promotion

York Knights and Toulouse Olympique will play in an expanded 14-team Super League next season after being selected to join rugby league’s top flight by an independent panel.

Bradford Bulls were promoted to Super League on Thursday having taken the place of financially troubled Salford Red Devils thanks to jumping from 16th to 10th in this year’s grading system, meaning three Championship teams will move up to the top flight from 2026.

Earlier this year, Super League’s 12 current clubs voted to expand the competition to 14 teams from next season – the first time the league will have operated with that number since 2014.

York will play in Super League for the first time while Toulouse will return to the top tier for the first time since their one-season stint in 2022.

Nine applications were submitted and considered by a panel which was chaired by Lord Jonathan Caine as well as two non-executive Rugby Football League (RFL) directors Abi Ekoku and Dermot Power, RFL chief executive Tony Sutton, interim head of legal Graeme Sarjeant, RL Commercial managing director Rhodri Jones and Super League (Europe) board member Peter Hutton.

The panel judged applications against each club’s financial performance in 2025, as well as their financial performance and sustainability forecasts for 2026 to 2028 and their ability to “field a competitive team in 2026 and beyond”.

JAKE PAUL’s shock showdown with the controversial Gervonta Davis is seemingly in limbo.

The pair, 28 and 30 respectively, are set to lock horns in a seemingly open weight showdown on November 14.

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The fight, which has been maligned due to the immense height and weight differences between the pair, was slated to take place at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.

But it’s seemingly now in need of a new venue after Most Valuable Promotions, which was founded by Paul and his business partner Nikisa Bidarian, withdrew event permits and rule waivers required to stage the bout in the state.

Chairman of the Georgia Athletic and Entertainment Commission Rick Thompson revealed the news.

He told USA Today: “I believe it’s in the public’s interest to know that because they’ve been promoting something they should not have been.”

Despite MVP’s withdrawal of the necessary event permits, tickets for the fight are still available and it’s still listed on State Farm’s official website.

But Robert A. Sinners, the Communications Director for the Office of Secretary of State, insisted: “[The fight] will not be happening here.”

Neither Paul, nor Bidarian have commented on the major issue.

Bidarian, however, has teased an imminent announcement regarding the fight.

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He wrote on X early on Monday morning: “Major Jake Paul vs Tank Davis event announcement this Wednesday.”

Former Disney star Paul was last in action in June against ex-WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr, over whom he laboured to a decision victory.

And ‘The Problem Child’ is champing at the bit to share the ring with Davis.

He said: “Gervonta is an angry little elf who has been disrespecting my name for too long.

“His nickname might be ‘Tank’, but I’m an FPV drone and I’m about to disable his a**.

“Yes, he is one of the top pound-for-pound boxers in the world, but my motto is anyone, anytime, anyplace, against all odds.

“And I like my odds. First, I am going to kill David, then I will go on to slaughter Goliath.”

NEW YORK — New York City’s former interim police commissioner is suing Mayor Eric Adams and his top deputies, accusing them of operating the NYPD as a “criminal enterprise.”

In a federal racketeering lawsuit filed Wednesday, the ex-commissioner, Thomas Donlon, alleges Adams and his inner circle showered unqualified loyalists with promotions, buried allegations of misconduct and gratuitously punished whistleblowers.

It is the latest in a series of recent lawsuits by former NYPD leaders describing a department ruled by graft and cronyism, with swift repercussions for those who questioned the mayor’s allies.

In a statement, City Hall spokesperson Kayla Mamelak Altus called the allegations “baseless,” blasting Donlon as a “disgruntled former employee who — when given the opportunity to lead the greatest police department in the world — proved himself to be ineffective.”

Donlon, a longtime FBI official, was appointed last fall by Adams to stabilize a department shaken by federal investigations and high-profile resignations.

He stepped down less than a month into the job, after federal authorities searched his home for decades-old documents that he said were unrelated to his work at the department.

During his brief tenure, Donlon said he uncovered “systemic corruption and criminal conduct” enabled by Adams and carried out by his hand-picked confidants who operated outside the department’s standard chain of command.

Their alleged corruption triggered a “massive, unlawful transfer of public wealth,” the suit alleges, through unearned salary increases, overtime payments, pension enhancement and other benefits.

In one case, Donlon said he caught the department’s former top spokesperson, Tarik Sheppard, improperly using his rubber signature to give himself a raise and promotion. When Donlon confronted him, Sheppard allegedly threatened to kill him.

Later, when Donlon’s wife was involved in a minor car accident, Sheppard leaked personal family details to the press, according to the lawsuit.

Sheppard, who left the department in May, did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

The lawsuit also accuses police leaders of blocking internal investigations requested by Donlon and refusing to cooperate with federal authorities. And it outlines several instances in which officers with little experience — but close connections to Adams’ allies — received promotions, sometimes in exchange for favors.

The lawsuit names Adams and eight current and former high-ranking NYPD officials, including Chief of Department John Chell and Deputy Mayor Kaz Daughtry.

It calls for a federal takeover of the NYPD and unspecified damages for Donlon, whose professional reputation was “deliberately destroyed,” according to the suit.

Before joining the NYPD, Donlon spent decades working on terrorism cases for the FBI, including the investigation into the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. He also led New York state’s Office of Homeland Security before going into the private sector security industry.

He was replaced as commissioner by Jessica Tisch, who has pledged to restore trust within the department. But as Adams seeks reelection on a platform touting decreases in crime, he now faces renewed scrutiny over his management of the police force.

Last week, four other former high-ranking New York City police officials filed separate lawsuits against Adams and his top deputies, alleging a culture of rampant corruption and bribes that preceded Donlon’s appointment.

In response to that suit, a spokesperson for Adams said the administration “holds all city employees — including leadership at the NYPD — to the highest standards.”

Offenhartz writes for the Associated Press.

Ofcom has found that Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks breached its rules by promoting a financial technology app in an episode of the soap

Hollyoaks has fallen foul of two Ofcom regulations following its promotion of a financial technology application within the programme, the watchdog has determined. An instalment of the Channel 4 drama came under scrutiny after ClearScore, the show’s sponsor, received both spoken and visual mentions during the broadcast.

The broadcasting authority concluded that the product integration violated two separate guidelines – firstly Rule 9.10 concerning excessive prominence, which stipulates that “references to placed products, services and trade marks must not be unduly prominent”.

The second infringement involved Rule 9.9 regarding promotional content, which declares that “references to placed products, services and trade marks must not be promotional”.

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The controversial product placement featured in the February 18 episode, where Kieron Richardson’s character Ste Hay discussed the application with his son Lucas Hay, portrayed by Oscar Curtis, whilst considering purchasing a laptop.

Viewers witnessed Ste retrieving his mobile device, displaying the ClearScore application prominently on screen whilst demonstrating its various features and capabilities before telling Lucas: “See this? They’ve shown me some options – based on my financial situation and it looks like I can get you that laptop for your studies.”

He continued: “I really want you to make a go of this, Lucas – (gesturing to the ClearScore app on his phone) and these guys are going to help me make it happen.”

The report revealed that the broadcaster acknowledged the references were made due to a product placement agreement, separate from an arrangement with the company sponsoring the soap.

Channel 4 informed the regulator that the references were editorially justified and clarified that “part of the sponsorship and product placement agreements, potential integrations into existing storylines were proposed to ClearScore by the programme editorial team, in consultation with the programme compliance team.”

ClearScore had no editorial input into the storyline of the programme”. Channel 4 further explained that Ste’s character was central to the plot at the time, as he was attempting to rebuild his family after the death of a partner and spending a year in a coma.

The broadcaster added: “part of this storyline (was) his return to work to support his family, which (included) rebuilding his relationship with son Lucas and providing for him”.

The investigation concluded that the references exceeded its editorial justifications for the storyline and became more of a “demonstration” of how to use the app rather than a passing remark. Ofcom also determined that the references were promotional as they described and demonstrated how to use the app, thereby promoting the brand.

A Channel 4 representative has acknowledged the regulator’s verdict, stating: “We acknowledge Ofcom’s decision and will review its findings carefully. Our compliance responsibilities are of paramount importance to us and we will continue to engage with Ofcom and our partners to ensure our content remains compliant”.

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