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Sports Briefs

■SOCCER

Beckhams’ staff arrested

Two housekeepers working at a mansion owned by former England captain David Beckham and his pop star wife, Victoria, have been arrested on suspicion of theft, reports said yesterday. Newspaper reports said items belonging to the Beckhams turned up for sale on eBay. Police said they are looking into allegations of theft from a private address in the eastern English county of Hertfordshire, where the Beckhams have a home. They confirmed a 56-year-old woman and a 55-year-old man, both from Essex, had been arrested and released on bail.

■SOCCER

FA mulls match-fixing report

The English Football Association will examine match-fixing allegations involving a Championship match after they were given evidence by the Sunday Telegraph newspaper. Bookmakers reportedly detected a “massive movement” in bets in Asia in an unspecified Championship match at around half-time. As well as the FA, the Sunday Telegraph has sent a document to the Gambling Commission over the betting patterns. “We will consider any evidence brought to our attention,” the FA said.

■RUGBY LEAGUE

Wiki announces retirement

Ruben Wiki, the world’s most capped Test Rugby League player, yesterday announced he was retiring from the game. Wiki said he was hanging up his boots at the end of his 16th season in the National Rugby League competition, having started with the Canberra Raiders in 1993 and ended with four seasons at the New Zealand Warriors. Wiki retired from Tests in 2006 after 12 years and a world record 55 Tests for New Zealand, including 18 as captain. The 35-year-old played his last game for the invitation All Golds New Zealand team against New Zealand Maori last weekend after helping the Warriors reach the finals series of the NRL. There had been speculation that Wiki would end his career playing in Britain’s Super League, but the veteran said he was happy to retire after 312 NRL games. Wiki will continue his involvement with the game, acting as mentor to the Kiwis during the World Cup, which begins in Australia next Saturday.

■CYCLING

Austria’s Kohl tests positive

Austria’s Bernhard Kohl, the best climber at this year’s Tour de France and third overall, has tested positive for third-generation drug EPO Cera, France’s national anti-doping agency AFLD said on Monday. Kohl is the fourth rider to have been found positive for this drug by the AFLD since it pioneered a new blood test for EPO Cera and is currently retroactively testing blood samples of riders taken during this year’s race. Italians Riccardo Ricco and Leonardo Piepoli, plus Germany’s Stefan Schumacher, were the previous riders to have tested postive for Cera (Continuous Erythropoiesis Receptor Activator).

■CYCLING

Armstrong to race in Giro

Lance Armstrong agreed on Monday to ride in next year’s Giro d’Italia and suggested the Italian race — not the Tour de France — would be the main target in his comeback season. The American has never competed in the three-week Giro, considered the sport’s most prestigious stage race after the Tour. Armstrong also seemed to take a swipe at Tour de France organizers, with whom he has feuded over drug-testing issues. “I look forward to starting a race that respects not only the riders, but also maintains the highest integrity in sport,” he said.