Atlanta United is finalizing a deal to bring back Gerardo “Tata” Martino to be the club’s head coach, multiple sources confirmed to ESPN.

The Argentine would replace Ronny Deila, who was fired following hugely disappointing season, one that saw it record just 28 points in 34 matches, just two points ahead of last place D.C. United in the Eastern Conference.

– Source: Revs set to hire U.S. U20 coach Mitrovic

Atlanta’s poor performance came in spite of having the third-highest payroll in the league at $27.6 million.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution was the first to report the news.

Martino, 62, beat out five other candidates, including former Portland Timbers coach Giovanni Savarese.

Martino was hired in 2016 as the first manager in Atlanta United’s history, culminating in an MLS Cup triumph in 2018. He left following that season to take up the coaching reins of the Mexico men’s national team.

The 62-year-old has been out of work since abruptly leaving his position with Inter Miami last November, following the Herons’ shock playoff exit at the hands of Atlanta.

Among the clubs he has also managed are Argentine side Newell’s Old Boys, Barcelona and the Argentina men’s national team.

The hope is that Martino’s hiring will bring some much needed stability to Atlanta, which has burned through four different managers since Martino’s departure. The Five Stripes have only qualified for the playoffs in three of the last six seasons.

Rory McIlroy said that PGA of America chief executive Derek Sprague has sent a personal apology for the abuse directed at him and his wife during Europe’s Ryder Cup victory in New York.

Europe held off a stirring fightback from the U.S. at Bethpage Black, where the Americans had gone into the final session 12-5 down before mounting a comeback in the singles, only to come up short.

Luke Donald‘s team — and McIlroy in particular — were on the end of abuse from a partisan crowd across the three days, with a beer from the crowd hitting McIlroy’s wife, Erica. The number of insults and jeers, some that occurred as he was in the process of hitting a shot, caused delays and led the PGA of America to add extra security.

“I got a lovely email from Derek Sprague apologizing,” McIlroy told BBC Sport as he prepared for the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.

“Erica worked with Derek at the PGA of America back in the day, so we know Derek and his wife pretty well. He couldn’t have been more gracious or apologetic and he wrote us a lovely letter, which we really appreciated.”

Sprague had said last month that he planned to issue an apology to McIlroy and his wife.

U.S. captain Keegan Bradley didn’t condemn the “passionate” home fans at Bethpage, where McIlroy felt the hostile atmosphere actually spurred Europe on.

“I take it as a compliment that they targeted me, but then at the same time, it was a tough week,” McIlroy said. “That made us better as a team. It galvanized us and it really put our arms around each other.”

In his first public comments since the Ryder Cup loss, Bradley said recently, “There’s no part of me that thinks I’ll ever get over this.”

Masters champion McIlroy is aiming to cap a memorable year as he prepares for the season-ending DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.

“I think back to the start in January of 2025 when I was last here and everything that’s happened since,” said McIlroy, who also won the Players Championship, the Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the Irish Open.

“Honestly, in my wildest dreams, I didn’t know. I mean, I knew a year like this was possible, but it has just been an amazing 10 months.”

Information from PA was used in this report.

Inter Miami forward Luis Suárez will be suspended for the final game in the Round 1 MLS playoff best-of-three series against Nashville SC.

Suárez earned the one-game ban for kicking Nashville’s Andy Nájar in the second half of the match on Nov. 1 at Geodis Park, where Inter Miami lost 2-1. At the time of the incident, the referee did not issue the player a yellow or red card.

“The MLS Disciplinary Committee has suspended Inter Miami CF forward Luis Suárez for one match and fined Suárez an undisclosed amount under Disciplinary Committee Parameter 3 for violent conduct in the 71st minute of Inter Miami’s match against Nashville SC on November 1st. Suárez will serve his one-match suspension on November 8 during Miami’s match against Nashville SC,” the MLS Disciplinary Committee said in a statement.

Major League Soccer rules allow, however, for postgame disciplinary action to be enforced when a match official fails to issue a card for an offense on the field.

Suárez will now serve his second suspension from MLS action in 2025, after initially receiving a three-game ban for spitting on a member of the Seattle Sounders‘ staff following the Leagues Cup final on Aug. 31.

“Inter Miami CF accepts and respects the decision made by the MLS Disciplinary Committee,” the club said in a statement on Wednesday. At the same time, the club wishes to express its concern about the precedent set by re-refereeing a play that had already been judged by the match officials and VAR, and its confidence that the same standard will be applied in the future to all on-field situations, in any match and involving any team.”

Inter Miami will now enter the decisive final game of the playoff series without Suárez, as the team looks to qualify to the next round of the postseason. The Round 1 series is tied 1-1 after Inter Miami won the first game but lost the second.