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Mateta - who started Palace's Premier League opener at Everton on Saturday - signed for the club in 2021 from Mainz 05, initially on an 18-month loan.

The striker signed a four-and-half year contract when joining permanently in January 2022, in a deal that also included the option of a 12-month extension.

Palace activated that option in 2024, meaning Mateta's current deal is due to expire at the end of the season.

But the 29-year-old is claiming the final year of his contract - the optional extra year - should be void and it is understood Mateta's case was heard by an independent tribunal under the Premier League's rules.

While there has been no official confirmation of the outcome, it understood Mateta's contract remained binding.

He has since taken his argument to world football governing body Fifa, who ruled earlier this week that overruling the contract is not within its jurisdiction.

BBC Sport has approached Mateta's representatives and Fifa for comment.

If Mateta had successfully argued his contract is void it would possibly set the wheels in motion towards the forward becoming a free agent before the expiry of his Palace deal next year.

Mateta has become a key figure for Palace since his arrival at Selhurst Park - scoring 67 goals for the club.

He playing a major role in the club's historic FA Cup and Uefa Conference League triumphs under former manager Oliver Glasner.

But Mateta pushed to leave Palace in January this year and was close to joining AC Milan.

However, the deal did not go through because of an issue with Mateta's knee.

It was not the best day opening day for Crystal Palace.

Ismaila Sarr was not included in the matchday squad with new manager Pierre Sage revealing he has been struggling with an injury.

Sources have told BBC Sport that Sarr has not trained for the last two days, complaining of a groin issue, amid interest from Turkish side Galatasaray.

Palace do not want to sell their star forward, who scored 21 goals in all competitions last season as the Eagles won the Community Shield and the Conference League.

One source has said that the interest from Galatasaray is concrete but that only a bid well above market value would even be considered by the Eagles.

Meanwhile, defender Chadi Riad was stretchered off with a serious knee injury in the 2-0 defeat at Goodison Park.

Riad has been affected by knee injuries since joining Palace in 2024 - suffering an issue in his second game for the club. Back-to-back knee injuries saw him absent from the squad for more than 400 days.

Wantaway players, an opening day defeat and a serious looking knee injury. The season couldn't have got off to a worse start for Sage.

The contract situation with Mateta is the latest twist to what has been a rollercoaster time for the Frenchman at Crystal Palace.

The 29-year-old has become a cult hero at the Eagles due to his trademark celebration where he kicks the corner flag to shouts of "boom" from supporters, while the striker also scored the winning goal in the final as Palace won the Conference League last season.

It has not always been smooth sailing for Mateta though.

The forward had a slow start to his Palace career but his trajectory was transformed under the guidance of former boss Glasner.

Mateta became one of the most reliable strikers in the Premier League and scored 46 goals in 109 games in all competitions under the Austrian.

That form led to interest in Mateta across Europe, and the contract standoff that has the club and the striker in the current situation.

Mateta has always been highly ambitious and made clear his desire to play for clubs at the elite level of the game, even during times early on in his Palace career when his form made it seem unlikely.

Alongside his aim to represent top clubs across Europe, Mateta has chased a place in the France national team and he achieved that goal in October last year before securing a place in the final 26-man squad for the World Cup.

When it seemed like Mateta would leave the club in January, Palace moved to sign Jorgen Strand Larsen as a replacement for a deal worth up to £48m.

The Norway striker made his debut for Crystal Palace in a win over rivals Brighton last season and Palace fans repeatedly chanted his name as they got behind their new striker in a show of support as Mateta's time at the club looked to be over.

However, Mateta failed his AC Milan medical and remained at the club, being ruled out for about two months with the issue.

He was booed by some sections of fans when he returned in the last-16 tie against AEK Larnaca in March before he turned around the fan feeling with a goal in the final of the Conference League, and he ended the season with 16 goals in all competitions.

Mateta has been a key part of the most successful time in Palace's history in which the club won the FA Cup, Community Shield and Conference League, but the current contract standoff threatens to leave a stain on his time at the club. %!s()

President Donald Trump disclosed just over 1,000 financial transitions for the month of June in what appears to be broad reshuffling of his portfolio.

The president rotated in and out of stocks, bonds and exchange-traded funds throughout the month. The transactions totaled between $78.1 million and $263.1 million, according to Trump's latest filing on Aug. 22, which shows a range for each sale or purchase rather than an exact figure. His securities purchases topped $49 million, while his sales totaled at least $28.5 million.

While the filing gives a window into the investment moves made on behalf of Trump, it is not a clear picture of his total portfolio holdings. The amount bought or sold isn't specific, and there is no indication of how much Trump owns of any particular security.

Of the 1,051 transactions, the largest was the $5 million to $25 million sale of Vanguard Dividend Appreciation Index Fund ETF shares on June 22. That same day he bought between $1 million and $5 million of both Fidelity National Information Services and Home Depot. Those were the largest of several purchases of the stocks in June, although he also logged some sales of Fidelity as well.

Trump sold between $1 million and $5 million worth of shares of both Meta and Motorola on June 18, but snapped up the same range of shares in each of Berkshire Hathaway, Cintas, Visa and Mastercard that same day. Those moves came a day after the market sold off on concerns over the path of monetary policy. June 17 was the conclusion of Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh's first meeting. Stocks bounced back on June 18..

Other purchases in June include a number of ETFs, including the iShares U.S. Treasury Bond ETF, State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF and the iShares GSCI Commodity Dynamic Roll Strategy ETF. Trump also purchased several municipal bonds.

The president's sales included the Vanguard Short-Term Bond Index Fund ETF, State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF and the Vanguard FTSE Europe ETF.

Those ETF transitions spanned just over $1 million to $5 million. In total, there were 25 sales and purchases of stocks, bonds and ETFs in that range. The remaining transactions were broken down into different buckets $1 million and under. The filings only require Trump to disclose securities transactions over $1,000.

The president also moved in and out of defense contractor Palantir Technologies, buying between $1,001 and $15,000 on June 3. He sold between $15,001 and $50,000 on June 16 and another $500,001 and $1 million worth on June 18. The U.S. and Iran agreed to a peace deal on June 14. He bought a small amount again on June 23.

Two other defense companies, RTX and Northrop Grumman were also named in the president's disclosure. Trump bought between $100,001 and $250,000 worth of RTX shares on June 12, and sold between $1,001 and $15,000 of Northrop Grumman the same day. He then bought Northrop on June 23 and sold it again on June 24.

He also bought and sold Coinbase throughout the month amid Bitcoin's share decline. He offloaded between $116,003 and $315,000 worth of shares between June 12 and June 23, and then bought between $50,001 and $100,000 on June 24.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In May, spokesman Davis Ingle told CNBC, after Trump's disclosure of his first-quarter transactions, that the president's assets are held in a trust managed by his children.

"There are no conflicts of interest," spokesman Davis Ingle said in the statement at the time. "President Trump only acts in the best interests of the American public — which is why they overwhelmingly re-elected him to this office, despite years of lies and false accusations against him and his businesses from the fake news media."

— CNBC's Kevin Breuninger and Dan Mangan contributed reporting. %!s()

And yet, this is exactly what “Abbott Elementary” director and executive producer Randall Einhorn did. He, along with much of the rest of the ABC mockumentary’s cast and crew, left the safe and familiar confines of their Warner Bros. sets to film the fifth season episode “Ballgame” during an actual Philadelphia Phillies game.

They hit it out of the park, garnering Einhorn an Emmy nomination for comedy series directing. But, just like any live theatrical event, even their best attempts at pre-planning were no match for reality and a lot of improvisation had to be done on the spot.

Some of this was dealing with the elements. The first of the two days of filming at the park covered wider shots, with 400 extras in the stands. Big silk screens protected the main cast to ensure clear audio and lighting. The actual day of the game, however, was too windy for those curtains. Einhorn realized this worked better for the story.

“I needed to show passage of time, so they start off in the shade, they go into full sunlight, and then they go back into full into shade. Then, it’s the nighttime,” he says. “I mean, that sold passage of time better than a clock could.”

Continuity concerns showed up in other ways, too.

“I shot 14 pages the day before the ball game, and basically, we had all these connected pieces,” Einhorn explains. “So, I’m shooting a scene with some with our cast. Something is supposed to happen on the ball field, and then I go back to my cast, who are commenting on what happened on the ball field. The next day, I had all these pans to the ball field that I needed to do the pan off and the back.”

In total, he says he his script noted about 70 pans that he had to connect from the ball field to the stands to what was recorded on the Phillies’ jumbotron known as the PhanaVision.

Einhorn also had to trust his actors — and not just the series regulars. Episode writer Ava Coleman’s script called for Phillies designated hitter Kyle Schwarber to hit a home run during the game.

Overachiever that he is, Schwarber hit four.

Because of “Abbott’s” mockumentary format, Einhorn says he always has three camera angles going at once: two for coverage and one master shot. This time, he also incorporated footage from the PhanaVision. When Schwarber’s balls flew into the air, the cameras “followed it out on the field like documentary cameras and panned up to the scoreboard,” he says.

For the actors, filming like this means that “nobody’s waiting for their scene and, therefore, they’re always reacting. And our cast is so good at knowing exactly where their character would be.” This meant that there was a camera ready to film real-time reactions and actual surprise and delight on the face of actress Sheryl Lee Ralph’s kindergarten teacher Barbara Howard, a character who is a known Schwarber enthusiast.

After the game, Schwarber also filmed a scene meeting the characters. The athlete wasn’t as confident and knowledgeable as he is on the field and admitted that he wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do. Einhorn, who had been warned that he had half an hour to film these exchanges before the stadium’s sprinklers went on, told him, “You do whatever Kyle Schwarber would do and we’re going to be good.”

They got the scene in four takes.

Most shocking of all of this is how calm Einhorn says he managed to stay during filming this episode.

“I’ve gotten so worked up in my past, I don’t do it anymore,” he laughs, adding that sure, it’d have been great if his hand-held radio had worked and he didn’t have to run around and scream directions at the camera crew and the actors. Instead, he says he rolled with it because “it’s just not worth it; it doesn’t help.”

Einhorn’s credits include mockumentaries “The Office,” “Parks and Recreation” and “Modern Family,” as well as more traditionally filmed programs including “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” and “Wilfred.”

Early in his career, he received cinematography Emmy nominations for his work on “Survivor.” This “Abbott” episode was, he says, by far the most planning he’s ever done for a television program.

“I always have to have a plan … but for this episode, I really needed to have a plan,” he says. “I do these top-down graphics of where people are looking and where their nose is and where they walk to. I need to do that because it’s a mockumentary and it’s a lot trickier to film a mockumentary than it is just a normal comedy where you don’t need to worry about seeing another camera.”

He doesn’t pause to say yes when asked if he would do an episode like “Ballgame” ever again. But he’d make a few changes.

“I think I’d probably just be a little bit slower to say, ‘This is impossible,’ because the initial reaction is like, ‘How?’” he says. “It was really challenging. I really looked at it and thought, ‘This can go wrong in so many ways.’ I think what it has done is it’s made me even more of a planner.”

Aware of the obvious pun, he adds, “It was a big swing.” %!s()

Evelyn Hockstein | Afp | Getty Images

The U.S. imposed 50% tariffs on some Canadian products on Saturday after trade talks between the two countries fell apart on Friday.

In response, Canada said it would impose its own retaliatory tariffs beginning on Sept. 8.

Negotiators for both sides had been working on a deal all week, at times signaling that an agreement was near. President Donald Trump had postponed the original deadline of Wednesday just hours ahead of it being imposed, saying that there was a soon-to-be finalized deal. Dominic LeBlanc, Canada's trade minister for the U.S., told reporters on Thursday that a deal was "very close."

However, both sides blamed the other for not reaching a deal as the tariffs, impacting roughly $20 billion in Canadian exports, including wine, furniture, dairy products, cement, clothing, fishing rods, hockey equipment, went into effect on Saturday morning.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, in a post on X early Saturday morning, that "Canada declined to finalize the trade deal under the terms agreed earlier this week."

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said in a statement released on Friday that despite working toward a deal, "that progress has not been enough to meet our objectives for Canadians," saying that "last-minute changes in the U.S. proposed terms were unfair, uneconomic, and called into question the reliability of any deal."

In a Saturday press conference in Ottawa, Ontario, Carney said that the U.S. demands had gone too far.

"They asked too much and offered too little," he said, adding that Canada had been willing to drop its remaining retaliatory tariffs on steel, aluminum and autos if the United States lowered its own.

As a result, Carney said Canada would put its own retaliatory tariffs into effect on Sept. 8, and those duties will target sectors such as steel, dairy, agricultural equipment, and pulp and paper, among others. He said additional details on those new measures would be released in the coming days, previously noting that the retaliatory measures would be "dollar for dollar."

Carney also highlighted the energy relationship between the two countries: "Canada fuels American growth … I don't think they want us to stop sending any of that energy."

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., criticized the retaliatory U.S. tariffs in a post on X.

"Trump just slapped another bill on hardworking American families — who are already crushed by his skyrocketing costs. This nonsense with Canada should have never gone into effect. It must end now," Schumer wrote.

Greer, in an appearance on Fox News on Saturday, said that there are no new planned talks with the Canadians. "They've always had the best deal, and they still would have an even better deal, but they didn't want that," he said.

The Trump administration signed three proclamations to impose the additional 50% tariffs on a range of Canadian goods in July, a response it said was due to trade discrimination against multiple U.S. products and industries such as motor vehicles, alcohol and dairy. The tariffs fell under Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930, which gives the president the power to impose tariffs of up to 50% on the goods of countries found to be discriminating against the U.S., and which had not been used since 1949.

The failure to reach a deal adds another complication to the increasingly tense relationship between the U.S. and Canada. The two sides had already been at the negotiating table regarding their trilateral trade pact with Mexico, known as USMCA, which was not renewed in July over concerns with U.S. trade deficits — a deal that Trump once called "the best agreement we've ever made."

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Perfection is subjective, but some sci-fi shows have it all. They sport a strong thematic foundation that supports robust worldbuilding and clear rules that govern that universe. Characters are allowed to be morally flawed, while they are scrutinized in relation to the lived-in environments that shaped them. Good sci-fi shows also challenge viewer expectations. They ask difficult questions about what it means to be human.

Without further ado, here are five sci-fi shows that offer a lot of value and are perfect from start to finish.

1

Dark

Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese’s Dark might’ve thrown some confusing curveballs over the course of its three-season run, but this time travel masterpiece is as engrossing and tight-knit as they come. Set in the fictional town of Winden, Dark opens with the aftermath of a child’s disappearance, which points toward an unsettling time travel conspiracy that has affected several generations. Although the initial episodes play around with time in a subtle way, the series boldly tackles the bootstrap paradox soon after, compelling us to keep every minor detail and event in mind. The result is a brilliant ending that brings a satisfying close to every deterministic loop and stray thread.

Dark combines the highs of a moody police procedural with that of a small-town mystery that hides something unsavory beneath the surface. Clues are peppered throughout the story, all of which tie beautifully together during the final stretch of the show. Although the temporal conspiracy remains the primary focus, Dark pulls us in with its complex portrayal of interpersonal dynamics, and how they change once affected by the ravages of time. Much of the eeriness that Winden exudes can be chalked up to Ben Frost’s haunting soundtrack for the series, which sustains its bleakness without making it feel overwhelming.

2

The Expanse

Photo: Rafy/Syfy/Everett Collection

The Expanse might’ve had James S. A. Corey’s eponymous book series as a direct frame of reference, but most of the show’s merits rest on its ability to bring such a dense fictional world to life. A space story where humanity has already colonized the solar system, The Expanse follows three disparate protagonists — UN member Chrisjen Avasarala (Shohreh Aghdashloo), cynical detective Josephus Miller (Thomas Jane), and Rocinante officer James Holden (Steven Strait) — whose fates are inevitably connected. In this world, faction-based geopolitics expose the crux of human nature, which leads entire societies to fracture due to resource scarcity and outside threats.

Few sci-fi stories have achieved this level of thematic cohesion. The science featured is grounded and gritty, just like the high-stakes crises that the characters are concerned with. Space, once a frontier worth conquering, becomes a looming threat due to its vast and unknowable nature. Although faithful to the source material, The Expanse makes its sprawling premise work, achieving the perfect rhythm to keep audiences hooked over the course of its six seasons. Every locale, culture, and backdrop feels real and lived-in, which the show maintains through laborious consistency in every single episode.

3

Andor

Image: Lucasfilm/Disney

Star Wars might’ve introduced us to Rebel intelligence officer Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) in Rogue One (2016), but we only learn the inner workings of the man in Tony Gilroy’s Andor. By virtue of it being a prequel, Andor already had Cassian’s fate set in stone, but the eventful journey that leads him up to that moment is both brilliant and beautiful. The two-season series hones in on the tactile reality of living at the mercy of the Empire, whose bureaucratic machine of oppression feels impossible to break or challenge. Andor maps Cassian’s arc from an ambivalent thief to committed rebel is nothing short of stunning, as Gilroy prioritizes gradual character growth that feels genuine and earned.

Andor isn’t solely Cassian’s story. It is a boots-on-the-ground look at the everyday reality of staging a rebellion in a perpetually hostile environment. Rebellion takes on new meaning for different people, including the likes of Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker), who is driven by militant extremism. Revolution is also draining and expensive, as there’s more to it than a grand cause and resentment towards a common enemy. Andor unmasks the true face of fascism, along with the banality of evil that’s ever-present in every corner of the galaxy. A mix of powerful ensemble performances and incredible writing ties everything together, making Andor an integral entry in Star Wars canon.

4

Stargate SG-1

Image: Amazon MGM/Syfy

Roland Emmerich’s Stargate (1994) might’ve kickstarted the Stargate franchise, but it was Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner’s series follow-up, Stargate SG-1, that made it immensely successful. SG-1’s arrival on television at the turn of the millennium filled a unique demand for soft sci-fi that was both entertaining and lore-heavy. This Emmy-nominated series follows the titular SG-1, a highly competent military team that ventures to distant planets with the help of extraterrestrial portals known as Stargates. SG-1’s aim is to defend Earth against alien threats while aiding those in need, which leads to their high-stakes adventures all across the galaxy.

Although sequel shows like Stargate Atlantis and Stargate Universe were competent enough to continue the franchise, SG-1 was special due to the way it paired military realism and witty humor to flesh out its intricate premise. The presence of various alien races, technologies, and motivations presented the opportunity to draw from myth and folklore, which bode well when combined with well-written characters that are quite easy to root for. Despite facing major production challenges over the years, Stargate SG-1 blazed through its 10-season run. Looking back, it is a marvel that the show did such an incredible job of sustaining its ever-evolving mythos and never compromising with its heartfelt core.

5

Devs

Alex Garland (Ex Machina, Annihilation) struck gold with Devs, a competent sci-fi mini-series that also happens to be the perfect binge. Although the plot of Devs often defies a simple explanation, it opens with Sergei (Karl Glusman) getting a coveted spot on tech company Amaya’s quantum computing team. The true purpose of this team, called Devs, is kept tightly under wraps, but a terrible inciting incident compels Sergei’s girlfriend, Lily (Sonoya Mizuno), to investigate. Devs starts as a pressing mystery that soon spirals into a philosophical puzzle about free will and determinism. Garland wastes no time taking detours, weaving this taut mystery with the skill and commitment it deserves.

Devs remains somewhat overlooked in the sea of well-crafted sci-fi television with something meaningful to say. The series’ striking minimalism serves a practical purpose, mirroring the themes of stark isolation in the face of an indifferent universe. The mind-boggling aspects of the narrative will appeal to those who relish puzzle-box premises with open-ended answers. Devs deliberately operates with a permeating sense of dread, opting to take an existential, if bleak, route to understanding the consequences of a machine taking on a prophetic role. %!s()