ENGLAND
Ronaldo joins Spain: report
Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo is to join Spain to help ease his nation’s debt crisis a British newspaper reported in its April Fools’ Day edition yesterday. According to the Independent, Ronaldo has agreed to “act like a patriot” and defect to the Spanish national team, netting his debt-ravaged country 160 million euros (US$227 million). “Weighed down by debt ... Portugal’s finance ministry has secured the co-operation of football’s highest-paid player in an audacious bid to draw the nation back from the brink of economic collapse,” claimed the paper’s lead.
ENGLAND
Bruce fury at ‘racist’ claim
Sunderland manager Steve Bruce angrily denied allegations of racism on Thursday after Argentine defender Marcos Angeleri said he had been overlooked because of his nationality. Angeleri was quoted in South American media as saying that Bruce did not pick him for the Black Cats because he was not English. “The boss doesn’t talk to me, he doesn’t even say hello to me when he sees me,” Angeleri was quoted as saying. “I think he doesn’t like me because I’m not English.” However, Bruce hit back, pointing out that he had 11 foreign players from nine different countries in Sunderland’s 25-man squad. “I’m deeply upset. In today’s world, there is nothing more damaging than someone suggesting you are a racist,” Bruce told the Sunderland Echo. “Of all things that have been thrown at me over the years, that is the charge that hurts the most ... I have always tried to look further afield for players, more so than the vast majority of managers — at Wigan I brought in a lot of South Americans; here I have brought in South Americans and Africans. It’s ridiculous to accuse me of being racist.”
GERMANY
Stadium bomb plot foiled
Police have detained a 25-year-old man suspected of planning a bomb attack outside Borussia Dortmund’s stadium, they said on Thursday. The Federal Crime Office (BKA) said it found and defused three suspected explosive devices near the stadium used by the Bundesliga club. Police also found three explosive devices in the flat of the suspect, who is German. The BKA said it began its investigation in February after an anonymous e-mail tip was sent to the German embassy in Islamabad. The sender offered to provide information about two simultaneous attacks planned in Germany. Police said the person who sent the anonymous tip became a suspect related to a possible extortion attempt. He was detained in a hotel in Cologne on Tuesday and told authorities about the six explosive devices near the stadium and in his flat. Authorities said the man detained was also a suspect in an unresolved extortion attempt against a German company last year.
SCOTLAND
Scots demand apology
The Scottish Football Association (SFA) on Thursday demanded an apology from its Brazilian counterpart following allegations of racism made in Sunday’s friendly international. Brazilian striker Neymar accused Scottish fans of racist abuse after being repeatedly jeered during the match at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium. A banana was also thrown onto the pitch although police later said the item of fruit was thrown by a German tourist who had “no racist intent.” Neymar’s allegations outraged Scottish supporters and authorities, who cited the Tartan Army’s positive reputation, and now SFA chief Stewart Regan has written to the Brazilian federation to seek an apology.
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