GREECE
Hooligans not being tackled
Authorities are failing to tackle a force of more than 3,000 “hard core” hooligans, a top official said on Friday as another high-profile league match degenerated into violence this week. “There are about 30,000 organized fans [in Greece] and an estimated 3,000 to 3,500 constitute the hard core of the violence,” Greek Secretary for Sports Panos Bitsaxis told Vima FM radio. “The football system is failing to deal with 3,000 to 3,500 people around the country, this is the basic cause of this condition.” Fan clashes occur almost every weekend in Greece and there are increasing instances of assaults on players, despite a raft of measures and laws enacted over the years to curb the violence. On Wednesday, the Greek cup semi-final between PAOK Thessaloniki and AEK was interrupted for nearly 20 minutes after a pitch invasion by home fans. PAOK fans had earlier also hit AEK goalkeeper Sebastian Saja with a flare. Greek Culture and Tourism Minister Pavlos Geroulanos last week admitted that the country’s professional soccer was “in the gutter.”
SPAIN
Abidal recovering well
Barcelona’s French defender Eric Abidal is recovering well from surgery to remove a liver tumor, coach Pep Guardiola said on Friday. The 31-year-old France international underwent a three hour operation on Thursday at a Barcelona hospital. Neither the club nor the hospital have provided details about the kind of tumor Abidal has. “As far as we know, the operation went very well and Abidal is developing well. We must thank the doctors for their good work and hope people respect the privacy that his family has asked for,” Guardiola told a press conference. Barcelona said on Thursday that Abidal could be discharged from hospital in a week “depending on how he evolves.” Barca’s sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta said Abidal is not expected to play again this season and he would probably return to the pitch in August, online editions of sports newspaper AS reported. A prolonged absence by Abidal will be a blow for Barcelona, but Guardiola said: “Sports issues are secondary, what really matters is the person.”
FRANCE
Lucho’s home burgled
Didier Deschamps expressed concern on Friday after revealing that star midfielder Lucho Gonzalez had been the latest Olympique de Marseille player to fall victim to armed burglars. Lucho was at home in Aix-en-Provence when four individuals broke into his apartment late on Thursday. They stole bank cards, jewelry and other valuables, before escaping in the Argentine player’s car. Marseille coach Deschamps said Lucho handed over his personal effects and had been left unharmed. “Obviously he’s very upset, who wouldn’t be upset or shocked by such an incident?” Deschamps said. In November, brothers Jordan and Andre Ayew, who both play for Marseille, fell victim to burglars when they were away playing a Champions League match in Slovakia.
FRANCE
Brandao to return on Tuesday
Olympique de Marseille striker Brandao, who is under formal investigation for alleged rape, will return to France on Tuesday, the French champions said. “He is at home with his family in Brazil. He’ll be back on Tuesday. The [club] president will have a discussion with him,” coach Didier Deschamps was quoted as saying on the club’s Web site on Friday. Brandao, 30, was put under formal investigation last week after a 23-year-old woman filed a rape complaint.
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