Messi’s sister is hospitalised after a car crash! Wedding cancelled
Lionel Messi’s sister, Maria Sol Messi, has been hospitalised after a severe car crash in Miami. The accident has forced the postponement of her forthcoming wedding, scheduled in early January. According to reports from Argentine newspapers, the 32-year-old suffered from several injuries in the accident, including spinal fractures, burns, as well as heel and wrist fractures. Argentine TV journalist Ngel de Brito, speaking on the America TV programme LAM, said Messi’s mother, Celia Cuccittini, confirmed that Maria Sol is now out of danger but faces a lengthy period of rehabilitation. “She is okay, she’s out of danger,” de Brito said while reading messages he said were confirmed by the family. “But she was due to get married in Rosario on 3rd January and naturally it has to be suspended now. She suffered burns, which are very difficult to treat, and displacement of vertebrae. She has already started her rehabilitation in Rosario.” The crash reportedly occurred in Miami when Maria Sol lost control of the vehicle she was driving and hit a wall. De Brito added that Cuccittini told him her daughter fainted moments before the accident. There has also been speculation that the burns may have been caused by a motorbike fall, though that detail has not been officially confirmed. Maria Sol was due to marry Julin “Tuli” Arellano, a member of Inter Miami CF’s under-19 coaching staff, in her hometown of Rosario. The ceremony was expected to be a major family gathering, with the entire Messi family in attendance, including her brother, Lionel Messi, and his wife, Antonela Roccuzzo. Messi himself famously married Roccuzzo in Rosario in 2017. Like her brother, Maria Sol grew up in the same neighbourhood as her partner. A clothing designer and entrepreneur, she has largely stayed out of the public eye, having lived in Spain for a period before returning to Argentina to focus on her own projects.
Karnataka Home Ministry directs KSA to shift Delhi-Andhra match from Chinnaswamy! Fans frustrated
Following instructions from the state Home Ministry, the much-awaited Vijay Hazare trophy between Andhra Pradesh and Delhi has been shifted to the BCCI Centre of Excellence ground. The fans who were passionate about watching Virat Kohli after a long time in domestic cricket, and also Rishabh Pant, are extremely frustrated. The match, as revealed by Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) will be played behind closed doors, away from the city centre, preventing the fans from gathering at the venue in huge numbers. The reason behind the decision has been cited as security reasons. It is believed that the state home ministry has taken such a decision, anticipating a massive turnout to see Virat Kohli and Rishabh, who are expected to feature for Delhi in some of the matches. The KSCA scheduled the matches at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium last week to better manage the logistics and security of such high-profile athletes. On Tuesday, the state government intervened, citing unresolved safety concerns at the stadium. The decision is rooted in a cautious stance taken by the state government following the tragic stampede in June 2025 during Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s IPL victory celebrations, which resulted in 11 fatalities, while many others were left injured. The Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) had initially considered opening two stands to the public, which could’ve accommodated 2,000-3,000 spectators. However, the government shot down the proposal, citing security concerns and compliance issues. Star cricketers Kohli, Pant, Ishant Sharma and Navdeep Saini will be part of the Delhi Senior Men’s team in the Vijay Hazare Trophy for the 2025-26 domestic season, with all four confirming their availability for the tournament.
ECB to investigate England cricketers’ ‘over-drinking’ during the Ashes break!
England Cricket Board’s (ECB) Managing Director of men’s cricket, Rob Key, has revealed that the over-drinking habits of England cricketers will be investigated. Reports have come out that the cricketers were involved in too much drinking during the beach-break in the ongoing Ashes tour, where England have already been drubbed 3-0 by Australia in only 11 days. The fourth Test will start in Melbourne on Friday. The squad visited the resort town of Noosa on the Sunshine Coast north of Brisbane between the second and third Tests, a long-planned part of the itinerary designed to help players relax and unwind on the long tour. Key, who did not join the players in Noosa, said he had no problem with the break, but would not be happy if he found evidence of over-indulging. According to a report from the BBC, some members of the squad had six days of drinking! “If there are things where people are saying that our players went out and drank excessively, then of course we’ll be looking into that,” he said Tuesday in Melbourne, where the fourth Test begins Friday. “Drinking excessive amounts of alcohol for an international cricket team is not something that I’d expect to see at any stage, and it would be a fault not to look into what happened there. From everything that I’ve heard so far, they actually were pretty well behaved. Very well behaved.” He added, “We’ve got enough ways of finding out exactly what happened and everything that I’ve heard so far that they sat down, had lunch, had dinner, didn’t go out late, all of that, had the odd drink. I don’t mind that. If it goes past that, then that’s an issue as far as I’m concerned.”
Neymar undergoes surgery; hopes to return to national squad
Neymar has undergone a successful Neymar is expected to require a recovery period of around a month. His Santos contract expires at the end of the year, but he is in talks with the club over a new deal. The former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain forward has not played for Brazil in over two years but hopes to be fit and feature in coach Carlo Ancelotti’s plans for Fifa World Cup 2026 Neymar is Brazil’s record goalscorer with 79 goals from 128 matches. The operation was made on his left knee to repair a damaged meniscus, his club Santos said on Monday. The 33-year-old endured a difficult season with Santos as he played through the injury to help the club avoid relegation from Brazil’s top flight. Brazil’s national team doctor performed the arthroscopic surgery, having previously operated on Neymar for a foot fracture as well as the ruptured anterior cruciate ligament he suffered against Uruguay in October 2023.
AIFF to get ‘election breather’ for implementation of Sports Governance Act!
The upcoming elections of all national sports federations (NSFs) have been postponed by a year to facilitate the flawless adoption of the new electoral framework as laid down in the National Sports Governance Act, a move that will impact the All India Football Federation. In a letter to the presidents of the Indian Olympic Association and NSFs on Monday, the Union sports ministry said postponement of upcoming elections till 31st December, 2026, has been decided as a part of transitional assessment to adopt the new NSG Act. It means the NSF elections of football would be held only in 2027, and the existing Kalyan Chaubey-led executive committee would continue to remain in charge, subject to the approval of the general bodies of respective NSFs. AIFF elections were due in September 2026, after completion of the Chaubey-led committee’s four-year term. The AIFF president Chaubey is also the joint-secretary of IOA. Since NSFs require considerable “statutory, structural and procedural” changes once the Act gets notified, the ministry decided on a “one-time extension” for adequate preparation. “In order to facilitate the smooth transition under the new governance framework as also to allow adequate time for implementation of the statutory requirements under the NSG Act, 2025 by the NSFs, it has been decided that those NSFs, whose elections are scheduled to be held in the coming months, except the cases where there are specific directions by Courts of Law, are allowed to defer the elections up to 31st December, 2026 – as a transitional measure,” Harikumar M, Director (Sports), of the ministry said.
