Mens

Berlin’s Eta becomes first female head coach of a top-tier European club after her appointment by the Bundesliga side.

German football club Union Berlin has made history by naming Marie-Louise Eta as manager, making her the first female head coach in Bundesliga history, following the sacking of Steffen Baumgart.

Eta, who was given the job on Sunday, becomes the first female top-flight coach of a men’s team in a major European league. The 34-year-old, who was the first female assistant coach in the Bundesliga, will take over for the remainder of the season.

“I am delighted the club has entrusted me with this challenging task,” Eta said in a statement.

She made history in 2023 as the first female assistant coach in the Bundesliga and across the top divisions of Europe’s “big five” football leagues. She had to step in for media duties for head coach Nenad Bjelica when he was suspended for three games in 2024.

Baumgart was sacked on Sunday morning after the club’s form flatlined in the second half of the season, with Saturday’s 3-1 defeat by last-placed Heidenheim the final straw.

“I’m delighted that Marie-Louise Eta has agreed to take on this role on an interim basis before she becomes head coach of the women’s first team as planned in the summer,” Union sporting director Horst Heldt said in a statement.

Union have won just two games since Christmas and sit seven points above the relegation playoff spot.

“We’ve had an absolutely disappointing second half of the season,” Heldt said.

“Our situation remains precarious, and we desperately need points to stay in the league.

“The performances in recent weeks don’t give us the confidence we could turn things around with the current set-up.”

As a player with Turbine Potsdam, Eta won the Champions League in 2010, along with three Bundesliga titles. She has already committed to taking over Union Berlin’s women’s Bundesliga team from the summer.

Women have managed men’s football teams in the lower divisions but never in the top flight.

German third-tier Ingolstadt FC are currently coached by Sabrina Wittmann, while French second-flight club Clermont were managed by Corinne Diacre for three seasons until 2017.

After the China tie, Team Whyte, who are ranked in the world’s top five but are making their debut at this level, continue the round-robin against Norway (02:00). They conclude it with matches against the Swiss and Czech Republic on Thursday, with the tie with Switzerland available to watch on the BBC Sport website and app.

Whyte – along with Robin Brydone, Euan Kyle and Craig Waddell – are representing Scotland after world top-ranked rink Team Mouat elected not to compete after their silver medal at the Olympics in Cortina earlier this year.

The top six progress, with the top two going straight into the semi-finals and the other four teams competing to join them.

“We have two tough games [on Wednesday] in China and Norway,” said Whyte.

“Both teams seem to be playing quite well, so if we can try to come out firing and put in some good performances then that would be great to allow in the last stage to maybe get us two more wins and hopefully secure us the semi-final spot.

“However, there are a lot of teams around that area that could easily also get that semi-final spot, so there a lot of big games still to be played, but we are feeling positive.”

Season over for UCLA men

From Jon Marks: The question will remain unanswered.

Would UCLA have beaten Connecticut if Tyler Bilodeau was healthy? That’s what will haunt the Bruins and their fans for the rest of March Madness.

Even without their leading scorer the seventh-seeded Bruins battled valiantly, briefly taking the lead in the second half. But in the end they simply didn’t have enough firepower to knock off No. 2 Connecticut, which surged late in its 73-57 win in the second round of the NCAA tournament on Sunday.

“My message to our team is no excuses,” UCLA coach Mick Cronin said. “Somebody brought up Tyler. We didn’t bring it up. It’s five-on-five. Sadly, I’ve got a lot of practice in dealing with that in NCAA tournament play, but it sucks for him.

“At the end of the day, someone said to me what would have happened if you had your guy? You never know. But I thought the bottom line was they played harder than us. Their defense was better than our offense, and I take responsibility for that.”

UCLA (24-12) failed to reach the Sweet 16 for the third consecutive season. The Bruins struggled with their shooting most of the night, going 19 for 49 (39%) in comparison to Connecticut’s 23 for 49 (47%). Both teams had the same number of free-throw attempts (21), but the Bruins made just 67% of their shots and the Huskies made 90%.

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UCLA box score

A future building win for USC?

From Chaunte’l Powell: When you look at the USC Trojans, one might think they’re setting the table for next year.

Buying time until JuJu Watkins returns. Keeping the ship afloat until the talented recruiting class that includes Saniyah Hall makes its way to campus.

But the Trojans showed Saturday that’s not the case. They’re making a plate and eating now.

The No. 9 seed Trojans gutted out a 71-67 overtime win over No. 8 seed Clemson in what USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb described as “a culture win.”

That game featured many tests for a young team in March and the Trojans responded well to the challenges. They are advancing on the back of freshman Jazzy Davidson’s 31 points and senior Kara Dunn’s 22.

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Why the Dodgers will not win the World Series

From Bill Plaschke: The truth of this Dodgers season was recently found in a place where all sports truths are clipped and tapered and styled into reality.

The barbershop.

Of course, the barbershop, where ball talk is real talk, and where the expectations around the Dodgers upcoming quest for a three-peat recently smothered me like a hot towel to the head.

I was sitting in the chair in mid-shave when a bald gentleman barged into the shop searching not for a cut, but a promise.

“Say it!” he shouted to me from just inside the door. “Say what everybody around here believes!”

What, that LeBron James is not a real Laker?

“No, say it about the Dodgers!” said the man, and he was serious. “Say that they have the best team in history and they’re going to win another championship! Say it, because that’s what everybody thinks!”

The shop quieted, chairs swiveled, and suddenly everyone was looking at me, at which point I said the one word I’ve never written in any of the last dozen or so Dodger preview columns.

“No.”

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Alex Freeland edges Hyeseong Kim for a Dodgers opening day roster spot

Luka Doncic avoids suspension

From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: He’s the hottest player in the NBA. Not even the NBA’s technical foul rule can slow Luka Doncic down.

The NBA rescinded Doncic’s 16th technical foul, the league announced Sunday, allowing Doncic to avoid a mandatory one-game suspension that would have kept him out of Monday’s game against the Eastern Conference-leading Detroit Pistons.

Doncic and the Lakers appealed the call after he was given a technical for taunting against Orlando Magic forward Goga Bitadze in Saturday’s Lakers win. Bitadze’s technical foul was also rescinded after the European players were arguing while Doncic was shooting free throws. Doncic claimed Bitadze made a vulgar comment toward Doncic’s family in Serbian while Bitadze said he first heard inappropriate comments from Doncic and only repeated what he heard the Lakers guard say.

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Kings lose to Mammoth

Nick Schmaltz scored his second goal of the game at 1:46 of overtime to give the Utah Mammoth a 4-3 victory over the Kings on Sunday night.

Schmaltz carried the puck in on a two-on-one rush with defenseman Mikhail Sergachev on his left and fired a snap shot between goalie Darcy Kuemper‘s legs.

After the Kings controlled play in the three-on-three overtime and nearly ended it on Alex Laferriere’s shot that went off the right post, Kevin Stenlund won a faceoff against Quinton Byfield to set up Schmaltz’s seventh winning goal of the season.

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Kings summary

NHL standings

Ducks rally past Sabres

Troy Terry scored on a breakaway 1:29 into overtime for his second goal of the game after Mikael Granlund tied it late in regulation and the Ducks rallied to defeat the Buffalo Sabres 6-5 on Sunday night.

Anaheim ended Buffalo’s seven-game road winning streak when Tage Thompson couldn’t keep in the puck in the Ducks’ zone and Terry held on a 2-on-0 break to score on a backhander.

Granlund tied the score at 5 with 1:44 remaining in the third period on a power play with Ville Husso pulled for an extra attacker.

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Ducks summary

NHL standings

Galaxy draw with Portland

Portland’s Kristoffer Velde scored in the 13th minute and Timbers defender Kamal Miller picked up a red card seven minutes later, but James Pantemis surrendered only a João Klauss goal to help them hold on for a 1-1 draw with the Galaxy on Sunday.

Velde scored for the second time this season to give Portland (1-3-1) a 1-0 lead early. But things became difficult from the 20th minute on when Miller received his card for a foul on Klauss.

Antony Alves Santos notched his first assist this season on the score and Joao Ortiz picked up his second.

Klauss came up with the equalizer in the 30th minute with assists from Marco Reus and Gabriel Pec. It was the fifth goal for Klauss, who has certainly helped ease the loss of superstar Riqui Puig for a second straight season because of injuries. Klauss spent his first three seasons with St. Louis City, where he scored 25 goals in 79 appearances.

Galaxy summary

MLS standings

This day in sports history

1939 — Long Island University finishes the season undefeated after a 44-32 victory over Loyola of Chicago in the NIT championship.

1944 — Maurice Richard, playing in his second Stanley Cup playoff game, scores five goals in a 5-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup semifinals. Toe Blake has five assists.

1948 — Kentucky, behind Alex Groza and Ralph Beard, defeats Baylor 58-42 for the NCAA basketball championship.

1956 — Bill Russell leads San Francisco to an 83-71 victory over Iowa in the NCAA basketball championship.

1957 — North Carolina defeats Wilt Chamberlain and Kansas in triple-overtime to win the NCAA men’s championship. The Tar Heels win 54-53 to finish the season with a 32-0 record.

1968 — Lew Alcindor scores 34 points to carry UCLA to a 78-55 win over North Carolina in the NCAA basketball championship.

1974 — N.C. State ends UCLA’s streak of seven national championships with an 80-77 victory in double overtime of the NCAA tournament semifinals. David Thompson leads the Wolfpack with 28 points and 10 rebounds while teammate Tom Burleson scores 20 and pulls down 14 rebounds.

1991 — London beats Frankfurt 24-11 in the first World League of American Football game.

1994 — Wayne Gretzky scores his 802nd goal, passing Gordie Howe as the top goal scorer in NHL history. The Kings center scores in the second period for his 62nd NHL record.

1996 — Michelle Kwan caps a nearly perfect season by winning the women’s title at figure skating’s world championships for the United States’ first singles sweep since 1986.

2002 — Brendan Shanahan of the Red Wings scores his 500th goal, breaking a scoreless tie at 7:48 of the third period. Detroit beats Colorado 2-0.

2002 — Iowa State’s Cael Sanderson becomes the first undefeated four-time NCAA wrestling champion at the NCAA championships. Sanderson beats Lehigh’s Jon Trenge 12-4 to win at 197 pounds and finish his career with a 159-0 record.

2007 — Kobe Bryant becomes the second NBA player to score at least 50 points in four straight games when he has 50 in the Lakers’ 111-105 win at New Orleans. Only Wilt Chamberlain has more, scoring at least 50 points in seven consecutive games during the 1961-62 season.

2010 — The NFL changes its overtime rules for playoff games to give both teams an opportunity to get the ball.

2014 — Quardell Young drives the length of the court for a go-ahead layup with 0.9 seconds left and Wisconsin-Whitewater holds off Williams to win the NCAA Division III men’s championship 75-73. The Warhawks (29-4), whose football team took the national championship in December, win the basketball championship for the second time in three years and fourth time in four trips to the final.

2016 — Guard Russ Smith of the Delaware 87ers scores an NBA D-League-record 65 points in a 140-129 loss to the Canton Charge.

2022 — After 114 consecutive weeks as world #1 female tennis player, 25 year old Australian Ash Barty makes unexpected retirement announcement.

2023 — Harry Kane overtakes Wayne Rooney’s record to become England’s all-time greatest goalscorer in 2-1 victory over Italy with his 54th goal.

Compiled by the Associated Press

Until next time…

That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

Great Britain’s Josh Kerr wins gold in the men’s 3000m at the World Indoor Athletics Championships, with Cole Hocker taking silver for USA and and France’s yann Schrub taking bronze in Poland.

Watch the World Indoor Athletics Championships

Available to UK users only.

PHILADELPHIA — Besides carrying on the UCLA legacy, which Mick Cronin says is an honor in itself, he’s got an extra incentive here this weekend that has nothing to do with finding the best cheesesteak in town.

“We’ve got to win two games,” said Cronin, whose Bruins will start off going against Central Florida, whose coach, Johnny Dawkins, knows all too well from the years they squared off when he was at Cincinnati in the American Athletic Conference. “My daughter goes to American [University.]

“I’ll see her Monday. But I would like to spend a week with her.”

That’s because the East Region will be held in Washington, where AU is located. But for the Bruins to advance to past a Sunday showdown most likely against powerful Connecticut, Cronin says they’ll first need to contain Central Florida’s potent attack.

UCLA coach Mick Cronin talks with guard Trent Perry during the Bruins’ game at Michigan on Feb. 14.

(Lon Horwedel / Associated Press)

“Central Florida can score,” he explained of the 21-11 Knights, who’ve successfully made the transition from the AAC to the Big 12. “They’re athletic.

“[Themus] Fulks [averaging 14.1 points and 6.7 assists] keeps me up at night because he can get in the lane whenever he wants. He’s great off the pick and roll. He makes good reads and he’s a problem.

“I’ve seen Riley Kugel [14.4 points] since high school. He played for a friend of mine, so I know he’s a very good player and has gotten better as he’s gotten older.

“They can shoot it. They’ve struggled of late which means law of averages, that’s going to flip. They’re an athletic, aggressive team.”

On the other hand Dawkins, back in the city where he played for five years and won an NBA Eastern Conference title while playing alongside Charles Barkley, knows what he’s up against.

“Mick does a great job with his team,” said Dawkins, who before coming to Central Florida went 156-115 coaching eight years at Stanford, following a decade serving as Mike Krzyzewski’s assistant at his alma mater, Duke. “Of course. UCLA is a storied program of all college basketball.

“What an amazing history they’ve had there. and, of course, Coach Cronin is a coach I have known from the American as well. I know his team is going to be really, really talented.

“They’re very skilled and they’re tough.”

Speaking of that legacy, which includes a 1976 Final Four appearance here under John Wooden’s replacement, Gene Bartow, Cronin’s players knew what they were signing up for when they decided to come to Westwood.

“It’s definitely a blessing just to be part of this, to be part of the history, part of the tradition,” said senior guard Skyy Clark, averaging 11.7 points per game. “It’s a lot to carry for sure, but it motivates us to go out there and just do what we can.”

UCLA forward Tyler Bilodeau is congratulated by fans after beating USC at the Galen Center on March 7.

(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

“Yeah, a lot comes with these four letters we wear on our chest,” added second-leading scorer and top playmaker Donovan Dent (13.5, 7.6 assists). “We just want to make our names and the history of it.

“I wouldn’t say there’s extra pressure, but we know there’s definitely a standard that needs to be held.”

UCLA forward Tyler Bilodeau and Dent were injured during the Bruins’ Big Ten tournament run, but Cronin said Thursday “they looked good today [during practice,] so knock on wood.”

Maintaining the standard first set by Wooden is what lured Cronin from Cincinnati, where he won 296 games in 13 years and took them to the NCAA tournament nine times.

“I had a great job and was close to being the winningest coach ever at Cincinnati,” said Cronin, who’ll be making his fourth tourney appearance with the Bruins, including dropping a 2022 Sweet Sixteen game to North Carolina in this building. “But I left to sit in Coach Wooden’s chair and coach at the best university in the country, arguably the world, and everything that goes with it.

“It’s tremendous. I’ve been very fortunate. To coach at my alma mater, Cincinnati, and to be the head basketball coach at UCLA following so many.”

On Friday night, Cronin and the Bruins will take on the challenge of Central Florida and his longtime adversary Dawkins, mindful there are no gimmes once you get this far. No. 5 seed Wisconsin learned that during a loss to No. 12 High Point on Thursday and top-ranked Duke nearly did, having to rally from 13 points down to survive No. 16 Siena.

“You got to have players,” he said. “If you can’t coach, you’re not going to be in those tournaments. “The better players you have, the further you go.

That’s the whole key to getting in these things and advancing in them. Perseverance.”

LA28 revealed the schedule Monday for an extended Olympic soccer tournament that will begin four days before the opening ceremony.

The soccer competition begins July 10 with four men’s group stage games across New York, Columbus, Nashville and St. Louis. The women’s tournament begins July 11 with games in all six of the preliminary round sites, including San José and San Diego.

The soccer competition, which will feature 12 women’s teams and eight men’s teams for the first time, has the longest competition window of any sport in Olympic history because the International Olympic Committee Executive Board wanted to give each team two extra rest days throughout the tournament.

Each team will have two days of rest between group stage games and three days between the final group game and the quaterfinal rounds. The men will begin their knockout round games on July 20 while the women start quarterfinal play on July 21, including one women’s quarterfinal match at the Rose Bowl.

The iconic stadium in Pasadena will host only five matches for the Olympics, including a men’s and women’s semifinal July 24 and the men’s gold medal match on July 28 and the women’s on July 29.

San Diego’s SnapDragon Stadium will have the most matches of any site with 11. In addition to three days of women’s group stage games, the home of San Diego State football, San Diego FC and San Diego Wave FC will host a women’s quarterfinal July 21, men’s and women’s semifinals July 24 and both bronze medal matches.

With the coast-to-coast soccer tournament shaping up, LA28 announced additional ticket opportunities for the competition, allowing fans interested in attending soccer matches to buy up to 12 soccer tickets in addition to the current 12-ticket maximum for all other Olympic events. The 12-ticket maximum for Olympic events includes the opening and closing ceremonies on July 14 and 30, respectively, which each have a four-ticket limit.

Ticket registration for the first ticket drop ends Wednesday at 11:59 p.m. PDT with the first tickets going on sale to locals in Southern California and Oklahoma beginning April 2. The first general ticket drop begins April 9. Fans who are randomly selected to participate in the first ticket drop will be notified via email between March 31 and April 7 with information and their assigned timeslot to purchase tickets.

More than 5 million fans have already registered for Olympic tickets, LA28 said, with Paralympic tickets going on sale in 2027. The organizing committee expects 14 million tickets to be available for the Games, which could eclipse the total ticket sales record set by Paris in 2024.

The 68-team bracket for the 2026 NCAA men’s basketball tournament is set. Matchup starting times and broadcast information will be announced later on Sunday.

The men’s First Four begins Tuesday and first-round games begin on Thursday.

First Four

Tuesday-Wednesday (at Dayton, Ohio)
No. 11 Texas (18-14) vs. No. 11 North Carolina State (20-13)
No. 11 Miami (Ohio) (31-1) vs. No. 11 Southern Methodist (20-13)
No. 16 Maryland Baltimore County (24-8) vs. Howard (23-10)
No. 16 Prairie View A&M (18-17) vs. No. 16 Lehigh (18-16)

East Region

FIRST ROUND
Thursday (at Greenville, S.C.)
No. 1 Duke (32-2) vs. No. 16 Siena (23-11)
No. 8, Ohio State (21-12) vs. No. 9 Texas Christian (22-11)
Friday (at San Diego)
No. 5 St. John’s (28-6) vs. No. 12 Northern Iowa (23-12)
No. 4 Kansas (23-10) vs. No. 13 California Baptist (25-8)
Thursday (at Buffalo)
No. 6 Louisville (23-10) vs. No. 11 South Florida (25-8)
No. 3 Michigan State (25-7) vs. No. 14 North Dakota State (27-7)
Friday (at Philadelphia)
No. 7 UCLA (23-11) vs. No. 10 Central Florida (21-11)
No. 2 Connecticut (29-5) vs. No. 15 Furman (22-12)

West Region

FIRST ROUND
Friday (at San Diego)
No. 1 Arizona (32-2) vs. Long Island University (24-10)
No. 8 Villanova (24-8) vs. No. 9 Utah State (25-8)
Thursday (at Portland)
No. 5 Wisconsin (24-10) vs. No. 12 High Point (30-4)
No. 4 Arkansas (26-8) vs. No. 13 Hawaii (24-8)
No. 6 Brigham Young (23-11) No. 11 Texas / North Carolina State
No. 3 Gonzaga (30-3) vs. No. 14 Kennesaw State (21-13)
Friday (at St. Louis)
No. 7 Miami (25-8) vs. No. 10 Missouri (20-12)
No. 2 Purdue (27-8) vs. No. 15 Queens (21-13)

Midwest Region

FIRST ROUND
Thursday (at Buffalo)
No. 1 Michigan (31-3) vs. No. 16 Maryland Baltimore County / Howard
No. 8 Georgia (22-10) vs. No. 9 Saint Louis (28-5)
Friday (at Tampa)
No. 5 Texas Tech (22-10) vs. No 12 Akron (29-5)
No. 4 Alabama (23-9) vs. No. 13 Hofstra (24-10)
Friday (at Philadelphia)
No. 6 Tennessee (22-11) vs. No. 11 Miami (Ohio) / Southern Methodist
No. 3 Virginia (29-5) vs. No. 14 Wright State (23-11)
Friday (at St. Louis)
No. 7 Kentucky (21-13) vs. No. 10 Santa Clara (26-8)
No. 2 Iowa State (27-7) vs. No. 15 Tennessee State (23-9)

South Region

FIRST ROUND
Friday (at Tampa)
No. 1 Florida (26-7) vs. No. 16 Prairie View A&M / Lehigh
No. 8 Clemson (24-10) vs. Iowa (21-12)
Thursday (at Oklahoma City)
No. 5 Vanderbilt (26-8) vs. No. 12 McNeese (28-5)
No. 4 Nebraska (26-6) vs. No. 13 Troy (22-11)
Thursday (at Greenville, S.C.)
No. 6 North Carolina (24-8) vs. No. 11 Virginia Commonwealth (27-7)
No. 3 Illinois (24-8) vs. No. 14 Pennsylvania (18-11)
Thursday (at Oklahoma City)
No. 7 Saint Mary’s (27-5) No. 10 Texas A&M (21-11)
No. 2 Houston (28-6) vs. Idaho (21-14)

UCLA coach Mick Cronin expects his team to embrace lofty expectations that follow the Bruins any time they take the floor during the NCAA tournament.

The program has won an NCAA record 11 national titles and made 19 Final Four appearances.

No. 7-seed UCLA’s (22-11) push for another deep NCAA tournament run begins Friday against No. 10-seed Central Florida (21-11) in Philadelphia in the East Regional. If the Bruins win, they will face the winner of No. 2 Connecticut (29-5) versus No. 15 Furman (22-12).

Cronin was hoping the Bruins, who flew home from the Big Ten tournament in Chicago on Sunday morning, would get a break and open postseason play Friday rather than Thursday. He recalled playing in the American Athletic Conference tournament championship on Sundays and still getting assigned Thursday NCAA tournament games, but Purdue coach Matt Painter told Cronin on Saturday night that he should be in line for a Friday NCAA tournament opener and the forecast proved accurate.

Cronin said the universal UCLA program focus on NCAA tournament success drove his decision to hold forward Tyler Bilodeau and guard Donovan Dent out of a 73-66 Big Ten semifinal loss to Purdue on Saturday night at the United Center. Bilodeau’s injury was a minor knee sprain suffered in the win over Michigan State on Friday, while Dent suffered a minor calf strain early in the game against the Boilermakers. Both are expected to be ready to play Friday.

“Tyler could have played [against Purdue.] You know, Donny could have played. They would have been playing hurt,” Cronin said after the loss to the Boilermakers. “I wouldn’t have played them in a regular season game. I just try to take care of guys.”

The coach said the extra minutes played by Eric Freeny, Xavier Booker, Steven Jamerson II and Brandon Williams will help the Bruins when the full lineup is in place for NCAA tournament games.

He called the team’s effort to push eventual Big Ten champion Purdue valiant, but the games ahead in March simply mean more to the Bruins.

“With all due respect to the Big Ten, you could see how hard our guys are trying to win,” Cronin said. “But our guy are well aware, because they practice under 11 banners that say national championship every day. They warm up under another banner with 19 Final Fours on it. We don’t even have one with conference championships cause there’s 36 or something. There’s so many. So [this] week is what it’s about for us.”

UCLA enters the tournament on a 4-1 streak, looking especially strong since the calendar hit March.

“I was happy with the way we competed,” Cronin said when asked whether he learned anything about his players during a spirited Big Ten tournament run. “… We got talent, we just haven’t always had our mind on defense, which is very rare for teams that I coach. We got great guys. Since March 1 or whenever the heck we played Nebraska, it’s been a noted change in our team, we’ve just got to keep it up. And we’ve got to get some rebounds out of the five spot.

”… We’re at UCLA, no matter who we take the floor against in the NCAA tournament, we’re going to be the ones wearing the baby blues and four letters. So we believe in ourselves.”

UCF is coached by former Duke star Johnny Dawkins. Point guard Themus Fulks is a key leader for the Knights, earning third team All-Big 12 honors after averaging 14.1 points and 6.7 assists per contest during the regular season.

UCF posted top-25 wins over Kansas, Texas Tech and Brigham Young.

Frustrated players say they were left in the dark for days over their travel while England flew out within two days.

Cricket’s governing body has rejected suggestions of unequal treatment after the West Indies and South Africa squads were stranded in India for more than a week following their exit from the T20 World Cup, while England flew out in less than two days.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has been accused of giving preferential treatment to one team over the other two amid the travel chaos resulting from airspace closures and rerouted flights because of the war in the Middle East.

However, the ICC said on Wednesday it “rejects any suggestion that these decisions have been driven by anything other than safety, feasibility and welfare”.

“We understand that players, coaches, support staff and their families who have completed their ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 campaigns are anxious to return home,” it said in a statement.

Cricket West Indies said on Tuesday its squad had waited nine days for a charter flight that was “repeatedly delayed”, calling the uncertainty “increasingly distressing”.

West Indies ‌players were leaving India on commercial flights in batches 10 days after their scheduled departure, which led to frustrated players airing their thoughts in social media posts.

The ICC said nine West Indies players and staff members were already travelling to the Caribbean, with the remaining 16 booked on flights departing India within 24 hours.

Indian media reported that a charter flight for the West Indies and South ⁠Africa Twenty20 World Cup teams scheduled to fly to Johannesburg before continuing on to Antigua was cancelled earlier on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, South Africa, who have been stranded in ⁠India since March 4, will begin to fly home on Wednesday, with the entire contingent ⁠departing in the next 36 hours, the ICC said.

England flew home ‌less than two days after being beaten in the semifinals, prompting criticism of the ICC from the South African and West Indian camps.

Darren Sammy, head coach of West Indies, began venting his frustration on social media on the fifth day since his team’s exit from the T20 World Cup.

“I just wanna go home,” he wrote on X, followed by another tweet requesting an update after being left in the dark for five days.

Three days after South Africa were knocked out, in the first semifinal, their players Quinton De Kock and David Miller said the team had heard nothing from the ICC regarding their departure while England, who were eliminated a day later in the second semifinal had already left.

“England are leaving before us somehow?! Strange how different teams have more pull than others,” De Kock wrote in an Instagram story.

Miller, commenting on a post announcing England’s departure, said: “It doesn’t take the ICC long to organise England charter. WI have been waiting for 7 days for a charter and SA coming on 4 days now. And yet we still wait.”

The ICC said the criticism was “incorrect” and that there was no comparison between arrangements for South Africa and the West Indies and those made for England, “which arose from separate circumstances, routing options and different travel conditions”.

“Throughout this period, the ICC’s overriding ⁠priority has been the safety and welfare of everyone affected,” the sport’s global governing body said.

“We will not move people until we are satisfied that the travel ‌solution in place is safe, and that commitment will not change.”