■CHINA
CFA head held in probe
The head of the Chinese Football Association (CFA) has been taken in for questioning by police investigating matchfixing, state media reported yesterday. Nan Yong, who took over as head of the CFA a year ago, was taken away by a police investigative group who were probing a series of matchfixing scandals, Xinhua news agency reported on its Web site, citing Ministry of Public Security officials. CFA vice president Yang Yimin and Zhang Jianqiang, who was formerly in charge of referee arrangements, were also taken in by police, Xinhua said. The three were questioned by police to “clarify some facts in several important cases of soccer gambling and illegal manipulating domestic soccer league games by using business bribery”, the report said. Jia Xiuquan, former head coach of Chinese Super League club Shanghai Shenhua, was also questioned by police, the Beijing Times said yesterday.
■COLOMBIA
Fan killer back in action
A player who acknowledged he killed a heckling fan last year is back playing for Colombian club Atletico Junior. Midfielder Javier Florez played 75 minutes on Tuesday in an exhibition match between the reserves of Atletico Junior and Real Cartagena. Florez said heckling fans challenged him to a fight after Atletico Junior lost a Colombian league match on July 5. He said he was drunk and pulled a gun on the fans. He said one of them tried to take it away, and it went off several times. He said he did not intend to kill anyone. He was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to three years probation.
■ENGLAND
Pompey woes worsen
Cash-strapped Portsmouth found themselves under attack from a former player on Wednesday when they confirmed they were being sued by Sol Campbell. The former England defender, now at Arsenal, has alleged he is owed £1.7 million (US$2.8 million) in unpaid image rights and bonuses by the club he captained to FA Cup glory in 2008. Confirmation of Campbell’s move came just a day after Premier League basement club Portsmouth’s bid to have a winding up petition from British tax authorities struck out was rejected by a judge. Meanwhile Portsmouth chief executive Peter Storrie appeared in court on Wednesday over a fraud allegation. Storrie, 57, has been accused of “cheating the public revenue” between July 1, 2003 and November 28, 2007 over the signing-on fee for midfielder Amdy Faye from French club Auxerre to Portsmouth. Storrie spoke to confirm his name during the preliminary hearing in London but the charge was not put to him, and he was not asked to enter a plea. The case was adjourned until April 15 but the trial proper is more than a year away after Judge Peter Testar set a date of May 16, 2011.
■ITALY
Mutu stars in Viola victory
Adrian Mutu scored twice and created a third on Wednesday to help Fiorentina knock holders Lazio out of the Italian Cup with a 3-2 win. The Romanian scored both his goals in the first half and then set up Per Kroldrup for the winner in the 58th. Lazio pulled within a goal twice, as Mauro Zarate made it 2-1 in the 50th and his strike partner Tommaso Rocchi netted in the 68th. However, despite continued pressure, Lazio was unable to find an equalizer. Fiorentina will now play the winner between Inter and Juventus, who meet next 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
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