Vinícius has last word as Real Madrid wrap up victory over Benfica

Vinícius Júnior ran to the corner and danced again, just as he had done in Lisbon a week ago, but this time all around him there was celebration. There was also relief. With 10 minutes left on a nervous night at the Santiago Bernabéu, he had been set free to put the ball past Anatoliy Trubin and Real Madrid into the last 16 of the Champions League.

Victory was his, 2-1 here, 3-1 on aggregate and well beyond that too, so he set off and shook his hips before the flag the same way he had eight days earlier, fans released from their fears, applauding, a point proved and passage secured. “I’m happy for him: he deserved it,” the Real head coach, Álvaro Arbeloa, said.

Published: February 25, 2026, 10:12 pm

US hockey star Hilary Knight responds to Trump’s ‘distasteful joke’ about women’s team

• Captain says controversy overshadows Olympic gold win

• Trump quipped about inviting US women to White House

• Knight says there is respect and support with men’s team

Hilary Knight, the captain of the US women’s ice hockey team, has responded to comments made by Donald Trump after the Americans won gold at the Winter Olympics, calling the president’s quip a “distasteful joke”.

After the US men’s ice hockey team won gold on Sunday, Trump called into the locker-room celebration and invited the players to be his guests at Tuesday’s State of the Union address.

Published: February 25, 2026, 10:00 pm

Mauricio Pochettino suddenly has a glut of USMNT options as the World Cup looms

Timing and luck often dictate a team’s success at tournaments. And the co-hosts have players coming into form at just the right time

Bruce Arena once said that if his United States men’s national team had contested the 2006 World Cup a year earlier, the Americans would have done much better than the joyless, winless group stage elimination they suffered through. That team, he felt, had peaked during qualifiers and were past their best – despite being ranked an absurd fourth in the world by Fifa – when the World Cup kicked off.

Four years earlier, when the USMNT stunned the 2002 World Cup by nearly reaching the semi-finals, his side benefited from time’s relentless march, Arena argued. The Americans, cohesive and energized then, upset a golden Portugal generation that had already lost its sheen, 3-2, to spark their run.

Published: February 25, 2026, 11:00 am

The US men’s hockey team at the State of the Union showed proximity to Trump is never neutral

The newly crowned Olympic champions were warmly greeted by both Republicans and Democrats. They were also used as props by the president

During Tuesday’s State of the Union, Donald Trump welcomed members of the US men’s national hockey team to the House gallery to chants of “U-S-A, U-S-A!”. Trump revealed that Team USA’s goaltender, Connor Hellebuyck, will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom. “What special champions you are,” Trump told the players, who had beaten Canada on Sunday in the gold medal game of the Winter Olympics.

In Trump’s America, proximity is never neutral.

Published: February 25, 2026, 1:09 pm

Breakaway union stands behind Tara Moore’s $20m legal battle against WTA

• Former British doubles No 1 has same legal firm as PTPA

• The 33-year-old doubles star has always denied doping

The breakaway players’ union that is suing the tours and grand slam tournaments has thrown its weight behind Tara Moore’s $20m (£14.7m) legal battle against the Women’s ­Tennis Association in a new front in the sport’s civil war.

The Guardian has learnt that Moore, a former British No 1 doubles player who this week brought a legal action for negligence against the WTA after being handed a four‑year ban for doping, is using lawyers from the Professional Tennis ­Players Association’s legal partner, King & Spalding.

Published: February 25, 2026, 5:50 pm

Pitch Points: Bodø/Glimt give us hope for the future; have Arsenal turned the corner?

The world of soccer throws up no shortage of questions. Today, Graham Ruthven endeavors to answer three of them

The soccer news agenda hasn’t exactly been a picnic recently. Concerns over the hosting of World Cup matches in Mexico. Gianni Infantino cozying up to Donald Trump whenever he can. The fleecing of supporters planning to visit the US this summer. Is all this really worth it? But then there’s Bodø/Glimt.

Published: February 25, 2026, 5:38 pm

Among the gangsters, gamblers and high rollers: a master bookie’s life in Las Vegas

In his new memoir, Art Manteris recalls raucous times in Nevada, and explains why the explosion of sports betting in the US presents serious risks

Forty years ago, the New England Patriots played in their first Super Bowl. It ended disastrously for New England, who lost 46-10 to the Chicago Bears. The Bears’ mammoth defensive tackle, William “The Refrigerator” Perry, even got involved in the scoring with a touchdown.

That moment looked like it would cause serious problems for Art Manteris, who at the time ran the sportsbook at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Under Manteris, Caesars had offered odds on whether Perry would score during the game – and, as fans scrambled to back the popular player, the house stood to lose a significant sum if he did. When Perry ran into the end zone, gamblers collected handsomely, to the tune of $250,000. The next day, Manteris was summoned to meet the boss of Caesars, Henry Gluck.

Published: February 25, 2026, 11:00 am

Outrage in Austria after man ordered to pay female footballers €625 each for secretly filming dressing room

• Former official at Altach given suspended prison term

• Player says the sentence ‘leaves me speechless’

A man has been given a seven-month suspended prison sentence and fined €1,200 (£1,046) after being found guilty of taking secret videos and photographs from the changing room, gym and showers of the Altach women’s football team. He was also told to pay the victims €625 each in compensation.

The sentence was handed out in the regional court in Feldkirch, Austria, with the judge saying that it made a huge difference “if one looks at pictures or actually creates them oneself”. The defendant accepted the sentence but the prosecutor may appeal.

Published: February 25, 2026, 10:43 am

Champions League roundup: Atalanta oust Dortmund, Galatasaray thwart Juventus fightback

• Serie A side win 4-3 on aggregate after 4-1 victory

• Istanbul giants fend off 10-man Juve in extra time

Lazar Samardzic slotted home a stoppage-time penalty to complete a dramatic 4-1 victory for Atalanta against Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday, sending the Italian side into the Champions League’s last 16 with a comeback 4-3 aggregate triumph.

Dortmund’s Ramy Bensebaini was sent off after his studs caught the head of Atalanta’s Nikola Krstovic in the penalty area and Samardzic converted the spot kick in the 98th minute to send the Italians through. Atalanta will now face either Arsenal or Bayern Munich in the round of 16, with the draw on Friday.

Published: February 25, 2026, 11:02 pm

Championship roundup: Coventry battle back to see off Sheffield United

• Haji Wright and Jack Rudoni seal 2-1 comeback win

• Millwall beat Birmingham to keep up promotion push

Coventry extended their lead at the top of the Championship to five points after coming from behind to win 2-1 at Sheffield United, while Millwall went third by beating Birmingham City 3-0 on Wednesday.

After a run of two wins in eight games caused Frank Lampard’s men to blow a comfortable advantage in the race for promotion to the Premier League, Coventry have bounced back with three consecutive wins.

Published: February 25, 2026, 11:12 pm

Martin O’Neill claims VAR ‘debilitating’ for officials after Celtic fail with red card appeal

• Auston Trusty sent off against Hibernian

• O’Neill: ‘In time we won’t need a referee’

Celtic’s manager, Martin O’Neill, has delivered a withering assessment of VAR in Scottish football after what he called the “ridiculous” dismissal of Auston Trusty during Sunday’s loss by Hibernian.

Trusty’s red card and a failed Celtic appeal mean the centre-back will miss three crucial Scottish Premiership games, starting with Sunday’s Old Firm visit to Ibrox. O’Neill claimed VAR actions must be “debilitating” for on-field officials.

Published: February 25, 2026, 7:19 pm

Footballers are calling out racism because they have had enough. Those with power must act | Samuel Okafor

The leadership shown by four Premier League players in highlighting racism last weekend must be replicated, and addressing representation is part of that

Recent incidents involving Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Vinícius Júnior have offered a new layer to the question Kick It Out is often asked when discrimination occurs: is it getting worse or are more people reporting it?

The question has been posed again this week after four Premier League players highlighted racist abuse sent to them on social media after matches last weekend.

Published: February 25, 2026, 3:00 pm

Mary Earps says she ‘learned some tough lessons’ from book backlash

• Former England keeper has met with Sarina Wiegman

• She adds: ‘I’m human. I’m not perfect, I’m still learning’

Mary Earps said she has “learned some tough lessons” and understands why there was such strong condemnation of comments made in her autobiography last year.

The former England goalkeeper told the Guardian the “last thing she wanted to do” was hurt Sarina Wiegman and she is grateful to have had a chance to meet up with the Lionesses head coach and have a “really positive conversation” since the release of her book in November, which led to a huge backlash.

Published: February 25, 2026, 9:00 am

Football ‘has eaten almost every sport’ due to digital dominance, says podcast chief

• Goalhanger’s Tony Pastor says Serie A has ‘disappeared’

• ‘You have to embrace this idea of fragmentation’

Football “has eaten almost every sport worldwide” thanks to its dominance of TV and digital markets, according to the head of the leading podcast production company Goalhanger.

Tony Pastor, CEO of the studio behind the Rest is Football among other podcasts, said that broadcasters were struggling to get value for money for sports rights and that competitions should “embrace fragmentation” to reach audiences where they are.

Published: February 25, 2026, 3:01 pm

Scotland fans given all-clear to wear their sporrans at World Cup matches

• Fifa to allow traditional Highland accessory into grounds

• Tournament rules only permit certain types of bags

Scotland fans have been given the all-clear to wear their sporrans at the team’s matches at the 2026 World Cup.

Tournament rules only permitted certain types of bags into stadiums, and the pouch traditionally worn by Scots at the front of their kilt was deemed too large to meet the strict criteria.

Published: February 25, 2026, 3:24 pm

Real Madrid 2-1 Benfica (agg 3-1) and more: Champions League playoffs – as it happened

Real Madrid didn’t impress, but they still had too much quality for Benfica, while Atalanta, PSG and Galatasaray all advanced in dramatic style

85 min: Krstović one-twos with Zalewski down the middle … and he’s clear! But Kobel reads the danger and comes racing out of his box to blooter clear. The keeper takes a whack for his trouble, but Krstović was within his rights to compete for the ball with so much on the line. Great play all round.

82 min: Atalanta counter, and Samardžić dances his way in from the right, before lashing a low diagonal drive inches wide of the left-hand post. Kobel wasn’t getting to that.

Published: February 25, 2026, 10:42 pm

Saracens’ salary cap penalty under scrutiny over conflict of interest claims

• Saffery Champness alleged to have been auditor for Sale

• Saracens were fined £5.36m and relegated in 2020

Saracens will consider their position over an alleged undeclared conflict of interest at the centre of the disciplinary process into the 2019 salary cap scandal. The club were fined an unprecedented £5.36m for salary cap breaches over the previous three seasons and were relegated to the Championship, but the punishment has come under fresh scrutiny with these new allegations.

Saracens point to an allegation made about the accounting firm Saffery Champness and claims that the level of fine handed down was “largely based upon advice provided to PRL”.

Published: February 25, 2026, 8:24 pm

Steve Borthwick turns to 2003 World Cup heroes for Six Nations inspiration

• Blow as scrum-half Alex Mitchell is ruled out of campaign

• Johnson, Dallaglio, Leonard and co to dine with players

Steve Borthwick has turned to England’s 2003 World Cup winners to arrest his side’s drastic decline after enduring another setback with the scrum‑half Alex Mitchell ruled out for the rest of the Six Nations.

Borthwick’s squad were due on Wednesday night to have dinner with members of the 2003 team, including the captain Martin Johnson, the Test centurion Jason Leonard and Lewis Moody, who revealed in October that he had been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.

Published: February 25, 2026, 6:31 pm

Constitution Hill out of Champion Hurdle and ready for next chapter on the Flat

• Jumps star has fallen in three of last four hurdles runs

• Horse switched to Flat campaign after Southwell romp

Constitution Hill, the brilliant Champion Hurdle winner in 2023, has been ruled out of this year’s race on 10 March and any further races over jumps after a schooling session at Nicky Henderson’s yard on Wednesday, with the trainer saying in a statement that “it is not fair to ask him and Nico [de Boinville, his jockey] to do it again” following three falls in the nine-year-old’s last four races.

Confirmation that Constitution Hill will pursue new opportunities on the Flat follows his astonishing debut on the level at Southwell four days ago. While some jumps fans will regret the fact that one of the best hurdlers in racing history will not get a final chance to reclaim his former crown, others will feel relief that the risks attached to another fall have weighed heavier in the balance than the lure of a final run at the festival.

Published: February 25, 2026, 2:32 pm

MPs back UK broadcasters in push to expand sport’s free-to-air ‘crown jewels’

• Terrestrial channels seeking more legislative protection

• Number of Labour MPs are understood to be supportive

Public service broadcasters are making renewed attempts to persuade the government to expand the list of televised sport’s free-to-air “crown jewels”.

A call from the then BBC director of sport, Barbara Slater, to add the Six Nations Championship to the group A list of events that must be offered to terrestrial channels was rejected three years ago, but a group of Labour MPs is understood to be working with broadcasters to force a change of policy.

Published: February 25, 2026, 2:30 pm