Daily Recap: Sport — 26 September 2026

A dramatic Formula One race in Baku drives the day in sport, delivering both a razor-thin win and fresh controversy with championship implications. Elsewhere, football and Olympic governance bring longer-view decisions, while several off-field moments draw attention across club,...

George Russell wins the Azerbaijan Grand Prix after a chaotic race shaped by safety cars and late restarts, then holds off Max Verstappen in a finish separated by roughly a tenth of a second. The closing laps in Baku compress the field and turn the race into a sprint, with Russell keeping control under heavy pressure.

Lando Norris calls for Franco Colapinto to be banned after their first-corner collision on a restart in Azerbaijan ends Norris’s race and damages his title hopes. Colapinto locks up and hits Norris, and the incident also eliminates Norris’s Alpine teammate Pierre Gasly from the race in Baku.

Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak says the club remains confident it can clear itself of Premier League financial-rule charges. He says City’s position has not changed as the club prepares its response, maintaining that it expects to prove its innocence in the case hanging over the English champions.

Liverpool brings Julian Ward back as sporting director, moving quickly after Richard Hughes leaves the role to join Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia. The appointment restores a familiar figure to a key leadership job at Anfield as the club reshapes its executive structure ahead of the next phase of squad planning.

Munich becomes Germany’s candidate city for a future Summer Olympics bid, with the country now targeting the 2036, 2040 or 2044 Games. The selection puts Munich at the front of Germany’s planning for the next stage of the international bidding process and revives its pursuit of another Olympics.

Republic of Ireland goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu withdraws from the squad before the Nations League match against Israel, saying he will not play. His decision comes just ahead of the fixture and removes an established first-choice option from the Ireland group before an important international assignment.

Texas defensive end Colin Simmons receives an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after celebrating a sack against Tennessee by appearing to simulate using the restroom on the field. The moment quickly becomes one of the game’s talking points, with officials treating the gesture as a punishable act.

The White House blocks CNN from flying on Air Force One for President Donald Trump’s trip to Tennessee for a college football game, removing the network from the TV press-pool rotation for that flight. The change alters the planned travel access for one of the outlets assigned to cover the visit.