Barcelona will appeal the €300 fine handed down by the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) over alleged irregularities regarding the transfer of Antoine Griezmann from Atletico Madrid, sources have told ESPN FC.

The competition committee of the RFEF ruled on Thursday that Barcelona were guilty of a "minor infringement" of article 126 of the disciplinary code when negotiating the signing of Griezmann in the summer.

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It ruled out giving Barcelona a one-match stadium ban and cleared Griezmann of any wrongdoing. Atletico reported Barcelona and Griezmann to the Spanish FA for negotiating with the France international while he was still under contract.

"This committee is aware that the payment of €300, beyond it's purely symbolic gesture, will not contribute to the club being punished in this case and probably other clubs that may be in this situation in the future, to fit their conduct within the required rules," the statement said.

However, sources have told ESPN FC that Barcelona have denied any wrongdoing. They do not believe there is any proof and suggest paying the fine would be an admission of guilt -- and will therefore appeal the decision.

Atletico, meanwhile, told ESPN FC: "It doesn't merit a comment. The club's legal services will continue to work to defend its interests."

Barcelona announced the signing of Griezmann in July for €120 million but Atletico complained that the Catalan club had not paid enough to trigger the player's buy-out clause.

The clause had dropped from €200m to €120m on July 1, but Atletico claim that Griezmann's May 14 announcement that he was leaving the club is proof a deal was struck between the player and Barcelona earlier.

However, the judge considered Barcelona only started negotiating with Griezmann after the player's announcement.

"It is important to highlight that the contacts between FC Barcelona occurred once the player had manifested his intention to leave Atletico Madrid," the statement added.

Atletico have 10 days to make their appeal.

The U.S. men's national team is making plans to hold its January training camp in Qatar, the host country for the 2022 World Cup, a source confirmed to ESPN.

Yahoo Sports was first to report the news.

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The source also confirmed that no agreement has been finalized, though manager Gregg Berhalter did visit the country following the most recent international window. If the deal does go through, the U.S. is hoping to play a friendly in Qatar before returning stateside for another match.

The trip to Qatar would allow the U.S. to familiarize itself with a host of logistical issues, including training sites, stadiums, hotels and transportation.

The U.S. has long held the annual get-together in Southern California, usually in the Los Angeles area. It has usually featured MLS players just getting back to fitness ahead of their league seasons. But in terms of location, exceptions have been made in the past. In 2014, then-U.S. manager Jurgen Klinsmann opted to hold part of the camp in Sao Paulo ahead of that year's World Cup, which Brazil hosted.

Most recently, Berhalter held his first camp as U.S. manager at the Elite Athlete Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif., just outside of San Diego.

FIFA have denied allegations of foul play with regards to the voting as Lionel Messi was named Best Men's Player at the FIFA The Best awards in Milan on Monday.

Nicaragua captain Juan Barrera has said he did not vote for the Barcelona forward, who beat Virgil van Dijk and Cristiano Ronaldo to win the award, with votes cast by national team manager and captains as well as various media representatives.

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"We have checked the voting documents submitted by the Nicaraguan FA and all documents are signed and confirmed with the official stamp of the Nicaraguan FA," A FIFA spokesperson told ESPN FC.

"Having compared with the vote sheets submitted by the federation and the ones we have published on FIFA.com, we confirm that we have the right votes signed by the player. We are asking the Nicaraguan Football Federations to inquire on this matter."

Barrera, who is recorded as having voted for Messi as his first choice with Sadio Mane as his No. 2 and Ronaldo in third place, said in a social media post he had not taken part.

"I did not vote in The Best 2019 awards," he wrote on Twitter. "Any information about me is false."

Barrera was asked why he voted for Messi by journalists in his homeland, where he again denied casting a vote.

"I did not vote for Messi," he told La Prensa. "Last year, I did vote, but this year I did not."

The report also added that Barrera said while last year he received an email with instructions on how to cast his vote, this time around he received nothing.

Meanwhile, FIFA said votes from Egypt for Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah did not count because signatures on the ballot "were in capital letters and thus seemed not valid (not authentic)," and "voting forms were also not signed by the (federation) general secretary which is mandatory."

The Egypt Football Federation had questioned why ballot papers on behalf of their national team coach and captain were not included in a FIFA document published after Monday's ceremony.

FIFA said their voting office is monitored by independent auditors. They noted Egypt were first contacted for confirmation of the ballots then "received two reminders to submit the properly signed voting forms on Aug. 19."

The Egyptian federation was in turmoil in July and August after their leadership resigned due to the national team's round of 16 exit to South Africa at the African Cup of Nations they hosted.

Later in August, FIFA sent an emergency management team to run the Egypt federation.

Information from Associated Press was used in this report

The Serie A leaders claim top spot in Shaka's latest countdown, while the European champions are on the up and there are five new entries!

Dropping out: PSG, Barcelona, Dortmund, Sevilla, Tottenham

Agree? Disagree? Let us know, and watch Shaka defend his picks on ESPN FC TV, which airs daily on ESPN+.

Leicestershire 155 (Gleeson 6-43) and 191 for 3 dec (Azad 83*, Gleeson 3-57) drew with Lancashire 170

Hassan Azad, with an unbeaten 83, finished as top run scorer in Division Two as the match between Leicestershire and Lancashire ended in a draw at the Fischer County Ground.

Damp areas on the outfield meant play began an hour late, meaning the game had already lost 173 overs to the weather before Leicestershire resumed their second innings on their overnight score of 40 for 1, a lead of 25.

The Foxes immediately lost captain Paul Horton, who had yet to add to his overnight 30 when he was comprehensively cleaned up by a Richard Gleeson delivery which removed both off and middle stumps.

With Azad playing an anchor role, Colin Ackermann came in and went for his shots, hitting eight fours in going to 37 from 47 balls at the interval, but his dismissal for 49, and that of Mark Cosgrove for just two soon afterwards, both edging Gleeson behind the wicket, signalled the end of any likelihood of Leicestershire declaring and offering Lancashire a late run chase.

Azad passed 50 for the eighth time this season, and was closing in on what would have been his fourth hundred and 1,200 runs for the Championship season - he finished with 1,189 - when the rain returned. Gleeson, who picked up six wickets in Leicestershire's first innings, finished with nine wickets in the match and 47 in the season.

Big Picture

It has been ten years since Karachi saw its last ODI. In that time, three World Cups have been staged, a generation has grown up, and the one-day game has been through a revolution. Sure, this is only a tender sapling of a tour, containing only limited-overs fixtures, with 10 Sri Lanka players having refused to travel. But we are at the start of the longest trip an international side has made to Pakistan since 2009, and the PCB hopes that top-flight cricket will really set about putting its roots down in the country this time. Could a home Test series be on the horizon?

It is difficult to put into words how much the resumption of a regular schedule could mean to Pakistan. Whole cities coming alive for matches, packed stadiums gasping at withering spells of fast bowling and spin-bowling wizardry, while tense battles play out in storied venues. Forget Pakistan; cricket needs this. It would also be fitting, of course, if Misbah-ul-Haq, who shepherded Pakistan so masterfully through their nomad years, gets this chance to shape the team's long-ached-for return home.

But perhaps we are getting ahead of ourselves. Sri Lanka have sent a substantially weakened team, owing to 10 players' continued doubts over the security situation. Against a side missing the likes of Kusal Perera, Angelo Mathews and designated captain Dimuth Karunaratne, the hosts start as strong favourites. What's more important than the runs or wickets, though, is that the tour is on. And that it goes well.

Form guide

Pakistan WWWWL (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Sri LankaWWWLW

In the spotlight

The old coach is gone, as are selectors and support staff, but Sarfaraz Ahmed is still around as captain, despite Pakistan's failure to make it to the World Cup semi-finals. But will it be the same old Sarfaraz? Will he still bat in the lower middle order? Will he employ the same tactics? How much will Misbah, in his powerful new avatar, change the way Sarfaraz approaches his job? And after a modest World Cup personally, can Sarfaraz lift himself into good form again?

Sri Lanka's top order is among the most brittle in ODIs at the best of times, and it is the batting that has been most weakened by the withdrawals. Their captain for this series, Lahiru Thirimanne, struggles to make the first-choice XI, for example. Nevertheless, Thirimanne is the most experienced batsman on tour, and if Sri Lanka are to make competitive totals here, he will probably be required to play the sorts of long, measured innings he specialised in at his best.

Team news

It is difficult to predict Sri Lanka's XI, but Nuwan Pradeep may get a game owing to his experience. Lakshan Sandakan, the only specialist spinner in the squad, is also likely to play.

Sri Lanka (possible): 1 Lahiru Thirimanne (capt), 2 Danushka Gunathilaka, 3 Avishka Fernando, 4 Sadeera Samarawickrama (wk), 5 Oshada Fernando, 6 Shehan Jayasuriya, 7 Dasun Shanaka, 8 Isuru Udana, 9 Wanindu Hasaranga, 10 Lakshan Sandakan, 11 Nuwan Pradeep

Pakistan batsman Asif Ali played only two World Cup matches, but may get an opportunity in this game. Left-arm seamer Usman Shinwari, who last played an ODI in March, could also get a game.

Pakistan (possible): 1 Fakhar Zaman, 2 Imam-ul-Haq, 3 Babar Azam, 4 Haris Sohail, 5 Sarfraz Ahmed (capt & wk), 6 Asif Ali, 7 Imad Wasim, 8 Shadab Khan, 9 Wahab Riaz, 10 Mohammad Amir, 11 Usman Shinwari

Pitch and conditions

It has been raining heavily in the lead-up to the match, which means that there is a chance a wet outfield could frustrate play. When the game does start, a potentially undercooked surface could also be conducive to seam bowling.

Stats and trivia

• Pakistan's most recent ODI in Karachi was also against Sri Lanka, in January 2009.

• Pakistan have won their six most recent (completed) matches against Sri Lanka - a streak that goes back to 2017.

• Thirimanne last captained Sri Lanka in ODIs in 2015, in New Zealand. Sri Lanka won one and lost two matches under his leadership.Babar Azam is ranked 3rd on the ODI batting charts, while Imam-ul-Haq is joint-11th. To find the best-ranking Sri Lanka batsman involved in this series, you have to go all the way down to No. 80 - Avishka Fernando

Quotes

"Since I came back into the team this year and my average has been over 40 and strike rate over 90, if you talk about the stats. I am right up there in the Sri Lanka team. It's about performing when I get the chance. It doesn't matter where I bat - if the team needs me to bat higher up the order I can do that, if the team needs me to bat in the middle, that's up to me to get that challenge and perform."
Sri Lanka captain Lahiru Thirimanne on his recent performances

"Whoever is part of the squad of 16 at the moment are all first-team players. We'll try to get the best 11 playing given the circumstances in every game, but any of them could step up when required."
Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed

Even as the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) made history by electing a woman president, a first for state associations, the Committee of Administrators (CoA) has ruled that the TNCA's constitution does not comply with the one the BCCI registered last August. Without a certificate of compliance from the CoA, no state association can send a representative to the BCCI elections, which are scheduled for October 23.

The TNCA is one of only two state associations out of the BCCI's 37 members, along with the Haryana Cricket Association, to not comply with the BCCI constitution.

In May, the CoA had laid out a timeline for the state associations to put the nuts and bolts in place in order to carry out elections as per the new BCCI constitution. This week, the CoA revised the deadline for a second time, to October 4, for state associations to wrap up their elections. This was necessitated after several state associations including the TNCA were reluctant to comply with some of the structural reforms that were approved by the Supreme Court based on the recommendations of the RM Lodha Committee.

However, last Friday, the court ruled that the TNCA should go ahead with its elections and its results would be subject to the final order it would pass before the BCCI elections. Accordingly, the TNCA conducted its elections where Gurunath was elected unanimously along with other office bearers.

Around the same time, the CoA sent out a non-compliance notice. "The TNCA submitted its constitution on Wednesday. But our legal team has pointed out areas it is not compliant in," Vinod Rai, the CoA chairman, told ESPNcricinfo. "Only compliant state associations can nominate representatives to the BCCI general body. And the person they nominate should not be disqualified [as per the eligibility criteria]."

One of the key reforms as recommended by the Lodha Committee, which is part of the BCCI constitution, concerns former international players finding two seats on the Apex Council. Currently, the new TNCA administration has no cricketer, including in the Apex Council.

RS Ramasaamy, the newly elected TNCA secretary, said the necessary amendments to the state association's constitution, as desired by the CoA, were been looked after by the TNCA's legal team. "We submitted the amended constitution with the Registrar of Societies after which we sent it to the BCCI. But the CoA has said some minor amendments need to be carried out," Ramasaamy said. "That has been sent to the TNCA legal team. But to our knowledge we have complied with almost everything, but there may be one or two minor aberrations which the legal team will advise us on."

Ramasaamy said he was confident the TNCA would be able to send an eligible representative to the BCCI elections.

Ten months before Pakistan won the Champions Trophy in 2017, the death of Pakistan's limited-overs cricket had been pronounced, and who cared what they did with the ashes? Pakistan had spent the summer prancing about England, getting pummelled ODI after another by a team that had just a year earlier failed to make the final eight at the 2015 World Cup.

So how, ten months later, did Pakistan beat that same England side in the semi-final of a Champions Trophy that England were all but nailed on to win?

It sure as heck didn't happen because Pakistan got their domestic act together; the very prospect of that happening, even as the PCB have launched a fresh initiative to restructure the circuit, feels faintly surreal. Four games before they beat India in a final that left fans in the country more gobsmacked than delirious, they had succumbed to a predictably crushing defeat against the same opponents, the perennial faults in their ODI game on full display in Birmingham almost to the point of caricature.

It was supposed to be a turning point, especially when a few months later they whitewashed Sri Lanka to stretch their ODI streak to nine, and Mickey Arthur's promises to have brought Pakistan - sometimes kicking and screaming - into the modern era seemed somehow to have worked, even if it appeared to have happened a little too quickly to be trusted.

That was about as good as it got, though. Pakistan are ranked sixth in the ODI rankings, having failed to qualify for the last four of the recently concluded World Cup and replaced the entire backroom staff as a result. They would win just one ODI against a top eight ODI side in all of 2018, and a 3-2 ODI series loss to South Africa at the start of this year was followed by nine consecutive defeats by Australia and England.

ALSO READ: What do Pakistan expect from coach Misbah?

Since the start of 2018 until before that improbable four-match winning streak at the tail-end of the World Cup, Pakistan had won 11 of 35 completed games, seven of those coming against Zimbabwe, Afghanistan and Hong Kong. It was reminiscent of the side that barely sneaked into the final automatic qualification spot for the Champions Trophy, not the one that scorched everyone in their path to win it.

The promises that were made, and the ones fans imagined had been made, in those heady days in the summer of 2017, did not come to pass. As such, the tournament became a yardstick to measure performance again, but with no one, not even the coaching staff, having the foggiest idea how they came away with the title, there was no model to replicate. Hasan Ali came into the event almost unknown and walked away as the player of the tournament and the world's best ODI bowler. Shadab Khan's star continued to rise, and in Fakhar Zaman, Pakistan believed they had the modern opener they were robbed of when Sharjeel Khan was banned.

But an innings like the one Fakhar Zaman played in that final was an outlying freak, not a replicable model, certainly not with the technical deficiencies still obvious in the left-hander's game. Yet you get the impression Fakhar still goes out to bat every match with that innings in mind, which is hardly ideal preparation for any game. His is, after all, a game that relies heavily on confidence, and Sarfaraz Ahmed believed Misbah, the man who replaces Arthur, was the right man to instil it.

"Mickey Arthur and Misbah are two very different kinds of people, obviously," Sarfaraz said ahead of the first ODI against Sri Lanka. "He had his own style of coaching while Misbah has his. Misbah is just in so he'll obviously bring his own philosophy to the role but he's given players the same message. For example, he's told Fakhar Zaman to play his natural game, because that's what he's in the team for."

Hasan Ali has regressed in the last year, too. After 68 wickets at under 21 in his first 33 matches, he has managed just 14 in his last 20, each coming at just under 69 runs per scalp. Sarfaraz's own batting has been under the microscopes, especially with Rizwan breathing down his neck now, while no one is quite sure whether Mohammad Amir, newly retired from Test cricket, will be the spearhead he was at the World Cup, or the struggling journeyman he appeared for the two years prior.

There are bright spots if you squint hard enough, though. Imam-ul-Haq has cemented his name at the top of the order, a position Pakistan found a particularly pesky puzzle for several years. Babar Azam is no longer a batsman with great potential - how many of those have there been in Pakistan - but the first name on the team sheet and one of the best batsmen in the world across formats. Now, he is also Sarfaraz Ahmed's deputy, and Sarfaraz believed he could already rub shoulders with the game's elite.

"Babar Azam can be in that category the [of Smith, Kohli, Root and Williamson] way he is progressing. In truth, he even ranks among them now. If he can keep up his form, he'll begin to be talked among that list by everyone very quickly."

As for Pakistan's own outlook towards the format, Sarfaraz chose to take it one step at a time. "We need to bring consistency to our ODI cricket, and for that, there are a few areas of our game we need to work on. We're going to try to ensure it doesn't ever get to the point where we actually need to be worried about qualifying for the World Cup again."

Nobody could the team, then, of setting their sights too high, but a reminder of what happened when they last tried that is a memory still fresh enough for the players to recoil from. Pakistan haven't become the team they looked like on that heady day at the Oval, but you might want to hold off on the cremation ceremony.

Somerset 203 (Van der Merwe 60, Harmer 5-105) and forfeit drew with Essex 141 (Cook 53, Leach 5-32, van der Merwe 4-41) and 45 for 1 (Cook 30*)

A season we thought might conclude in soggy anti-climax with a title formally decided by a bland announcement over Taunton's public address instead ended with warm handshakes on a sunlit outfield between two teams who had battled it out for the County Championship over the previous five months. As if to ensure that everyone remembered the value of this great title, Essex had to fight for the draw which secured the pennant. It was a glorious and nerve-shredding story, one they will tell often over the next few months in places like Colchester and Ilford. It may get a mention in Bridgwater and Glastonbury as well, although the remembrance will nothing like so as warm.

It had all seemed so simple for Essex. If the showers did not put the game out of its misery, surely their batsmen would, even on a spinners' pitch. Although Nick Browne had been dismissed in the morning session, Alastair Cook and Tom Westley had shepherded their side to 102 for 1 by mid-afternoon. Some people were wondering when the draw could be agreed; other were simply enjoying their last cricket of the summer. Then Cook was caught at short leg by Tom Banton off Jack Leach. A breach, to be sure, but surely nothing much more, we thought. We were wrong.

Over the next 80 minutes or so the rest of the Essex order were swept away by Leach, who finished the innings with 5 for 32, and Roelof van der Merwe, who took 4 for 41. Batsmen came and went like speed-daters with no interest in their partners. Encouraged by the regular fall of wickets, Leach and van der Merwe stuck to tight lines and let the pitch do the rest. It did not fail them. Dan Lawrence was caught in the gully for a second-ball duck; Ravi Bopara was taken at silly point for a single; Westley was caught at slip for a patient 36.

If only two batsmen could have stuck around for an hour there would have been nothing at all to disturb the good folk in Billericay or the Baddows. But no one stuck around. Leach bowled to an 8-1 field and six of those eight were close on the off side. Fielders swarmed around the bat like painted ladies around buddleia. The Essex tail was swept away in a few overs. In all, the visitors lost their last nine wickets for 39 runs in a little less than 19 overs; their last six in a post-tea helter-skelter for 15 runs in 32 balls.

It was wonderful stuff for the Taunton supporters, many of whom glimpsed a miracle. But wait a moment. How could victory be achieved? The answer was simple, obvious and daring. Tom Abell forfeited his side's second innings and left Essex to score 63 in seven minutes plus a minimum of 16 overs in the last hour. Spectators hearing of the drama came to the County Ground wondering if Somerset were to win their first title in the most dramatic fashion possible. They did something similar when Harold Gimblett was batting. They watch cricket at Taunton in the full knowledge that they are passing on a sacred heritage.

At which point in this afternoon's drama, sanity was restored. Calmness re-entered the crease in the shape of Alastair Cook who, if he was as nervous as his captain Ryan ten Doeschate claimed, did not show it. Instead, he made 30 not out in 59 minutes and was one of the very first to know Essex had won the title. It was 5.20pm when Abell offered the draw and Cook accepted with grace. The visitors had given a little thought to winning the game but such things barely mattered a jot when set beside the title. Even the prize money, £583,000, although very useful to any county, paled when set beside the trophy and the pennant.

This is Essex's eighth title since they first won the championship in 1979; no county has won it so frequently in that period. It is also the sixth time Somerset have finished as runners-up this century and the third time in the last four years. Such records are so simple to tap out on a laptop with the County Ground sunk in the darkness of a September evening. And then one considers the joy and sweat, the disappointment and effort, the triumphs and defeats that lie behind them. Then, if you love this game as most of those at Taunton today do, you stop for a while and ponder it all.

Marcus Trescothick fielded as a substitute for the last few overs of this match. He has been a great cricketer and he has now retired. Like Peter Wight, like Sammy Woods, like Peter Roebuck, he will never play in a title-winning Somerset side. All that is left is the respect of his fellow professionals; that was shown when the Essex players formed a guard of honour; all that is left is the unqualified love of Somerset's supporters; all that is left is his own knowledge that he has brought honour illimited to his craft. It will be more than enough.

Perhaps, after all, there are bigger things than trophies. Perhaps the Essex players know that even as they are giving it large on their coach back to Chelmsford. But that will not halt their celebrations for an instant, nor should it. They are most worthy champions. The rest of us are left with memories of a glorious county season. It has offered the pastoral glory of Newclose, the rugged grandeur of Sedbergh and the warmth of so many outgrounds and fine headquarters.

The weather was glorious this afternoon at Taunton and some folk may have thought it the mockery of the gods. After all we had seen those scarlet covers pushed on and off the County Ground far too often over the previous three days. But the sunlight was brighter than it had been throughout the entire match and it was a prelude to a wonderful conclusion to our precious season. Now there is only darkness, many darknesses really; but lighting it all like a lamp is the memory of a summer gone … and the prospect of the new season that will greet us next spring.

As talks continue for a new collective bargaining agreement between the NFL and the players' union, the most dramatic proposal on the table from owners is an expanded regular season to 17 games that could eliminate preseason games in their entirety, sources told ESPN.

The NFL Players Association is not interested in an expanded season, especially without a significant increase in its percentage of the revenue.

In July, NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith told ESPN's Cameron Wolfe that the idea of a then-discussed 18-game schedule would not be in the players' best interest.

The Athletic first reported the owners' push for a 17-game regular season.

NFL owners had imposed the start of the season as a deadline for a new CBA, and even though the 2019 season is underway without a new deal, sources on both sides believe that important progress has been made and a deal is getting closer.

There even are those who believe that the CBA stands a strong chance of getting done this season, sources told ESPN.

For now, both parties are committed to talking and will resume discussions after Smith finishes his annual visit with each of the 32 NFL teams.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, pitted against each other during talks on the commissioner's contract a couple of years ago, are leading the way to push through a new CBA at some time this season, league sources said.

The current CBA between NFL players and owners expires after the 2020 season.