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Marcelo's Fluminense Contract Terminated after Clash with Coach

FILE PHOTO: Copa Libertadores - Quarter finals - Second Leg - Atletico Mineiro v Fluminense - Arena MRV, Belo Horizonte, Brazil - September 25, 2024 Fluminense's Marcelo during the warm up before the match REUTERS/Cris Mattos/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Copa Libertadores - Quarter finals - Second Leg - Atletico Mineiro v Fluminense - Arena MRV, Belo Horizonte, Brazil - September 25, 2024 Fluminense's Marcelo during the warm up before the match REUTERS/Cris Mattos/File Photo
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Marcelo's Fluminense Contract Terminated after Clash with Coach

FILE PHOTO: Copa Libertadores - Quarter finals - Second Leg - Atletico Mineiro v Fluminense - Arena MRV, Belo Horizonte, Brazil - September 25, 2024 Fluminense's Marcelo during the warm up before the match REUTERS/Cris Mattos/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Copa Libertadores - Quarter finals - Second Leg - Atletico Mineiro v Fluminense - Arena MRV, Belo Horizonte, Brazil - September 25, 2024 Fluminense's Marcelo during the warm up before the match REUTERS/Cris Mattos/File Photo

Former Real Madrid great Marcelo had his contract at boyhood club Fluminense terminated two months early on Saturday, one day after the defender's touchline spat with coach Mano Menezes.
The Brazilian club said in a statement that the decision was by mutual agreement, The Associated Press reported.
“The institutional and emotional bonds between Fluminense and Marcelo remain untouched,” Fluminense said.
Marcelo did not comment.
Last year, Marcelo won the Rio de Janeiro state championship and the Copa Libertadores titles with Fluminense, his first professional club before he joined Real Madrid at the end of 2006 at age 18. He won five Champions Leagues and six La Ligas at Madrid.
Menezes was going to use the 36-year-old Marcelo as a substitute in the final minutes of Fluminense's clash against Gremio in a Brazilian league match. The defender appeared to dispute the coach's instructions, who decided to field striker John Kennedy instead.
Fluminense led 2-1 at the time, but Gremio scored from the spot shortly before the final whistle to equalize at the Maracana Stadium.
“I was going to bring Marcelo in at that time, but I heard one thing that I did not like and I changed my mind,” Menezes said at a press conference. “He wasn't going in to solve any problem for us, he was stepping in to let us keep what we had (on the scoreboard). It was just two, three minutes to the end.”

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Tsitsipas Advances to Shanghai Masters 2nd Round, Hurkacz Lines Up Djokovic

Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas hits a return to Belgium's Kimmer Coppejans during their men's singles match at the Shanghai Masters tennis tournament in Shanghai on October 8, 2026. (Photo by Hector RETAMAL / AFP)
Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas hits a return to Belgium's Kimmer Coppejans during their men's singles match at the Shanghai Masters tennis tournament in Shanghai on October 8, 2026. (Photo by Hector RETAMAL / AFP)
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Tsitsipas Advances to Shanghai Masters 2nd Round, Hurkacz Lines Up Djokovic

Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas hits a return to Belgium's Kimmer Coppejans during their men's singles match at the Shanghai Masters tennis tournament in Shanghai on October 8, 2026. (Photo by Hector RETAMAL / AFP)
Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas hits a return to Belgium's Kimmer Coppejans during their men's singles match at the Shanghai Masters tennis tournament in Shanghai on October 8, 2026. (Photo by Hector RETAMAL / AFP)

Two-time major finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas beat qualifier Kimmer Coppejans 6-3, 7-5 in the Shanghai Masters first round on Thursday, continuing his slow climb back up the ATP rankings.

Tsitsipas reached a career-high No. 3 ranking in 2021. He lost in qualifying at last week’s Japan Open. At his previous tournament, the US Open, he lost in the fourth round to eventual finalist Ben Shelton.

After slipping to No. 87 mid-year, Tsitsipas has worked his way up to 43. He next faces 18th-seeded Luciano Darderi.

Big-serving Polish player Hubert Hurkacz had 19 aces in a 6-3, 7-6 (4) win against James Duckworth and next plays No. 10 seed Djokovic, who won the China Open on Tuesday for a 102nd career title, The Associatec Press reported.

Bernard Tomic, a former world No. 16 whose ranking dropped to as low as 825 four years ago, qualified for an ATP 1000 main draw for the first time in seven years. He lost his first-round match to Matteo Arnaldi 6-3, 6-1.

The top seeds including Djokovic, US Open champion Alexander Zverev and third-ranked Carlos Alcaraz received first-round byes and were not scheduled to play until the weekend or later.

No. 1 Jannik Sinner withdrew from Shanghai this week when he announced he was taking the rest of 2026 off due to a right knee injury.

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FIA to 'Strengthen' Software Testing after F1 Cars Stopped on Track in Malaysia

Air pollution is seen across the skyline as people prepare the street circuit before the Formula One Singapore Grand Prix night race in Singapore on October 8, 2026. (Photo by Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP)
Air pollution is seen across the skyline as people prepare the street circuit before the Formula One Singapore Grand Prix night race in Singapore on October 8, 2026. (Photo by Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP)
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FIA to 'Strengthen' Software Testing after F1 Cars Stopped on Track in Malaysia

Air pollution is seen across the skyline as people prepare the street circuit before the Formula One Singapore Grand Prix night race in Singapore on October 8, 2026. (Photo by Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP)
Air pollution is seen across the skyline as people prepare the street circuit before the Formula One Singapore Grand Prix night race in Singapore on October 8, 2026. (Photo by Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP)

The FIA has defended its handling of the Formula 1 car software bug which delayed the start of the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia last weekend and pledged it will “strengthen” how the code is tested in future.

Several drivers, including seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton, were left stuck on track when their cars lost power and had to be restarted on formation laps before Sunday's race.

The on-board software failed to cope with drivers taking a more cautious approach ahead of the first wet race for the 2026 cars, which have a near 50-50 split between engine and electrical power.

The FIA, the governing body for F1, on Thursday said its investigation found that cars “experienced a loss of power beyond the original intent and that could not be recovered.”

After the cars were stuck on track, the start was suspended as the FIA rushed out a software update. The race eventually started almost an hour later, with no obvious software-related incidents, though the track had dried much more by then.

The FIA says that update will be used again if it rains at this week's Singapore Grand Prix — the forecast says that's likely — with more changes at the following race on Oct. 25.

“As a result, the configuration established for the Sepang event will be reinstated for the Singapore Grand Prix should similar weather conditions be expected,” The Associated Press quoted the FIA as saying.

“Additionally, a further update to the wet weather software will be released for the United States Grand Prix.”

The FIA added that it, the teams and engine manufacturers “will continue to strengthen power unit software testing and verification capabilities, enhancing the overall validation process through independent assessment and collaborative feedback.”

Drivers were scathing of the software bugs last week in Malaysia. Hamilton likened driving the sluggish cars to gimmicky pre-race exhibitions the drivers have done previously and four-time champion Max Verstappen called for a “lesson learned.”

The FIA said it had conducted testing on the software which failed last week, but that took place in two practice sessions which were largely dry ahead of races in Belgium and the Netherlands.

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On Your bike! Bottas Opts for 2 Wheels to Reach Singapore GP

Cadillac's Finnish driver Valtteri Bottas arrives ahead of the Formula One Bahrain Grand Prix in Sepang on October 4, 2026. (Photo by Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP)
Cadillac's Finnish driver Valtteri Bottas arrives ahead of the Formula One Bahrain Grand Prix in Sepang on October 4, 2026. (Photo by Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP)
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On Your bike! Bottas Opts for 2 Wheels to Reach Singapore GP

Cadillac's Finnish driver Valtteri Bottas arrives ahead of the Formula One Bahrain Grand Prix in Sepang on October 4, 2026. (Photo by Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP)
Cadillac's Finnish driver Valtteri Bottas arrives ahead of the Formula One Bahrain Grand Prix in Sepang on October 4, 2026. (Photo by Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP)

Valtteri Bottas swapped his Formula One car for a bicycle as he pedaled the 420 kilometers from Sepang in Malaysia to this week's Singapore Grand Prix.

Other drivers on the grid enjoyed luxury private planes for the short flight between Sunday's Bahrain GP at the Sepang circuit near Kuala Lumpur to the Marina Bay Circuit in Singapore, which borders Malaysia.

But Bottas, a keen cyclist, instead got on his bike in the tropical heat.

"Yeah, I'm riding to Singapore on the gravel roads less travelled," Bottas posted on X on Monday.

Late on Wednesday night he reported he had made it to Singapore safely on his saddle after a "419.67km commute" (around 260 miles).

"Well arrived in Singapore this arvo," added the Finnish driver.

"What an epic adventure more to come eventually!"

His Cadillac team told AFP that his epic bike ride, which began hours after spinning out of Sunday's Bahrain GP in Malaysia, had been a "private activity.”

Cycling has become one of Bottas's main activities when he is away from F1.