■ITALY
Earrings to be auctioned
Media reports say authorities are planning to auction off diamond earrings seized from Diego Maradona as part-payment of the former Napoli star’s unpaid tax bill. The earrings were confiscated by tax authorities last year while Maradona was in an Alpine resort in northern Italy. The Bolzano tax police in charge of the operation at the time put the value at 4,000 euros (US$5,770). Italian newspaper La Repubblica and others said on Tuesday that the auction would take place on Jan. 14, probably in Bolzano. Local police could not immediately confirm the reports. Italian authorities say the former soccer great, currently coach of Argentina, owes almost 30 million euros in unpaid income tax. The debt dates to the 1980s when Maradona played for Napoli.
■GERMANY
Matthaus to divorce
Former international and World Cup-winning skipper Lothar Matthaus has split from his fourth wife Liliana and is set to enter divorce proceedings after just a year of marriage, the Bunte tabloid reported on Tuesday. “I don’t like the word divorce, but I am going to consult with lawyers,” 1990 World Cup star Matthaus said. “I have the impression Liliana is subject to some bad influences,” the former Bayern Munich and Inter star said. Former model Liliana, 22, met Matthaus at the Munich beer festival in 2007 and the pair rapidly became a couple, but she left the family home early last month while insisting nobody else was involved. “Sunday evening she came to see me saying she still loved me and that she missed me, but that she needed time to think,” said Matthaus, who tied the knot with Liliana on New Year’s Day last year in Las Vegas. Matthaus, who has yet to shine as a coach, has regularly had his colorful life pored over by the media. He was married to first wife Sylvia from 1981 to 1992, Swiss second wife Lolita from 1994 to 1999 and then was with Serbian Marijana from 2003 to 2007.
■AUSTRIA
England to train in Austria
Fabio Capello’s England squad will travel to Austria for a training camp at altitude prior to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, the camp’s organizer said on Tuesday. “We have organized the camp in conjunction with the English Football Federation,” said Nikolaus Pichler, a representative of the IFCS company which organizes training camps for professional teams in the region of Styria. “The team manager, Fabio Capello, [will] be there with the team in Irdning, which he is already familiar with. He has already visited here with other teams, such as AS Roma and Real Madrid.” The exact dates of England’s stay will be announced soon, added Pichler, who said he is negotiating with two other national teams interested in setting up camp in Styria. Serbia and South Korea have already booked stays for the end of May and the beginning of June.
■INDIA
Two players arrested
A top Indian soccer club was embroiled in an embarrassing controversy yesterday after two Nigerian players were accused of molesting a female flight attendant. The players, along with the rest of the Churchill Brothers squad, were on their way to Kolkata from Goa when the alleged incident took place, local media reported. The team was offloaded during a stop-over in Mumbai, where the police arrested Nigerian strikers Odafa Onyeka Okolie and Felix Chimaokwu, as well as team manager Mario Soares on charges of molestation, the Hindustan Times said. They were later released on bail ahead of their match in Kolkata today.
Top seeds Alexander Zverev of Germany and American Coco Gauff on Tuesday advanced to the third round of the Canadian Open after both players were pushed hard by their opponents. World No. 3 Zverev, playing in his first match since his first-round loss at Wimbledon, was far from his best, but emerged with a 7-6 (8/6), 6-4 win over Adam Walton under the lights in Toronto. Momentum shifted firmly in Zverev’s favor when he won a 52-shot rally in the first set tiebreak and he sealed the win on a double fault by the Australian in the second set. “It was a very
Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko upset top-seeded Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-4 on Saturday night to reach the National Bank Open quarter-finals. “Your support was incredible,” Mboko told the crowd in French after a chorus of “Ole, Ole, Ole” chants echoed around the venue. “I’m really happy to win today ... It’s incredible. I’m so happy to beat such a great champion.” Gauff dropped to 2-3 since winning the French Open. She followed the major victory with opening losses in Berlin and Wimbledon, then overcame double-fault problems to win two three-set matches in Montreal. Gauff had five double-faults on Saturday after having 23 in
Taiwan’s top women’s badminton doubles duo, Hsieh Pei-shan (謝沛珊) and Hung En-tzu (洪恩慈), achieved a straight-sets victory over Japan’s Kaho Osawa and Mayui Tanabe at the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Super 300 Macau Open on Sunday. The Taiwanese pair won the final 21-18, 21-12, marking the duo’s second title this year after their win at the BWF Super 300 Taipei Open in May. The match on Sunday was their first encounter with the Japanese duo, ranked No. 63 in the world. Hsieh and Hung, ranked No. 12, began the opening game well. Hung, who plays left-handed, performed strongly at both the net and the
Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen on Thursday said that he is staying with the Red Bull team next year, ending months of speculation over his future. “Some people just like to stir the pot, some people just like to create drama, but, for me, it’s always been quite clear, and also for next year,” the four-time champion said ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix. “I’m discussing with the team already the plans — the things that we want to change for next year, so that means that I’m also staying with the team for next year,” he said. Verstappen has a contract with
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