■SOCCER
Celtic boss burgled
Burglars have raided the home of Gordon Strachan, the manager of Scottish giants Celtic, police said on Saturday. Thieves broke into his home in Bothwell, south-east of Glasgow, while he and his wife slept, reports said. The burglars made off with a haul of his possessions, including a camera and a laptop computer, newspapers reported. Strachan hinted at the incident in a press conference on Friday. Asked if he was having sleepless nights due to the close-run Scottish Premier League title race with Glasgow rivals Rangers, he said: “I’m sleeping too well. It’ll be self-explanatory in a wee while, I’m sure. But I am sleeping too well, trust me.”
■SOCCER
Figo under fire over cat
Veteran Portuguese winger Luis Figo is under fire from animal rights groups in Italy after apparently deliberately killing a black cat. Banners lambasting the Inter Milan player were hung up near the club’s training ground overnight from Friday to Saturday. One said: “Figo, you’ve killed a black cat, the whole world is disgusted with you.” Another added: “Figo, shame for Inter, justice for the cat.” According to the Friday edition of the Libero newspaper, Figo deliberately killed a black cat that lived near the training ground with his car, believing it to be bringing bad luck to his team. Figo denied killing the cat in a statement released on Inter’s Web site on Saturday. “It’s is completely untrue. I want them to appologize otherwise I will be obliged to take legal action,” he said.
■CRICKET
Malik hopes to overturn ban
Former Pakistan captain Salim Malik on Saturday said he hoped to overturn his life ban for alleged involvement in match-fixing after the country’s top court granted him an appeal hearing. Malik was banned by a match-fixing inquiry in 2001 after three top Australian players accused him of offering bribes for them to underperform. But after Saturday’s decision by the Supreme Court the 44-year-old said: “It is a sort of a win for me. This means a lot to me because I have been fighting to clear my name for eight years and once I get this ban overturned I would like to associate myself to cricket once again.” The May 2001 ban, imposed by an inquiry headed by high court judge Justice Malik Mohammad Qayyum, also prevented him from holding any office or involvement in any cricket-related activity. He added: “I can’t play cricket at my age now but there are hundreds of things linked to cricket which I can do and one is coaching,” said Malik, whose efforts to start his own coaching academy were blocked by the Pakistan Cricket Board in 2006.
■RUGBY UNION
Japan close in on title
Japan have the inaugural Asian Five Nations rugby title all but in their grasp after another thumping win over an outclassed Kazakhstan. Saturday’s 82-6 victory included 12 tries, while South Korea beat a dogged Arabian Gulf side 43-20 in Doha in the weekend’s other game. It means Japan will clinch the trophy next weekend if they beat Hong Kong at home. Japan used their superior fitness, lines of running and confidence to score tries from all over the park against Kazakhstan, who were always on the back foot. In Doha, the South Koreans had a battle against a multinational side of amateurs who qualify for international rugby through residency in Gulf states. With just seven minutes left to play, the Gulf were only four points behind Korea, but the visitors’ superior fitness showed through in the dying stages, when they ran in three of their seven tries.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Roger Federer on Wednesday said that staying involved with tennis in retirement helped him avoid feeling “like an alien” ahead of this week’s Laver Cup in Berlin. Federer, who helped create the tournament, retired at the Laver Cup in London two years ago and has since stayed involved with the competition as an ambassador. “I’m happy I went back right away to some tournaments,” the 43-year-old told reporters. “I feel I ripped the Band-Aid off quite quickly and when I walk around the tennis sites I still feel I belong there,” he said. “I don’t feel like an alien, which is a