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An MLS coach in the US has said the Argentina superstar should get extra protection from referees same way Michael Jordan did, when he joins Inter Miami.   In order to protect the massive financial investment the league has undertaken to bring the recently crowned World Cup-winning captain, some expect the governing body for referees in the US, the Professional Referees Organization (PRO), to have different expectations for matches involving Messi.    One unnamed MLS coach told The Athletic that the Argentine should 'get the (Michael) Jordan treatment. (He) should get every single call.'   But any 'Jordan treatment' could lead to MLS teams implementing their own version of the 'Jordan rules'.   The Jordan Rules were a successful defensive basketball strategy employed by the Detroit Pistons against the six-time NBA title winner in order to limit his effectiveness in any game. Devised by Chuck Daly and his assistants at the time, Ron Rothst...

U.S. President, Joe Biden has warned his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping to ‘be careful’ after the Chinese President met with Russia’s Vladimir Putin because Beijing is heavily reliant on Western investment.   ‘This is not a threat. This is an observation,’ Biden told CNN in an interview aired Sunday, July 9. ‘Since Russia went into Ukraine, 600 American corporations have pulled out of Russia. And you have told me that your economy depends on investment from Europe and the United States. Be careful,’ he added.   Putin and Xi held two days of talks in March with warm words of friendship between China and Russia and joint criticism of the West, but made no agreement of a diplomatic breakthrough over Ukraine.   The pair also participated in a virtual summit earlier this week. Tensions and pessimism in the U.S.-China relationship have heightened in recent years over national security issues such as Taiwan, Russia’s war in Ukraine, growing U.S. export bans on advanc...

New Chelsea manager, Mauricio Pochettino said he knows he is already under pressure in his new role, admitting the immediate expectation at Stamford Bridge is to win despite the club’s struggles last season. Pochettino previously enjoyed spells in the Premier League with Southampton and Tottenham, the latter of which he guided to the Champions League final in 2019 before leaving trophy-less just five months later. He then moved to Bayern Munich which he coached for a year.  Chelsea’s 12th-place finish on 44 points last season was their worst display since 1994 , the club were so bad they employed three managers — Thomas Tuchel, Graham Potter and interim boss Frank Lampard.   However, Pochettino in his first press conference since he took charge at Stamford Bridge on July 1, said;   “My target is to win, my aim is to win. Play well is our style, philosophy and culture. If you don’t win in a club like Chelsea, you will struggle,” Pochettino said. “With the player...

Spanish goalkeeper, David de Gea has confirmed he is leaving Manchester United after 12 years at the club. The goalkeeper, 32,  joined United from Atlético Madrid for £17m in 2011 and went on to make 545 appearances, keeping a club-record 190 clean sheets in the process.  “I would like to express my unwavering gratitude and appreciation for the love from the last 12 years,” De Gea said in a statement. “We’ve achieved a lot since my dear Sir Alex Ferguson brought me to this club.   During his time at Old Trafford, De Gea won the Premier League, FA Cup, Europa League, and two Carabao Cups but his position has been under heavy scrutiny since the arrival of Erik ten Hag last summer.   De Gea still won the Premier League’s Golden Glove for keeping most clean sheets last season, though, and will not be short of suitors. “I took incredible pride every time I pulled on this shirt, to lead the team, to represent this institution, the biggest club in the world was ...

  The white gunman who shot and killed 23 people at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas in a racist attack on Hispanic customers has been sentenced to 90 consecutive life sentences for the 2019 massacre.   Patrick Crusius, 24, was sentenced to multiple life terms following the mass shooting that target Hispanic shoppers on the U.S.-Mexico border.   Prosecutors had recommended Crusius receive consecutive life sentences for each of the 90 federal charges, including hate crimes and firearms offenses, to which he pleaded guilty.   He pleaded guilty in February to nearly 50 federal hate crime charges after federal prosecutors took the death penalty off the table.     He drove more than 700 miles from his Dallas-area home in order to attack Hispanics with an AK-style rifle at the Walmart, where the shooting took place inside and outside the store, according to police.   Just before he started shooting on 3 August 2019, Crusius posted a racist message o...

Hollywood actor, Kevin Costner's estranged wife Christine Baumgartner has branded the actor's proposed $51,940 a month in child support 'inappropriate' amid their ongoing divorce. Baumgartner, 49, had previously demanded $248,000 a month in child support - which Costner claimed in legal documents was partly to fund her own plastic surgery expenses - and the star has offered up a new sum in the exes' court battle over their finances.   However, Baumgartner has called the proposal 'completely inappropriate' in new legal documents and claimed Costner 'spends $240,000 a month on himself and the kids when they're with him'.   The former couple share three children together, Cayden 16, Hayes, 14, and Grace 13. Costner also has four adult children from previous relationships.   Baumgartner says $52,000 is 'well below' the $65,000 per month she claims Costner was getting for renting out a guest house at his $100 million beachfront c...

A former Amazon.com manager has been sentenced to 16 years in prison after stealing over $9.4 million from the company while working there.   According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Kayricka Wortham stole over $9.4 million from Amazon while working as an operations manager in Georgia from August 2020 to March 2022. Six additional people have also been charged with stealing money.   As an operations manager, the 32-year-old oversaw other employees, signed off on new vendors, and paid out invoices for Amazon. Because of her access, she was able to invoice for over $10 million using fake vendors; ultimately, she and the six others made $9.4 million in their scheme. "Once the information was entered, Wortham approved the fake vendors, enabling them to submit invoices. Wortham and co-conspirators then submitted fictitious invoices to Amazon, falsely representing that the vendors had provided goods and services to Amazon,” the release says. “Wortha...