■RUSSIA
Kazan held by Tomsk
Russian champions Kazan were held to a goalless draw by Tomsk on Sunday, but still stretched their lead to seven points after closest rivals Spartak Moscow suffered a 2-1 defeat at Ramenskoye. Kazan have 47 points after 22 matches, seven ahead of second-placed Spartak, while CSKA Moscow, who thrashed city rivals Dynamo 3-0, sit third on 39 points. Kazan struggled to create openings at Tomsk and their problems were compounded by seeing striker Alexander Bukharov limp off with a knee injury. Tomsk looked dangerous after the interval, while Kazan’s best chance of a winner came in the last minute when Spanish defender Cezar Navas shot just wide from Sergei Semak’s well-taken free-kick. Meanwhile, at Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium, midfielder Pavel Mamaev gave CSKA a 1-0 lead nine minutes after the break, scoring from 10m after Alan Dzagoyev’s razor-sharp pass. Serbian midfielder Milos Krasic and Brazilian striker Guilherme also scored to give CSKA a 3-0 win.
■ENGLAND
Diouf interviewed by police
Blackburn Rovers forward El-Hadji Diouf has been interviewed by police following allegations made by a ball-boy after his side’s 3-0 defeat against Everton on Sunday. Diouf was seemingly involved in an altercation with the youngster during the first half at Goodison Park. The Senegal international is believed to have complained that the ball was not thrown back into play quickly enough. Diouf then suffered abuse from home fans when he went to take two corners in the area of the original incident. After the match, police interviewed Diouf at the stadium before the Blackburn team left. A spokesman for Merseyside Police said: “We are looking into an allegation that a 28-year-old man used racist language at the Everton match today.” It is not the first time Diouf has found himself in hot water for his behavior during a match. In 2003, he was banned for two matches after being caught on TV spitting toward Celtic fans while playing for Liverpool in a UEFA Cup quarter-final at Parkhead.
■SPAIN
Real reveal massive debts
Real Madrid said on Sunday that the club’s debt had risen to 327 million euros (US$481 million), but added that Real plans to cut the figure to 210 million euros by June. Announcing the accounts at the club’s annual assembly, Madrid said debt has arisen largely through an investment of 314 million euros, of which most was spent on new players since Florentino Perez returned to the club presidency unopposed back in June. The club gave the total transfer fee for four of the signings — Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, Karim Benzema and Raul Albiol — as 219 million euros. The club’s accounts were ratified by 907 of the 1012 club members present at the assembly. Madrid’s accounts may irk UEFA, however, which recently approved plans to control excessive spending by Europe’s top clubs, expecting them to break even on soccer-related business by 2012.
■SWITZERLAND
Ref gives fans the finger
Referee Massimo Busacca has apologized for giving fans who insulted him the finger during a Swiss Cup match between third division FC Baden and first division Young Boys on Saturday. “I let myself get provoked by the verbal insults of the fans and was dragged down to making an unsporting gesture,” Busacca said in a statement on the Swiss Football Federation Web site. Busacca, 40, refereed last season’s Champions League final between Barcelona and Manchester United.
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
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but