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Khabib escorted from plane after exit-seat dispute

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Former mixed martial arts champion Khabib Nurmagomedov was escorted from a plane after he refused to move from an exit seat.

The Russian, 36, had a disagreement with a flight attendant before take-off on the Frontier Airlines flight which was reportedly flying from Las Vegas to Los Angeles.

In a video of the incident shared widely on social media on Sunday, Khabib is told to either move seats or get off the plane and be rebooked on another flight.

The video, which is just over a minute long, has not been verified by the BBC and it is not clear what happened in the build-up but Khabib has put an explanation on his social media.

When he questions why he is being asked to move, the former undefeated UFC lightweight champion is told: “Because they [the flight attendants] are not comfortable with you sitting in the emergency exit row” and he replies “It is not fair”.

He is then warned again and the attendant says she will call a supervisor if he does not move.

Khabib replies that he “would like to sit here” before he is asked to leave by another member of staff. He then calmly leaves the plane.

Khabib is regarded as one of the best MMA fighters of all time and won all 29 of his UFC fights includin,g beating Conor McGregor in 2018.

In a statement on X, Khabib said: “[The lady who asked me] questions was very rude from the very beginning, even though I speak very decent English and can understand everything and agreed to assist, she still insists on removing me from my seat.

“What was the base for that, racial, national or other one, I’m not sure.

“But after two minutes of conversation, she called security and I was deplaned from this aircraft, [and later] I boarded another airline and left to my destination.

“I did my best to stay calm and respectful as you can see on the video.

“But those crew members could do better next time and just be nice with clients.”

Responding to Khabib’s post on X, Frontier Airlines wrote: “We are aware of the incident and are investigating.”

In a further statement to BBC Sport, the airline said: “We have refunded the customers and will follow up with them directly.”

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Havertz online abuse has terrible consequences – Arteta

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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta says the online abuse of striker Kai Havertz and his wife has “terrible consequences” and needs to be “eradicated from the game”.

Havertz was criticised for his performance in Sunday’s FA Cup defeat by Manchester United, after he missed a glorious chance to win the game in normal time and then had his penalty saved in the shootout as United won 5-3 on penalties following the 1-1 draw.

The German’s wife Sophia shared screenshots of the “shocking” abuse she received on social media amid the game, including threats to the couple’s unborn child.

Arsenal have reported the abuse to the police and are working with a specialist data firm to identify the culprits, but Arteta says more must be done as he spoke before Wednesday’s north London derby against Tottenham.

“It’s incredible, honestly,” he said. “We really have to do something about it, because accepting that and hiding this has terrible consequences.

“It’s something we have to eradicate from the game because it’s so cynical and dependent to a result of an action.

“There is no other industry like this. When we played Ipswich on December 27, we won 1-0 and Kai Havertz scored. The whole stadium after that is singing the ‘Waka, Waka’ (his chant). That was 20 days ago. Where is the perspective?

“We are all responsible. That’s a really serious matter. It affects me. It affects him and everybody that is in the industry.

“We can accept it and say ‘that’s our job’, but there are certain limits and the line has to be drawn. We put a lot of attention on technology and what is next in football.

“What is next in football is that this should be prohibited. It cannot happen. That’s it.”

Meta, who own Instagram, removed the content for violating its policies.

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I will not be the coach of a Red Bull team – Klopp

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Jurgen Klopp says he has made a “clear commitment” that he will not become manager at one of the Red Bull clubs after starting his role as the organisation’s head of global soccer.

The former Liverpool manager was named in the role last year before officially starting at the beginning of 2025.

He has not had a managerial role since leaving Anfield last summer following a highly-successful nine year spell.

Klopp’s new role sees him take more of an oversight role across a number of clubs including RB Leipzig, Red Bull Salzburg and New York Red Bulls.

But when asked at a media conference on Tuesday whether he might be tempted back into day-to-day management if a role at one of the clubs becomes available, Klopp said emphatically said “no”.

“I will not be the coach of a Red Bull team,” he said. “That is a clear commitment. As much as you can give a guarantee, I will not be a coach at all.

“I am probably the only person in this room who will be asked where are you in five years, I don’t have a clue.

“But I will not be a replacement of one of the Red Bull coaches.

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Rising star Fonseca knocks out ninth seed Rublev

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Joao Fonseca had a Grand Slam debut to remember as he knocked out ninth seed Andrey Rublev in the first round of the Australian Open.

The 18-year-old Brazilian thrilled the crowd as he caused the biggest upset of the tournament so far with a 7-6 (7-1) 6-3 7-6 (7-5) victory against Rublev.

Fonseca was playing in his first main-draw match at a major, having come through three rounds of qualifying without dropping a set in Melbourne last week.

The victory extends his winning streak to 14 matches – but who is tennis’ latest rising star?

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