■ UNITED STATES
Officials hunt for racist fan
Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber says the league will ban a spectator who directed a racial slur at New England Revolution forward Kheli Dube during a recent match — if they can identify him. In a statement released on Wednesday, Garber said MLS officials and Columbus Crew personnel are reviewing the incident, which occurred after Dube, who is black, scored in the 89th minute of the Revolution’s 1-0 victory over the Crew on May 24. Video shows Dube celebrating with his teammates as an off-camera voice is heard using a racial epithet and bottles and streamers are thrown at the players. “MLS and the Columbus Crew have extensively reviewed an incident that took place during the Crew versus Revolution game on May 24, where there is audio of a spectator at Crew Stadium using vulgar language and an unacceptable and offensive racial epithet,” Garber said. “The review included video posted on the Internet and interviews with security personnel, fans and team officials. MLS and the Columbus Crew are working diligently with all relevant authorities, including club supporters’ groups, to identify the spectator involved. In the event the perpetrator is identified, he will be banned for life from Crew stadium and all other MLS stadiums and events.”
■ENGLAND
Essien staying put: agent
The agent of tough-tackling midfielder Michael Essien of Ghana was adamant on Wednesday that his charge would not be leaving Chelsea for Inter. Recently installed new Inter boss Jose Mourinho had been widely expected, according to reports, to make a bid for Essien, his former key player at Chelsea. However, Essien’s agent Fabien Piveteau denied Essien would be playing in Italy next season. “Michael is very happy at Chelsea and that is where he will be playing next season,” Piveteau said. “His current contract runs until 2012. There has been no approach from Inter.” Essien, Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard and Ricardo Carvalho are all thought to be on Mourinho’s wish list.
■ITALY
Donadoni signs contract
With just days to go before Euro 2008 kicks off in Austria and Switzerland, Italy coach Roberto Donadoni finally put his signature to a new contract that will keep him in his role until after the next World Cup. The Italian federation had announced that Donadoni had agreed terms on a new contract to 2010 back on May 20, when the Euro 2008 squad was announced, but all that was missing was his actual signature. Donadoni’s contract situation — his previous deal was due to run out after this tournament — had been a topic of much debate in Italy before the finals. He had turned down a previous offer that was conditional on his team reaching at least the semi-finals of Euro 2008. But now that everything is sorted out, the news should come as a boost just two days after the blow of losing captain Fabio Cannavaro with ankle ligament damage.
■AUSTRIA
Welcome party cut short
A welcoming party for the Croatian national team at their base in Bad Tatzmannsdorf in southern Austria had to be cut short after fans stormed the stage late on Tuesday. The Croatian players were evacuated after a few young supporters tried to approach their idols, but made it safely back onto the team bus. Only midfielder Ivan Rakitic had to be freed by security after he was hemmed in by fans. Some 1,000 people had gathered on the main square of the town despite pouring rain on Tuesday evening.
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
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB