Image source, Getty Images Image caption, New Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola will have been been fascinated by day four of the World Cup By Phil McNulty Chief football writer in Dallas Published 1 hour ago Liverpool's new head coach Andoni Iraola will use the World Cup as a fact-finding mission …

Image source, Getty Images Image caption, New Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola will have been been fascinated by day four of the World Cup By Phil McNulty Chief football writer in Dallas Published 1 hour ago Liverpool's new head coach Andoni Iraola will use the World Cup as a fact-finding mission on the players he has inherited, as well as scouting those he could add to refresh a squad that suffered in a miserable defence of their Premier League title. As he settles in after succeeding sacked Arne Slot, Spaniard Iraola will have had an intriguing day gathering intelligence as he had an interest in all games on day four of the tournament. So what will have caught Iraola's eye as he formulates his plot to revive Liverpool after arriving from Bournemouth? Can Iraola release the real Wirtz? Florian Wirtz arrived at Liverpool from Bayer Leverkusen last summer amid great fanfare in a then-British record £116m deal - but remained an enigma as he fell far short of expectations. Liverpool still have huge hopes for a gifted attacking player who has only just turned 23, which means one of Iraola's main tasks is to find a settled position for the German to release the talent he demonstrated before moving to Anfield. This is why Iraola will have been intrigued by what he saw from Wirtz in Germany's 7-1 win against Curacao in their opening World Cup game. The context must be that this was against a side ranked 82nd in the world, but in the colours of his country and in favourable conditions, Wirtz showed some golden touches. Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Florian Wirtz struggled at Liverpool last season but revelled in his freedom for Germany against Curacao In his first campaign at Anfield, Wirtz too often appeared a square peg in a round hole, playing in behind the strikers as well on the flanks, but never flourishing. In Houston, Wirtz played on the left, perhaps giving Iraola food for thought, especially as Cody Gakpo had a poor season in that position. He created Germany's opening goal for Felix Nmecha with the sort of delicate touch and quick thinking that eluded him for much of last term. Wirtz had 39 touches in the final third, instrumental as Germany ran riot. Former England striker Chris Sutton, in Houston for BBC Radio 5 Live, said: "The mitigation must be that this was Curacao, but the Liverpool fans who watched the game, especially in the first half, would be wondering if it was the same Florian Wirtz who played for them last season. "He looked happy in a German jersey, at ease and playing with freedom." Sutton added: "He was sharp off the left, drifting inside to play quick, incisive passes. He was creative and cunning. He looked unburdened. He was a real menace with Jamal Musiala." Iraola will hope to lift the weight off Wirtz's shoulders at Liverpool. Mixed fortunes for Iraola's Dutch trio To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. This video can not be played Figure caption, 'Big goal from big player!' - va

Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Cucurella won the Conference League and Club World Cup at Chelsea By Nizaar Kinsella Football reporter Published 12 minutes ago Real Madrid have a verbal agreement in place to sign Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella after the World Cup. The 27-year-old is currently with Spain at the tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico, but a deal has been struck between all parties for a permanent transfer. Further details of the contract and fee are yet to emerge, although the price is believed to be more than the £43m currently suggested and an initial agreement is in place. Since president Florentino Perez was re-elected and appointed Jose Mourinho as manager, Real are understood to also be targeting Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva and Inter Milan full-back Denzel Dumfries, while France defender Ibrahima Konate is set to join after leaving Liverpool . Cucurella, who joined Chelsea for £63m from Brighton in 2022, was understood to have been keen to return to Spain, having come through Barcelona's academy. He had been linked with Atletico Madrid and a move back to Barcelona . The Catalan also gave an interview during the March international break criticising Chelsea 's hierarchy following Enzo Maresca's mid-season departure. He was part of a core group of Spanish-speaking players who were frustrated by the situation and struggled to perform under Maresca's successor, Liam Rosenior. Rosenior was eventually sacked, with Chelsea finishing 10th and failing to qualify for Europe despite the temporary appointment of Calum McFarlane as caretaker manager. Former Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso has since been appointed as the club's permanent manager for the 2026-27 campaign. Related topics Football Premier League Chelsea Football Transfers Spanish La Liga Real Madrid More on this story Man City and Chelsea remain in talks over Maresca Published 6 days ago Real Madrid bring back Mourinho on three-year deal Published 2 days ago Real Madrid's £130m Alvarez bid rejected Published 4 days ago

Image source, Getty Images Image caption, The previous all-British podium was at the 1968 US Grand Prix when Jackie Stewart won from Graham Hill and John Surtees By Andrew Benson F1 Correspondent Published 15 minutes ago Lewis Hamilton took his first victory for Ferrari in a compelling Barcelona-Cat…

To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. This video can not be played Figure caption, Fifa seek explanation over VAR official's hand gesture By Dale Johnson Football issues correspondent Published 15 June 2026 Video assistant referee Shaun Evans says an 'OK' sign hand gestur…

To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. This video can not be played Figure caption, Fifa seek explanation over VAR official's hand gesture By Dale Johnson Football issues correspondent Published 15 June 2026 Video assistant referee Shaun Evans says an 'OK' sign hand gestur…

To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. This video can not be played Figure caption, Fifa seek explanation over VAR official's hand gesture By Dale Johnson Football issues correspondent Published 15 June 2026 Video assistant referee Shaun Evans says an 'OK' sign hand gestur…

To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. This video can not be played Figure caption, Fifa seek explanation over VAR official's hand gesture By Dale Johnson Football issues correspondent Published 15 June 2026 Video assistant referee Shaun Evans says an 'OK' sign hand gesture was "an involuntary, subconscious twitch" after he was cleared by a Fifa investigation. Evans said that he was "unaware" of making the hand movement and denied "intentionally" attempting to "communicate a message, affiliation, game or belief of any kind". The Australian could be seen making the fingers of his right hand into a upside down 'OK' sign when Fifa cut to a shot of the VAR team at the referee hub in Dallas before Germany's 7-1 win over Curacao on Sunday. Such a gesture has two very distinct meanings - one harmless and the other connected to an expression of white supremacy. World governing body Fifa said after looking into the matter that it found "no evidence of breaches of the Fifa Disciplinary Code". The incident was immediately subject to a huge amount of speculation on social media. "The coverage following this incident simply does not reflect who I am," Evans said in a statement issued by Fifa. "Of course, I understand how the gesture has been interpreted and I regret this, however I want to be very clear and categorically say that I did not knowingly or deliberately make the hand symbol suggested." Evans is available for selection for the rest of the tournament. 'No evidence of breaches of the Fifa disciplinary code' Fifa issued a short statement to confirm an investigation had been carried out but that the official would face no action. The 38-year-old Evans went on to explain that video evidence from the VAR room proved that he had made involuntary movements. "Images taken later during the match showed that I repeated this movement many times while holding a pen between my fingers," he said. "Officiating at the World Cup is the biggest honour of my career and I look forward to supporting my colleagues for the rest of the tournament." Before matches during the World Cup, Fifa has been briefly focusing on the officials as part of its world feed global coverage. First, the referee, and the rest of his team, have walked to the touchline and a graphic has been displayed with their names and roles. Then the picture has cut to a shot of the VAR team at the referee hub in Dallas. Rather than showing them at work and looking at their monitors, they have also briefly posed for the camera and their names have appeared on screen. When the camera cut to the VAR room on Sunday, Evans was standing with his arm by his side - and then could be seen making the fingers of his right hand into a upside down 'OK' sign. There was a noticeable change in approach for pre-match rituals after the Germany-Curacao game. When the VAR hub was shown in subsequent matches, the officials were already facing the monitors. No longer did we see them looking at the cam

Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Lewis Hamilton is second in the drivers' championship, while McLaren's world champion Lando Norris has moved up to fifth By Harry Benjamin F1 commentator in Barcelona Published 2 hours ago Lewis Hamilton claimed his maiden win for Ferrari on Sunday with victory at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix. The seven-time world champion, 41, shared the podium with former Mercedes team-mate George Russell in second and reigning world champion Lando Norris in third, making it an all-British top three for the first time since 1968. Hamilton has narrowed the gap to 19-year-old Kimi Antonelli at the top of the drivers' championship to 41 points, following the Italian's retirement towards the end of the race. Here are my ratings for how the drivers performed across the whole weekend in Barcelona. Lewis Hamilton - 10/10 The first 10 of the year. Normally I'd reserve this for topping every session but despite feeling out of sorts in the early part of the weekend, he found balance with the car. Only just missed out on pole and worked cleverly with the team to respond and tweak the strategy to take his first Ferrari grand prix win. Even without the virtual safety car, Hamilton's' pace was ominous. History made. George Russell - 8/10 It looked like it could have been his weekend up until the race. Ultimately, neither Mercedes had the pace to battle the Ferrari but getting overtaken by team-mate Kimi Antonelli was salt in the wound. Lando Norris 9/10 Kept himself in the fight all weekend and in the race but just missing that extra something from the McLaren. Applied some pressure but in the end was mainly in a race on his own. Max Verstappen - 8/10 Not happy throughout practice. Surprised himself in qualifying and while the race pace didn't match the front runners, he had a very good final stint to secure some needed points for Red Bull. Oscar Piastri - 6/10 Another one where the Australian's weekend faded. Normally, we're used to seeing Piastri get stronger in every session but almost the opposite happened to the McLaren driver this weekend. Isack Hadjar - 7/10 Very close to Red Bull team-mate Verstappen in qualifying. But wheelspin off the start line left him with a comeback drive. Pierre Gasly - 9/10 Out-qualified by Alpine team-mate Franco Colapinto after struggling with brakes and trying to change the entire car. Good strategic call under the VSC and benefitted with points. Franco Colapinto - 8/10 A better weekend but it's still so up and down with Argentine Colapinto. Out-qualified Gasly but couldn't match him in the race. Still secured points. Liam Lawson - 9/10 Another great weekend for New Zealander Lawson, who nearly lost out due to the VSC but reliability issues for others combined with a quick car, and he's once again in the points. Arvid Lindblad - 8/10 Should have challenged for a spot in the final part of qualifying but Racing Bulls team-mate Lawson had the edge on him this weekend. Still had pace to bag anoth

To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. This video can not be played Figure caption, Fifa seek explanation over VAR official's hand gesture By Dale Johnson Football issues correspondent Published 15 June 2026 Video assistant referee Shaun Evans says an 'OK' sign hand gestur…

'Thunderbolt!' - Brighton's Ayari scores stunner but refuses to celebrate To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. This video can not be played 'Thunderbolt!' - Brighton's Ayari scores stunner but refuses to celebrate Close 306 220 Yasin Ayari scores a stunner for Sweden aga…

Healey said Keir Starmer knows what is needed. double quotation mark The prime minister knows what the country needs for defence. He spelled out the threat this month when he said it is our intelligence assessment and the assessment of other countries in NATO that there could be an attack by Russia …

Hidenori Furuta resigned as chair of Fujitsu on Tuesday. Photograph: Toru Hanai/Reuters View image in fullscreen Hidenori Furuta resigned as chair of Fujitsu on Tuesday. Photograph: Toru Hanai/Reuters Fujitsu chair resigns after ‘woman-related inappropriate conduct’ Japanese technology company at ce…

Dozens walk out as Google boss Pichai addresses Stanford graduates 3 hours ago Share Save Add as preferred on Google Ana Faguy Watch: Dozens of Stanford grads walk out on Google CEO's speech Several students walked out of their Stanford University graduation ceremony as Google CEO Sundar Pichai took…

To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. This video can not be played Figure caption, Fifa seek explanation over VAR official's hand gesture By Dale Johnson Football issues correspondent Published 15 June 2026 Video assistant referee Shaun Evans says an 'OK' sign hand gestur…

Britain will have to “dial back” on military operations and exercises in the next few years if the Ministry of Defence (MoD) does not receive extra funding from Downing Street and the Treasury, Rich Knighton, the chief of the defence staff, has told peers. Later John Healey and Al Carns both deliver…

'Social media firms hit back' and 'Arson attack on Starmer linked to Russia' 4 hours ago Share Save Add as preferred on Google Several of Tuesday's papers lead on Sir Keir Starmer's plan to ban social media for under-16s, which was announced on Monday. The Guardian says social media firms have "hit …

A protest over Palantir software in Germany in September. The French decision to use its own AI models comes amid growing concern among European governments about US-controlled technology. Photograph: Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters View image in fullscreen A protest over Palantir software in Germany in Sep…

Highlights: Mbappe stars as France beat Senegal This content is not available in your location. There was an error Kylian Mbappe scores twice as France begin their World Cup 2026 campaign with a 3-1 win over Senegal in Group I. READ MORE: France v Senegal Available to UK users only. Subsection Footb…

By — Ali Rogin Ali Rogin By — Ali Schmitz Ali Schmitz Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/ex-doj-officials-reflect-on-trumps-transformation-of-the-institution Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Transcript Audio Justice…