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Hervé Renard Quits as Saudi Arabia’s Head Coach

Football - FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 - Group C - Saudi Arabia v Mexico - Lusail Stadium, Lusail, Qatar - November 30, 2022 Saudi Arabia coach Hervé Renard before the match. (Reuters)
Football - FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 - Group C - Saudi Arabia v Mexico - Lusail Stadium, Lusail, Qatar - November 30, 2022 Saudi Arabia coach Hervé Renard before the match. (Reuters)
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Hervé Renard Quits as Saudi Arabia’s Head Coach

Football - FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 - Group C - Saudi Arabia v Mexico - Lusail Stadium, Lusail, Qatar - November 30, 2022 Saudi Arabia coach Hervé Renard before the match. (Reuters)
Football - FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 - Group C - Saudi Arabia v Mexico - Lusail Stadium, Lusail, Qatar - November 30, 2022 Saudi Arabia coach Hervé Renard before the match. (Reuters)

Hervé Renard has quit as coach of Saudi Arabia's national team amid reports he is set to take over France's women's team.

The Saudi national team on Tuesday said it had agreed to terminate Renard's contract, ending a four-year spell in charge that was highlighted by a historic win over eventual champion Argentina in the group stage of the World Cup in Qatar last year.

The 54-year-old French coach did not announce his future plans, but he thanked the Saudi people and said he was “very proud to have been able to show to the world the progress and a good image of the Saudi football.”

“It’s time for me to fly to another horizon but with (these) memories engraved in me,” Renard wrote on Twitter.

In a video message posted on the Saudi team's Twitter page, Renard reflected on the win over Argentina by saying: “I think it will stay forever in the memory of the Saudi people.”

“This experience was amazing, with a lot of support,” he added.

Reports in France have said Renard is in line to coach the French women's team at this year's World Cup, which kicks off in July in Australia and New Zealand.

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Sports

Saudi Arabia: RCU Partners with ASICS to Support Sports Development

The MoU was signed at the Cultural Oasis in AlUla. SPA
The MoU was signed at the Cultural Oasis in AlUla. SPA
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Saudi Arabia: RCU Partners with ASICS to Support Sports Development

The MoU was signed at the Cultural Oasis in AlUla. SPA
The MoU was signed at the Cultural Oasis in AlUla. SPA

Saudi Arabia’s Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with ASICS, aimed at strengthening strategic cooperation to support the development of AlUla’s sports ecosystem and enhance talent pathways, in line with RCU’s long-term vision and future ambitions.

The MoU, signed at the Cultural Oasis in AlUla, establishes a framework for future collaboration through which RCU will explore opportunities to leverage ASICS’ technical, operational, and specialized advisory expertise across sports development and performance services, including assessment and analysis, to enhance the quality of sporting experiences in AlUla.

The cooperation includes joint efforts to support a more integrated sports ecosystem through initiatives that strengthen training environments, enhance athletic performance, and advance athlete development pathways and talent programs. RCU and ASICS will also explore opportunities to develop distinctive events and initiatives and attract regional and international competitions that contribute to AlUla’s growing profile on global sporting calendars.

The MoU further supports collaboration on community engagement through grassroots programs and social impact initiatives that encourage participation and wellbeing. It also enables exploration of digital enhancements that improve event delivery and participant engagement, including smarter registration, data management, and participant tracking for the AlUla Trail Race and other events across AlUla’s calendar.

This step is part of RCU’s ongoing efforts to develop the sports ecosystem in AlUla and increase community participation in sporting activities, in line with the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030 to advance the sports sector and enhance the quality of life.

Sports

Hospital: Vonn Had Surgery on Broken Leg from Olympics Crash

This handout video grab from IOC/OBS shows US Lindsey Vonn crashing during the women's downhill event at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games on February 8, 2026. (Photo by Handout / various sources / AFP)
This handout video grab from IOC/OBS shows US Lindsey Vonn crashing during the women's downhill event at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games on February 8, 2026. (Photo by Handout / various sources / AFP)
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Hospital: Vonn Had Surgery on Broken Leg from Olympics Crash

This handout video grab from IOC/OBS shows US Lindsey Vonn crashing during the women's downhill event at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games on February 8, 2026. (Photo by Handout / various sources / AFP)
This handout video grab from IOC/OBS shows US Lindsey Vonn crashing during the women's downhill event at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games on February 8, 2026. (Photo by Handout / various sources / AFP)

Lindsey Vonn had surgery on a fracture of her left leg following the American's heavy fall in the Winter Olympics downhill, the hospital said in a statement given to Italian media on Sunday.

"In the afternoon, (Vonn) underwent orthopedic surgery to stabilize a fracture of the left leg," the Ca' Foncello hospital in Treviso said.

Vonn, 41, was flown to Treviso after she was strapped into a medical stretcher and winched off the sunlit Olimpia delle Tofane piste in Cortina d'Ampezzo.

Vonn, whose battle to reach the start line despite the serious injury to her left knee dominated the opening days of the Milano Cortina Olympics, saw her unlikely quest halted in screaming agony on the snow.

Wearing bib number 13 and with a brace on the left knee she ⁠injured in a crash at Crans Montana on January 30, Vonn looked pumped up at the start gate.

She tapped her ski poles before setting off in typically aggressive fashion down one of her favorite pistes on a mountain that has rewarded her in the past.

The 2010 gold medalist, the second most successful female World Cup skier of all time with 84 wins, appeared to clip the fourth gate with her shoulder, losing control and being launched into the air.

She then barreled off the course at high speed before coming to rest in a crumpled heap.

Vonn could be heard screaming on television coverage as fans and teammates gasped in horror before a shocked hush fell on the packed finish area.

She was quickly surrounded by several medics and officials before a yellow Falco 2 ⁠Alpine rescue helicopter arrived and winched her away on an orange stretcher.

Sports

Meloni Condemns 'Enemies of Italy' after Clashes in Olympics Host City Milan

Demonstrators hold smoke flares during a protest against the environmental, economic and social impact of the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, February 7, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Coombs
Demonstrators hold smoke flares during a protest against the environmental, economic and social impact of the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, February 7, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Coombs
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Meloni Condemns 'Enemies of Italy' after Clashes in Olympics Host City Milan

Demonstrators hold smoke flares during a protest against the environmental, economic and social impact of the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, February 7, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Coombs
Demonstrators hold smoke flares during a protest against the environmental, economic and social impact of the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, February 7, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Coombs

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has condemned anti-Olympics protesters as "enemies of Italy" after violence on the fringes of a demonstration in Milan on Saturday night and sabotage attacks on the national rail network.

The incidents happened on the first full day of competition in the Winter Games that Milan, Italy's financial capital, is hosting with the Alpine town of Cortina d'Ampezzo.

Meloni praised the thousands of Italians who she said were working to make the Games run smoothly and present a positive face of Italy.

"Then ⁠there are those who are enemies of Italy and Italians, demonstrating 'against the Olympics' and ensuring that these images are broadcast on television screens around the world. After others cut the railway cables to prevent trains from departing," she wrote on Instagram on Sunday.

A group of around 100 protesters ⁠threw firecrackers, smoke bombs and bottles at police after breaking away from the main body of a demonstration in Milan.

An estimated 10,000 people had taken to the city's streets in a protest over housing costs and environmental concerns linked to the Games.

Police used water cannon to restore order and detained six people.

Also on Saturday, authorities said saboteurs had damaged rail infrastructure near the northern Italian city of Bologna, disrupting train journeys.

Police reported three separate ⁠incidents at different locations, which caused delays of up to 2-1/2 hours for high-speed, Intercity and regional services.

No one has claimed responsibility for the damage.

"Once again, solidarity with the police, the city of Milan, and all those who will see their work undermined by these gangs of criminals," added Meloni, who heads a right-wing coalition.

The Italian police have been given new arrest powers after violence last weekend at a protest by the hard-left in the city of Turin, in which more than 100 police officers were injured.