Human Interest

Oct 4 (Reuters) - Preston North End forward Milutin Osmajic has been given an eight-match suspension for biting Blackburn Rovers defender Owen Beck during their second-tier Championship draw last month, the Football Association (FA) said on Friday.

ELF Championship player hit with eight-match suspension for biting opponent

The FA charged the 25-year-old last month and Osmajic admitted biting Beck on the neck around the 87th minute of the match.

Cristiano Ronaldo insists he is focused on being the perfect team member at Saudi side Al Nassr rather than collecting more individual accolades in the twilight of his career.

The 39-year-old, who has won the Ballon d'Or award five times, scored in Al Nassr's 2-1 win over Al Rayyan of Qatar in their AFC Champions League Group B match on Monday.

Cristiano Ronaldo with a SUPERB finish to open his AFC Champions League account ☄️ pic.twitter.com/K35KvY10vk

Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo crossed one billion followers across his social media accounts, aided by his newly-launched YouTube channel that has attracted more than 60 million subscribers in just over three weeks.

Ronaldo, who scored his 900th career goal last week to help Portugal beat Croatia 2-1 in the Nations League, is the first human being to reach a billion followers on social media, global media reports said.

Cristiano Ronaldo 1 billion followers

An honor at a Washington Nationals game proved costly for standout Washington Spirit midfielder Croix Bethune.

The U.S. national team player was placed on the season-ending injury list on Wednesday after sustaining a torn meniscus away from training last week, the team announced.

Spirit coach Jonatan Giraldez filled in the rest of the story: Bethune was injured while throwing out the ceremonial first pitch at a Nationals game.

Croix Bethune first pitch injury

For the first time since 2003 neither Cristiano Ronaldo nor Lionel Messi have been included in the nominees for the men's Ballon d'Or award, which were announced on Wednesday, with England's Jude Bellingham among the 30 players named.

Portugal's Ronaldo, who has won the award five times, also failed to receive a nomination last year, while Messi, who won for a record eighth time in 2023 and has been nominated 16 times, misses out despite Argentina's Copa America win this year.

Messi and Ronaldo not nominated for Ballon d'Or

South American football was in mourning on Tuesday following the death of Uruguayan defender Juan Izquierdo, who collapsed on the pitch after suffering an irregular heartbeat during a Copa Libertadores game last week.

The 27-year-old had been undergoing medical treatment since collapsing during Nacional's game against Brazilian side Sao Paulo on Aug. 22.

SAO PAULO — Nacional defender Juan Izquierdo collapsed on the pitch and was taken to hospital after suffering an irregular heartbeat during the second leg of a Copa Libertadores round of 16 tie against Sao Paulo at Brazil's Morumbi stadium on Thursday.

Izquierdo had replaced Sebastian Coates for the Uruguayan club at halftime but fell to the ground unconscious in the 84th minute without any contact from another player.

San Diego Wave FC President Jill Ellis filed a defamation suit on Monday against a former team employee who accused Ellis on social media of creating a harsh work environment.

Brittany Alvarado, previously a video and creative manager for the Wave, wrote in a July 3 social media post that the treatment she and her co-workers endured under Ellis "has been nothing short of life-altering and devastating to our mental health."

Argentinian midfielder Angel Di Maria said death threats against his family in Rosario had forced him to change his mind about returning to his boyhood club Rosario Central.

Di Maria was targeted in what Argentine authorities have previously described as an attempted display of power by criminal organizations in Rosario, which has seen an increase in drug and gang related violence.