NEW YORK (UNITED STATES) (ITALPRESS) – Lionel Messi never ceases to amaze (or score): the Argentine superstar netted a hat-trick last night in Inter Miami’s 5-2 win over Nashville, securing the title of top scorer of the regular season with 29 goals in 28 matches.

Messi, 38, finished ahead of Denis Bouanga and Sam Surridge, who both stopped at 24 goals.

“What can I say about Leo?” asked his coach and friend Javier Mascherano. “He was exceptional today, as always. He absolutely deserves to be named MVP, given everything he’s shown.”

Inter Miami finished the regular season in third place in the Eastern Conference with 65 points and will face Nashville again in the first round of the playoffs starting on October 24.

– Foto IPA Agency –

(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

VALLETTA (MALTA) (MNA/ITALPRESS) – Nine out of ten irregular migrants who entered Malta this year have already been deported, Interior Minister Byron Camilleri announced on the national radio station. He said the individuals did not qualify for refugee status and were repatriated to their countries of origin.

Camilleri revealed that over 1,000 migrants were deported this year after committing crimes or overstaying their visas. He described 2025 as the year with the highest return rate, noting that 88% of the 146 irregular arrivals — more than 127 people — were sent back.

“This means Malta has registered the biggest rate of return, not to other European countries, but to the migrants’ home countries,” he said. According to the minister, this policy has contributed to a significant decline in sea arrivals.

He emphasised that protection is granted where necessary, citing recent asylum approvals for Palestinians and LGBTIQ persons facing persecution.

Camilleri rejected claims that Malta’s detention centres breach human rights, pointing to a positive report from the Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture, which praised Malta’s detention facilities, prisons, and police lock-ups.

Referring to a recent tragedy in which one migrant died and eleven were rescued in Malta’s search-and-rescue area, he noted that the survivors later entered Italy.

As part of Malta’s Labour Migration Policy, Camilleri announced that a new course on culture, traditions, and rights for foreign workers will begin in January.

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Source: medNews

NOTTINGHAM (ENGLAND) (ITALPRESS) – Ange Postecoglou has been sacked following the home defeat to Chelsea in a matchday 8 Premier League match. Nottingham Forest announced shortly after the match (a 3-0 defeat to Enzo Maresca’s side) that “following a string of disappointing results and performances, Ange Postecoglou has been relieved of his duties as head coach with immediate effect” and that “the club will not be making any further comment at this time.”

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Source: medNews

MADRID (SPAIN) (ITALPRESS) – The topic is currently the hottest in Spain, but it’s also being discussed in Italy, given that Milan-Como will most likely be played in Perth, Australia, as will Villarreal-Barcelona in Miami, the United States. “My opinion is the same as the one you asked me two months ago,” says the Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso. “We are against the match abroad, we believe it distorts the competition, and all the clubs are unanimous in their opinion that way.”

Players in the matches scheduled for this round of the Spanish La Liga will remain stationary for the first 15 seconds (yesterday, 10 seconds in Oviedo-Espanyol, but the images were blacked out by La Liga, which did not broadcast the images on TV). “The protests are positive because they represent the sentiment of many clubs,” added Xabi Alonso. “We all agree, but it’s not up to us; only those making the decisions can prevent these protests.”

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(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

STOCKHOLM (SWEDEN) (ITALPRESS) – Graham Potter could become the new head coach of Sweden. The 50-year-old English manager, who was dismissed last month by West Ham, is reportedly in talks to replace Jon Dahl Tomasson, who was sacked on Tuesday following the defeat to Kosovo that left Isak and his teammates bottom of Group B in World Cup qualifying, with just one point from four matches.

Potter knows Swedish football well, having coached Östersunds from 2011 to 2018, leading the club from the fourth division to the top flight and winning the national cup in 2017.

Despite their poor start to qualifying, Sweden still has a lifeline — having won their Nations League group, they retain the opportunity to reach the World Cup through the play-offs.

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Source: medNews

VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – Civil society group Occupy Justice has condemned government official Neville Gafà after he was filmed removing tributes to murdered journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia just hours after commemorations marking the eighth anniversary of her assassination.

Hidden camera footage showed Gafà, a staffer in the Office of the Prime Minister, clearing flowers, wreaths and candles from the Great Siege Memorial around 3am on Friday. The items, placed by activists, relatives and foreign embassies, were later found in nearby bins. The memorial was targeted several times overnight. Occupy Justice accused Gafà of misleading followers by posting an earlier video suggesting the tributes had not been replaced. The group questioned whether Prime Minister Robert Abela condones such conduct from a taxpayer-funded employee.

Centrist party Momentum called for Gafà’s immediate dismissal, a transparent investigation, and a public apology from the Prime Minister. Leader Arnold Cassola described the act as “a blatant show of disrespect toward the memory of a murdered journalist.”

Several embassies expressed anger after their tributes were destroyed. The Dutch embassy said it was “appalled,” declaring: “Vandals can destroy our flowers, but not our support for Daphne.” The Irish and German embassies echoed the sentiment.

Gafà, a controversial former aide to ex-premier Joseph Muscat, has faced numerous scandals including migrant pushback operations, a Libyan visa racket, and threats against journalists. Despite past court findings against him, he was reappointed to government in August 2025.

Repubblika president Vicki Ann Cremona said the act “is an outrage to democracy” and urged that both Gafà and his superiors be held accountable.

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Source: medNews

VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – A migrant monitoring group has accused Maltese authorities of failing to respond to distress calls before a boat carrying about 35 people capsized in Malta’s search and rescue (SAR) zone, leaving as many as 20 feared dead. Alarm Phone said it had alerted Maltese authorities on Thursday about the vessel in distress but claimed officials “failed to act” before the boat overturned. “We cannot express our anger at yet another group consciously being left to die,” the group said, accusing Malta of deliberate inaction.

At least one person has been confirmed dead and 11 rescued after the incident, which occurred roughly 50 miles southeast of Lampedusa. A major rescue operation, coordinated by Malta, is ongoing with the participation of Italian coast guard vessels, Frontex aircraft, and a merchant ship.

The operation reportedly began when an Italian aircraft spotted the vessel and dropped a life raft. Four survivors were initially taken aboard a merchant ship and later transferred to an Italian coast guard vessel, which also recovered one body. Italy’s coast guard said patrol boats from both Malta and Italy are continuing to assist, while survivors have indicated that around 30 people were on board when the boat capsized.

Alarm Phone’s allegations echo long-standing criticism of Malta’s handling of migrant emergencies in the Central Mediterranean.

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(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

ROME (ITALPRESS) – No return to Sevilla. Yassine Bono, the 34-year-old Moroccan goalkeeper and standout performer at the 2022 World Cup, has renewed his contract with Simone Inzaghi’s Al Hilal until 2028. This puts an end to speculation about a comeback in Andalusia, where Bono played from 2019 to 2023 before being sold to the Saudi club for around €20 million following the UEFA Super Cup against Manchester City.

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(ITALPRESS)

Source: medNews

MANCHESTER (ENGLAND) (ITALPRESS) – “Planchart says I should think about a new project? He’s right — but I’ll start thinking about it in 2035.” Pep Guardiola responded with humor to comments made by his former assistant, who suggested the Spaniard should consider leaving Manchester City.

“I believe these things happen naturally — from the club, from the coach, or from the players. It will happen in a natural way, especially in a club like this where I have such a close relationship with everyone, from the president to the last staff member. We’re incredibly honest with each other, and when the time comes to take that step, we’ll know. For now, I’m here, and we’ll see what the future holds,” he said.

Now in his ninth season as City manager, Guardiola insists he still feels at home. “I feel good here. There have been many changes in recent years, but we still have the energy and the desire to keep winning. At Barcelona and Bayern, I felt that if I ever became a problem, I would step aside — I don’t want to create problems. But here, I feel we still have the hunger and the energy to try to make every season better than the last.”

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Source: medNews

MADRID (SPAIN) (ITALPRESS) – The AFE, the Spanish players’ association, wants to make its voice heard. Relations with La Liga are increasingly tense: first the unfulfilled promise to postpone Real Madrid’s league debut given their Club World Cup campaign, then the failure to respect the promised 72-hour rest period between matches, and finally the decision to play Villarreal-Barcelona in Miami without a proper discussion with the association.

For this reason, Spanish media have revealed, the captains of La Liga’s 20 teams are considering a form of protest for the weekend: not playing the first 30 seconds of league matches. A symbolic but forceful gesture, which would not go unnoticed and which would also represent a response to the unfulfilled request for a meeting with the top management of La Liga and of Villarreal and Barcelona to clarify the Miami plan.

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(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews