■ENGLAND
Brown hits out over brawl
Hull boss Phil Brown hit out at the Football Association after his club were charged with misconduct following last weekend’s brawl at Arsenal. Hull and Arsenal were hit with the FA Charge of failing to control their players after a mass confrontation involving 21 of the 22 players on the field at the Emirates Stadium. The row started after Arsenal’s Samir Nasri appeared to tread on the ankle of Hull’s Richard Garcia. But Brown, whose side lost 3-0, has defended the reaction of his players and made it clear the club will contest the charge. “There was an incident for some reason, and I can’t answer the accusations against Nasri. He decided to light the touchpaper,” Brown said. “It was there for everybody to see. It needed to be dealt with more severely and hasn’t been. Why we are up for a charge I don’t know. I defend the players to the hilt ... For us to come under criticism yet again is absolutely scandalous, and we’ll be defending it.”
■ENGLAND
Hodgson hails Zamora
Fulham manager Roy Hodgson believes Bobby Zamora’s dazzling form has been instrumental in the Cottagers’ push into the top half of the English Premier League as well as into Europe. The striker scored his 10th goal of the season in Saturday’s win over Man United, justifying his decision to turn down a move to Hull in the summer. His form has also left Hodgson unconcerned about his failed bid to buy striker Peter Crouch from Portsmouth before the season got underway. “Crouch had the chance to join Fulham or Tottenham and he chose them. That meant we were able to keep Bobby. With Bobby playing well it’s not something we’ve missed,” Hodgson said. “When Bobby was on his way to Hull, as was being mooted at the time, it would have been much more problematic for us. Peter made his decision and we’re pleased he’s doing well but we’ve survived with the players we have.”
■AUSTRALIA
Banned ’keeper recalled
Danny Vukovic has promised to seize his chance after being recalled to the Socceroos squad. The Central Coast ’keeper, slapped with a worldwide ban for striking a referee in last year’s A-League grand final, has been called up for the Jan. 7 Asian Cup qualifier in Kuwait. He was tipped to make coach Pim Verbeek’s starting lineup for the first time after an excellent run of form for his club, Australian media reported. “It’s just good to be in a Socceroos squad vying for the No. 1 spot. I did what I did in the grand final and took a few steps backwards. But I’m starting to get back up there and things look a lot better now,” Vukovic said. “This game realistically is my best chance ever at playing for the Socceroos.” Adelaide United ’keeper Eugene Galekovic and Perth Glory’s Tando Velaphi are in direct competition for a place in Verbeek’s starting eleven. Mark Schwarzer is Australia’s first choice goalkeeper but will miss the match because of club commitments.
■SPAIN
Almeria replace Sanchez
Almeria have hired Juan Manuel Lillo to replace Hugo Sanchez as coach. Lillo will take over the Primera Liga team for the remainder of the season with the aim of keeping the club in the topflight. The 44-year-old previously coached at Zaragoza, Real Sociedad and Tenerife among other clubs. He will lead his first training session on Monday to prepare for his first match in charge on Jan. 3 against Xerez. Almeria fired Sanchez following a 2-0 defeat to Espanyol on Sunday. Almeria are 17th with 13 points, one above the drop zone.
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