Sports, in brief

Fleetwood Town, 18th in League Two, England's fourth tier, knocked Premier League champions Arsenal out of the League Cup on Tuesday, winning a penalty shootout 5-3 after a 1-1 draw. [1]

It is the first time reigning Premier League champions have lost a League Cup tie to a fourth-tier club. [1] Eighty-four places separated the two clubs in England's leagues. [2]

Arsenal left first-choice players at home, including Declan Rice, Gabriel and goalkeeper David Raya, but still started internationals such as Viktor Gyokeres and Kai Havertz. [1][2]

Aaron Loupalo-Bi, 20, on loan from Fulham, put Fleetwood ahead after 21 minutes, after a mistake by Arsenal's teenage defender Marli Salmon. [2]

Gyokeres equalised in the 50th minute. [2] Arsenal had 26 shots and 78% of the ball and could not find a winner. [3]

Max Dowman, Arsenal's 16-year-old winger, was sent off in the 85th minute for reacting to a tackle. [2] It was his second red card this month. [4]

In the shootout goalkeeper Jay Lynch saved from Bruno Guimaraes, a 75 million pound summer signing. [2] Conor Haughey, 19, then scored the winner, and said he had not practised penalties before the game. [5]

A drone over the ground stopped play with one minute 40 seconds gone, and the game restarted with 10 minutes on the clock. [6] Police found the operator, according to a Sky commentator. [6]

Football Association guidance tells a referee to stop a game until a drone leaves. [6] English Football League clubs have followed a drone policy since the 2023-24 season. [6]

Fleetwood had hoped to earn about 400,000 pounds from the night. [7] The club won six promotions in 12 years on the way up from non-league football, and has never been in a League Cup quarter-final before. [8][1]

Arsenal have not won the League Cup for 33 years, and they play Liverpool at Anfield in the Premier League on Sunday. [2]

Why it matters. The quarter-final draw is on Wednesday after Liverpool play Chelsea, and the next test for Arsenal is a league game at Liverpool on Sunday. [10][2]

The Indianapolis Colts, an NFL team with two wins from seven games, traded two of their best players on Tuesday. [22] Guard Quenton Nelson, picked for the Pro Bowl all-star game in each of his first eight seasons, went to the Seattle Seahawks for a 2027 third-round and a 2028 fifth-round draft pick. [23] Defensive tackle DeForest Buckner, 32, went to the San Francisco 49ers for a 2027 fourth-round pick. [24] Both were in the last year of their contracts and could have left as free agents after the season. [22][25]

Why it matters. If Nelson had left in free agency, any pick the league gave the Colts for him would not have come until 2028, and for Buckner it could be no better than a fifth-rounder. [26][15] The Colts fired their general manager last week, the trade deadline is two weeks away, and running back Jonathan Taylor could be next. [27][25]

The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Milwaukee Brewers 4-3 in 12 innings on Tuesday, so the Brewers now lead baseball's World Series 3-1. [28] Milwaukee led after a home run by Cooper Pratt in the top of the 12th, then five Rays in a row reached base and pinch-hitter Ben Williamson won it. [28] The Rays used Nick Martinez, their planned Game 5 starter, for six outs in relief. [29] Brewers reliever Aaron Ashby set a record of 18 scoreless innings to start a postseason. [30]

Why it matters. Game 5 is on Wednesday. [31] Final TV figures put Game 1 at 11.5 million viewers, 6% down on last year, which Forbes says beat expectations for two small-market teams. [32] Before Game 4 the cheapest resale ticket cost 926 dollars, more than twice the price for Game 3, as Brewers fans travelled to Florida hoping to see a title. [33]

Formula One's governing body, the FIA, has sent the sport's six engine makers a plan for new engines from 2030 or 2031, BBC Sport reports from sources who have seen it. [14] It proposes a 2 to 2.3-litre V8 with a smaller turbo and a weaker electric motor, recovering 200kW of energy instead of today's 350kW. [14] It would also halve the yearly engine budget cap of 190 million dollars and take 80kg off the cars. [14]

Why it matters. This year's engines lean so hard on their batteries that drivers have complained of running out of energy, and Fernando Alonso called fast corners the charging station for the car. [14] A plan is meant to go to the FIA's world council in December. [14]

A trial in the Canadian Premier League has judged a player onside if any part of his body is level with the second-last defender. [13] Panels of Ifab, the body that writes football's laws, heard on Tuesday that it cut offside calls by 54% and added 13 goals in 112 matches. [13] But defenders dropped their line three metres deeper over the season, and the trial is unlikely to be extended. [13]

Why it matters. The panels did back changing the coin toss before a penalty shootout, so one captain can no longer win both the choice of end and the right to kick first. [13] A rule already used in England, which sends an outfield player off while a goalkeeper is treated, has had to be used only twice in 80 Premier League games. [13] Tuesday's meetings are the first step towards law changes for the 2027-28 season. [13]

Kylian Mbappe, Real Madrid's French striker, apologised on Tuesday for calling the man in a meme of himself a Chinese dictator. [34] The meme put his face on Mao Zedong, China's founding leader, and satire of such figures can be prosecuted in China. [35] A third sponsor, the cheese maker Milkground, joined the drinks firm Dongpeng and the dairy firm Mengniu in dropping him. [36] China's state broadcaster suspended La Liga matches, according to the state-run newspaper The Paper. [34]

Why it matters. Forbes estimates Mbappe earns about 100 million dollars this season, with 30 million of that from sponsors and other deals off the pitch. [35] La Liga, Spain's top league, also apologised and said the comments were made in a personal capacity. [34]

Madison Square Garden Sports finished splitting the New York Knicks basketball team and the New York Rangers ice hockey team into two separate listed companies on Monday. [37] James Dolan, who runs both, received a one-time 10 million dollar cash award for the split, a filing showed. [38] A consulting firm's study found the median special award for chief executives in such deals is about 3 million dollars. [38] The filing gave two sentences on how the figure was set. [38]

Why it matters. One reason for the split is a US tax change from 2027 that limits how much of their top five players' pay listed teams can deduct. [37] An analyst put the Knicks' extra tax bill at 55 million dollars and the Rangers' at 20 million. [37] Separate companies may also make it easier to sell one team or bring in an investor. [37]

Cricket Australia, which runs the game there, said two Ashes Tests against England last summer that ended inside two days cost it about 20 million Australian dollars. [39] The Melbourne Test drew a record Ashes crowd of 94,000 but finished on day two, and the Perth Test did not reach day three either. [39] The body still reported a surplus of 82 million on record revenue of 601 million. [39] It expects losses for at least two years, with less popular tours by New Zealand, Pakistan and Sri Lanka ahead. [39]

Why it matters. That is part of why it is seeking private investors for its Big Bash city teams, starting with the Melbourne Renegades, despite opposition from New South Wales officials. [39]

Human Rights for Sport, a group of former Iranian athletes based in Oslo, says at least six more athletes face execution in Iran after the country's supreme court upheld their sentences. [40] They include a swimmer and a footballer arrested in January's protests, and a boxer arrested in 2020. [40] The warning follows the hanging of the mountaineer Ali-Sina Mostafavi, who had climbed Everest, on 14 October. [40]

Why it matters. The group says six athletes have already been executed in cases linked to protests or political charges, and that well-known athletes are targeted as a warning to everyone else. [40] It says it cannot reach some families because their phones are watched. [40]

Malik Beasley, a former NBA player, will plead guilty in a Brooklyn federal court on 9 December in an illegal betting case, his lawyer told The Athletic. [17] Prosecutors say he changed how he played in four Milwaukee Bucks games in 2023-24 so that bettors could win bets on his own statistics. [17] They say he had fallen into gambling debt. [17] Which charges he will admit is not yet known. [41]

Why it matters. He will be the second NBA player to plead guilty in the federal betting cases, after Jontay Porter. [17] Another former player, Ed Davis, is accused of running the scheme. [17]

A Mississippi school district, Hancock County, has sued Riddell and Varsity Brands, two of the biggest sellers of school sports equipment, over an alleged 13-year scheme to rig bids. [18] Mississippi law makes schools get bids from at least two companies for purchases between 5,000 and 75,000 dollars. [18] The suit says the firms faked that competition from 2010 to 2023. [18] An FBI investigation has already produced at least seven guilty pleas, one from a former Riddell salesman. [18]

Why it matters. The suit asks to cover every school that bought the equipment in Mississippi and Louisiana, so it could cover far more than one district. [18] The companies did not answer requests for comment. [18]

The Atlanta Dream's owners wrote to fans on Tuesday, blaming the WNBA for putting Game 6 of the Finals at 12:30pm on Thursday. [42] The Golden State Valkyries lead 3-2 and can win the title in it. [43] The Dream's own arena holds 3,500, so the game is at the 17,000-seat State Farm Arena, which the NBA's Atlanta Hawks run and use that night. [20] The owners say they warned the league about the clash two months ago. [20]

Why it matters. In the Bay Area, where the Valkyries play, the game starts at 9:30am. [43] At midday the US TV audience is about 40% of the audience at 8pm, Nielsen told Front Office Sports, in a series on course to be the most-watched WNBA Finals. [43]

Stan Wawrinka, the Swiss three-time Grand Slam champion, played his last match on Tuesday, losing 7-5, 7-6 to Jiri Lehecka at his home tournament in Basel. [44] He is 41 and turned professional in 2002. [44] He beat the world No 1 in each of his Grand Slam finals: Rafael Nadal in Australia in 2014, then Novak Djokovic in Paris in 2015 and New York in 2016. [44] He won 16 titles and reached No 3 in the world. [44]

Why it matters. He played in the years when Roger Federer, Nadal and Djokovic won almost every major title, and he and Andy Murray were among the few who broke through. [45]

Anthony Edwards, the Minnesota Timberwolves' star guard, will have keyhole surgery on his right knee on Thursday and could miss up to two months, ESPN reported. [11] He scored 47 points on Monday and was averaging 33.3 points a game. [11] The team chose to operate early in the season rather than let him play on, aiming for a December return. [11] The same knee troubled him in last season's playoffs. [11]

Why it matters. Minnesota had won three of their first four games. [11] LaMelo Ball, who joined in a June trade, now has to carry the attack. [11]

Utah Jazz forward Jaren Jackson Jr tore a ligament in his right knee on Monday and will be checked again in six weeks; he will not need surgery. [16] Lauri Markkanen hurt his wrist in the same game. [16] The Jazz traded their centre, Walker Kessler, to the Los Angeles Lakers in the summer for two first-round picks, and their stand-in centre is also injured. [16]

Why it matters. About 29% of NBA players cannot be traded yet because they signed their contracts this summer, which limits how quickly Utah can bring in help. [16]

Manchester United have decided to keep Michael Carrick as head coach, after a Monday on which many expected him to be sacked, the BBC reports. [46] United are 16th in the Premier League after losing at home to Bournemouth. [46] Carrick will take charge at Chelsea on Saturday, then against Roma in the Champions League and Aston Villa before a two-week international break. [46] No time limit has been set. [46]

Why it matters. The BBC says the international break is the obvious moment for the club to decide again. [46] Captain Bruno Fernandes had publicly questioned Carrick's tactics after a 4-1 defeat at Como. [46]

Crystal Palace have given their manager Pierre Sage more time, but he could be dismissed if they lose at Tottenham on Saturday, the Guardian reports. [47] Palace are 17th and have let in 19 goals in eight league games, the most in the division. [47] The chairman, Steve Parish, chose not to act now because the team plays Fulham in the League Cup on Wednesday. [47]

Why it matters. Sage was first warned after a 5-0 defeat by Brighton earlier this month. [47]

Spain's football federation fined Barcelona 602 euros, about 503 pounds, on Tuesday for approaching Atletico Madrid striker Julian Alvarez without first telling Atletico in writing. [48] Alvarez's contract with Atletico runs to June 2030. [48] FIFA, world football's governing body, said it had no power over the case. [49]

Why it matters. Alvarez apologised to Atletico's fans after scoring their winner against Deportivo La Coruna on Saturday, for saying in the summer that he dreamed of playing for Barcelona. [48] Atletico are two points behind Barcelona, the league leaders. [48]

Switzerland's football association said on Tuesday that captain Granit Xhaka and striker Breel Embolo can play for the national team again in November. [50] Both obtained forged Covid-19 vaccination certificates; Xhaka admitted his let him travel and compete in 2022. [50] Each was fined 150,000 Swiss francs, about 136,000 pounds, suspended for two years if they commit no further offence. [50]

Why it matters. Xhaka missed three Nations League games in October. [50] Coach Murat Yakin will decide on 5 November whether he stays captain. [50]

Sri Lanka beat Pakistan by eight wickets in Lahore on Tuesday, which knocked England out of a 50-over tri-series. [51] Fast bowler Dilshan Madushanka took five wickets for 34 as Pakistan were all out for 110. [51] England had lost all three of their games. [52] Sri Lanka and Pakistan meet in Saturday's final. [51]

Why it matters. Next year's 50-over World Cup is in southern Africa, and England had been winning more in this format this year. [52]

India chased 199 in just 13.2 overs to beat New Zealand in Wellington and take an unbeatable 3-0 lead in their five-match T20 series. [53] Abhishek Sharma made 113 from 38 balls, reaching his hundred in 35. [53] He and 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi scored 118 in the first six overs, a record for international T20 cricket. [53]

Why it matters. India and New Zealand play five one-day games and two Tests after the T20s. [53]

Australia's captain Pat Cummins chose to bowl first in the deciding third Test against South Africa in Cape Town, and South Africa's openers scored 140 before lunch. [54] South Africa were 203 for one before losing five wickets for 29. [55] Australia bowled them out for 329, with Mitchell Starc taking four wickets in six balls. [54]

Why it matters. Australia made four changes for the match, leaving out Scott Boland, and could not pick Steve Smith. [54]

Namibia beat Ireland by 63 runs in Windhoek on Tuesday to lead their five-match one-day series 2-1. [56] Jan Frylinck made 126 in Namibia's 316 for seven, and Curtis Campher's century could not save Ireland. [56] Ireland's captain Paul Stirling hurt a finger in the field and could not bat. [56]

Why it matters. Both sides are preparing for next year's World Cup qualifiers, and they meet again on Friday and Sunday. [56]

Australia's rugby coach Les Kiss has called up Kurtley Beale, 37, for next month's Tests against England, Scotland and Wales. [57] Beale has 95 caps and last played a Test in 2021. [57] He replaces Hunter Paisami, who is unavailable for personal reasons. [57] Australia have slipped to seventh in the world rankings and lost the Bledisloe Cup to New Zealand for a 23rd year running. [57]

Why it matters. The tour ends with the first Nations Championship finals in the UK on 21-23 November, and Australia host the Rugby World Cup next year. [57]

England have lost flanker Guy Pepper, with an ankle injury, and centre Benhard van Rensburg, who has had two heavy concussions in three months, for the autumn Tests. [12] Fly-half Fin Smith is doubtful with a calf problem. [12] Coach Steve Borthwick had his squad for a three-day camp before they went back to their clubs on Wednesday. [58] Australia, England's first opponents on 8 November, have played 10 Tests since July. [58]

Why it matters. Under the agreement between England's rugby union and the clubs, a club can pick an England player once England's doctors clear him, so Borthwick cannot keep fit players out of club games. [12]

Venus Williams, 46, lost her 16th singles match in a row on Tuesday, beaten 6-2, 6-2 by 18-year-old Lilli Tagger at the Guangzhou Open in China. [59] The 28-year gap is the biggest between opponents in a WTA match this decade. [59] Williams, a seven-time Grand Slam singles champion now ranked 599th, has not won since July 2025 and enters on wildcards, free places that tournaments hand out. [59]

Why it matters. Some in tennis say she takes places that young players need, while tournament organisers see commercial value in inviting her. [59]

Canelo Alvarez, the Mexican boxer and the world's second-highest-paid athlete this year, has signed with Kalshi, a US app where people trade on the outcome of events. [60] He turned Kalshi's cash offer into a stake in the company, worth more than 10 million dollars now, a person with knowledge of the deal told Forbes. [60] Kalshi's logo will be on his trunks for Saturday's title fight with Christian Mbilli in Riyadh. [60]

Why it matters. Kalshi's value has risen from 11 billion dollars in December to a reported 40 billion, so the stake grows if the company does. [60] About 270 million dollars has been traded on boxing on Kalshi since May 2025. [60]