FIFA has opened disciplinary proceedings after England's players were allegedly subjected to racist abuse in Thursday's World Cup qualifying clash with Hungary.

England's 4-0 win at the Puskas Arena in Budapest was overshadowed by the alleged behaviour of certain sections of the home crowd.

Raheem Sterling and Jude Bellingham were reportedly subjected to abuse and missiles, including a flare, were launched towards the Three Lions' players during the match.

England condemned the abuse as "completely unacceptable", while United Kingdom prime minister Boris Johnson called on FIFA to take "strong action" against the perpetrators.

The world football governing body announced on Friday it will now look into the scenes.

"Following analysis of the match reports, FIFA has opened disciplinary proceedings concerning the incidents last night at the game Hungary-England," a statement read.

"Once again, FIFA would like to state that our position remains firm and resolute in rejecting any form of racism and violence as well as any other form of discrimination or abuse. 

"We have a very clear zero tolerance stance against such abhorrent behaviours in football."

The Hungarian Football Federation (MLSZ) was fined €100,000 in July and ordered to play three games behind closed doors, the third of those suspended, due to incidents of racism and homophobia from fans during the European Championship finals.

The MLSZ vowed earlier on Friday to "severely punish" fans who disrupted the England clash by launching missiles and entering the pitch, but the governing body steered clear of addressing the alleged racism incidents.

Following Thursday's latest incident, Bellingham has questioned whether enough is being done to eradicate racism from the sport.

Alongside a photo of himself smiling while warming up for the game in the Hungarian capital, Borussia Dortmund youngster Bellingham tweeted: "Thank you for all the messages of support from last night. 

"Part of the game and always will be until proper punishments are put in place by those with the power. We can't let hate win, keep smiling."

NHL stars are set to return to Olympic ice hockey at Beijing next February after being forced to miss the 2018 Winter Games, it was revealed on Friday.

An agreement was struck after months of discussions between the NHL, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF).

At the time of players being barred from competing at PyeongChang three years ago, it was reported the main sticking points were the cost of insuring and transporting players while on Olympic duty.

The International Olympic Committee said, in announcing the return of elite stars from the NHL, that it was "travel costs, television timings in North America, and league scheduling" that had prevented their participation last time out.

Full details of the new deal that will allow NHL stars to travel to China have yet to be disclosed, and players could yet be prevented from travelling if COVID-19 circumstances concern the league.

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said: "We understand how passionately NHL players feel about representing and competing for their countries.

"We are very pleased that we were able to conclude arrangements that will allow them to resume best on best competition on the Olympic stage."

IIHF president Rene Fasel hailed the commitment, saying: "I know that I can speak for hockey fans around the world when I say that we absolutely welcome the decision to bring back best-on-best ice hockey to the Olympics.

"We had many constructive discussions, and a lot of hard work was put into making this happen within the time we set for ourselves, and I want to thank all parties involved for their support and commitment."

Players from the NHL had previously featured at each Games from Nagano 1998 through to Sochi 2014, before their absence was keenly felt in South Korea. The Winter Olympics ice hockey programme in 2022 is due to run from February 3-20, with the NHL having cleared a block in its season to allow for stars to compete.

The NHL and NHL Players' Association (NHLPA) indicated in a statement that any COVID-19 doubts could mean there is a change to their stance further down the line.

The statement read: "The agreement allows for the possibility of a later decision to withdraw in the event evolving COVID conditions are deemed by the NHL/NHLPA to render participation by NHL players to be impractical or unsafe."

With Canada and the United States hamstrung by having to field weakened teams in PyeongChang, it was the Olympic Athletes from Russia team who took gold in the men's final, beating Germany after overtime. Canada won bronze, with the United States exiting in the quarter-finals.

The 2021-22 NHL regular season is due to run from October 12 to April 29.

Primoz Roglic heads into the final weekend of the Vuelta a Espana with a third successive title within touching distance, while Magnus Cort won stage 19 on Friday.

Danish rider Cort, who also triumphed on stages six and 12, was the quickest man in a breakaway, holding off Rui Oliveira and Quinn Simmons to clinch victory in Monforte de Lemos.

EF Education-Nippo team-mate Lawson Craddock powered out to lead the final sprint and though Simmons attacked with 200 metres to go, it was Cort who caught the slipstream to claim a dramatic win by a bike length at the culmination of a 191.2-kilometre stage.

Cort, who won two stages in the 2016 Vuelta and one in 2020, said: "It's amazing, it's a dream now, I really hope I don't wake up. It was not before the last five or six kilometres that I started believing.

"They always kept us close and it was a really hard day. We didn't always work perfect together in the front, we had a few attacks that reduced the size of the group.

"I think everybody had tired legs and it was hard to work together in this hilly terrain but somehow we managed to hang onto it."

Roglic kept his general classification competitors at arm's length as he retained his grasp on La Roja heading into the last two stages, finishing 18 seconds behind the leaders.

Saturday's mountain stage could still cause problems, while Roglic has been hurt by time trials in grand tours before – the 2020 Tour de France was settled in Tadej Pogacar's favour in such a manner – but the Slovenian looks well placed to make it three Vuelta wins in a row.

Roglic's family were on hand to witness him receive the 50th overall leader jersey of his career, and the Olympic gold medallist knows he is on the verge of a remarkable achievement.

"It’s beautiful to have my family here. They are my life and I'm very happy," he said.

"It was a hard day from the start to the finish. A super strong break went away. For us, it was fine, and we could take it easy. But La Vuelta is coming to an end so there aren’t much opportunities left.

"The sprinters' teams pulled with a super hard tempo. It's crazy [that this is my 50th Grand Tour leader’s jersey]. Hopefully I can keep it."

STAGE RESULT

1. Magnus Cort (EF Education-Nippo) 04:24:54
2. Rui Oliveira (UAE Team Emirates) same time
3. Quinn Simmons (Trek-Segafredo) same time

CLASSIFICATION STANDINGS

General Classification

1. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) 77:49:37
2. Enric Mas (Movistar) +2:30
3. Miguel Angel Lopez (Movistar) +2:53

Points Classification

1. Fabio Jakobsen (Deceuninck-Quick-Step) 250
2. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) 162
3. Magnus Cort (EF Education-Nippo) 144

King of the Mountains

1. Michael Storer (Team DSM) 59
2. Romain Bardet (Team DSM) 54
3. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) 48

What's next?

Saturday's route is a monster. A 202.2km stage from Sanxenxo to Mos. Castro de Herville takes in five short but difficult climbs after a relatively flat start.

Lewis Hamilton knows Mercedes are "on the back foot" after he broke down in practice at the Dutch Grand Prix on Friday.

Hamilton set the pace in the first session at Zandvoort, but lost power after completing just three laps of an FP2 that was halted by a red flag due to Nikita Mazepin going into the Turn 11 gravel.

The seven-time Formula One world champion, who leads Max Verstappen by only three points in the battle for the title, was not overly concerned by the setback as Mercedes investigated the issue.

Asked if he knew what the cause of the problem was, the Brit replied: “Not yet. I was just in there [the garage], I just lost power, so they just told me to stop, but it’s not the end of the world.

"It's been a beautiful day in terms of weather, it's amazing to see the crowd – there's so many people here – it's good to see people hyped and the first time we’ve see the full, full energy.

"Not full yet, but we’ll probably see it in the next few days – all the energy the Dutch fans bring.

"It's more annoying that we only got like 20 minutes of running with that red flag. It naturally puts us on the back foot, but Valtteri [Bottas] looked like he had a good session so probably tomorrow we can try and fill in, make up for some of the time, hopefully.”

Charles Leclerc was fastest in the second session, but Verstappen believes he could have been top of the timesheets in his homeland if the red flag had not been waved.

Red Bull driver Verstappen, who was fifth-fastest, said: "I don’t think it looks very representative from our side in the short run. My lap was on a used set, and the lap I had to abort I think would have been good enough for first.

"Already after one lap, the tyres do drop off a bit. Nevertheless, we will work on a few things where we were not entirely happy in the short runs. But long run looks competitive, so that is always very important."

David Patten, a three-time Super Bowl champion with the New England Patriots, has died at the age of 47, his agent has confirmed.

Patten played for the Patriots between 2001 and 2004 and won three Championship rings with the franchise.

He had previously played for the Cleveland Browns and the New York Giants and went on to have spells in Washington and New Orleans before returning to Ohio and then New England to round off his career as an offseason and practice squad member.

The former wide receiver, who had been the assistant coach of the Western Carolina Catamounts since 2013, cemented his place in Pats history when he caught Tom Brady's first postseason touchdown pass to put New England 14-3 ahead against the St. Louis Rams in 2002. 

New England went on to win 20-17, with the catch the only one Patten made in the game. It was Brady's first Super Bowl success, and the quarterback went on to become an all-time great, winning the Championship game on seven occasions, most recently with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers earlier this year.

Patten tallied up 4,715 regular-season receiving yards over a 12-year career in the NFL, and 106 for rushing.

On Friday, news of his passing was confirmed by Sam Gordon, who runs the G2 Management agency of which Patten was a client.

"Today, I woke up to the worst news you could hear," Gordon posted on Instagram, alongside a photo of himself and Patten.

"My close friend and childhood hero David Patten passed away suddenly last night.

"Very rarely do people get to call their childhood heroes/favorite players their friends. Or even have them take a chance on you. You blessed with me with that. You blessed me with your belief in me when I was getting my company off of the ground.

"But most important of all, you were there to talk when the stress was too great and I was unsure of myself in my field. Mr Patten. My friend, my hero, the first one to believe in me as a manager/agent. I will miss you every day.

"Thank you David Patten. Thank you so much for your friendship, your inspiration, believing in me and trusting me to be your manager."

Richard Seymour, who was Patten's team-mate during his stint with the Patriots, tweeted: "heartbroken... great man of God… lost for words – David Patten..."

Christian Horner has revealed that Williams and Alfa Romeo have expressed an interest in signing Alex Albon for the 2022 Formula One season.

Albon lost his Red Bull seat to Sergio Perez at the end of last season and was relegated to the role of reserve driver.

With Kimi Raikkonen retiring and George Russell strongly fancied to replace Valtteri Bottas at Mercedes, Albon could be back on the grid next year.

Red Bull boss Horner hopes Albon gets another chance and will help the 25-year-old kickstart his career.

Horner said: "I think Alex, he deserves a seat in Formula One next year and I think there's quite a bit of interest in him for next year and we'll do whatever we can to try and enable that.

"I hope that nothing prevents him from realising one of those opportunities. He's a talented driver; it's subject to George moving. Kimi's retiring – that does open up opportunities – so I am sure it will get resolved over the next week or so.

"We're looking at external teams. Williams and Alfa have both expressed interest and yes, we're keen to see him back racing in Formula One, and hopefully that can get resolved over the next few days."

Horner added: "We’ll be supportive of [Albon] racing elsewhere. I hope that Mercedes don't prevent that from happening. He deserves that chance. So, we're doing our best to help him and we’ll see what happens."

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff insisted he would not stand in Albon's way of a place on the grid despite their backing of Nyck de Vries, the 2019 Formula Two champion who is vying to make the step up.

"I would never block someone like Alex Albon," said Wolff. "He's a fantastic guy, personality is great, I was personally sad to see him going [in 2020], and if he has a chance in a Formula One car I think that's the right thing to do.

"But equally, maybe Nyck has. So we'll have to look at the open spaces at Alfa and at Williams and try to find a solution."

Richard Cockerill and Anthony Seibold have joined Eddie Jones' England coaching set-up.

Former Leicester Tigers and Edinburgh head coach Cockerill has been appointed as forwards coach and will work alongside Matt Proudfoot.

Australian Seibold takes over as defence coach following John Mitchell's departure for Premiership club Wasps.

Seibold switches codes, with his most recent role being as head coach of NRL side Brisbane Broncos.

England head coach Jones said: "We're two years from the World Cup so we wanted to freshen up our coaching team and get the right people in place for where we want to go – which is to win the World Cup.

"We've added Richard to the team to work with Matt to create a dominant forward pack. He's a former England player, has great coaching experience and comes in as a well-rounded, mature, driven English coach."

Jones said of his compatriot Seibold:  "Anthony is a coach that I have had a relationship with since 2019 and have followed his career closely.

"He is a good coach and thinks deeply about the game. John Mitchell did a great job improving us in defence and Anthony will add further nuances to the good system that he has put into place.

"It's an exciting time for rugby with the new season starting, supporters back in the stadium and the return of the grassroots game this weekend – with the rugby community celebrating being back together at Pitch Up for Rugby events around the country. We're looking forward to getting the squad back together and growing this England team."

Atletico Madrid president Enrique Cerezo says he would understand if Antoine Griezmann is jeered by his own supporters after rejoining the Spanish champions from Barcelona.

France international Griezmann this week completed a surprise return to Atleti on an initial season-long loan deal with an option for both clubs to extend the deal by a further year, just two years after heading the opposite way.

The 30-year-old was a fan favourite during his previous five-season stint at the club before his €120million exit, scoring 94 goals in 180 LaLiga appearances.

However, many Atleti fans were unhappy with the manner of Griezmann's drawn-out exit in 2019, a year after dedicating his future to the club in a mini-documentary.

The deal also brought with it further controversy as Atleti insisted Barca had fallen some €80m short of the obligated fee, but the transfer was nevertheless upheld.

With Griezmann now back at the Wanda Metropolitano, however, Cerezo is hoping Atleti backers give their full support to their returning former hero.

Asked about the possibility of fans booing Griezmann when he returns to the field for Atletico, Cerezo told Cadena SER: "I would understand that. 

"But what I want to say is that we are not going to gain anything with this. When he left, all I said was that in Barcelona they wouldn't love him the same as they do here. 

"He left in a strange way, but he has shown that he was eager to return to Atletico Madrid.

"There are fans who will not like it, but there are others who were delighted with his return and in the end the important thing is performance and having the best squad."

Griezmann was directly involved in 29 LaLiga goals across his two seasons at Camp Nou, a tally bettered among Barca players by only Lionel Messi (85), who is now of course with Paris Saint-Germain.

He played 51 times in all competitions in 2020-21, recording 20 goals and 12 assists, but was allowed to leave on deadline day due to the Catalans desperately needing to balance their books.

The transfer went through late on after Atletico freed up space by sending Saul Niguez to Chelsea on an initial loan deal.

"It was a three-way carom and we are lucky to have Griezmann for the next two years," Cerezo added. 

"We did not count on Griezmann because we didn't know if Saul was going to leave."

Griezmann featured in all three of Barca's LaLiga games in August, but failed to score or create a single chance.

The Hungarian Football Federation (MLSZ) has vowed to "severely punish" supporters who disrupted Hungary's World Cup qualifier with England on Thursday.

However, in the statement released by MLSZ on Friday, the governing body steered cleared of addressing the alleged racist abuse aimed at England's players.

England's 4-0 win at the Puskas Arena was overshadowed by the behaviour of certain sections of the home crowd.

Raheem Sterling and Jude Bellingham were allegedly subjected to abuse, and missiles, including a flare, were launched towards the Three Lions' players during the match.

United Kingdom prime minister Boris Johnson condemned the apparent racist abuse and called on FIFA to take "strong action" against the perpetrators.

For their part, world governing body FIFA has promised to act once it receives reports from match officials and delegates who attended the match in Budapest.

The Hungarian FA made no mention of the racism allegations in their own statement, but they intend to hand out two-year bans to those who entered the field and hurled objects.

"The vast majority of the 60,000 fans present in the Puskas Arena supported the teams in a sporting manner, cheering on the Hungarian national team even when the team was already losing," the statement read. 

"It is in their defence that the minority of disruptive ticket-holders need to be identified and severely punished. Fans entering the field of play, throwing flares and plastic cups are in the process of being identified. 

"The MLSZ has already filed or will file police reports against them and will pass on any financial penalties to the perpetrators through civil litigation.

"Furthermore, at the end of proceedings, those found guilty can expect a two-year ban from all sporting events."

Speaking after the match, Hungary head coach Marco Rossi apologised to England pair Sterling and Bellingham.

"I am sorry that happened," Rossi said. "What I can say is that what I can control, it was respectful. From the players and everybody. What I cannot control is not dependent on me."

Lionel Messi will win the Champions League with Paris Saint-Germain before retiring at Barcelona, according to former team-mate Juan Roman Riquelme.

Messi joined the Ligue 1 giants on a two-year deal last month following the conclusion of his contract with Barca, making his debut as a substitute in their 2-0 victory over Reims.

While PSG have dominated French football over the past decade – winning seven Ligue 1 titles, as well as the Coupe de France and Coupe de la Ligue on six occasions apiece in that time – the Champions League crown has continued to elude them.

Riquelme, who played alongside Messi for club and country, believes his ex-team-mate will provide the missing piece of the jigsaw in PSG's quest for continental glory.

But at the same time, the former midfielder does not think Messi's story at Barcelona is over just yet.

"Messi is the best because he likes to play ball," said the Boca Juniors vice-president, who won Olympic gold for Argentina alongside Messi in 2008.

"If PSG don't win the Champions League now with Messi, they don't win it anymore.

"I'm sure Messi is going to win the Champions League with Paris and retire with Barcelona."

South Africa one-day captain Temba Bavuma has been ruled out for the remainder of the Proteas' ODI series in Sri Lanka with a fractured thumb.

The skipper suffered the freak injury during Wednesday's first ODI that, inspired by centurion Avishka Fernando, the hosts won by 14 runs.

Bavuma was inadvertently struck from a fielder's throw-in during the 26th over at the R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium.

Persistent discomfort saw him retire hurt two overs later, with scans later revealing a fracture.

Bavuma will return to South Africa for further treatment, from which his recovery time will be determined.

Keshav Maharaj will deputise as captain for the second ODI of the three-match series on Saturday.

FIFA has vowed to take "adequate actions" after England players were allegedly racially abused by Hungary fans during a World Cup qualifying win on Thursday.

Raheem Sterling and Jude Bellingham were allegedly subjected to abuse as the Three Lions cruised to a 4-0 Group I victory at the Puskas Arena.

Hungary were ordered to play their next two UEFA competition matches behind closed doors following an investigation into discriminatory behaviour by supporters at Euro 2020.

World governing body FIFA on Friday vowed to act once it receives reports from match officials and delegates who attended the match in Budapest.

"First and foremost, FIFA strongly rejects any form of racism and violence and has a very clear zero tolerance stance for such behaviour in football," a FIFA statement said.

"FIFA will take adequate actions as soon as it receives match reports concerning yesterday's Hungary-England game.

"With regards to the previous UEFA sanction against Hungary, please note that as specified by UEFA at the time, this sanction is to be served in UEFA competitions."

England boss Gareth Southgate said he had not heard the abuse.

He added: "It sounds like there have been some incidents and everybody knows what we stand for as a team and that that's completely unacceptable."

Three Lions captain Harry Kane also stated that he had not heard the alleged racist chants.

The Tottenham striker said: "I didn't hear that. Obviously, that's something I'll talk to the boys [about] and see if any of them heard any of it.

"We'll have to report it to UEFA as the rules permit and if it is the case hopefully UEFA can come down strong."

Novak Djokovic says he was not acting like a "spoiled brat" when he complained about a rowdy spectator during his US Open defeat of Tallon Griekspoor.

World number one Djokovic took another stride towards a first calendar Grand Slam and a record 21st major title by beating Dutchman Griekspoor 6-2 6-3 6-2 in the second round on Thursday.

Top seed Djokovic, who will face Kei Nishikori in the third round, had to contend with a member of the crowd trying to unsettle him in Arthur Ashe Stadium.

He shouted as the Serb went for an overhead smash that he missed and continued to be vocal during points, prompting Djokovic to express his grievances with the chair umpire.

Djokovic feels it is important to make it clear that sort of behaviour should not be tolerated.

"When tennis players talk about that, someone who is watching team sports would say, 'What a spoiled brat'," the three-time US Open champion said.

"But it's a different sport. Look, there's a lot of noise happening on the stadium, particularly in the night sessions. I don't mind that.

"Even sometimes during the point it happens that people out of excitement, they just scream, or they release like a sound or whatever, sigh, whatever you call it. And that's fine.

"But if someone intentionally does it over and over again, then I have tolerance up to a certain point, then it's not correct, then it's not fine. It's not fair. I feel like it's not good for us players.

"I mean, particularly that guy for some reason was calling, raising the sound and kind of screaming just before I would hit my smash, which was a big point. Before that he would do [it] a few times. After that again.

"That wasn't nice. That's all. I don't mind the noise. Don't get me wrong. I think it's important for the entertainment, for the crowds, the music.

"I get it. But if someone does it over and over again, particularly when you are at his side, he knows why he's doing it. The guy that I pointed out, he knew exactly what he was doing, and that's all."