SOCCER
Seedorf bizarrely sent off
Dutchman Clarence Seedorf was bizarrely sent off in Botafogo’s 2-1 win over Madureira on Sunday for arguing with the referee over where he should leave the pitch after being substituted. His stoppage-time dismissal capped an afternoon in which Botafogo were also awarded a penalty, only for the referee to change his mind as Seedorf was about to take the kick. The first-half spot-kick was awarded with the game still goalless. Former AC Milan, Ajax, UC Sampdoria and Real Madrid midfielder Seedorf had began his run-up when the referee stopped the game, consulted his linesman and changed his mind. Botafogo protested angrily, claiming the referee had received information from sources off the pitch. On being substituted at the end, Seedorf, who scored the winning goal in the 68th minute, walked toward the Botafogo bench, but was ordered by the referee to go off on the other side of the pitch to save time. Seedorf protested, was booked, turned his back on the referee and was given another yellow card.
RUGBY UNION
Two Wallabies sent home
Wallabies backs Kurtley Beale and Cooper Vuna have been sent home from South Africa by Super Rugby side the Melbourne Rebels and face further sanctions from the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) after an incident on the team bus at the weekend. The incident came in the wake of a record 64-7 drubbing for the Rebels in their match against South Africa’s Sharks in Durban on Saturday and both players were stood down after an club investigation on Sunday. “The club will not tolerate this type of behavior and I am embarrassed for everyone associated with building this club,” Rebels coach Damian Hill said in a statement. Rebels chief executive Steven Boland said the ARU had been consulted as both Beale and Vuna are also centrally contracted by the Wallabies. Both players are almost certain to miss the match against the Cheetahs next weekend.
RUGBY UNION
All Blacks’ Read injured out
All Blacks No. 8 Kieran Read has been ruled out of Super Rugby for a minimum of four weeks after partially tearing ligaments in his big toe, his Canterbury Crusaders team said yesterday. Read suffered the injury in the Crusaders’ 55-20 victory over South Africa’s Southern Kings in Christchurch on Saturday. “It is hugely disappointing that Kieran cannot join the team to South Africa,” Crusaders coach Todd Blackadder said in a statement. Read had not traveled with the Crusaders to South Africa, where they face the Stormers on Saturday and the Sharks on April 5, before playing the Western Force in Perth on April 13 on their way back to New Zealand. Jordan Taufua was named to replace Read in the Crusaders’ 26-man touring squad.
ICE HOCKEY
Penguins trade for Morrow
The Pittsburgh Penguins acquired Brenden Morrow in a trade with the Dallas Stars on Sunday, boosting their championship hopes with the addition of the veteran forward. The Eastern Conference-leading Penguins (25-8-0) sent prospect defenseman Joe Morrow and a fifth-round pick in next year’s Draft in exchange for a third-round pick this year and the 34-year-old Morrow. Brenden Morrow had to waive his no-trade clause in order to clear the way for the deal. Drafted in 1997, Morrow has played his entire NHL career with the Stars. “The way he plays the game is something we wanted to try to add,” Penguins general manager Ray Shero told reporters on Sunday.
Taiwanese world No. 1 women’s doubles star Hsieh Su-wei on Saturday overcame a first-set loss to win her opening match at the Madrid Open. Top seeds Hsieh and partner Elise Mertens of Belgium, with whom she last month won her fourth Indian Wells women’s doubles title, bounced back from a rocky first set to beat Asia Muhammad of the US and Aldila Sutjiadi of Indonesia 2-6, 6-4, 10-2. Hsieh and Mertens were next to face Heather Watson of the UK and Xu Yifan of China in the round of 16. Thirty-eight-year-old Hsieh last month reclaimed her world No. 1 spot after her Indian
EYES ON THE PRIZE: Armed with three solid men’s singles shuttlers and doubles Olympic champions, Taiwan aim to make their first Thomas Cup semi-final, Chou Tien-chen said Taiwanese badminton star Tai Tzu-ying yesterday quickly dispatched Malaysia’s Goh Jin Wei in straight sets, while her male counterpart Chou Tien-chen beat Germany’s Kai Schaefer, as Taiwan’s women’s and men’s teams won their Group B opening rounds of the TotalEnergies BWF Thomas and Uber Cup Finals in Chengdu, China. World No. 5 Tai beat Goh 21-19, 22-20 in a speedy 33 minutes, her fourth straight victory over the world No. 24 shuttler since they first faced each other in the quarter-finals of the 2018 Malaysia Open, where Tai went on to win the women’s singles title. Malaysia followed up Tai’s opening victory
Chen Yi-tung (陳奕通) secured a historic Olympic berth on Sunday by winning the senior men’s foil event at the 2024 Asia Oceania Zonal Olympic Fencing Qualifiers in United Arab Emirates. Chen defeated Samuel Elijah of Singapore 15-4 in the final in Dubai to secure the only wild card in the event, making him the first male Olympian fencer from Taiwan in 36 years and only the sixth Taiwanese fencer to ever qualify for the quadrennial event. The last appearance by a Taiwanese male fencer at the Olympics was in 1988, when Wang San-tsai (王三財) and Cheng Ming-hsiang (鄭明祥) competed in Seoul. The
Rafael Nadal on Tuesday lost in straight sets to 31st-ranked Jiri Lehecka in the fourth round at the Madrid Open, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced to the semi-finals in the women’s doubles. Nadal said that he was feeling good about his progress following his latest injury layoff. Nadal called it a “positive week” in every way and said his body held up well. “I was able to play four matches, a couple of tough matches,” Nadal said. “So very positive, winning three matches, playing four matches at the high level of tennis. I enjoyed a lot playing at home. I leave here with