■ SOCCER
Player escapes turmoil
Italian Serie A side Parma's Kenyan midfielder McDonald Mariga has managed to return to Italy from his home country after being caught up in the trouble which has followed a disputed election, the club Web site said. "There is a lot of fear in the population. It is an absurd ... fight," he said. The 20-year-old joined Parma in August last year from Swedish side Helsingborgs.
■ Rugby Union
Dallaglio calls it a day
Former England captain Lawrence Dallaglio retired from international rugby for the second time on Thursday and will wind up his playing career at the end of the season, his club Wasps said. The decision by Dallaglio, who first quit England in 2004 after helping them win the 2003 World Cup, was first reported by British media early on Thursday. Dallaglio said he would like to coach in the long term. "Coaching is something I want to do in the future, but not in the immediate future," he said. "I wouldn't expect to have the skills straight away so I would take time away from the game and come back later," he was quoted as saying on the BBC Web site.
■ Soccer
Zaragoza progress in cup
Sergio Garcia headed Gabriel Fernandez's cross in the second minute of injury time to put Zaragoza into the fifth round of the Copa Del Rey with a 3-1 victory over third-division Pontevedra on Thursday. The La Liga side advanced 3-2 on aggregate. After Brazil's Igor de Souza Fonseca converted a penalty in the 18th minute for Pontevedra, Zaragoza scored three times. Diego Milito equalized from the penalty spot in the 53rd minute, then Brazilian striker Ricardo Oliveira gave Zaragoza a 2-1 lead with a goal in the 72nd minute. Two minutes into injury time, Garcia won the game with a header. Elsewhere, Levante drew 1-1 with Almeria and advanced on 3-2 aggregate. Almeria defender Ruben Pulido headed a goal in the first minute of injury time, but Brazilian defender Alvaro hit a right-footed volley from a rebound to put Levante through in the fourth minute of injury time.
■ Cricket
Players file court petition
Pakistani Test players Imran Farhat and Taufiq Umar have filed a petition against the Pakistan Cricket Board for banning them from playing domestic matches. The board banned Farhat and Umar last month after they returned from India after playing in the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL), which is not recognized by the International Cricket Council or its member boards. "We have filed the petition in the Lahore High Court and our plea would be heard on Monday," the players' lawyer Imran Aziz said on Friday. He said both players had asked the court to declare the board's action, which also excludes them from national team selection, as unconstitutional. The board had amended a clause in their domestic cricket regulations to impose its suspension on Farhat, Umar and others, including former Test captain Inzamam-ul-Haq, who played in the ICL. "This is the only way available to us to fight this unjust action by the board," said Farhat. "Cricket is our livelihood and they are depriving us of our right of trade." Farhat has appeared in 27 Tests and 33 one-dayers and Umar in 25 Tests and 19 one-day internationals.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
HSIEH MAKES QUARTERS: Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens of Belgium won in the women’s doubles and face Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sofia Kenin of the US Top-ranked Iga Swiatek and US Open champion Coco Gauff were knocked out of the women’s singles at the Miami Open on Monday, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced in the women’s doubles. Swiatek lost to Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 6-2, hours after third seed Gauff fell in three sets to No. 23 Caroline Garcia 6-3, 1-6, 6-2. Alexandrova beat a top-ranked player for the first time and advanced to face Jessica Pegula, a 7-6 (7/1), 6-3 winner over Emma Navarro, in the quarter-finals. Alexandrova recorded her second win over Swiatek, following a 2021 victory in Melbourne. Swiatek had won their three matches since. “We played quite