Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp lamented the fact the World Cup will be held in Qatar and said the media should have done more to hold FIFA to account.
The tournament is due to begin on November 20 after Qatar won the right to stage it in controversial circumstances 12 years ago, when FIFA also announced Russia as the 2018 hosts.
Those decisions came under heavy scrutiny amid allegations of corruption within world football's governing body, which has since undergone a reshuffle following the exit of embattled former president Sepp Blatter.
Critics have cited several reasons why Qatar is not a suitable host nation, with its human rights record, treatment of migrant workers and laws against same-sex relationships of particular concern.
For its part, FIFA has urged competing nations to "focus on the football", but that will do little to assuage the fears of the tournament's most impassioned critics, which includes human rights organisations such as Amnesty International.
Klopp felt it was too late to effect any change now and suggested the media should have done more and acted sooner to prevent the situation from unfolding the way it has.
"I watched an old documentary about the whole situation when it got announced that Russia and Qatar are the places for the next two World Cups," he said on Friday.
"I think it was the first time in history that they announced two in one. And the whole situation around it, we all know how it happened and how we still let it happen and no legal thing afterward. It was still hidden everywhere. And you think, wow, how could that all happen?
"It's 12 years ago and now it's here and it's coming. It has nothing to do with Qatar, they won the World Cup and it's now it's there.
"We talk about human rights in a sense of the people who have to work there in circumstances, which are, say it nicely, difficult. So, we couldn't play the World Cup there in the summer, because of the temperature. It's now pretty hot. And there was not one stadium in Qatar or maybe one.
"They have to build stadiums and nobody thought about that. I don't think everybody mentioned it that day. That is what makes you angry. How can it not? Again, I watch it from a football point of view and I don't like the fact that now players from time to time get in a situation where they have now to send a message.
"You are all journalists; you have should have sent a message. You didn't write the most critical article about it or not about it because it's Qatar.
"Now it's there and I'll let them play the games. Let them just play the games...and don't put Gareth Southgate constantly in a situation where he has to talk about everything. I'm not a politician who has an opinion. And he's not a politician.
"He's the manager of England, let him do that and if you want to write something else about it, then do it but by yourself without asking us and all these kinds of things. And Klopp said and Southgate said, and all these kinds of things as if it will change anything. We all, you more than I, let it happen 12 years ago."
Klopp continued to rail against the lack of intervention when the tournament was first awarded and conceded this would be "different from other World Cups".
"Do you really think that we did enough in the first place? Now making a story of it when it's happened...and getting players under pressure questioning these kinds of things," he said.
"Things are organised by other people and I don't say you let it happen. But we all let it happen. At that time, everything was on the table. Everything was on the table. It was that long ago when we really could have sorted it.
"It's not to say anything about Qatar. They won the World Cup. I can understand for whatever reason, it's fine. I want a lot of things and don't get them and carry on with it. I will watch games, of course. But yes, it is different from other World Cups."
Pep Guardiola issued a sarcastic response to Zlatan Ibrahimovic's claim the Manchester City manager's ego could hold Erling Haaland back, joking he was "jealous" of his striker.
Haaland has scored 17 goals in his first 11 Premier League appearances, making light of suggestions he could struggle to adapt to Guardiola's style of play.
However, Ibrahimovic – who famously failed to connect with Guardiola when working with him at Barcelona – has suggested the City boss would not take kindly to Haaland's incredible exploits.
Speaking to Canal+, Ibrahimovic said: "Can Guardiola make Haaland even stronger? It depends on Guardiola's ego, if he lets him become bigger than him or not. He didn't let me get bigger."
Those comments were put to Guardiola at a press conference looking ahead to Saturday's Premier League meeting with Fulham, provoking a satirical reply from the City boss.
"He's right. He's completely right," Guardiola sarcastically said. "In this club, in this team, my ego is beyond the performance of the players.
"I don't like it when Erling scores three goals and all the highlights are for him. I'm so jealous, honestly. So jealous. I said afterward: 'Please, Erling, don't score any more goals'.
"I want The Sun, The Daily Mail to talk about me. He's right. He knows me perfectly."
Novak Djokovic outclassed Lorenzo Musetti to reach the Paris Masters semi-finals after Carlos Alcaraz retired due to an abdominal injury.
Djokovic moved into the last four of a Masters 1000 event for a staggering 74th time with a commanding 6-0 6-3 victory over Musetti on Friday.
The defending champion will do battle with Stefanos Tsitsipas for a place in the final as he eyes a seventh Paris Masters title.
Sixth seed Djokovic made only 10 unforced errors and broke five times, not allowing his Italian opponent to have a game point until early in the second set.
The 21-time grand slam champion only needed 74 minutes to dispatch the unseeded Musetti, moving two victories away from a fifth title of the season.
Meanwhile, world number one Alcaraz's participation in the ATP Finals next week is in doubt after he was injured in his quarter-final against Holger Rune.
Rune won the first set 6-3 and the Dane was 3-1 up in a second-set tie-break when US Open champion Alcaraz brought the match to a premature end.
As Alcaraz prepares to discover whether he can play in the season-ending tournament in Turin, Rune can look forward to facing Felix Auger-Aliassime in his maiden Masters 1000 semi-final.
Auger-Aliassime beat Rune to take the title in Basel last weekend and the Canadian stretched his winning run to 16 matches by beating Frances Tiafoe 6-1 6-4.
Tsitsipas was the last man to seal his place in the semi-finals, getting the better of Tommy Paul, who beat Rafael Nadal earlier in the week, 6-2 6-4.
Brian Cashman strayed away from confirming whether the New York Yankees have held contract talks with Aaron Judge.
Star slugger Judge opted to enter free agency, turning down a seven-year contract with the Yankees before the season started.
His stock has risen since then, with Judge having scored a record-breaking 62 home runs in the regular season and racked up 131 RBIs.
Yankees general manager Cashman on Friday gave little away when asked about the possibility of Judge returning next season.
"When you make these commitments on players, you know he's a fan favourite," Cashman said during a press conference.
"He interacts with our fans extremely well. He's respected within that clubhouse, handles his business as good as you possibly can. He's an elite performer – among the game's best, if not the best player. With all that being said, those are the types of players you want to retain and have as long as you possibly can."
Cashman added: "As George Steinbrenner [the former Yankees owner] said, he puts fannies in the seats. People want to go watch that guy play, and you want to put great teams on the field that they want to come here to watch compete and win.
"Certain individual players transcend the team and everything stops when they're at the bat or they have the ball in their hand. He's one of those types of talents."
Cashman, whose future is also unclear after his contract expired, has no issue with Judge biding his time.
"[Judge is] going to dictate the dance steps to his free agency and he has worked extremely hard to earn this position, so we'll see how this plays out," Cashman said. "It can tie you up a little bit along the way, but he's not the only guy that we're needing to deal with.
"He's the most important, but if he came in here today and said, 'Oh, man, I'm signing up, let's go,' there's still a lot of work to be done."
Aaron Boone spoke to Judge in his office after the Yankees missed out on the World Series when they were subjected to a clean sweep by the Houston Astros.
The Yankees boss reiterated that he hopes Judge will be back to lead the team.
He said: "Of course I hope he's back and a Yankee forever. I can't think of a better guy that you want to be leading your team and leading your organisation, and hopefully that all works out.
"But my conversations with him now are just communicating with him through the winter and hoping that it works out. But obviously, that's above me."
Australia brushed aside minnows Lebanon 48-4 to take their place in the Rugby League World Cup semi-finals.
Inspired by Josh Addo-Carr's five tries, Australia never offered up any chance of an upset at the John Smith's Stadium in Huddersfield.
Not that the reigning world champions were at their very best, though Lebanon – whose coach Michael Cheika will be switching codes to take charge of Argentina against England on Sunday – only managed to capitalise once, with Josh Mansour going over in the second half.
Addo-Carr's 19-minute hat-trick had Australia way ahead, with Latrell Mitchell's try and a double from Cameron Murray nudging Mal Meninga's team to 30-0 up by the interval.
Australia's star man Addo-Carr had his fourth early in the second half, and was on hand to take his tally for the tournament to 11 after Mansour had snatched a consolation for Lebanon.
Liam Martin barged in to round off the scoring for Australia, who were unable to push on and reach the 50-point mark.
Next up for Australia is a last-four encounter with Fiji or New Zealand, convincing winners of Group C, at Elland Road.
The Los Angeles Rams and Tampa Bay Buccaneers meet in Week 9 in a matchup between two preseason NFC favourites who have spectacularly failed to live up to expectations.
Los Angeles and Tampa Bay produced a thrilling NFC Divisional Round playoff game last season, the Rams prevailing in overtime following a furious Bucs comeback en route to winning Super Bowl LVI.
Such excitement has been thin on the ground for both teams in 2022. They are a combined 6-9, with both of their offenses enduring significant struggles.
Last week, the Rams (3-4) were thrashed 31-14 by their NFC West rivals the San Francisco 49ers, who completed a fourth successive regular-season sweep of Los Angeles.
That defeat marked the fourth time this season the Rams have scored 14 or fewer points and lost by double-digits. From 2017 through 2021 (head coach Sean McVay’s tenure prior to this season), they had six such games. Five of those 10 games have been against San Francisco.
Quarterback Matthew Stafford threw for 187 yards on 33 attempts against San Francisco. It was the 11th time in his career that he has thrown the ball at least 30 times and finished with fewer than 200 passing yards. His teams are 2-9 in those games.
Stafford averaged 4.71 air yards per attempt in the loss to the 49ers, the Rams' offense relying largely on the screen pass and rendered impotent in the second half after San Francisco succeeded in taking that away.
Los Angeles' lack of counterpunches when the Rams cannot get the ball to Cooper Kupp should offer the Tampa Bay defense, which is allowing the fourth-fewest yards per pass play (5.7) in the NFL, confidence it can contain Stafford and Co. as the 49ers did.
The Rams' distinct lack of a running game -- Los Angeles' run success rate of 24.3 per cent is by far the worst in the league -- will only further Tampa Bay's confidence in that regard, and the Buccaneers appeared closer to solving their problems on offense in Week 8.
Though the Buccaneers (3-5) lost for the third consecutive game, suffering a 27-22 defeat to the Baltimore Ravens, Tom Brady threw for 325 yards and zero interceptions. In his career, he is 54-7 when throwing 300 yards and no interceptions but is 1-2 in such games this season.
Still, Tampa Bay's three-game losing streak is their longest such run since the Buccaneers lost four in a row between Week 5 and Week 9 in 2019. In addition, they have scored 28 points just once this season, in a 41-31 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. The Bucs were 12-0 when reaching that mark last season.
Both offenses appear likely to face plenty of third-and-long situations, and it may be the offense that does a better job of overcoming them that comes out on top.
The Buccaneers are five of 50 (10 per cent) on third down with six or more yards to go. That percentage ranks last in the NFL. The Rams' 17.5 per cent mark (7-for-40) is 28th in the NFL. Last season, the Rams were third at 35.0 per cent while the Bucs were 12th at 25.6 per cent.
It's a tale of two offenses experiencing a substantial downturn, but neither team is dead in the water, with the Buccaneers one game out of the NFC South lead and the Rams a game back in the loss column in the NFC West, which is led by the 5-3 Seattle Seahawks.
But time is running out for these teams to right their respective ships, and the loser of this game will be at significant risk of sinking out of contention even in an open NFC.
Amnesty International has accused FIFA of brushing human rights concerns "under the carpet" after president Gianni Infantino and secretary general Fatma Samoura called on participating nations to "focus on the football" at the World Cup.
The decision to stage the World Cup in Qatar has been criticised due to concerns over the country's human rights record, with the conditions of migrant workers and the criminalisation of homosexuality being highlighted.
Less than two weeks before the World Cup begins, Infantino and Samoura wrote to each participating nation, saying football must not be dragged "into every ideological or political battle that exists".
Amnesty, who called on FIFA to create a compensation fund for workers who suffered during the tournament's preparations in May, has now hit out at those comments.
In a media release on Friday, the human rights charity repeated the demand for compensation and lamented organisers' "astonishing" failure to address the concerns of the LGBTQ+ community.
"If Gianni Infantino wants the world to 'focus on the football', there is a simple solution: FIFA could finally start tackling the serious human rights issues, rather than brushing them under the carpet," said Steve Cockburn, Amnesty's head of economic and social justice.
"A first step would be publicly committing to the establishment of a fund to compensate migrant workers before the tournament kicks off, and ensuring that LGBT people do not face discrimination or harassment. It is astonishing they still have not done so.
"Gianni Infantino is right to say that 'football does not exist in a vacuum'.
"Hundreds of thousands of workers have faced abuses to make this tournament possible and their rights cannot be forgotten or dismissed.
"They deserve justice and compensation, not empty words, and time is running out."
Lionel Messi, Neymar and Paul Pogba have been confirmed to appear in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 as part of a future update.
The trio of footballers were teased by developers Activision to be "suiting up" for appearances for Modern Warfare II, Warzone 2.0 and Call of Duty Mobile – displaying some teaser art in a social media post.
Characters for Pogba and Neymar have already been leaked on social media by dataminers, though Messi's look is yet to be shown. It is expected their introduction will coincide with the World Cup in Qatar.
Neymar and Messi are no strangers to the world of video games, with the Paris Saint-Germain duo introduced to PUBG earlier this year, while Neymar was featured in Fortnite back in 2021.
Modern Warfare II was officially released on October 28 and quickly broke records for the fastest start for the franchise in terms of revenue, with a further boost expected later this month when Warzone 2.0 is released.
Messi and Neymar will star for Argentina and Brazil respectively in the World Cup in Qatar, though France will be without Pogba due to injury.
Kyrie Irving's apology is a "step in the right direction" but he must do more to prove his contrition, according to Brooklyn Nets general manager Sean Marks.
The NBA star was suspended indefinitely by the Nets in light of his initial unapologetic response to widespread backlash for allegedly endorsing an antisemitic film.
Irving belatedly issued an apology after NBA Commissioner Adam Silver had expressed his disappointment at the lack of one, and the Nets had responded later on Thursday with a press statement confirming the player would be suspended for a minimum of five games with no pay, adding he is "currently unfit to be associated with the Brooklyn Nets".
Around four hours after that announcement, the seven-time All-Star posted an apology on Instagram: "To all Jewish families and communities that are hurt and affected from my post."
Speaking to reporters about the situation on Friday, Marks said: "I think after anything like this, you would always hope that there's a change in feelings, a change in attitude. And you know, I think per his apology last night, that's a step in the right direction.
"But again, as we've sort of stated, actions speak louder than words and so he's had some time and there'll be some more time to reflect on this.
"The apology is a step in the right direction [but] that's certainly not enough."
In terms of further steps expected of Irving, Marks elaborated: "There is going to be some remedial steps and measures that have been put in place for him to obviously seek some counselling, designated by the team from dealing with some anti-hate and some Jewish leaders within our community.
"He's gonna have to sit down with them, he's gonna have to sit down with the organisation after this and and we'll evaluate and see if this is the right opportunity to bring him back."
When asked if the Nets had considered waiving or releasing Irving, Marks said: "No, not at this particular time."
Napoli winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia will miss the Serie A leaders' trip to second-placed Atalanta on Saturday because of a back problem that marks a painful end to a miserable week for the Georgian.
The 21-year-old talent has made a thrilling impact since joining Napoli from Dinamo Batumi in July, playing a key role in his team leading the Italian top flight and topping their Champions League group.
With eight goals and eight assists in 17 games across all competitions, Kvaratskhelia has barely put a foot wrong for Luciano Spalletti's team.
This has been a difficult week though, with Napoli's 13-game winning run coming to an end when they lost 2-0 at Liverpool on Tuesday, albeit with the hosts' late goals coming after Kvaratskhelia was substituted.
It was reported by Gazzetta dello Sport that Kvaratskhelia then suffered a break-in at his home on Wednesday night, with his Mini car stolen and later retrieved by police.
Now the youngster will miss at least one game, with Napoli stating on their website: "Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is ruled out of the trip to Bergamo after suffering from acute lower back pain."
It remains to be seen whether he returns for Tuesday's game against Empoli, or the following Saturday's clash with Udinese, both of which will be played at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
Such has been Kvaratskhelia's impact at Napoli, he has been compared to club legend Maradona, earning the nickname 'Kvaradona'. Argentine forward Maradona was the driving force of Napoli when the Naples club won the 1986-87 and 1989-90 Serie A titles, their only Scudetto triumphs to date.
Carlos Alcaraz is unsure if he will be fit for the ATP Finals after the world number one retired from the Paris Masters due to an abdominal injury.
The world number one cut short his quarter-final against Holger Rune in the French capital during a second-set tie-break after he lost the opener 6-3 on Friday.
Alcaraz stated after his retirement that it is too early to say whether he will be able to play in the prestigious season-ending tournament in Turin which starts on November 13.
The US Open champion said: "I don't know if I'll make it to the Masters Cup [ATP Finals]. Right now I have to do some tests to see how I am before going to Turin.
"I am focused on trying to improve my abdomen and trying to be 100 per cent in Turin."
The Spaniard felt there was no point in taking any chances.
He added: "At the end of the set, I felt bad. My abdomen was getting bad and I preferred to retire to see it and take care of it.
"I can't stretch. I couldn't serve well, I couldn't hit my forehand and when I turned the body I feel pain, I feel the abdomen in all the movements.
"I was playing thinking about it and feeling the pain, so it was better to withdraw."
Rune will face Felix Auger-Aliassime in his first ATP Masters 1000 semi-final, with both players finishing the season strongly.
Auger-Aliassime beat Frances Tiafoe 6-1 6-4 for his 16th consecutive win to set up a repeat of a final in Basel that the Canadian won last weekend.
Erik ten Hag acknowledges Donny van de Beek must improve in order to be a success at Manchester United, but is refusing to give up on the midfielder.
Having impressed in an advanced role for Ten Hag's Ajax team, Van de Beek moved to Old Trafford for an initial fee of £35million in 2020, but has since struggled for consistent game-time.
Van de Beek made 27 Premier League appearances across his first two campaigns with United, and has only played 19 minutes in the competition this season after enduring an equally frustrating loan spell at Everton earlier in 2022.
Those struggles have seen Van de Beek lose his place in the Netherlands' squad ahead of the World Cup in Qatar, but Ten Hag – who started the midfielder in Thursday's Europa League win at Real Sociedad – believes the 25-year-old can change his fortunes.
Asked on Thursday whether there would be a point at which United accepted Van de Beek's move had not worked out, Ten Hag replied: "Yes. Not now.
"I think he had quite a good pre-season. He was injured, now he's back. Last week [against Sheriff in the Europa League] I think he played very well, and today I think it was a decent performance.
"I know he can do better as I know him very well. He acted and delivered what I expect in terms of positioning, pressing, transition and accuracy.
"I think he can be more of a threat to the opponents' goal, that's his biggest quality. In the time I am here, he is performing well in the game-time we gave him."
Xavi believes Lionel Messi could finally get his hands on the World Cup in Qatar, tipping Argentina alongside Brazil as favourites to land the trophy.
The closest Messi has come to being a World Cup winner was when Argentina were beaten by Germany in the 2014 final.
His unprecedented seven Ballon d'Or successes underline Messi's individual greatness, but he is missing the most valued team prize of all.
Winning the Copa America with Argentina last year gave him a first major title in senior international football, with Argentina getting the better of Brazil at the Maracana in the final.
Now, at the age of 35, and in his final World Cup, Argentina captain Messi goes again, with former Barcelona team-mate Xavi strongly rating the Albiceleste's chances.
"Argentina and Brazil are a step ahead of everyone else," Xavi said on Friday.
"I see them very strong as a team, also with individual players, physical and in terms of tactics and strategy as well, they're two great teams.
"I think they're a step ahead of some of the best European teams right now. But in a World Cup you can never know. Everything can become complicated."
Xavi, a World Cup winner in 2010 with Spain and now head coach at Barcelona, added: "The European teams are very important: Spain, France, even England, have got very strong national sides, but I think Brazil and Argentina are a step stronger."
Brazil are five-time World Cup winners but have not triumphed since Ronaldo's eight goals drove them to 2002 glory, while Argentina have carried off the trophy twice, in 1978 and 1986.
Messi, surprisingly, has never scored in the knockout rounds and is four goals behind Gabriel Batistuta, Argentina's World Cup record scorer (10 goals).
European teams have dominated the World Cup in recent times, with Italy, Spain, Germany and France winning the last four editions.
Jonathan Taylor has been ruled out for the Indianapolis Colts' Week 9 clash with the New England Patriots, head coach Frank Reich announced on Friday.
The running back is out with an ankle injury and is one of four absentees against the Patriots, along with cornerback Tony Brown (hamstring), quarterback Matt Ryan (shoulder) and linebacker Grant Stuard (pectoral).
Deon Jackson filled in for Taylor in his previous absences in Weeks 5 and 6, rushing 25 times for 104 yards and a touchdown, as well as catching 14 passes for 108 yards in those two games.
He faces fresh competition in the backfield, however, following the arrival of Zack Moss – who was acquired in a trade with the Buffalo Bills on Tuesday that saw Nyheim Hines depart, with the Colts also earning a conditional sixth-round pick for the 2023 NFL Draft.
Moss had limited opportunities on the ground in Buffalo, recording 17 carries for 91 yards, and has not played since Week 5.
The Colts are on a two-game losing streak and sit 3-4 on the season, second in the AFC South behind the 5-2 Tennessee Titans.
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