Mexican league matches postponed after cartel leader killed

update24 news February 23, 2026

 

Mexican league matches postponed after cartel leader killed


MEXICO CITY -- Four high


-level soccer matches were postponed Sunday after the Mexican army killed the leader of a powerful drug cartel in a town close to the World Cup host city of Guadalajara.

Two top-tier games -- Queretaro vs. Juarez FC in the men's tournament and Chivas vs. America in the women's league -- were postponed, and two in the second division were called off.

Mexico's national team has a friendly against Iceland scheduled for Wednesday at the Corregidora stadium in Queretaro. The Mexican soccer federation hasn't made any public moves to postpone it.

Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, nicknamed El Mencho, who led the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación, was wounded in Tapalpa, Jalisco, about a two-hour drive southwest of Guadalajara, and he died while being flown to Mexico City.

Following his death, cartel members burned cars and blocked roads in nearly a dozen Mexican states.

Jalisco's capital, Guadalajara, is scheduled to host four games in the World Cup in June, including two involving South Korea. Co-host Mexico, Spain, Uruguay and Colombia will also play there.

The CJNG cartel is considered the most powerful in Mexico, with an estimated 19,000 members and operations spanning 21 of the 32 states. It has been designated a foreign terrorist organization by the Trump administration.

The Mexican Open, an ATP tennis tournament, will begin Monday at the GNP Arena in Acapulco, Guerrero. Organizers issued a statement Sunday saying that "the tournament's operation continues as normal."

Jamie Redknapp warns Spurs of relegation after Arsenal thrashing

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Igor Tudor reacts to Tottenham's 4-1 defeat to Arsenal in the North London derby with only four points separating them from the relegation zone. (2:11)

Feb 23, 2026, 02:37 AM

Jamie Redknapp has warned former club Tottenham to improve quickly if they want to guarantee more north London derbies in the Premier League next season.

Spurs started life under new head coach Igor Tudor with a 4-1 defeat at home to their local rivals Arsenal, who reasserted a five-point lead over Manchester City at the top of the table.

The picture is much gloomier for Tottenham, who sit just four points above the bottom three and last tasted victory in the league on Dec. 28.

And Redknapp believes their plight is in serious danger of turning into a relegation battle.

"They were so much better than Tottenham, it's like two different leagues ... if Tottenham aren't careful they might be in a different league next season," he told Sky Sports after the Gunners eased to victory on the back of two goals apiece for Eberechi Eze and Viktor Gyökeres.

"They can't keep performing like this. They've not had a win in 2026. But Arsenal were fantastic, it was a brilliant performance by them, they were just too good."

It was a long-awaited return to scoring form for Eze, who hit a hat trick in the reverse fixture in November and has drawn a blank ever since.

His good memories from that match played a part in his selection here and former Arsenal winger Theo Walcott was glad to see the England international playing with a sense of enjoyment again.

"This is what we want to see more of from Eze, he's smiling and that's when he plays at his best," he said.

"You can see how much it meant. I'm pleased for him, he's such a smooth player to watch. The link-up with him and Gyokeres was really good, almost telepathic at times.

"Things haven't always gone to plan but it's good to see the smile back on that face. He'll know why he wasn't playing but he's just shown now, 'You can trust me, you can believe in me in these big arenas.'

"He's repaid the manager's faith today."

Walcott also feels the goalscoring duo have a crucial role to play in the title run-in, due to their lack of scars from previous unsuccessful attempts at the club.

"There's a different feeling about Arsenal this year, they have players who haven't experienced what the previous squads experienced," he said.

"Gyökeres and Eze haven't been in this situation before, it's their first day at the office in some sense."

Wolves condemn 'abhorrent,' 'unlawful' abuse of Tolu Arokodare

Feb 23, 2026, 02:20 AM

Wolves have reported "abhorrent and unlawful" racist abuse against striker Tolu Arokodare, who has become the latest Premier League player to be subjected to discriminatory social media attacks.

Arokodare missed a penalty in Sunday's 1-0 defeat at Crystal Palace and subsequently received racist abuse from several accounts, according to a club statement.

Sunderland later revealed that Romaine Mundle was the victim of similar attacks after his substitute appearance in the 3-1 loss to Fulham.

The news follows similar treatment doled out to Chelsea defender Wesley Fofana and Burnley's Hannibal Mejbri, who were targeted online after their teams drew 1-1 on Saturday.

"Wolves are disgusted by numerous instances of racist abuse, from multiple perpetrators, directed at Tolu Arokodare on social media following today's fixture against Crystal Palace," the Midlands club said.

"There is no place for racism -- in football, online, or anywhere in society. We condemn this abhorrent and unlawful behaviour in the strongest possible terms. Tolu has our full and unwavering support.

"No player should be subjected to such hatred simply for doing their job," the team said. "We stand firmly alongside him, and alongside all footballers who are forced to endure this abuse from anonymous accounts acting with apparent impunity.

"The club has reported the posts to the relevant platforms and will work with the Premier League and the authorities to help identify those responsible and ensure appropriate action is taken. We will continue to take a zero-tolerance approach to all forms of discrimination."

Arokodare said in an Instagram story: "It's still unbelievable to me that we're playing in a time where people have so much freedom to communicate such racism without any consequences.

"These individuals should have no place in our game and collectively we have to take action to punish everyone who taints the sport like this, no matter who they are."

Sunderland said: "The abhorrent behaviour displayed by multiple individuals is unacceptable and will not be tolerated by the club under any circumstances.

"The club is actively working with the relevant authorities and online platforms to identify those responsible, and we will take the strongest possible action available to us.

"These individuals do not represent Sunderland AFC, our values, or our community -- and they are not welcome on Wearside," the team said.

Europe's governing body, UEFA, last week began an investigation into claims by Real Madrid forward Vinícius Júnior that he was racially abused on the pitch by Benfica's Gianluca Prestianni during a Champions League game in Lisbon. The Argentinian has denied the allegations.

Fofana, who shared images of messages directed to his Instagram account, had earlier offered a pessimistic take on the process.

"2026, it's still the same thing, nothing changes. These people are never punished," he posted.

"You create big campaigns against racism, but nobody actually does anything."

Mejbri had earlier also shared abusive messages he had received and wrote on his Instagram story: "It's 2026 and there are still people like that. Educate yourself and your kids, please."

Chelsea said: "We stand unequivocally with Wes. He has our full support, as do all our players who are too often forced to endure this hatred simply for doing their job.

"We will work with the relevant authorities and platforms in identifying the perpetrators and take the strongest possible action."

Burnley added: "There is no place for this in our society and we condemn it unreservedly."

Anti-discrimination charity Kick It Out said in a statement Sunday: "Players are standing up to discrimination, and we've had record reports to Kick It Out from across football this season, but we recognise the frustration in how it continues to fester online.

"Words matter, but actions are more important. Football is working together to tackle this issue alongside the UK Football Policing Unit and Ofcom, but social media companies must do more to offer protections to players and help improve accountability when incidents occur."

Information from PA was used in this report.

Arsenal's derby win a major step in title race with Man City

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Craig Burley and Steve Nicol react to another stunning performance in a North London derby from Arsenal's Eberechi Eze. (1:56)

Every Premier League title winner secures a defining victory on the way to becoming champions; Arsenal might just have claimed theirs in Sunday's 4-1 North London derby win at Tottenham Hotspur.

Forget the fact that Mikel Arteta's side faced opposition who are winless in domestic football in 2026 and now battling to avoid relegation. The victory was all about Arsenal answering questions, posed internally and externally, about their ability to hold their nerve in the title race.

In the most testing of circumstances, away to their bitter rivals in their new coach's first game in charge, and less than 24 hours after Manchester City had won again to move within two points of the top spot, Arsenal stood up and performed, and won, like champions. It can be easy to mock the desperation of Arsenal and their supporters to win the Premier League for the first time since 2004 -- and rival fans are certainly mocking the Gunners and their title nerves -- but just when the pressure was becoming intense and the margin for error diminishing, Arsenal delivered a statement victory.

- Arsenal answer title pressure with resounding derby win
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- Hair we go again: No end in sight for Man Utd fan's viral challenge

Wednesday's 2-2 draw at Wolverhampton Wanderers, when they surrendered a 2-0 lead against the Premier League's bottom team, could have become the defining result of Arsenal's season. The result placed Arteta and his players at a fork in the road; they simply had to respond in a positive manner after that setback because the two points dropped at Molineux completely changed the dynamic of the title race.

With that draw, City could deny Arsenal the title by winning all of their remaining games, including a potential decider against the Gunners scheduled for the Etihad on April 18, so any subsequent slip by Arteta's team would be a further loss of crucial momentum. And the failure to win at Wolves led to some of Arsenal's most successful former players questioning their resolve, with two-time title winner Paul Merson describing them as "bottle jobs" and suggesting that the players were "melting."

Whether it is because Arsenal have finished as runners-up in each of the past three seasons or the fact that City -- who have won six of the past eight Premier League titles -- is the team chasing them, there seems to be little faith outside the Gunners' dressing room in the team's ability to win the race.

Such is the state of anxiety around the team and nervous tension that grips the Emirates whenever Arsenal play at home that midfielder Declan Rice felt moved to call for unity after the draw at Wolves.

"At this stage of the season, we need the supporters with us more than ever," Rice told Sky Sports. "We've come this far together. Now is not the time to be turning against each other.

"Keep believing in us, keep pushing us and hopefully we can bring some special things with everyone's help. So let's keep going."

Yet even though Rice was trying to project an air of calm and confidence from within the squad, his words only added to the sense that Arteta's players are grasping for somebody to tell them that everything is going to be alright.

But words count for little when they come after bad results. There is only one way to banish the doubts in a title race: just go out and win. City did just that by beating Liverpool at Anfield earlier this month, fighting back from 1-0 down to win 2-1. Midfielder Bernardo Silva admitted after that game that City would have been out of the title race had they failed to secure all three points, but the victory propelled Pep Guardiola's side back into contention and exacerbated the nervousness around Arsenal.

City had won when they had to, so when were Arsenal going to do the same? It was a legitimate question, because when the stakes have been at their highest this season, Arsenal have failed to win. They drew at home to City in September, lost to Liverpool at Anfield and then drew 0-0 at home to Arne Slot's team, drew 1-1 at Chelsea in November and then lost at home to Manchester United in January.

Arteta and his players would argue that their 4-1 win at home to Aston Villa in December was a win when it mattered, but that was Arsenal's fourth successive league win, so they entered that game in form and with belief running through the club.

Spurs was different. Even though Arsenal went into the game as league leaders, they had won just two of their previous seven league games, dropping 11 points from a possible 21 during that run, and City had moved to within touching distance.

The pressure was on. Fan emotions were progressing from anxiety to anger, club legends were beginning to question the team's credentials and opposing fans were taunting the Gunners with chants of "Second again, olé, olé."

Every screw was being tightened and the noise was becoming intense, but Arsenal turned the volume down and produced a result that will be seen as the moment that their title challenge slipped into fifth gear ... if they go on to win it. But at least we now know that Arsenal can win when they really have to.


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