■SOCCER
Croatian police probe club
Croatian police were investigating reports on Monday that fans of local soccer club Hajduk Split sold and wore T-shirts bearing Nazi symbols. The Hajduk fans were "walking proudly in Split wearing T-shirts reading `Hajduk Jugend,' a direct allusion to the `Hitler Jugend,'" the Slobodna Dalmacija reported. The T-shirts, sold on the fans' Web site www.torcida.org, depict an eagle carrying the Hajduk coat of arms in its claws, which the daily said replaced the swastika in the Nazi version. "We will check those reports to establish whether the law has been broken," said Marina Kraljevic Gudelj, a police spokeswoman in the southern town of Split. A Croatian soccer association spokesman said the governing body had no knowledge of the case.
■ OLYMPICS
Henin might not defend gold
Justin Henin might not defend her Olympic gold medal in Beijing because the city's air pollution triggers her asthma. Henin withdrew from the China Open in September because of her asthma and is worried she might also be forced to skip the Beijing Games next August. "I've had asthma for a few months now and I felt very bad in New York at the end of the [US Open], so Beijing, I was really concerned about that," Henin said on Monday at the Sony Ericsson Championships. "I was pretty disappointed because I wanted to play the tournament and get used to the conditions." Henin said she had recovered from that bout after visiting a specialist.
■ SOCCER
Beckham plays for charity
David Beckham, Anthony LaPaglia and several actors and retired players joined forces to raise more than US$90,000 for the victims of last month's wildfires in Southern California in a soccer exhibition on Sunday. With England coach Steve McClaren watching, Beckham scored two goals and had three assists in 83 minutes in a 12-4 rout of LaPaglia's Hollywood United. McClaren is trying to determine if Beckham is fit enough to rejoin the national team. The game was also the last for Galaxy coach Frank Yallop, who announced his resignation to the players afterward, Beckham said. The 83 minutes was the most that Beckham played since joining the Galaxy in July. "It's probably the best I've felt in quite a few months now," Beckham said. "It was important for me to get a good workout tonight. I've been working hard trying to get myself fit," he said.
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