SOCCER
More suspects arrested
Amsterdam police investigating the death of a soccer linesman last week arrested four more suspects yesterday. Richard Nieuwenhuizen, 41, was assaulted after an under-17 match between Buitenboys Almere and Nieuw-Sloten Amsterdam on Dec. 2 and died the following day. Last week, police arrested four teenagers, two of them aged 15 and two of 16. Yesterday, they arrested three more teenagers and the 50-year-old father of a Nieuw-Sloten player, they said. About 12,000 people joined a silent march through Almere, a satellite town near Amsterdam, on Sunday in tribute to the volunteer linesman.
SOCCER
Thugs spoil disabled match
Police in Turkey have arrested at least 10 rival soccer fans from two of Istanbul’s biggest teams after clashes at a disabled basketball game at the Ahmet Comert Sports Hall left the court filled with tear gas and littered with broken wheelchairs. The Besiktas and Galatasaray fans were detained on Monday after police examined footage from Sunday evening’s basketball game, which had to be called off as hooligans shouted obscenities and sprayed fire extinguishers at each other. Besiktas and Galatasaray fans, along with supporters of Fenerbahce, another of the country’s biggest clubs, are not allowed to attend away games between the teams in soccer and basketball. However, the regulation does not apply to other sports, including wheelchair basketball. “If hooligans are now seen in wheelchair basketball stands then we have nothing else to say, it is over. Sports are now officially dead in this country,” said Sedat Incesu, coach of the Galatasaray wheelchair basketball team.
GOLF
Aussie PGA needs home
The Australian PGA Championship will have to find a new home next year after negotiations over the long-standing Queensland site with colorful mining billionaire Clive Palmer broke down, officials said. Organizers are reportedly furious that Palmer — who last year took over the host Coolum resort on the Sunshine Coast — has painted the fairways with signage promoting his own companies, as well as the slogan “Freedom of Speech.” He has also erected an enormous dinosaur replica that moves and makes noises between the ninth and 10th holes. Although the grass signs do not breach any rules, PGA Tour officials were reported to be angry about their impact on other sponsors and players in the golf tournament, starting tomorrow, which has been hosted at Coolum since 2002. Palmer, a self-made businessman who has an estimated wealth of Aus$3.85 billion (US$3.96 billion), is best known for his project to build a modern-day version of the Titanic. Planning is well under way, with Titanic II’s first voyage set for late 2016.
RUGBY UNION
Hartley cited for foul play
England forward Dylan Hartley has been cited for alleged foul play during Northampton’s European Cup defeat against Ulster. European Rugby Cup announced on Monday that Northampton captain Hartley has been reported by match commissioner Jean-Claude Legendre for striking opposite number and Ulster hooker Rory Best with his arm in last Friday’s clash. Hartley, 26, is to face a disciplinary hearing on a date yet to be confirmed. His citing will add spice to next weekend’s return fixture between the two sides which is to be a must-win match for the English side.
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