■BRAZIL
Bruno keeps contract
Goalkeeper Bruno, who is under investigation over the death of a woman said to be the mother of his child, is to retain his contract at Flamengo, the club announced on Tuesday. Bruno, who is also club captain, is currently in custody, but local newspaper Extra reported Flamengo had backtracked on an initial decision to rescind his contract, fearing the player would respond with legal action. “Yes, we have decided to backtrack to avoid bigger problems,” Extra quoted club chairman Helio Ferraz as saying. The 25-year-old is suspected of involvement in the disappearance last month of Eliza Samudio, who is feared dead. Samudio, 25, had been demanding a DNA test to prove that the married Bruno was the father of her four-month-old child.
■BRAZIL
Santos reject Chelsea bid
Santos have rejected a bid from Chelsea to sign teenage striker Neymar, the club said. On its Web site the club said that the offer was made on Tuesday morning without disclosing the amount. Brazilian media says it reached 20 million euros (US$25.8 million). The club reiterated it does not intend to negotiate over the 18-year-old player. Santos reportedly have a 35 euro million buyout clause for Neymar, who is the most talked-about player in Brazilian soccer this year. Neymar has played for Brazil’s under-16 and under-17 squads but has not played for the senior national team. Fans and local media wanted him to play in the recently concluded World Cup but he was left out by coach Dunga.
■TOGO
Adebayor sues journalist
Manchester City striker Emmanuel Adebayor has taken legal action against a Togolese sports journalist on grounds of alleged defamation, a legal source said on Tuesday. Lawyers for Adebayor issued a writ against Prosper Komi Agboklou, otherwise known as “Prosper the German,” for “broadcasting false information, defamation and impugning the honor” of the former Togo captain. The journalist is accused of claiming on a program on a private television channel that Adebayor, who retired from international soccer in April, was the cause of a rift between the players and management prior to the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier in Chad on July 1. The Togo players had refused to travel on the date officially set aside by their soccer federation because, Agboklou said, they decided to stay in Lome to go to a party organized by Adebayor in one of the capital’s nightclubs. The match went ahead on schedule and ended in a 2-2 draw.
■ARGENTINA
Diego to decide next week
Diego Maradona will decide whether to stay on as Argentina coach after a meeting next week, the head of the country’s soccer association said on Tuesday. Argentina’s former captain had been due to meet association (AFA) chief Julio Grondona this week, but the meeting was postponed after Maradona decided to travel to Venezuela, where he was expected to meet President Hugo Chavez. “I got in touch with Diego to arrange a meeting with him on Monday, that’s the only thing that’s true,” Grondona was quoted as telling state news agency Telam. He dismissed reports the AFA had already arranged a contract for Maradona to stay on as coach until 2014. The AFA said last week Maradona would be formally invited to carry on as coach until the World Cup in Brazil. He has kept a low profile since returning from South Africa where Argentina team were thrashed 4-0 by Germany in the World Cup quarter-finals.
Shohei Ohtani on Wednesday homered for the fifth consecutive game, tying a Los Angeles Dodgers franchise record. Yankees star Aaron Judge was the last player to homer in five consecutive games, accomplishing that feat last year. Ohtani, who leads the National League with 37 home runs, homered in the first inning off Minnesota Twins starter Chris Paddack. He hit a slow curveball 134m to center. He carried the bat midway down the first-base line and then did a bat flip. He did not hit a home run later in the game with the Dodgers trailing, but his presence was felt. With two outs
Ben O’Connor won Thursday’s monster Alpine stage to the ski resort of Courchevel as three-time Tour de France champion Tadej Pogacar responded to attacks from Jonas Vingegaard and dropped him to cement his grip on the yellow jersey. With just three stages left before the race ends in Paris, Pogacar looks poised to retain his title, with a comfortable lead of more than 4 minutes over Vingegaard, a two-time champion. Stage 18 featured three extremely difficult ascents, including the 26.4km climb of the Col de La Loze to the finish. At 2,304m, La Loze is the highest summit in this year’s Tour. Two
Taiwan’s world No. 6 shuttler Chou Tien-chen yesterday defeated India’s H.S. Prannoy to advance to the quarter-finals of the China Open in Changzhou. It was former world No. 2 Chou’s eighth win in 14 matches against Prannoy, who had earlier this week lamented the age divide between him and up-and-comers, although he is only two years younger than 35-year-old Chou. The Taiwanese, who is seeded sixth at the tournament, rebounded from a close 21-18 loss in game 1 on Court 2 at the Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium. He bounced back to take the next games 21-15, 21-8 and set up a tough quarter-final
US top seed Taylor Fritz dropped an early yesterday morning marathon to Alejandro Davidovich-Fokina of Spain, while the UK’s Emma Raducanu and Canada’s Leylah Fernandez reached the semi-finals of the ATP and WTA DC Open. World number four Fritz, two points from victory in the ninth game, dropped the last five games in falling to the 26th-ranked Spaniard 7-6 (7/3), 3-6, 7-5 after three hours and five minutes in a match ending just before 2am. Davidovich-Fokina advanced to the semi-final against US fourth seed Ben Shelton, who beat sixth-seeded hometown hero Frances Tiafoe 7-6 (7/2), 6-4. Fritz, who had 20 aces and six
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