NEW YORK (AP) — Dutch defender Jurrien Timber was ruled out of the World Cup on Monday because of a groin issue that had limited the 24-year-old Arsenal standout since mid-March.
Timber managed to play 55 minutes for Arsenal in the Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain just over a week ago. But the highly-ranked Dutch team nevertheless decided that he would not be fit enough for the rigors of the World Cup.
He was ruled out just as the Netherlands was preparing for its final warm-up match against Uzbekistan on Monday in New York.
"The 24-year-old defender has not recovered sufficiently from a groin injury to take part in the World Cup in a medically responsible manner,” the Dutch team announced in a statement. “In consultation with the medical staff, it has therefore been decided that Timber will leave the national team’s pre-camp in New York after the game against Uzbekistan.”
Timber will be replaced by Sunderland defender Lutsharel Geertruida, who had been on manager Ronald Koeman's stand-by list.
The Dutch team will head to base camp in Kansas City, Missouri, after the match in New York. Its World Cup opener is June 14 against Japan in Dallas, followed by matches against Sweden on June 20 in Houston and Tunisia on June 25 in Kansas City.
AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup
Arsenal's Jurrien Timber, left, and Arsenal's Noni Madueke react during the penalty shootout during the Champions League final soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal in Budapest, Hungary, Saturday, May 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Armin Durgut)
Arsenal's Jurrien Timber reacts during the Champions League final soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal in Budapest, Hungary, Saturday, May 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)
BOSTON (AP) — A federal judge on Monday struck down the Trump administration's $100,000 fee on new H-1B visas, contradicting an earlier federal court ruling upholding the fee hike.
The administration announced the much-higher fee as a way of preventing foreign workers from taking American jobs.
But U.S. District Court Judge Leo Sorokin in Boston sided with 20 states and struck down the visa policy, concluding that the executive branch exceeded its authority and violated the Administrative Procedure Act, which governs how federal agencies develop and issue regulations.
“The Court finds that the Policy imposes a tax on H-1B petitions without the requisite delegation by Congress,” Sorokin wrote.
H-1B visas are meant for high-skilled jobs are difficult to find American workers to fill. Deep-pocketed technology companies are the biggest users, with nearly three-quarters of approvals going to workers from India. The states argued that using the H-1B program to fill vacancies for much-needed doctors and teachers was already difficult before the higher fee.
Most H-1B visa applications cost several thousand dollars before the announced increase set off a wave of panic among confused employers, students and workers in the United States and abroad and led to several lawsuits, including in Boston.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce also sued, in federal court in Washington, D.C., and has appealed a denial of a summary judgment against the fee hike. That left the higher fee in effect, at least until September 2026, when it is scheduled to expire. Monday's ruling is also a summary judgment, to the opposite effect. Still another lawsuit was filed in federal court in San Francisco, by religious groups and labor organizations, setting up the possibility of divided rulings in three appellate court circuits.
The states argued that the policy impedes their ability to hire primary and secondary school educators and to staff public colleges and universities, will stymie academic research and will lead to a decline in medical workers.
“The Proclamation makes various overtures to domestic economic policy goals to justify the unprecedented $100,000 fee,” plaintiffs wrote in their complaint. “But the Proclamation gives no indication that the President gave any consideration to how the fee would affect Plaintiff States and their ability to provide their residents access to education, healthcare, and other basic human needs.”
A Department of Homeland Security statement said the agency disagrees with “this blatant judicial activism dismantling President Trump’s historic efforts for immigration reform.”
“Under President Trump and Secretary Mullin, our immigration system is being reformed to serve American citizens, American workers, and American families and to preserve our national identity — not to rapidly import foreigners who take American jobs, commit crimes, burden our welfare system, and erode our cultural and social fabric.”
FILE - In this Aug. 17, 2018, file photo, people arrive before the start of a naturalization ceremony at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Miami Field Office in Miami. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, File)
