Railways “associated with the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics” suffered from suspected “sabotage” on Friday, the U.S. Department of State Consular Affairs announced Saturday.  

The Rome-Naples, Rome-Florence, and Rome-Milan high-speed lines reportedly suffered damage earlier on Saturday, the Bureau said, citing confirmation from the Italian government.

“On February 13, Italian authorities announced enhanced security measures to prevent disruptions to railway networks during the Winter Olympics. These efforts include increased patrols along the tracks and rigorous technical monitoring of railway services,” the Bureau’s statement posted on social media read.

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“Avoid areas of disruption and exercise caution when traveling by train. Utilize good situational awareness and attempt to leave any affected areas immediately,” the statement continued.

Authorities were investigating burnt cables, according to Reuters.

Officials urged anyone traveling on the lines to be extra cautious and allow additional travel time.

Deputy Prime Minister and Transport Minister Matteo Salvini condemned the acts.

“These are hateful criminal acts aimed at workers and at Italy,” he said, via Reuters. “I hope that no one plays down or tries to justify these crimes which put lives at risk.”

General view as gold medalist Xandra Velzeboer of Team Netherlands, silver medalist Arianna Fontana of Team Italy and bronze medalist Courtney Sarault of Team Canada participate in the national anthem during the medal ceremony for the Short Track Speed Skating Women’s 500m on day six of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at Milano Ice Skating Arena on Feb. 12, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Joosep Martinson/Getty Images)

AMERICAN SPEED SKATER JORDAN STOLZ WINS SECOND GOLD OF MILAN CORTINA GAMES AFTER SHATTERING OLYMPIC RECORD

National police said that these were “definitely criminal acts.”

Similar incidents occurred earlier in the Games, with BBC reporting that severed cables and an explosive device were found between Bologna and Venice.

“These actions of unprecedented seriousness do not in any way tarnish Italy’s image in the world, an image that the Games will make even more compelling and positive,” Salvini said at the time of the first incident.

A general view inside the Arena during the Figure Skating Team Event Men Single Skating – Short Program of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics at Milano Ice Skating Arena in Milan.  (Fabrizio Carabelli/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

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The Games conclude on Feb. 22, a week from Sunday.

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As cricket fever peaks ahead of high-octane Pakistan‑India T20 World Cup 2026 clash, Men in Blue skipper Suryakumar Yadav has said that he is ready to face mystery off-spinner Usman Tariq.

Suryakumar made the remarks while addressing a press conference ahead of the Pakistan-India clash.

Responding to a question regarding Tariq, who has captured headlines for his unorthodox bowling action, he said: “Even in an exam, if a question comes out of the syllabus, you have to attempt it,” Suryakumar said.

“You can’t leave it. He’s a different character, but we won’t surrender to him. We’ve practised, and the whole team is very excited.”

Tariq, reportedly inspired by former India captain MS Dhoni, has turned heads with his unique bowling style, leaving many batters struggling to read him.

The tall off-spinner has impressed in the ongoing tournament, taking five wickets in two matches. Overall, he has claimed 11 wickets in four T20Is, maintaining an outstanding average of 7.90 and an economy rate of 5.93.

Tariq’s action has drawn scrutiny in the past. During Australia’s recent T20I tour of Pakistan, Australian batter Cameron Green was seen making a gesture widely interpreted as questioning Tariq’s action.

However, this is not the first time his bowling has been examined. Tariq was previously reported during PSL 9 and PSL 10, but his action was officially cleared on both occasions.

Addressing the scrutiny last year, Tariq explained that the natural bend in his elbows often causes confusion.

“There are two corners on my elbow that make it hard for me to straighten,” he said. “I underwent two tests in labs in Pakistan, and my action was cleared within a week. I wasn’t told to change anything. I was confident because I knew I wasn’t throwing.”

Historically, Pakistan and India have faced each other 16 times in T20 Internationals, with India winning 13 and Pakistan three.

In T20 World Cup history, the two sides have clashed eight times, with India leading 6-1 and one match ending in no result, underscoring the intensity and unpredictability of this rivalry.

MILAN — On Wednesday, France’s Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron won the Olympic gold medal in ice dance, narrowly edging out heavy favorites Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the United States — and the turmoil over the outcome remains.

Both teams recorded their season-best score in the free dance, but ultimately Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron edged out Chock and Bates by a margin of 1.43 points after both nights of competition. Chock and Bates, the three-time reigning world champions, were clearly disappointed after the scores were announced and were emotional throughout the podium ceremony and during their media obligations later in the evening. Bates called their program their “gold medal performance” and both said they were proud of what they had done on the ice.

While Chock and Bates have remained gracious when asked about the judging of the competition, the results have sparked backlash — and conversations about inconsistencies and potential unfairness.

Here’s everything to know about the judging discrepancies and other controversies around the French team.

Why do people believe the outcome was unfair?

After Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron earned the highest scores in the rhythm dance segment on Monday, despite some obvious synchronization issues on their twizzles and a clean skate from Chock and Bates, there was already debate about potential bias.

However, that went into hyperdrive after the free dance as Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron again had visible errors with their twizzles. Chock and Bates, on the other hand, had no such problems, and again had a near-flawless execution of their twizzles and all elements.

While several of the judges scores raised questions of bias and even nationalism, it was the French judge that really garnered notice. The judge, Jezabel Dabouis, scored Chock and Bates’ free dance a 129.74 — the lowest score from all nine of the judges on the panel and more than five points lower than the average. Dabouis gave Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron a 137.45, nearly three points higher than the average score from the panel.

The same judge raised eyebrows when judging both duos at the Grand Prix Finals in December, and gave the Americans only a slight edge despite multiple errors and a fall from Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron.

While Dabouis’ scoring was perhaps the most blatant and consequential, the Italian judge also drew ire for giving the top Italian duo Marco Fabbri and Charlene Guignard a questionable score despite an error. The Italian judge was the only one of the nine judges to place them in the top three.

Who has spoken out about it?

Chock and Bates have been measured in their reaction, but both have said multiple times they felt that they had skated at their highest level and did everything they could.

“I feel like life is … sometimes you can feel like you do everything right and it doesn’t go your way, and that’s life and that’s sport,” Bates said on NBC after the competition. “And it’s a subjective sport. It’s a judged sport. But I think one fact that is indisputable is that we delivered our best, we skated our best, we did season’s best almost every single time. And the rest is not up to us.”

In an interview with CBS on Thursday, Chock added she believed judges should be “vetted.”

“There’s a lot on the line for the skaters when they’re out there giving it their all, and we deserve to have the judges also giving us their all and for it to be a fair and even playing field,” she said.

In another interview, she added such confusion about results “does a disservice to our sport.”

Others have been even more outspoken about their feelings. Even Fabbri, who finished just off of the podium with Guignard, made his feelings clear after the event.

“I usually prefer Laurence and Guillaume,” Fabbri told reporters. “But tonight, Chock and Bates deserved [the gold medal].”

Guignard said she agreed. Fellow American ice dancer Emilea Zingas, who finished in fifth with her partner Vadym Kolesnik, expressed a similar sentiment when speaking to the media.

“I think they skated fabulously today,” she said. “It’s disappointing to me that they didn’t get the gold, but they’re my favorites. If it was my gold to give, I’d give it to them.”

A fan petition has since been created on Change.org urging the International Skating Union to investigate. At the time of this writing it has over 15,000 signatures.

Simply BEAUTIFUL. This is what 15 years of skating together looks like. 😍 pic.twitter.com/UQhpVEBB90

— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) February 11, 2026

Has the ISU responded?

The ISU issued a statement on Friday defending the scoring.

“It is normal for there to be a range of scores given by different judges in any panel and a number of mechanisms are used to mitigate these variations,” the ISU said.

The organization added it has “full confidence in the scores given and remains completely committed to fairness.”

Who are Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron?

The French duo at the center of it all are no strangers to controversy.

Fournier Beaudry had previously represented Canada with Nikolaj Sorensen, who is also her romantic partner, before he was suspended from the sport for six years following sexual assault allegations. She has publicly issued her support of him. The suspension was overturned in June on jurisdictional grounds, but the case remains pending.

Cizeron won Olympic gold in 2022 with his partner Gabriella Papadakis. She has since retired, as he did initially, and released a book this year calling him “controlling” and “demanding.” Cizeron has said Papadakis’ book and her allegations were a “smear campaign” and has denied the claims.

Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron announced they were teaming up last year — to much scrutiny — and are in their first season together. Fournier Beaudry received her French citizenship in November. The duo won two Grand Prix titles and the European Championships before coming to the Olympics — an unusual run of success for such a new pairing.

They train at the Ice Academy of Montreal, alongside Chock and Bates. Both teams work with the same coaches: Marie-France Dubreuil, Patrice Lauzon and Romain Haguenauer. Chock said they were “blindsided” by Cizeron’s return to the sport and the training facility, as well as the new partnership.

“They told us I think the day before they came to officially start training, and it was a lot to digest at first,” Bates told NBC ahead of the Olympics.

Olympic gold for Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/fBHi3cjErQ

— Embassy of France in the U.S. (@franceintheus) February 12, 2026

Have there been any other issues with judging in ice dance?

Yes. Piper Gilles and Paul Porrier, the two-time reigning world runners-up who earned the bronze medal Wednesday, have openly questioned scoring inconsistencies throughout the season.

Gilles criticized the technical panel at the Grand Prix event in Finland in November, and she later posted to social media about her frustration with the judging at the Grand Prix Final the following month. She wrote that many in the sport were being “diminished and manipulated by people with agendas,” and tagged the International Skating Union.

Even Cizeron voiced his displeasure at the same Grand Prix event in Finland.

“Of course I’m angry,” Cizeron said in a news conference. “I see some strange games being played that are destroying ice dance. I don’t think I’ve ever been to a competition like this in my career, from a judging standpoint.”

There have of course been other famous instances in figure skating overall. Perhaps the most known case also featured a French judge.

During the 2002 Olympics, Russian pair skaters Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze won the gold over Canada’s Jamie Sale and David Pelletier. However, allegations of vote-swapping and selling against Marie-Reine Le Gougne, the French judge, quickly emerged and resulted in an investigation by the ISU. She was found guilty and suspended. Sale and Pelletier were ultimately elevated to the gold.