TAIWAN
Heavy defeat in Hong Kong
Taiwan fell to a 5-1 defeat at Mong Kok Stadium in Hong Kong on Wednesday night in a friendly match. Hong Kong forward Chan Siu-ki scored a brace in the opening five minutes to open the floodgates, before completing his hat-trick in the 81st minute. Lee Hong-lim made it 3-0 for the hosts, before Kuo Yin-hung’s header pulled one back for the visitors just before the break. Taiwan’s revival was short-lived, with Chan Man-fai scoring Hong Kong’s fourth in the 47th minute. Hong Kong’s Australian coach Ernie Merrick praised Chan Man-fai and Fong Pak-lun, the two youngest players in his squad. “With more international exposure, they will only get better,” he told Hong Kong’s English-language daily the Standard.
ENGLAND
Campbell debuts as dad
Fraizer Campbell came on for his England debut on Wednesday at exactly the same time as he became a dad. The Sunderland striker climbed off the bench late on in England’s 3-2 friendly defeat by Netherlands at Wembley, with the pain of a last-gasp defeat cushioned by news of the birth. “Delighted to earn my first international cap and the very same moment I became a dad to Isla rose campbell! #cloud9,” he wrote on Twitter.
ESTONIA
Game abandoned early
Fans pelted an official with rubbish, forcing an early abandonment of Estonia’s friendly against El Salvador in Los Angeles on Wednesday, with the European team awarded a 2-0 win. Referee Ricardo Salazar decided there were safety concerns as the heavily Salvadorian crowd targeted a member of the officiating team, so he called the game off in the 89th minute with Estonia leading 2-0 at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. El Salvador controlled action early, but Estonia captain Ragnar Klavan scored in the 71st minute, putting in a rebound after goalkeeper Rafael Fuentes mishandled a Tarmo Kink free-kick. Estonia doubled the lead in the 86th minute when Raio Piiroja headed in a free-kick.
BRAZIL
Record threatens FIFA
Broadcaster Record has threatened to sue FIFA for awarding rival network Globo the Brazilian rights for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups without a bidding process. Record said on Wednesday that it was surprised at the decision because it had been told by Niclas Ericson, director of FIFA’s TV division, that broadcasters would be allowed to bid for the 2018-2022 rights. Record said it has e-mails proving FIFA’s promise, saying it was told that bidding would be public and transparent.
ENGLAND
Huntelaar, Smalling injured
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and England’s Chris Smalling both ended up in hospital after clashing heads when the Dutchman scored the second goal in a 3-2 friendly win for the Netherlands on Wednesday. Huntelaar netted with a powerful header into the roof of the net after 59 minutes, but smashed into Smalling, who went up for the same ball. The two lay on the Wembley pitch for some time before Smalling was carried away on a stretcher and Schalke 04 striker Huntelaar walked off holding a bandage to his face. Dutch coach Bert van Marwijk said: “Huntelaar has gone to hospital, because we think he has some damage there [to his head].” England’s interim coach Stuart Pearce said Manchester United defender Smalling had also gone for a checkup. “I spoke with him and he was conscious, but he split his head open.”
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