Two of this week’s biggest decisions came out of rooms nobody else can see into: a commission’s verdict that has not been published, and a stewards’ penalty the driver was in no position to serve.
Manchester City were found guilty on 114 of 115 charges, by every account but an official one
On Friday The Athletic’s David Ornstein reported that the independent commission hearing the Premier League’s case had found Manchester City guilty on 114 of the 115 charges. Sky Sports and Reuters carried the reports within hours (Sky Sports; Reuters via beIN Sports, 25 September; AP, 26 September).
The Premier League declined to comment and called it a confidential process (Sky Sports; Reuters). A Manchester City spokesperson said “the Premier League process remains ongoing, with significant elements to be completed, and subject to strict confidentiality” (Sky Sports; The Athletic, 25 September). No sanction has been set and City are expected to appeal (Sky Sports; Reuters).
On Saturday the chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, wrote to supporters. “The Premier League process still has a long way to run, and our confidence and intent in proving the club’s innocence is just as strong as when this began” (AP; Sky Sports, 26 September).
So the biggest ruling in English football this season is, for now, a number first reported by one journalist and repeated by the rest of us. We have spent years writing “115” and it turns out we were one out, which is the only point in this case anyone has managed to settle.
The financial charges cover 2009 to 2018 (Sky Sports; AP). Inside those years Manchester City won the league in 2012, 2014 and 2018 (AP; Premier League). The first of those was decided on goal difference, both clubs on 89 points, Manchester City on +64 and Manchester United on +56 (Premier League; Sky Sports).
Czechia have 12 Billie Jean King Cup titles, and only the United States have more
Karolina Muchova beat Anhelina Kalinina 6-2, 6-3 in Shenzhen on Sunday, and Linda Noskova closed it out 6-3, 7-6(5) against Elina Svitolina. Czechia beat Ukraine 2-0 for their 12th title and their first since 2018, in Ukraine’s first final. The United States have 18 and did not qualify for these Finals (Billie Jean King Cup; AP, 27 September).
Two nations own 30 of the titles between them, and the more decorated one was not in the building.
The call: five grid places for Franco Colapinto, or a ban?
At the lap 36 restart in Baku on Saturday, Franco Colapinto braked too late for Turn 1, the stewards found, and hit his Alpine team-mate Pierre Gasly, who was pushed into Lando Norris. Norris’s race ended there. The stewards gave Colapinto a 10-second penalty, and because he had retired they turned it into a five-place grid drop for next weekend’s race at Sepang (Formula1.com; RaceFans; RacingNews365, 26 September).
Norris, speaking before he had seen a replay, said a driver who causes a crash on a restart like that “should have at least a one-race ban” (ESPN, Nate Saunders; Motorsport.com, 26 September).
The FIA’s 2026 Formula 1 Sporting Regulations give the stewards both options. Article B1.9.6 e: “that driver is unable to serve the penalty due to being unclassified ... the stewards may impose a grid place penalty on the driver at their next Race.” Article B1.9.5 j lists “Suspension from the driver’s next Competition.”
One reading: the stewards used the rule written for exactly this case, and a ban for a braking point would put every restart in front of a tribunal. The other: the ban is on the same list, and a driver who ended two other races loses five places in the one he gets to start.
Right call or wrong call? Reply with one word.
Around the grounds
Football. 39 matches unbeaten. Spain came from behind to beat England 3-2 at Wembley in the Nations League on Saturday, Mikel Oyarzabal settling it on 74 minutes. beIN Sports calls the run a record for a European team; AFP calls it a record for a European nation (beIN Sports; AFP, 26 September). Harry Kane slipped taking a second-half penalty and hit the bar (Sky Sports; AP).
NFL. The artificial turf at Nissan Stadium in Nashville read 157F during the Philadelphia Eagles’ 24-20 win over the Tennessee Titans, a noon kick-off last Sunday, on the Fox broadcast’s measurement (ESPN, Tim McManus; Yahoo Sports, 20 and 21 September). Cam Jurgens melted through several pairs of cleats. Nick Sirianni: “I didn’t play a snap and I had to get an IV.”
Formula 1. Who won in Baku? George Russell, from pole, by 0.196 seconds over Max Verstappen, his third win of the season (Formula1.com; RaceFans, 26 September). Kimi Antonelli came fifth from 16th on the grid, which keeps him 66 points clear of Russell, 302 to 236, with eight rounds left (RaceFans; Sky Sports). Where next? Sepang, for a race still called the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Tennis. Jannik Sinner, the world No. 1, pulled out of the China Open, where he is defending champion, on Friday with his right knee. He has not played since winning Wimbledon and missed the US Open (ATP Tour; AP via ESPN, 25 September). “My knee is not there where I would like to be and I am not ready to compete yet,” he said (AP).
Golf. 17 to 13. The United States went into Sunday’s twelve singles at Medinah 10.5 to 7.5 down, the first time the International team had led into singles on foreign soil, and took 9.5 of the 12 points for an 11th Presidents Cup in a row (PGA Tour; CBS Sports, 27 September). CBS Sports calls it the largest final-day comeback in the event’s history. The Internationals’ one win is still Royal Melbourne in 1998 (PGA Tour; Sky Sports).
NBA. What is a discount worth? About $20m, in Stephen Curry’s case. He agreed a two-year, $116m extension with the Golden State Warriors, below the roughly $136m he could have had (ESPN, Anthony Slater; AP, 25 and 26 September). And in Toronto? Kawhi Leonard agreed two years and $115m, $11m under his maximum, and waived his trade kicker (ESPN; NBC Sports). In Milwaukee the league is still investigating the Bucks over Gary Trent Jr’s contract (Hoops Rumors; HoopsHype, 23 September).
WNBA. 1,086 points for Kelsey Mitchell, 65 past the single-season record A’ja Wilson set in 2024, with a three-point record of 135 on top (IndyStar, Chloe Peterson; Athlon Sports, 25 and 26 September). Her Indiana Fever opened the playoffs as the sixth seed at the Las Vegas Aces on Sunday and lost 102-85, A’ja Wilson scoring 38 (AP; CBS Sports, 27 September). The series is best of three, so one more defeat ends their season (ESPN; IndyStar). The Los Angeles Sparks missed the playoffs, and on Friday they fired Lynne Roberts after two seasons and a 37-51 record (CBS Sports; AP).
The argument: should Presidents Cup players be paid?
Last week’s Ballon d’Or question stays open. This week’s sits on a cheque. Since 2022 the PGA Tour has paid every Presidents Cup player, captain and assistant captain $250,000 to spend as they like. Before that, each directed $150,000 to charity. Medinah is the third edition under the new model, and the payments have now passed $25m in total (Front Office Sports, 22 September; Golfweek, Tim Schmitt, 25 September).
One side: the event sells tickets and television rights, the players are what is being sold, and nobody asks a broadcaster to give its advertising money away. The other: this was the one week a year the best-paid golfers in the world played for a team and gave the money away, and that was most of its charm.
Paid, or charity? One word and a line on why.
One from the archive
Today is 22 years since Wayne Rooney, aged 18, made his Manchester United debut in the Champions League at Old Trafford and scored a hat-trick in a 6-2 win over Fenerbahce, on 17, 28 and 54 minutes, the third a free-kick (PA via the Irish News; ESPN, Arindam Rej). The sources disagree on what Manchester United paid Everton for him, so the fee stays out.
Reply to this email with one word on Colapinto and a line on the Presidents Cup money. We print the best of them next Sunday.
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