■CYCLING
Rebellin to lose medal
Davide Rebellin who tested positive for the new generation of EPO (CERA) at last year’s Olympic Games is to be stripped of his road race silver medal the sport’s governing body the International Cycling Union (UCI) announced on Tuesday. The UCI confirmed that the International Olympic Committee are to disqualify the 37-year-old Italian, who was second behind Spaniard Samuel Sanchez in Beijing. Rebellin’s disqualification means that the silver will go to Switzerland’s Olympic time-trial champion Fabian Cancellara. Rebellin’s failed test came to light at the end of April.
■SOCCER
National team is no more
The Guinea national team was dissolved on Tuesday by the Minister of Sports after failing to qualify for either the 2010 World Cup finals nor the African Nations Cup. According to a reliable source contacted by AFP in Dakar, the minister Fodeba Isto Keira announced “The Guinea national side has been dissolved for insufficient results and ill-discipline.” The decision by Keira comes two days after Guinea — who reached the quarter-finals of the last three African Nations Cup finals — lost 3-0 to the Ivory Coast leaving them bottom of their group. Keira also announced that coaches Mamadi Souare, Fode Laye Camara and Mandjou Diallo had been sacked.
■SOCCER
Player quits after threats
Matias Gimenez of Argentine first division side Tigre, would not play for the club any longer, he said on Tuesday. His announcement came after he was threatened by his own team’s hardcore fans who accused him of not trying hard enough, he said. Gimenez told reporters he was accosted in the street on his way home and threatened with violence, saying the hooligans criticized his “attitude on the pitch ... we argued a bit and then something very nasty happened but I won’t go into detail.” He said he had told his agent and the club’s board of his decision. He would continue to train with Tigre, who are bottom of the division, and seek a move during the next transfer window. “I took the decision for the security of my family, they’re everything to me and I don’t want anything to happen to them ... I have two children who really are worth more than a ball.”
■SOCCER
Police probe French star
Former French international defender Basile Boli was placed under investigation on Tuesday for breach of trust by the French fraud squad. The 42-year-old is president of the “Undertaking to direct Africa” (ERA) organization. Boli, who also had spells at Auxerre, Rangers, Monaco and Urawa Red Diamonds, was informed that he had been placed under investigation on Tuesday morning.
■SOCCER
Police seize offices
Police yesterday seized control of the offices of Iraq’s soccer association after its governing board was dissolved on charges of links to former dictator Saddam Hussein. “We are inside the headquarters to protect the premises and the fittings,” Colonel Abdel Amir Rissan, who heads a police team in charge of security for official buildings, said. “We are here also to prevent the offices from being attacked or robbed ... and our presence aims to protect employees until the provisional administration takes over,” he said. The association’s deputy secretary general, Tareq Ahmad said a decision had been taken to evacuate the premises because staff could not work with the police presence.
■FIGURE SKATING
Lutai charged with larceny
Russian figure skater Andrei Lutai has been arrested and jailed for stealing a car and driving drunk, police said on Tuesday, after he finished 10th in a skating competition in upstate New York. Lutai, 23, who finished 9th in the figure skating world championships in March, was stopped by police about 11pm on Sunday in Lake Placid, New York. He had been in Lake Placid for a Skate America competition. “The defendant was stopped operating a vehicle that had been reported stolen earlier in the evening,” Lake Placid Assistant Police Chief William Moore said. “The defendant was found to be driving while intoxicated.” He said the vehicle Lutai is accused of taking had been parked behind a service station. Lutai, from St Petersburg, is charged with grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and aggravated driving while intoxicated, Moore said. He was being held in county jail on US$100,000 bail.
■FOOTBALL
Bengals sign Larry Johnson
Controversial running back Larry Johnson signed a contract on Tuesday to represent the Cincinnati Bengals in a backup role, the league’s official Web site said. Johnson was released by the Kansas City Chiefs eight days before after being suspended for “conduct detrimental to the club.” “He’s starting from scratch,” Bengals coach Marvin Lewis told a news conference. “He knows what he has at stake and at risk. He gets an opportunity to start anew, just like anybody would. He’s paid the price for what’s gone on in his past, things he’s said, things he’s done.” The Bengals waived defensive tackle Orien Harris to open a spot on the roster for Johnson, who will give the AFC North leaders depth in the position for the rest of the season. Johnson, 29, was released by the Chiefs on Nov. 9 after his former club and the NFL had investigated alleged comments made by the player. According to the Kansas City Star, Johnson posted demeaning comments, directed at Chiefs coach Todd Haley, on his Twitter feed hours after the 37-7 loss to the San Diego Chargers on Oct. 25. The newspaper reported Johnson also used derogatory language in a reply to a follower on Twitter and to a reporter.
■BASEBALL
Yankees forgo Mitre option
The New York Yankees have declined their US$1.25 million option for right-hander Sergio Mitre, the team said on Tuesday. Mitre joined the team in late July and went 3-3 with a 6.79 ERA in 12 games. He sat out the first 50 games while serving a suspension for testing positive for a banned substance. Over six seasons with the Chicago Cubs, Florida Marlins and Yankees, the 28-year-old Mitre is 13-26 with a 5.56 ERA. He is now eligible for salary arbitration.
■FOOTBALL
Ravens waive Hauschka
The Baltimore Ravens waived second-year kicker Steve Hauschka on Tuesday, less than 24 hours after he missed a 36-yard field goal in a 16-0 win over the Cleveland Browns. “We entered the season knowing that we would have to go through some growing pains with Steve,” Ravens’ general manager Ozzie Newsome said on the team’s Web site. “That happens with most new kickers in the NFL. But, for where we are as a team today, we need more consistent production from our kicker,” Newsome said. Hauschka connected on nine of 13 field goals this year. Baltimore (5-4) are expected to sign either former New York Jets kicker Mike Nugent or ex-Dallas Cowboys kicker Billy Cundiff, both of whom worked out for the team last week.
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
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
Taiwanese gymnast Lee Chih-kai failed to secure an Olympic berth in the pommel horse following a second-place finish at the last qualifier in Doha on Friday, a performance that Lee and his coach called “unconvincing.” The Tokyo Olympics silver medalist finished runner-up in the final after scoring 6.6 for degree of difficulty and 8.800 for execution for a combined score of 15.400. That was just 0.100 short of Jordan’s Ahmad Abu Al Soud, who had qualified for the event in Paris before the Apparatus World Cup series in Qatar’s capital. After missing the final rounds in the first two of four qualifier