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  FIFA regulations have blocked Argentina’s plan to retire Lionel Messi’s iconic No. 10 shirt. The Argentine Football Association had wanted to honour Messi by permanently withdrawing the number from use after his farewell appearance for the national team. However, FIFA’s squad-numbering rules require teams to assign numbers within the prescribed range during major international tournaments. The regulations mean Argentina cannot simply remove the No. 10 from its squad list for competitions such as the World Cup when the tournament rules require every number in the applicable squad range to be assigned.   Messi announced on August 31 that he would retire from international football after more than two decades with Argentina. The Inter Miami forward is expected to make his farewell appearance before the Argentine public on October 6, when the country faces Benin in a friendly at the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires.   Messi, who has 207 international appearances and 125 g...

  Elon Musk has said that Instagram is for girls.   The richest man in the world made the statement via his microblogging platform X (formerly Twitter).   An X user wrote: "Officially deleted instagram. An inherently female app. Zero benefit."   Musk responded: "Instagram is for girls."  

  Anthony Joshua has shaken up his coaching setup ahead of his December 12 bout against Tyson Fury in Cardiff, bringing in trainer Ben Davison alongside Peter Fury—the uncle and former trainer of his opponent. Following recent victories working alongside Iegor Golub, Joshua has opted to reunite with Ben Davison, who previously cornered him for three fights between 2023 and 2024. However, the most striking addition to the training camp is Peter Fury, who masterminded Tyson Fury’s 2015 upset victory over Wladimir Klitschko before an acrimonious split with his nephew.   Tyson qnd his uncle back in 2015 before their fall out Speaking to the media ahead of Wednesday's kickoff press conference in London, Anthony Joshua confirmed the arrangement: “I speak to Peter Fury. He's willing to help me as well. Yeah, I'll speak to him. [Peter] has given me some good ideas about our training and our approach, how I can approach this fight and where I can improve. What I've got to do is ...

  A woman on death row who received two doses of lethal injection drugs has been rushed to the hospital after she survived. Christa Pike was scheduled to be executed at a maximum-security prison in Nashville at 10 am on Wednesday, September 30, local time. Her execution was delayed after a last-minute stay, with the Supreme Court ultimately clearing the way for it to go ahead a few hours later. Her legal team said she was still alive more than an hour after the execution drug was administered.  Tennessee has since suspended executions for the rest of the year pending an investigation. Witnesses have been released from the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution, where the execution was held.   Speaking to the media, multiple witnesses from the execution chamber said "nothing we saw was normal".   They noted the process was "abnormally long", with the curtain being drawn at multiple points throughout the lethal injection being administered.   Associated Press jour...

  Russia has issued a stern warning to NATO, stating it is fully prepared to use nuclear weapons if the Western alliance attempts to isolate or cut off Kaliningrad, the heavily militarized Russian exclave bordered by Poland and Lithuania. In a formal diplomatic document transmitted to NATO, Moscow condemned the alliance’s actions as a "dangerous and reckless course" carrying "high risks of the outbreak of a direct armed conflict." The communication explicitly warned that escalation could trigger "Russian strikes against decision-making centers in the alliance's member states right from the outset."   "Russia will be ready to use the entire arsenal of forces and capabilities at its disposal, including nuclear weapons, in order to defend its territory should NATO countries undertake any attempt aimed at isolating the Kaliningrad Region from the rest of the country," the note stated.   The warning underscores mounting friction over Kaliningrad, ...

  Cristiano Ronaldo’s sister, Elma Aveiro, has publicly criticized Portugal following her brother's departure from the national team's training camp. In a statement posted on Instagram, Elma expressed strong disapproval over the treatment of the Al Nassr forward, asserting that the country fails to appreciate its top achievers. “CR7 deserved more respect. The national team deserved more structure,” she wrote.   “Portuguese journalism deserved more competence and less speculation. As for the Portuguese people, well… they don’t deserve to have the best at anything. We are envious, disdainful, and ignorant.” Cristiano Ronaldo left the Portugal squad following a dispute with head coach Jorge Jesus after being left on the bench during Sunday's UEFA Nations League victory over Norway. He has since traveled to Madrid and will miss Portugal's upcoming fixtures.

  Super Eagles and Galatasaray striker Victor Osimhen has suffered another fall in his Transfermarket valuation,  dropping from €75 million to €65m in the latest market-value update. According to Transfermarket, the €10m reduction comes after a summer in which the Turkish Süper Lig attracted a remarkable collection of global stars, including Mohamed Salah, Rafael Leão and Dušan Vlahović. The new development takes Osimhen to a new four-year low. The last time he was valued at €65m was in June 2022, when he was 23 years old, barely two years after joining Napoli from Lille.   When the Nigerian joined Galatasaray on loan in September 2024, he was valued at €100 million, making him the most valuable player in Süper Lig history at the time. Transfermarket also lowered his valuation to €75 million following his move away from one of Europe’s top five leagues. His value later slipped to €70m before rising back to €75m after Galatasaray completed his permanent €75m transfer from ...