Ivan Toney has launched a sensational attack on the integrity of the Saudi Pro League, suggesting that officials are biased toward Cristiano Ronaldo and Al-Nassr. The England international was left fuming after his Al-Ahli side were held to a 1-1 draw by Al-Fayha, a result that severely dents their title aspirations. Toney questions refereeing integrity The controversy erupted following Al-Ahlis 1-1 draw against Al-Fayha on Wednesday, a match in which Toney scored his 27th goal of a prolific campaign. However, the striker was more interested in discussing "clear as day" penalties that he believes were ignored by the officiating crew. The result leaves Al-Ahli third, trailing Ronaldos Al-Nassr by four points, with the league leaders also holding a game in hand. "I think the very big talking point was the two penalties, it is as clear as day," Toney said in a post-match interview. "I dont know what more you want him to do, if you pick the ball up with two hands are you going to give a penalty or not? When we tried to talk to the referee, he told us to 'focus on the AFC [Champions League]'. How can the referee say this? We are talking about now and he is saying to focus on the AFC." Accusations of bias The situation took a darker turn when Toney was asked who would benefit from these questionable calls. The former Brentford man laughed and replied: "We know who, who are we chasing?" This was clearly a direct reference to Al-Nassr and potentially to their talisman, Ronaldo. Toney further alleged that the referees seemed to have their minds elsewhere during the "crunch time" of the title race. "If you want me to go deeper, I can go deeper, it might get me into trouble but I am a man that says it how it is. There are clear talking points with the referee, but his mind is elsewhere. Throughout the season, it was a clear penalty but now we get to the crunch time and they change it," Toney added. He later took to social media to share clips of the incidents, stating: "It's actually crazy how you can miss things like this in crucial moments or chose to turn a blind eye. It's clear what is being influenced here." Galeno calls out 'lack of respect' Toney was not the only Al-Ahli star to voice his frustration. Team-mate Galeno went even further, seemingly alleging that the league is actively trying to gift silverware to Ronaldo. In a scathing social media post, Galeno suggested that the competitive fairness of the league had been completely compromised in favour of one individual. "Hand over the trophy, that's what they want, they want to knock us out of the championship by any means necessary, they want to hand the trophy to one person, a total lack of respect for our club," Galeno wrote, per the Daily Mail. The players' public outbursts have highlighted a growing tension in the Saudi Pro League as the campaign reaches its final stages and the pressure on Al-Nassr to secure their first title of the Ronaldo era intensifies. Al-Ahli demand referee recordings Backing their stars, Al-Ahli released a formal statement expressing "deep dissatisfaction" and demanding that the league release the audio recordings of the VAR communications. The clubs hierarchy is seeking explanations for why their players were allegedly told to ignore the domestic game and focus on continental competition while crucial decisions were being made on the pitch. "Al Ahli club company expresses its deep dissatisfaction with the refereeing errors that affected today's match of the first football team against Al Fayha in round 29 of the Saudi Roshn League," the club stated. "The referee's decisions had a direct impact on the flow of the game and its final outcome, which in turn affected the team's position in the title race. Such errors raise legitimate concerns regarding the referee selection process and the criteria applied, particularly given the high technical and competitive level of the Saudi Roshn League."

Pakistan cricket team fast bowler Shaheen Afridi was criticised heavily on social media for praising Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshall Asim Munir for mediating the US-Iran ceasefire.

Many of the same faces that were seen in last year's tournament find themselves in a similar position after 18 holes, Rose chief among them

MONTREAL (AP) Cole Caufield became the first Montreal player to score 50 goals in a season in more than three decades and Juraj Slafkovsky scored a tiebreaker with just over a minute remaining as the Canadiens beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 in a fight-filled game Thursday night.Slafkovsky scored his 30th at 18:56 of the third period and Nick Suzuki had two assists to raise his season total to 70 for Montreal (47-22-10). Jakub Dobes made 17 saves for his seventh consecutive win.Darren Raddysh scored for Tampa Bay (48-25-6), which lost its third straight game. Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 19 shots.Caufield beat Vasilevskiy with a wrist shot at 6:29 of the second period for the milestone goal in front of a frenzied crowd at the Bell Centre that included Prime Minister Mark Carney.Caufield became the seventh Canadiens player to hit the 50-goal mark, and the first since Stphane Richer in 1989-90.Raddysh tied the game with 1:51 remaining in the third period with the goalie pulled before Slafkovsky scored with 64 seconds left on a pass from Suzuki.The Canadiens, Lightning and Buffalo Sabres are locked in a three-way race for first place in the Atlantic Division with three regular-season games remaining for Montreal and Tampa Bay, and two left for Buffalo. Montreal moved two points ahead of Tampa Bay and two behind Buffalo for the division lead.The game featured several scrums after the whistle, a spirited fight between Montreals Josh Anderson and Tampa Bays Declan Carlile, and seven 10-minute misconducts culminating in 126 penalty minutes. The second period alone had more than 100, with players packing in to both penalty boxes.Up nextLightning: At the Boston Bruins on Saturday afternoon.Canadiens: Host the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday.___AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

How will a loaded leaderboard take shape? Will the course continue to get more difficult? We look at round one and what could come next at Augusta National.

Rugby league continues to find ways to surprise us.

Major League Soccer side FC Cincinnati is in the race to sign Brazilian football icon Neymar from his current side, Santos FC, according to ESPN.

For the first time in four years, it will soon be a great day for playoff hockey in Pittsburgh.The Penguins clinched a playoff spot Thursday night by beating New Jersey, ending their postseason drought that lasted three seasons. They had made 16 postseason appearances in a row before that, last missing in Sidney Crosby's rookie year in 2005-06, with that stretch including three Stanley Cup titles."Thats why you play thats the best time of year," Crosby said. I know how hard it is. I think I understand that. We had some tough ones where it came down to the last day and didnt get in, and you dont ever know. But I thought right from camp, weve had those intentions and had that belief."It was an up-and-down season that included an eight-game skid in December and a pair of six-game winning streaks later in the winter. Far from assured a place in the field in late March when the Eastern Conference race was a crowded mess, they've won five of six games since March 30 to get in.A couple weeks ago (we realized) its really in our hands (because we) play a lot of the teams in it, defenseman Connor Clifton said. We figured it was going to work itself out, and first and foremost its about us and getting points and weve done that, so its been good.It has also been a surprise. Pittsburgh was a 6-1 long shot to qualify before the puck dropped on opening night, according to BetMGM Sportsbook. This looked like one last kick at it together for an aging core of Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang, who at 20 seasons together are the longest-tenured trio of teammates in North American professional sports. Instead, new coach Dan Muse has made general manager Kyle Dubas look brilliant for hiring him from relative anonymity: five years as an assistant under Peter Laviolette with Nashville and the New York Rangers. Succeeding two-time Cup-winner Mike Sullivan was not an easy task, but Muse aced the test in his first chance to run an NHL bench.Hes been great: Calm there behind the bench, and hes just a really personable guy, easy to talk to away from the rink, forward Justin Brazeau said. "Any time you create that atmosphere in here, its not too tense or anything like that. I think guys are just willing to go out there and play free.Center Ben Kindel, picked 11th in the draft last year, made the team at 18. Defenseman Erik Karlsson thrived at 35. Crosby was a point-a-game player for a 21st consecutive season, even if it was interrupted by the injury that knocked him out of the Olympics.It takes everybody, Crosby said. "Everybody has had a part in this. Obviously its a team game, but especially with this group: With the injuries and all the different guys in and out, everybodys contributed to us getting there.Muse, like Crosby, saw evidence in training camp that this was a playoff-caliber team. I just saw the competitive nature of the group, Muse said. "Theres ebbs and flows in every season, but I think this group has just continued to grow. Enjoy it for a little bit, a minute, and then its just continuing that preparation. Its a big step for the group. Im really proud of these guys, happy for these guys, the staff, everybody involved. The players have done a great job with it throughout the year. We talked about earning things at the beginning of the year. This group earned it.___AP Sports Writer Will Graves in Pittsburgh contributed to this report.___AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

For the first time in four years, it will soon be a great day for playoff hockey in Pittsburgh.The Penguins clinched a playoff spot Thursday night by beating New Jersey, ending their postseason drought that lasted three seasons. They had made 16 postseason appearances in a row before that, last missing in Sidney Crosby's rookie year in 2005-06, with that stretch including three Stanley Cup titles."Thats why you play thats the best time of year," Crosby said. I know how hard it is. I think I understand that. We had some tough ones where it came down to the last day and didnt get in, and you dont ever know. But I thought right from camp, weve had those intentions and had that belief."It was an up-and-down season that included an eight-game skid in December and a pair of six-game winning streaks later in the winter. Far from assured a place in the field in late March when the Eastern Conference race was a crowded mess, they've won five of six games since March 30 to get in.A couple weeks ago (we realized) its really in our hands (because we) play a lot of the teams in it, defenseman Connor Clifton said. We figured it was going to work itself out, and first and foremost its about us and getting points and weve done that, so its been good.It has also been a surprise. Pittsburgh was a 6-1 long shot to qualify before the puck dropped on opening night, according to BetMGM Sportsbook. This looked like one last kick at it together for an aging core of Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang, who at 20 seasons together are the longest-tenured trio of teammates in North American professional sports. Instead, new coach Dan Muse has made general manager Kyle Dubas look brilliant for hiring him from relative anonymity: five years as an assistant under Peter Laviolette with Nashville and the New York Rangers. Succeeding two-time Cup-winner Mike Sullivan was not an easy task, but Muse aced the test in his first chance to run an NHL bench.Hes been great: Calm there behind the bench, and hes just a really personable guy, easy to talk to away from the rink, forward Justin Brazeau said. "Any time you create that atmosphere in here, its not too tense or anything like that. I think guys are just willing to go out there and play free.Center Ben Kindel, picked 11th in the draft last year, made the team at 18. Defenseman Erik Karlsson thrived at 35. Crosby was a point-a-game player for a 21st consecutive season, even if it was interrupted by the injury that knocked him out of the Olympics.It takes everybody, Crosby said. "Everybody has had a part in this. Obviously its a team game, but especially with this group: With the injuries and all the different guys in and out, everybodys contributed to us getting there.Muse, like Crosby, saw evidence in training camp that this was a playoff-caliber team. I just saw the competitive nature of the group, Muse said. "Theres ebbs and flows in every season, but I think this group has just continued to grow. Enjoy it for a little bit, a minute, and then its just continuing that preparation. Its a big step for the group. Im really proud of these guys, happy for these guys, the staff, everybody involved. The players have done a great job with it throughout the year. We talked about earning things at the beginning of the year. This group earned it.___AP Sports Writer Will Graves in Pittsburgh contributed to this report.___AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

The US president accused Iran of "doing a very poor job" with the waterway as Israel and Lebanon to begin peace talks.