■SOCCER
Ritual slaughter proposed
Will South Africa be the scene of ritualized slaughter in the run-up to the World Cup next year? Yes — if traditional leaders in the country have their way. An organization that represents the country’s royal households on special projects is demanding that a cow be slaughtered at each of the 10 World Cup stadiums in South Africa, in keeping with African ancestral beliefs. “It is important because we need to bless these stadiums. We never had something humongous like this [the World Cup] in this country,” Zolani Mkiva, chairman of the Makhonya Royal Trust, told reporters. Slaughtering a beast on the pitch of each stadium after it is completed would be “a kind of warming ceremony,” said Mkiva, a kubonga or praise-singer to former president Nelson Mandela. While it is customary among some of South Africa’s cultural groups to sacrifice a beast, either in celebration of a birth, wedding or other happy occasion, or to commemorate a deceased relative, it is not traditional to spill blood at soccer stadiums. Mkiva said the trust had sought a meeting with the World Cup local organizing committee to discuss the proposal. “I am confident they will accept the proposal,” he said.
■FORMULA ONE
FIA meet to elect president
The FIA General Assembly opened yesterday in Paris with the election of a new president to succeed Max Mosley the No. 1 item on the agenda for delegates. Jean Todt and Ari Vatanen are the two candidates vying for the position as head of motorsport’s ruling body, which will be decided by a ballot involving the 211 national sporting authorities and national automobile associations.
■FOOTBALL
Rape trial to continue
A Nevada judge on Thursday denied a motion to dismiss a lawsuit accusing Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger of raping a woman at a hotel-casino at Lake Tahoe. Washoe District Judge Brent Adams also refused a request by a lawyer for the two-time Super Bowl champ to sanction the woman’s attorney for pursuing the case without sufficient evidence. “Big Ben” Roethlisberger’s lawyer David Cornwell says the judge is apparently giving the woman the benefit of the doubt until there can be a fuller examination of her claims.
■FOOTBALL
LA-area stadium approved
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed a bill allowing the construction of a 75,000-seat stadium that developers hope will lure an NFL team back to the Los Angeles area. Schwarzenegger said on Thursday he signed the environmental exemption bill last week but saved the announcement for a press conference in Industry, where the stadium will be built about 24km east of Los Angeles. The bill would nullify a lawsuit filed by residents in nearby Walnut over the project’s environmental impact. Schwarzenegger called the lawsuit frivolous as he addressed a crowd of union members wearing hardhats. Across the street, a dozen protesters held signs saying “No Stadium.”
■BASEBALL
Sacked Dodgers CEO to sue
Jamie McCourt will launch legal action after she was fired as Los Angeles Dodgers CEO by her estranged husband, team owner Frank McCourt, a day after the club lost the National League Championship Series (NLCS). Attorney Dennis Wasser said his client, Jamie McCourt, learned she was no longer employed by the Dodgers, who ended their season on Wednesday.
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