FRANCE
Bad boy Barton not so bad
Joey Barton is not the bad boy he is portrayed as by the media, his Olympique de Marseille coach and teammates said on Friday ahead of the Englishman’s Ligue 1 debut against Lille today. Barton joined the club on loan from Queens Park Rangers, but had to serve a 12-match suspension that was extended to the French league. “Really looking forward to making my league debut for Marseille on Sunday,” Barton wrote on his Twitter account. “Feel fitter and stronger than ever before. Cannot wait to pay back the fans and the club for showing me love during this turbulent period.” The 30-year-old was suspended by the English FA after being sent off for violent conduct in QPR’s final Premier League match of last season against Manchester City. He was dismissed for elbowing Carlos Tevez and then kicked Sergio Aguero. He also appeared to try to headbutt City captain Vincent Kompany. “It’s an image that crossed the Channel and that he carries with him,” Marseille boss Elie Baup told reporters on Friday. “He is a player with a character.” Teammate Nicolas Nkoulou heaped praise on Barton, who has only played five Europa League games this season. “He is a very different guy compared to the image that has been pinned to him,” the Cameroon defender said. “On and off the pitch, the image of the guy who throws punches and does absolute nonsense is completely false.”
SPAIN
Sociedad miss out
Real Sociedad squandered a chance to continue their climb up the Spanish league after being held to a 0-0 home draw by struggling CA Osasuna on Friday. After two consecutive wins, Sociedad failed to take their chances at the Anoeta stadium. Carlos Vela came closest for the hosts in the ninth minute when the Sociedad forward met an in-swinging cross from Carlos Martinez only for goalkeeper Andres Fernandez to turn the ball round the post. “We had our chances but also the bad luck that the ball didn’t go in today,” Sociedad forward Antoine Griezmann said. Sociedad stayed in ninth place while Osasuna remained in the relegation zone.
FRANCE
‘Les Verts’ go top
AS Saint-Etienne went top of Ligue 1 on Friday when substitute Romain Hamouma grabbed a second-half goal to secure a 1-0 win over Valenciennes. Les Verts have 25 points, the same as previous leaders Lyon, but have played two games more and lead on goal difference. Lyon, who play Toulouse today, will face Saint-Etienne in two weeks’ time. Hamouma came on as a 63rd-minute substitute for Ivory Coast star Max-Alain Gradel and found the target 10 minutes later with the only goal of the game which stretched his team’s undefeated run to nine games.
SPAIN
Espanyol star accuses refs
RCD Espanyol’s Ghanaian midfielder Mubarak Wakaso has accused Spanish referees of booking him because of the color of his skin. “Sometimes, I don’t think it should be a card. They just give the card, excuse me to say this, because of the color of the person,” the 22-year-old international told a news conference on Friday. “Referees don’t give you the chance to talk to them on the pitch. They respect some players, but not others.” Wakaso, a combative central midfielder, has picked up eight yellow cards and one red in 10 La Liga matches this season, and his team have the worst disciplinary record in the league.
Shohei Ohtani and his wife arrived in South Korea with his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates yesterday ahead of their season-opening games with the San Diego Padres next week. Ohtani, wearing a black training suit and a cap backwards, was the first Dodgers player who showed up at the arrival gate of Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul. His wife, Mamiko Tanaka, walked several steps behind him. As a crowd of fans, many wearing Dodgers jerseys, shouted his name and cheered slogans, Ohtani briefly waved his hand, but did not say anything before he entered a limousine bus with his wife. Fans held placards
Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals at the All England Open, beating Kim Ga-eun of South Korea 21-17, 21-15. With the win, Tai earned a semi-final against China’s He Bingjiao, who beat Michelle Li of Canada 21-9, 21-9. Defending champion An Se-young defeated India’s P.V. Sindhu 21-19, 21-11. An on Wednesday cruised into the second round, unlike last year’s men’s winner, Li Shifeng, who suffered a shock defeat. South Korea’s An, the world No. 1, overcame Taiwan’s Hsu Wen-chi 21-17, 21-16 to set up the match against Sindhu. In other women’s singles matches, Taiwan’s Sung Shuo-yun lost 21-18, 24-22 against Carolina Marin of
EYEING TOP SPOT: A victory in today’s final against Storm Hunter and Katerina Siniakova would return 38-year-old Hsieh Su-wei to the world No. 1 ranking Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens on Thursday secured a spot in the women’s doubles finals at the BNP Paribas Open after dispatching Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) at Indian Wells. Hsieh and her Belgian partner Mertens, who won the Australian Open in late January, coasted through the first set after breaking their opponents’ serve twice, but found the going tougher in the second. Both pairs could only muster one break point over 12 games, neither of which were converted, leaving the set to be decided by a tiebreaker. Hsieh and Mertens took a 6-3 lead,
DOUBLES PAYBACK: Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Martens avenged their defeat in the quarters at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open against Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei on Wednesday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California. Hsieh and partner Elise Mertens of Belgium dispatched Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani 6-1, 6-4 to set up a clash against Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez for a spot in the final of the WTA 1000 tournament. Hsieh and Martens made a blistering start to their rematch after they lost to Schuurs and Stefani in the quarter-finals at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open last month, winning three games without reply at the start of the first set