■AUSTRALIA
Defender Ryall sent home
Under-20 international defender Sebastian Ryall has been stood down from national team duty by Football Federation Australia (FFA) after being charged with a sexual offense, the FFA said yesterday. Ryall, 19, who was due to leave today with the national under-20 team for a camp in the Netherlands, has been charged with engaging in a sexual act with a 13-year-old girl last year. The FFA said Ryall had been suspended from playing in national team and club matches until Sept. 3 this year or until his criminal case has been determined. The FFA said Ryall, who recently transferred from Melbourne Victory to Sydney FC, has pleaded not guilty to the charge and his lawyer has indicated his client intends to strenuously defend his innocence.
■ENGLAND
Millwall knock out Leeds
Fallen giants Leeds United were condemned to another season in the third tier of English soccer on Thursday when they were beaten by Millwall in the League One play-offs 2-1 on aggregate. Millwall’s French midfielder Jimmy Abdou stunned the 37,000 crowd at Elland Road when he scored in the 73rd minute after Leeds United’s Argentine striker Luciano Becchio had put the Yorkshire side in front after 52 minutes. Jermaine Beckford, who had scored 34 goals this season for Leeds, had a 48th-minute penalty saved by David Forde. Millwall, who won the first leg of the semi-final 1-0, now face either MK Dons or Scunthorpe at Wembley for a place in the Championship.
■UNITED STATES
Jones appears in court
British soccer star turned tough-guy Hollywood actor Vinnie Jones was in a South Dakota court on Thursday to defend himself against assault charges. Jones, 44, was hospitalized after he was hit in the face with a beer mug during a December bar brawl which broke out after he tried to join a game of pool in the small town of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Witnesses said at the time that Jones took offense when one of the men identified him as Juggernaut from X-Men: The Last Stand, which he apparently took as a slight against his more significant roles. His lawyer told the court that Jones was acting in self-defense when he punched Juan Trevino Barrera as the actor was being taken to the bathroom to clean up. “Vinnie Jones used very reasonable force in an attempt to protect himself when he finally could,” Peter Wold said during opening statements.
■SPAIN
Perez to run for president
Florentino Perez, the man who turned Real Madrid from an old-fashioned soccer club into a star-studded global marketing project, announced on Thursday that he would run for president in this summer’s election. Perez will present himself for the club’s June 14 vote with the intention of returning glory to the club three years after quitting his post. “Conviction and hope lead to great projects and grand history,” Perez told a packed press conference: “You can be assured that we’re working on a spectacular project.”
■ITALY
Juve lose stadium appeal
Juventus will play tomorrow’s Serie A game at home to Atalanta behind closed doors after they lost an appeal against a stadium ban, the Italian Olympic Committee said late on Thursday. The ban was originally handed down by the Italian League after Juve supporters racially abused Inter striker Mario Balotelli last month. The club won a temporary injunction against the sanction, but their appeal was rejected.
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was