a visible statement of support.

The tour also arrived during a busy period for Turkish cycling.

Earlier in May, the Presidential Cycling Tour of Türkiye brought elite international teams and global attention to the country, while community rides such as Yeşilay’s continue building momentum at the local level.

Safety remained central throughout the morning. Participants were required to bring their own bicycles, wear helmets and follow traffic instructions, with support vehicles and officials accompanying the group across the route.

The ride lasted roughly 90 minutes before cyclists returned to the starting area overlooking the Bosporus.

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The International Olympic Committee on Thursday removed all restrictions on Belarusian athletes, paving the way for their return to international competition, including qualifying events for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.

The IOC had recommended since 2022 that Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials be barred from events following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with Belarus used as a staging ground for the offensive.

“In light of current conditions, the IOC Executive Board no longer recommends any restrictions on the participation of Belarusian athletes, including teams, in competitions governed by international federations and international sports event organisers,” the Olympic body said in a statement.

The decision clears the path for Belarusian athletes to compete under their national flag and anthem, including in team events, and to take part in qualifying competitions for the 2028 Games later this year.

However, the global governing body of athletics said its sanctions against Belarusian athletes would remain in place.

“As a consequence of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, World Athletics sanctions implemented in March 2022, excluding Belarusian and Russian athletes, officials and supporting personnel from competition, remain in place,” a World Athletics spokesperson said.

“Our council has made a clear decision that when there is tangible movement toward peace negotiations, it can begin to review its decisions. We all hope this will be soon, but until that happens, the council continues to be united in standing behind the decision it made in March 2022 and revisited in 2023 and 2025.”

Belarus’ foreign ministry and its National Olympic Committee welcomed the ruling, saying justice had taken its course.

“The right to participate in international tournaments and the Olympic Games with the national flag and anthem has been restored,” state news agency BelTA quoted the foreign ministry as saying. “A consistent line insisting on athletes’ rights has produced a logical result.”

The National Olympic Committee expressed gratitude to IOC President Kirsty Coventry for her “balanced and principled position” and described the outcome as “a long-awaited event for every athlete in our country.”

Ukraine’s Olympic committee protested the decision, saying it contradicted fundamental principles of justice, responsibility and Olympic values.

“The territory of Belarus is used to launch missiles and attack drones at Ukrainian cities, as well as for military logistics and support for the Russian army,” it said in a statement.

“In the military and humanitarian context, there have been no changes that could serve as grounds for the return of representatives of Belarus to international sport under national symbols.”

Restrictions remain for Russian athletes

At both the 2024 Paris Olympics and the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, only a handful of carefully vetted Russian and Belarusian athletes with no links to the military or the war were allowed to compete in individual events, as neutral athletes without their flag.

The IOC urged federations in December 2025 to readmit Russian and Belarusian youth athletes under 23 to international events without restrictions, in a first clear step toward easing sanctions.

The IOC said the lifting of restrictions would not apply to Russian athletes. There has been increased speculation that a similar decision could be made for Russia in the coming months.

The Olympic body said its legal affairs commission was reviewing information regarding the Russian Olympic Committee while also examining the country’s anti-doping system, with ongoing investigations by the World Anti-Doping Agency a concern.

Coventry said there had been “constructive discussions” with the Russian Olympic Committee but that outstanding issues remained.

“Our remit is sport and we have to figure out what it means,” Coventry told a news conference. “We want all athletes to be able to participate. I believe this decision shows that.”

As for Russia, she said there was no specific timeline for a potential decision on an unrestricted return to international sport.

“We have, as an organisation, to listen to all sides of the story and that is why we are where we are,” Coventry said.

The Russian Olympic Committee was suspended in October 2023 for recognizing regional Olympic councils for Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine, including Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, following Russia’s invasion.

The IOC said at the time that move violated the Olympic Charter and the territorial integrity of Ukraine’s Olympic Committee.

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U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will not be present at World Cup matches this summer, according to the co-chair of the Miami host committee.

Rodney Barreto told The Athletic on Thursday that he received assurances from Secretary of State Marco Rubio that ICE would stay away from the global soccer tournament.

“ICE is not going to be at the stadium,” Barreto told The Athletic. “This is not going to turn into some ‘round them up’ type of thing. That’s not the purpose of this.

“It will be a great experience for everybody. I think we’re lucky to have a president who loves sports and has given us the resources to reimburse the cities for their police protection.”

Barreto added, “I spoke to Marco and, first of all, he’s going to make sure that the passports get processed and people can get here and there is an orderly process so people won’t be held up. It’s going to be a major undertaking by the federal government to do that. We feel very comfortable that we’re going to be in good hands.”

The deployment of ICE for immigration enforcement has increased since Donald Trump began his second term as president last year, igniting a significant political debate in the United States.

South Florida’s role as a World Cup host market also comes against the backdrop of scenes from the 2024 Copa America final, when fans stormed the gates at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, causing multiple injuries and delaying the start of the Argentina-Colombia match.

“The Miami World Cup organizing committee took the position that we didn’t want to be critical of the planners of that event,” Barreto told The Athletic. “It wasn’t our event. But now that time has passed, I would tell you that where the failure was, which was that there were no perimeters.

“People without tickets should have been nowhere near the entryways of that stadium. It didn’t take much to overrun an entrance. But you learn from all these events, and you learn to do it better and come up with different scenarios that mitigate this from happening in the future. So that’s where we’re at.”

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Real Madrid have never been a club built to celebrate individual statistics over collective supremacy. Even I, as a fully-pledged Culer, can admit that at the Santiago Bernabeu, goals matter, but trophies matter more.

Harmony matters more. Authority matters more. That is why the Kylian Mbappe era, despite its staggering numbers, increasingly feels less like the beginning of a dynasty and more like a slow-burning identity crisis at football’s grandest institution.

There is an old proverb in Turkish, “Bir palyaço saraya taşınırsa kral olmaz, saray sirk olur,” which translates to, “When a clown moves into a palace, he doesn’t become a king. The palace becomes a circus.”

It is harsh, provocative, and perhaps unfair to direct entirely at a player of Mbappe’s extraordinary caliber. Yet as Real Madrid stagger through another turbulent, trophyless campaign in May 2026, the phrase hangs uncomfortably over the club.

Mbappe arrived in Madrid in the summer of 2024 as the most anticipated free transfer in modern football history.

He was supposed to complete the perfect superteam, joining Vinicius Junior, Jude Bellingham, Federico Valverde, and a squad designed to dominate Europe for years. Instead, two seasons later, Real Madrid are drowning in noise.

The French forward has done almost everything expected of him individually. His goal returns remain elite. He has scored with the elegance, explosiveness, and ruthlessness that made him the heir to football’s global throne. On paper, his numbers resemble those of a Ballon d’Or winner.

But Real Madrid do not live on paper.

This is now a second straight season in which the club has failed to secure the major prizes that define its identity. The Champions League campaign ended in disappointment, reportedly against Bayern Munich. The Copa del Rey collapsed early.

Barcelona sit ahead in La Liga entering the decisive stretch of the season. Minor trophies such as the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Intercontinental Cup have done little to ease the growing unrest around the Bernabeu.

What makes the situation more alarming is not simply the absence of silverware. It is the atmosphere surrounding the squad.

The season has spiraled into a public spectacle of frustration, division, and emotional collapse. A petition demanding Mbappe’s sale reportedly attracted millions of signatures, an unimaginable scenario for a player once welcomed as the club’s future king. His image suffered further after reports emerged of a yacht holiday in Sardinia with actress Ester Exposito while recovering from a hamstring injury suffered against Real Betis.

For many supporters, it reinforced a growing perception that the superstar aura surrounding Mbappe has become disconnected from the suffering of a team in decline.

Behind closed doors, matters appear even worse.

Training sessions have reportedly become battlegrounds. Mbappe himself allegedly clashed with a member of interim manager Alvaro Arbeloa’s coaching staff after being flagged offside during a training exercise, reacting with angry and insulting language. Reports claiming he escaped punishment only intensified resentment within the dressing room.

The fractures did not stop there.

Federico Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni were reportedly involved in a heated confrontation that escalated into a physical altercation severe enough to require intervention from teammates.

The tension allegedly continued into the locker room, where emotions boiled over further. Valverde reportedly required stitches after suffering a facial cut during the incident, with disciplinary procedures opened against both players.

Federico Valverde has been ruled out of Sunday’s crucial El Clasico, while Tchouameni’s fate hangs in the balance too.

Antonio Rüdiger also reportedly crossed the line during another training-ground dispute, slapping teammate Alvaro Carreras during an argument.

Although the German defender later apologized and attempted to restore unity by organizing a team lunch, the damage had already exposed a squad cracking under pressure.

These are not isolated moments of frustration. They are symptoms of a deeper institutional breakdown.

Reports of players refusing to communicate with Arbeloa, tensions between Mbappe and Vinicius, and the growing division between player groups have painted the image of a dressing room fractured by ego, instability, and uncertainty. Mbappe is said to have grown closest primarily to the club’s French-speaking contingent, while wider squad relationships have deteriorated.

On the pitch, the imbalance has become equally visible.

The partnership between Mbappe and Vinicius has often looked uncomfortable rather than devastating. Questions about defensive work rate, pressing intensity, and tactical sacrifice continue to shadow the team. At times, Madrid reportedly appeared more cohesive without Mbappe during periods of absence, a reality almost unthinkable considering the magnitude of his talent.

That is what makes this situation so fascinating and so dangerous for Real Madrid.

Mbappe is not failing in the traditional sense. He is producing. He is scoring. He is delivering moments worthy of a global superstar. Yet football history is filled with brilliant teams that collapsed because talent alone could not sustain unity.

Real Madrid’s greatest eras were never powered solely by celebrity. Cristiano Ronaldo entered a functioning machine and elevated it into an empire. Zidane brought elegance without disturbing hierarchy. Even controversial and expensive signings eventually submitted themselves to the club’s culture of sacrifice and winning.

Mbappe’s arrival, fairly or unfairly, appears to have shifted the balance in the opposite direction. The institution now feels reactive rather than commanding. The dressing room feels political rather than united. The Bernabeu feels tense rather than invincible.

And in Madrid, perception becomes reality quickly.

Perhaps the harshest symbol of the chaos came in reports claiming Mbappé laughed while leaving training amid the fallout from the Valverde-Tchouameni altercation. Whether innocent or misunderstood, the image perfectly captured the widening disconnect between the club’s internal crisis and the image projected by its biggest star.

The Frenchman remains one of football’s defining talents. That much is undeniable. But Real Madrid have never judged greatness by numbers alone. They judge it by control, leadership, sacrifice, and titles lifted under pressure.

Right now, the palace does not look like a kingdom preparing for another era of dominance. It looks like a club wrestling with itself in public view.

The final weeks of the season may determine more than trophies. They may determine whether Mbappe can still become the transformational leader Madrid believed they were signing, or whether this project will be remembered as a glittering experiment that produced spectacle without stability.

Because at Real Madrid, brilliance alone is never enough. The badge demands order. It demands authority. Above all, it demands victory.

And until those return, the circus accusations will continue to grow louder.

French fullback Sacha Boey stands on the brink of a century in Galatasaray colors, a milestone that underlines one of the club’s most remarkable modern success stories.

League leaders Galatasaray will host Antalyaspor on Saturday in a match that could move them another decisive step toward the Süper Lig title, and if coach Okan Buruk includes Boey in the lineup, the French defender will make his 100th appearance for the Istanbul giants.

Boey’s journey with Galatasaray has unfolded across two separate spells, each shaping his rise into one of Europe’s most sought-after right-backs.

Signed from Stade Rennais FC ahead of the 2021-22 season, the then-young defender arrived with promise but little fanfare. Within months, he had become one of the team’s most energetic and reliable performers.

Between 2021 and 2024, Boey made 83 appearances for Galatasaray across all competitions, featuring in the Süper Lig, UEFA Champions League, Europa League and Turkish Cup. His relentless pace, aggressive defending and attacking runs quickly made him a fan favorite at RAMS Park.

His breakout campaign came during the 2023-24 season, when his performances in both domestic and European competition attracted attention from across the continent. Boey’s displays against elite opposition eventually earned him a move to German powerhouse FC Bayern Munich in a deal reportedly worth 30 million euros plus bonuses.

After spending nearly two years in Germany, the 25-year-old returned to Galatasaray on loan with a purchase option in February, reigniting a connection that never truly faded between player and club.

Since rejoining the reigning Turkish champions, Boey has featured in 16 matches across all competitions, including 10 Süper Lig games, four Champions League fixtures and two Turkish Cup appearances.

He has also scored twice during that stretch, continuing to provide an attacking edge from defense.

Across his 99 appearances for Galatasaray, Boey has scored six goals, but perhaps none carried more personal significance than the first of his professional career.

That moment arrived in August 2021 during a UEFA Europa League qualifier against St Johnstone F.C., when he marked both his club debut and first senior career goal in a 1-1 draw.

His first season in Istanbul brought 19 appearances as he adapted to Turkish football, but the following campaign marked a turning point.

Under Buruk, Boey became a key figure in the side that captured the 2022-23 Süper Lig title, the first league championship of his professional career.

The next season elevated him to another level. Boey shined in Champions League competition, showcasing his defensive maturity and explosive athleticism against Europe’s elite, performances that ultimately opened the door to Bayern Munich.

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FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem has indicated that the Turkish Grand Prix could return to the Formula One calendar in 2026 as a contingency option, as the sport continues to manage disruptions caused by the cancellation of key Middle East races.

In remarks to media outlets including RacingNews365, Ben Sulayem said the FIA and Formula 1 are actively working through several calendar scenarios after the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix were removed from the schedule earlier this season.

The priority, he stressed, is maintaining a workable season structure while protecting logistical stability for teams and personnel.

One option under discussion involves shifting the calendar around the Qatar Grand Prix by approximately one week.

That adjustment could create space to reposition races within the affected segment of the season without forcing wider structural changes.

However, officials acknowledge that such a reshuffle depends on complex freight movements, circuit availability, and team travel constraints across a tightly packed global schedule.

If that approach cannot be implemented, Türkiye has emerged as a credible fallback.

A potential return would center on Intercity Istanbul Park, a circuit that last hosted Formula 1 in 2021 and has remained absent from the calendar since.

Known for its fast, technical layout and demanding Turn 8 sequence, the venue has long been regarded as a strong alternative option due to its infrastructure and regional accessibility.

For a 2026 comeback to be possible, the circuit would need to complete FIA Grade 1 homologation requirements and satisfy operational benchmarks covering safety systems, paddock readiness, and broadcast infrastructure.

Those evaluations are currently part of ongoing discussions between FIA officials and Turkish organizers.

The idea of a Turkish return is also tied to broader calendar pressure created by the reduction of races this season.

The original 24-race 2026 schedule has effectively been trimmed to 22 events following the removal of Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, leaving a significant gap in the early part of the year and forcing Formula 1 to explore replacements or reshuffles rather than simple postponements.

The cancellations were triggered by regional instability and security concerns in the Middle East, with FIA leadership consistently emphasizing that safety remains the overriding factor in all decisions.

Ben Sulayem reiterated that position, noting that motorsport considerations cannot outweigh broader risks when determining whether events proceed.

At present, Formula 1 continues its season with confirmed races including Miami and Canada following the opening rounds in Australia, China, and Japan.

However, the long-term structure of the calendar remains under review, with no final decision yet taken on whether any replacement venues will be formally added.

Any inclusion of Türkiye would require agreement across multiple stakeholders, including the FIA, Formula 1 management, teams, and promoters, all of whom are balancing competitive integrity with concerns over travel strain and schedule density.

Further clarity is expected in the coming weeks as discussions continue and logistical assessments progress, with Istanbul now positioned as one of the leading contingency options should the current calendar gap remain unresolved.

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