■ IRAN
Club reinstate star player
Ali Karimi, dubbed the Maradona of Asia, has been reinstated after he was sacked for not fasting during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, his club said. However, Steel Azin FC said on its Web site late on Tuesday that Karimi would only be allowed to play again after paying a fine of US$40,000. The club’s disciplinary committee found Karimi guilty of disrespecting Iran’s soccer federation and the club’s supervisor as well as not fasting during a training session on Aug. 12. Karimi has denied any wrongdoing and insisted he has always heeded religious values, especially during Ramadan.
■ BRAZIL
Ref sought after player killed
Police in northeastern Brazil are searching for a referee after a player was stabbed to death during an amateur match in Barreira in Ceara state. A spokesman for the Ceara military police said referee Francisco Chaves had killed Jose da Silva and injured his brother Francisco in a fight, after whistling for a foul against the visiting Boa-Fe (Good Faith) team from Redencao. He then fled the scene. Major Marcos Paulo said Francisco da Silva kicked the referee after he blew for the foul, sparking the fight, and Jose da Silva went to his brother’s aid only to be stabbed in the chest and killed.
■ ENGLAND
Mourinho lays into Capello
Jose Mourinho has insisted England will never win a major tournament while Fabio Capello is in charge. Capello has been under fire since England’s wretched campaign at this year’s World Cup in South Africa. “The problem is the manager,” Mourinho told yesterday’s Daily Mirror. “Capello will not work for England,” added Mourinho, who is now in charge of Real Madrid, where Capello was once the manager. According to Mourinho, Capello’s deficiencies are well remembered in Madrid. “He has a one-track relationship with players,” Mourinho said. “Ask anyone here at Real Madrid. He can’t change. You cannot go around just shouting at players. They need to feel special. It is clear. Capello will not work for England. He does not know the players. They are frightened of him and they can’t play for him. For me, it is a mess for England. Players need clear tactics. They cannot be confused about what they have to do,” Mourinho said. “It is the manager’s fault. And it is a big shame.” Mourinho also slammed Rafael Benitez, saying his stewardship of Liverpool had seen the club become a progressively weaker force. “It is very difficult for Roy [Hodgson, the new Liverpool manager] to do it with Liverpool as, over the last few years, they have been getting worse, worse and worse,” Mourinho said in the Daily Telegraph. “And they arrive at a situation now where, but for Jamie Carragher, Steven Gerrard, Pepe Reina, Fernando Torres, if his head is there, it is very difficult for Roy to make Liverpool champions.”
■ENGLAND
MK Dons down Blackpool
Blackpool suffered a shock defeat in the League Cup second round on Tuesday, losing 4-3 to League One MK Dons after extra time. Avram Grant enjoyed his first victory in charge of West Ham as Scott Parker scored with virtually the last kick to earn a 1-0 home win over League Two Oxford United. Wigan, reeling after conceding 10 goals in their opening two Premier League games, overcame Hartlepool of League One 3-0 thanks to Jordi Gomez, Victor Moses and an own goal. There were no other top-flight casualties, with Wolves scoring in extra-time to beat Southend 2-1. Bolton, West Brom, Sunderland, Stoke and Blackburn all won.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB