Friday, 12 June 2026
DAVID COULTHARD DEFENDS KIM KARDASHIAN AFTER MARTIN BRUNDLE MONACO GP GRID WALK BACKLASH
David Coulthard has defended Kim Kardashian after criticism over her Monaco Grand Prix appearance
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| Kim Kardashian on the grid. Photo by: Guido De Bortoli / LAT Images via Getty Images |
Former Formula 1 driver David Coulthard has weighed in on the comments surrounding Kim Kardashian's appearance at the Monaco Grand Prix, defending the reality television star after she didn't speak to Martin Brundle.
Kardashian became a big talking point of the Monaco Grand Prix weekend after she turned down an interview with Brundle during his famous Sky Sports F1 grid walk and was later seen picking up race winner Kimi Antonelli's towel after the race.
The incident led to widespread online criticism, but Coulthard believes the online hate was unwarranted.
Speaking on the Up To Speed podcast, the 13-time grand prix winner revealed that Kardashian had been very polite to him during his own broadcasting duties on the grid.
"Well, I'll go first as the least following of any of that social thing. I do a grid walk with Viaplay, which is I guess like Sky but more in the northern European countries, and she spoke to me," he said.
"So it feels a little bit like it's a set-up because Martin is as famous for people not talking to him as he is for people talking to him. So it actually helps perpetuate that. Taking a towel, that's maybe a bit not correct but does she actually understand that that's for the driver? She might have just thought it was a Monaco freebie."
When pressed on what he spoke to Kardashian about, Coulthard explained: "I said, 'Having a nice time in Monaco? To which she said, 'yes.' I wasn't going to ask, 'Who are you supporting?' because that would be quite clear. It would be funny if she said Kimi."
Coulthard added that the championship could be a new interest for Kardashian, so it would be unfair to assume she knows the ins and outs of the series.
"I think also what we've seen when you've got big American celebrities coming into the sport, I think the worst thing you can do is put them on the spot," he continued.
"Obviously, it would be easy for her to say she was supporting Lewis, but why would we assume just because we're embedded in Formula 1 that this is anything other than just a new interest?"
- Lydia Mee
THIERRY HENRY WAY 🇺🇸
Thierry Henry has a street named after him in New York 🗽
The temporary tribute has been installed in the heart of Manhattan for the World Cup to honour the former France striker, who has previously played and managed in the MLS 🛣️🇺🇸
OVER 80% OF SPORTS ORGANIZATIONS TARGETED BY HACKERS IN THE LAST YEAR
Over 80% of professional sports organizations were targeted by cyber-attacks during the last year and over half of them were hit more than once, researchers have warned.
In a report published on June 11, the day the FIFA World Cup 2026 kicked off, figures from Darktrace revealed that 84% of sports organizations – including teams, venues and event bodies – were targeted by cyber-attacks during the last year.
And for most of them, facing a cyber-attack was not a one-off event: 57% experienced multiple cyder incidents in the 12-month period.
Sports teams and organizations make a tempting target for cybercriminals and other threat actors for a number of reasons. Sports fixtures, especially international events, are highly publicized, meaning that the attackers know exactly when they are happening.
That means that if attackers had the goal of causing maximum disruption, be it via crippling infrastructure with a ransomware attack or disrupting online services with a DDoS attack, they know when to strike.
The importance of keeping operations active is not lost on cybersecurity leaders in the sports industry: a third said that the most important task for cybersecurity teams is to help stadium operations maintain critical functions during live sporting events.
This is crucial, because if a cyber event meant that stadium operations were disrupted, fans may not be able to get through the gates, or the game might not be able to be played, creating multiple issues for the fans, teams, sporting bodies and sponsors.
“Professional sport is a high-pressure environment where timing matters,” said Nathaniel Jones, VP of security and AI strategy at Darktrace.
“A suspicious login, unusual data movement or unexpected AI agent action may look small in isolation, but during a live event it can become operationally significant very quickly.”
Cyber-Attacks Target Fan Data
A further reason why sports organizations are a major target for cyber-attacks is the data they handle. Like any large organization, sports bodies collect and handle information about customers: the fans.
This includes sensitive information like credit card details and personal information, all of which are major targets for cybercriminals, either to steal and use directly themselves or sell to others on underground forums. Either way, if this information is stolen, it puts the fans at risk of theft, fraud and more.
In addition to this, sports organizations carry vast amounts of information about the teams and athletes themselves. This could range from personal data about the athletes to information about contracts and sponsorship deals, or even confidential data around how the organization works, commercial partnerships and relationships with third-party suppliers.
Targeting the Supply Chain
Indeed, it is the supply chain around these third-party suppliers which are commonly targeted by threat actors who view them as weak point to be exploited.
Ticketing providers, broadcasters, cloud services and stadium technology software suppliers are all potential targets for attackers, who could leverage the trusted relationship with the sports organization to help conduct an attack.
Social engineering is a key attack technique deployed against sports organizations. According to Darktrace, sports organizations received 19% more phishing emails than those in other sectors.
Analysis of 116,000 phishing emails which targeted sports organizations found that 21% directly targeted executives and other VIPs, while 37% involved ‘novel’ social engineering techniques which leveraged AI-powered assistance. Meanwhile, 84% of phishing emails detected successfully bypassed DMARC authentication, highlighting the challenge that organizations face.
As sporting organizations face increasing pressures from cyber threats, the report concluded that they must take action to ensure that they don’t become a high-profile victim of cyber-crime: especially at the key moment when the eyes of the world are watching.
“The most effective way to mitigate the risks facing sports organizations both internally and from external actors today is to adapt a behavioral approach to security. That means shifting away from rules and signatures and focusing on understanding both human and AI behavior inside your environment,” said Jones.
- Danny Palmer
MOST LE MANS 24 HOUR STARTS | BY AN INDIVIDUAL DRIVER
Circuit de la Sarthe legend Henri Pescarolo started in an incredible 33 Le Mans 24 Hours - 30 of those being consecutively between 1970 and 1999 😲
The Frenchman won Le Mans four times outright in 1972-4 and 1984, with a further two class wins in 1976. and 1992.
Pescarolo also started 57 F1 world championship grands prix between 1968 and 1976.
#LeMans24 #MotorSport
BREAKING NEWS: PIERRE GASLY REINSTATED TO P3 FOR MONACO
BREAKING: Pierre Gasly has been reinstated into P3 for the Monaco Grand Prix
The Stewards have rescinded the two five-second penalties imposed on Pierre Gasly during the race for speeding in the pit lane.
- F1
EFL MOURNS KENNY JACKETT | DEAD AT AGE 64
The EFL is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Kenny Jackett, who has died at the age of 64.
Kenny managed over 750 games in the EFL, achieving promotions at the helm of Wolves, Millwall and Swansea.
Our thoughts and condolences go out to Kenny’s family and friends at this difficult time.
#EFL
SOUTH KOREA RALLY TO BEAT CZECHIA 2-1 ON WORLD CUP OPENING DAY
Second-half goals by Oh Hyeon-gyu and Hwang In-beom steered South Korea to a come-from-behind win over Czechia in a Group A encounter.
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| Goals from Oh Hyeon-gyu, left, and Hwang In-beom guided South Korea to a 2-1 comeback win over Czechia in the second match of the World Cup 2026 opening day [Matias Delacroix/AP |
Hwang In-beom scored a goal and set up another as South Korea rallied to defeat Czechia 2-1 in the second match of the FIFA World Cup 2026 on Thursday night in Zapopan, Mexico.
After a lacklustre first half in which both teams were jeered as they left the field, Czechia took the lead in the 59th minute on a header by captain Ladislav Krejci after a long throw-in into the penalty area.
Second-half goals by Oh Hyeon-gyu and Hwang In-beom steered South Korea to a come-from-behind win over Czechia in a Group A encounter.
South Korea equalised in the 67th minute, when Hwang scored after faking a shot with a nifty move to clear two Czech players. He then made the cross from the right flank for Oh Hyeon-gyu’s decisive strike in the 80th minute in a match played in front of hundreds of empty seats at Guadalajara Stadium.
Led by star forward Son Heung-min, South Korea controlled possession and outshot the Czechs, who were making their first World Cup appearance since 2006.
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| Oh Hyeon-gyu scored a goal in the 80th minute to seal a late comeback victory for South Korea [Daniel Becerril/Reuters] |
The South Koreans, ranked 25th by FIFA, had most of the significant scoring chances against the 38th-ranked Czechs but failed to capitalise early.
The announced attendance was 44,985 at the 45,664-capacity Guadalajara Stadium. Sections in the middle of the stands had many unoccupied seats, and other empty seats were scattered across the stadium.
Earlier on Thursday, Mexico ignited their World Cup party with a dominant 2-0 victory over nine-man South Africa, as the biggest edition of the global footballing showpiece kicked off at the iconic Estadio Azteca.
With three points each, Mexico sit on top of Group A, with South Korea second on goal difference. Czechia are third, and South Africa sit at the bottom. In the next round of Group A matches on June 18, Mexico face South Korea in Zapopan, while Czechia play South Africa in Atlanta.
The top two teams from each of the 12 groups, along with the eight best third-placed teams, proceed to the knockouts, which begin with the round of 32.
- Al Jazeera Staff and The Associated Press
Thursday, 11 June 2026
JOSÉ MOURINHO NAMED NEW REAL MADRID MANAGER - WHAT WILL HE DO TO TURN THINGS AROUND?
Jose Mourinho is officially back in charge of Real Madrid, with the Spanish giants announcing he has returned for a second stint in charge at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Mourinho has left Benfica after less than a year in charge to take charge of Real Madrid once again, as he’s signed a three-year contract in the Spanish capital.
The legendary Portuguese coach probably thought this kind of opportunity was long gone after disappointing spells in charge of Tottenham Hotspur and Fenerbahce in recent years. But he steadied the ship impressively at Benfica and Real need his leadership, defensive organization and ability to handle big-name players. As well as his penchant for winning trophies.
Real Madrid released the following statement confirming the arrival of Mourinho.
“The Board of Directors of Real Madrid C.F., meeting today, Thursday, June 11, and presided over by Florentino Perez, has agreed to appoint Jose Mourinho as the first team’s head coach for the next three seasons, until June 30, 2029. Jose Mourinho will join Real Madrid on July 13, the day preseason begins.”
What will Real Madrid ask of Jose Mourinho?
To win. Quite simply that is it.
It doesn’t matter how he does it, Mourinho just has to deliver trophies.
Real Madrid finished without any silverware during the 2025-26 season as Xabi Alonso was fired midway through the campaign and Real limped to the finish line under caretaker boss Alvaro Arbeloa.
They finished a distant second to bitter rivals Barcelona in La Liga and were knocked out of the UEFA Champions League at the quarterfinal stage by Bayern Munich.
All of that led to immense pressure piling on long-time club president Florentino Perez, so he has gone back to an experienced coach who can take the pressure off him.
How can Mourinho turn things around at Real?
Mourinho will go to the Carlo Ancelotti school of man-management to try and get the best out of a hugely talented squad.
Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham are quite the superstar trio and Mourinho needs to find a way to get them all clicking together consistently.
On the pitch his first action will be to sort out the defensive unit, which he is great at doing, and then he will go from there.
With Barcelona threatening to become a dynasty under Hansi Flick as they’ve won back-to-back La Liga titles, Mourinho will put all of his focus on closing that gap to Barca.
He got close to doing that in his first spell in charge but Pep Guardiola’s legendary Barcelona side often pipped Mourinho’s Real to most of the major trophies.
But Mourinho did win one La Liga, a Spanish Cup and a Spanish Super Cup in his three years in charge at Real and his hope will be to replicate that feat, at the very least, during his three years in charge.
And we all know how much Mourinho would love to add another Champions League trophy to his personal cabinet, and Real’s obsession with extending their European Cups to 16.
- Joe Prince-Wright
WORLD CUP 'BEER' FAN 🍺
🌎 An England fan has collected a beer from each of the 48 nations competing at the 2026 FIFA World Cup and plans to crack open one every time a team is eliminated from the tournament. 🍺🏆
Now that's one unique way to follow the World Cup
WORLD CUP HISTORY | MEXICO 1970
That works out at around £5,000 in today's money.
What a trip this would have been.
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