■ CRICKET
Aussies players get warning
Cricket Australia (CA) has warned leading players it would not let them play in the Indian Premier League's (IPL) Twenty20 tournament in April and May, reports said yesterday. Eleven top players -- including captain Ricky Ponting, Brett Lee and Adam Gilchrist -- have reportedly signed up for the Twenty20 tournament. But CA chief executive James Sutherland warned he would not grant them consent to take part, saying they signed with the IPL without consulting CA, the Sun-Herald newspaper said. Other players involved are Michael Hussey, Michael Clarke, Matthew Hayden and Andrew Symonds.
■ RUGBY UNION
Kiwis win Dubai Sevens
New Zealand blew out to 26-0 and contained a fightback by Fiji to win the Dubai Sevens rugby final 31-21 on Saturday. New Zealand, the defending series champions, won in Dubai for the first time since 2002. Two tries by Zar Lawrence and another from Nigel Hunt put New Zealand ahead at halftime 21-0. It was soon 26-0 on Steven Yates' try while Neumi Nanuku became the second Fijian sinbinned in the final. Nanuku returned, however, to spark the comeback, with his try and others by Vereniki Goneva and Akuila Nawerecagi lifting Fiji to 26-21 behind with a minute to go. But Yates capped the scoring for New Zealand.
■ SOCCER
Players walk off in protest
Furious Bezanija Belgrade players on Saturday refused to continue their Serbian league clash at Mladost Lucani in protest at the refereeing, the Beta news agency reported. Mladost Lucani were leading 2-1 against the Belgrade team when the visiting players walked off the pitch after 53 minutes. They were angered by the referee's decision to send off two of their players, deny them an alleged penalty and recognize Mladost's second goal which they claimed was offside.
■ SPEEDSKATING
S Korea makes clean sweep
South Koreans won all the races at a short track speedskating World Cup meet with victories by Song Kyung-taek, Sung Si-bak, Yang Shin-young and Shin Sae-bom on Saturday. Song won the men's 1,000m in 1 minute, 26.216 seconds, ahead of compatriot Ahn Hyun-soo and Jordan Malone of the US. Sung was fastest in the 1,500m with a time of 2 minutes, 17.502 seconds, followed by Charles Hamelin of Canada and Yuri Confortola of Italy. In the women's events, Yang clinched the 1,000m in 1 minute. 33.764 seconds, beating fellow South Korean Jin Sun-yu and Katherine Reutter of the US. Shin won the 1,500m, clocking 2 minutes, 25.420 seconds. Kalyna Roberge of Canada was second and Park Seung-hi of South Korea was third.
■ SOCCER
UEFA insists on screening
Every player involved in Euro 2008 must undergo cardiac screening before the finals next June, UEFA's general secretary David Taylor said on Saturday. UEFA also ruled that the official team doctor would be required to sit in the dugout alongside the coach and the rest of the squad during matches. "All possible precautions must be taken to ensure the safety of the players," Taylor told reporters at the end of a two-day meeting of UEFA's executive committee. "Every player must have a cardiac screening and it is the responsibility of the national associations' medical experts to ensure their players are tested," he said.
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