■ CHINA
Ex-player sentenced to death
A former star player in China’s top league has been sentenced to death for murdering a man over a gambling debt, state press reported yesterday. Wen Junwu, formerly with the now defunct Guangdong Apollo, based in Guangzhou, was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve on Wednesday for killing Li Jiahao, the China Daily said. The reprieve likely means that Wen’s death sentence will be commuted to life in prison after two years. Wen owed Li 80,000 yuan (US$11,700) in gambling debts at the time of Li’s murder in June last year, the report said. It said an accomplice was also sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve. Wen, 30, was once a rising star in China’s top league, the paper said. He incurred most of his debts from Internet gambling which Li helped broker, it said, but it was not clear if he gambled on Chinese league matches. For years, China’s professional league has been loudly accused by sponsors, fans and media of being riddled with organized gambling rings.
■ ENGLAND
Wenger wins award
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was awarded the Britain-based French sports personality of the year on Wednesday, giving him another boost as his team’s turbulent season gets back on track. Wenger was voted sport’s “Francais of the Year” by the French community in Britain in an online poll, beating a field of nominees including the man who was recently stripped of the Arsenal captaincy, William Gallas. In another category, Eva Green, who played James Bond’s love interest in Casino Royale in 2006, was voted the French “artist” of the year. Wenger has won the league three times and the FA Cup four times at Arsenal.
■ NORWAY
Club apologizes for prank
Rosenborg apologized to Valencia on Wednesday after a prank saw their Web site refer to their Spanish rivals as “homosexuals.” A video on the site had been designed to give a little linguistic guidance to readers ahead of last night’s UEFA Cup encounter, but one clip featured Rosenborg’s Uruguayan defender Alejandro Lago calling the La Liga side “maricones” — slang for gays. Reading from a script, Lago also slammed the Spanish as “little girlies who can’t take it when temperatures drop below zero.” That comment came following a report that the Spanish outfit had had supplementary clothing flown in to cope with the Scandinavian winter weather — but the Web site furore was a frosty reception of a different kind. Rosenborg apologized and said that “one should not joke” either about matters religious or issues of sexuality.
■ ENGLAND
Norris charged by the FA
Ipswich Town midfielder David Norris has been charged with improper conduct by the Football Association (FA) following his controversial goal celebration in the win over Blackpool earlier this month. Norris has admitted the charge and asked for a personal hearing, with an FA regulatory commission set to hear his case yesterday. The 27-year-old had already been fined by his club and apologized for making a gesture in support of his jailed former Plymouth teammate Luke McCormick after scoring in Ipswich’s 1-0 victory away to Blackpool on Nov. 8 in the second-tier Championship. McCormick is currently serving a sentence of seven years and four months for causing the deaths of Arron Peak, 10, and his brother Ben, eight, in a car accident when he was under the influence of alcohol earlier this year on his way home from Norris’ wedding.
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