■SOUTH AFRICA
Santana future looks in doubt
Joel Santana’s future as South Africa coach dimmed again after his side lost 1-0 to Iceland in a friendly in Reykjavik on Tuesday. The result, South Africa’s eighth loss in nine matches, came hours after the national soccer association said it would give Santana another month to fix next year’s World Cup host team. Fans and commentators have expressed unhappiness at Santana’s conservative tactics, which were apparent again against Iceland, who finished last in their World Cup qualifying group. Nancy striker Viegar Pall Gunnarsson scored Iceland’s goal in the 51st minute.
■ARGENTINA
Players receive phone threats
River Plate players received threatening phone calls on Tuesday from fans fed up with their poor performances in the Argentine first division, local media said. A humiliating 3-1 defeat at home to Independiente on Monday was the first time in 13 years that River had lost at home to their opponents in one of the Argentine game’s big “classics.” Players canceled their mobile phone contracts and refused to talk to reporters suspecting they had passed the numbers to the fans who made the calls, media said. “We know at what time your wife goes shopping” and “we know your family’s movements” were among the threats made, they reported.
■AUSTRALIA
Farina fired after drink rap
Former Australia player and coach Frank Farina was fired as coach of the A-League’s Brisbane Roar yesterday after being charged with drink driving. Farina was stopped while driving to a Brisbane training run at 7am on Saturday and recorded a blood alcohol reading more than twice the legal limit. He is due to appear in the Brisbane Magistrates’ Court next month. He faced a similar charge in Sydney in 2007. After making 67 appearances for Australia, Farina coached the national team between 1999 and 2005.
■NORTH KOREA
Congo, North Korea draw
North Korea were held to a scoreless draw by the Republic of Congo in a friendly on Tuesday. Playing their second match in Europe in 43 years following a 0-0 draw with French second-division club Nantes last week, North Korea created more chances than Congo. North Korea arrived in France on Oct. 5 as part of preparations for next year’s World Cup. They will play in their second World Cup in South Africa following an epic run at the 1966 tournament in England, where they reached the quarter-finals.
■UNITED STATES
Star in fatal car accident
Forward Charlie Davies is unlikely to play in next year’s World Cup after undergoing several hours of emergency surgery on Tuesday to repair a shattered right leg and ruptured bladder. The 23-year-old suffered multiple fractures in his face, a badly broken right leg, a broken left elbow and a lacerated bladder in a fatal car smash in the early hours of Tuesday morning. Doctors expressed hope that Davies’ high level of fitness would speed up his recovery but they added he would need further surgery and could be looking at up to 12 months or more of recovery and physiotherapy treatment. Davies, who plays for French club Sochaux, was listed in serious but stable condition in a Washington hospital after the emergency surgery. Davies was a passenger in the vehicle in which a 22-year-old woman died. A police officer who was at the scene said the vehicle was ripped in two pieces after crashing into a metal guardrail, the Washington Post reported. Davies has played 17 times for the US.
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