■PERU
Players quit national team
Peruvian players quit their national team on Saturday, bringing further misery for fans who have already seen their side slump in World Cup qualifying. “We have presented the Peru Football Federation [FPF] a document announcing the players’ resignations because none of the reforms demanded have been carried out,” players’ union president Fernando Revilla said. The petition was signed by more than 600 players based both in Peru and abroad. Manuel Burga, the president of the FPF, said that in the long term “the biggest losers will be the players.” Peru are bottom of the qualifying table for next year’s World Cup.
■ENGLAND
Bolton sign Knight, Ricketts
Premier League side Bolton Wanderers on Saturday completed the signings of Aston Villa defender Zat Knight and Hull City fullback Sam Ricketts on three-year deals. Centerback Knight, who has won two England caps, has struggled for regular first-team soccer since joining Villa in 2007 from Fulham, starting just 13 Premier League games last season. Wales international Ricketts, who can play on the left or the right, started 27 Premier League games in Hull’s first season in the top flight. They are Gary Megson’s third and fourth signings of the summer, with the club having brought in Sean Davis from Portsmouth and defender Paul Robinson from West Bromwich Albion.
■BOLIVIA
Youngest player’s dad fired
The father of a 12-year-old boy who last week became the world’s youngest professional player has been fired as coach of the Bolivian first division side. Former World Cup star Julio Cesar Baldivieso has been forced out by bosses of his club Aurora for refusing to obey orders from club directors to leave the boy out of the squad. Baldivieso also withdrew his son Mauricio, who turned 13 on Wednesday, from the club. “For internal club reasons, we’ve decided to part company with coach [Julio Cesar] Baldivieso,” Aurora president Jose Luis Montano said. It followed the controversy that surrounded Mauricio’s appearance as a substitute for the final 10 minutes of a 1-0 defeat against La Paz.
■NETHERLANDS
Alkmaar win Super Cup
Dutch champions AZ Alkmaar scored three goals in the first half an hour, before settling their first Dutch Super Cup win with a 5-1 thrashing of Heerenveen on Saturday. Australian international Brett Holman opened the scoring for Alkmaar after 15 minutes when he netted a fine cross from Maarten Martens who broke through on the left flank. Last season’s top scorer Mounir El Hamdaoui doubled the lead nine minutes later after a combination by Stijn Schaars and Jeremain Lens, then Martens got the third four minutes later with a 25m shot. Michal Papadopolous pulled one back on the hour, but a Lens brace completed the rout.
■BRAZIL
Ze Carlos dies aged 47
Former international goalkeeper Ze Carlos, who was understudy to Claudio Taffarell at the 1990 World Cup finals, has died at the age of 47 after a long battle with cancer, it was reported on Saturday. Ze Carlos, who played for Flamengo, died on Friday at a hospital in northwest Rio De Janeiro where he had been admitted in May. The goalkeeper won the Brazilian league title with Flamengo in 1987 and the Brazilian Cup in 1990. He also played for Cruzeiro, Vitoria and America, as well as in Portugal with Vitoria Guimaraes.
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