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FA to Investigate Southampton Over 'Spygate'

FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - FA Cup - Fourth Round - Southampton v Leicester City - St Mary's Stadium, Southampton, Britain - February 14, 2026 General view of empty seats during the match Action Images via Reuters/Paul Childs/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - FA Cup - Fourth Round - Southampton v Leicester City - St Mary's Stadium, Southampton, Britain - February 14, 2026 General view of empty seats during the match Action Images via Reuters/Paul Childs/File Photo
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FA to Investigate Southampton Over 'Spygate'

FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - FA Cup - Fourth Round - Southampton v Leicester City - St Mary's Stadium, Southampton, Britain - February 14, 2026 General view of empty seats during the match Action Images via Reuters/Paul Childs/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - FA Cup - Fourth Round - Southampton v Leicester City - St Mary's Stadium, Southampton, Britain - February 14, 2026 General view of empty seats during the match Action Images via Reuters/Paul Childs/File Photo

The Football Association said on Thursday it had launched an investigation into Southampton after the club admitted to spying on three Championship rivals this season.

Southampton were expelled from the Championship playoffs after acknowledging they observed opponents' training sessions within 72 hours of matches, with Middlesbrough reinstated on Tuesday to face Hull City in Saturday's final.

The winner ⁠of the lucrative ⁠playoff final, often described as the richest match in soccer, is promoted to the Premier League next season.

"We will now investigate, and won't comment further until we have assessed ⁠the evidence," the FA said in a statement.

The club have also been handed a four-point deduction for next season, while their appeal, which argued the punishment was "disproportionate", was rejected on Wednesday.

The English Football League (EFL) confirmed on Wednesday that the club's sanction, along with a four-point deduction for the 2026–27 season ⁠and ⁠a formal reprimand, will stand, forcing the south-coast side to quickly turn its focus to rebuilding both on and off the pitch.

The club had admitted to spying on opponents in a case dubbed 'Spygate', including filming a Middlesbrough training session before their semi-final, as well as similar incidents involving Oxford United and Ipswich Town earlier in the campaign.

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Verstappen Takes His First Pole Position of the Year at F1's Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia

Red Bull Racing's Dutch driver Max Verstappen prepares for the second practice session ahead of the Formula One Bahrain Grand Prix in Sepang on October 2, 2026. (Photo by Jade Gao / AFP)
Red Bull Racing's Dutch driver Max Verstappen prepares for the second practice session ahead of the Formula One Bahrain Grand Prix in Sepang on October 2, 2026. (Photo by Jade Gao / AFP)
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Verstappen Takes His First Pole Position of the Year at F1's Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia

Red Bull Racing's Dutch driver Max Verstappen prepares for the second practice session ahead of the Formula One Bahrain Grand Prix in Sepang on October 2, 2026. (Photo by Jade Gao / AFP)
Red Bull Racing's Dutch driver Max Verstappen prepares for the second practice session ahead of the Formula One Bahrain Grand Prix in Sepang on October 2, 2026. (Photo by Jade Gao / AFP)

Max Verstappen qualified on pole position for the first time this year at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia on a rare off day for Mercedes and Formula 1 standings leader Kimi Antonelli.

Verstappen went fastest by 0.298 of a second from Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton, with Verstappen's Red Bull teammate Isack Hadjar .130 further back in third.

It was an “incredible result for us looking at the season,” Verstappen said. “I felt good, felt confident and I hope we can show that again tomorrow.”

Verstappen won the last time F1 raced at the Sepang circuit back in 2017. His pole position is the first this year for a car powered by a non-Mercedes engine, The Associated Pr ess said.

Antonelli qualified only fourth, with his Mercedes teammate and closest title challenger George Russell only eighth. Both are set to move up a place on the grid for Sunday's race because Hadjar has a five-place grid penalty for changing his engine over the allocation for the season.

Hamilton's second place came as a relief to the seven-time champion amid a slump in results at Ferrari, which has denied speculation over team principal Fred Vasseur's future.

“Let’s go guys, let’s go. Finally,” Hamilton said over the radio.

Once again, the weather in Malaysia stayed dry for Saturday's sessions despite predictions of heavy rain earlier in the week.

F1 is racing at Malaysia's Sepang circuit for the first time since 2017. The race keeps Bahrain Grand Prix branding and Bahraini staff are organizing it on site.

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Archie Owen Claims Maiden F4 Victory in Aramco Saudi Arabian Championship Opener

Archie Owen claims Maiden F4 Victory in Aramco Saudi Arabian Championship Opener. (SPA)
Archie Owen claims Maiden F4 Victory in Aramco Saudi Arabian Championship Opener. (SPA)
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Archie Owen Claims Maiden F4 Victory in Aramco Saudi Arabian Championship Opener

Archie Owen claims Maiden F4 Victory in Aramco Saudi Arabian Championship Opener. (SPA)
Archie Owen claims Maiden F4 Victory in Aramco Saudi Arabian Championship Opener. (SPA)

Welsh driver Archie Owen secured his maiden Formula 4 career victory in only his second appearance in the category, winning the first race of the opening round of the 2026 Aramco F4 Saudi Arabian Championship at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, the Saudi Press Agency said on Saturday.

Organized by ALTAWKILAT Motorsport under the sporting supervision of the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation (SAMF), the FIA-certified championship launched its opening round on Friday.

Following the race, SAMF Acting CEO and Saudi Motorsport Company CEO Mansour Almokbel presented trophies to the podium finishers.

Owen (7.23 Racing) clinched the top spot, followed by British driver Harrison Mackie (iCONNA) in second (+4.232s) and Austrian Marlon Bayer (Wrap & Fly) in third (+4.521s).

The opening day's action commenced with free practice and qualifying sessions ahead of the evening race, alongside the Motor Mania JDM Cup.

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He's Here with Me': Japan Cycle Queen Dedicates Gold to Late Brother

Japan's Yumi Kajihara has dedicated her latest Asian Games gold to her brother who died this year. Peter PARKS / AFP
Japan's Yumi Kajihara has dedicated her latest Asian Games gold to her brother who died this year. Peter PARKS / AFP
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He's Here with Me': Japan Cycle Queen Dedicates Gold to Late Brother

Japan's Yumi Kajihara has dedicated her latest Asian Games gold to her brother who died this year. Peter PARKS / AFP
Japan's Yumi Kajihara has dedicated her latest Asian Games gold to her brother who died this year. Peter PARKS / AFP

Japan cycling queen Yumi Kajihara broke down after her latest Asian Games gold as she dedicated victory to her brother who died of cancer this year, saying: "He's here with me".

Kajihara claimed her third consecutive omnium gold at the Izu Velodrome on Friday and dissolved into tears as she talked about how her younger brother Hyogo had helped her cope with some dark moments.

"After I missed a medal at the Paris Olympics (2024) I was really depressed," said the 29-year-old Kajihara, the first woman cyclist from Japan to win an Olympic medal -- omnium silver at the Tokyo Games in the same Izu velodrome, said AFP.

"I hit rock-bottom. And my brother said: 'Why do you look so down? Even though I have cancer, I'm this happy'," she said.

"He was going through an incredibly difficult battle with cancer, alone in a Tokyo hospital.

"It must have been so hard for him but he never once complained. He told me: 'Just being alive means you've already come out ahead'.

"I thought: Yes, he's right.

"It made me realize I needed to be grateful simply to be alive, grateful to those supporting me, and that I needed to enjoy life."

It was Kajihara's fourth Asian Games gold having also won the team pursuit at Hangzhou three years ago.

"Every single day my brother told me to 'enjoy'. I think I've finally begun to understand what it really means," said Kajihara, who also claimed team pursuit silver on Tuesday.

"Whenever I competed here (before) in Izu, he came to watch and stayed with me," she said.

"So today I kept thinking: Maybe he's here at the venue? I'm sure he's here, and I thought about him over and over as I raced.

"I felt as though he was saying to me: 'Enjoy yourself, Yumi, you'll be OK'."