■ England
Nancy says Sven staying put
Former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson has reportedly agreed to take charge of an English Premier League club for next season. Eriksson's long-term girlfriend, Nancy Dell'Olio, was quoted by British newspaper the Daily Telegraph as saying the Swede had agreed to take up his first coaching role since quitting as England manager during last year's World Cup. "He's got another job with a Premiership club, which won't start until next season," Dell'Olio was quoted as saying. "We'll be staying in Britain but I can't say any more." The Daily Telegraph said Eriksson's agent, Athole Still, denied his client had signed a contract with anyone.
■ Spain
Betis win stadium reprieve
Real Betis have been allowed to play today's league match against Real Zaragoza at their own stadium despite being handed a three-match stadium ban for crowd problems in a recent match against city rivals Sevilla. Spain's Committee for Sporting Discipline delayed the introduction of the ban for a week after an appeal from Betis who said that an alternative venue, the city's La Cartuja stadium, would not have the necessary security in time for the game. Betis were given the punishment after Sevilla coach Juande Ramos was knocked unconscious when he was hit by a full two-liter plastic bottle thrown from the crowd during a Cup tie between the two sides. Betis have said they will appeal to the courts to have the ban overturned saying the incident could not be deemed "very serious" according to Spanish Football Federation statutes.
■ England
Parry hails Liverpool deal
Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry welcomed Friday's news that shareholders had accepted the takeover of the club by US sports tycoons George Gillett and Tom Hicks, calling it a "historic day." A Stock Exchange statement confirmed the duo had received "valid acceptances in respect of 28,089 Liverpool shares, representing approximately 80.7 percent of Liverpool's issued share capital to which the offer relates." Gillett and Hicks, through their Kop Football vehicle, said last month they had agreed a ?174 million (US$336.1 million) takeover and would pay ?5,000 per share. The total value of the deal, including debt, was put at ?219 million.
■ Germany
Nuremberg rally to draw
Nuremberg scored twice in the last 10 minutes and salvaged a 2-2 draw with Eintracht Frankfurt on Friday. Frankfurt appeared to be cruising to a victory after taking the lead on goals by Sotiris Kyrgiakos and Naohiro Takahara in each half, but Nuremberg took advantage of two Eintracht errors to rally. Nuremberg stayed fifth in the standings while Frankfurt moved out of the relegation zone to 15th, at least until the 25th round is completed over the weekend. Eintracht went ahead after 26 minutes on a header from Greek defender Kyrgiakos, who rose to meet a corner and drove the ball powerfully under the crossbar. Takahara notched his 10th goal of the season in the 69th, pouncing on a loose ball after Nuremberg goalkeeper Raphael Schaefer had blocked an effort by Christoph Preuss. Nuremberg halved the deficit in the 81st on an own goal by Spycher. In the 87th, Robert Vittek took advantage of a lucky bounce to end a solo effort by slipping the ball under Eintracht keeper Nikolov.
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but